“Oh, wow.” Jongup said, lifting his eyes from the table as a familiar figure sat at his table, “I haven’t seen you in... A week?”

“Yeah...” Minjung said as she set her orange juice on the table and sat down across from Jongup, “I wasn’t in the mood to go out.”

Jongup could only nod. In a matter of moments, one of Jongup’s old ‘friends’ appeared behind Minjung and eyed her up and down. Jongup glared at the phantomatic presence, his eyes asking ‘why?’.

‘She’s hiding something from you.’

Jongup slightly shook his head and mouthed a small ‘no’. The exact same moment, Minjung looked up from the table and caught his eyes.

“Is there something wrong?” she blinked a couple of times, grabbing his attention.

“Oh,” Jongup smiled awkwardly, “No, just that this is kinda spicy!” he laughed it off even more awkwardly, “I’m not used to spicy food...”

“I see.” Minjung blinked and let her head hang down, looking at the carton of orange juice as if it were highly interesting.

Jongup followed her motion with his eyes until she broke the visual contact, then lifted his head back up to look at his friend.

“What are you trying to say?” Jongup mouthed again, hopeful that Minjung wouldn’t see him again.

‘She’s gonna tell you something. Soon enough.’

“Listen...”

Jongup was startled by her voice. He lost control over his hands for a mere moment, his muscles contracting as he gripped tightly onto the plastic fork. By the moment he remade the eye contact with Minjung, she was already staring back at him, her eyes piercing through his.

“Ye-... Yes?” Jongup let another awkward smile cover half of his face as he stuttered.

“I need your help.” Minjung said bluntly, slightly tightening the grip her hands had on the carton of juice, “And I’m sure you can help.”

“I... I can?” he asked, his eyes widening bit by bit, “How can I?”

“Promise me you’ll help me. I can’t tell you otherwise...” Minjung’s voice gradually faded as she lowered her head and ended up looking at her hands, still fiddling with the straw sticking in the carton.

Jongup profited of the occasion to look a bit behind here, where his friend was still standing, arms crossed and head slowly shaking. Fully aware of the fact that if he tried to whisper something again, Minjung would surely hear him and look back up, Jongup shrugged his shoulders and threw his friend a questionable look, his eyes only asking for advice.

‘I told you. It’s your choice.’

“So...?” Minjung broke the silence, “Will you?”

Jongup was awfully hesitant. His friend’s words from that certain day were still echoing in his mind and paranoia started creeping up his spine; but then, Minjung’s innocent image pushed everything aside and only the memory of him feeling her touch, her shiver and her purity made him smile and nod wholeheartedly.

‘You can’t turn back, Jongup.’
“You can’t turn back, Jongup.” Minjung said, her voice doubled by Jongup’s imagination.

“Just tell me how can I help and I promise I’ll do my best.”

‘As you wish.’
“As you wish.” Minjung said and sipped from her juice, “It’s about one of your friends.”

The way she stressed the word ‘friends’ made Jongup shiver. He wasn’t sure whether she was talking about his real friends or one of the products of his schizoid imagination. Swallowing the lump forming in his throat, he waited for her to continue, but every break she took from talking made it seem like an eternity between words.

“I... I don’t know his name, but...” she stopped ever so oftenly, her fingers playing with the straw, “But when he called me ‘beautiful’, I... I lost my mind.”

Jongup’s smile slowly faded away as he took her words in, one by one. She liked someone whom she didn’t know. Moreover, it was one of his friends. His heart sunk upon carefully processing what she just said, but he hid his disappointment behind a smiling face as memories struck his mind.

“Oh... Himchan?” he asked, hoping Minjung would look at him.

He only earned a slight nod and a muffled approval sound from ; she didn’t even bother taking the straw out of to speak properly. Jongup watched as the orange juice went up the straw, but his friend motioning psychotically behind Minjung caught his attention, making him lift his gaze.

‘She’s only lies. She’s lies. All lies. From head to toes, only lies.’

Jongup blinked and tried to take in what his friend said, but his thoughts were categorically denying it. The first impression he had over Minjung was more powerful than what the product of his imagination was dictating him.

“Next time they come,” Minjung broke the silence again, “Can you tell me too?” she pleaded him with her eyes, staring straightly into his own, “Please, I want to talk to him more...”

Her gaze was hypnotizing; Jongup couldn’t bring himself to look somewhere else, neither could he speak his mind. It was as if something in her eyes took control over his thoughts and vocal chords, using his body as a puppet for her desires.

“Of course.” he smiled over all the feelings that overwhelmed him.

Between Minjung getting up from the table, muttering a ‘thanks’, her leaving the cafeteria as if nothing happened and Jongup finally coming down to Earth and realizing what he just got himself into, his World shattered from top to bottom. Something inside his heart clenched and twisted, his breathing pattern became irregular and his brain was unresponsive. The only things through his mind right then were flashbacks of Minjung, her occasional smiles, the way they met, even the creepy moments. Everything developed through his thoughts faster than a lightning, ending with a certain someone - he didn’t quite manage to figure out who it was - turning his back at him and leaving. It was only a vague silhouette, a shadow in front of immense sunlight.

Jongup took a deep breath and looked around him - the cafeteria was empty. How much time had it passed? Not even his friend was there anymore; he lazily dragged his feet towards his room, leaving his tray on the table. As he stepped into his room, the feeling he had got worse - his hand clutched onto the material on his chest as he fell on his knees and wept silently, to himself. He promised he wouldn’t let himself cry again, but this time, it just slipped. In a matter of seconds, Jongup felt a pair of arms wrap around his figure; the feeling lingering on his skin was warm and silky, phantomatic at the same time.

“Hush, hush...”
‘Hush, hush...’