THE TRANSFER STUDENT

Worry

Three days had passed and for all three days, Byulyi's seat remained empty.

And as much as Seokjin hated to admit it, he was starting to worry. Even though she was the one who had thrown him away first, he couldn't help but think of her.

"Ya!" Jisoo poked Seokjin in the stomach playfully. "What are you thinking about?"

Seokjin frowned.

Byulyi didn't even live with her parents. Her parents had divorced when she was 9 years old, leaving to start their own new families. They left Byulyi under her grandma's care, sending her pocket money every month to spend on Byulyi. However, as the days passed, Byulyi's grandma was getting old and more sickly, so now it was more like Byulyi taking care of her grandma. The days were hard to live by, but Byulyi was happy, because she loved her grandma and her grandma loved her even more.

"Jin-ie!" Jisoo frowned. "Are you even listening to me?"

Seokjin snapped out of his thoughts. "Ah... sorry. I'm just a bit distracted. It's nothing."

Byulyi had never been absent for more than a day. Even then, she would always text him the first thing in the morning. But now that they weren't on good terms, what if something really happened to her? He had wanted to ask Mr Kim so many times, but every time, Jisoo was next to him. He didn't want her to get the wrong idea. Yet he couldn't help but worry. What if she was sick? How was her grandma going to take care of her?

"You're really quite distracted lately..." Jisoo furrowed her eyebrows. "Does it have to do with... her?"

"I..." Seokjin swallowed hard. Maybe he should admit it. Maybe he shouldn't. "She..."

"She hasn't been around for three days already," Jisoo pursed her lips.

Seokjin raised his eyebrows.

Jisoo sighed. "Even I know. I think... maybe we should visit her."

"We?" Seokjin was taken by surprise. Her response was better than he had expected.

"Yeah," Jisoo grabbed Seokjin's hands in hers. "We, Jin. I decided that from today, I'm not gonna interfere in your friendship anymore."

"Why the sudden change in attitude?" Seokjin asked suspiciously. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Nothing of that sort," Jisoo smiled, squeezing Seokjin's hands tight. "After talking to your parents that day, it dawned upon me how nice she is as a person. I admit I was jealous of her in the past, but..." Jisoo smiled slightly. "After what you did in the bathroom... I think I saw the light. I should not let my own insecurities get the better of me. I trust you, Jin. I wanna go apologise to her, too. I think I've really made myself quite unlikeable."

Seokjin had imagined Jisoo saying such a thing to him for days, but never would he have imagined that what she said would make him feel this... uncomfortable. In fact, it was beyond discomfort. It was more of... guilt. He felt like he had just done the most terrible thing ever, to this girl who liked him with all her heart.

But now wasn't the time to dwell on this.

"Thank you, Jisoo," Seokjin said, letting go of her hands. "Let's go."

The two of them left the classroom, Jisoo holding on tight to Seokjin's arm. As they neared the entrance of the school, they passed by Mr Kim, who was rushing towards his car.

"Mr Kim!" Seokjin called out as he waved to Mr Kim.

"Seokjin... Byulyi..." Mr Kim didn't wave back. As Seokjin walked closer, he could see how awfully frazzled Mr Kim looked. "You haven't heard?"