CHAPTER 18

Yongguk walks in through the classroom door and to be greeted by the actual same empty seat of her again. It's been three weeks and there's no sign of new about her yet, and he didn't even bother to ask anyone in his classroom where he found nope of them aware of her missing this past three weeks. He steady strolls calmly over his desk, and past her table before reaching his. He pulls out the chair then sit down, placing his bag on top of the table. He rubs the back of his neck as his classmates gradually fill up the room. Then his eyes watch out of the window, gazing at the tree in front of him that stood near the block. The moving leafs distracted him completely as his eyelids didn't move at all.

A few minutes after, the silent greets his ears which turning his head in front of the room again. Apparently, The homeroom teacher already being in there, preparing herself to start the first lesson as usual. Her presence had shut all of his classmates from talking and stuff and had them in their own seat again. 

Before that, Mrs Jang will normally take attendance first for her students and Yongguk tried to focus but only stare blankly over the whiteboard instead. His classmates start to make noise again when they realized there's no serious thing to be focused now. Mrs Jang takes a deep sigh but didn't reprove them as go on with calling their names one by one.

The last name has been called as she shuts the book close before putting them down to the table in front of her. 

"Okay, class, please open your book. Let's make a bit revision for your final exam" She announced loudly, taking the marker on the table, ready to write something on the board. Yongguk quickly takes his pen in his fingers before tapping down on the surface of the table impatiently, his mind is starting to fibrous with a thing he is confusing about. There is something fishy yet he still remain coward on his spot.

"Wait a second, Mrs Jang" One of his classmates raised up his hand surprisingly and Yongguk weirdly turns in fast toward the boy that seated at the first row. Yongguk doesn't know but his hunch told him that the boy is going to ask a thing or something that he really wanted to know now. He really doesn't want to break his icy heart but a part of him does want to know about the girl. About Mee Yurin that left him in confusion.

"Yes, Jiyang?" She responds softly, pulling her red lips into a small smile with her eyes glued on his bare face. Jiyang in hesitation on his seat, straightening his body up. For a second, the wrinkle appears on his mess eyebrows. All of in the room, focus on what is he going to say, including Yongguk.

"I've been wondering, why you didn't call out Mee Yurin's name earlier? Also it's been three weeks she didn't come to school" He spits out eventually, since he is the president in this class yet he is concerned, maybe. But he perfectly believes all of his classmates was being curious about missing her but didn't dare to utter anything when the fact they are not really close with Yurin. Yurin's case just near same with Yongguk's, don't really have friends instead each other but Yurin has a good impression while Yongguk is total an opposite.

Mrs Jang's facial expression changes immediately due to the mention of Yurin's name. It's seem something went off. Her smiles turn into force one when her students automatically brought their gazes on her. it takes her for a moment before releasing a soft breath from . "I don't think you guys are going to meet her again"

All of them except Yongguk gasp on the air, turning to each other. "What do you mean?" that Jiyang boy asked again, desiring a valid answer. They can't put their fingers on it yet.

She inhales, "Her parents just told me, she is not going to come to this school anymore."

"Why?" There is a girl asks, frowning. Mrs Jang looks at the girl before shaking her head, "Not sure, probably she is going to transfer to another school or something"

Everyone are quiet now, pressing their lips into line. Then, nope of them asking anything any longer and just brush the topic off like the passing wind. Mrs Jang turns around again, facing the whiteboard before starting the lesson.

....

The second period just end and everyone are starting to talk around in the classroom while waiting for the next class to come. The girl that seated at the same row as Yurin's, staring up the empty seat beside her. For a second, a light nudge on her elbow startled the girl. The girl turns to her friend, who lifting her eyebrows to her.

"What's wrong?"

She shakes her head, "I'm just thinking"

"About what?" Her friend tilts her head in curious.

"You know, I always wanted to be friend with her" she said, glancing the empty seat once again.

"You mean, Mee Yurin?" Her friend asks, frowning. The girl named Jieun nods her head, facing her friend again. Sunhwa on the other hand, only press her lips together, lost of words. It's all because she didn't pay much attention to someone like Mee Yruin because their levels are too different. Yurin seems way like a complete nerd.

"And you have to know, she has Yongguk that she always hooked up" Sunhwa mutters, a bit hard. The name of Yongguk make her jerk up her body, sitting straight on her seat.

"Shh, slow down your voice" Jieun quickly covers her friend's mouth in annoyance then turning her head to the back to find Yongguk who is having his head down on his table, sleeping in his arms. Jieun quickly lets out a relief sigh, having her eyes on her friend again.

"I know, that's actually the barrier for me to be friend with her" She states, pulling off her palm from Sunhwa's mouth.

"Did you know what had happened to her? I heard something about her three weeks ago" The biggest gossip one, Sunhwa started again after the silent took over them a few seconds. Jieun looks at her with blankness.

"I thought you didn't care about her" Jieun said in obvious sarcastic. Sunhwa grins innocently, "Talking about her, make me remember something" she defends,

Jieun rolls up her eyes while shutting the books in front of her, trying to ignore her friend.

"I heard she had passed out in the toilet with the blood came out from her nose" Sunhwa still telling her even got ignored. However, she had draw her attention as Jieun quickly looks at her in surprised "Really?"

Sunhwa nods confidently before adding "Our senior had found her on the toilet floor"

Jieun gets up from her chair, "Erm, No wonder after break we didn't saw her that day" Sunhwa agreed as get up too, both of them head to the door, probably going to the toilet as their voice slowly vanish away. Doing girls stuff, well you know, make up and all girly things.

For a few seconds Yongguk lifts up his head from his arms, sit up properly before supporting his chin on his palm as throwing his gaze outside of the window. He remembers that day, he went to the class back and found her didn't come back again even the break time had ended.

...

It's been two and half months yet he still didn't do anything and now he committed himself to break his ago completely. His curiousness grow high and high every time he saw the empty seat in the classroom, secretly trapping him with memories of her. It's sound no right to Yongguk. What he need to do is to find her and see her in his own eyes. Let his eyes witness everything because by hearing actually didn't help him anything. Not at all.

The address he got from Mrs Jang this morning, he shows to the driver's taxi in front of him. He had to put down his ago and forced himself to meet with their homeroom teacher, asking for Yurin's address. Weirdly, she didn't even surprised when he came to her, probably she does know, Yongguk always with Yurin which had looked like it was normal for her.

The taxi finally pulls off next to the gate of huge house. Yongguk peeks up his head near the window of the car, observing how large her house is and surprisingly, he didn't expect she is quite rich because she looked way like down to earth person yet she didn't brag nor mention about it at all.

He hands the driver a few moneys before going out from the taxi. He stands there for about a few minutes, slightly in doubt. he touches the corner of his bottom lip then deciding to just get in and confront her. He strolls to the big iron gate and push the bell next to it. Suddenly somebody's voice greet his ears "Yes, can I help you?"

Yongguk hesitated for a second before leaning in a bit "I want to meet Mee Yurin"

"Erm.. okay, but who is this?" The female asks again, seem surprised after hearing his deep voice. Yongguk remains silent for a while before opening his mouth again, "Her classmate"

"Okay you can get it" She said then the gate slowly crack open for him. Yongguk steps in while having his eyes wander through her magnificent yard and to be greeted by old lady. She smiles to the good-looking guy in front of her who is still in his school uniform. At first she almost refused to open the gate for him when his voice sound different and strong and now she breathes out of relief. He looks like sweet person.

Yongguk stands there, hesitation. He had not smile for that long so, he doesn't know how to do it. He tried to pull into a small smile but he can feel his jaw completely cramp and awkward. At last, he just bows a little, not with his body instead his head.

"Ah come in" She breaks the awkwardness between them and let Yongguk in, with a smile on her old face before continuing " Wait a second, I'll call Yurin"

She turns and left yongguk in the door as heading to the staircase . For her luck, Yurin is hopping down the stairs, looking up to call her maid but gasp when she noticed there is the person by the door that she doesn't want to meet the most. 

"Yurin-ah" Her maid calls out her name as soon as she saw her. Yongguk turns his head when he heard her name and look up, finding Yurin in the middle of the stairs, standing stiff on her spot and not taking a step anymore. Her feet as if can't feel the floor beneath her and her heart pound roughly under her chest, definitely suffocating due the sight of him. She is not ready yet or maybe not at all.

"Yurin-ah, You're coming on time, There's your fri-" Her maid have not finished yet but Yurin quickly spins around and climb upstairs again, leaving her maid in confused for a second.

Yongguk quickly looks away and found himself wordless upon seeing her current condition with his own eyes. He really didn't imagine her to be like that. 

She has changed,

It's not her heart, but her physical condition.