I laid under the duvets, limbs numb and lifeless, my eyes looking towards the direction of my room door. It was slightly opened, my eyes could see what was happening through the small gap.

Yongguk paced around the hall while Youngjae sat silently on the sofa.

There was a moment of eerie silence permeating the hall. Only sounds of the night life could be heard.

I took a glance at the clock that was hanging on the wall, it was close to 1 a.m. I’ve been out for so long?

“Thanks Youngjae for bringing her back,” Yongguk breaks the silence. Youngjae replies by shaking his head.

“I’m really at my wits ends, Jiyong still can’t forget Howon. It’s already two months, all her nonsense has to come to a naught now.”

Youngjae tries to comfort Yongguk, “It’s okay, she still needs more time.”

“But it’s already 2 months, 2 months! She can’t drag on like this forever!” Frustrated, Yongguk sits on the sofa, his head buried in his hands.

“Maybe we’ll let her have a part time job, that’ll keep her thoughts from going astray,” Youngjae suggested, “I know someone who owns a café. I’ll ask him if there are any spaces for Jiyong-ssi to fill.”

Yongguk in a husky voice mumbles, “Sure, anything to help her.”

I tossed and turned over in my bed. Pulling up my blank covers, I snuggled up inside. It was dark and warm. I curled up and hugged my legs, slowly I dozed off into a deep slumber.

***

The room was a whitewash, it was spotless. Strange, why is my room so clean now? Has Christmas come already? I take a few baby steps forward, still in my dreamy state. All the room had was 3 white walls and 1 glass wall. Slowly, I glided toward the glass panel, my breath escapes my mouth. It created a cloudy circle on the glass, I lift up my hand to wipe it off. Suddenly I feel a static shock running through me at lightning speed. OUCH! I retract my hand from the glass and placed it on my warm chest. Then I close my eyes and wince in pain, my hand was still stinging from the current earlier on. I gritted my teeth, the pain was unbearable. My eyes opened, this time my jaw drops. I could hardly believe what I saw. At just a few meters away on the opposite side of the glass panel, there he stood. My hands cupped over my mouth, shaking upon realization of who that was—Howon.
How? How?! I call out his name and banged against the glass panel but the electric current shocks me again, I jumped backwards. I screamed for him, my body yearned to break this panel. I wanted to rush to him and envelope him in my arms. Despite that, the glass panel remained stubborn and refused to let down it’s electric current. I stood there helplessly, my tears rolled down my cheeks. On the other side, Howon desperately stretches out his arms to me. He is mouthing something that was inaudible, but his legs were rooted to the ground. Slowly his body started to fade away. No! No! No! STOP! At the top of my lungs I screamed in horror. My voice and sight dwindles and I disappear into a black hole.

***

“NO!” I protested as I sat upright on my bed. My shirt was covered in cold sweat, and my breaths short and rushed. My heart palpitating uncontrollably.

Upon my scream, Yongguk bursts into my room. “What happened? Something wrong, Jiyong?” he asks, with much concern.

I lie and shake my head. “Nope, nothing. Just training vocal chords”

Yongguk looks at me and his head to the side, “O-kay then… Come and have breakfast, you need to hurry to school. Oh! Later Youngjae-ssi is sending someone to bring you to your new workplace.”

“Oh, okay.”

***

“Jiyonggie, wait for me!” A voice call behind my back, I looked back and I see Choi Jun Hong running in the distance.

“Hurry up little baby Jun Hong!”

After a few seconds, he catches up and squats down beside me. I could hear his heavy panting.

“Slowpoke, you have to work on some stamina!” I taunted, I reach into my bag and grab a pack of tissue and handed it to Jun Hong.

“Told you to call me Zelo, I hate that baby-ish name!”

Tugging his hands, I lugged him up the hill towards the school. “Come on, we’ll be late if we don’t hurry!”

I turned and was about to walk when a whizzing object stops me in my tracks. It causes me to fall backwards on my . “OWWW!”

My eyes glared at the object, a speeding bicycle. Who is that inconsiderate driver?

“Sorry babe! You okay?” The driver looks behind with a flirtatious face, his blond hair ruffled up by the wind. I should have known—Jung Daehyun.