Maybe I was fine, and that all I needed to do was admit to that fact. Maybe it was all in my head, like Mr. Dong said. Maybe I needed to let in a little light to somewhat fade the darkness in me.

Maybe I needed to smile more often, and not block the positivity. I needed a change for sure.

And change was coming to me.

Mr. Dong had asked to walk me home, and I would’ve said no if he didn’t add that he had somewhere to go, and that he’d pass by my house anyway (something I found odd, as we had stayed in the park for two hours).

Mr. Don hadn’t mentioned anything about my problems, and it probably had to do with ‘not dwelling on it’, contrary to what Mino said: talk it out.

Mr. Dong said I couldn’t run from my problems, but wasn’t staying mum about it another form of running from it? It felt like pretending they weren’t there, when in fact, they were.

I decided I would balance both. I wouldn’t think of it as often as I used to; I would write it down, or talk it out. To do so, I needed things to do, which I already had (studying). To do so, I needed company, and I didn’t. Mino wasn’t here, and even though I could write to him, I didn’t need just an ear. I needed words to guide me. Mr. Dong seemed just like the person who fit the job. He wouldn’t mind, would he?

Mr. Dong talked about rather trivial things, like the weather and the seasons. He didn’t fail to mention that winter used to be his favorite season out of the four, but things have changed, and now he didn’t favor anything.

Things change, and the four seasons were testimony to that. It was funny how change was constant, and perhaps, change was the only thing that was unchanging.

Likewise, I wouldn’t always be in the shadow. Sun shines, and I’m trying to convince myself it does.

Most of the walk was spent in silence, as Mr. Dong preferred to do so. He seemed like the person who does a lot of thinking, but unlike me, his thoughts don’t bring him down. His mind must be a place where light shines brightly.

I didn’t feel the need to fill the silences, as I also didn’t like talking. What I did instead, was try to set my brain into this format that not everything is negative.

We arrived at my apartment block, and my eyes gaped at Seri who was leaning on a black sedan, her eyes fixated on us.

She stood up on her feet as soon as she realized it was Mr. Dong I was walking with.

Mr. Dong had yet again disguised himself in a black snapback and a jersey over a plain white shirt. A flashy chain hung from his neck. No one would even suspect he was a lecturer.

Seri greeted us with a bow, and judging from the way she leaned on the car just a second ago, she was waiting for me.

“Good afternoon, sir,” Seri gave him an awkward smile that seemed forced, and she turned to me.

“Seri,” her name rolled off Mr. Dong’s tongue unnaturally.

“Why haven’t you been attending my classes?”

The question seemed like it caught her off guard, and she, a Literature major, seemed like she struggled for something to say as she stumbled over her incoherent words, and just decided to settle with a single word that would summarize everything: “Problems.”

“Sir,” Seri’s dark brown eyes shifted from Mr. Dong and to me as she breathed out the syllable.

“I was wondering why you two were walking together,” the words in the question seemed like a suggestion, but the way she said it sounded impersonal, very much like Seri.