Minju's POV

I've always wondered what it's like to live in silence. That feeling where you wouldn't have to care about anything, words people say won't affect you in any way.

Wouldn't that be peaceful? You can shut people out so you wouldn't hear a bunch of bull floating around especially when they're useless insults given to you or someone else.

There's this girl, she transferred to my school about two weeks ago. No one knows why she transferred.

At first, people asked but she blatantly ignores whoever is talking to her. The instant she did, rumours spread about her being ignorant, and not wanting to socialise with people. I don't blame her for not wanting to, this school's a little wonky.

Basically, she was the topic for the past few weeks.

I've never spoken to her because my group of friends told me not to. She's in my class and sits in the corner, always listening attentively.

That's until I found out she wasn't.

"Guess what I heard," Miyeon spoke while I looked up with chopsticks in my mouth.

"Ahn Yujin," she said.

"What about her?" Yena sips on the seaweed soup. We're currently in the cafeteria.

"I heard she's deaf." I think I might've bit on my tongue the moment she said that.

"Huh?"

"Yeah. That's why she hasn't been talking to anyone. She can't hear us." Miyeon shrugged, reaching for her little carton of milk. I'm not sure if she's speaking the truth or whether it's some rumour she got from others.

Miyeon loves to eavesdrop on gossip. She's our daily news reporter. Not the most credible.

"Are you sure that's not just some random information you picked up on the way?" Yena snickered. We can't really trust her on these things.

"Yeah, but it makes sense." Miyeon tried explaining.

"Wouldn't the tutor tell us if she's unable to hear?" I asked.

I mean, we should be made known of that fact the moment she came into this school. Now that brings me to the question of how she listens to class.

"There's something called hearing aids Kim Minju." Yena pointed her spoon at me as if I asked something stupid. "Maybe she just doesn't want us to know."

"Why wouldn't she?" My eyebrows furrowed.

"I don't know. You can go talk to her if you wanna know."

"You guys told me not to." I frowned.

"That's because we don't want you to get hurt. You know what Eunbi and the gang do to her." I may be clumsy but I know how to defend myself.

"She's an outcast Minju-ah. You don't wanna talk to an outcast unless you wanna be one." Yena agreed with her.

"Do they know about her?" I asked about Yujin being deaf. I really hate labelling her like this. Is there any other way I can, you know, address her?

"Obviously. They were the ones I heard it from." Miyeon finished up the last bit of her food, wiping clean with tissues. "I mean, what else can they pick on her for? Her height?"

"She's tall." Yena raised. She is tall and I see her standing up from her seat right at the corner of my eye.

Ahn Yujin. I'm not sure why she wants to keep that little secret of hers but she probably has a reason to. Although I can't come up with a possible one.

She walks towards the counter and smiles at the lunch lady. I don't know if anyone sees this side of her. She rarely smiles.

Okay, I'm just assuming she smiled at the lady because all I can see is her back along with those shoulders that aren't too broad but not too narrow.

Perfect for her height.

She puts her AirPods in and walks out of the cafeteria.

"If she's deaf, why is she wearing earphones?" Yena was probably looking in the same direction as I did.

"To cover up the fact that she's deaf. Duh. I wouldn't have noticed if they didn't talk about it. I actually thought she might be an actual ." Miyeon stands up with her tray.

"You're done?" I asked, hastily shoving the last few bits of the seaweed into my mouth.

"You always eat so slowly." Miyeon shakes her head. "You guys just eat too fast." I chased after those two before we head back to class.







 

Third person POV

Minju enters the class 10 minutes before the lesson starts, ditching her two friends who were busy fixing themselves in the bathroom. She doesn't know who they're trying to look good for but doesn't care less.

And there she is again, the tall silent girl sitting at the corner of the class, busy sketching away in her sketchbook.

Minju walks up and sits beside her. "Yujin," she calls and as expected, there was no reply. The girl didn't even spare her a glance. She was in her own world.

How is it possible for her to not sense someone's presence? Minju saw her drawing landscapes, perhaps straight from memory with only a wooden pencil. The details of it impressed Minju.

She then decided to softly tap on her shoulder, finally getting her attention.

She stares at Yujin who stared back at her, blinking slowly. Minju hesitated for a moment, not knowing what to say. Even if she knew, the latter wouldn't be able to hear her.

She voluntarily retrieved a pencil from the table, gently takes the textbook, and flipped to a page.

She wrote, "I'm Kim Minju." She shifts it to Yujin who got a little confused at what she was doing but reads what she wrote.

The girl nods at her introduction. Yujin then points at her nametag. "Ah." Minju laughs awkwardly and scratched her head.

"I know about you." Yujin read it, raising both eyebrows and looking at Minju who tapped on her ear.

Yujin drops her gaze, looking as if she didn't expect anyone to know about it other than the group of seniors.

She decides to take the textbook, writing, "How?" Minju read it, seeing how the girl wanted to know before penning down, "Seniors."

Yujin nodded slowly, resting her forearms on her sketchbook. Minju shifted the textbook to her. "I know this may sound stupid but can you hear me? They said you might have hearing aids. I probably look really stupid doing all this."

The corner of Yujin's lips curled up slightly. She shook her head and pointed to her ear, telling Minju she was totally unable to hear.

Minju's mouth went slightly agape, nodding. Out of curiosity, she pens down, "Then how do you listen to classes?" Yujin read it before tapping on the textbook.

"That's all?" Yujin nods. That's when she got confused about how she knew what she was saying.

Yujin then gestured to her lips before writing, "I can lip read." Minju's eyes went a little wide. It's her first time interacting with someone who's unable to hear and she gets excited easily.

"So you know what I'm saying?" Yujin nodded straightaway, earning a small smile from Minju.

"You'll have to speak slowly."

Yujin then pointed in front of the class. The teacher arrived.

Minju was honestly surprised at how she didn't realise the time. Everything felt so silent with the both of them conversing through paper.

She got asked to go back to her seat.

"Wanna be friends?" Minju asked, standing up. Yujin hesitates with a small nod.

Minju smiled and went back to her seat, oblivious to the stares given to her.

"What are you doing?" Yena pulled her down to sit before Minju decides to pry her eyes from Yujin.

"Making a new friend," she said, taking out her textbook. "I don't want her to be alone at the back." She stands again.

"Where are you going?" Yena furrowed her eyebrows while the brunette walked towards where Yujin was, settling in the seat beside hers. Permanently.

"She's insane." Miyeon shook her head, knowing Minju was getting herself involved with the seniors intentionally.

"Kim Minju, go back to your seat." The tutor called but heard Minju suggesting a change of seats. "Really?"

Minju nodded, smiling as she looked at Yujin who was a little flustered to have someone wanting to associate with her.

Yujin's eyes stayed on the girl who placed her stationary nicely on the desk, leaving her bag under the table before opening up the textbook. Minju noticed, about to ask Yujin to listen to the tutor but remembered how she only had to go through the textbook. Yujin realises the little piece of Post-it Minju stuck on her arm.

"Are you just going to keep looking at me?" She sees that smile dance on Minju's lips.

She has never seen someone smiling at her because of her, not that she knows it's because of her. But the way that smile struck Minju's face upon looking at her made her think that way.

Yujin took the Post-it off and proceeded to read her textbook, not wanting to distract the girl who was attentively listening in class. 







 

Just like on other days of the week, Yujin stepped into school with eyes pinned on her. She walked towards her first class of the day just to be halted in the middle of the hallway by Eunbi's gang.

They're in the fourth year and Yujin's in the second.

"Look who's here." The older girl grinned, folding her arms. Yujin kept her head low, backing up slowly. "Where are you going?" Eunbi tried swathing her arm around the junior who was a little too tall for her.

"Bend down," she ordered but Yujin didn't spare her a glance. "Right, she's deaf." Eunbi chuckled, grabbing onto Yujin's tie and dragging her along.

The younger girl could only follow, having no way to rebel against the seniors. She constantly hung her head low, ignoring the stares given by other students who were loitering in the hallway. Before she knew it, Eunbi hauled her into a vacant storage room and locked her in there without her bag.

"Have fun calling for help." The older girl tossed the key to one of her friends, Chaewon, who chuckled at the whole scene. They settled the kid's bag against the wall and walked off.

Yujin froze on the spot. She looks around, patting her pocket to recall she left her phone in her bag. Of all days. She fiddled with the doorknob but to no avail. Exhaling deeply, she walks to the other end, looking out the window to see other students in the school field.

She had roughly ten minutes before classes start. She leans against the window, not knowing why she had to be treated this way. Maybe it's her fate to get picked on, being different from others with no way to defend herself.

She thought things might be different here, but clearly, there had to be that handful of people who couldn't understand her.

After a few minutes, she snapped out of her thoughts, remembering she had an Apple watch on her wrist. Thank god.

She swipes the screen and realises she doesn't know anyone in this school, nor did she have anyone's number.

She internally cursed but recalled something else. Minju wrote her number somewhere in her textbook which was also out in the hallway.

Yujin knitted her eyebrows together, a finger tapping against the rim of the watch as she tries her best to remember those numbers. But she really didn't want Minju to know about her situation, let alone be the person who is able to get her out of there.

A light bulb appeared above her head, recalling Minju's number. You could say she has a great memory. Of course, she decided to come up with something about her getting locked in here.

She quickly entered the number, messaging the girl. What made her pause is how this would be the first text she'll be sending to a new friend.

But she went on with it anyway.

—

Minju sat down in her seat, wondering where Yujin is. "Ya," Yena called. "Did you do your tutorial?" Minju pulled out a little file and passed it to Yena.

"I can help you know?" Miyeon brings up. "Your answers are always wrong," Yena said, earning a smack to the back of her head.

"Did you guys see Yujin on the way here?" Minju suddenly asked, seeing both her friends shake their heads.

"Why do you care? She might be late or something."

"She's never late," Minju claimed, earning a weird look from Yena. "And how do you know? You literally only talked to her yesterday."

"Attendance list." Minju's the class president. "Right." Yena continued copying the girl's answer.

Minju felt her phone vibrating and picked it up to see an unknown number texting her.

Unknown: Can you help me?

Minju raised an eyebrow, thinking this might be some type of scam.

Unknown: It's Yujin.

The girl's mouth went agape.

Minju: Where are you? Classes are starting soon.

That was the first thing she needed to know. The girl took a while to reply.

Yujin: Storage room, level 5.

"Why is she all the way there?" Minju stands up with her eyes pinned to her phone.

Miyeon and Yena noticed. "Where are you going?"

"I'll be right back."

Minju briskly walked towards the storage room, not knowing why she was in there in the first place. Their class is on the second level.

She stops in front of the storage room and noticed Yujin's bag beside the door. Minju turns the knob but it was stuck. She looks around, spotting one of the janitors walking towards the lift. "Mr Yoo!" Minju waves at the old guy to go to her.

"Oh. Minju-ah, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in class?" The man walks toward her, confused. He's one of the most friendly janitors, knowing Minju because of her politeness and respect for others.

"Could you open this up for me? It seems to be locked."

He tilted his head, hand reaching for his set of dangling keys. "It's usually not locked," he commented, trying to open it but Minju wasn't lying. Without hesitation, Mr Yoo unlocked the door to see a girl standing in the room. "Aigoo." He got slightly startled.

Minju stared at Yujin who had that usual shy, flustered look on her face. She had her hair up in a ponytail with strands of loose hair covering the sides of her forehead.

"Why are you in there?"

Yujin bowed to the man and picked up her bag. Minju thanked Mr Yoo who didn't really get an explanation from them.

"It'll not happen again," Minju told the man who nodded, going off to run his own errands. She turns to see Yujin standing there, staring at her like always. Minju let out a brief sigh, gesturing for the girl to follow her.

They walked towards the lift and waited. Minju made sure the latter was looking at her. "Why were you in there?"

Yujin reached for her phone in the bag. Minju tugged on her sleeve, pulling her into the lift while the girl asked her to look at her phone.

Yujin: I got curious and went in.

Minju didn't know what she could possibly be curious about when the storage room mostly had food and equipment donated by parents.

Yujin: Apparently the door could lock itself.

"Really?" The taller girl nodded. Well, Minju didn't really know much about the rooms up here despite being in this school longer than her.

They went out of the lift and walked toward their class. "Don't go there without someone next time." Yujin nods with lips pressed together.

...

In the middle of class, Minju pasted a piece of Post-it on Yujin's textbook. "Do you want to eat with us later?" She looked at Minju who was looking in front, paying attention to the tutor.

Yujin nodded slowly. Minju let out a little smile and continued doing her work.

Yujin had to admit she liked seeing Minju smile even when she did nothing but merely breathed. However, there were constant reminders in her head telling her Minju is probably doing all this because she was the class president.

Maybe she got asked to, seeing how she has been alone the past few weeks upon enrolling into this school. Everything was out of sympathy, Yujin thinks.

The taller girl took the Post-it, sticking it into her little sketchbook that was under her table.

Feeling a little bored, she rested her chin on her palm.

Unknowingly, she turns her head, facing Minju who was taking down notes in her notebook. It was an English class.

She wonders what Minju's voice is like and how it would sound. It must be pleasant. All she can do now is stare at the girl seated beside her, feeling vibrations resonating from the tutor's voice, imagining what Minju's voice might sound like.

Soft, sweet, melodic. It might even be deep, she thought. Just based on the vibrations she felt from Minju's voice alone, she knew it definitely sounded heavenly.

Minju felt a stare, realising it was Yujin's. The latter was smiling softly, rays of sunlight drawing over her head. She wrote something on her yellow Post-it, smacking it onto Yujin's forehead, startling the girl.

She chuckles softly, doing her own work. The taller girl furrowed her brows, taking the paper off. "I'm not your textbook." Minju gestured at the book, asking her to focus.

To be fair, Minju has a face that distracts anyone from studying. Having the girl right beside her made it hard for Yujin to concentrate, knowing how she would unconsciously glance at her even if she didn't intend to.

As days go by, the urge to stare at the brunette made Yujin think she was coming to school for her. Instead of staring at endless words written in her textbook, she finds it easier to look at Minju.

Something about her face makes her forget about other things she's going through with adapting to this new school of hers.

...

Yena and Miyeon stared at the two in front of them with a fork and a spoon in each hand. Minju started eating, only pausing when she realises how the other three weren't eating.

"Why is she eating with us?" Yena whispered, not going out of notice by Yujin.

"I told her she can join us." Minju smiles at Yujin, motioning for her to eat.

Miyeon's eyes never left the taller girl, slowly scooping a spoonful of rice. "So you totally can't hear us?"

"She can lip read so don't try spouting nonsense." Minju cut in, earning a blank look from Miyeon.

Yena got curious too. "Can you speak?" Yujin shook her head.

"Why are you even asking?"

Yena shrugged. "Not all deaf people can't speak. Some can through practice." She insisted.

Minju looked at Yujin who ate with ease. "Don't mind them." The taller looked at her with the spoon in . Yujin shook her head, telling Minju it was fine.

"Can you do sign language?" Yujin's nod made Yena smile. "Teach me something."

Minju shakes her head in disbelief, drinking her soup. "I only know this." Yena raised her middle finger, making Yujin smile.

"That's probably all." Yena continued eating.

"I'm not letting her teach you useless things," Minju told Yena who scoffed lightly.

"You're talking as if you own her Kim Minju." Miyeon laughs, earning a slight glare from the girl.

Minju then put her arm over Yujin's shoulder, bringing her closer. Yujin froze, spoon lifted up halfway. "She's mine. I'm her only friend and you guys won't stand a chance trying to mess her brain up with your stupidity." Minju looks at Yujin who didn't move.

"You're scaring her," Miyeon said. Minju gently ruffles the girl's hair, letting her go.

Yena rested her elbow on the table. "From now on, don't listen to her. We're your friends now." Yujin looked at Minju as if she were asking for the girl's opinion.

"It's up to you to regard them as your friends." Minju brushes her hair, tucking it behind her ear.

Yujin let out a small smile.

"She smiles," Yena spoke, finding it amusing to see the girl smile for the first time.

"Of course she does." Minju was on the verge of ditching her two friends who asked nothing but a bunch of useless questions. "And it's cute when she does," she added, looking at Yujin who reached for the little pack of chocolate milk.

Minju reached her hand out, grabbed Yujin's chin and made the girl face her.

The latter flinched slightly when Minju said, "Smile."

Yujin frowned slightly, heart thumping against her chest as memories flashed past her eyes.

Flashback...

A girl was seen being thrown against the floor of the rooftop, wincing in pain, having a small wooden plank forcefully thrown on top of her.

"You think we'll stop if you tell the teachers?" A girl with hair tied into tight ponytail steps on the plank, pushing out a small groan. Subtle laughter could be heard coming from two taller girls behind, picking up expired packets of milk from the floor.

"Yah Ahn Yujin. Why aren't you answering?" The girl squats down. "Jiyoung-ah, she's deaf, remember?" A girl passes the milk to Jiyoung who grinned. Yujin had the corner of her lip busted, perhaps from a punch earlier.

"There's nothing you can do to us Yujin-ah." She gently voices out, fiddling with the milk carton. "No matter how many times you tell on us, always remember who owns this school you're in." She hovers the milk above Yujin's head, seeing her eyes quiver.

"Say you're sorry." Jiyoung saw tears making their way down Yujin's cheeks. She then holds onto her chin, forcing Yujin to look at her. "Say it." She knew the latter was unable to speak up.

The look on Ji-young's face made her tremble, the grip on her chin tightening with the milk carton tipping towards her head. "Or smile and nod. That's all you can do, right?" Jiyoung laughs softly.

Yujin's lip quivered, limbs unable to move from the plank pressing against her.

"Smile Yujin-ah."

The poor girl shut her eyes tight, feeling ice-cold streams of milk pouring over her head as she gasps for air.

Jiyoung's face went blank in an instant, dumping all the milk over Yujin before forcefully letting go of her. "ing useless." She kicks the girl. Yujin holds onto her elbow.

"You better not say a word for the rest of your life if you don't want me to murder you myself."

End of flashback...

Yujin snapped out of it, seeing Minju asking her to smile.

Her lips quivered into a tiny dimpled smile, earning a satisfied beam from Minju. "Just look how cute she is when she smiles." She gently squishes Yujin's cheeks and lets go of her. The girl looks down, slowly opening up her milk.

She ever wonders why Minju doesn't hesitate to have physical contact with her when the whole school treats her like someone who has a disease.

Minju noticed how Yujin was staring at her milk and decided to tap on her arm. "What's wrong?"

"She's definitely afraid of you guys." Miyeon snickered, inhaling all her soup in one go.

Yujin smiled and shook her head. She then shifted the milk to Minju. "You don't want it?" The taller girl shook her head again. Minju took it, thanking her since she loves chocolate milk too.



 

The last bell of the day rang, signalling the end of school hours. Minju stretches her arms while Yujin packs her stuff. It has been two weeks since Minju became her seatmate.

Minju flipped through her heap of books under her table, pulling out a little folder that had a post-it note on top, and placing it on Yujin's desk.

The taller girl noticed, reading, "Notes for Ahn Yujin." Minju gave her a little smile, retrieving her bag.

Yujin shifted the file back to her and shook her head, telling her she can't take it but Minju insisted. "I made it for you." She pushes her chair into the desk.

Minju bid goodbye to her before dashing out of class, leaving the taller girl dumbfounded. Yujin flips through the little stack of papers in the file, realising how it consists of notes from all subjects they took since school started, neatly categorised into sections.

Handwritten. How long did Minju take to do all this?

She saw Minju walking with a guy before they were out of her sight. Yujin looked back at the light blue file.

She noticed another Post-it on the cover page. "I thought it would be better if you knew what the tutors were teaching instead of reading the textbooks alone. We have tests coming soon so you better study them well." It ends off with a little stick figure crossing its arms, frowning.

Yujin snickers softly, gently placing it into her bag.








 

A tall girl enters the room, gaining the attention of a middle-aged lady who was sitting at the desk placed at the side of the room. "Have you eaten?" She signs with her hands, earning a nod from Yujin.

They both got ready for a tutoring session. Yujin smiled, pulling out the file Minju gave her.

"What's that?" The lady curiously asks, while Yujin signs, "From a friend."

"Friend?" Yujin nodded with a smile.

"How nice of her."

"She's really nice." Yujin signs, that smile never leaving her face. The lady chuckles, finding it pleasing to see her this happy after a long time.








 

Yujin reaches home, making her presence known by flickering the lights. She lives in a small two-level bungalow that has a small yard front and back.

Her mother walks out of the laundry room to see Yujin settling her shoes aside. "Are you hungry?" The lady signs, earning a nod from Yujin.

She went into her room, hauling her bag aside before going into the bathroom for a quick shower.

Not long after, she came back out, wet hair with a towel ruffling above her head. Yujin walks to the table beside her bed, jamming the small corner of her towel into her ears to dry them.

She picks up her hearing aids, putting them on before heading out of the room. The latter walks to the kitchen, tossing her uniform into the laundry.

"5 more minutes," Her mother said.

Yujin takes a cup off the racks. "How's school today?" Yujin presses her cup against the dispenser.

"It was okay." She signs before gulping down the water.

"Does it fit well?" Her mother retrieves some leftover soup from the microwave. Yujin fiddled with her hearing aids, nodding. "It still sounds a little funky." She chuckles, seeing her mother smile.

"It distorts your voice a little." Yujin signs, washing the cup.

"So if I go low I'll sound like an alien." Her mother decided to play with her. "Get a spoon, it's done."

Yujin walked behind her mother who then settled the bowl of soup on the dining table.

"Where's dad?" Yujin sat down in front of the lady.

"He's coming back soon." Yujin blows on the soup, sipping on it slowly.

"What made you want to get them?" The lady has been wanting to ask her daughter this question for the longest time.

Yujin getting hearing aids.

She has never wanted them ever since the last incident.

"No reason."

Mrs Ahn narrowed her eyes playfully. "You sure?" She asks, earning a nod.

"Then why are you smiling so widely?" She spoke with suspicion, resting her arms on the table.

Yujin her lips, lifting her spoon. "I thought it was time to listen in class instead of getting private lessons."

"Why? You don't like Ms Hailey?"

Yujin shook her head. "She's great. I just..." She hesitated, stirring her soup.

"I don't want you guys to spend too much on lessons when I can listen in school," she explains her partial reason. "Technically, I don't do that bad reading the textbook alone."

"Not for math."

"Okay, maybe just math." Yujin chuckles lightly, remembering the single digit she got on her first little test upon transferring schools.

"I'll ask your father for his opinion." Yujin nodded.

"Is that really the reason why you wanted to get hearing aids?" Her mother's voice sounded serious and Yujin couldn't keep anything from her.

They're close. Yujin's mom is practically her best friend she spills her secret to. Down to every little detail and the lady knows how to keep them safe.

But those secrets halted for a short period of time when Yujin transferred schools. The girl didn't feel like talking to anyone for about a month or two.

Yujin puts down her spoon. "Well," she sighs, timidly looking at her mom. "I might've made a new friend or two."

Her mother slightly widens her eyes in surprise. "Or three." Yujin narrows her eyes.

"Go on." The lady excitedly cups her chin. 

"I wouldn't say I'm close to them, but the first one...she...we're getting there."

"A girl?"

Yujin nodded. "She opted to be my seatmate last week and actually talked to me."

"She talked to you?"

"She came to me and wanted to be friends." Yujin puckers her lips.

"Just like that?"

"Just like that."

"She didn't do anything or ask you to do something?"

"Mom." Yujin presses her lips together.

"I know, I know. We promised not to talk about it but honey," she sighs. "You need to be able to tell who's the good ones and you know, not-so-good ones."

"She's nice and I don't doubt it." Yujin nods in assurance. "She even went to the extent to write out a new set of notes for me."

"Really?" Her mother runs her hand down her cheek.

"Yes." Yujin shuts her eyes for a moment.

"Don't trust her too easily like how you did with Wonyoung."

"Mom." Yujin's expression went serious, making the lady tone it down a notch.

"She's nothing like her." She looks down. "I know it." Yujin nods to convince herself and her mom.

"That's good to hear." The lady brushes her hair back. "And how does that relate to you wanting to get a new pair of hearing aids?"

Yujin's lips twisted as she picked up the spoon. "I don't want her to spend too much time writing new sets of notes for me after every single lesson. It's tiring. And as the president, she has the class to take care of. You know how I can never decline someone's offer if they insist."

"So you've decided to get a new pair because of her?" Mrs Ahn looks at Yujin who hesitated a nod but shook her head.

"I need to listen to her."

Yujin's mom raised an eyebrow while the girl widens her eyes.

"To class—I need to listen to the class." She reiterated before shakily drinking her soup.

"Ahn Yujin."

She sheepishly looks up to see her mother squinting her eyes.

"You're not developing feelings for this new friend of yours, are you? Just because she's nice to you."

"No! What? Mom. It's nothing like that." She shakes her head, avoiding Mrs Ahn's gaze. "I barely knew her for a month. Who knows what she's actually like?"

"So there's a chance?"

The latter quickly shook her head and stood up after finishing her soup.

"Ahn Yujin."

The girl immediately turned off her hearing aids and walked into the kitchen to do her dishes.

"Ya! At least tell me her name!"

Yujin walks back up to her room after shutting her mom out for the time being, not really wanting to answer her endless questions. If there's a perk to being deaf is the ability to choose when you want to listen.

She settles on her wooden chair, feeling a vibration coming from her phone. The thought of who it might be excites her a little, not knowing why.

The only person that texts her.

Minju: Ahn Yujin

Minju: Ya

Minju: Ya

Yujin furrows her eyebrows when the brunette continues spamming her.

She can't complain since she's the one who told Minju to do so in order to get her attention. Yujin's notifications cause her flash to flicker.

Yujin: I'm here

She leans back against her chair, holding her phone with both hands.

Minju: Do you wanna be my partner?

Yujin: What partner?

Minju: For communication class, we have a project after next week

Yujin pauses, looking up, thinking. She's not sure if she should accept the offer to do the project with her, knowing how she herself isn't someone who socialises well, let alone knowing how to communicate with people.

Yujin: Why me? I can't talk

Yujin: There's a presentation

The last time she tried actually talking to someone was a few years ago before she got her first pair of hearing aids that eventually went straight to the trash because of an incident.

Minju: I can do the talking, you can help me

Minju: We'll need to do some research and compile them anyway

Before Yujin could type out "I won't be of any help to you", Minju voluntarily made Yujin her partner.

Minju: You need a partner too, I can be yours

Minju: Anyway, I've already submitted our names so you can't say no

Yujin snickers, shaking her head. She does need a partner.

Yujin: Okay

Her lips winded up into a tiny smile, placing her phone aside just to get another notification.

Minju: What are you doing?

Yujin: Homework

She flips open her textbook.

Minju: I'm bored

Yujin: Then go do homework

Minju: I'm done with it

Yujin inhales deeply, scratching her head. Does she not have like two other friends to talk to?

Yujin: You can study for next week's tests

Minju: It's boring

Minju: Do you wanna study with me?

The taller girl tilted her head, glancing at the time.

Yujin: Now?

Minju: Like Friday, after school

Minju: Those two will never study even if I try dragging them along

She contemplated for a while, seeing if she has private lessons. She has none.

Yujin: Sure

Minju: Great, I'll finally have someone to keep me company

The girl sends a sticker of a cute animated dog. Yujin remembered the guy she saw Minju with, wondering if he was who she thinks he is. If so, why isn't Minju studying with him?

Minju: I'll not bother you anymore, you can go do your work

Minju: I'll be here if you need anything

Once again, that smile naturally rose upon Yujin's lips as she finds herself being more and more inclined toward this girl.

Just because she's nice.




 

The two who agreed to study together end up going to the library, right when the sun sets. It's normal to use the place till midnight here, everyone studies as if they were born for it.

Yujin looks up to see Minju texting someone. Before this, the girl told Yujin to make her concentrate. She has difficulty doing so.

Yujin grabs the Post-it stack, writing something before sliding it to Minju. "You told me to study with you." The girl looks at Yujin who gestured at her phone.

Minju smiled, putting her phone aside. The taller went back to do her revision.

Minju stuck a Post-it on her paper.

"It's too quiet."

Yujin looked at her with a face of subtle disbelief. Minju used her hand, motioning for them to head out for a short break.

"We just started." She adds, "30 minutes ago."

Minju shook her head, grabbing Yujin's wrist. The girl resisted but ended up getting dragged out of her seat.

Kim Minju. Yujin blew out a breath, narrowing her eyes at the girl who glanced over the railing as if she were looking for someone.

She went beside her and looked down. "This is better." Minju smiled when the wind hit her face, looking at Yujin who was gazing at the ground floor.

She taps on the girl's shoulder. "Do you find me annoying?" Minju asks, seeing her eyebrow raised in confusion. It's a little dark out for her to read her lips.

Yujin took out her phone, asking her to type it out in her notes. She typed the same question, earning a headshake from Yujin.

"Do I bother you a lot?"

Yujin shook her head before taking the phone. "Why would you ask that?"

Minju retrieved the phone. "He said I bother him too much." Yujin tilted her head, noticing how Minju was gesturing to a guy who was on his phone.

He wore a white shirt with some lettering on it, going over with a blue button-up and a pair of straight-cut jeans.

"Who's he?" She types, seeing go slightly agape. "Right, I didn't tell you." Minju mumbles.

"He's my boyfriend."

The moment Yujin read those three words, goosebumps appeared on her arms, shivers down her spine. Boyfriend. went slightly agape, nodding slowly, finally knowing who that guy was.

"Two years older."

Yujin nodded, not really knowing what to reply. She takes her phone back. "In what way do you bother him?" Minju puts her hands into her pockets, shrugging.

"I don't know." She looked afar. "Maybe I call him out too much." She sees her said boyfriend smiling upon seeing someone coming his way.

"So much he had to lie that he was busy." The guy was seen hugging a girl. That kind of hug was way too intimate for friends.

Minju felt a hand holding onto her jaw before facing Yujin.

The strong winds made their way toward the building. The taller girl peeks down to see the guy kissing the girl.

Yujin presses her lips together, looking at Minju. "I won't know what you're saying unless you look at me."

Minju got taken aback, wondering if she was hallucinating to hear a soft voice chiming into her ears. It was pretty windy.

Yujin's mind went blank in an instant, realising what she had just done.

"You can talk?" Minju intently stares into her quivering pupils while the girl shook her head, pulling out her phone.

But it was of no use when the girl stopped her from typing. Yujin stares at her as if the whole world stopped, eyes darting toward her lips. They were moving but she couldn't seem to make out what she was saying.

"Ahn Yujin," Minju calls, shaking the latter who froze on the spot. She saw Yujin closing her eyes for a second, scrunching her nose.

The taller girl decides to grab onto her wrist, pulling her back into the library. The thought of the latter's boyfriend publicly displaying forbidden acts of affection to someone else made her heart clench.

One thing about being in the library was to stop Minju from asking her too many questions, another was to prevent her from seeing things.

What didn't sit with her was how the girl acted as if she were fine.

Yujin packed up her stuff, being halted by Minju who made the girl look at her. The worry on her face made Yujin exhale sharply, grabbing Minju's bag and handing it to her without saying a word.

She motioned for her to pack up which Minju did, not knowing why she wanted to leave this place. Yujin stood there, watching the girl grab her stuff before holding onto Minju's wrist, once again pulling her to wherever she was about to go.

With Yujin knowing the two would still be down there, she went by the back. Minju tried her best to catch up with her footsteps. Her long legs were no joke.

"Where are we going?" Minju constantly asked, blindly following the girl until they were out of the school campus.

Yujin finally slowed down, breathing heavily. She made sure there was no one following and no sight of the two who might've broken Minju's heart without knowing.

"Why didn't you tell me you can talk?" Minju asked, seeing how the girl gestured at how she wasn't able to lip-read.

They went to the nearest bus stop. Yujin made the girl sit down, finally able to clearly see her face. Minju's eyes were pink as if she were about to cry.

Yujin took out her phone. "I can't really talk." Minju looks at her with eyebrows knitted. Well, Yujin talks minimally. Small whispers. She doesn't like her own voice because she can't hear it. So she doesn't use it.

Plus, she came to realise she didn't need to when the brunette was around.

She likes how Minju would talk even when she knows Yujin wouldn't be able to hear her. She likes how she treats her like a normal person. Minju might be the first person out of her family who has told her she'll be around when she needs any help.

Of course, being the class president, Yujin expected those from her.

Like she knows, out of sympathy.

It didn't feel like that when she actually experienced these little acts of kindness Minju showed her. Her impression of the girl slowly shifted into someone she would really call a friend.

But is Minju really the person she thinks she is? What if she's just another Wonyoung whom she trusted way too much just for the girl to backstab her when she least expects it?

After all, it has only been a few weeks since Minju began talking to her. There was no way to foresee things that could potentially happen.

"Wanna head to my place to study?" Yujin tilted the phone to Minju. She points afar. "It's just around the corner."

She notices a bus coming their way. Yujin urges for her answer, seeing the latter nod before grabbing onto her wrist.

They found a seat on the bus. Minju took the window seat. Yujin sat beside her, pulling her bag to settle on top of her lap.

She noticed how quiet the latter was, quieter than normal since Minju would always actively initiate a conversation. She would talk while Yujin answers her using her phone.

She has a whole set of conversations on her phone, mainly what she types to converse with Minju.

That's one thing good about not wanting to talk—being able to save daily conversations even down to the smallest detail.

Eventually, it felt like a little diary of Yujin's.

Yujin raises her arm in front of Minju when she saw her sniffing. The girl looks at her, her eyelids turning pinkish. Yujin points her lips at her arm, telling her she could use it.

Minju grabbed onto her forearm, settling it on her lap before her head drops against her shoulder.

Yujin's eyelids fluttered, not knowing what she was doing. She peeks to see little streams of tears running down Minju's cheek, face as blank as a white sheet of paper, feeling her fingers tighten around her arm.

Yujin lifts her other hand, shaking it to extend the sleeve over her hand before covering Minju's face.

She glanced around, avoiding the other passenger's gaze with no idea how loud the latter was crying. She just hopes it wasn't too loud with those stares of theirs.

She slightly bows to apologise, peeking at Minju who was still crying as she uses her hand to gently caress the side of her head.

Yujin wonders how painful it is. If she were crying this hard, in public, without even seeing what she saw, Yujin doesn't even want to imagine how she'd act if she actually saw the whole kissing scene.

Who was he anyway? Who does he think he is to be playing around with other girls, messing with this junior of his? Yujin didn't even want to know his name, or how they even started dating. All she knew through Minju's cries was how he was a total .

Her cries lasted till the last stop. Minju felt a tap on top of her head, causing her to rouse up slightly. She took a brief nap. Yujin carried their bags and got off the bus.

Minju points at the stand-alone house, looking at Yujin. "Your house?" The girl nodded, dragging her to follow.

No words were spoken to explain why she cried earlier. It felt as if the taller girl understood everything without even knowing anything. She didn't find the need to explain either.

Yujin unlocks her door, motioning for Minju to take off her shoes. She flickers the lights while the girl gazes into the house, going slightly agape at how cosy the whole place felt.

"Wow."

It was painted in a light shade