he hallways were full, busy with the uncounted amount of students who were doing practically everything; from gossiping, bullying, eyeing someone’s man, to kissing someone’s man; all done in the very same, horrid hallways.

Tch, why are there only the bads, you ask? Well, the answer lies in the eyes of the beholder, after all; and nothing seemed to be good when they came across this one particular beholder’s eyes:

Jung Hee.

This was the day the Jung had been utterly terrified of since a week ago if she remembered it correctly; since the day Lu Han had brought her back to the hospital for a therapy and a checkup with her doctor, that had eventually became a dreaded day for her as the doctor proclaimed her healthy enough and able to attend school in a week’s time.

Which turned out to be today.

Geez, the week’s went that fast, huh?

But still, Jung Hee didn’t get to digest any better meanings to this building filled with students and teachers during that week’s time. In her eyes, up until now, every particle that built the school, its people, and practically everything in it was still as dreadful as how she had first imagine it without Jung Chae’s image being infused in. It hadn’t been any help even when Lu Han personally took her here just this morning and kissed her forehead before he drove away, after carefully assuring her that everything would be alright until he’d pick her up later at noon.

Jung Hee hissed inaudibly. Why oh why on earth did she even believe his words when she knew that men’s tongues were full of deadly venom?

Oh yeah, ‘maybe’ because that man was Lu Han.

Being gone for a month from school without any chance to even step her feet onto the marble floorings of this building, Jung Hee suddenly felt like a total stranger to the school that had been a silent witness of her almost 3 years of schooling here; a sole witness of her 3 years of friendship, laugh, tears, love, and also sisterhood.

Suddenly Jung Hee’s chest felt tight, making her feel like her lungs were empty, without any supply of oxygen that she was constantly giving through her nostrils being any help. Right now, her brain could only project one word over and over again:

How?

How on earth could this one building trigger her memories so much? How could the school that once had become her sanctuary from the loneliness that trapped her in her own home now become a place so dreadful to her? How could the place where she once felt so relaxed and free in now hurt her heart so much? And how could the atmosphere here that she had once felt so right now felt so wrong?

It was wrong. Everything was wrong here to Jung Hee now. It was wrong how she felt so little and so alone here, it was wrong how the students’ eyes were now directed to her, it was wrong how they started to whisper to the person beside them about things that she was most certain to have herself as the topics, and most importantly, it was wrong how she was even standing here… alone.

Tch. Funny, right? There used to be three of them…

“Isn’t that Jung Chae? I thought she was supposed to be dead by now,”

“Fool! That’s not Jung Chae, that’s Jung Hee!”

“Tch, does that even matter? I’m pissed enough that one of them even survived!”

Silence.

At that moment, everything around Jung Hee seemed to blur away; the people, the sounds, the time. It was killing her. The loneliness that she had long dreaded starting to struck its way right through her chest. It was hurting her. It was hurting her heart so much to know that her presence wasn’t welcomed here, apparently. Wait, no, why does she matter now? It didn’t hurt as much to know that people didn’t want her to walk around on the face of the earth anymore — it had been quite a daily feeling for her anyway — but her sister? She wanted to be completely honest, and she was telling the truth when she said it hurt her more that people actually hoped for her sister’s death as much as they do for hers.

Jung Hee was too outraged to even bother to try to hold back the tears that were starting to build up in her eyes. Humph, why did she even manage to hear what those people said anyway?

Suddenly a soft wind blew to her way, caressing her cheek ever so gently; it was as if a tender and loving hand was actually there, the surface of her skin. Though the act was small, it had Jung Hee’s heart warming a bit. Of course, after she realized who did it.

Jung Chae.

Her loving bestfriend, her other half, the girl who even in her ghostly appearance still managed to find a way to soothe Jung Hee’s trembling heart with such simple actions like blowing a gentle wind to embrace her even when she was unable to hug her directly, the girl who was now smiling at her from the deepest core of the buzzing people, but still managed to look so clear and heavenly; her sister.

A small part of Jung Hee’s heart melted away at the sight of her sister standing there, a few meters from her probably, as she realized that she wasn’t alone like how she thought she was, after all. Sure, Jun Hong hasn’t even revealed the tip of his nose yet, but she wasn’t alone. Jung Chae was there with her. Jung Chae was there guarding her. Jung Chae was there for her. Even from afar, Jung Hee felt at ease thanks to Jung Chae’s presence, because she knew that Jung Chae would do absolutely anything to protect her; both when she was alive, moreover now when she was more of a heavenly being who could even control winds.

Though, the other side of her heart felt a slight bit of jealousy. Right, Jung Chae's a free being now, isn’t she? Sure, according to her confession that last time they met in Jung Hee’s dreams, she wasn’t exactly free-free, but hey, at least she didn’t have to deal with these cruel earthly beings anymore, and Jung Hee really envied her for that.

***

All his years, Jun Hong knew that gossips travel fast, but it was only today did he really felt that he had to give those gossipers some applause for their quickness in spreading gossips away.

Just imagine, if Jun Hong got it correctly, Jung Hee had just arrived at school less than ten minutes ago, but in a matter of minutes only, the news of her arrival have spread around like wildfire, all the way to his classroom at the far end of the building. If this was some science lesson, he’d say that this was nearing a light speed record.

Though yes, he wouldn’t have any time to think about all those, would he? As always. The exact second he heard the news of Jung Hee’s arrival at the school, he immediately refused to waste any precious seconds and began running his little life out to the other side of the building, aiming to reach his best friend to at least check on her as fast as he could. To him, nothing else mattered except for Jung Hee — especially now. Jun Hong knew by heart just how weird and uncomfortable she'd feel right now, with her other half now gone and all, so he was determined to protect her in Jung Chae's stead from now on, especially considering the acts of those vicious creatures who were scattered all over the hallways, calling themselves 'schoolmates', seemingly putting innocent masks, though Jun Hong has been around a little bit too long in this hellhole to not know what's underneath those ten thousand inches thick faces: one way or another, they can harm Jung Hee both physically and mentally, and he just couldn't allow that to happen.

After a few minutes of running —  countless bodies to get through included — Jun Hong finally managed to spot Jung Hee amongst the crowd, thanks to his decent height. She was already on her feet after getting rid of her wheelchair, just as how he was informed, and Jun Hong found it to be a good sign. A small smile slowly crept upwards to Jun Hong's cheeks, so small it was almost unnoticable by most people. Hence, he wouldn't lie that his heart was pounding so fast right now, might it be because of the constant running he did, or because of the sight of the girl he hadn't seen since that last time he went to her house to deliver Jung Chae's early birthday present; he didn't care — all he knew was just that his heart was in full bliss just by receiving those color signals from his sight neurons that was arranged into the flawless image of his best friend, Jung Hee.

Jun Hong's legs came to a sudden stop. His heart was still racing along with his breath, and beads of sweat trickled down his forehead just as if he had just done a grueling workout, though he knew all too well that the causes of his over-sweating were no other than the fact that he had just used his early morning strength to run his asses out all the way across the school, and also the fact that his heart was beating at a pace well over what doctors would proclaim as normal. Jun Hong tried to calm his breathing down, as half of his body collapsed out of exhaustion, forcing him to support his body using his hands which he put on his slightly trembling knees. For a second he tried to lift his head up to at least keep on Jung Hee's track, not wanting to lose her just so.

He was lucky. She was still there, and she seemed to have perceived his image as a smile grew on her lips.

Jun Hong was about to smile back and wave at her when he somehow noticed a slight, very slight sadness in her eyes, in her smile. The hand that Jun Hong had prepared to wave to Jung Hee slowly fell back to the side of his body, and into his pocket, along with the wide smile that Jun Hong slowly folded back into his mouth.

Heavily, Jun Hong took a deep sip of oxygen through his nostrils, fulfilling the urgent need of his dry and weary lungs. And as he cleared up his mind, Jun Hong looked up to Jung Hee's direction, stepping closer and nearer to her.

***

A familiar warmth was creeping along Jung Hee's chest. Though, she almost could tell that the feeling was hardly unrecognizable to her, this was the first time honestly that she had ever encountered the particular. That warmth that was so close to her, yet so far and foreign to her heart at the same time. It was nothing even Lu Han's warmest smile could give her to feel, she knew. After all, the only one who has the ability to warm her heart in this way was none other than Jung Chae; the only one who can make her feel so pleasant and at ease at the same time was her sister. And truth to be told, it was killing Jung Hee at the thought of how pleasant it felt.

She liked it. She really did. It just didn't feel right somehow.

Unconsciously, a smile grew on Jung Hee's lips. A smile full of gratitude, a smile full of longing, a smile full of love, though also a smile full of sadness and sorrow. All of it were directed to the now fading Jung Chae.

"Don't worry, I'll be right here to protect you, Sis..."

Jung Hee blinked. What was that? She had recognized the voice that blew ever so softly like the spring wind, right into her head. Though the voice was soft, surprisingly enough it quickly echoed over and over inside her head, so much to the point it reached her heart.

It was Jung Chae's voice, still as freezing cold, but also pleasantly warm at the same time, just as she had remembered from the last time they had met in her dreams. And the best part was that Jung Chae herself told her that she'll be with her at all times and protect her as how she would if she was still alive. Jung Hee should be happy, right? On the contrary, truthfully Jung Hee had no idea what to feel. She had expected to feel protected and safe, but the deepest part of her heart wouldn't allow her to do so, at least not now...

"Jung Hee!"

A male voice interrupted Jung Hee's self confusion. She didn't exactly know why, but that strictly familiar voice suddenly made her heart felt at ease, like she had finally found the right companion to at least make her day bearable.

Jung Hee shrugged inwardly. Maybe it was just because she had actually been expecting the particular male's presence that she felt like this. Yeah right, what else could it be?

"Hee-yah, you alright?" The male cried frantically while shaking her shoulders. "Jung Hee!"

Yes, Jung Hee knew perfectly what this male in front of her — Jun Hong — was worried about. It has been quite a while since Jung Hee found out that she would have this really creepy zombie look (pale face, empty gaze, stiffening body) everytime she would encounter revelations of her sister's, in which she was doing again right now. Jung Hee had intented to tell Jun Hong that she was alright, but her symptoms didn't seem to have worn out completely yet, so she decided to wait. It didn't take that long in usual basis anyways.

Jung Hee was right. Being used to the strange symptoms already, after a period that only seemed to be less that a minute long, she felt her body calming down again, with her slightly blurred vision gradually began to accept rays of clear light once more. And right after her body came back to working normally again, Jung Hee lifted up her left hand, removing Jun Hong's grip on her shoulder.

"I'm fine." She stated shortly, earning the constantly loosening pressure on her shoulder caused by Jun Hong's tight grip. "I'm fine." She emphasized once more.

Jung Hee could feel her eyeballs waver uneasily as she tried to gulp down every single particle of air she could find in this strangely awkward atmosphere — you know, with Jun Hong and all? She could also feel her heartbeat at the moment, beating only half normally, though she could swear that she was somehow able to hear Jun Hong's heartbeat just then, and trust me, they were nothing even close to normal more that hers did. Jung Hee couldn't bring herself to understand furthermore explain the feeling that was slowly piling up in her chest. Well how could she when nobody has ever told her what exactly was this feeling she was having right now: it was a mix of a few percent fear, a few percent anxiety, a few percent happiness, a few percent safety, and the bigger percent confusion and hesitation. Jung Hee couldn't bring herself to identify the rest.

At this point, Jung Hee had seemed to have forgotten completely about the crowd that was surrounding her; she seemed to have forgotten that she was after all still trapped inside the sea of upper class students who were still very sly and secretively eyeing her, and she seemed to have forgotten her intentions of coming here in the first place. She was too preoccupied with her thought and confusion that she even forgotten the fact that she still had that one man standing in front of her with his left hand still clung onto her shoulder. It was not until his remaining hand finally slid down her shoulder, and back to the side of his body that she finally regained her full conscience.

"Fine. I get it,"

Hearing that softened and hurtful tone of Jun Hong's, Jung Hee felt the urge to turn her face toward the latter. Because honestly, she had never been able to see nor hear Jun Hong in such condition.

Jung Hee could almost hear the sounds of her joints creaking inside her neck as she turned her stiff head toward Jun Hong's direction. She couldn't deny nor hide the fact that a strange fear was still there, clutching unto her bones like some annoying rust, and preventing her rights for freedom. She felt sorry for Jun Hong right now, but she also felt a slight bit more sorry toward herself; that was the reason her expression hardened, erasing every bit of feeling out from her fair features.

Eventually, right at the moment where her gaze met with Jun Hong's expressions, she instantly regretted her unconscious actions.

Jun Hong looked like he was at the peak of bursting into a million pieces, right there in front of her. Jung Hee was never the sensitive one, but she could sense clearly that Jun Hong's heart was now overflowing with sadness. It was no different than a thunderstorm over her head on a bright and sunny day as Jung Hee realized that... she wasn't the only one who felt sad and depressed here. Recalling it now, she had forgotten that beside herself, there was another human being who also has always been stuck to her late sister since they were still nothing but slimy and tearful toddlers. That person was Jun Hong.

Filled with guilt and regret, Jung Hee finally loosened up. With gentle, gentle movement, she touched his arm, gaining his attention to her.

"Hong-ah, I-I'm..." She stopped. "I'm.. sorry. For everything,"

***

A couple of girls were standing against a wall in silence, watching every move Jung Hee and Jun Hong made as their conversation continued. Not one inch of their eyes and gazes showed that they were pleased; because they were not. It was more than obvious that the girls were tasing disgusted glares at Jung Hee's direction. Devil may know which of his disciples got into the girls, or which black cat they came across, but who would take a wild guess and say that they were exceptionally unlucky as of today?

Only after quite a while of watching Jung Hee and Jun Hong's every behavior, one of the girls who couldn't seem to hide her annoyance any longer, finally made a sound. She clicked her tongue once, not feeling that pleasant at all.

"Why does she have to come back here again?" She grumbled. "What a nuisance!"

Her friend, however, could be categorized as calmer and was on the easy side of things. She didn't seem to be as much uncomfortable as the other girl, so we can roughly conclude that she hadn't that much grudge to the Jung girl. After all, she did good as she tried to calm her friend down.

"Relax. Jung Hee's not as annoying as her hyper twin sister, Jung Chae. It's good enough that Jung Chae was the one who didn't survive that accident; I'd go crazy if it was the opposite that happened," the other girl answered.

Okay, I take back my words from earlier.

The first girl, still as spiteful as how she first was, tried to argue. "I know, but stil-..."

"OUCH!"

Suddenly both of the girls screamed in pain and shock as a stinging touch that felt like hot iron crept over the back of their necks, sending an extremely hot and painful pinch to their neurons. The pain didn't wear off as they rubbed the hurting spots. The only thing they felt was what felt like burn marks.

"Hey, you felt that too?" Asked one of the girls. Her friend nodded.

"Oh my gosh, this is so creepy,"

"Wait, I think I feel something on my neck. Look it up,"

Feeling something that she found odd and was not supposed to be on the surface of her skin in the neck area, the girl grabbed her long and neatly curled hair and pulled it upwards so that her friend could see what was underneath it.

Well, tell you what? Wrong move.

As soon as her friend saw what the girl thought as something completely harmless, her eyes went completely wide in shock and terror.

"R-Ra Hee-yah... I-.. Y-you..."

The girl couldn't bear to finish her sentence. She couldn't bear to tell her friend what she saw on her neck, and moreover, she couldn't bear to imagine if the same thing graced her neck as well.

There, on that girl — Ra Hee's — neck, was a burn mark, hideous and awfully red, and creepily, was in the exact shape of the word

''