“Annyeong, Madeline,” says Him Chan as you take your seat.
You grit your teeth and glare intimidatingly at him.
“Shut up, Kim.” you silence him.
He laughs, and holds his hand out, waving it in front of you.
“I just realized, we share the same last name!”

“I just realized, I don’t really care.” you reply.
Maybe you were going far too overboard with ignoring him and making snappy replies, but for some strange reason, there was something about him that you couldn’t stand. Your gut was telling you to stay away from him, and that’s what you wanted to do, if only he would let you.

After class, he runs up to you.
“You know, I have a piece of information that you hold dear to you,” he says tauntingly.
“Goodbye.” you dismiss yourself, walking in the opposite direction.
“It would be a shame if you were to meet your ex, Madeline.” he says evilly, in a quiet hush so that you were not able to hear him.

Zelo POV:
“Hyung~! Are you hiding something from me?” you ask Dae Hyun, who rubs the nape of his neck nervously.
“Ani, ani,” he replies, waving his hands in front of him.
You raise en eyebrow suspiciously. This has been happening since last night. Your hyungs would gather in a tight circle and whisper amongst themselves, and whenever you came to see what was happening, they would break apart and walk away.

They are hiding something—definitely.
“Tell me what it is now.” you say in an intimidating voice, and use your height to tower over him.
You were no longer acting cute, like you usually do. Now you were dominating. He gulped, and stepped back, putting a hand out to stop you.
“Arasso, but, don’t get mad, okay?” he said, fixing the collar of his shirt.

Recently, your hair was dyed blonde, for your debut. You tug on your hair, waiting curiously for Dae Hyun to tell you what the secret was.
“Uh, w-we saw,” he pauses. “We saw M-Madeline Kim.”
Her name echoes in your mind. It’s been a while since you last heard that name. Somewhere inside, guilt tugs at your heartstrings.
“I know,” you say with a bitter smile. “I see her everyday at the coffee shop.”

“Bwoh?” he says, caught slightly off guard. “But Manager hyung told us not to mention that name ever; and you’ve been seeing her?”
“Ani, I work at the coffee shop. It surprised me when I saw her one day. I never actually talked to her.” you say slowly.
Dae Hyun nods his head sadly at you.
“But she’s your ex, right? She shouldn’t matter anymore,” he asks again. “Right?”
It shouldn’t matter, but it did.
“Yeah,” you lie, shrugging it off.

You carry a small rucksack over your back and wear your favourite shirt. It was a black shirt, a tad oversized with the text ‘FUKK’ printed white on the bottom. You are wearing distressed jeans and nike sport shoes that you usually wear to dance practice. Beads of sweat roll from your forehead, and you wipe it with the back of your palm.

“Annyeong!” you greet cheerfully as you hear the ringing of the bell.
The door shuts quietly behind you. The ahjumma smiles at you as she passes you your apron. You grin as you wash the plates, awaiting Madeline to come again.
“Choi Junhong,” she calls you.
You walk to the counter, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.
“Ne?” you ask.

“We have a new employee coming in,” she informs you as she walks past you to arrange the tables. “Please welcome her and teach her about the coffee shop.”
“Ne, ahjumma~” you say happily, glad that you will finally have a workmate to talk to during your usually boring shift.
As you walk back to the sinks to continue washing, you hear the familiar sound of the ringing bells, and your eyes brighten with excitement.

“Annyeonghaseyo,” you can hear the soft voice of a girl greet the ahjumma.
The rushing of the water from the tap blocks their talking, until all you can hear is the water and muffled voices from a distance. When you finished washing, your turn the tap off and hear the voices more distinctly. The voices are coming closer—they are clearer.

“Annyeonghaseyo,” greets a brown haired girl, who bows so politely that all you can see is the top of her head.
“Annyeong,” you greet in reply, bowing as well.
As you slowly lift your head to see her face, you stumble back slightly. Your eyes meet. Kim Madeline? She tilts her head, maintaining a straight face.

She has changed. The corner of her lips aren’t lifted, like they usually do. Under her eyes, there are distinctive bags that indicate her fatigue. The colour in her cheeks is no longer rosy pink, and her skin is paler than you remember it to be. And lastly, her eyes. Her glare is piercingly cold, and empty, like everything in the world was taken from her. She is not the Madeline you knew her to be.

“It’s nice to meet you,” she says as a formality, shaking your hand.
You force a smile in return. She smiles unnaturally, like she has forced it, just as you. Her voice seems so bland and hollow—different from how it was before; cheerful, bright, and happy, with an edge that made your heart flutter.

Her eyes, which used to hold the light of wonder and beauty is gone, leaving a her with a dull expression. Her hair: it’s longer, cutting off to the end of her stomach. What happened?
“How are you?” you managed to choke out, ridden with guilt.
“Fine,” she replies. “Not dead yet, so I’m doing great.”
Dead?
“What?” you ask, confused.
Your palms begin to sweat, and your lip trembles slightly. You bite your lip to stop it. I’m a horrible person. I made her like this.