"I'm almost home, Hyunsuk. Go to sleep if you can't keep your eyes open anymore, you grandpa. No! I told you, I'm fine. It's two in the morning, you should go to sleep. Mm, see you tomorrow." She closed the phone call.
Park Danbi and her best friend had underestimated the time it took to binge-watch a TV show. It was way later than 11 PM - when Hyunsuk and her promised her mom she'd be back. She was walking home alone, but in a town where everyone knew each other - more or less - that wasn't a problem. She was more terrified of her mother's reaction if she were to get caught.
The phone call with her friend took her another route than the intended one, and she only realized it then. She groaned, "Great, I've added some extra minutes to my walk." But it was pleasantly quiet, and the weather was also on her side, so she didn't mind it that much.
Turning around to head back, something flashed across the street. Danbi stopped in her tracks. "What was that?" She knew that the area had been frequented by wild animals for some days - after all, their town was incorporated in a forest, but what animal could run on two legs?
"Just a puppy, Danbi. Keep going." Encouraged by the idea of heading her way and not minding that thing anymore, she started walking - a bit faster than earlier.
Just a couple of steps later, a leaf crunched behind her. She stiffened whole.
"Hello?" She asked under her breath, turning to check if anything was behind her. A gasp left her lips as she noticed a figure standing just a few meters away from her, where the streetlights didn't reach. She took a few steps back, adrenaline rising in her.
"W-who are you?"
The now-confirmed person didn't say anything, and neither did it move. Danbi resumed walking, her leisurely steps from earlier turning to running fast as footsteps shadowed her.
Her heartbeat was beating rhythmically with her steps. She was getting closer to her house, but so was the person to her.
"Stop chasing me!" She yelled as the steps behind her were almost as loud as hers.
When she thought she would get caught any second, the familiar structure of her house came into sight, and a taxi pulled up in front of it. With her last drop of strength, she sped up, running right into the person getting out of the car.
"Woah, woah- Danbi?!"
Her eyes were pouring by the time her cousin embraced her in his arms. "What happened? Are you crying??"
Jihoon also came from the other side of the car, mouthing "What happened?", to which Jeongwoo shrugged his shoulders. He was just as baffled as his older cousin.
"Someone," she sobbed, "someone was chasing me."
Jeongwoo's grip tightened on her, checking their surroundings.
"Huh?! Who? Did you see who it was?? And why are you out so late?" Jihoon bombarded her with questions, stealing her from Jeongwoo and pulling her into a hug. He only got a whimper as a response.
"Stop with the mom mode, Jihoon. She's clearly too startled to say anything. Let's get her inside."
"Kiddos, get your luggage out already!" The taxi driver yelled.
Both boys rolled their eyes. Jihoon motioned Jeongwoo to get the luggage out, being busy comforting Danbi. As soon as Jeongwoo said he was done the man drove off, without giving Jeongwoo time to close the truck. Jihoon and he watched the car speed off with its trunk opened, dumbfounded.
"Coz, we need your key." Jihoon distanced himself from her enough to see her stained face. She wiped her cheeks, nodding with a brief laugh.
"Sorry," She breathed deeply, searching her pockets for her key without even realizing they were in her bag. Her hands shakily opened it, finally taking the key out.
"Here." She handed Jihoon the key. When Jihoon completely let go of her, her surroundings finally came into sight. No one was there, where the light shone. But what hid in the dark was unknown to her. The thought of that person still watching her from where they were unseen made her stomach turn.
She pushed past her cousins, running inside. The two glanced at each other with open mouths.
"Back to the subject," Jeongwoo locked the door and joined Jihoon and Danbi on the couch. "What happened? Who was chasing you? Did you see??"
"I think she might have been too busy running to see." Jihoon commented, earning a scoff from Jeongwoo.
"You're not helping..." Jeongwoo mouthed.
Danbi sighed and finally looked into her cousin's eyes. "I-I don't know. I did see them before I started running, but it was too dark. They were so fast-"
The staircase lights turned on. Danbi's mom came jogging from upstairs, and her dad was just dragging his sleepy self there, eyes half-closed.
"Danbi, don't tell me you got here just now. I told you to come before 11! You have school tomorrow! Did Hyunsuk take you home at least?"
Danbi cleared her throat. "Um, I-"
"We woke her up, auntie. We called her instead of you since we thought she might still be awake." Both Jihoon and Danbi glanced at Jeongwoo surprised.
"You went to sleep dressed like that?" Mrs. Park had an eyebrow raised. Danbi thought she'd get caught.
"She said that after Hyunsuk took her home she was so tired she fell asleep like that." Jihoon covered for her too.
Mrs. Park's stern look softened to a worried one. Danbi's stomach sunk, guilt joining her fear from earlier and creating a cocktail of heavy emotions.
"Okay then. I'm happy to see you two," - she advanced and ruffled their hair - "the braces duo is reunited."
Mr. Park, finally having opened his eyes, laughed and stepped closer to them. "In case you miss them," He pointed over to the nearest picture. Jihoon and Danbi were in it, both smiling with their braces on. Something they didn't want to go back to.
"Yeah... I don't miss those." Jihoon raised his shoulders, cringing.
"Do you boys want anything to eat? Drink? Honey, help them unpack-"
"No, no. We ate before leaving," Jeongwoo explained, "You know how our moms are. They didn't let us go until we were well-fed."
"Sounds like them." Mr. Park laughed.
"Well then, let's get you two to your room. You might not go to school tomorrow but I'm sure you'll need a lot of energy to unpack and re-visit the town. A lot has changed in 5 years."
The boys exchanged curious glances.
Danbi trailed behind them as they went upstairs, now a little calmer. She was home, after all. Safe.
---
"If it isn't Park Danbi." Danbi had just walked out of the house and was welcomed by an annoyed Hyunsuk.
"Hyunsuk, I- I overslept." She excused herself, walking over to him.
"We both fell asleep after 2 AM. How come I managed to wake up at the right time and you didn't, miss?"
"Well, you slept. I didn't..." The girl's response surprised him. He didn't say anything, waiting for her to continue. "Someone chased me last night. After our phone call ended."
Hyunsuk covered his mouth, shocked. "W-what?! Really?? Who? Why didn't you call me back??"
"And that would've helped with what? I ran home, and my cousins arrived right on time for me to run to them. I told you about my cousins coming, right?"
Hyunsuk nodded slowly, still shocked.
"Yeah, you did, but don't change the subject. We live in a small town, and I know most people here. I'm pretty sure we don't have creeps here, except for that lady who moved where Berry Good Ice Cream was before - but I doubt she chased you. Bi, we don't even have a news channel because of how calm this town is. They have nothing to display! So tell me," - he grabbed her by the arm and stopped her from walking, leaning closer to her - "Who could have chased you, and why?"
"Hyunsuk, if I knew that I would now be walking up to their house and asking them that! I freaking ran, what was I supposed to do? Talk to them? It was so dark outside I could barely see my own feet! And you know how dim and useless our streetlights are. There was no way I could see their face unless I got close to them, and believe me, they had no good intentions," she took a break, gasping for air, "I told them to stop chasing me, but they didn't. Whoever it was, they wanted to get me."
Hyunsuk quieted down, unsure of what else to say. It didn't make sense, considering their living circumstances. He knew everyone from their high school, he knew his whole neighborhood and the ones surrounding it. No one seemed like a possible suspect.
"Let's just hope it doesn't happen again... maybe someone just got drunk. Yeah, that could be it."
Hyunsuk's idea relieved her in some way. "You're right. Anyway, forget about it. Nothing happened, after all. Did Junkyu and Doyoung mention anything else about the party they were planning?"
---
Jeongwoo stretched himself and got out of bed, still feeling tired after falling asleep so late. Glancing at the clock and seeing it was almost noon, he groaned.
"Jihoon, wake up," He trudged over to the bed his cousin was sleeping on and shook him, earning mumbled swears from him. "Come on, get up. It's 12."
Jihoon finally cooperated, standing up.
"Aah! What do you want?! Let me sleep..." His hair was all messy, covering some of his face, and his eyes were shut.
"We said we'd visit the town, remember? Well, re-visit."
Defeated, Jihoon nodded and went straight to the bathroom to get ready.
"Hey- I said wake up, not steal the bathroom from me! Jihoon!!"
---
The two boys stopped in front of a small building, gawking at it. The building they frequented a lot as kids was no longer the ice cream shop they loved so much. It was an old, deteriorated building, and the owner - if there was one - didn't even bother painting over the stains from where the letters of 'Berry Good Ice Cream' had been. You could still, faintly, see the outline of them.
"I can't believe it," Jeongwoo took a few steps forward. "I simply can't believe it."
"Me neither..." They didn't know what to say. To see that one of the places they dearly went to as kids had disappeared made their return not as sweet and exciting as they expected it would be.
Jihoon felt something wet on his cheek, which briefly turned into pouring. With heavy rain now preventing them from going home, they hid under the eave of the building.
"Should we just wait here?" Jeongwoo proposed.
"We don't really have any other option, do we? I mean, excluding the one where we get all wet and catch a cold. Which doesn't actually sound that bad since it means our first day at school will be delayed." Jihoon was about to step forward, but Jeongwoo stopped him with his arm.
"You wish. We're staying here-" Something creaked behind them, and they turned around with terrified expressions. A petite, older lady was staring at them, grinning.
"You're new in town, aren't you?" she smiled, "Come in, come in. It's pouring quite heavily."
---
"You're kidding."
"How could you forget, Bi??" Hyunsuk asked, shaking her exasperatedly.
"I guess my mind just wanted to completely erase the existence of the 100-meter race," she groaned, making the other two boys laugh, "I barely got a C last time. I need to get at least a B so Mrs. Kang will leave me alone."
"Don't worry, Bi. I'm just as bad as you." Doyoung lied, trying to encourage her.
"You? Kim Doyoung? Bad at running? Shut up, find a believable lie if you want to lift my mood. Mrs. Kang praised you and Junkyu last time!" Danbi remembered.
Doyoung pressed his lips together, having no way to defend himself.
"Right, where's Junkyu?" Hyunsuk asked, looking around the cafeteria but not spotting their 4th friend.
"He fell asleep while doing math homework yesterday night and now he's copying since he has math next. Danbi, you can go keep him company since you've finished eating. The break's almost over anyway. I'm suuure he'll love it."
Hyunsuk nudged Doyoung, who was pointing out a bit too clearly Junkyu's feelings.
Danbi briefly furrowed her brows. "Alright? I'll go. I'll see you in class, Hyunsuk."
---
Junkyu was in class B8, just as Doyoung had mentioned. His eyes were shifting from one notebook to the other and his hand was writing the fastest it had ever.
"Knock, knock."
He looked up from his paper, his pout turning to a smile as he spotted Danbi.
"Bi! Hey." Junkyu scooted over to make space for her. She sat down next to him, propping her elbow on his table and her face in her palm.
"How's it going? I can copy the rest for you if your hand is hurting." She pointed at his shaky hand. He laughed it off, hiding it under the bench.
"It's okay, I can do it. I should have done it yesterday," he rubbed his forehead, "This is what I get for falling asleep while doing it. But hey, did you rest well? Since we're on the topic of sleep. You seem tired."
Danbi touched her face. "Um," she hesitated on telling him about the chase. She didn't want to worry him unnecessarily. "I couldn't really sleep. I was waiting for my cousins to come. The cab driver followed the wrong route, so they arrived later than they were supposed to."
"Ah, you said yesterday that they were coming! How old were they again?"
"Jihoon is 17, and Jeongwoo is close to 17." Danbi explained.
"Oh? So, they'll come to our school??"
Danbi nodded, her lips spreading into a smile at Junkyu's enthusiasm.
"Yeah. There was a flood in their town that pretty much ruined all the houses. Their parents are staying at a friend's house, searching for a place to move to, so they sent them here. They didn't want them to miss out on their studies."
Junkyu stopped writing again, a sad look on his face. "What? I'm so sorry. At least they have where to stay."
"Yes," Danbi replied. Glancing down at his notebook and realizing he had another two exercises to copy, she stood up. "I'll let you to it. The bell already rang. See you after school."
Junkyu smiled at her cutely, waving. She waved back and left.
Students were already gathered at the door and began entering the class. Danbi pushed her way through the crowd of students.
"Sorry! Excuse me!" She escaped, taking a deep breath. "Jeez."
She turned to the side to walk to her class and bumped into someone heading to Junkyu's class. Seeing she stumbled back a little, the person caught onto her arm, holding her still.
"Are you okay? Sorry, I wasn't looking." Glancing up, she met eyes with someone she had not seen before. A black-haired male with a manly nose and full lips was holding onto her, to whom she had no name to relate.
"Yeah, I'm okay. It's my fault, I wasn't really paying attention."
He nodded and let go of her, his tall figure breezing past her and into the class. Danbi gazed in his direction, squinting her eyes. "I don't think I've seen him before."
---
"How did you know? That we were new in town?"
The old woman laughed, taking a seat on one of the old cushion chairs in the room.
"Word spreads fast in small towns like this. There's not a single unordinary thing that goes unnoticed," she got up from her seat, "They will know all your secrets if you aren't careful."
Something about the woman's words terrified the boys.
She stopped and looked at them, letting out a scratchy laughter. "I am just fooling around, kids. But it's not all lies. I, myself, am an example. Ask anyone, they'll tell you I'm the crazy witch of the town," she coughed, letting out another raspy laughter, "If you step out of the standard this town considers normal, you can never return to being treated like a human being."
Jeongwoo and Jihoon awkwardly exchanged glances. They have spent all their childhood there and have never once thought of the town that way. They found it hard to believe what she was saying.
The woman stepped heavily to the counter of Berry Good Ice Cream, which she had not removed and was using as a table. She grabbed a picture from there, using her sweater to clean the dust off and bringing it to the boys.
"My nephew," she introduced, pointing at a little boy's face, "I was only able to see him as a child. After I became the odd one from here, my daughter didn't want to see me, and neither did she let me see this little angel." The old lady had tears gathering in her eyes as she drew circles with her finger on the picture. Jihoon and Jeongwoo had no clue how to react.
"M-miss, I don't know if we are apt to give out opinions since we just met you, but you don't seem that weird." Jeongwoo tried comforting her, which worked. Her thin lips spread into a warm grin.
"The rain has stopped." She noticed, and the two boys looked out the window with widened eyes. They could've sworn the sound of rain was still playing in the background a few seconds before.
"Weird..." Jihoon commented under his breath.
"Before you leave!" The woman suddenly turned energetic, grabbing their attention. She rushed off somewhere and came back with a petite, red sack. "Here you go. A welcome gift."
Jeongwoo extended his hand to grab it but she handed it to Jihoon instead, who hadn't even raised his hand.
"Eat it when you need a boost of energy. It's made with herbs, 100% natural! Believe me when I say it works like magic."
"Thank you. We'll get going since the rain has stopped." Jihoon smiled politely and got up, and so did Jeongwoo.
The lady followed them to the exit, grinning in a way that seemed unnatural.
"Have a nice day!" She lastly yelled before shutting the door, more abruptly than they expected.
"You too..." Jeongwoo responded under his breath. He glanced at Jihoon who looked just as baffled as him. "That was,"
"Weird," Jihoon continued Jeongwoo's sentence, "But it's over. Let's go home."
---
"Here's your book, Danbi. Sorry to be borrowing it again. I can't seem to remember to bring my English book every Monday..." Yoshi, her bench mate, rubbed the nape of his neck.
"No worries. You also help me, so we're even."
He smiled at her.
"Danbi, Danbi, Danbi, Danbi!" a screaming Hyunsuk rushed to where the two were, "Hurry up, come on."
She didn't get to ask what was going on as Hyunsuk dragged her away from class. They exited the school and only then did they stop.
"What's up??"
"The sky," Hyunsuk snickered, wasting time to catch his breath. Danbi only snorted. "I'm kidding. But Doyoung got us a table at that popular restaurant," - Danbi quirked an eyebrow - "Oh, come on. You know it! That Japanese one that's always full!"
"Aah, now I remember. Really? Didn't you have to make reservations a week ahead?"
"Don't ask me how he did it. He said something about a classmate of his and Junkyu's, but I don't remember and neither do I care. Let's go! We're meeting them there!" Hyunsuk grabbed her by the wrist and began running.
"Hyunsuk!! Wait! Stop dragging me!" He stopped, confused. "I have to tell Mom first. You know the rules."
He whined but nodded. "Fine, I'll wait. I'll ask them for a picture of the drinks menu first, so they can order."
She gave him a thumbs up and dialed her mother.
"Danbi? Are you on your way home?"
"No, Mom, actually, I was thinking of going with Hyunsuk to a restaurant. Is it-" Her mother's sigh stopped her from continuing.
"I'm sorry, but I'd prefer it if you come home now. I have something to talk to you about." Her serious tone made Danbi a little nauseous.
"Did- did I do something?"
"Come home." And with that, her mother closed the call.
"(...) Danbi is definitely getting a- Danbi? Are you ready?"
Glancing at him, she shook her head.
"I'm sorry, Hyunsuk. I can't come..." She smiled sadly. "I need to go home."
"Huh?" Junkyu questioned through the phone. "Why?? Is it about your cousins?"
"I'm not sure," She grabbed Hyunsuk's phone and brought it closer to her. "Another time, guys. You three have fun. Tell me how the food was."
"Wait-" She ended the call and handed Hyunsuk his phone. The male sighed.
"Bi... do you really have to go?"
Danbi nodded.
"Okay. Do you want me to take you home first?"
"No need to. It's still light outside. Don't worry about me, go have fun."
---
"I didn't lie! I didn't even expect they were going to cover for me!"
"But you didn't tell me the truth either. You could have been honest with me afterward! If I hadn't called you earlier and realized you always have your phone on mute, I wouldn't have realized you couldn't have woken up when your cousins came."
Both quieted down, feeling overwhelmed by the discussion.
"Danbi, I'm not here to scold you, okay? You're my daughter and I need to know that you are safe. I didn't tell you to come home before 11 to cut your fun short, and neither did I want Hyunsuk to take you home just for the fun of it. It's dangerous at night, Danbi! And the fact that someone chased you proves my point!" Danbi's eyes widened. She hadn't told her mother about that, yet she knew.
"Did Jihoon-"
"No. Jeongwoo told me. But really? That's what you're concerned about? I'm really disappointed. Danbi, what if your cousins didn't come then? What if whoever that crazy person was got their hands on you?!" Her mother's voice cracked at the last question, shattering Danbi's heart.
"I want to trust you," she continued, "I want you to be independent, I want you to go out without me having to check up on you every second or have someone accompany you everywhere. But it's not you that's the problem, it's the others I'm worried about!" she put her hands on her daughter's shoulders, "People are not always as nice as they seem, Danbi. This might be a small town, but do we really know everything about the people living here?"
Danbi shook her head, looking at the ground, and that movement was enough for her tears to come out. Reality was finally sinking in. Her mother was right, that night could have gone bad.
"I'm," - she whimpered - "I'm sorry mom." Seeing her daughter crying, she shook her head and hugged her.
"You little troublemaker," Mrs. Park patted her head comfortingly, "Stop crying. It's okay."
Danbi's dad and the boys watched from the top of the staircase, feeling touched by the emotional scene.
Mr. Park rushed downstairs, imitating her daughter's ugly crying. "Mommy!" He mocked, joining the hug. The girl's crying turned into laughter, and the atmosphere was quick to switch back to normal after that.
"Don't worry, auntie. You have us as her bodyguards now. We'll keep our little cousin safe." Jeongwoo reassured with a wide grin, ruffling Danbi's hair.
"Leave my hair alone..." She pushed his hand away but Jihoon popped from behind, messing up her hair with both hands.
"Park Jihoon!"
---
Danbi shifted onto the other side again. Everyone was sound asleep at that time, except for her. She was biting her nails over the next day's sports race.
"I just need to give my all. If I do that, I should at least get a B, right? B minus?" She stuffed her head into her pillow and groaned.
She raised her head and glanced at the TV, under which her electronic clock read 1:27.
"On a school night? I must be crazy. I'll have no energy tomorrow, and if that happens," she covered her mouth, terrified, "I might get a C. No, no, I need to sleep. I need energy."
She got under the blanket and forced her eyes shut, but they fluttered open seconds after. Her second attempt to shut her eyes was put to a stop as she heard a noise outside.
Danbi got up and tiptoed over to the window, curious to see what it was. Seeing the street late at night reminded her of the previous night. Her eyes traveled over to a shadowed place and right then, something moved. She stumbled back, thinking it could be the same person that chased her.
"Right, they saw where I live," she put a hand over her chest, "No, yesterday was probably a drunk person. Yeah, that's right. I probably saw a stray cat today, or maybe the wind moved the tree and-" She stopped, feeling out of breath.
"I can't stay here." She got up and rushed out of her room, jogging towards the kitchen. Her room had no blinds, but all the downstairs windows did, giving her a feeling of security.
Trying to get her mind off of it, she suddenly felt hungry. She opened the fridge but didn't find anything to just snack on. Most were homemade dishes - too heavy. It happened that as she closed the fridge and turned around, her eyes fell upon a small, red sack, situated on the counter from the entrance.
"What's that?" The little sack revealed something unexpected, but just right for her: some petite, dark red candies.
"I can't sleep anyway."
She plopped one candy in her mouth and, feeling an amazing, sweet taste - somewhat unusual, she was tempted to take another one.
"Where did those appear from? They have no label." Suddenly energized, she let herself get distracted with a movie, completely finishing the candy sack. 'Just one more' is never to be trusted.
---
"Danbi! Auntie sent me to-"
Jihoon's hand slid off the door handle as he noticed his cousin's attire. "What are you wearing?" He laughed, pulling Jeongwoo who was also coming to see how she looked.
Danbi swirled in her rotative chair, facing them. Her face was the only thing they could see from her through the pile of blankets covering her. "I was cold."
"Really? Couldn't tell based on the blankets," Jeongwoo snickered, but quickly turned serious. "It's warm, though. Are you ok?"
Danbi dared stick a leg out of her blanket cocoon for the first time in 2 hours. The unexplainable cold had started around 5 AM and had gradually increased.
"I couldn't really sleep, so maybe that's why? Anyway, I'll be downstairs in a bit."
The two at her door nodded, still open-mouthed. "Alright, but hurry. Auntie prepared breakfast, you should eat before it gets cold."
"Ok, thanks."
After the door closed, she quickly pulled her leg back in, immediately feeling it warming up. "What's wrong with me? Did I catch a cold?"
---
"Danbi! And, cousins, I suppose. Nice to meet you," Hyunsuk grabbed their hands and shook them one by one. "I'm Choi Hyunsuk. I won't bother telling you what my relationship with Danbi is since she has probably mentioned me already. After all, she only has three friends."
Danbi watched Hyunsuk dumbfounded. "Really, Hyunsuk? You're making me seem like a total loner."
"And you're not?" Hyunsuk teased. Danbi couldn't get herself to reply at that.
"I'm Jihoon, and he's Jeongwoo. I'm one year older than Danbi."
"That doesn't make him wiser." Jeongwoo commented and got a nudge from Jihoon, making him laugh.
"Oh? So, we're the same age. I'm also 17." Hyunsuk grinned.
"He's also not very wise." Danbi pointed out, and Hyunsuk's smile turned to a frown. Her cousins laughed at their interaction.
The four started walking, talking about how the two boys ended up moving with Danbi. Danbi was finding it hard to concentrate, now feeling colder since she was outside. The winter jacket was not helping her too much.
"What's up with you? There's, like, 20 degrees outside. It's not that cold yet." Hyunsuk asked.
Danbi gave him a small smile. "I might have caught a cold."
Hyunsuk gasped dramatically and took out a mask, putting it on. Although her cousins appreciated his humor, Danbi only sighed.
"I'm kidding, Bi," he shoved his mask back in his pocket, "But seriously, are you okay? You were fine yesterday."
"She didn't sleep. Maybe that makes you feel a little colder than usual." Jihoon explained.
"The real question is why didn't you sleep?" Jeongwoo questioned, bringing a nervous look to Danbi's face.
"I was a bit scared after the previous night," she admitted since all of them knew about the event, "And I'm also terrified of the race today."
"What race?" Jihoon asked.
"It's a semestrial race. We have to run 100 meters in the shortest time possible." Hyunsuk explained, and the girl groaned.
"I'll just say I have a cold..." Danbi pulled her jacket down to cover her legs too. "It's not as if I'm lying anyway."
"Is it that hard?" Jihoon raised a brow. "We didn't have such a race at our old school."
"It's hard just for Danbi." Hyunsuk replied, and the girl gave him an ugly look.
"Let's hurry," she sighed, "we're going to be late."
The three boys watched as she sped off into the distance. Hyunsuk shook his head. "If only she ran like that during the race too..."
---
"Introduce yourself to the class," the teacher grabbed Jeongwoo by the shoulders, turning him to his classmates, "not to me."
"Hello, everyone. My name is Park Jeongwoo. I am 16 years old. I hope we'll get along well."
"He's Danbi's cousin." Hyunsuk added for the whole class to hear, getting surprised reactions from the others.
With all eyes on him, Jeongwoo was directed to where his new bench mate was waiting for him - So Junghwan.
"Cool leather jacket." Junghwan complimented, pulling his notebooks and pencil case to his side to make space for Jeongwoo.
Jeongwoo mirrored the other boy's smile. "Thanks."
---
"I don't think I can do this, Hyunsuk." Sports class was next, and Danbi was as anxious as ever.
"You can do it, Bi. Stop stressing yourself," Hyunsuk encouraged, "But, did you fix your sports uniform?"
Danbi blanked. "I totally forgot!"
They were outside of the boys' locker room, so Hyunsuk came up with an idea.
"Wait here!" He said, running inside, leaving her standing alone and looking like a creep.
Junkyu also came so he could change and was befuddled to see her there, peeking inside.
"Bi?"
She froze, and it wasn't because of the cold. "Junkyu! Hey, you're here to change, right?" The way she formulated her question made her presence there seem even weirder. "Sorry," she scrunched her face, "I mean, I'm just waiting for Hyunsuk. He told me to wait here, but I have no clue why.
Junkyu giggled and rested against the wall, leaning closer to her. "You're stressed, aren't you?"
She let out a short laugh. "I might just skip class." She groaned, sliding down the wall into a crouch.
Junkyu chuckled, his cute smile managing to bring her mood up. "You'll do fine, Bi. I'll be there to cheer for you!" He gave her a wink and a thumbs up, entering the locker rooms.
Shortly after, Hyunsuk came out, all dressed.
"Here!" he handed her some folded clothes, "I have an extra set. But, just so you know-"
"You're my savior, Hyunsuk!" She hugged him and dashed off, before he could continue.
"It's the set with the shorts..." Hyunsuk sighed, putting his hands on his hips, "Ah, this girl. She's really crazy." He pointed her way, as if she could hear him scolding her.
---
"I think I preferred my jacket." Danbi stared at her bare, freezing legs, regret filling her whole. The cold she had been feeling prior to that was nothing to how she was feeling now.
"Mrs. Kang wouldn't have liked that. At least she won't scold you for not wearing the sports uniform." Doyoung puffed.
Hyunsuk and Danbi didn't know what to comment, knowing he was right. Their sports teacher was so strict she could've given Danbi a C just for not wearing the uniform.
"You're crazy!" Junkyu came hopping to them, behind whom Jihoon and Jeongwoo watched, shocked.
"Weren't you feeling cold already?? What are you wearing?" Jihoon scolded, grabbing her by the short sleeves of her t-shirt.
"Something that won't kick me out of class,"
Her cousins' brows knitted in confusion.
"It's complicated," she continued, "Anyway, you three met?"
"He's in Jihoon's class. I didn't know you were friends." Jeongwoo replied.
"I was shocked to find out they were your cousins," Junkyu explained with a hand over his mouth, "You three don't look alike."
Jihoon snickered at that. "Our fathers don't either, although they're brothers."
A loud whistle interrupted their discussion. "Classes B6 and B8!" A woman with a fierce look and a big build yelled - Mrs. Kang. "Today, we are holding the 100-meter race! You already know the rules. If you complete the race in less than 15 seconds, you get an A. Between 15 and 20 seconds, you get a B. Between 20 and 30, you get a C! Do I need to mention what you get for a score above 30?" Her eyes managed to spot Danbi in the big crowd, making the girl cower up behind Jeongwoo. "We'll start in alphabetical order. Ahn Seunghee, get into position!"
"You weren't lying," Jihoon's voice trembled, looking as if he had just finished watching a horror movie, "She's scary."
All who had dealt with Mrs. Kang laughed drily.
With every student that ran, the woman's voice was getting louder and louder. They were all expecting her voice to start cracking at one point.
"I need to drink something." Danbi spoke under her breath, pacing around.
Jeongwoo heard her and stepped her way. "I'll join you. Let's go." Seeing they had not even gotten to Choi Hyunsuk, they judged they had plenty of time.
The two entered the school and went to the vending machine. Danbi scanned the drinks, but there was nothing warm to drink, just room-temperature drinks.
"Are you cold? Should I give you my pants?" Jeongwoo suggested, noticing she was rubbing her legs against each other.
She glanced at him and shook her head with a grateful smile. "No, don't worry. Now that I'm moving it's not as cold anymore." She lied. Just thinking about her shaking legs made her feel even colder, but she thought that if she felt that way, the others must've felt cold too. She couldn't steal Jeongwoo's source of warmth.
Someone joined Jeongwoo and Danbi. Only Jeongwoo noticed the guy, a smile spreading across his face. "Oh? You're from Jihoon's class, right? I saw you when I came to get him."
The boy squinted his eyes, trying to recall who Jihoon was. "Ah, you're his cousin?"
Jeongwoo smiled proudly, "Yes, that's right. I'm Park Jeongwoo, and this is my cousin-"
"Park Danbi."
Danbi's head rose from the button she was pressing. Jeongwoo's face turned surprised.
"Ahh, you're Danbi's friend too?"
The guy shook his head. "No, but she visits our class a lot."
Danbi couldn't withstand her curiosity and turned around, noticing the guy she had bumped into yesterday was there. He looked her way, smiling softly.
"I'm Watanabe Haruto."
Danbi vaguely remembered seeing him a few times, but his name was unfamiliar.
The drinks fell, startling the cousins. Danbi turned to the machine to get her drink and Jeongwoo's but a hand entered her visual range. She looked to the side; Haruto's face was really close to hers.
He gave her a quick smile. "Here you go." He handed her the drinks.
Her brows furrowed, although she gave him a polite smile in return. "Thanks..."
Jeongwoo watched their interaction with a raised eyebrow.
"Good luck at the race." Haruto said before disappearing from their sight. Jeongwoo and Danbi exchanged glances. She shrugged her shoulders.
---
"I was searching for you! Where did you disappear, Bi?"
"I was trying to run away," she joked, wiggling her drink after, "the stress made me thirsty." A cool dose of ice tea wasn't exactly what she had wanted, but it did give her a dose of energy.
Something plopped on her shoulders as she tried to adjust to the temperature difference, catching her and Hyunsuk's eye. Junkyu was right next to her, his hands still on the warm jacket he had covered her with.
Hyunsuk nudged Doyoung repeatedly, suppressing his squeals. Seeing Junkyu making moves was not an everyday thing.
"Y-you seemed cold." Junkyu said with puckered lips, avoiding eye contact.
"Thanks, Junkyu." Danbi smiled up at him and his legs went weak for a second.
"Park Jihoon, 13.67!"
Doyoung stepped forward and gasped. "What? He beat my record..."
Jihoon sauntered back to where they were, not even trying to hide his pride. "Beat that, coz." He ruffled Jeongwoo's hair, who didn't look all that impressed.
"I'll do it with my eyes closed." Jeongwoo assured, although he was definitely not going to do that.
"How come they already reached Jihoon? That means Jungwoo or I are after him??" Seeing her starting to panic again, Junkyu patted her back.
"It will be fine. I'm sure you will do great." He encouraged with another of his contagious smiles.
"Watanabe Haruto, if you think I have enough time for your elongated bathroom breaks, you're wrong! Come here before I write you as absent for missing your turn!"
"Oh?" Doyoung smiled, "That's the guy that helped us with the reservation. He's from our class."
Danbi's eyes immediately went to the boy making his way through the crowd. He reached where they were standing and met stares with Danbi as he passed through, a smile falling upon his lips.
Haruto got into position, determination written all over his face. With his slimmer complexion, all couldn't help but wonder how he'd perform.
"Get ready! Three, two, one, go!"
Danbi's eyes were on the starting point, but he had completely disappeared from there. Trailing the path he was running on to find him, she spotted him nearly at the end of it.
Jeongwoo shook his head and blinked, thinking he had seen wrong.
"What is he? Flash??" Hyunsuk picked his jaw from the ground, just as shocked as the others.
Before the whole two classes and the teacher could process, he was at the end of the path, not a drop of effort visible on him. Mrs. Kang's stopwatch almost dropped out of her hands as she read the time.
"E-eight 47 seconds." Gasps surrounded.
"Is he human??" Doyoung marveled, hands over his head in amazement. It didn't make sense that some mere high schooler could achieve that.
"Does he always run this fast?" Jihoon asked Junkyu, who just shook his head, mouth wide open.
"He usually gets, like, what? Doyoung, how much does Haruto usually get?"
Doyoung walked to the two, eyes still on Haruto. "Not less than 10 anyway."
After that episode, Danbi's mind was full of thoughts. She didn't want to make false connections, but her mind automatically went to the night she was chased. That person was also fast; very fast.
"Park Danbi!"
Without expecting it, it was her turn. Suddenly, all the stress from earlier that she had forgotten about came back. She had to get a B, otherwise, she had no chance of escaping Mrs. Kang's hawk eyes.
"Don't make me repeat myself!" Mrs. Kang's yell managed to get her functioning. She ran to where the teacher was, hands beginning to shake - and not from the cold.
"Why are you coming to me?! The start is there!" Embarrassed and frightened by her tone, she bowed her head apologetically and went to the right place.
"I can do this, I can do this, I can do this..."
Haruto was in her visual range, getting her to glance his way again. She was taken aback by his focused gaze already present on her.
Caught up in thinking, she didn't even notice the teacher's whistle, causing her to begin late. She was already imagining a C waiting for her at the end of the path, but in the middle of her running, she realized something was different.
Perhaps it was the cold feeling crawling up her legs the entire time she waited, or the stress that had consumed her all morning turning into energy, but she was running as if it depended on her life. Scared she might slow down if she began overthinking it, she closed her eyes and just continued, and continued.
Danbi had already passed the end but didn't stop running.
"Park Danbi!" The teacher yelled, and she then opened her eyes - however, too late. Before she could slow down, she reached a basketball ball lying around the place and tripped over it, ending up on her knees and hands, and with an ugly scratch on her knee.
"Great." She groaned, her knee stinging.
"I told you kids to slow down after passing the stopping point!" Mrs. Kang yelled, making her roll her eyes.
Someone's arms embraced her from behind, helping her get up. She was surprised someone appeared next to her so fast.
"Thanks-" Glancing to the side, Haruto's face came into view. She gasped and distanced herself - but only a little. His hold on her was too strong to push him away.
Her cousins rushed over, followed by her friends.
"Are you okay, coz?" Jihoon scrunched his nose as he saw the ugly scratch on Danbi's knee.
"You ran so fast!" Jeongwoo observed, eyes gaped.
"Danbi, are you okay?!" Junkyu also joined them, reaching out for her arm.
Haruto blocked his hand from grabbing onto her, pulling her to the side. "I'll take her to the infirmary."
The others blinked in surprise. Haruto picked her up in less time that they could process, walking off with her.
"Hey-!" Junkyu objected, but Doyoung put a hand on his chest. "What's up with him? We should go after her!"
"Junkyu, Junkyu," Hyunsuk scolded, approaching the two, "Be a little subtler, will you?"
Junkyu's pout fell, replaced by a startled expression.
"Should we go see if she's alright?" Jeongwoo asked, turning to Jihoon.
Jihoon only smiled. "Our cousin's getting guys, let's leave her to it." He threw his arm over Jeongwoo's shoulders, pulling him away. Jeongwoo's eyes uncertainly lingered in the direction Haruto had taken Danbi, but then got distracted since it was Junghwan's turn.
---
Having buried her face in Haruto's t-shirt, scared she might fall from a big height because of how tall he was, she didn't even realize they had arrived. Haruto laid her down on the bed, taking a seat next to her. She dared open her eyes, one by one.
Without any words being exchanged, his hands cupped her calf and gently bent her knee so he could see the wound clearly. She flinched as the sensitive skin around her wound got stretched.
His gaze was almost that of a predator, licking his lips as if about to attack. Danbi shook her head, thinking it was the lack of sleep that was getting to her.
"Stay still." He instructed and she straightened herself at his authoritative tone. Haruto circled around the room, in search of some ointment and plasters.
Danbi followed him with great interest and confusion.
Haruto got back with slow steps, taking a seat. He studied her wound with unwavering attention, taking his time with treating it. She wanted to back out a little but couldn't move her body. He was even closer to her than before.
"Um," she swallowed, grabbing onto his wrist loosely, "I can continue, you should go to class-"
She almost gasped as Haruto brought his stare up from the wound. His irises were almost fully dominated by his pupils' width.
"Are you ok?" Danbi asked, releasing his wrist.
Haruto lowered his head, dropping the ointment. "I- I have to go." He stood up and rushed out, leaving her stupefied.
---
The door to the nurse's office creaked.
"Ah, these kids never clean after coming here..." The nurse complained, unaware of the second presence in the room.
"I'm sorry,"
The woman turned to the door with big eyes, not having expected someone would come in at that time.
"I had to rush to class, so I could only return to clean now." The boy continued.
"O-oh," she cleared her throat, "no problem."
The guy went over to her and extended his hand. "Give them to me. I'll clean and then leave."
The woman smiled and did so. "Thank you, student. I have to finish up some paperwork, I'll leave you to it then."
Now alone, he spread all the tissues and bandage packaging on the bed. His hands trembled as he picked up one of the tissues, bringing it closer to his nose. The blood had dried up, but the scent remained. "So sweet..."
The door opened, and he attempted to rapidly stuff the tissue in his pocket, but it fell to the ground.
"Did I startle you? I'm sorry. I just remembered that someone else said they'd take care of the papers. Besides, I shouldn't keep you during your break." The nurse informed, having realized she could get in trouble with the principal if she were caught keeping a student during the break.
The boy's fist tightened. "I can do it." He assured, gritting his teeth.
"I appreciate your help, student, but there's no need for that. Come on, hurry to class." Left with no choice, he forced a smile and left, kicking the door shut as he did.
The woman briefly laughed, a bit dumbfounded. "I didn't know students were so into cleaning."