Chapter 26: It's a Beautiful World

Welcome to Touchstone
Please Subscribe to read the full chapter

 

Jinhwan doesn’t come out of his room and Yiseul is tempted to take a look to ensure he didn’t freeze to death by himself in there. Yet, something tells her that he probably wouldn’t let her succeed even with a peek. 

Hanbin who has always been in high spirits is sitting in the corner by himself. It’s safe to assume that he still doesn’t feel completely well and doesn’t want to be bothered. Seulgi was keeping her eye on him out of guilt and he seems to be coping with her intentions well. 

And, the others- well, they're all still quite awake except for a select few. Noticeably, Lisa. 

Yiseul sighs. 

Joohyuk rushes back inside and Yiseul catches a glimpse of light coming from his phone before he slips it back into his pocket. “They said the power should be up and running again in the next half hour.”

A chorus of sighs and soft cheers fill the common area. 

“I knew it would be fine-,” Joohyuk begins to say before Jinwoo places his finger up to prevent him from saying anything else.

“You’ll jinx it,” Jinwoo explains softly. 

***

“I can’t believe Jaewon.”

Yiseul was stepping out of the bathroom and heading into her room when she heard Junhoe’s voice down the hallway. 

“While we were suffering, he managed to shack up with some girl in her warm dorm.”

“Aren’t you just jealous?” Seungyoon asks in response. 

Closing her dorm’s door behind her, she walks over to her desk and turns on her lamp. She wonders how much school work she’ll have to catch up with the last few days of school being cancelled. 

A light knock on her door gathers her attention and she walks over to open it. Unexpectedly, East wing’s dorm head, Jisoo stands there to greet her. 

“Is there something I can help you with?” she asks. 

“I heard from Joohyuk about what happened and I’m here to thank you for taking care of Hanbin.”

“Oh.” She blinks in surprise. “No problem.”

“Believe it or not, Hanbin experiences that type of stuff all the time. He gets sick easily and can’t bounce back quickly like other people- but, you must have noticed that.”

“He did mention that he has always had a weak body.”

“Pretty much sums it up,” Jisoo chuckles. “If you ever need any help, feel free to ask. With Hanbin over here all the time, it’s almost as if you took on another resident.”

With a smile, Yiseul nods. 

***

Stepping into the kitchen, Bobby notices a change. He felt it all morning since waking up. It was subtle but, definitely there but he can’t kept put his finger on it. 

“Have you seen the dorm head?” 

Bobby turns around and snaps his fingers upon hearing Suhyun. “That’s what it is!”

The reaction startles Suhyun. “Huh?”

No wonder it felt different to Bobby- he hadn’t seen the dorm head anywhere. Normally, he would have ran into her in the hallway or in the kitchen by now. 

“Morning,” Jennie greets the two as she enters the kitchen to get started with some lunch. 

“Jennie, have you seen the dorm head?” Suhyun decides to try someone else.

“I haven’t seen Yiseul. Why don’t you text her to see what she’s up to?” she suggests.

***

Yiseul ignores the buzzing and flashing of her phone beside her on the comforter and focuses her attention on the paper in her hands. From the opposite side, Mina takes a glimpse of the disruption.

“Yiseul, your phone keeps going off.”

“I’ll check it in a bit,” she answers without looking away. “So, how much studying have you gotten done so far, Mina?”

“Not much. I haven’t been feeling well,” Mina replies softly. 

“You’ve fallen behind quite a bit.”

“That’s why you’re here, Yiseul!” her response had quite a cheerful fervor that doesn’t go unnoticed by Yiseul. 

Yiseul glances at the girl beside her. “There’s only so much I can do. In the end, it’ll be you taking the exams.”

“Then, where do I start?”

“I made a list of topics from your reading assignments,” Yiseul says while handing the girl the sheet of paper, “review it and let me know if you have any questions. Take this extra snow day to study hard.”

While Mina looks over the long list, Yiseul starts sliding off of the girl’s bed. She starts to reach for her coat when another buzzing from Yiseul’s phone steals Mina’s attention. 

“Yiseul, can’t you turn off your phone? It’s troublesome.”

The comment seemed sudden but doesn’t bother Yiseul. “I’m leaving now so you can use the time to study.”

“You’ve only been here for two hours.” Disappointment coats Mina’s voice.

Looking at her phone, a large volume of new text messages stare back at her. They were obviously from her residents- no one else would be contacting her. 

“I’ll come back another day. Mina, you’ve mentioned before that it’s hard for you to focus when there are other people and noises.”

Please Subscribe to read the full chapter
Like this story? Give it an Upvote!
Thank you!
Sriracha31
Hi everyone! Just trying to get the message out as efficiently as possible- if you would like to connect outside of fanfics, follow me on instagram at staceface_art.

Hope to see you guys around!

Comments

You must be logged in to comment
Wanderer_bj
#1
Chapter 62: Ohh how I miss reading something not so heavy like this. I just love this and the end was just perfect. 😍
peachyjoonie_
#2
God, I miss you. Thank you for writing.
WholesomeRain
#3
Chapter 62: I miss these characters so much I’m going to puke.
WholesomeRain
#4
Chapter 60: It makes me sick that they aren’t all real people 😔 (even tho they are, but you get what I mean haha)
WholesomeRain
#5
Chapter 35: Oh, I’m also referring to Jinhwan, of course✊💯
WholesomeRain
#6
Chapter 30: That post that says “girls don’t want real men, they want fictional men written by women’ but I’m solely referring to the versions of Hanbin that you write. (Rereading chapters, yet again)
Amsohappy
#7
Chapter 62: Wow! I finally get to finish reading this breath of fresh air. I love your style.
All through the earlier chapters, I was chanting girl stand up for yourself like a mantra. I knew it wasn't easy to just up and switch. It took time, but I'm glad she achieved it in the end. Thank you, for this refreshing read.
Amsohappy
#8
Chapter 52: Girl, that's the spirit.
I don't want to.
maysui
#9
Chapter 57: The way Hanbin gives Yiseul a space and choice for her to decide shows how much he respects her.

All this time, she can't say no and I can't blame her for that. I hope they can leave safely and live how they want to.
maysui
#10
Chapter 55: Manipulating? Brainwashed? seems to be talking about herself hahaha I'm so proud Yiseul is speaking up for herself!