Chaewon wished she could fall asleep and wake up in an alternate universe where she never listened to that conversation.  

The last thing she wanted to see was her face in the mirror, all puffy and looking miserable. But her damn nose wouldn’t stop running. She dragged herself to the bathroom, scolding herself for not bringing tissues to her room when she arrived.  

Doing her best to avoid facing the mirror, she hastily grabbed a couple of tissues and searched for the door again. After she went back to bed, it dawned on her.  

What had she done? Had she broken up with Hyejoo? Like, for real?  

But it didn’t matter how much Hyejoo hurt her, she couldn’t stop thinking about her. How she must be feeling, what could she be doing. What if she’s drinking too much? Or taking more pills?  

But there was nothing more she could do at this point. Hyejoo didn’t want to be helped, and Chaewon had to take whatever strength she had left to focus on recovering the broken pieces and fixing her grades.  

---  

Chaewon’s mind couldn’t be more absent from that class. Instead of listening, she checked her phone like a maniac. But nothing.  

And it all hurt even more. Hyejoo hadn’t even texted her. What was Chaewon even expecting? I’m so sorry?  

The thought of Hyejoo hurt so much. Because what Chaewon remembered was her smile, and how tenderly she always held her and kissed her cheeks and lips, and the sweet and lame words she told her for no reason at all, or to embarrass her, and how none of that would happen again-  

“Chaewon.” Hyunjin’s voice brought her down from her painful memories. “What’s wrong?”  

“Hm? What?”  

“You’re crying.”  

Chaewon widened her eyes and touched her face, lowering her head and sniffing. Crying in class?  

“Do you want to leave?”  

“No, no, I’m fine.” Chaewon cleared her eyes and straightened her back, pretending to pay attention again.  

Hyunjin didn’t say anything, but only until the end of class.  

“You’re not okay.” Hyunjin held on Chaewon’s wrist as she tried to rush out. “What happened? Do you want to talk?”  

“I appreciate your worry, but it’s okay,” Chaewon said, barely looking back at her.  

“Okay, but please talk to me if you need something.”  

“Thank you, Hyunjin.” Chaewon gave her a small, forced smile, and walked outside when Hyunjin released the grip on her.  

It was too soon to talk when Chaewon didn’t even know where they stood right now.  

The day dragged for too long, and not even for a second did Chaewon stop thinking about Hyejoo. If she should send her a text, call her, or go check on her, because she was so worried, she felt sick. But she bet Hyejoo didn’t even want to hear her voice, let alone see her face.  

Did Chaewon want to see her? She was so confused, and she didn’t know how she felt anymore.  

But the lack of sleep from the previous night and the long day exhausted her to the point she fell asleep as soon as she hit the pillow that night, after successfully avoiding any conversation with Sooyoung or Jiwoo.  

---  

Chaewon thought she had seen Hyejoo the next morning, but it wasn’t her.  

When she was forcing herself to eat lunch, she almost dropped her chopsticks when she also thought Hyejoo walked by, but it still wasn’t her.  

Was Hyejoo skipping classes?  

Chaewon couldn’t stop thinking it was all her fault.  

Her phone vibrated in her pocket, making her jump on her seat.  

[Jiwoo]  
What happened with Hyejoo? She’s been ignoring all our texts and calls for two days. Is she mad at us? Sorry to drag you into this, but we’re really worried :(  

Her heart shot with so much force she felt dizzy. She didn’t know what to answer. Should she tell her the truth? She could pretend she didn’t see the message. But how would she avoid Jiwoo back at the dorm?  

With trembling fingers, she typed, erased, and typed again.  

[Chaewon]  
We fought that night, and we haven’t talked since.  

That was all she could write with the panic starting to take over her body. Hyejoo was only isolating, right?  

Jiwoo didn’t answer back, and Chaewon couldn’t stop checking her phone every minute. Should she text Hyejoo? Maybe she would answer her. But what would she even say?  

Having a stabilized breathing had become an almost impossible task by now. And the last thing she wanted was to catch Hyunjin’s attention.  

“Chaewon, you’re at this again. I’m really worried.”  

Chaewon clenched her jaw and cursed in her mind, then cursed for having cursed.  

“Don’t worry, Hyunjin. I don’t want to trouble you with something that’s going to pass eventually.”  

“I’m sorry, but I can’t help it. Maybe it’s easier if you talk it out.”  

“I don’t think there’s any way it will become easier.”  

“I can’t change your mind, but you know I’ll be here if you eventually come to that yourself.”  

Chaewon didn’t answer. Not when she received another text.  

[Jiwoo]  
Call me right now.  

There was no time to think about how wrong it was to leave mid-class without an explanation. Chaewon only had time to stuff her things into her bag, mumble an apology to Hyunjin, and leave, glad that at least it was professor Minatozaki’s class, and that she could apologize to her later.  

---

A/N: Since this was a rather short chapter, and because you're probably suffering, I'm going to update again TOMORROW :DDD