Yerin’s gaze turned to her companion once she heard her let out another yawn just for that morning.

 

“Hey, did you sleep alright?” Yerin had to ask, slightly worried she wasn’t resting well.

 

“I just finished some last minute work last night. I’ll just go sleep in class…”

 

Yerin pinched her side, jolting her awake, “If you don’t feel well, head to the nurse’s office and don’t sleep in class.”

 

Sinb whined, “The nurse’s office is too far~”

 

“Stop being lazy, I’ll carry you there if you won’t go.”

 

“No. The nurse’s office is too far from your room.” Sinb clarified unconsciously, "I won’t be able to get there quickly when break comes in… or after classes… I got to keep that jerk away…” At this point, Sinb was already mumbling to herself absentmindedly, but each word was heard by the upperclassman who, by that point, was struggling to fight off the redness on her cheeks.

 

Ever since Sojeun’s appearance, Sinb has also made sure to stay near her as much as possible. Her sudden protectiveness surprised Yerin and assumed that Sojeun was actually really bad for her to act like this. Still, Yerin finds that she didn’t dislike it. She found that she actually liked the attention she was getting from the woman, and she wanted nothing more than to keep her by her side. If anyone were to tell her this a couple months ago, she would have laughed at them and flat out considered the idea ridiculous.

 

But things have changed. Since when, she didn’t notice, nor does she bother remembering since her only focus for that moment was the now.

 

Though, she won’t deny the sudden protective nature jumping out made her wonder just what was with that man to make Sinb so on edge like this. As far as she’s heard from gossips here and there, the man was a good person, an overachiever and quite talented and charming. He was likely all things but the bad person that Sinb makes him out to be.

 

But then again, who would she believe more? The gossips or her friend?

 

She found no reason to doubt Sinb, after all, they’ve been hanging out for months and Sinb has always looked out for her and she certainly wasn’t the type of person who doesn’t act without reason.

 

She had paid her more attention when she found out Sojeun was a transferee and just happened to be in her class. When the underclassman found out, Sinb made sure to be there during breaks, lunches and after school as often as she could. Yerin also didn’t understand what was going on with her classmate since Sojeun also seemed adamant in interacting with her and she couldn’t help but be torn in her actions.

 

He hasn’t exactly given her any reason to avoid him yet but she didn’t want to worry Sinb either and so she’s settled with making sure to have as minimal contact with him as possible. It wasn’t as if she was desperate for new friends anyway. It was the only thing she could do so she wouldn’t worry Sinb any more than she already does. It was almost funny given how she was hard to read when they were still strangers but now she could practically read her like an open book.

 

Nearing the stairs, she was about to head up when she heard her name being called from a distance. Turning her head, she found Sojeun waving to her with a smile on his face and a slight rush in his steps as he began to approach.

 

“Yerin-ssi! Perfect timing. Remember our homework yesterday? I was hoping you could help me out–”

 

Yerin suddenly saw her view blocked by none other than Sinb, as the underclassman swiftly placed herself between her and Sojeun, surely for the purpose of making sure the man wouldn’t be able to come any closer. She could see Sinb already seething mad just at the presence of the man and she knew if she didn’t do something, things will turn out ugly in a second.

 

“Sorry Sojeun-ssi. Me and Sinb are sort of busy right now so I can’t help you with that…” Yerin began to say while keeping a firm grip on Sinb’s hand to keep her from doing anything she would regret.

 

She wished Sojeun would get the hint and leave them, unfortunately he seemed to be just as persistent, “Oh, that’s fine Yerin-ssi. We can just talk about it in class.”

 

He sent Sinb a smug look before bidding them farewell and going up the stairs ahead of them. Letting out a sigh, she pulled at Sinb’s arm to get the woman to face her and grew worried when Sinb wouldn’t take her eyes off Sojeun even as he already disappeared from their sights.

 

“Can’t I sit in your class or something?” Sinb asked, looking desperate that Yerin almost wanted to give in but the request was just impossible.

 

“Of course you can’t.”

 

Sinb pouted, grumbling under her breath, “If only I could fit in your bag or something…”

 

“Hey.” Yerin called, making Sinb face her properly again, “I can handle myself. Though I don’t really understand why you hate him so much but I’ll try to avoid him as much as I can for you. Is that fine?”

 

Sinb looked unsure but complied anyway since there wasn’t anything she can do about it.

 

“He really must have gotten under your skin if you hate him this much.” Yerin remarked as they made their way up the stairs, “Did he offend you before or anything?”

 

“No. But he… he just gives me a really bad feeling.”

 

“Wait, so you’re acting like this all from a gut feeling…?” Yerin stared in disbelief.

 

“It’s not just a gut feeling.” Sinb denied the assumption quickly, “He’s just… I’ve seen people like him before and they’re never good people…”

 

Yerin eyed her suspiciously. It was clear as day that Sinb was hiding something from her and based on how she was having difficulty trying to explain the situation to her, she knew it was something important and she hates not knowing about it and she hates how bothered Sinb is over it.

 

She knows there's a reason for her to be acting this way and the underclassman couldn’t say it out loud so all she could do now was have faith in Sinb. It wasn’t as if she had anything to lose anyway, and Sojeun did somehow make her feel uncomfortable most of the time.

 

“Alright.” Yerin just said, to Sinb’s delight, “But only if you promise me you’ll explain everything soon.”

 

Sinb seemed to hesitate at that, “I’ll try.”

 

Yerin didn’t like the answer but it looks to her that Sinb was really under restriction and decided to just go with it. It didn’t settle well with her how much she was in the dark about things but she had faith everything would be cleared up in time.

 

“Sinb, if you have any problems you know you can talk to me anytime right?”

 

“Where is this coming from all of a sudden?” Sinb raised her brows with a questioning look, but smiled anyway in assurance, “I’m fine. Things are just a bit complicated right now, but I’m sure everything will be alright again soon.”

 

Yerin nodded and returned the smile, once more entwining her hand with Sinb’s as they made their way to her classroom on the third floor. Sinb had always insisted on going with her there even if her room was in the second floor. When they reached their destination, Yerin was about to head in when Sinb’s hand gripped hers a bit tighter, preventing her from doing so. The underclassman had a pout on her face and a puppy dog look she was unknowingly displaying and Yerin knew the reason behind it.

 

“I promise I won’t interact unless necessary.” she stated, raising her right hand.

 

“It’s better if you don’t interact even when necessary–” Sinb paused seeing Yerin throw her a scolding look, “But yeah, sure, I can make do with that. Just be careful around him, okay?” she added softly and that almost made Yerin melt at how mellow her voice sounded but soon regained her bearings and nodded in agreement.

 

“Yerin-ah!” Looking up, she saw Hayoung and Joy making their way to her and she greeted them back with a wave.

 

“Guess that’s my cue, I’ll be here as soon as the break bell rings.” Sinb told her before leaving, not without greeting her two other friends, and was soon out of sight.

 

“…Are you girlfriends yet?” Joy had to ask causing a full blown blush to explode on Yerin’s face. The display brought out a laugh from the two.

 

“We’re not like that.” Yerin just rolled her eyes at them.

 

“That’s not what we saw earlier.” Hayoung remarked, “I felt like I was watching some cringey high school drama. All that’s left was the goodbye kiss and then we insert some CG effects of hearts fluttering all over--”

 

“What was that all about anyway?” Joy asked, interrupting Hayoung’s movie producer talk, “She looked a bit worried too.”

 

“Was it that obvious?” Yerin sighed, “She’s just worried about the new transfer we got.”

 

“Ooh. You mean that Yoo Sojeun? He seems nice though, but then again…” Hayoung and Joy shared a look, earning a confused glance from Yerin.

 

“What is it?” Yerin spoke up after a few minutes of watching the two communicating silently.

 

“Don’t you think Sinb’s acting that way because she’s jealous?” Joy grinned teasingly.

 

“Jealous?”

 

“Yerin-ah, you really need to get your eyes checked sometimes.” Hayoung shook her head with a tired sigh.

 

“My eyes are fine.” Yerin retorted, pouting, “I don’t think Sinb would be jealous of anyone anyway.”

 

“Because you only have eyes for her?”

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

This time the two let out chorused sighs, “Yeah, we’re going nowhere with this…”

 

Yerin tilted her head, confused and curious. Why did it feel like it was her fault when she didn’t even know what she did?

 

“Anyway, Sinb just wants me to stay away from Sojeun-ssi.” Yerin explained to the inattentive duo, “She said he makes her uncomfortable somehow.”

 

“I might know the reason why she might be feeling that way, never mind her feelings…” Hayoung turned to Joy who just shrugged meanwhile Yerin continued being clueless as to the two’s non-verbal communication, “But I guess I understand what she means.”

 

“Why? Sojeun-ssi’s nice from what I heard.”

 

“That’s the thing. He’s nice. Too nice if you ask me.” Joy frowned, “Like there’s nothing he can’t do.”

 

“He’s a bit too perfect for my taste. I don’t want to judge, but I’m judging anyway.” Hayoung added, “Sometimes people like that tend to hide their bad side really well, but then again, we’re not sure.”

 

“I’d follow Sinb’s words if I were you though. It’s not like you need to be friends with him.”

 

“Yeah, you already have us anyway.”

 

“We’re the most awesome friends you ever need.” Joy agreed.

 

Yerin had to laugh at that, the tense atmosphere dissipating into nothing as they fell back into a relaxed and easy conversation. The three of them talked a bit more before the bell rung, signaling the start of the first period. Yerin watched with a laugh at how the two practically bolted to their rooms, trying to get there before their first period teacher did, meanwhile she made her way to her own room, settling in and keeping her friends’ advices in her mind.

 

She was lucky enough to not be seatmates with Sojeun, or else avoiding him would prove to be more difficult.

 

 

“Yerin-ssi, hi.” said person looked up from her things as she was just preparing to head out when the bell for lunchtime came. Once she did, she saw Sojeun standing beside her table and looking down at her.

 

“Yes? Do you need anything?” Yerin asked, knowing it was probably a bad idea to be interacting with this person as the warnings from her friends once more invaded her mind but she really didn’t have any reason to give him the cold shoulder.

 

“Oh, I was just hoping if you’d like to have lunch with me? I’m trying to get to know everyone in my class. You know, transferee problems.” he chuckled, with Yerin joining albeit slightly forced, “And I noticed we haven’t interacted much? If that’s fine with you of course…”

 

“Right uh…” Yerin pursed her lips in thought, looking to the door. Sinb was usually here by this time just like earlier during break but she was strangely taking her time right now, “Unfortunately I already have a previous engagement so…”

 

“That’s a shame. Maybe next time then?”

 

He was being quite pushy for some reason, and Yerin did not like that. This wasn't the first time too. As he keeps on doing the same approach, he was starting to make it difficult to refuse his offer in a polite way. It almost seemed like he wanted her to snap at him.

 

“I’m going to have to decline that as well…” Yerin answered.

 

“Why?”

 

At this point, Yerin was getting annoyed but she tried not to show it. But she figured this man would not get the hint if she continued beating around the bush, “I think it’s up to me on who I decide to spend my breaks with, Sojeun-ssi. It’s fairly simple: I want to spend it with my friends, now if you’ll excuse me…”

 

“If I get to be your friend then maybe…?”

 

“Listen.” Yerin rose to her feet, oblivious to the gazes currently on them but she was already too annoyed to care, “I’m sorry, though I’m fine with being acquaintances, but I’m not so easy to be friends with, especially if you’re being this insistent. If you still don’t understand, then no, I don’t want to spend my lunch with you. I’m sorry, but I want to spend my personal time with who I want to spend it with.”

 

With that, she turned her heel and walked out, eager to be out of the room before Sojeun could say another word. Needless to say, she was sure their classmates would be talking about them now, and there might be good and bad opinions on the way she acted but she knew what she did was justifiable, and she wasn’t being rude on purpose.

 

“Yerin-unnie!” to her relief, a familiar voice called out just as she walked past the door and saw Sinb practically sprinting her way to where she stood. She met the underclassman halfway and gave her time to breathe.

 

“You took your time. What happened?”

 

Sinb stood up straight, thanking Yerin as she handed her a bottle of water, “Our teacher went overtime.” she huffed in annoyance, “Never mind me though. Why do you look so pissed? Did something happen?” her eyes widened, “Did that jerk do something to you?”

 

“No, well, a little I guess.” Yerin answered, “Let’s not talk about it here…”

 

“Yerin-ah!”

 

The two turned just in time to see Hayoung and Joy approaching.

 

“I heard some people talking on the way here.” Joy remarked as soon as she was within earshot, “Did something happen?”

 

“I guess? But nevermind that for now, I’m starving. Let’s go eat first then talk.”

 

As they shared a vacant table in the school courtyard, Yerin relived what happened to her a few moments ago and the three’s reactions was just as she expected. In Sinb’s case, she was trying to calm her down with how she almost stormed off surely to confront her classmate.

 

“Really, people should get the hint that no means no.” Joy remarked.

 

“He could have just spent it with someone else anyway.” Hayoung agreed, “I think you did the right thing Yennie.”

 

“You think so? He was being nice about asking though.” Yerin questioned, looking back on how she dealt with the situation.

 

“He sounded nice, but he was being disrespectful of your decision.” Sinb remarked, “If he was nice, he could have just accepted it and approached you in another way that wouldn’t offend you.”

 

“Being pushy doesn’t always mean he’ll get a yes anyway.” Hayoung added, “He should know that he shoud be mindful of how he approaches other people. The same methods don’t always work.”

 

“And again: no means NO.” Joy repeated, “And he should respect that. You didn’t do anything wrong Yerin-ah, so don’t be too hung up on it.”

 

“You’re right. I could have done better, but I think I was clear with how I conveyed my message.” Yerin shrugged, “Anyway, exams are coming up, do you girls want to have a group study this weekend at my place? My parents are out by that time.”

 

“…You just need my help in Science don’t you?” Joy questioned and Yerin just answered with an innocent grin, “Fine. But you better be ready with a buffet when we get there.”

 

“What would I do without you?” Yerin went over and engulfed her friend in a hug.

 

“Okay, okay, stop. Let go. Your girlfriend’s going to get jealous.” Joy pat the woman’s hand to get her off her while sneaking glances at the woman sitting across them. Yerin looked over to see Sinb looking away just in time.

 

“Didn’t even deny it.” Hayoung snickered, nudging Joy on the side as they watched Yerin going over to Sinb’s side again and began hugging her like there’s no tomorrow. Sinb was complaining, but the wide grin plastered on her face spoke otherwise.

 

 

Yerin and Sinb were heading to the library for the former’s library committee duties and as usual, Sinb had offered to stay with her until closing time, just as she did for the previous days. Yerin didn’t really want to admit that being alone in the library made her feel lonely, but Sinb must have sensed that and made sure to accompany her whenever she can.

 

Sometimes she thinks Sinb’s too good for someone like her.

 

They were just heading down the stairs, talking about trivial things when a figure suddenly blocked their way causing them to stop at the sudden appearance and their conversation to be put to a halt.

 

The person who stood before them Yerin recognized as Sinb’s classmate. She’d seen the two talking once in a while whenever Yerin felt in the mood to swing by Sinb’s classroom after classes but the underclassman has never mentioned her so Yerin remains in the dark as to who she is.

 

“Yewon?” Sinb’s brows raised in curiosity.

 

“Are you free right now?” the woman, Yewon, asked.

 

Sinb glanced over at Yerin briefly before answering, “As you can see–”

 

“She is.” Yerin cut her off before she could continue. Meanwhile the reply just made Sinb look over at her in mild surprise. With the way Yewon was staring, she could tell that the underclassman had something important to say and if it was important, she didn’t have any reason to keep Sinb from doing what she needed to do.

 

“Yerin-unnie–”

 

“Right. Let me borrow Sinb for a moment Yerin-sunbaenim.” Yewon hurriedly spoke, already in the process of grabbing Sinb’s hand and pulling her someplace a distance away. With a small bow of thanks in her direction, the two were soon out of sight, though she could still hear Sinb demanding what she wanted. Yerin just remained standing there, not knowing what to make of the situation that just presented itself to her. At the same time she felt weird.

 

Perhaps it was because she hasn’t really seen Sinb hang out with anyone else and such a scene felt new to her, but then again of course Sinb had friends besides her. It wasn’t that surprising but it made her feel uneasy.

 

Looking back on the way Yewon had grabbed Sinb’s hand without hesitation, it seems they were pretty close too…

 

Shaking her head of thoughts, she decides to just send Sinb a message to ask if they were still heading home together.

 

She got a reply when she finally reached the library, and to her disappointment, Sinb had informed her that something really important came up and she couldn’t go home with her. Though Yerin was crestfallen, a smile still lit up on her face when her phone chimed once more to reveal a quick additional message, saying that she can call her anytime if Sojeun bothers her or if she just wants to talk in general.

 

Shaking her head at Sinb’s seemingly overprotective nature, she went off to do her duties.

 

The following day, Yerin felt something had changed and she knew exactly what it was.

 

That morning Yerin and Sinb were on their way to her classroom only to result in Sinb being whisked away by Yewon once more, offering a quick apology to Yerin who just waved it off which left her heading to her class by herself. It didn’t help that Sinb didn’t even accompany her for lunch that day, or the next day, or even the day after that.

 

She was always going off with Yewon, to the point where Sinb would be the one to willingly drag the underclassman away unlike the previous times it happened. What bothered her more was that Sinb never tells her anything. She knew she really didn’t have the right to meddle but the curiosity was there and it’s only now she understands how curiosity killed the cat because at the moment she was dying to know what was going on between the two.

 

“Have you even tried asking Sinb about it?” Hayoung asks her during their lunchtime.

 

“I did but she said it’s just something they needed to work on. I didn’t push it because it wasn’t any of my business.” Yerin absentmindedly poked at her rice bowl.

 

“A project? They’re not even in the same class though?” Joy pointed out.

 

Hayoung elbowed her side, “Don’t give her more things to think about.”

 

“Either way, I know why you’re so bothered about it.” Joy looked over at Yerin with a grin while the latter just returned it with a tired glare.

 

“Is it one of your ridiculous theories again?”

 

“It’s not ridiculous when there’s evidence.”

 

“Where?” Yerin raised a brow.

 

Joy just pointed to her.

 

“…You just gestured to all of me.”

 

“Exactly.” the two chorus.

 

“Listen Yerin, it’s obvious as day you like Sinb more than a friend so you have to start coming to terms with that or this is forever going to bother you.”

 

“And your hoobae might end up being stolen right under your nose.”

 

“You two make it sound more threatening than it seems.” Yerin just jokingly replied, pairing it up with a smile that seemed a little too forced in other’s point of view but their words were continuously swimming in her mind, already adding to her other thoughts that has been bothering her since the beginning of time.

 

Did she really like Sinb in that way?

 

Yerin found herself mulling over it as she assumed her library duties that day and Sinb finally had the time to hang out with her. She found herself nearly jumping for joy at that but managed to keep herself under control, if to keep herself from looking like an idiot in front of Sinb.

 

“Is there something wrong?” Sinb asks her worriedly, looking over at her and Yerin realizes that she’s been spacing out since Sinb began talking about her day. She wasn’t about to admit that she got distracted just watching her underclassman talk and suddenly, like everything became high definition before her eyes, every single one of Sinb’s features stood out to her. It was almost unfair how she couldn’t find a single flaw in her.

 

“N-nothing.” Yerin stammered out, “You were saying?”

 

“I was asking if you want to go somewhere after this?”

 

“Somewhere…? I’m in the mood for pork belly today.” she answered after taking a second to think.

 

Sinb grinned, Yerin momentarily in a daze as she took that sight in, “Then pork belly it is. Lucky you I know a good place. Yewon brought me there just the other day.”

 

Yerin felt like someone just smashed the stop button on her moment of bliss and brought her back to real life.

 

Holding back a sigh, she checked the time and stood up, “Actually, nevermind. I feel a bit tired today so I’ll just head home.”

 

Yerin berates herself for acting this way, knowing Sinb doesn’t deserve the sudden cold shoulder. She even hates herself for doing this, but there are times when emotions are in control, rationality becomes non-existent.

 

Is she jealous? Yes.

 

Her friends were right after all. She wonders how come it took her this long and a bit of counseling from other people about her feelings for her to finally understand it.

 

“Hey, are you sure you’re okay?” Sinb stood up with her, approaching and grabbing hold of her wrist.

 

“I’m fine.” Yerin swallowed heavily, feeling her chest burning with the inner turmoil she was experiencing, “I’m just tired.”

 

“Let me help you close up then so we can get you home quicker.” Sinb announced, beginning to shuffle about.

 

Yerin prayed to the heavens for any form of help. Why was Sinb making it so difficult to stay mad?

 

Soon enough they were walking through the hallway out of the school with the two falling into easy conversation like it was the most natural thing for them. Her jealousy forgotten, Yerin laughs as Sinb relives a story which was abruptly cut off by a voice calling out to Sinb.

 

Yerin almost wanted to tell that person to get lost. Why are her moments with Sinb always getting interrupted? It was already frustrating her to no end.

 

However with the way the person jogged up to them, her expression completely serious, Yerin held herself from lashing out. Sojung was always a serious person but this time it seems a bit more than usual.

 

“Sorry, Yerin-ssi, I just need to borrow Sinb for a moment. I’ll be quick.”

 

Not knowing what else to say she just nodded and watched as Sojung pulled Sinb to the side and the two began speaking in hushed tones. Sojung looked frantic about something and with the way Sinb’s eyes widened at something Sojung said, Yerin thought it was best she didn’t eavesdrop.

 

But that proved to be useless when she heard Sinb suddenly raised her voice.

 

“This was all your fault in the first place!” Sinb hissed.

 

Sojung blinked, “My fault? What do you mean?”

 

“You told Yerin I wanted to be friends–”

 

“I never told her anything like that. I’ve never even approached her, more so talk to her.”

 

Yerin couldn’t help but glance up at the mention of her name. Why is she suddenly part of the conversation?

 

“What? But she told me–” Sinb’s eyes widened considerably and before Yerin understood what was going on, Sinb and Sojung were by her side interrogating her.

 

“Yerin, please be honest with me.” Sinb spoke in a frantic voice, “Did you approach me back then because Sojung told you I wanted to be friends?”

 

“Well… to be honest I’ve always been curious about you and maybe I did want to be friends, but I guess what Sojung-ssi said was the encouragement I needed.”

 

“See?” Sinb gestured to Sojung whose brows were furrowed considerably.

 

“Did I speak about it directly to you?” Sojung asked.

 

“Oh, no. Eunha did. She was asking me for some help back then and she mentioned it.” Yerin clarified, earning a curse from Sojung as she suddenly took off.

 

Surprised and curious, she turned to Sinb, silently asking for answer but the woman was currently deep in thought and didn’t seem aware of her surroundings. Worried, she reached out and grabs hold of her hand.

 

“Sinb?”

 

“Huh? Oh, Yerin, s–”

 

“What’s going on exactly?”

 

Sinb fell silent, showing that whatever was going on wasn’t something she could easily share to her. Still, Yerin thinks that this had gone on for long enough. She’s waited patiently and now, knowing that she is somehow involved with whatever is going on, she thinks she at least deserves answers.

 

“…Am I that untrustworthy?”

 

“Of course not!” Sinb exclaimed in alarm, “It’s just… It’s not something I can tell you or anyone else.”

 

“But Sojung-ssi and Yewon-ssi are allowed to know? What exactly is going on with you three?”

 

Sinb turned to her, “It’s complicated right now. I–” she huffed, “Listen, let’s just head to your home.”

 

“I’m not moving from here until you tell me what’s going on and what it has to do with me.”

 

“Yerin-unnie, this isn’t the time–”

 

“I just want to know.” Yerin begged. She hated being left out on something that involved her and if anything, that gives her the right to know what it was about.

 

Sinb looked troubled, but understood she couldn’t convince Yerin otherwise, “You’re in danger.” she mentioned finally..

 

“In danger?” she parroted.

 

“Yeah and that person is after you and some others as we speak.”

 

“And so you’re what? Someone sent to protect me?”

 

“…In a nutshell, yes.”

 

Yerin was having a hard time believing all of this. It was in fact easier to just consider what Sinb was saying is a lie. Someone sent a bodyguard to protect her? She isn’t someone important. They weren’t rich. Her parents were just normal employees of companies so who would even bother targeting someone like her? She was inclined to believe that Sinb was just pulling her leg here, but with the way the woman was acting, she could tell what she was telling her was no joking matter.

 

“Who sent you?”

 

“I can’t say that.” Sinb replied, “He’s just someone who wants everyone protected.”

 

Of course she had to provide an answer that didn’t help. But there was a more important issue for her right now upon hearing the revelation.

 

“That means you approached me just for a job then? You never really wanted to be friends?”

 

“What? Of course not. If anything, being your friend is the best thing that’s happened to me.”

 

“Why do I find that so hard to believe?” Yerin’s expression held a mixture of sadness and disappointment, as well as hurt, the latter being the most dominant, “Especially of the fact that if not for this job of yours, you wouldn’t even bother with me in the first place.”

 

“That’s not true.” Sinb winced upon speaking, it almost looked like she’s been zapped with electricity with how quick she shut once she finished the sentence.

 

“You can’t even lie properly.” Yerin pointed out.

 

“Yerin, please just trust me on this.” Sinb begged.

 

“How can you ask me to trust you when you haven’t been honest with me in the first place?” she sighed. Her head was swimming with so many thoughts at the moment, she didn’t even know what to feel anymore.

 

“I’ll be heading home.” she announced.

 

“B-by yourself?”

 

“I…” Yerin bit her lip as she hesitated. Though she knew that Sinb did it for her sake, it doesn’t change the fact that their friendship might not have been genuine in the first place and that hurt her more than it should, “I just need to be alone right now.”

 

Without waiting for a reply, she walked off, her heart heavy as she listened to Sinb calling after her. It wasn’t Sinb’s fault, she was just doing what she’s been told to do, but still…

 

Looking at Sinb is painful for her right now. She needed a breath of fresh air and some time for herself to organize her thoughts and feelings.

 

 

Yerin found herself almost collapsing on the sofa in fatigue, the day’s events having exhausted her more than she liked. Even thinking was already burdensome. All she wants is to close her eyes and sleep everything away. It made her momentarily curious as she was fine just a few moments ago but perhaps maybe everything was crashing in on her now and making her more tired than normal.

 

Sleep. Right, what she needs is sleep. Like a mantra playing nonstop in her head, she understood that it was the most important thing to her right now. In sleep, you don’t feel anything and that’s exactly what she needs for herself.

 

Closing her eyes to do just that, it didn’t even take a second for unconsciousness to claim her and whisk her away to the realm of dreams.

 

When she regained consciousness as she slowly stirred awake, she noticed how she was laying atop something hard and cold. She knew the couch was uncomfortable, but not to this extent. Eyes fluttering open, the first she noticed was the pitch black darkness that met her eyes that looked similar to the night sky. Worse than that, she wasn’t looking up at the familiar ceiling of her home. In fact, she wasn’t looking at any ceiling at all because there wasn’t one in the first place.

 

Yerin’s eyes snapped open when she realized she was looking up at the night sky, the cold breeze blowing against her startling her awake.

 

“You’re finally awake.” a sudden voice spoke, causing her to sit up abruptly in panic and look around for the source with her heart hammering loudly in her chest.

 

“Well, you haven’t even slept for an hour, so it hasn’t been that long.” the voice said again and this time she hears approaching footsteps giving her a vague idea where the person is.

 

Sure enough, when she turned, a figure was standing before her.

 

Her eyes widened when she recognized who it is, “Sojeun-ssi…”

 

Yerin shook her head, “This has to be a dream.”

 

“Eh, they all say that.” Sojeun spoke as he checked his nails, “Until they realize it’s as real as it can get.”

 

Yerin laughs, “That’s impossible, I was just at home–”

 

“And I took you from your home and brought you here!” he grinned spreading his arms and looking proud, as if telling her to praise him for what he did, “Seriously Yerin-ssi, you were the most difficult to deal with and it’s all because of that pesky guardian of yours but that’s fine, everything’s gone according to plan in the end.”

 

“What in the world are you talking about?”

 

Yerin backed away as he took a step closer.

 

“You know, before you actually take another scoot back, you should probably check what’s behind you.” he warned, gesturing behind Yerin at the same time. Yerin, slightly looking warily over at him, found herself following his words and taking a brief glance behind her only to find her heart dropping to the pit of her stomach and blood to completely drain out of her face at what she saw.

 

Her entire body seized up, her chest tightening as breathing quickly started to become difficult for her. She tried her hardest to look away, but she couldn’t make her body move. She was completely paralyzed in her spot as one of her greatest fears presented itself to her.

 

​​​​She was tens, no hundreds of feet off the ground.

 

Yerin lost feeling in all of her limbs, her vision becoming hazy as she tried her best to stay conscious but that was proving to be a challenge with how unstable she felt. Her hands were desperately patting and feeling the floor underneath her, but the numbness was making it worse, making it seem like she was floating on air and ready to fall anytime.

 

She shut her eyes tightly, her entire body breaking out in spasms as she tried not to think. She was already struggling to breathe, tears breaking out of her face as she tried in vain to get herself to calm down. Her hands tapped the floor desperately, a way to assure herself that there was still something underneath her.

 

“Damn, I thought you weren’t worth all the effort I had to go through to finally get you here, but that face is the best one I’ve seen.” Sojeun laughed.

 

“W-why…?” she managed to gasp out, feeling the closest she has ever felt to passing out.

 

“Why? Oh, you’re asking why I’m doing this?” he hummed, “I just felt like it. It’s too much hassle turning you into one of us, so the better option is to get rid of you. My favorite option if you ask me.” he grins happily as he says this.

 

The confusion must have somehow made its way to Yerin’s expression as he continued to explain.

 

“You’re too pure, it takes too much effort to taint you with sin, so it’s better to just get rid of you completely. We need this world to be as evil as possible you know? You and your stupid league of guardians are in the way.” he clasped his hands together, “Now, I think that’s enough having fun. As much as I enjoy this, I still have places to go, people to tempt.” he shrugged, “The usual stuff.”

 

Yerin then watched with fearful eyes as he approached closer, squatting in front of her and then shows her a sinister smile that was enough to make her blood run cold, “This isn’t a dream Jung Yerin.” he chuckled, “It’s reality and you know what’s better than reality?”

 

He paused a bit, reaching over to pat her cheek affectionately, Yerin flinching at the contact.

 

“A real life nightmare.”

 

Placing a hand on her shoulder, he pushed.

 

She felt her heart stop completely. Her entire body leaning back and plunging into the depths below.

 

All Yerin could remember was the sinister grin plastered on Sojeun’s face before her view was overtaken by the night sky above her and the top of the tower she was just on getting smaller and smaller as she fell.

 

Yerin didn’t even know what to do, it was like her brain has ceased all motor function, making her look like a rag doll, helpless and hopeless as she fell to her inevitable demise. She wanted to scream, cry, but the situation hasn’t even sunk in just yet.

 

She was falling and she was going to die.