“You said that you wanted to see me, pretty boy?” In-Na prompted, watching the night sky by the hospital’s porch. L.Joe excused them from the Woollim Boys, deciding at the end to have a conversation with her. He handed her a warm cup of tea, attempting to break the silence. He stole a glance at her, concentrating on expressing his heart’s content.

Will she accept what he was about to tell her? Whatever that stayed in his mind? Will she believe that she has disguised as a studious boy, in an all-boys boarding school, just to get to her dreams?

She looked at him with a smirk, pulling her hoodie up. He glanced over at her again. Her smile was brighter than anything. He had only wanted In-Na to be happy. He only wanted her, to be his girl. To be the rise and fall in his heart. To be the reason for her to smile. If she didn’t remember his confession, if she couldn’t love him just like the way she did that night. Their lips had touched. As much as he loves her, for her to lose a fraction of her memories, was strong to kill him. It gnaws. It suffocates. The beating of his heart has grown frantic.

“I’m sorry,” L.Joe said, his heart tearing apart. His conscience took over. “It’s my fault that you’re like this, In-Na.” He couldn’t bear to speak her name. If he had saved her earlier, if he had entered her home where those wretched men had abused her, she wouldn’t be like this. Heck, even Myungsoo might even get a chance to be with her. Myungsoo will get the chance to let her know, how he felt about her. How Myungsoo has developed those feelings for her. Those were regrets and actions that he couldn’t possibly take back.

Her dormitory buddies and her, they have reversed to nothing more than strangers. They needed a miracle to align it all back together. A glorious rainbow, filled with vivid color to come back crawling into her life. Their lives.

L.Joe clenched his fist, looking away from her eyes. He held back his tears, knowing that In-Na was wearing a confused expression.

“Why are you so sorry for?” In-Na questioned, putting her warm hands on his shoulders. She scrunched her face in worry, tilting his head upwards to look at her. The cold wind grazed their skin. Mixed emotions welled up L.Joe’s heart. “There’s nothing to be sorry about, pretty boy. I found the papers for Umma’s hospital bills. You paid for them and I can’t thank you enough. You shouldn’t have done that. I will repay you, Byunghun. I will be working odd jobs. Don’t worry about it.”

L.Joe retreated a step back, unable to meet her eyes. He felt traces of shame. He felt stages of heartbreak with the way she was acting. He let out a deep sigh, clearing his choked up throat.

“Are you recovering?” L.Joe lightly took her hand, his voice trembled. He wanted to cry. He didn’t want to break down, right in front of her. He remembered how her hair felt in between his fingers. He remembered how she pretended to look away, noticing that he has propped his head on her shoulder in the train to their hometown. Her soft fingers, delicately touch