After two weeks of tutoring you, Junhyung got to know you more, and he realized that you weren’t that similar to the girl he knew in the past. The girl he used to know was cute and funny, just like you, but she was also weak, and she always needed Junhyung to protect her, and she sticked to Junhyung a lot.

You, on the other hand, had quite a strong personality. You didn’t have to rely on others. Junhyung wasn’t quite used to it, but he didn’t mind being led by you, and he liked the safe feeling he had when he was with you. He didn’t have to take care of you all of the time, like a dad. Instead, the both of you were quite equal, and although you guys quarrel a lot, you’ll just end it by laughing.

During the two weeks of tutoring you, Junhyung didn’t stop his midnight shift in the convenience store, so he was really tired. But he didn’t tell you about his job, so you didn’t know the reason of his heavy eyebags. You tried asking, but he just smiled and changed the topic.

On the first day of the scholarship exams, you reached school early to revise the things Junhyung thought you. When you walked into class, you saw Junhyung with his head facing down on the table and his hands around it. He made a soft snoring sound. You quietly sat down beside him, without waking him up.

As the exams started, you understood almost every question and you had confidence that you were going to do well. You wanted to win the scholarship, so that your mom didn’t have to work so hard. And also because you didn’t want to let Junhyung down, after he put so much effort on you in two weeks.

After everyone passed the papers up to the teacher, the teacher dismissed them. You went beside Junhyung and asked him how was the test. ‘Easy, duh.’ He said confidently. As you were about to leave him to chit-chat with IU, you heard him cough. You remembered that he was coughing the whole way throughout the test. ‘You okay?’ You patted his back as he was still coughing. He nodded his head, and went out of class with Doojoon.

The next day, you came slightly later, along with Dongwoon. ‘Woonie, do you think you can get the scholarship?’ You nudged your brother with you shoulder, as you both walked into the school gates. ‘I don’t know… I didn’t studying much. But our little girl has been studying hard lately, hmm? Maybe we can both get it!’ He said cheerfully. He liked calling you ‘little girl’, even though you were just a few minutes younger than him. The both of you were twins.

‘I hope so too!’ You smiled, and walked into your class. As you sat at your place, you realized Junhyung wasn’t there. ‘IU, did you see Junhyung?’ You turned to your left, where IU was sitting. ‘Nope! I wonder where he is…’ IU looked a little worried. She was a sweet girl, and she couldn’t even bare to kill an ant. She was friends with almost everyone, because no one could treat her badly, she was too nice.

‘Mhmm.’ You nodded. You sank down in your seat. You don’t know why, but you just feel weird without Junhyung next to you. Soon, the exams started. He still wasn’t there. You couldn’t concentrate on your test at first, but you thought about how Junhyung tried so hard to make you understand those questions, and you didn’t want his effort to go to waste.

You finished the questions in time, and you think you did quite well. After the exams, you told your brother you had something to do, and left the class. You made your way to the dorm. You knew Junhyung stayed there, but you didn’t know which room he was in.

The school dorms were categorized into 3 parts, the Senior Block, where 2 senior students of the same gender share a room. The Junior Block, where 2 junior students shared the same room. And there’s the Single Block, where both juniors and seniors stay, but it’s one person per room. Both Junhyung and Kevin stayed there.

There were two different types of rooms in the Single Block. One type was more expensive, with a private toilet and bathtub, a queen sized bed, an aircond, a heater and a large built in cupboard.

The other type was cheaper, even cheaper than the rooms in the Senior and Junior block. There wasn’t a toilet in the room. You had to use the public toilet outside. The room didn’t have airconds or heaters, and there was only a single bed, a small cupboard and a small kitchen.

You guessed that Junhyung stayed in the cheaper type, because you’ve heard Doojoon say that Junhyung didn’t have parents, and he pays everything with the money he earned himself. ‘So he probably stays in the cheaper room.’ You mumbled.

You walked to the floor where all the cheaper rooms were. Most of them weren’t occupied, as many students that came here were quite rich, and rumors have been going on saying that on this floor, a girl was and killed by a guy. Her ghost was said to have been wandering around ever since. There were only 3 rooms occupied on the floor.

You knocked on the first door, with the number ‘523’ on it. No one answered. So you decided to knock on the second door, ‘524’. Before you did, someone opened the door. It was Gikwang, a student from your class. ‘Haaaaaaaaai!’ He said loudly.

He was the hyper, crazy type, and he was always cheerful. Somehow, he reminded you of a happy penguin. ‘Hey!’ You replied. ‘You looking for me?’ Gikwang said, with his eyes twinkling in pleasure. ‘Uhmm, no, I was looking for Junhyung. Do you know which room is he in?’

‘Oh.’ Gikwang looked disappointed. ‘523, right there.’ He pointed. ‘But no one answered the door just now.’ You said, surprised. Did he go somewhere else? Hmm, you thought. ‘Oh, he ignores door knocks. He usually doesn’t lock his door, you can just go in straight.’ Gikwang smiled. ‘I have to go, see you around!’ He skipped and hummed a song as he left.

You slowly opened Junhyung’s door, wondering if he’s inside. As you go in, you see a bed on the left side of the room, a cupboard on the right side, and a small table at the end of the room. Junhyung was lying on the bed. His room was quite tidy, as he didn’t have much stuff.

You walked over to his bed. He was sleeping. You wanted to wake him, but you realized he was sweating. It was autumn turning to winter soon, so the weather was quite cold. And his room was really cold too. You touched his forehead. It was burning.

Just then, he started coughing really hard. After a while, he stopped. Slowly, he opened his eyes. He was quite shocked when he saw you. ‘W-what are you doing here?’ His voice was hoarse. You poured a glass of water for him, and said, ‘I didn’t see you in class today, so I came by to visit you.’

‘Oh.’ He said dully. ‘You’re sick,’ you continued. ‘You should…’ Before you finished talking, he said, ‘What time is it?’ ‘A-almost 9.’ ‘Oh, . I have to go. You go home too, okay? Be careful on the way home.’ He got up, grabbed his jacket and left the room, walking with a fast pace.

Junhyung reached the convenience store just in time to take over his shift. His friend, Jaejoong, who was working before his shift, gave him a pat on his shoulder and left the shop. Junhyung sat down behind the cashier. He felt hot, and he was sweating a lot. He was really tired, and he wouldn’t stop coughing.

He thought of the exams today. ‘How could I have missed the exams? . Now I won’t be able to get the scholarship even if I got straight marks for all the other papers.’ He mumbled, cursing. ‘Maybe the teacher will give an exception. Or maybe he’ll let me take the paper again. I might as well go to school tomorrow.’ He thought.