The door to the lecture hall creaks open and in sneaks a girl who was just a few minutes late. She slithers herself into her usual seat, right next to the white walls. Fortunately, the professor was too busy with attendance taking to notice.

"Ahn Yujin?" He looks up, seeing an arm shoot into the air.

"Here!" Yujin smiles, acting normal as if she were in her seat way before he walked in. "He should really get his hearing checked." She speaks through her teeth and pulls out her laptop.

Glancing next to her, she notices the same stare her dear friend always gives her. "Don't you think?" She asks for an opinion.

"You're going to get caught one day." Wonyoung nags softly, shaking her head in disappointment.

Yujin relaxes into the world's most uncomfortable plastic chair. "We're three-quarters into the year and he hasn't caught on. I wonder how he's still teaching. Just look at them dozing off."

Morning classes meant seeing more heads on the tiny revolving tables stuck to the individual chairs. Only psychopaths enjoy them.

"Why are you late anyway?"

"Uhh...traffic." Yujin smiles, pulling up her tutorials on her screen.

"You live in the dorm." Wonyoung didn't buy it. "That's five minutes away."

"I fell." The girl shows the tiny bruise on her knee under those ripped jeans.

"Just say you woke up late."

"I woke up late." Yujin gave up. "The roosters forgot to wake me up." She leans back, waiting for the man to start his lecture.

Wonyoung accepts that reason. "She'll kill you if she knows you're late again."

"Who?"

"Who else?" She saw Yujin turn to her, visibly not knowing who she was referring to. "Your girlfriend."

"My girlfriend—oh." She definitely didn't forget the days her girlfriend miraculously knew she was late for class. "Were you the one always telling her?"

"Yes. She has to know."

"And why?"

"Because."

"Because what?"

"Because she cares for you. And since she's not in this school, I become the one who cares for you in her place. You make my life so much more difficult." Wonyoung sighs, expecting a retort but nothing came. All she saw was Yujin keeping herself to the laptop.

She crosses her arms and slants her body towards Yujin. "What's this?" She gestures at the latter's posture. Slouched shoulders and focused gaze. Yujin being focused in class was like watching the snow fall on a beach.

"What?"

"What happened?" Wonyoung knew she was made out of glass. She could see right through her.

Yujin was about to say something but heard the high-pitched screech of the microphone. The man was starting the class. "I'll tell you later. It's a long story."

"You better not shove it under the rug."

...

When the lecture ends, Yujin shuts her laptop and puts her fingers over her eyes, rubbing them lightly. She particularly hates this professor's lectures since he always side-tracks and talks about his obsession with ducks. He teaches economics which is totally off-topic. 

"So, what is it?" Wonyoung would never let her off.

Yujin opens her eyes, hating the bright lights. "Give me a break."

"Not until you tell me what's going on."

"She's ignoring me."

Wonyoung hears the subtle distress in her voice. And the way Yujin holds onto her forehead says she wasn't messing around this time.

"What did you do?"

"I don't know," Yujin shrugs, dropping her hands onto the table. "I tried calling her and texting her and doing whatever I can but she left me on read." She frowns in a sad way. "I even went to her school the other day and you know what she did? She opened the door and closed it right in my face."

"Minju?" Wonyoung snickers. "Ignoring you?"

"Are you not listening to me—"

"How long has this been going on?"

Yujin tries to recall. "Almost a week."

"A week?" Wonyoung wants to think this was a full-on fantasy. "You let this happen for a week."

"What else do you want me to do? I tried everything but she doesn't want to talk to me." Yujin slams her forehead on the table and stays there. "I miss her."

Wonyoung picks up an imaginary phone. "Hello? Is this the morgue? I need someone to pick up this dead body."

"What dead body—"

"You're done for, Yujin," Wonyoung says in all seriousness. "The moment Minju ignores you, you're officially welcomed to the underworld. And I'm not going with you."

"It's not that bad..."

"It is that bad." Wonyoung shifts an inch closer to her for suspense. "You better find out what you did wrong, go on your knees and beg for forgiveness before anything else happens."

"And how am I supposed to do that when I did absolutely nothing wrong?"

"You think, Ahn Yujin."

Yujin's shoulders tensed up. "Don't call me that. It's scary."

"You should be scared." Wonyoung keeps her laptop in its case. "Get up. I'm hungry."

"You're not going to help me think?"

"You're hopeless."

Yujin watched her walk out of the lecture hall. "Wait for me!" She quickly scampers out, almost forgetting her phone on the table.

...

"So, she's been ignoring you for a whole week?" Yena takes a bite out of her omelette, processing everything Yujin has been mumbling about for the past fifteen minutes. "That's unlike her."

Yujin sighs deeply, running low on appetite. She leans back into her chair, shifting the plate to Hyewon, the girl next to her. "You can finish it."

Yena swallows her food. "Did you forget something? Anniversary?"

"No, that's in two months. I'll never forget." Yujin was beyond confident when it comes to her memory. But not too much at the moment for forgetting the details and things happening around that could possibly be the reasons why Minju was giving her the cold shoulder.

"Then what could it be? Is she hungry?" Hyewon slips a piece of seaweed into .

"Not everyone's like you." Wonyoung pushes a small bottle of banana milk to Yujin.

"I'll totally be angry without food." Hyewon quietly ate her food.

"Did you ignore her too? That's why she's ignoring you. You've been busy the past week. Taking more than a day to answer my texts." Yena started to get a little salty.

"That's just us. She only takes days to reply to us but not Minju," Wonyoung said.

"Then why would she ignore you?"

Yujin was busy looking at her phone, going in and out of her messages to check if there are any new ones from her girlfriend.

Sadly, there are none.

"Ya, we're talking to you."

"I don't know. If I knew, why would I be here?" Yujin lightly throws her phone onto the table. "I wouldn't be asking if I knew."

"You're on your own. We can't help you if you don't know what's going on." Wonyoung had no straws left to pull.

"Do you want me to ask Yuri?" Yena got her phone ready to call her dear girlfriend.

Yujin looks at her with a glimpse of hope in her eyes when she remembers the latter was Minju's roommate. "Would you be so kind to get me out of this hell hole?"

"I have no guarantee that something will come out of this." Yena rummages through her phone.

—

Brushing her hair in front of her closet mirror, and getting ready for class, Yuri starts to hear her phone vibrating on the vanity table.

She saw who it was and answered almost immediately. "Why? Is something wrong?"

"How do you know?"

"You never call me in the middle of the day. Don't you have class now?" Yuri shuts the closet door and goes over to her desk to arrange the notes she needed for class.

"We're having lunch."

"We?"

"I'm with Yujin, Wonyoung and Hyewon."

Yuri hums, putting her Apple Pencil into the casing. "So, what's wrong? Did Hyewon steal your food again?" She clasps the phone between her shoulder and her ear.

"Is Minju with you?"

She found it strange that Yena was looking for her. "Minju?" She goes out of her room and sees the said girl in the living room. "She doesn't have class today. She's watching her show." Like every other day.

"I see."

"Why?"

"Ah..." She hears a second of hesitation and whispers on the other end. "So she's fine?"

Yuri hears a small chuckle coming from Minju. The latter was watching a variety show. "Why wouldn't she be fine? What is it?"

The mutters soften before Yena says, "It's nothing. All's good." Yuri hears a smack. "I'll see you later. Bye!"

The call ended quickly. Usually, Yena finds it hard to hang up.

Yuri knew something was up as she walks into the living room. Being cautious because of Yena's ambiguity from the call, she sits next to the brunette.

"You're not leaving yet?"

"I will," Yuri said. "In a minute." She observes the girl who didn't really care about her surroundings. It was just Minju being Minju on a day she doesn't have class.

"Are you going to be here the whole day?"

"Yes, why?" Minju's eyes were fixated on the tv screen.

Yuri caught on with the situation, analysing her train of thoughts that went through the past week. Everything related to Minju and things that may make Yena think she wasn't fine.

"It's nothing. I just thought you'd be going over."

"Over where?"

That's when Yuri confirms there was definitely something wrong. Knowing Minju since their high school days, the girl would always be excited whenever she doesn't have plans. When she has no plans, that means she's free. And most of her free time goes to her girlfriend who's merely an hour away.

"If you don't leave now, you're going to be late," Minju said. "Why are you asking me things anyway? Did you eat the wrong vitamins this morning?"

"I ate the right ones this time—I realised I haven't seen Yujin all week. You're also always here. She comes here or you go there. I just find it weird since you two have always been stuck to the hi—"

"Are you done? You're talking a lot for someone who doesn't say a word before classes because you want to focus."

Yuri sighs. Seemed like Minju was avoiding the topic. But it could mean many things. She cares for Yuri's concentration or she just wants to watch her show in peace.

Or worse, something was wrong.

Yuri decides not to question it and gets ready to leave for school.

—

Yujin takes in a deep breath, standing in the lobby of an apartment. It's where Minju stays with Yuri. A few minutes away from their school.

She was holding onto a transparent bag that had a box of macarons in it. Specifically, that one shop they always go to and Yujin knows, Minju can never say no to it. 

She presses the lift button and heads up to the unit. Her heartbeat accelerates faster than the elevator number does. With a mind thinking of the worst scenarios of getting ignored again, she had no other worry but to make up with the girl. She had no classes tomorrow either.

Yujin prepared herself, hiding from the peephole before pressing the doorbell. She knew the girl wouldn't open the door if she saw her. Things would've been easier if the door had a number lock. But no, this building's traditional and this is a rented unit. Still, Yujin wasn't someone to barge in unannounced.

It took a few seconds for the door to swing open. Yujin immediately put her hand on the door to prevent it from closing. She stood in front of Minju who was a little surprised to see her here. At least that's how Yujin wants her to react. 

"I'm sorry," Yujin says before anything else. She quickly makes the girl hold onto the bag of macarons as if it'll make her accept everything.

But Minju wasn't swayed by it. "For what?"

"For wh—I don't know. I just know I have to be sorry. I must've done something that made you angry that's why you're ignoring me."

"You don't know?"

Yujin sighs softly, wanting to end whatever's doing this to them. "I don't know. What did I do?"

"You seriously don't know?"

"I seriously am clueless. Just tell me what I did wrong. I'm tired of all this, not knowing what made you angry or what happened. You're not talking to me when I have been trying to talk to you. I would like you to tell me what went wrong instead of making me think you don't care about me anymore after whatever I've done to fix everything. I don't even know what's there to fix."

"Ahn Yujin."

The taller girl shuts up instantly. She does miss her calling her name but not like this, all stern and sending chills down her spine instead of warmth.

"I must've been too nice."

Yujin didn't want this temporary happening to make her disagree. "You are always nice. So what's the reason?"

"What did you do last week?"

"What did I do last week?" Yujin starts to think as if she hasn't been doing so the past week. "I go to school."

"And?"

"And..." Yujin tries to clear her mind so she doesn't lose her temper. She has a short temper. But ever since Minju came into her life, she didn't find a need to lose it.

Minju lets out a small sigh. "Do you want me to help you?"

"Yes, please." She patiently waits for her to give her a clue. Anything was better than having the door slam in her face.

However, she starts hearing footsteps approaching, turning to see a girl stopping a few feet away from her. She had short, black hair, perhaps inspired by Egna from the Incredibles. But this girl pulled it off perfectly with those Bambi, bright eyes.

Yet, Yujin doesn't know why she's here. Before she could ask anything, Minju invites the girl into the unit. Yujin has never been more confused than the bane of human existence.

She looks at Minju, not being able to find the voice to ask what was going on. This, she didn't want to think of the worst. Minju takes her arm off the door. It was only possible since Yujin was speechless by everything that played in front of her eyes.

"Last Wednesday. Where were you?"

"L-Last..." Yujin's small crisis in her head made her realise. "I went to