Eunjoo couldn't think. Her mind was blank, except for the phone conversation she'd just had. 

"E-Eunjoo-yah… please help me… I'm scared for my life… I'm at the alleyway near the central park. P-please, Eunjoo…" Jieun had whispered, and the level of fear in her small voice literally made goosebumps appear on Eunjoo's arms and a violent shiver to run up her spine. The fact that the call was suddenly cut off didn't help. 

All Eunjoo could do was run as fast as she could. She clearly heard the desperation in her new friend's voice. 
What the hell had happened?

When Eunjoo had arrived near the alleyway, she could immediately hear soft sobbing coming from the very end. 

Eunjoo halted to a stop in front of the small figure that was crouched into a shivering ball. She was breathing heavily, her heart and lungs were crying for mercy and she was sweating a river, but none of this mattered as Eunjoo collapsed next to Jieun and hugged her. She asked no questions, knowing that actions speak louder than words, and comforted Jieun with her warmth. 

It didn't matter that it was dirty on the ground, that the only source of light around was a dim streetlight at the end of the alleyway, or that the hug was a bit sticky because of Eunjoo. All that the two girls cared about was that Eunjoo was there for Jieun. 

The only sounds that could be heard was Eunjoo's soft panting, Jieun's quiet sobs and someone's dog that occasionally barked. 
Once Jieun had stopped crying, Eunjoo pulled away. 

"Are you… ready to talk? I totally understand if you're not comfortable yet." Eunjoo said hesitantly, while holding onto Jieun's hands. 

"No, I need to get this off my chest. Eunjoo, the thing is," Jieun's teary eyes, which were reflecting the moonlight, met Eunjoo's. "My parents passed away about two years ago, and they've left me with an enormous debt to pay off. I'm living by myself illegally and I'm getting chased down by loan sharks. I barely have any money whatsoever and I'm just so scared, I don't know what to do. One of the sharks spotted me and I got chased. I lost them, thank goodness." She sadly looked down.
 
Eunjoo just looked at the other girl sadly, her eyes growing misty. 

"Oh, Jieun. I'm not going to say sorry, because that won't solve anything, but-" Eunjoo started, but was interrupted by a sob escaping from . She's started crying again for the third time that day, but she didn't care. 

Suddenly, Eunjoo's problems with liking someone and self-pity seemed so pathetic. 

Once again, she hugged Jieun, who's started crying again. Their soft sobs filled the alleyway and bounced back at them. Even the dog had started howling again, as if the sorrows of the two girls had even touched the animal. 

****

Eunjoo lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, which she couldn't even see because the lights were turned off. Once again, she was playing her sad playlist and felt like she'd been emotionally drained. 

With all the crying she'd done that day, her eyes would be nearly shut the next day, for sure. 

After the two girls had calmed down again, Eunjoo had offered Jieun to stay at the shorter's house if she felt unsafe, but Jieun had declined the offer, saying that she didn't want to bother the family. Eunjoo had reluctantly agreed, but made Jieun promise to call if something like this happened again. Eunjoo then made a pact that she'd never tell a soul - except for her family if Jieun decided to stay at her house - about Jieun's situation. 

Eunjoo had, though, gotten Jieun to agree to walking to her house together. Surprisingly, Jieun's house wasn't that far from Eunjoo's.
 
Eunjoo had then walked back home while looking at the stars on the way. Since it was late, no one else from the family were up anymore. She snuck back inside without so much as a creak (okay she tripped once on a slipper but shh) and went back to bed. 

Tiredly, she drifted off to sleep, with a thought of Jieun in her mind. 

****

"Eunjoo… Eunjoo? Joo!" The said girl woke up from her trance with a shiver. She blinked and noticed Chunji vigorously waving his hands in front of her.

They were in math class, and Chunji and Eunjoo were partners for another assignment, except this one was a project. 

"H-huh? Sorry, I'm really tired because I slept too late. Could you repeat what you said?" Eunjoo asked apologetically. 

The boy just giggled. "Aw, Eunjoo. You shouldn't do that! 

Anyway, I was just asking... if you asked Jieun about me yet?" He said with a faint blush, looking at the floor. 

Eunjoo frowned. 

"Actually, I don't know where she is. I don't think she's here today, since I didn't see her in gym class…" She started, then her eyes widened in realization. What if one of the loan sharks had caught her? While Chunji was just looking at her curiously, she took out her phone, checked if anyone was watching, then dialled Jieun's phone number. 

She waited anxiously for the other to pick up. 

When she did, Eunjoo whispered, "Jieun? Are you alright? Did… did anything happen?" 

Jieun just giggled. 

"Eunjoo, are you in class? You shouldn't be talking. But anyway, thanks for asking. Nothing happened, I just caught a cold since I'm really sensitive to the cold and I wasn't wearing anything thick last night," She explained.
 
Eunjoo wanted to facepalm. Why hadn't she given Jieun her coat? She was sweating, for goodness' sake!
 
"But anyway, I'm fine. Don't worry about it! Now, get to work!" Jieun joked, then hung up.
 
Eunjoo just looked at the phone in wonder. That was the first joke she'd heard Jieun say.
 
"So? What did she say?" Chunji asked curiously.

Eunjoo fiddled with her fingers. "Oh, she just said that she was a bit sick since she was out last night without a coat."

Chunji frowned. "What?! Gosh, how could she not take care of herself like that?" 

Eunjoo felt a pang of jealousy, but put it down, after thinking about Jieun's situation.

She shouldn't be envious, it wasn't anyone's fault. 

"Anyway, how are we going to do the project?" Eunjoo changed the subject. "I'd suggest doing it somewhere quieter," she gestured at the room. 

Partners everywhere were discussing, and it was distracting. "Like at a house. We can go to my house, no one should be there for at least a few hours."

Chunji shook his head and grinned. "I think we should do it at my house! Since it's not proper for a guy to go into a girl's house while no one's home!"
 
Eunjoo laughed at his logic. "And it's alright for a girl to go into a guy's house?" 

Chunji thought about it, then pouted. "Oh, right. Wait, Byunghun will be there, too, so he can like, save you… if something goes wrong?" 

Eunjoo bit down a smile. How much cuter could this guy get? "Alright. Let's do it at your house." 

A/N: There was actually another part to this chapter but I thought it was too long so it's going in the next chapter. Please tell me if you'd like longer chapters and/or how long you'd prefer the chapters to be because I'm making all of them at least 1000 words and the chapter originally had over 2000 so... yeah! 

Also, thank you all so much for everyone who's read, subscribed commented or upvoted! We're almost at the first month of "Bittersweet" theres' already 10 subscribers, 2 upvotes and 300 views???? *faints*

As always, thanks so much for reading! ^^