Those days - txtzy

part 3: 一

Inspired by the book All the Bright Places

To be honest, Kai had no idea how he had ended up on the ledge of the clocktower.

It was as if he had snapped out of his daydream and found himself peering down at the ground far away, teetering in fright, only managing to cling onto the freezing metal railing behind him. The worst part is, no one seemed to realise he was up there.

Of course not. He was a nobody.

But then someone suddenly pointed up to him, then he realised they weren't pointing to him, they were gesturing to the girl next to him.

Shin Yuna had one hand firmly planted on the railing, the other swinging out, she had absolutely no fears, her features all curled into a delicate smile of elation.

Then she turned to Kai.

"Hey," Yuna said easily, "I see that you are on my ledge. Not that I'm calling dibs. The view, while lovely, is quite terrifying when you look down, I suppose." The boy hung on to the railing like a startled wet chicken. "It is pouring," Yuna casually remarked, as if the two of them were currently not being drenched in rainwater six stories up in the air. "It's been rather cold lately, no?" Still no response from the boy. That made Yuna laugh, "Hey, am I talking to a wall? What's your name? Wait, no. You're Kai, aren't you? My friends know your friends, I think." Kai blinked, his wet eyelashes fluttering.

"Why are you up here? Aren't you, like, best friends with Choi Soobin and Choi Beomgyu? Man, I thought they were related, seeing as to how they stuck to each other the moment they stepped into this school."

Yuna was steadily running out of words, and Kai was still frozen with shock and panic, his eyes fixed on the ground far, far down. "It's a long drop," Yuna cheerfully reminded, "so, let's do something else instead. You got the railing?" Kai managed a stiff nod. "Great. Now lift your right leg up and over," Yuna instructed calmly, turning as her hand extended to collect rain in her palm, relishing the cool drops on her skin.

Gulping nervously, Kai awkwardly did what he was told, and Yuna continued, "Then lift your left foot right after." She gave an encouraging smile. Kai collapsed behind the railing on the solid cement floor, chest heaving and body trembling. Lightly dropping down beside him, Yuna shook her head like a dog getting rid of water from its body, her wet hair clumping together and swinging weirdly.

"You good?" She asked gently, wringing her skirt. Before Kai could answer her, the door to the clocktower slammed open.

Shin Ryujin stood there, one hand on her hip and a scowl on her face. "Hey Ryu-" Yuna started, but Ryujin waved that off and shot back, "Seriously? Do you live on the ledge or something? Your teacher just told me you missed five consecutive classes. If you jump off, father will press charges for sure, Yuna." Kai frowned, evidently confused that the two were related, but didn't dare to say anything. Yuna stayed silent, so Ryuin shook her head, then turned to Kai, "Your friend Beomgyu is coming to get you, wait downstairs for him." She then grabbed Yuna and dragged her off, Yuna managing to send Kai a cheeky wink, leaving him alone on the cold floor.