Ha Kyung silently watched Nam Sun asleep next to her. She traced her fingers on the wooden podium before she linked her fingers with Nam Sun’s hand. She gripped tightly while Nam Sun’s hand was limp. Nam Sun stirred as his face turned to face where Ha Kyung was seated. Ha Kyung squeezed Nam Sun’s hand lightly several times before she slowly let go of it but Nam Sun grabbed her wrist in a sudden that caught her off guard. Nam Sun slowly opened his eyes and gazed up at Ha Kyung. Ha Kyung didn’t know why but she looked away from his gaze and pulled her wrist free from his grip. Somehow, his gaze gave her a nervous feeling.

In a hurry, Ha Kyung got off the podium and ran out to the staircase inside the school building. She felt her face burning and her head spinning. She supported herself with the wall and only took a few steps down the stairs before she stopped midway. Nam Sun ran after her and pinned her to the wall that again caught Ha Kyung by surprise.

“Nam Sun ah… Wha… What are you doing?” Ha Kyung stuttered.

Nam Sun was quiet as he gazed strongly into her eyes. Ha Kyung felt like she couldn’t breathe. His grip on her wrist was so strong that she couldn’t wriggle herself free. Slowly, Nam Sun leaned into her that somehow created a panic mechanism for Ha Kyung. Nam Sun leaned in closer and closer as he titled his head. Just when his lips were inches away from hers, Ha Kyung turned away with her eyes shut.

It made Nam Sun stop before he smirked as he looked down. Ha Kyung could still feel Nam Sun’s alcoholic breath against her skin.

“You’re… drunk.” Ha Kyung whispered softly as she turned to face Nam Sun’s face again.

It made Nam Sun chuckle as he slowly let go of her wrist. Drunk? Drunk it is then. Nam Sun brushed his fingers through his hair as he leaned against the wall next to Ha Kyung. Nam Sun let out a sigh as Ha Kyung stared blankly straight ahead.

Heung Soo and Kang Joo who was still at the rooftop hadn’t noticed Ha Kyung and Nam Sun leaving. Kang Joo kept talking to Heung Soo in a slurry voice as she kept poking Heung Soo in the chest.

“Yah! Stop it!” Heung Soo scolded her as he grabbed her wrist to stop her from poking him.

Kang Joo glared at Heung Soo the way she normally did and made a cute looking supposedly angry face as she pulled her wrist free from his grip. Kang Joo pouted and poured her cup with soju again.

“Yah! That’s enough!” Heung Soo said snatching her cup from her hand.

“Yah! My drink!” She yelled at him as her hand swung to grab her cup but ended up slapping Heung Soo’s face.

Heung Soo glared at Kang Joo who stared at him blankly before she started giggling.

“It’s not funny.” Heung Soo huffed as he gulped down the cup of soju he just snatched from Kang Joo’s hand.

“Yah… My drink!” She yelled again as she snatched the empty cup.

“It’s gone!” She said with her lips pursed as she looked into the cup.

“Aish… Don’t drink anymore.” Heung Soo warned her as he grabbed the nearest soju bottle near Kang Joo.

Kang Joo pouted her lips cutely as she glared at Heung Soo.

“Oppa…” Kang Joo begged as she pulled Heung Soo’s arm.

“Just one more…” She pleaded.

“Nope. Not gonna fall for that.” Heung Soo said ignoring her as he pushed her away from him.

Kang Joo kept begging Heung Soo to allow her to drink some more which started to irritate him.

“Aish, Song Ha Kyung I think you should really get your friend home.” Heung Soo said as he tried to loosen Kang Joo’s grip on his jacket.

“Song Ha Kyung.” Heung Soo called again when he didn’t hear Ha Kyung responding to him.

Heung Soo turned around expecting to see Ha Kyung and Nam Sun behind him but instead no one was there. The space where Ha Kyung and Nam Sun had previously occupied was empty.

“Aish… Where the hell did the both of them go?” Heung Soo muttered under his breath as he got off the podium to find for Ha Kyung or maybe even Nam Sun.

“Don’t you dare drink while I’m gone!” Heung Soo warned Kang Joo as he grabbed the rest of the soju bottles left.

Heung Soo walked towards the door and was about to go down the stairs when he realized that Nam Sun and Ha Kyung was sitting by the stairs in the dark.

“Yah. What are you guys doing?” Heung Soo asked.

“Owh, nothing. Wae?” Ha Kyung stood up as she turned towards Heung Soo.

“I just thought that you should bring Kang Joo home. She’s pretty drunk at the moment.” Heung Soo said.

“Owh. Okay.” Ha Kyung said as she ran past Heung Soo and back at the rooftop.

“Are you just going to stay there all day or something?” Heung Soo asked Nam Sun as he tapped Nam Sun’s shoulder with his foot.

Nam Sun brushed Heung Soo’s foot away and got off the stairs and walked back to the rooftop with Heung Soo walking behind him. Suddenly, Nam Sun stopped in his tracks and turned to Heung Soo.

“What?” Heung Soo asked.

Nam Sun grabbed one of the soju bottles in Heung Soo’s hand and raised it in front of his face before he popped the lid off and took a swig from it.

“Yah… You can’t even drink well.” Heung Soo tried to snatch the bottle away but Nam Sun turned away way too quickly.

Heung Soo just shook his head and followed Nam Sun back to the podium. Ha Kyung was already next to Kang Joo who seemed to have passed out while Heung Soo left her alone earlier.

“Kang Joo ya… Wake up.” Ha Kyung said trying to wake Kang Joo up.

When Ha Kyung failed to wake her up, Ha Kyung tried her best to support Kang Joo as she carried her.

“I’ll carry her. You go hail a cab.” Heung Soo said appearing next to Ha Kyung as he held onto Kang Joo’s arm.

Ha Kyung just silently agreed and allowed Heung Soo to carry Kang Joo on his back. Ha Kyung collected all of hers and Kang Joo’s belongings and headed for the door. Nam Sun chugged down on the soju as he watched Ha Kyung hurry off and Heung Soo following after her with Kang Joo on his back. When he no longer saw them, Nam Sun placed down the bottle next to him as he lied down on the podium. The alcohol sensation in his throat made him feel nauseous. He never liked drinking but he had no idea what came over him that night

“Thanks.” Ha Kyung told Heung Soo when he finally placed Kang Joo into the cab.

“Just get home safe.” Heung Soo said before he his heels and headed back into the school.

Ha Kyung gave the rooftop of the school one last look before she left in the cab. Heung Soo quietly went back to the rooftop.

“That kid, can’t even drink and ended up like a mess.” Heung Soo mumbled as he stepped towards the podium.

Nam Sun who had been lying there “asleep” opened his eyes slowly as he stared into the space where Ha Kyung had previously sat. His hand that Ha Kyung had previously linked with was right in front of his face. He curled his fingers as if he wanted to feel her palm against his again.

“Dude, get up.” Heung Soo said kicking Nam Sun’s leg before he went to pick up the empty bottles of soju.

Nam Sun blinked away the tears and slowly sat up from his position to only feel a pain shot up his head and the taste of the alcohol in his throat didn’t help. He winced as he rubbed his temple. He let out a small sigh before he started to silently pick up the cups and chopsticks lying on the podium.

After they was done cleaning up, Nam Sun and Heung Soo walked back to Nam Sun’s place silently with Heung Soo’s arm wrapped around Nam Sun’s waist to support him. At first they had only walked in silent when Heung Soo decided to break the tension.

“Still planning to enlist into the army?” Heung Soo’s asked.

“I guess.” Was all Nam Sun could say as his head nodded slightly.

“I’ll go with you then.” Heung Soo said.

“No.”

“What’s the big deal? Sooner or later I’d have to go too myself.”

“We’ve been over this. Don’t ruin your future again because of me!” Nam Sun said frustrated as he let go of Heung Soo’s shoulder.

Heung Soo still had his arm around Nam Sun’s waist. No matter what, he wanted to be there to support him. He wanted to enlist into the army with Nam Sun if he had to in order to protect him. Heung Soo didn’t want to lose Nam Sun again like he did years ago.

“I’m not ruining my future.” Heung Soo said it through gritted teeth.

“You are alright?! Don’t throw away your chance to college for me. So, just let me do this myself.” Nam Sun said as he pulled Heung Soo’s arm away and walked off.

“Where are you going?” Heung Soo tried to support Nam Sun who could barely walk straight.

“I need to be alone.” Nam Sun shoved Heung Soo away and walked off.

Heung Soo stood by the sidewalk watching Nam Sun walk away. It made him feel frustrated. Nam Sun constantly felt indebted to Heung Soo that sometimes it made him upset.

Nam Sun tried to walk back home even though he could barely walk in a straight line. At one point, Nam Sun gave up on walking and allowed himself to slump onto a nearby bench. Nam Sun felt like a big burden squeezing onto his heart that made him feel like he could barely breathe. He then felt a figure seating beside him. With the tail of his eye, he saw Heung Soo’s face that made him sigh.

“Just let me do this on my own alright?” Nam Sun told Heung Soo the same thing again.

Heung Soo was quiet. He clasped his hand and looked down on his feet.

“Come on, let’s go home.” Heung Soo finally said as he held onto Nam Sun’s waist and walked him home.

“Do you want me to stay over tonight?” Heung Soo asked Nam Sun when he dropped him at Nam Sun’s place.

“No. Go home.” Nam Sun said pushing Heung Soo lightly.

“Are you sure?” Heung Soo asked worriedly.

“I’m fine. Just go home and rest.” Nam Sun said taking off his shoes with his back facing Heung Soo.

“I’ll come by tomorrow then.” Heung Soo said and left.

The front door slammed behind Nam Sun as he leaned against it and slowly slumped to the floor. He closed his eyes and sighed trying to calm his nerves. He soon felt the tears he held rolled down his cheeks. For several minutes Nam Sun sat on the cold floor as he cried. He wished he didn’t have to make such decision but he had no choice. He didn’t want to leave Ha Kyung who had just lately been able to be close with and he wished he could bring Heung Soo along with him but if he did he would be greedy and selfish. He didn’t want to ruin Heung Soo’s last chance on a bright future again.

Nam Sun blinked his one last tear and slowly steadied himself with the wall around him. He roughly rubbed his face with his palm and walked towards the sink. He accidentally bumps into his low dining table on his way to the sink at his kitchen causing a bunch of envelopes and letters falling to the floor. Out of all those, a letter stood out to him. He stared at it hard before he bent down to pick it up.

Recipient: Ko Nam Sun

---------University

Course: Business Administration

Nam Sun smirked looking at the letter. What a piece of crap he thought. It didn’t matter if he got into college or not at the time. If he really wanted to, he wouldn’t even have the money to go to college. Nam Sun slowly crumpled the piece of paper and tossed it into the bin before he retreated to his bedroom.

In his room, Nam Sun lied on his bed as he stared at the blank ceiling. Slowly, tears started appearing at the brim of his eyes. Nam Sun closed his eyes as he brought an arm to his forehead. Unbearably, the tears flowed down his cheeks once again. In his jacket pocket, his phone started vibrating. Nam Sun pulled it out to see an incoming call from Ha Kyung. His fingers traced on the screen as he hesitated before he dropped it to his side. 

* * * *

“Kang Joo ah, wake up. We’re at your place.” Ha Kyung shook Kang Joo lightly.

Kang Joo’s eyes fluttered open and looked up at Ha Kyung. She noticed that she had her head on Ha Kyung’s lap and her legs curled as the seat wouldn’t allow her to extend her legs. After a short silence Kang Joo spoke up.

“Let’s go to your place. I don’t want omma to see me like this.” Kang Joo lied as she smiled at Ha Kyung.

Ha Kyung hesitated for awhile before she nodded her head and instructed the taxi driver to send them to her place instead. It wasn’t entirely true the reason why Kang Joo didn’t want to go home was because of that but that night she just wanted to have someone with her that night. Kang Joo shut her eyes again as she snuggled into Ha Kyung’s skirt. The thought of her fight with Heung Soo flashed through her mind. His words and hers tingled in her ear.

“I’m planning to enlist into the army.” Heung Soo had confessed to Kang Joo when they met up by the front gate of the school.

“I thought you told me you got an offer to go to college.” Kang Joo said upset.

“Nam Sun didn’t get any.”

“So, you’re going to the army because of Nam Sun? You’re throwing away your future for Nam Sun?”

At that moment, Kang Joo was too upset. She favored Nam Sun but knowing that Heung Soo wanted to throw away a future for himself because of his best friend pretty much upsets her. Heung Soo never spoke a word anymore after that.

“He ruined your future once and you’re going for another?” The words sharp like blades spat out of Kang Joo’s mouth.

She didn’t really wanted to hurt anyone but at that moment, Heung Soo’s decision hurt her more. She wanted Heung Soo to make a positive turn but right now, she felt like he was making a wrong one.

Kang Joo blinked her eyes open feeling like she just stepped out of a nightmare. She was no longer in the back seat of the cab but instead she was on a bed with Ha Kyung asleep next to her. She felt like she was being greedy at the moment but she couldn’t help herself. Kang Joo moved in closer to Ha Kyung and hugged her as she tried to fall asleep again hoping the scene of her argument with Heung Soo wouldn’t come back.

Ha Kyung hadn’t fallen asleep just yet. She couldn’t get out the thought that Nam Sun wanted to enlist into the army. She wished she could stop him from going but nonetheless, Nam Sun was right. Enlisting into the army was probably better for him since he couldn’t even get into college. Ha Kyung sighed as she shut her eyes and clasped Kang Joo’s hand that was on her waist. No matter how hard she tried to fall asleep, she would eventually notice herself still awake.

Ha Kyung quietly crept out of bed and grabbed her phone and a sweater before leaving her bedroom. Ha Kyung started walking down the empty neighborhood street. In her hand she looked back at the clock that showed 1.50 a.m. She scrolled through her contacts and came upon Nam Sun’s number. She tapped the screen several times before she decided to actually call him.

She waited and waited for him to answer but instead, the voice mail answered her instead. Ha Kyung sighed as she dialed the number again. After there was still no answer after the second try, Ha Kyung decided to think that Nam Sun was probably asleep.

Ha Kyung walked to a nearby neighborhood playground and sat on an empty bench as she looked at the lonely swings as the night wind softly blew lullabies. Ha Kyung closed her eyes as she felt the soft caress of the wind against her skin. She wrapped her sweater close to her body as she felt the wind blowing for her tears to drop. She wished for his warm familiarity holding onto her.

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Okay, I managed to chip in some time earlier to write a chapter and so here you go... I've been a bit busy but I'm trying to finish up this story as soon as possible before I get anymore busier so I hope you guys like it...

It seems that I've made Kang Joo and Ha Kyung have the same worries... >_<