“Ring—“

The students putted down their pans, some sighed in relief and some complained. No one was expecting their professor to have a pop quiz, but at least it wasn’t a difficult one.

Everyone left after handed in their papers, the professor also left after collecting his stuffs. Yebin was still sitting in her seat, gazing into distance. It wasn’t until her phone vibrated had her come back to the reality.

“Where are you?”

“…Classroom 202.”

“Which building? Literature?”

“…Yes.”

“We are at the dorm court, the plays begin at around 6.” Yewon’s voice was soft. “If you need some time alone…I’ll tell the seniors.”

Yebin went silence for a short while. Even if her mind was a mess, her sense of responsibility and the consequence of refusal still knocked on her.

“Thank you, Yewon, but I can’t let you deal with those stupid people for me.” She bent down and pulled up her backpack.

“They might be rude to you if they see you can’t concentrate.”

“I know. I will try to be concentrate.” I will try to be distracted. “See you there. Bye.”

The way to the dorm court was quiet. Not that the surrounding was quiet, there were all kinds of sounds created by students and various activities, but those sounds didn’t get into Yebin’s mind and she was walking alone, no one to talk to. The sky had darkened, the wind became stronger and street lights lit up one by one. Yebin looked up and saw the gray clouds. The thought that it might rain later came up and to be honest, she really wanted it to happen.

If it rained, the plays would have to stop. If the plays stopped, she could leave the court. If she could leave the court, she could go to the Park’s mansion, even if she couldn’t see Minkyung, even if she could only watch from afar.

Later that night, the drizzle fell, it didn’t get heavy but the ground soon became wet and slippery. Kyungwon moved her eyes from the dark sky, wiping her face carelessly and gazed back at that window. Curtains isolated the outside from inside, only the yellow light came through, indicated the person in the room was awake. Some faint shadows would pass by from time to time, and every time it did, the tiny hope that the window would open would always light up in Kyungwon’s heart, but soon faded away.  

The surrounding was tranquil in the rain, she heard footsteps coming closer, but didn’t bother to turn to check.

“I know you’d be here.”

Her eyes kept locking at the front. “I know you’d come.”

Yebin sat down with her, the umbrella in her hand was enough to cover their heads, but her left shoulder and Kyungwon’s right shoulder was still in the rain, getting damper little by little.

“I thought the plays would continue.”

“The playoffs start next week. No one wants to risk to get injured.” Yebin moved her backpack to her lap. “The rest of the team went to dinner. I refused.”

“So you haven’t eaten?”

“No, I’m not hungry. You?”

“I haven’t, either.”

They sighed at the same time. “Let’s sit for a while. Then we go back.”

“Ok.”

It wasn’t wise to stay under the rain and letting the cold wind raid their bodies, but they don’t want to leave without a longer waiting. Even if both of them were not sure what they were actually waiting for.

“I’m really confused.” Kyungwon broke the silence with a murmur. “I don’t understand why.”

“I’m the same.”

“Have you…Have you asked the others? Kyulkyung? Nayoung unnie? I feel like they know more than we think.”

“No…If they know nothing, it’s useless to ask. If they know something…I don’t want to pressure them…and Minkyung. I don’t want to make her feel I’m interrogating her.”

“I asked Kyulkyung once, she said she had nothing to say. Nayoung unnie just avoided me.”

“That’s not surprising.”

“So you’re gonna wait to see if there’s anyone can give us a charity? An answer we deserve?”

Yebin glanced at Kyungwon because of her aggressive tone.

“Isn’t that the only thing we can do now?”

“You know, sometimes you are really passive.”

“I see things more thoroughly. And if you want to be active, you should stop sitting at here and go knock on their door.”

“I…” Kyungwon groaned, buried her face in her palms. “I’m sorry.”

“Never mind. I’m frustrated, too.”

“…What do you think it might be?”

“What? The reason she had been acting weird? The reason she fell? Or the reason she’s avoiding us?”

“Everything.”

The rain started to let up, but the wind was getting stronger. Yebin gripped the umbrella tight. “I…I can’t think straight. I don’t know.”

It was not a lie, and it was not totally true. Kyungwon knew that, but she would take this reply. For now.

A bus with a couple passengers drove by, causing some splashes on the road. After it passed, the yellow light was no longer visible from the window. The house quieted down within the darkness, the world seemed to have fallen asleep as well.

“We should…probably go now.”

Yebin stood up first, but Kyungwon walked away faster. The end of the semester was coming and they had lots of things to deal with, especially the final exams, but Minkyung, this certain girl was pressuring them. They didn’t have a spare mind to pay attention on other things.

Pathetic, but they could do nothing about it.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Days slipped through, the weekend somehow became the most difficult to endure. No classes, no talking or noises surrounded, just the things that needed to be done and messy minds were bothering. Kyungwon was typing an assignment on her laptop nonchalantly when her phone rang. She took a glimpse at it, then her back straightened because of the sudden tension.

“…Yes?”

“You got time?” Xiyeon asked. No specific emotions could be heard from her tone.

“Y-Yes. What’s wrong?”

“Come over now. I left the side gate open, come in from there.” Xiyeon paused, “Yebin didn’t answer my call.”

“She’s…She’s working out.”

“Bring her with you, will you? Both of you have to be here.”

Kyungwon didn’t know if she said ok or not. When she finally realized what just happened, she grabbed her bag, tossing some stuffs inside and dashed out of their house. Yebin was at the park nearby so it wasn’t difficult to find her. The two took a cab and before Yebin could grasp the whole situation, the Park’s mansion was right across the street.

“Tick tock”

“Tick tock”

Minkyung listened carefully to the clock ticking, fingers tracing on the bandage on her wrist, counting every second. She heard faint engine sounds, she heard the slam of the car door. Honestly, she had expected they would rush over, but still, it was too fast for her.

“Slow down, slow down…” It was Yebin’s voice, almost covered by the rapid footsteps. “You might startle her…”

“Just hurry up!”

The moment they showed up, the knot in Minkyung’s throat made it harder for her to swallow. Kyungwon walked hurriedly to her, the worry between her furrowed brows was evident. Yebin stayed a few steps behind, the hesitation in her eyes was impossible to not notice. Minkyung knew she looked thin and pallid, she already tried her best to look better.

“Your hand…does it hurt?” Kyungwon wanted to touch her wrist but stopped halfway.

“Sometimes…It’s healing, don’t worry.”

“But how about your competition? It’s…tomorrow, right?”

Minkyung smiled bitterly. “I have to quit. I can’t play guitar for a long while.”

She wanted them to say something more, anything, but what hovered was the silence she could not bear at all. She gestured a chair, hoped them to at least sit down. Yebin sat down on the chair and Kyungwon half leaned on the desk, their moves were stiff and awkward.

“Are you sick, Minkyung?”

Those words came out of Kyungwon’s mouth and stung more than Minkyung had imagined. And when Minkyung saw only concern from them, no doubt or surprise, the pain became stronger. She slowly nodded.

“It’s a hereditary disease…from my parents.” Minkyung gulped. “My biological parents.”

Kyungwon’s eyes widened and Yebin’s grip on her own hoodie tightened. If only they knew it was the lightest hit that night.

“It’s rare. Really, really rare. It’s a disease that affects my immunity the most…and will cause me to have muscle weakness, sometimes even hard to breathe. That’s why…I catch colds or flus all the times. That’s why I can hardly play any sports…because I may be out of breath and faint…or lose too much blood because of a small cut.”

So that’s why she carries ointment and band-aid with her every day. That’s why she needs days to recover from colds.

“I have had four attacks of this. What you saw in the nightclub was the fourth time and…” Minkyung paused in time, didn’t let “the worst one” to slip out. “The first attack was when I was 8. The second happened seven years ago at night, and I was outside, alone. Mom and dad and Xiyeon were freaked out so since then…I seldom left the house at nights, even in daytimes…I was always required to be accompanied. They think the more I stayed at home, the safer I would be.”

“When…When was the third time?” Kyungwon couldn’t believe she knew none of these. “Were there any one of us around you?”

“No. Th