The Third Bell

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Youngmin and Kwangmin stared each other down in the living room. After three days of staying home, Kwangmin’s fever had finally died, but he still had frequent coughing fits and complained of headaches. Despite those, the younger had gotten out of bed this morning, put on his school uniform, and tromped downstairs. When the surprised Youngmin asked what he was doing, Kwangmin declared that he was well enough to go back to school.

“I think you should rest one more day,” Youngmin said, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

“But I’ve been staying home for three days already. It’s boring,” Kwangmin whined, making a show of kicking his feet like a child.

“Go take a walk or something. It’s Friday anyway, so there’s really no point in going to class if you haven’t been there all week.”

Kwangmin contemplated his brother’s logic for a moment before sighing in resignation. Satisfied, Youngmin bid Kwangmin goodbye and opened the door, only to be greeted by a powerful gust of wind and the raucous ringing of the bells. He staggered backwards from the force of the gale as Kwangmin let out a surprised yelp at the sudden cold.

“Uh, it might be best to just stay home today,” Youngmin said once he recovered his balance. Kwangmin nodded silently, still shocked by the strong wind. Youngmin stepped outside and quickly shut the door behind him, locking it and scurrying down the front steps in an attempt to escape the screaming pair of bells swaying wildly on the porch.

Class went by as usual, except the wind was howling throughout the day. It rattled the building’s windows, making it difficult to hear the professor at times. The students were edgy, glancing around the room nervously as if fearing that the windows would shatter from the force of gusts.

Youngmin was tense as well. He didn’t realize that he was checking his phone often, even though phones were prohibited in class. His phone was empty of messages, and Youngmin couldn’t decide if that was good or bad. No news was good news, but Youngmin was still anxious about how Kwangmin was faring alone at home.

At that moment, his phone lit up with a text from his brother. Youngmin started, nearly dropping his phone, and stared at it before opening it.

Where’s the cough medicine? I can’t find it.

Glancing at his professor, who was still try