√ 𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 // 𝐻𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝐻𝑦𝑢𝑛𝑗𝑖𝑛

one.

     "Did you watch the news today?"

     Nari looked up at her friend Jisoo. They were currently sitting in their first class at school, waiting for their lesson to begin. "No, why?"

     Jisoo pursed her lips and leaned across her desk with a conspiratorial face. "There was another murder last night. By that young gang. They're calling themselves Stray Kids."

     Shuddering, Nari relied, "Why do people feel the need to do such awful things? What do they have to gain?"

     With a rather bored look, Jisoo shrugged. "I don't know. But my parents aren't letting me out after dark now," she said with a pout. Nari almost laughed out loud.

     "What business do you have after dark?" she teased her friend. Caught off guard, Jisoo looked at her with wide eyes.

     "N-nothing. Nothing important," she amended with a smile. Nari smiled back, but was made a little uneasy by her friend's expression. But she shook it off. Jisoo tells me everything. She wouldn't hide something from me.

     After agonizing through a day filled with too-long assignments and mind-bending equations, Nari walked home with Jisoo. Her friend's home was closer to their school than her own, so as usual, Nari dropped her off first. Before she could continue home Jisoo smiled brightly at her.

     "You want to come to a party tonight? It's at Tae's house," she said excitedly. Puzzled, Nari squinted.

     "I thought you weren't allowed out after dark?" she asked hesitantly, recalling her friend's complaint. Jisoo's smile faltered.

     "R-right. Never mind," she mumbled, waving her friend home. Waving back, Nari turned and strode on.

     She was still a few minutes away when her stomach rumbled painfully. "Maybe I should grab a snack or two. It's not like we have food anyway," she mumbled to herself. Nari changed her course slightly towards the nearest convenience store.

     As she approached the door, she saw three tall figures, one a bit taller than the rest, standing just outside the entrance. All three were wearing dark clothes and had their hoods up, and two of them were clutching bags of food. Nari could hear them talking in hushed voices.

     She had been raised not to judge others based off of their appearances, but she couldn't help shivering as she walked past them. Their aura was so cold.

     After a few minutes of browsing the store's options, Nari had her arms full of snacks. She made her way to the counter and paid, thanking the employee. With her precious food in tow, Nari exited the store, and was surprised to see the hooded men still standing there.

     Awkwardly pausing, she stared for a moment too long. The tallest one glanced in her direction, his face shadowed by his hood. Nari's eyes widened and she almost felt as if she were in danger. But that was silly, she chided herself. He was just a person, he would never harm her in broad daylight.

     Before she could turn away, Nari had caught the attention of all three boys. She cleared her throat and stepped away, dropping her eyes to the ground.

     The tallest one tilted his head, then placed his hands on the others' shoulders, leading them away from the store.

     The timid girl glanced in their direction again and noticed something on the ground where they had been standing. She hurried over and picked it up. It was a plain, slightly faded hard drive.

     "Wait!" she called out, running after them. When she reached them, they seemed wary.

     But Nari gently grabbed the tallest one's sleeve and nudged his hand open, placing the hard drive in his palm. "You dropped this," she explained, looking at the others.