The day continues with Siwon in charge of the last period. Leaning against the green board, he eyes everyone before putting back the white chalk.

“This is your homework. I will give you two days.” Siwon said with his dimple smile despite the students are groaning. “Until our next meeting…Class dismissed.”

Siwon left the class when the students are left behind in their own seat writing down what he left on the board. Even a day feels like a week. What came to his mind to apply for a job in a school with many classes? He smiles as he sighs, he should consider moving to another school. But he felt like he can’t since he’s attached to almost everyone. His legs are carrying him towards the teacher’s room in motion when something crosses his mind, again. A day had passed since the boy left. Yet the guilt still remains. He won’t lie that he regretted not stopping the boy from leaving. He also won’t lie that he’s actually worried about him. Did the boy finally return home safely and return to his grandfather? If that really happens then he got no other reason to worry anymore.

As he’s about to go inside the office, a hand tap him on the shoulder from behind. He turned around to see a delicate man in white sleeves looking at him hesitantly.

“Hello. Excuse me… do you perhaps know where I can find Mr. Choi?”

“Which Choi are you referring to? There are two Choi’s here.”

“Choi Siwon?”

“Oh? That’s me. What can I help you with?”

Turns out the man were the one who he talked to when he ask about the boy’s personal information. Wasn’t the favor done? He only asked for the boy’s guardian phone number and nothing else. The man said he couldn’t give them to anyone unless it’s necessary. The database must be that important since it holds every single record of their students. He couldn’t be violating the school’s rule, could he? The man asked him to follow to the staff’s main office and Siwon did. The office was big to be expected and the man’s desk was nearly in the corner.

“I’m Kim Ryeowook, nice to meet you.” Ryeowook offer a handshake which Siwon casually take. The man also politely pulls a small chair for him to sit. “Please take a seat.”

“Thank you.”

Siwon waited for the man to say something but only to see him staring.

“Uhm…Is there anything…”

“You asked for personal information regarding a student named Cho Kyuhyun.” Ryeowook trails his eyes at the computer screen as he’s typing something else. Siwon couldn’t see what he’s typing since the screen’s back is facing him.

“Am I violating the…”

“Though it’s true you violated the rule. You coming here have nothing to do with school so I won’t report you on that.” Ryeowook turn the screen, showing Siwon what he’s referring to. “Let’s get straight to the point. May I ask how you know Cho Kyuhyun?”

Siwon remember the boy saying the school can’t know where he is to the point threatening to smash his phone.

“Please tell me honestly.”

The boy must’ve made a lot of trouble for the school to treat him like a wanted criminal. But the frail man seated before him said this interrogation-scene-like has nothing to do with school. The look on him tells he really wanted to know more from him. There on the screen he found the boy’s personal information written from up to down. Of course including the real name, birth of date, address, mother and father’s name and so on however no picture is attached. Siwon avert his eyes from the screen to the man who is looking at him intently. He decides its best not to read them further.

“I need to know, when you were calling was he there by chance or if he wasn’t there did you two met?”

Perhaps the boy was right. Involving the school would be a bad idea. If he hadn’t call the database he wouldn’t be here interviewed, or so he thought.

“We met…by coincidence.”

“How’s his condition?” What? That’s a strange question. It’s as if the boy has been missing for more than weeks.

Ryeowook take a printed picture from his drawer and place it before Siwon. It’s a neat class picture of students seemingly to reach thirty seats. He pointed to the boys seated at the picture. “I don’t know how you met him but please listen to what I will say because I’m pretty sure you might or won’t believe me at all. This picture was taken in the beginning of our third year.”

Our?

“Yes, our third year. This is the picture of my batch taken in 2013. This is me when I was in the beginning of third year and this boy beside me is Cho Kyuhyun. It all starts… on April 14^th 2013… He didn’t’ come to school when we were supposed to do a presentation together for that day. I made a report on the absence of my group partner to our homeroom teacher however he said I looked like a desperate person wanting to have a group partner that I made an imaginary friend. He reminded me I was the only one in class working alone in the beginning due to the insufficient classmates.”

“Of course, I didn’t believe what my teacher said so I asked others about Kyuhyun and they had no idea who he is. Even the people he often talked to speak of him clueless as if he was never there at all. I thought maybe something happened and they all did that on purpose just to play around. Kyuhyun was a star student and everyone knows him. Days become weeks and months passed by. No one talked about his whereabouts or his well-being. I made a move and confront the whole class but it didn’t work, they just called me delusional. He just…mysteriously disappeared and no one remembers him except me.”

“I wasn’t so sure why I was the only one to remember him either. I wish I wasn’t the only one though…I’m sure there must be others out there who freaked out like me. I’ve only talked to him a few times and we’re just classmates, not even friends. Sometimes I even envied him…” Ryeowook smiles sadly. “I also found out Cho Kyuhyun personal information wasn’t schools anymore. I don’t know how his information was entirely wiped out so I typed them manually according to our exchanged information due to our project prior from that day. By now we don’t have a student named Cho Kyuhyun. This class picture is the only evidence I have. It still sounds like a dream to me for someone to suddenly mention his name after six years.”

It took him a while to absorb what the man was saying. Siwon flashbacks to the first moment he met the student at the bridge. The boy stood with his complete uniform on top preparing to jump while he was there watching slightly with no idea at all except an obvious thing crossed his mind, it was a suicide attempt. However the boy insisted it wasn’t a suicide attempt and repeated it two times which wasn’t convincing enough. He met the boy again the next day after his work ended at the gazebo and noticed the dirt on the same looking uniform from that bridge day so he took him home because he felt bad, thinking the boy might’ve ran away from home for two days straight.

Siwon got everything what the other said but what the hell? It was out of reach to believe. No one remembers the boy? Everything sounds made up even though the man’s face looks sincere. Looks can lie but words not and same for the other way around. He’s not sure which to trust. It just snapped him to observe the man’s feature. If he said he was a third year student in 2013 that means he’s 24 years old by now, which also makes the boy…

Siwon have another closer look on the picture. Seated in the middle was the boy who left his house two days ago. The boy didn’t change slightly in feature comparing to the man seated before him, not that he changed that much. What took him aback was how the boy he met still looks the same like in the picture despite it was six years old. It was, like Ryeowook said was unbelievable.

Without a word he walks out from the room and drives his way home.

Once inside the house he was greeted by his brother in law who is holding two mugs. He should’ve taken back the idea of giving a spare key to Changmin since he’s not fond of suddenly finding people standing inside his house. “Welcome home, just in time.”

“Why are you here?” Just in time indeed, he had something in mind to ask the boy. When Ryeowook showed him the class picture, he saw Changmin seated not far from the two boys. Changmin could be the only person who can confirm his doubt about what Ryeowook explained. If everything wasn’t true it was all fiction or perhaps maybe there’s something wrong with him.

“It’s annoyingly quiet at home.”

Siwon sits on the couch and signal Changmin to do the same. Changmin place the other mug before Siwon and he crossed his leg as he sips whatever hot drink he made there. “Is it your off day?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s been six years since you graduated.”

“Don’t try to make me sound old.” Changmin scoffed. “We’re only two years apart.”

“I met alumni today. He’s from your batch. Apparently he’s working for the school now.”

“Ahh…Your colleague?”

“No. He’s a staff in charge for the database.”

“Hmm…Not surprising. Our school graduates don’t really have an outstanding or interesting future. They either become a salary man, lawyer, and an engineer and maybe they open a food stall on streets or help their parents with the family restaurant.”

“Is that why you’re a medical student now? To surpass them? You still have a long way to go.”

“It’s never my intention to paint a good name on my high school. It’s better that way than having to stop working on a good job like you. You’re smart and talented…” Siwon then gave an appreciative nod. “I’m not complimenting you. I still don’t understand what kind of human you are for taking off the doctor title. I can’t tolerate any other reason if it wasn’t because of my sister’s death. Anyway, I’m not in mood to talk about that. Who’s the alumni?”

“Kim Ryeowook, he’s from your class.”

“Oh, the delusional bully target.” Changmin states and put down the mug, “That’s what others call him.”

“Tell me about it.”

“You finally have your eyes on someone. Not a bad taste though, he’s a good person and does look feminine. Everyone’s quite fond of him until that name came up.” Changmin smirks.

“I’m not personally interested in him.” Siwon denies, “Tell me about that name.”

“Oh…I don’t know when it all started but I’m certain for a half year he’s trying to convince us about someone’s existence until he’s worn out. He became a total laughing stock. On our graduation day he confessed everything what he did was no other than a troll. Anyone dumb enough wouldn’t do that for the sake of simple reason. Trolls could be in any shape, but I’m pretty sure no one would want to be bullied for a year or less just because they want to troll everyone. It’s a pitiful sight to watch you see.” Changmin flashes a small smile. What Changmin said made sense. If it were him he wouldn’t do such for the sake of having fun.

“Considering you’re not the bully type…You just stood there as an audience?” Siwon sighs. He doesn’t expect this from his brother in law. Changmin may be rude sometimes but he’s warm hearted. Surely he would take an act to defend a bully victim.

“You were not surprised by the story, did Ryeowook possibly told you everything?”

“He did.”

Changmin widen his eyes in amusement, “I’m surprised he brought everything up again. We all slept on that.”

“Two days ago I asked for Cho Kyuhyun’s personal information and he called me today and told me everything. He showed me the class picture and there’s the three of you there. Including the part when Cho Kyuhyun mysteriously disappeared and no one remembers him. He said he was glad someone finally mentioned that name after six years. I hardly believe anything he said… Even it didn’t seem like he expect me to believe everything.” There was a moment of silence until Changmin broke them,

“I had no choice but to just stood there and do nothing because there’s really nothing that I could do.” Changmin said and Siwon frowned, “I was at the dead end and still, until now. Ryeowook isn’t the only one who remembers Cho Kyuhyun. I had gone through freaking out times after knowing no one remembers my best friend. If it wasn’t Ryeowook who spoken out that day, I would’ve thought that I own some strange mental illness. Ryeowook had done so much in my place but none could convince anyone about the owner of the empty desk in the corner of the classroom. Every of his effort was a waste, but not for me. I…still don’t know what was going on.”

If only he were to find out Changmin and Ryeowook were plotting up to something, though the scenario was a little bit too much for involving their own classmate. At the same time he unintentionally involves himself with their problem. Though it was expectedly possible, since he might be the key to knowing what actually happened to Kyuhyun. He couldn’t believe what Ryeowook had said but after another person experiences the same and it was no other than his brother-in-law, what could he say? Everything sounded fiction yet Changmin fruitfully convince him they’re otherwise.

“Why the personal information? You knew him and remember too? So there are more than two of us…” Siwon then told Changmin about his meeting with Kyuhyun until he let him stayed for the night. “You…What?”

“It was a coincidence.”

Changmin stand from his seat and covers his face with his palms, somewhat sighing in relieved. “Where has he been all these time… My god…Finally I know he’s alright. Thanks, hyung. How much did he change?” Ever since Mina’s death, Changmin never calls him hyung anymore. He felt touched to finally hearing that again from Changmin. It’s as if the brother figures within has finally emerged from its sleeping state.

“He didn’t change at all.” Siwon sighs, “This is what I’m still trying to confirm. I saw your third year batch picture and compare to the person I met a few days ago. Nothing changed.”

“Oh…Everyone says he wouldn’t get much old in the future.” Changmin shrugs.

“He looked like someone who just came home from school.”

“Unbelievable, is he still looking that young?”

“No…I’m not talking about whether he’s young or old but…Yes, he is young. When I found him, his uniform and bag were still intact with him.”