O3.

Taemin grabbed for his towel then wiped the dripping sweats from his face. He always attends to the school at night, to practice his dancing. But this particular night, it felt different because of the presence of the mysterious beautiful voice.

Jieun kept on strumming her guitar and humming through the song. It was a perfect harmonization. Taemin thought for a while - this voice could belong to someone new in this academy since no one had ever practiced here before.

"Jieun?" he whispered to himself.

Taemin the tried to open the door, but it might scare the singer. His mind says; 'but it's worth to try, maybe it's not locked?' So Taemin carefully placed his hand on the knob, and turned it clockwise.

"Ahh, it's locked!" he whispered.

With anxiousness filled in Taemin, this time he tried to peep into the small hole on the door. He thought it was impossibly ridiculous to peep in the hole. Even his pinky finger can't fit in them. He took a glance at his watch, which striked at 10 p.m.

"I can't be late this time..." with a sigh Taemin walked away from the room, hanging the towel on his shoulder. 

He felt so curious that he almost stepped on a keychain. Taemin picked it up, wondering if it belongs to the girl singing. He put it in his pocket and walked towards his bicycle outside.

-----

The next morning, Jieun felt sick. She couldn’t move and when she did, she felt a pain in her head. She let out a groan as she tried to push herself up. She looked at the clock and it read ‘7 a.m.’ She dragged her feet to the bathroom but before she could even reach out for her towel, she fainted.
 

After a few minutes, Bae came. He had the extra key – which Jieun doesn’t know about – and opened the door. He called out her name a few times, but when there was no answer he went to check up on her. He was afraid she was still sleeping.
 

“Jieun?” Bae called out for her as he opened her door.
 

When he entered, he couldn’t see Jieun. He panicked for a while as he was confused to what was going on. Just when he was going to go out to look for her, there he saw her. Lying lifelessly on the floor.
 

With his quick thinking, he carried her to his car. He carefully placed her in the back seat and went to the front seat. He got in and drove off to the hospital.
 

When he arrived at the hospital, he took her to the emergency room. The doctor asked him what was wrong with her but he only shook his head. Then the nurse told him to wait outside while the doctor checks up on her.
 

Bae sat down on a chair and exhaled deeply. He was lost for a few seconds, and then he called the school.
 

“Hello?” Bae said.
 

“Yes, hello.” Mrs. Kim replied.
 

“Hi, I’m Jieun’s guardian. I’m calling to inform you that Jieun won’t be going to school today. She’s, urm…sick.”
 

“Oh, my. Already sick after her first day? Tsk, I do hope she gets well soon.”
 

“Me too.” Bae said in a soft voice.
 

After that, he hung up. He then waited for the doctor to come out with the results. Just on cue, the doctor came out. Bae immediately stood up from his seat.
 

“She’s fine.” The doctor reassured while smiling. Bae let out a sigh of relief.
 

“You may see her now.” And Bae bowed.
 

Bae opened the door and walked towards her. Her eyes were wide awake and they were looking at her. She gave him a sweet smile and he gave her the same. Then, Bae sat next to her. His face was quite serious and furious.
 

“Hey, are you okay?” He asked and Jieun nodded.
 

“What happened last night? I called you but you didn’t answer.”
 

“Oh, I –“Jieun stopped. She remembered last night very well. It was already 2a.m that time and only then was she about to get some sleep. She remembered the endless practice she had in the vocal room. She also remembered lying to Bae. “I was just too tired trying to fit in.”
 

There she goes again, lying. Somehow, Bae could feel it. He eyed her weirdly which made Jieun feel uncomfortable.
 

“You’re not lying, are you?” Bae asked.
 

“Of c-course n-not.” She stuttered.
 

“Right...Anyway, I called your principal to tell her that you won’t come to school today so, rest all you want. I’ll go and pay your fee.” And with that, Bae left the room.
 

Jieun let out a sigh of relief. She really couldn’t lie to him in the face. Not anymore. She couldn't wait until she graduates. How suffering it was for her first day. Jieun thought; 'How am I to cope with this every day...?'A few minutes later, Bae came back.
 

“You can go home after some tests.” He announced and Jieun nodded.
 

-----
 

“Hey, Taemin.” One of his classmates called him. “Where’s Jieun?”
 

Taemin, who was busy reading a book, looked up and faced his classmate. He looked at the empty seat that Jieun was sitting on and sighed.
 

“I don’t know.” He said while looking back at his book.
 

“Well, I understand why she won’t come today. I mean, it’s obvious she’s afraid to show her face after what had happened yesterday.” Naeun said which made the class agree with her.
 

Taemin ignored the comments that were given out by his classmates about Jieun. He wondered if it was true since he only knew her yesterday. But his heart told him not to believe a word that was coming out from their mouth. His heart told him to believe that Jieun had a reason why she didn’t come today.
 

Just as if someone had read his mind, Mrs. Kim arrived at their class – announcing that Jieun fell sick and is at the hospital.
 

“Which hospital?” Taemin asked.
 

“I don’t know. Her guardian didn’t say.” Mrs. Kim replied, and then she left.
 

“Looks like you were wrong, Naeun.” Chunji said.
 

“Beat it, Chanhee.” Naeun growled.
 

“Don’t call me that.” Chunji hissed. “My name is Chunji.”
 

“Whatever.”
 

Taemin was quietly reading his book, while the others were chatting and making noise. The teacher wasn’t in – guess he’s absent.
 

No matter how hard Taemin tried, he couldn’t focus on his book. His mind was thinking about Jieun and the fact that she’s in the hospital. He decided to find out which hospital she was in and he was determined to.
 

The next class Taemin has is dancing; his specialty. He went to the boy’s room and changed into his dancing outfit. He was wearing a plain black tee, with baggy sweatpants. He put on his sneakers and went off to the dance studio. He would usually dance until school finishes.
 

He took out a CD from his bag and slid it into the CD player. Before he played the music, he did a few warm-ups so that he won’t sprain himself when he’s dancing.
 

He took his place in the middle of the studio and clicked play on the remote control. The music played and the beat was very fast. Taemin’s body moved perfectly with the music, making sharp moves and made a top notch ending.
 

Taemin panted heavily as he was tired from dancing but it didn’t stop him though. He continued to dance to a few more songs before hitting the showers. He wiped his sweat that was dripping down his jaw line and headed for the showers.
 

After that, he went to the office. As he opened the door to the office, he felt the chilly breeze that was coming out from the air-cond. As he stepped in, he looked around. He was wondering who to ask and who would answer him.
 

Then, he went to the front desk. Taemin looked at the clerk with his innocent eyes. The clerk looked up from her papers and pushed down her spectacles. She then raised an eyebrow.
 

“What do you want, boy?” She asked.
 

“Urm, I was wondering if I could get my classmate’s number.” He smiled sweetly.
 

“And why do you want it?”
 

“She’s in the hospital and -” Before he could continue, she let out a small laugh.
 

“Ah, I see. Your girlfriend, I presume? Very well.” She said as she handed him a book.
 

“Search for your girlfriend’s name and take whatever you want. Well, just the numbers.”
 

“Thank you.” Taemin bowed. Then, he took out a piece of paper and a pen. He jotted down Jieun’s number and thanked the clerk again before leaving.
 

L.Joe, who happened to saw what happened, went to see the book. But, the clerk shut it close before he could even see the numbers. L.Joe gave her a look and rolled his eyes. He then left the office and headed home.