Joohyun decided that they would meet on the fourth floor outside staircase lobby C. From that location, she led Seulgi to the rooftop of the school, which according to Joohyun, was an ideal hideaway. The access door to it was cleverly camouflaged by being painted the same colour as the wall that surrounded it.

“I never know we can come up here,” Seulgi shut her eyes to enjoy the breeze brushing past her face. “This is like a place where you can escape from the rest of the world.”

“You are right. I like to come here when I feel the need to get away from negativities, like stress and other depressing things.”

“Thank you for sharing your private space with me.”

“If you like it, we can use this place as our secret rendezvous,” Joohyun suggested.

Seulgi’s growling stomach responded before she could. “Oops, did I just ruin the moment?”

Joohyun rubbed Seulgi’s stomach in circles, “Never mind, you have answered my question. Any place works for you as long as there is food.”

A few moments later… after the food was laid out…

“Seulgi-yah. You don’t have to rush. This is not an eating competition,” Joohyun watched in amusement as Seulgi wolfed down the rice rolls.

“Halmoni makes the best kimbap in the world,” Seulgi praised Granny’s culinary skill after swallowing her rice properly. “Does that mean her back has recovered?”

“My Halmoni can never sit still for a minute. Even when she had sprained her back, she would be like ‘You only need your hands to cook, not your back’,” Joohyun spoke like an old lady in an attempt to imitate her granny. “How about you, are your wounds getting better?”

Seulgi nodded her head, but her response did not convince Joohyun. “Are you sure you are not hiding anything from Unnie?”

“Would you like to see it for yourself?” Seulgi peeled down the neckline of her top seductively to expose her shoulder.

“No thank you,” Joohyun looked away in embarrassment as memories of Seulgi’s slender and toned bodyline were coming back to her. “By the way, you haven’t explained why you were late. You promised to tell me the details later when you texted me just now.”

“Oh… I had a shower before I met you,” Seulgi had changed into her Physical Education attire, which she won’t need in the next two days.

“Is that necessary?” contrary to her words, Joohyun inched closer towards Seulgi to have a whiff of her fresh-out-of-shower scent.

“I thought I want to smell good for Unnie on our first date.”

“Yeah right. Tell me the truth.”

Seulgi sighed and recounted her misadventures that day. (Please re-read to chapter 5 if you need a refresher).

“Okay, I take that back. The shower is necessary. I certainly won’t want to date a walking toilet.”

After they had finished their lunch, Seulgi showed Joohyun the latest entry in her personal sketchbook, which depicted the interaction between Joohyun and her granny in their humble home when the latter sprained her back. One could feel the strength and tenderness in the way Joohyun helped her Granny up from the floor. Even the physical details of her home were meticulously presented in the background.

“Seulgi-yah. When did you do this? I don’t remember seeing you paint at my home on that day.”

“I worked on it during the weekends. Remember? I had a good photographic memory,” Seulgi flashed a V sign and placed it against her head.

“Your drawing’s likeness to Halmoni was amazing, even when you only saw her for less than half a day.”

“Thank you…” Seulgi felt good earning Joohyun’s approval, “for telling me what nobody does.”

Joohyun patted Seulgi’s head and gently laid it down to rest on her lap. She took over Seulgi’s sketchbook and flipped through it to get an insight into her portfolio.

“Who is this Krystal?” Joohyun pointed at the girl in the drawing titled: Krystal’s Figure Skating Debut.

“Oh. She’s the daughter of the foster family I stayed with. We become close friends as we grew up together. Now she is studying in the same class as me.”

“Almost every drawing is about her, as if she’s your muse,” Joohyun commented after browsing through a few more pages. “You like her a lot, don’t you?”

“… She’s my first crush, but it no longer matters…” Seulgi’s eyes wandered away from the artwork, staring at nothing in particular. “She has a boyfriend already.”

“Aww… you must have been heartbroken…” Joohyun gently placed her tiny palm on Seulgi’s thorax, stirring the latter’s attention back to where she was.

“Initially it hurt. Then I met Unnie…” Seulgi’s gaze slowly shifted upwards to meet Joohyun’s eyes. “Whenever I’m with Unnie, I can forget about Krystal for a while.”

A small smile formed on Joohyun’s lips as she looked away slightly. Like a girl who had received compliments from someone that mattered to her, Seulgi thought as she witnessed the moment. She made a mental note of what she saw for her next masterpiece. Just then, her mobile phone vibrated.

“Yeoboseyo,” Seulgi answered. Her jaws dropped from hearing what the caller had said. “Ok. I’d be there asap. Thank you.”

“What happened?”

“My Omma got into a fight at the bar. The hospital called and asked me to pick her up.”

“Oh… I would like to accompany you if not for…”

“It’s ok, Unnie. It is your Gardening Club duty today. I can manage this alone.”

“Do keep me updated.”

“Sure thing. See you tomorrow.”

Many hours later... 

Night had fallen and Mr Oh was still in school. He worked overtime to clear his work as he would be taking a long break the following week to spend time with his family on a trip. Halfway through his work, he felt his eyes drooping, so he went to the vending machine outside to get his much-needed coffee fix.

“Yah! Why are you still in school? Do you know what time is it?” Mr Oh’s booming voice maintained the usual intensity despite his tiredness.

Unintimidated by Mr Oh’s authority, the female student remained where she was a few meters away, head hanging low.

“Are you deaf or what?” Students who ignored Mr Oh’s question were his greatest peeve, as he took it as a sign of insolence for treating his presence with contempt.

This time, the student moved a little backward to lean against the wall. Folding her arms, crossing her legs, head still pointing downwards, it’s like her way of initiating the battle. Rude students were nothing new in Mr Oh’s career, but this one really took the cake.

“How dare you… Look up and answer me!”

Little did Mr Oh realise that he would regret making that statement, as the student slowly lifted her head as told to prove the point.

“Wait a minute… Ji.. Ji…” a sense of familiarity hit Mr Oh once the face was revealed in full glory. “It can’t be. I must be tired that I am seeing things. Jihyun died many years ago. Drinking some coffee should help.”

Forgetting that the coffee was freshly brewed, Mr Oh absentmindedly took a big gulp and scalded his throat. Screaming in pain, Mr Oh dropped to his knees. Before he had a chance to recover, Mr Oh’s chin was being lifted up by what felt like a finger. Forced to face the ghastly pale Jihyun, Mr Oh’s bladder caved in to the terrifying sight and emptied its content.

“Ji… Jihyun-ah. I… I’m sorry. I know I haven’t been nice to you when you were alive. But I didn’t cause your death. You know very well, right?” Mr Oh begged pathetically.

Jihyun’s lips curved into a sly smile as her fingers pointed upwards slowly. To Mr Oh’s horror, his body moved in sync with the finger movements of Jihyun, completely against his will.

“Stop it! Jihyun-ah! Where are bringing me to?!”

When Mr Oh was telekinetically brought in front of the vending machine, his lower back was forced into an arch. Once his head was at the same level as the dispenser compartment, it was savagely shoved into the confined space that barely fit his skull.

“SOMEBODY! HELPPPPP!” As if that was the passcode, the vending machine revved into action. It dispensed hot coffee that aimed right into Mr Oh’s opened mouth, searing his esophagus along the way.

“AHHHHHHHHHH!” Mr Oh’s waistline expanded as more coffee was force-fed to him. Eventually, he could not keep up with the endless streams of incoming brown liquid and choked on the content. His body laid limply while his head remained stuck in the compartment.

“Jihyun Im Ni Da”

These words wrote themselves on the wall in coffee stain. The screaming stopped and silence resumed to fill the remaining hours of the night.