When a key clicked into the lock, I believed I was half dreaming. It seemed to echo throughout the silent dorm as someone shuffled around with the shoes. I leapt to my feet, a tiny bubble of hope swelling in my chest, but I was prepared to be let down. It was probably Minjae come to check on us just like all of the previous times, come to see if we-

No. It wasn't Minjae. It was Wooyoung. His hair was slightly longer and he looked a little tired, but he looked somehow vibrant, and it was definitely Wooyoung. My whole body trembled as a weight of emotions were removed only to be replaced by such a raw sense of relief, that all I could do was throw myself forwards and cry. I half expected for him to dissipate into a cloud of smoke, but my arms met a solid body and he hesitantly returned my embrace.

I couldn't remember much of the next few hours; everything had become a blur except for Wooyoung who was sitting in front of me as clear as crystal. Each of his movements was imprinted on my mind and it was like the blanket smothering me had been lifted, the sweet oxygen allowing me to drink in every detail that I had always taken for granted.

But I was blinded by my relief and I wasn't able to rationally piece together what I was seeing. It was only later, after a few days of feeling lighter than air, that I was able to notice the little things that didn't add up with his kidnap. The first was that he was happier than he'd been before his ordeal. He was back to the Wooyoung that had died with Jay's departure and though I was happy that he was finally back to his old self, I knew that it hadn't returned solely because of his freedom.

The second was that his phone had become an extension of his body. At first, I thought it was because he had so many people expressing their concern and relief at his safe return but whenever he read the messages it was like he was glowing. It was an expression that, though I had seen it many times before, had dried up when Jay withdrew and I had been unsuccessfully trying to revive it ever since.

A third sign was that he would withdraw into his mind whenever he thought no one was looking. In my relieved state, I'd just believed him to be putting on a brave face for the benefit of those around him and that the kidnapping was actually still haunting his thoughts, but when I came to my senses a few days later, I realised that he didn't look plagued by the memories he was reliving. He instead seemed to relish and look forward to the moments when he could retract into his mind and I would watch as he smiled softly to himself, his lips occasionally twisting into a barely smothered laugh, and everything eventually fell into place.

All of the signs had planted a seed inside me that I wanted to doubt with my whole being but the more I watched, the more I believed: Jay was a part of his life again.