Misung walked on the street. She looked like a lifeless doll, ready to break down any moment. Her long brown hair was a bit messy, her jacket was crumpled. So was her shirt. One of her boots had the shoelace undid and her backpack was ready to fall down from her shoulders. She was broken to the core. Her eyes stood out the most as they were completely empty of all emotions. Even though she seemed to look ahead, at where she was going, her eyes saw nothing. Her brain didn’t really register what was going on around her. Her legs moved on their own. Mechanical movements that led her as far as her body allowed her to. She was just walking aimlessly as an empty shell of the girl she used to be. Life had been hard on her and she couldn’t handle its weight anymore. It was too much of a heavy burden.

As she passed by some boys who were playing football, the ball almost hit her once. If it weren’t for Chen who caught it in the last second, maybe she would have been hurt, or maybe she would have been woken up from her state. Anyway, the impact never came and as Chen scanned the girl, his eyes light up a little.

“Oh, Misung-shi.” He smiled and raised his hand, saluting her in a silly way. His enthusiasm disappeared soon, as she didn’t answer. She wasn’t the type to ignore people yet there she was, walking without even sparing the boy the tiniest glance. A frown formed on Chen’s face. She seemed a bit weird. Too cold, too distant…too absentminded. The Misung he knew wasn’t like that. That girl always had her lips stretched in a playful smile even when things were hard for her. She always smiled, no matter what. He admired her a lot for that but now...

Chen gripped his hold on the ball. His eyes never left the figure who walked as if drained of all life. The traffic light was red yet Misung showed no signs of stopping. Her legs moved forward even when she reached the end of the sidewalk.

“What the-“

Chen’s body temperature dropped instantly. The ball landed on the ground as he dashed towards Misung. He didn’t know how he succeeded to run so fast but he did and he grabbed Misung’s arms and pulled her back on the sidewalk just in time. The car that was close to running over her honked as it sped away.

“Are you crazy?!” Chen shouted.

Once again he received no reaction in return. He turned Misung’s body so she would now face him. Her eyes were still empty.

“Yah, Misung!” he called her name but she remained the same, unfocused. “Get a hold of yourself!”

He was scared that his harsh tone might scare her but it didn’t. It didn’t even reach her ears properly. His now cold fingers grabbed Misung’s chin and made her look up. The look in her eyes could freeze anyone. He had never witnessed such a scary expression on anyone’s face. That imagine was going to be etched inside his soul forever.

“Y-Yah Misung!” he called again, this time much gentler. “This is no fun, girl!”

Chen took a deep breath and slapped his palms on Misung’s cheeks. Her dark irises finally seemed to focus. She blinked, and then blinked again, and again. She was a bit confused, like a little lost dog.

“Are you alright?” Chen asked.

Alright? She didn’t know if she was. She wondered that as well. She didn’t even know the meaning of the word anymore but nevertheless, she nodded, a bit hesitant.

“Fool, pay attention where you’re walking.” He scolded.

That’s when it hit her. She didn’t know when or how she ended up there, with him. Actually, she didn’t know where that there was. Her lips quirked up in a tiny smile, placing her hands on Chen’s and making him let go of her face.

“I’m alright, Jongdae-shi.” She assured but her eyes said the opposite. They were screaming for help even though she didn’t realize.

Chen watched her look around them, trying to figure out where she was. When she found out, she crossed the street and made her way to the bus stop, leaving him in the middle of the sidewalk, all alone.

“Chen, are you coming?” one of the boys called out for him.

Chen looked at his friends and contemplated. He was sure he wouldn’t be able to concentrate after this weird incident.

“Play without me. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He decided and ran after Misung. The girl was already getting in the bus. She had sat down in one of the seats in the front while Chen chose to stay in the back and watch her from afar. She was looking out the window. There was a bit more life in those orbs of hers now but Chen couldn’t push back the feeling of worry that sparkled inside his heart. How could he when she was still acting so weird?

Ten minutes later, Misung finally got off. Her small steps took her inside an apartment building, to the 3^rd floor. Chen hid behind a wall and waited for her to open the door and enter her apartment. When she did so, he came out of his hiding place. Until then he had been so focused on the girl that he didn’t even realize that the place around him was slightly familiar.

“Apartment 43.” He read out loud the silver numbers that hung on her door. A small gasp left his lips. “Impossible.” He ran upstairs to the 4^th floor and stopped in front of the apartment that was right above Misung’s. He took a set of keys out of his pocket and, with his eyes closed, he tried to see if they fit. A click was heard and the door opened.

“This is funny. She lives right under me and I had no idea.” He chuckled.

Misung lazily locked the apartment door and went to the staircase. With each step, the weight on her heart seemed to become heavier. She was tired of school. She was tired of learning and struggling to survive in that jungle. Everything was so hard yet there were so many people who seemed to do just fine. Why couldn’t she be one of them? She wanted to be smarter. She wanted to find learning as an easy task but she couldn’t. She had to struggle more than the others and she somehow always failed.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw a familiar guy come out of the elevator. His eyes met hers and, in an instant, his face lit up from his bright smile.

“Morning!” he cheerfully greeted.

Misung stared at him blankly, not able to fully comprehend what he was doing there since she has never seen him in the building until then.

“Are you alright?” he waved his hands in front of her eyes. Misung blinked a few times, regaining her senses.

“What are you doing here?” she asked as she grabbed Chen’s hands and moved them away from her face.

“I live here.”

Misung frowned. “How come I never saw you until now?”

“I have no idea.” Chen shrugged. “I was asking myself the same thing. Maybe it is because I usually leave for school early. You on the other hand are almost always late.”

She rolled her eyes at his statement and started walking out of the building. “What apartment?”

“48.”

She stopped walking and spoon around, pointing her finger at his face. “The idiot who listens to rock music whenever I am trying to learn or sleep.”

“Yah, at least I'm not listening to music late at night, you know?” Chen mumbled.

Misung bit her lip. She didn’t want to insult him. Those words came out of without her mind's approval. She guessed that that was the reason why Chen didn’t utter another word for the rest of the ride to school. She was a bit wrong thought. He simply didn't know what to say. He was being careful not to say anything wrong, anything that might bring back the weird Misung he saw the previous day, but in the end he was so careful that he forgot to say anything.

“See ya!” Chen barely whispered when they had to part and go to their respective classrooms.

Misung grinned at him as if nothing happened in the morning or the previous day. “Yeah, see ya.”

A small feeling of relief washed over Chen as he saw that grin. That was more like the girl he knew. Her lips were meant for those kind of grins or smiles.

But what we see is not necessary true. It may be an illusion because people often find themselves playing in a theatre piece, smiling and moving their lips according to the lines they rehearsed so many times before. Not once can our blind eyes see beneath all those lies. They can’t see what lays behind those actions or words – they can’t see the mess inside one’s soul.

She was good at locking herself away from prying eyes but just for once she wished someone would see her real self that was crouched down and crying in the shadows.