Minju marks off the last answer of the exam paper, capping her black marker. With five minutes to spare, she glances out of the window, at the soccer field.

She loves the spring season. However, it didn't feel like spring at all for her. Miserable was all she felt. 

She turns to the other side of the class and saw Yena out in the hallway waving as if something was wrong.

Students are allowed to submit their papers early and head home. Good for those who finish early and don't want to waste their time sitting around.

Minju wasn't one of those students. But with the panic in Yena's eyes, she stood up and submitted her exam paper.

Yuri notices but she's going to use up her full two hours.

Minju takes her bag from the hallway, going to Yena. "What—"

"Yujin didn't come today." The girl whispers a bit too loudly which made Minju pull her away from the door.

"What do you mean?" Yujin doesn't miss exams even if they're mock.

"I'm telling you she didn't come. I tried calling her but she didn't answer." For the first time, Yena was panicking. If she's panicking, anyone would panic.

"She might be sick?" Minju kept her worry in.

Yena shakes her head. "She doesn't skip school when she's sick. Even if she is, she would tell me."

Minju peeks into the class. Wonyoung noticed everything but could only keep her head down. She took it as a hint that it happened.

"I'll try calling her. You can continue waiting for Yuri. I'll head home first."

"I'll leave it to you." She passes the responsibility of contacting Yujin to Minju, walking to the class when the bell rings.

The brunette was the first to walk down the stairs, busy finding Yujin's number on her phone. She doesn't know what happened in the past few weeks, but Yujin's absence could mean a lot of things.

For sure Wonyoung has done what she has set out to do. The guilt her body encompasses, anyone would notice.

So where's Yujin?

For a second, Minju thought the call went through with the first ring, but it ends there. The girl had her phone turned off. That heightens her worry.

She didn't want any of this. She blames herself for making this happen, for making the deal with Yujin. At the same time, without it, would the girl ever enter her life?

Nothing happened to her, right? Minju hoped, leaving a few messages on her phone to Yujin.

What she could do was ask Wonyoung if Yujin was home. She should know. If the latter's at home, Yujin's safe. That's what Minju wanted to know.

Who knew what was going through the girl's mind?

For hours through the afternoon, eventually turning to night, Minju has been waiting for a call. Or at least to see her message being delivered.

But there was no call and no double ticks.

So she calls Wonyoung after making sure the girl didn't have night classes.

Dangling her legs off the bed, an arm around her body, phone at her ear. Wonyoung picks up after a few rings.

It was silent for the first few seconds. Minju didn't know how to articulate the basic words of hello.

"I heard from Yena," Wonyoung speaks up and Minju could only listen. "I did it if that's what you wanted to ask. She hasn't been answering my calls either."

Why would she? Minju thought. But she doesn't know how Wonyoung broke everything off. Calmly or aggressively. She had no clue.

"I went to her place earlier. She's at home. The advertisement papers were all gone. They usually appear at doors every morning," Wonyoung said.

"You didn't check on her? How is she?"

Minju heard a small sigh. "I didn't. What do you want me to do? Let her try to piece the puzzle that won't fit?" She could tell Wonyoung was in pain.

No matter what she did, there were times she felt something for Yujin. The butterflies spreading through her body, hearts racing. But they weren't as intense as those she felt with Minju.

Letting someone go was different from imagining.

Minju was dying to know what exactly happened. What did Wonyoung say and how did Yujin react? She wanted to know but it didn't concern her.

It is whatever's left that she can see.

"You told me to be there for her. How am I supposed to do that when you don't tell me anything? And worse, in the middle of spring, one month after everything." It was exactly a month after they got together.

"Centreville, 18-143," Wonyoung says. "The apartment she stays in, if you're going."

Minju received the address through a text. "If she's not here tomorrow, I'll go." She heard a hum from Wonyoung before ending the call.

—

Nighttime arrives the next day. Minju had mandatory night classes like everyone else and had no sight of Yujin the whole day.

She's currently finding her way to the latter's apartment. Who knows if Yujin was eating properly or lying around in bed all day?

Minju looks up at the high-rise building. She notices the name Centreville engraved on a plaque just before the building.

Entering the doors, she went to the lift and presses the 18th floor. She hopes it was the right place because she travelled almost an hour all the way here from school. Why did she bother?

Following the signs, her light steps chanced upon a door with 143 engraved in it, right in the centre. She presses the doorbell and waited.

She waits for a few seconds, a minute, trying again after five minutes but to no avail. "Is she ignoring the bell?" Minju doesn't see shoes on the floor, thinking the latter keeps them in the house, unlike the other units that had shoe racks just out the door.

She knocks on the door. "Ahn Yujin," she says loud enough but makes sure it doesn't disrupt the neighbours. "Are you really going to keep shutting yourself in there?" She knocks again.

"Is she sleeping?"

A lady with two kids walks past her. Perhaps they live next door. When the lady saw her, Minju asks, "Do you know if there's anyone around?" She points at the door.

"I've never seen her come out for the past few days."

"Thank you," Minju confirms the girl was in there. Maybe she just doesn't want people to bother her.

The brunette gives up, thinking of heading home. There's no point waiting for the girl to answer the door when she doesn't want to.

...

After another hour of taking the train back home, Minju's head was full of curses. She did all that for nothing, hating the fact that she wasted at least two hours.

She walks down the district to her house with a black plastic bag in her hand. She got ice cream from the convenience store. She wasn't going home empty-handed.

Just as she was a distance away from her house, she sees someone sitting on the curb of her house gate. Going closer, she was able to make out who it was.

The girl she has been trying to find.

Yujin had her knees to her body, arms wrapped around them. But her eyes were pinned on the house opposite Minju's, specifically the window where the light was still .

Minju slowed down her steps. She had the urge to run to the latter as if she's been gone for ages but it has only been two days.

When Yujin saw someone coming, she quickly wipes the corner of her eyes, looking at whoever it was.

Minju stood in front of her. She didn't know why the girl had to seize contact with everyone just to appear here, in front of her house. She questions the way Yujin's mind works.

What caught her eyes was two cuts. One above her cheek, another at the corner of her lip.

"What took you so long?" Yujin asks.

Minju sits next to her. "What? Are you waiting for me?" The last thing she wants to hear is she got into a fight.

"No," the girl says, clearing . "You're not going to ask what happened?" She looks at Minju who was reaching into the plastic bag.

The brunette squeezes a small cup of vanilla ice cream into her hand and a spoon into her ot