philophobia | ksj+mb

-23-

Sleep deprivation wasn't something I never experienced, but it's been such a long time that I forgot what I should do when it happens. I yawned the whole day. There wasn't a single ten minutes that I didn't yawn. To make things worse, I can't concentrate on anything.

Jin and I returned at about three in the morning, and I couldn't exactly sleep for about a half hour after that. It was nearly four when I took my rest and two hours after that my alarm went off.

And speaking of last night...

The whole experience was still fresh in my memory, regardless of how hard I try to erase it from my brain. The night sky, the look on his eyes, his smile, and his lips. I could still hear the sound of the river, and feel his hands around my waist.

"Byul?"

I jerked my head up, blinking away the memories. Hanna was leaning over my cubicle, a frown on her face.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"I'm absolutely fine, Hanna. What is it?"

Hanna pointed to my computer, seeing the single paragraph I've written. "You've been doing nothing for the past thirty minutes."

I sighed, giving myself a mental slap on the face. I should be writing the transcript, but like Hanna said, I haven't been doing anything for the past... wait, thirty minutes? Have I been daydreaming that long?

"Byul?"

I sharply inhaled, taken aback by her voice. "Yeah?" I turned my head towards her, not even bothering to hide my surprise. "And before you ask me if I'm okay, I am. I'm just a little sleepy — a lot sleepy, actually. But, nevermind."

She took another glance at my computer, but quickly focused her attention to me. "Seulgi invited me and Chaeyoung and a few others to eat right after work hours. You wanna come?"

"Where did she...?"

"That cheap barbeque just around the corner of the street," she answered. "And if you're worried about getting wasted, Seulgi promised she won't force any of us to drink."

I slowly nodded. "Alright."

Hanna gave me a reassuring smile, stealing another glance at my computer and left. Putting on my earphones, I tried to concentrate on my job. It was harder said than done, as every ten minutes my mind would go elsewhere, but after two whole hours I finally finished it.

Six o'clock came faster than expected, considering how slow I was working. Seulgi came to get me while talking about some guy her young friend is close with, or in her words, helping me pack my stuff.

"I mean, she's still twenty. That's far too young to have any boyfriend."

I slung my bag over my shoulder, walking out of the office with Seulgi beside me. "She's not even dating and you're like this."

She stared at me in disbelief. "I'm worried, okay? Just like I'm worried of you and that boy we talked about at the bar. How are you guys, by the way?"

"We're —" The image of Jin's smile flashed through my mind. "We're fine. Great, actually."

Seulgi gave me a side smirk, getting into the elevator just after I did. The doors closed, and we traveled down. "You're not spilling the details."

"And I'm not about to."

The elevator doors opened with a ding, and we stepped out. Seulgi was still smirking at me as we travelled to the lobby. Out of all the annoying things she did, her smirk is perhaps the only thing I wish to delete from the world. It's beyond annoying. And at this moment, it's awfully irritating.