"Do you like cars?" an underdeveloped voice pierced the silence in the lobby. Lisa, one knee over the other, slightly turned her eyes right to discreetly find the source of it.

Swinging her feet back and forth, an almost toddler searched to catch Lisa's eyes. Her delicate face was almost entirely occupied by her enormous eyes that had a spark in them, close to how marble floors act at light. Perhaps the child's light was the thought of cars. Lisa fully turned to her when she suspected she might be the interlocutor, and learned that the girl's marble eyes were actually lit by her car keys, which she seemed to have noticed as she searched to escape the boredom in the waiting room.

"I do!" Lisa's face adopted an approachable state, her eyes sparkling on their own. Kids were the light in Lisa's eyes. And common interests were a great ground for a conversation. "Do you?"

"Is that a Mercedes key?"

"Oh?" the brunette was taken back by the kid's knowledge. She struggled with talking properly but not with recognizing car brands? "Yes! How'd you know? Do your parents have one?"

"No, I just know." her lips pressed against each other.

"Oh. Cool!" Lisa nodded understandingly, "But what are you doing here?"

"I'm waiting for my mommy."

"Oh, that's good! Does your mommy work here?"

"Yep."

"Miss Manoban?" Another tone with a slightly higher commanding manner of requesting entered the scene from under a half-opened door.

"Coming!" she announced, but her intention to turn back to say goodbye to her younger company was interrupted by a phone buzz. Chae-Young. Gifting her precious few seconds, the brunette managed to deliver a waving of her hand paired with a sweet grin. "Looks like I have to go! Take care, little one!"

The door her walk aimed for was a metallic one - huge and demanding. Her fingers went to grab it, but anxious sweat declined her act. In a hurry, she accepted the call request from Chae-Young and proceeded to murmur an incoherent answer. It would not satisfy her friend - Lisa was aware - but it would erase part of her worries.

"I'm at the Institute of Forensic Medicine, I'll be there before the courses start, don't worry." Lisa's statement was followed by the generic beeping announcing the end of the call. Her silence melted into the static air of the mortuary, the only thing disobeying the silent contemplation was the vibration of the refrigerators against the tiles of the floor.

"I must see your badge before opening the refrigerator." a tall blonde with her skin pulled by age requested, fighting the blue gloves that refused to mold onto her hands. "Procedure." she later added, her eyes aiming for the CCTVs pointing at them from the corners of the room.

"I am not an investigator," Lisa's hand walked all over her pocket rushed, "but I have the family's approval. Here." as she handed a tossed page ended with a stamp and blue-inked signature.

"Were you close with Miss Song Jang-Mi?" the doctor asked while skimming the document.

"A student of hers."

With no further questions asked, the lady obeyed Lisa's intent, the cadaver was soon the centerpiece of the morgue room. The brunette's hand was reluctant with unfolding the white cloth to reveal it, somehow her muscles would not follow with her instructions. The freezing temperatures, piercing silence and gray furniture perhaps contributed to it. Furthermore , she could see how the cloth fell not only at the rim of her teacher's body, but also it outlined every piece of her that had been cut.

Even without lifting the linen shroud, what once was a living being appeared now as a human puzzle. Nothing she had not witnessed before - undoubtedly - but the difference is made by the enclosure between you and the corpse before it actually became a...corpse. For Lisa could look at a foreign one strapped into pieces but had trouble standing the sight of her dearest professor being mutilated as such.

When tension released and Lisa's hand steadily removed the shroud, a strange tickle tried to bring her eyes to water. Once that impulse had died down, she analyzed the whole of it. Her teacher no longer was a she, her teacher was an it. A summary of substance that was left behind in our physical world followed by the departure of her consciousness. It barely looked like her teacher anymore. It was a challenge to recognize her in the absence of her signature smile that reached her eyes. Or her furious frown in times of trouble. It was only a shell, or so Lisa told herself.

"There's a missing part, however." The doctor talked after she concluded Lisa has had enough time to consider. At that information, Lisa checked the whole table again, and in need of explanation, her eyes met the doctor's. "It's not a limb or anything near similar, it's an organ."

"An organ?"

"We have performed multiple tests, and because of the trauma suffered before death but also the fact that all tissues have been exposed to warm temperatures, it began decomposing faster. It is hard to tell other types of information regarding this but what is one hundred percent sure is that the corpse is missing its heart."

Lisa was now far from creating a coherent response to what she had heard. Perhaps the fact that the shell of Mrs. Jang could not be brought altogether for her funeral was over what the brunette can stand in terms of emotional triggers. Her throat was, once again, a desert waiting for moist, but the said moist chose to attack her eyes. Her two luminescent eyes that were endangered by a dark fate. It was not a deafening cry, with wailing and whimpering of grief, but rather a moment of dedicating Lisa's tears as a proof of admiration and a farewell.

"She is going to be cremated soon, as her family's wish." the doctor announced. "Take your time, I'll step out."

Barely five minutes after, proof of her whimpers were only the faint echoes and tears that dried halfway through her cheeks. She has had her grieving moment, as she raised her head and distanced from the thought of death. It was the hunger of answers that awakened her instincts. Perhaps, she wished to aim her frustration at someone, thus she asked herself first.

Why would a cadaver be cremated? She began narrating her monologue. A corpse is the most crucial evidence in a case, thus it cannot be destroyed before the end of the investigation. Did they end the investigation? If so, then what is the conclusion? Can they tell why, who and how? And what about the heart?

Lisa's attention swung from the door to the cadaver, and to the door again it went. Mayhap with flooded eyes and a tremble of her lips, she could earn some emphatic response, and, hopefully, a considerable amount of answers will reach her ears. It was not a deceptive way of obtaining something, for she will not be dishonest about her feelings, and even if she were, it is not, by any means, illegal. Therefore, her hand hadn't had any hurdle to overcome as it maneuvered the door handle on her way out.

Steps ahead, Lisa noticed the doctor. As the distance between them was reduced, the brunette's sly stepping developed a rather shy manner. At first, confusion wandered in her head at the sight of the doctor kneeling near a chair at the lobby area. Then, when a child entered Lisa's sight, her initial feeling dissolved until all she was left with was curiosity. Her long figure skipped a few chairs and occupied a farther one. Still, her ears receptively aimed towards the two recorded the conversation, searching for a moment in which she can interfere.

"But mommy cannot do that, I've already told you, baby."

"But why not mommy?" a pitched voice pierced the silence, with a tremble. Lisa figured the child would be close to crying.

"Baby, I can't afford that right now." the doctor explained in the same calm manner, perhaps a little more regretful.

"Why not? I will drive it and pick mommy up from work."

"Young-Ji, dear..." the doctor's head lay defeated on the child's lap. "I'll get you a smaller one."

"But I have small cars. I want a big one for my birthday."

"Baby, can we please discuss it at home? Mommy is very busy."

Lisa felt like an intruder, assisting or even actively witnessing something so sensible with pure intent. The clock was soon to reach the starting time of her course, therefore the best decision was to leave. But her heart was somehow interpreting this as her own experience. Young-Ji's present resembled her past, thus the reason for her liking towards the child mixed with regret. But sorrow in life was inevitable.

*

"However, immovable property also adheres to the principle of being divided equitably after divorce. In court, factors such as debt, separate property and the custody of children, when there is the case, are not overlooked. Those are the details that can get an "equal" share to become an "equitable" one."

"And then..." Chase-Young narrated, half-hid under the desk, "He asked for my number! And I gave him my phone to type his, and our hands touched!"

"Shh!" the brunette alerted her through a smile of unstoppable excitement. "Quiet, Chae!"

"Sorry... I'm just so happy, Li, you can't even begin to imagine!"

"Did he text you yet?" Lisa worded her curiosity, but her only response was a wider grin on her friend's face. "Oh my! He did?"

"Actually...We're going on a date tonight!"

"Chae..." The girl's smile significantly drowned and her face overflowed with concern.

"Yeah?"

"Where?"

"I don't know, he said he's picking me up."

"Chae, you can't go just anywhere, you know that." but pressure was applied by Chae-Young's begging eyes. And Lisa knew she had no authority over her friend, she just voiced her concern. "Fine, but you're sharing your location with me at all times."

"Deal! But, Li?"

"Yes, Chae?"

"What kind of business did you have that early in the morning at the Forensic Institute?" Chae-Young innocently questioned her friend's behavior, then, following her sudden realization, her mouth was stomped by her own hand. "Did we have some sort of project I forgot about?"

"No, just some stuff for our Legal Advice Team."

"Boring." The blonde pouted slightly before sitting straight in her chair, trying to follow with the course.

And as their discussion cooled down, the brunette's attention gradually laid over her other seatmate.

"Jen?" Lisa unsurely muttered as she hid her lips with her notebook. A gesture that did not pass unseen by the lecturer, who let a sigh escape at the student's sly attempt, but chose to proceed with his course regardless.

Jennie, who eagerly began writing down at the beginning has gradually slowed the process to the point where her notes transformed into what resembled doodles. She would shift uncomfortably in her chair as boredom built a pile around her that blocked any sound, her eyes barely recognizing anything through the fog that her lack of sleep created. Lisa's call had to be accompanied by a pinch in order to get her friend's attention partially. Jennie has not bothered to look Lisa in her eyes, or turn to face her as well, but simply coughed a hum to encourage Lisa to start the conversation.

"This lecture feels unusual."

"Yeah, no shit." Jennie threw a sharp answer. "It's hard for all of us."

"I guess." Lisa's body turned away defeated, perhaps shaken by her colleague's grumpy reaction. Acknowledging how that made the brunette feel, Jennie experienced instant regret. She cursed at herself a few times, messed up her hair and now entirely awake searched to repair what she's done.

"How's Love?" and at Jennie's now gentle and genuine question, Lisa's eyes welcomed warmth again.

"Good, I'll see him after courses. They took him to the dog...yard or some stuff."

"What?!" her acute voice startled Lisa. "Why? Where even is that?"

"Somewhere inside our new campus. I'll figure it out."

"I'll come with you." Lisa giggled. "What's so funny?"

"Jen," the brunette spoke in between laughs, "you're adorable."

"Are you making fun of me?"

"What? No!" but it only made Lisa more amused. Seriousness looked strange on Jennie's lovable, squishy face. Her face was not made to showcase anger or frustration, nor was her heart made to carry hatred. Lisa had no doubts regarding her kindness, but couldn't help but be delighted by her obliviousness. She would probably die before admitting her wrongs but her attempted sly move to apologize by talking it off was so child-like, and Lisa has a spot for children.

The two of them might get along just fine.

*

There were various ways students came up with in an attempt of getting through the current course of things. One that Lisa fancied was running - an incorporation of both mental numbing and physical resistance training. Wandering with the intention of finding where the dogs are kept, she came across a medium-sized area that resembled a sports field, and figured that would work as she'd rather not leave the campus past ten P.M. Her watch embraced her wrist as she stretched her muscles. It was a quarter past twelve, but she did not accumulate enough exhaustion in order to pass out on the wooden-like mattress, and there was no way she would fall asleep otherwise.

Dim lights fell on her from every of the four corners of the field, outside of it, all the lights were out of work. It was close to weirdness, for Lisa could not see what was behind the tall gates surrounding her. Mosly, she blamed it on her dislike for the dark, or rather the unknown. Perhaps it made her run faster, and she ran mindlessly - as long as she refused to acknowledge tiredness, the brunette had no urge to stop. All she had to do was ignore her state and simply contemplate about other things in her life, close to the concept of shower thoughts - an easy task, truly, for she has not stopped until her skin trembled and shivered.

At that, her feet cried against the ground at her sudden stop. Her consciousness was finally awakened and only now her eyes recognized what they failed to see until now - the sweat gathered at her hairline and at the bottom of her spine.

Her palms rested against her knees. Her lungs asked for more air than she could swallow at once and so her throat dried and stung. Lisa came to acknowledge the background noise too, and she froze waiting for her senses to come back to normal but the preventing shiver and heavy gut feeling did not go away.

"Start boxing, it's more effective." a voice suggested, a calm tone raised to reach Lisa's ears through the distance. "Running won't save you from enemies."

Lisa's head left the ground and pointed at the entrance of the field. Jung-Kook's clothing choice made him easy to notice. A voluminous shirt resting over the rim of his pair of black pants, and the never missing cap that failed to gather all his hair. Eventually, he chose to take out the latter in fear he'd not be recognized and Lisa would make a scene. But, to Lisa, the answer was obvious before even raising her head to watch ahead. It was hard to mistake his tone for someone else's, for it felt like honey lingered around his vocal chords, sweet enough to make his words sly but distinctive enough to keep it profound and manly.

"Good thing I don't have enemies, then." leaving the track, she rested her chin on her chest, a path on which sweat slowly ran like a river.

"Well..." Jung-Kook dug for better arguments, but his focus was long lost. "Boxing is also fun."

"Did you, like...is someone else awake?"

"How would I know?"

"Well..." Lisa's answer seemed unable to leave her mouth, for it was yet to be born.

"Why?" Jung-Kook's head swung from left to right in order to scan the visible campus, but suspicious encounters were yet to happen. "Did you see someone?"

"Well, not exactly, I just got a shiver so I thought.."

"Yeah, no surprise," his speech was interrupted by a sarcastic giggle, "it's past one in the morning and you're outside, all sweaty in a sports bra. You probably sensed a cold, not a person."

Lisa shot up a frown, which Jung-Kook could not see clearly from his height, not that he bothered to read her expressions. He could foresee that she'd watch him from under her eyebrows with an irritated look, and also expected a pinching comment but the brunette abandoned the thought. Now that he made her aware of her own state, she finally felt the wind freeze the drops on her skin.

"Why are you up this late?"

"I thought you'd already figured it out, I did some boxing."

"How are you not sweaty?"

"I trained shirtless, then I took a shower." a confession that earned an unimpressed look. "What?" he asked, but Lisa's eyes only moved along the lines of his body, as if she'd find an answer somewhere right in between the sinewy bits of his arms that peeked from under the short sleeves.

"I also need a shower." she eventually said, after her eyes' journey reached the final destination - his own, sunken eyes.

"Want me to show you to the shower rooms?" to which Lisa exhaustedly nodded. "But you have to accompany me somewhere after. Somebody wants to see you."