Byeol’s first part of school was lonesome, everyone seemed to be keeping their distance and stared at her like she was an alien from outer space. Her cheeks hurt from smiling so much, but she thought it was less painful than crying in front of her whole school. When lunch came Soobin and Gina were nowhere to be found. She even bought them banana milk and chips but they must have stayed in class because they were not in the cafeteria. She sat at their usual spot by herself and she drank all three banana milks. When lunch was over, she saw Soobin on the hallway. She waved but Soobin didn’t see her and walked passed Byeol. While sitting in class she tried to talk to Gina but she said she was too busy with her work she shoved her textbook in her face and ignored Byeol. 5 minutes before classes were let out Gina was already gone from her desk with her bag and all… she must have had an emergency. Byeol walked to the bus stop but again, Soobin and Gina were nowhere to be found.

Byeol got on the bus and sat in the middle again, she felt like the world was against her and she wave waving her white flag.

“They were fake anyway,” a male voice came from the seat next to Byeol.

Byeol looked up and Red was staring at her. She didn’t say anything but looked passed him.

“Are you mad at us?” Red waved his hand in front of Byeol’s face.

Still there was no response from her and she began to dig in her bag, looking for something that she knew was never there.

“I’m sorry,” it was Blondie sitting on the other side of Byeol.

Byeol’s eyes began to tear up, she now opened her bag and started to rearrange her books.

“Are you going to cry?” it was Blue with his annoyed voice.

Tears began to flow on Byeol and there was no use trying to hide it.

“Yah!” Blondie raised his voice, “will you stop? Can’t you see we’ve done enough?”

Byeol couldn’t stop the tears that were like a river now flowing down her face and she started to sob. She didn’t care who saw because she was tired of trying to hide all the heartache that she felt. It was too late. As people stared not one said a word but looked pasted her. The bus stopped and her sobs stopped but the tears kept flowing, there was so much emotions that she trapped in herself that it was too much to contain any longer.

As people started getting on and other started getting off, there was a hand with a handkerchief that appeared at Byeol’s face.

She looked up and it was Ghost Boy; his pale skin was so perfect and flawless, she thought of a porcelain figure. His long fingers that reached out to her with his handkerchief was nicely manicured. His eyes were fixed on Byeol’s face; this time they were not lost eyes but concerned eyes.

Byeol took his handkerchief and still didn’t know what to say. It didn’t help that he kept quiet. She tried to say thanks but nothing came out but a sigh. He took no offense because by the time she took his handkerchief he darted towards the exit without a look back.

Looking at his handkerchief she thought how it was soft and warm, she began to wipe her eyes and tap her cheekbones with her fingertips. It was probably too late to worry about her eyes becoming puffy.

“Wow,” it was Blondie, “he didn’t say anything but hand you his handkerchief and leave… like James Bond.”

“He looks like a murderer,” Red watched Ghost Boy walk away from the bus, “or maybe an assassin. Did you see him? I thought he was like us.”

“Maybe he’s mute,” Blue wasn’t too concerned, “Or maybe she scared him off.” He pointed at Byeol.

Byeol looked at Blue with disgust. She was tired of his snide remarks, she took out her notebook and a pen. Byeol started to scribble things down.

“You… are… no longer… wel…come… welcomed… in my… home,” Blondie was reading what Byeol was writing. “Me?!”

Byeol continued to write.

Red was surprised and looked at the notebook himself, “Oh! She drew an arrow to… Yah!” Red was now pointing at Blue.

Blue’s eyes popped up and looked at both Red and Blondie. “That’s fine,” he said with no emotion and he was gone.

Byeol was shocked with his disappearing act but she slammed her notebook close and threw her stuff back into her bag. She folded her arms and waited for the next stop, her apartment. 

Byeol was back in her apartment, it was such a long bus ride home. Red & Blondie was slow to follow, she didn’t care if they came into her apartment, and it was Blue that wasn’t welcomed.  They were rather quiet but she dealt with so much today she had no concern. She ignored her messy apartment and went straight into her room, she threw her bag on the chair and tossed herself on the bed. She began to empty her pockets and pulled out Ghost Boy’s handkerchief. She examined it closely and thought to herself, it wasn’t silk after all; it must be some expensive cotton. It was dark blue with light blue and light grey thread crisscrossing each other. Unfolding it completely she thought it looked rather handsome. She smiled to herself and crumbled it in both hands and held it close to her smile and couldn’t help but to smell it. Behind her own scent of tears there was a hint of a peppermint, nutmeg, cedar, something like jasmine and perhaps ginger. She closed her eyes this time and she was right it was jasmine but there was also something else but she didn’t know what. When she opened her eyes, hovering above her was Blondie.

“Yah!” she sat up in bed and put the handkerchief back in her pocket.

“You like him?” Blondie stepped back and looked at Byeol with confused eyes.

“No, I don’t even know him,” she took her school vest off, “get out, I’m changing.” She slipped her shoes off.

Blondie was still trying to make sense of what just happened, “are you sure you don’t like him?”

“Get out!” Byeol flung her left shoe at him and went straight through him. Blondie looked at her one more time and he was gone.

How she wished he used the door, she scanned her room two more times until she finally changed her clothes.

Stepping out of her room, her mother was standing in the living room staring at her daughter in disbelief.

“What?” Byeol looked at her oversized Mad Hatter shirt.

Her mother pointed towards her daughter’s bedroom, “Who were you just talking too?”

Byeol didn’t know how long her mother was listening to her. “No one, you must be hearing things.” Byeol looked back towards her room and shrugged her shoulders. She began walking towards the kitchen.

Her mother looked at her daughter again, “I better not be finding you with boys in your room!” Her mother walked to Byeol’s room and swung the door open.

“What?” Byeol turned to her mother. “You think I’m hiding someone in my room?”

“I don’t know what to believe!” Byeol’s mother was searching through her daughter’s room, “The last thing I need is to become a grandmother!”

“Don’t be stupid!” Byeol took offense to what her mother just said.

“I’m too young to be a grandmother you hear me!” she was still looking around Byeol’s room. To her dismay there was no one there hiding.

Byeol wasn’t in the mood to fight, she searched the cupboards and found ramen and more ramen. She sighed and took a package out.

“Make three, I’m hungry too,” Byeol’s mother said while she shoved clothes to the side of the couch to make room for her to sit as she turned the TV on.

Rolling her eyes, Byeol grabbed two more packages and turned to grab the pot to boil water. There stood in front of her was Red. She was caught off guard and dropped the ramen.

“What’s wrong with you today?” her unconcerned mother said while flipping through channels.

“Nothing!” Byeol looked at Red and mouthed to him, ‘Not now!’

“Why?” Red smiled. “Are you feeling better after that freak handed you his hankie?” He gestured to the side pretending to hand something off to an imaginary person, she made a pinched face.

“Don’t be stupid!” Byeol yelled at Red.

“What did you say?” Byeol’s mother turned around looking at her daughter.

Taking a deep breath, “I was talking about the news. I mean how many times have they been wrong about the weather?” She grabbed the pot and began to fill it with water.

“Yeah,” her mother wasn’t really paying attention to the news, it was just back ground noise and there wasn’t anything interesting on TV. She was actually playing a game on her cellphone. “They get paid big bucks to tell us the weather, they could just say it’ll be hot again tomorrow.” Off she went again concentrating on her game again.

Byeol was happy her mother didn’t show too much interest. She looked at both Red and Blondie with displeasure and they walked out of the kitchen. She followed them into the living room. They looked at her again and she gave them a don’t start with me now look.

Red smiled, he was so handsome she thought and before she could do anything, he jumped in the air and landed next to her mom. Byeol gasped and both her hands over .

“Don’t watch the news if you’re going to cry,” Byeol’s mother looked at her daughter. She didn’t even notice Red sitting next to her. “Byeol!”

Byeol was staring at Red, not paying attention to her mom.

“Byeol!” her mother stood up and hit her daughter in the forehead, “The water is boiling over!”

“Oh!” Byeol ran to the kitchen and threw the ramen in the pot.

“I swear,” her mother sat back down on the couch, “I’m surprised you haven’t burnt this place down.” She started to flip through the channels again.

Byeol wasn’t sure how long until she was ready to scream and the two idiots. She occupied her time breathing slowly and watching the ramen cook.