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"i like to listen. i have learned a great deal
from listening carefully. most people
never listen."

— Ernest Hemingway —

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[ 3RD PERSONS VIEW。]

Heavy breathing accompanied by droplets of sweat. The purple haired boy panted as he jolted up his seat. A nightmare haunted him every time he shut his eyes closed. "I– I didn't do it!" he yelled out, earning glances from his classmates.

His eyes were shaking, hands were trembling. Whispers broke out in the room, making his state become more worse.

Tears on the brink of falling, he sucked in some air, hastily uttering a few words, "I didn't do it."

"Who would even believe a boy like him?"

"Wasn't his father a murderer?"

"Anger issues."

"He obviously did it. Wasn't he so irritated at Haruki when they first met?"

"Ugh, he should just shut up."

Swallowing the thick lump, he bit his lip down hard, more tears threatening to fall. He then heard older voices and the sound of running footsteps from afar. The door to their classroom slams open, the known eleventh grader art boy stepped in with a few companions.

Seeing his friend being tortured by rumors made his heart ache. "Donghyuck–"

The teenage boy flinches at the voice, looking up slowly, he met with his friend's tired eyes, "Renjun?" he laughed, sounding a bit hollow and empty, "It's been a week, huh?"

"Shut up. Look at you! You're letting them get to you."

"Who am I to even tell them off? They won't listen to me anyways." Donghyuck spat, teeth slowly ripping his lips the more harder he bit down. "It's always the good guys people listen to... unlucky me, I don't fit in that category."

Renjun sighed and stretched out his hand. Donghyuck furrowed his brows, eyeing his friend's hand, "What?"

The woman beside Renjun suddenly stepped in between them, "I wish to have a word with you boys privately, Mr. Lee."

And with that, Donghyuck sighed and took Renjun's hand anyway, finding himself seated inside the council room with Renjun beside him.

"What are we here for again?"

"Questioning." the woman said simply, "I'm Ahn Yura, the head detective who is assigned with Choi Haruki's suicide case."

Renjun sneered, "What else are you going to investigate? She's gone, without any other traces!"

Another girl who was seated with them cleared her throat, "That's what others thought."

Renjun squinted his eyes at the girl, "The SC Vice President? Ji Hanmi... what are you doing here again?" he mumbled and shifted in his seat.

"What? I'm one of Haruki's friends, too! She has been a good President and past member of the Student Council, I want to help." Hanmi reasoned, crossing her arms at Renjun's words.

The boy plainly rolled his eyes and looked away, focusing back onto the detective standing in front of them. "Donghyuck and Renjun, was it? Must you gather the rest of your friends, I have a very important task for everyone."

Renjun scrunched his nose, feeling a bit doubtful, "Why? Why now? Can't just everyone accept the sad fact that she's gone and she's not coming back?"

Yura sighed, "Yes, but Renjun, don't you think her death is a little bit suspicious?"

"Plus, aren't you boys concerned why she committed suicide? Unless, you really have something going on between your friend group that may be linked with her death?" the detective added making Renjun grit his teeth in annoyance.

"We didn't do it."

"Do what, Mr. Huang?"

"We're not involved with her death!" he exclaimed standing up.

Donghyuck scoffed and stood up as well, "The only suspicious one here is you. Let go of her case, we're not doing this." he said before leaving the council room. Renjun followed him, eyeing the detective before exiting.

Hanmi bit her lip and went to go outside, leaving the dumbfounded detective in the council room. Yura grunted and fell back onto her chair, fist hitting the wooden table from time to time.

Outside, Hanmi looked around, seeing the two boys back faced her as they walked down the hallway. She gritted her teeth, stomping towards them, "Wait! Hey!"

Renjun blinked, hearing her voice as he stopped to turn around, "Ji Hanmi? What do you want?"

Donghyuck let out a deep sigh, also turning around to look at her, "Better not waste our time."

"Do you believe she's dead?"

The two boys stiffened as they looked at each other. With a bored look they faced Hanmi again, monotonously replying her, "Yes."

"Well, I don't."

Donghyuck ran his bandaged fingers through his hair, tilting his head back, "Your reason is?"

"She's not dead. I saw her!"

Her sudden exclaim made Renjun choke on his own spit, the boy coughing loudly as he snapped a glare towards the girl, "We don't need to hear your nonsense."

Hanmi clenched her jaw, "I'm serious!"

"So are we!" the two boys fired back.

Exhausted, that's what they felt through the past few days. With the dirty rumors about them circling around, they thought it was best for them to exclude themselves, but no, it just haunted them more.

Hanmi pursed her lips, stepping back, "She's alive I'm telling you!"

"We saw her corpse go down that– Argh, let's just go, Hyuck." Renjun grumbled and grabbed his friend's wrist, dragging him away from the Student Council Vice President.

The two didn't want to be reminded of her for now, they couldn't take the damage. The tears that were shoved away by Donghyuck came back, now they finally fell, streaming down his cheeks as his pace slowed down.

Renjun reached to engulf him in a hug, tightly securing him underneath his grasp. "No one is at fault." he whispered onto Donghyuck's ear, making the boy sob harder.

Voices filling into their minds as it chanted slowly:

We didn't do it.

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