“Miyeon-ah, do you know where Sungyeol is?” Nana asked me while I was sweeping the floor. Ara didn’t come to school today so it was just me who was on duty.

“No, why?” I cocked my head.

“Well, he’s supposed to give me the attendance list for the basketball club but he’s nowhere to be seen! Aish, I shouldn’t have let him do the work. I knew he wouldn’t have done a good job.” Nana slapped her forehead and sighed loudly.

“Well, I haven’t seen him for two days. Maybe he’s sick?”

“I’ll just make a new list.” Nana scowled and walked out of the class, heading towards teacher’s block.

I stopped sweeping and leaned the broom against the wall. Something was wrong. To be exact, something was wrong between Ara and Sungyeol. I knew I wasn’t supposed to be bothered by it but somehow, knowing that my friend was troubled made me feel worse.

~~v~~

“Ara-ya,” I called out the next morning when I saw her walking through the school gate.

She craned her neck to look at me and flashed a sad smile. Her eyes were swollen—like she had cried all day long. I walked up to her and placed my hand on her arm, giving her a concerned look.

“Good morning, Miyeon-ah.” She greeted.

“What happened? Why do you look so sad?”

She stopped walking and so did I. Both of us stood there silently for a couple of moments as other students walked past us, heading straight to their respective classes. Ara ran her fingers through her hair and sighed lightly before she grabbed my arm and led me to the nearest bench outside the student’s block.

“I really care about him after all,” Ara said in a faint voice. I knew who she meant by that so I nodded and placed my hand on hers. “His grandmother passed away last Wednesday… can you imagine the sad look he had on his face? It’s…it’s so not him.”

Her eyes glassed over and her voice quivered—it was almost like she would break if she fell to the ground. She sniffed back her tears and used the tip of her thumb to wipe the tears.

“His grandmother was really important to him. He loved…he loves her so much. She was the one who took care of him when he was little and she was the one who picked him up whenever he falls. She passed away without saying anything. It wasn’t what he’d expected from her. I…I even promised her that I would visit her this Christmas.”

From that moment I knew Ara and Sungyeol had shared a special bond between them. They’d known each other since middle school and his grandmother was fond of her. She used to visit her often. Now that his grandmother had passed away, Ara couldn’t help but to be there with him. She’d gone to his house the day after his grandmother passed away and both of them had spent the day staring at the sky without exchanging words. I couldn’t even imagine a silent Sungyeol. It didn’t match him at all.

I’m sure they were together before but I had no idea why they broke up. It had always remained as a mystery to me until today.

“You’re doing the right thing. You should be there for him because he has no one else to lean on,” I told her after she’d stopped crying.

Ara nodded slowly and wiped her tears with the tissue I gave her the moment she started crying. Then she smiled at me as she held my hands in hers.

“You’re a great friend, Miyeon. You always are. I don’t know why you don’t think it that way but you can trust me.”

Just then Sungyeol entered the school. His backpack was hanging loosely on his shoulders and his face was stiff. There was no smile on his face. He wasn’t’ late that day—the school bell hadn’t rung yet.

After thanking me for comforting her, Ara got up from the bench and walked up to Sungyeol. I could see her placing her slender fingers on his arm and giving him a warm smile. He returned her smile with a weak one. He looked really sad. It wasn’t like him at all.

Something heavy seemed to fill my chest. I held up my hand to my chest and breathed out. Then I watched the two of them heading towards the student’s block, walking side by side with their shoulders touching.

What kind of feeling was that?

I didn’t know.

But I do know that I had been missing him.