“Oh, hello.”

Soobin turned his head to see Jisu standing just next to the chair he was sitting on. He raised his hand to wave at the other, smiling softly at the sight of the woman approaching him with a large shopping bag. He patted the surface of the seat next to him, gesturing her to take a seat. “Hi. How’s it going?”

“Good, good. Well, I suppose I could be better. It’s just strange that so much has been happening lately, and it’s devastating. Honestly, I’m not even sure how to feel. Guilt, sorrow, regret. That’s all I can feel right now.” It was dramatic how Jisu’s tone of voice changed drastically from one of joy to one of utter misery. Her voice was reflected on her face, her brows furrowed and her lips curving down into a frown.

Soobin nodded along, unsure of what to say. Instead, he looked ahead and stared at the closed doors of the practice room in front of him. He moved his feet against each other, tapping the floor every once in a while, his hands busy playing around with the hem of his shirt. It wasn’t awkwardness that settled in, but a sharp feeling of confusion instead. “Are you here for Yeji-noona?”

“Mm-hmm, and I suppose you’re waiting for Yeonjun-oppa?”

He chuckled at that, dropping his head low to hide away the disappointment on his face. He shook his head, explaining briefly: “Not really. He’s outside with Changbin-hyung and Wooyoung-hyung, to catch up on their missed days, I guess.”

A part of him wanted to reveal how miserable and neglected he felt about the way Yeonjun never decided to catch up on their missed days, missed dates. He wondered if he was oversharing unnecessarily. “I’m waiting for Yeji-noona. Since she works with him, the three of us gradually grew closer.”

“And you’re okay with that?”

“Well, yes. Why wouldn’t I be?” He realised that perhaps Jisu already knew enough. He wondered if everyone knew enough but him, suddenly feeling so lost about himself, his relationship and his friends.

Jisu kept her shopping bag to the side, one hand holding on to the straps. She couldn’t bring herself to look at the other, but she spoke regardless of that, “He used to like her, right? I mean, everyone knew. Everyone but them.”

Soobin broke out into a wide smile. “I can’t pull him away from her, can I? That’d make me a bad person.” He so desperately wanted to, but he couldn’t, because in everyone’s eyes, he was a sweet angel, a kind soul in a vessel, a personality so loving and caring, and there was absolutely no way he would ever think about such a cruel idea, let alone carry it out.

The moment he stopped letting his mind wander off again, he glanced to his side, only to squint at the rather peculiar sight of Jisu, the latter’s wrist seeming brighter than usual although covered by a wristwatch. He gently reached out, pulling the other’s wrist closer. Bending down to have a closer look, he quickly pulled the belt of the wristwatch further up her arm.

“Soobin, w-what are you doing?”

“We need to go see the others right now.” He jumped to his feet, walking towards the door in front of him. With a quick glance at the interior, he realised that Yeji wouldn’t be coming out anytime soon. “Your tattoo, it’s starting to glow. Something’s happening.”

Jisu frowned, staring at her wrist with confusion. She looked at the other for help, her eyes softening as she realised that they were about to find themselves in grave danger soon enough. Nodding fervently, she followed after Soobin, chasing him down the hallway as the duo made their way out of the building through hurried footsteps.

“Do we head to the river? Do we call the others? What do we do?”, she asked as she tightened her grip on the shopping bag – the gifts inside were no longer important, not when there was imminent danger just waiting to be revealed.

Soobin stopped in his tracks as he approached his car. Taking a seat behind the wheel, he quickly started the car, gesturing the other to get inside right away. Pressing his feet down on the pedal, he drove across the – thankfully – empty streets. “The campus. I know that’s where everyone is at. Yeji-noona can join us later.”

“I feel sick…”

“Just hold on for a bit, okay?”

They made their way through the gradually crowding streets, but their attention remained on both the vehicles of all sorts, as well as Jisu’s wrist, on which the tattoo in the shape of a snowflake began to light up, increasing its bright radiance with every passing minute. It was almost a beautiful sight to see, the snowflake shining white and elegant in many ways, but it was the dread that remained beneath the light that caused the duo to frown and fidget about with worry.

“Soobin!”

He his head towards the source of the voice, only to break out into a weak smile, the grin never reaching his eyes. He cleared his throat, approaching the small group and embracing them in a hug.

“Are you all okay?”, he asked as he took a bold step back.

Yeonjun nodded eagerly, reaching out to brush the other’s hair. He didn’t quite clearly see the distress in the younger’s eyes, so all he did was answer the question and more: “We’re good. Changbin left to go see Felix, I think. Wooyoung and I were going to head to the park for a walk. Uh, I suppose you two were waiting for Yeji?”

However, there was no time to respond to the claim and no time to press further. The tattoo on Jisu’s wrist was more evident now, glowing and dimming repeatedly, almost like an alarm of some sort, an indication of abnormality, a sign of change. With all eyes fixated on the skin of Jisu’s wrist, they stared with confusion and expectation.

“What’s happening?” Wooyoung took a step back, afraid of what he was seeing. For a moment, he wondered if it would be alright to act cowardly amid the vital situation. He excused himself as quickly as he could, “I’ll go and check on the others. You three stick together!”

Soobin frowned; he realised that the other was trying to escape from what they’ve got themselves stuck in, but what upset him even more was the utter disbelief in Yeonjun’s face. He thought about the last time Yeonjun looked so disappointed upon his dispersal, but nothing came to mind. He wondered where it all went wrong.

“, it’s glowing even brighter now!” Jisu pointed at her wrist with clear frustration. “What am I supposed to do? Should we be heading towards the river? Should we-”

“Stay calm. Don’t panic, we’re going to be fine. Let’s just wait and see whether this really changes anything.” Soobin’s reassuring voice was enough to keep them quiet for a while. With shaking fingers struggling to remain still at his sides, he observed his surroundings, only for his vision to be clouded with utter darkness akin to a bulb dimming out.

The next time he opened his eyes, he saw a sky so dark