Chaewon sighed, putting her head between her hands. She could not get to the bottom of this organic chemistry assignment she had to complete before the end of the week- the words didn’t seem to make sense to her, and she knew she probably needed rest more than anything, but she wasn’t willing to stop just yet.

She was finally about to give up and go take a well-deserved nap, when her phone started ringing and vibrating. She reached across the desk, grabbing it and taking a look at the caller ID.

“Hyejoo?” She asked, staring at the ringing phone. She didn’t know why her lab partner was calling her at this ungodly hour, but she decided to pick up the phone anyways. There must have been a good reason. She pressed the green button and put the phone to her ear.

“Hello?” She asked.

There was a brief moment of silence, before she heard a small sniffle, causing her to frown. Had the other girl been crying?

“Hello?” She said once again, a little more loudly.

“Uh, hi…” Hyejoo said in a small voice, “Is this- is this the suicide hotline?”

Chaewon was speechless, having no idea how to handle this.

“Uh, no, this is Chaewon,” she softly said.

Hyejoo sniffled once more, “Oh my god, I’m so sorry, I must have- must have dialed the wrong number, uh… I’ll just hang up.”

“W-wait!” Chaewon said, “Don’t hang up, please,” she pleaded, “You were calling a suicide hotline, right?”

“Yes.”

“Why?” She asked, worried. She didn’t know much about the other girl except for her name and dorm address- but they were nothing more than acquaintances at best. Hyejoo was quiet and private, she kept most things to herself and only seemed to talk when it was absolutely necessary.

She heard Hyejoo sigh, “Because my-“ she said, interrupting herself, “Why do you think someone would call a suicide hotline?”

Chaewon frowned at the question, “I guess if they wanted to hurt themselves… Or worse?” She answered, hoping it wouldn’t be the case but knowing people didn’t call suicide hotlines for s and giggles.

The silence on the other line only confirmed her fears. She’d thought the other girl would have hanged up if it weren’t for the fact that Chaewon could still hear her breathing through the phone.

“Are you okay?” She tentatively asked, and got no answer. “Hyejoo? Are you planning on doing something tonight?” She tried again.

“I just,” Hyejoo started, before sighing, “My life is going nowhere. I don’t know what I’m doing- I don’t know where I’m going and quite frankly, I’m just a burden. I-I’m so tired,” she said, her voice breaking, “I just want to end it.”

“You’re not a burden, Hyejoo, and I think you matter way more to people than you know it.”

“How can you possibly know that?”

“Because well, I barely know you and I care about you. Look, I get that it’s hard and stuff, but if you don’t stay for yourself, at least do it for the people who love you.”

Hyejoo sighed, “This was a mistake, I-I shouldn’t have bothered you, I’m sorry, I’ll just go. I’ll be gone in a few hours anyways.”

“No!” Chaewon practically yelled into the phone, not caring that it was so late in the night, “Please, stay with me.”

Sadly, this wasn’t enough to convince the other girl as she heard the phone hang up. She tried calling back but ended up leaving a voice message.

“Hi, please call me back. I’m begging you.”

She then immediately texted Hyejoo.

from: Chaewon Jung 

to: Hyejoo Ha 

hi?

from: Hyejoo Ha 

to: Chaewon Jung 

Please don’t try to call me again.

from: Chaewon Jung 

to: Hyejoo Ha

i think the not.

you said you were planning on hurting yourself. i’m not letting you go

from: Hyejoo Ha 

to: Chaewon Jung 

Why are you doing this? What are you getting out of it?

from: Chaewon Jung 

to: Hyejoo Ha

nothing. but that doesn’t mean i don’t want to help you

from: Hyejoo Ha 

to: Chaewon Jung  

Okay.

Chaewon tried calling Hyejoo’s phone once more. When the other girl picked up after a few rings, she let out a sigh of relief.

“I just want you to know,” Hyejoo said, “I’ve made up my mind. I just need something to distract me during my last moments.”

Chaewon made it her mission to keep Hyejoo on the phone until her thoughts had passed. Then, she’d see her in class and make sure she’s alright. Chaewon didn’t believe in fate at all, but she let herself believe it was not a coincidence that Hyejoo had called her- although she knew the odds of that happening were far from slim; after all, people pressed the wrong buttons all the time.

The two girls talked for hours on end- about their life, their hopes and dreams, and mostly, what had landed them where they were.

“But don’t you have someone you can talk to?” Chaewon asked, as Hyejoo mentioned once more how lonely she felt. They’d gotten to know each other pretty well by that point, and while Hyejoo seemed to be reluctant to share any personal information with her at first, she’d eventually gotten her to open up- and Chaewon found it intriguing that the other girl had never brought up her friends.

“I- I have a best friend, her name is Yerim. But she goes to another uni, so I don’t see her very often. She’s not very present in my life anymore.”

“Oh, that ,” she said, pulling a face, “But why don’t you talk to her about how you’re feeling?”

“Because, like everything else, it's complicated and uh, I just don’t want to bother her with my problems. Also she’s like, the embodiment of sunshine while I’m… well, you know.”

“Well, I think you’re delightful,” she answered, causing Hyejoo to chuckle. Chaewon considered this to be a little victory.

It was around 7 A.M. when Hyejoo finally decided it was time for her to say goodbye to Chaewon.

“I think I’m gonna go,” she said softly into the phone, “I need to get ready for class.”

“Are you feeling any better?” Chaewon asked, hopeful.

“A little,” Hyejoo shyly said, “Thank you, Chaewon. A lot.”

“Call me Chae,” she answered, smiling at the phone, “See you in class. Don’t do anything rash, alright?”

Hyejoo didn’t answer, and simply hung up.