That day Jieun was oddly quiet in the morning, seemingly mulling over something that had happened recently. She was also in a bad mood, judging by her short replies. Jiyong considered asking her if something was wrong, but, as the day went by and she slowly returned to normal, he just attributed it to insufficient sleep. It had make her snarky before. 

During homeroom at the end of the day, though, a teacher pulled her out. They stood behind the door, in such a way that the people sitting at the back and near the edge were able to still see them. Jiyong saw them. He saw how the teacher fiddled with his tie, nervous, the sadness in his eyes. No, not sadness. Pity. Jieun's shoulders were stiff, he could almost feel her cold eyes. He saw her run off. He could almost feel her desperation.

It seems the car had been waiting for her, because, by the time they were let out, a few minutes later, and Jiyong sprinted all the way to her house, she was nowhere to be seen. He walked back. He had to review a few things before the exams. He had learned his lesson about going over to Jieun's house uninvited. One had to respect the things that others didn't want them to see. It was only common courtesy.

There was an unease in the pit of his stomach. He got out when it was already dark. The chill was sure to set in any of these days. For now only a soft summer breeze ruffled his hair, still enough to make goose bumps rise along his arms. 

He took a right turn instead of continuing straight and came to stop in front of the same house. He noticed most of the light were on. Then glanced at the gate.

"What?" His eyes widened, surprised. The door seemed closed, but it hadn't latched. As if it had been slammed hastily. The guard was nowhere in sight. 

He looked around, worried, and just, sort of, walked. In a moment or two he came upon a park, the kind neighborhood kids go to play to. He walked across it, towards the swings, and to the little dome like structure. He leaned down and looked in. Then, he crouched and entered it, hugging his knees to his chest as to not take up too much of the already little space. The girl ac