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Sitting silently around the table, the three girls looked at the wretched Chaewon as she finished her story. It was way past telling her it would be okay. She shed a tear or two during her narration, but she had the devil-may-care expression smudged on her face throughout.
"It doesn't matter," Chaewon said. "I've gotten over him. It was just a drunk mistake"
The three other girls exchanged concerned looks. They knew better than to believe Chaewon's untruths of 'I'm okay'.
"Lies," Sarang confirmed. "All lies."
"What do you mean?" Chaewon asked, confused and defensive. "I am okay. It was just a hook-up. I wouldn't even walk the same ground as him if I were sober last night"
Chaewon got up from her chair, grabbing her belongings from the table. "I've got a class to attend. Later, ladies"
They watched her long brown hair sway the lengths of her shoulder as she walked away, not turning back. Her white and pink skirt and her white shirt seemed to fade further and further away and disappeared altogether, leaving Ari, Sarang, and Hyejin alone in the now empty cafeteria.
"What do we do?" Ari asked the other two. Sarang's laced fingers around her neck unraveled and she sighed, placing her palms on her forehead. Hyejin's stiff posture relaxed, and she gave out a small huff, the thing she always did when she was stressed.
"We don't leave her to herself," Sarang suggested - more like declared - to her friends. "She's gonna be in a very dark place all by herself"
The other two nodded their heads. They decided it was a good time to go to their classes since they were already running late. The deal was made; pick Chaewon up from her Chemistry class as soon as they got out of their own.
After bidding her byes to Sarang and Hyejin, who would go to Biology and Arts classes respectively, she ran her hand through the front of her hair and picked up her pace in the direction of the Astrophysics classroom. The loud buzz of the huge class could be heard, which meant the professor wasn't there yet.
She looked up from her white sneakers intertwined with black shoelaces, which were weaved up in a complex way Ari was afraid to undo. Instead of the door of her classroom, she saw blackness and experienced excruciating pain. Her books slipped from her clutches and she landed on the floor on her butt.
She had bumped into someone, alright. But that someone wasn't just someone.
"Shi- I'm so sorry," the boy said, fumbling. He collected Ari's books impatiently as she got to her feet. She took the books from his hands and he apologized multiple times, bowing hastily at her.
"It's okay," Ari chuckled at his clumsiness and soft nature. "Are you okay, though? Did I hurt you?"
"Nah, I'm good," he said. Ari nodded at him and there was silence for a few seconds before the boy spoke, "Name's Jay. Park Jay. Do you have a name or can I call you mine?"
