The Art of Getting By
CHAPTER FIVE

❛ Super-stellar blackholes. ❜

10:25 AM
September 2021
HYOSAN HIGH SCHOOL

JEONG AREUM WAS a star.

She was the personification of a star. The delicate strands of her hair, that mirrored a field of iridescent dahlias, were like the candescent streaks of a blazing star. The expressions that Jeong Areum always held, were ones that softened so tranquilly on her beauteous features. Yet they were also fierce enough, that, it made her have an knack of looking like a star scoring through Space.

However and naturally, all stars cannot roam around Space for eternity. Jeong Areum was a victim of having an uncanny resemblance to a star.

Both Jeong Areum and the stars of 2017, died all too quickly.

In the vast void of Space, when a star falls victim to Death, which is by using up every ounce of its thermonuclear fuel within its core, the core begins to waver, and eventually, it gravitationally collapses inward upon itself.

The star dies.

Afterwards, every bend and corner of a star, scatters across every area of the somber parts of Space. It disintegrates within a supernova explosion.

Thus, a stellar blackhole occurs.

Much like the one that implanted itself within the tissues of Moon Ji-hun's befouled heart.

It was as though a zombie-like gardener, had grown corpse like weeds within his heart, the thorns tore at the surface of Moon Ji-hun's frail heart. A tragic, ruinous stellar blackhole only grew alongside the wounds that imprinted themselves on Moon Ji-hun's heart- leaving it maimed.

"Moon Ji-hunssi, are you ready to cover Class 2-5?"

A distinctive rumble of voices faded into Moon Ji-hun's ears, the black and white visions within his mind, bled into a more vibrant colour as he heard a female voice call out his name. For a moment, a mere second, he thought that he heard his wife obtain his name within her soft, heart-shaped lips, Jeong Areum's voice echoing, echoing melodically through his ears for the-

"Moon Ji-hunssi." The voice asked once again. Firmly this time, as her class began to quieten their gossip and lay their quizzical eyes on the pair at the front.

"I told you there's something going on between Moon-saem and Park-saem. They're totally dating."

With his skin morphing into a rosy shade of pink, pinching the tips of his ears red, Moon Ji-hun could hear, one of the class members of Class 2-5, Yeong-Ju cross over her desk and make an unbothered attempt to whisper into her buddy's ear.

Clamping his palms tighter together, Ji-hun's gaze dropped onto the ground that had a tincture of pearly green. His jaw tightened.

Moon Ji-hun snapped his head upwards. "Okay." Stretching out the phrase in english, that was commonly used for approval, Moon Ji-hun abruptly clapped his hands together.

CLAP!

This caused the vivid class to snap their heads away from their gossip partners and onto the black board at the front.

Clatter.

Oh Joon-Young's round, thinly metal rimmed, spectacles flew across the floor from the unannounced fright. As he was pushing it higher up his nose bridge, Joon-Young's English Literature teacher created a deafening movement with both his palms. The pair of glasses had flown across the said pearly green floor, hittint against another one of Joon-Young's classmates foot- who was on the other side of the room.

Joon-Young shivered, "aish that was startling," he mumbled to himself, before fixating his eyes onto his faraway glasses, as if they would teleport back to him by doing so.

From beside Moon Ji-hun, both sets of Park Sun-Hwa's teeth gritted together, a side of her top lip curled upwards as she narrowed her eyes. If they weren't in front of several dozen students, she would've swiped her hand across the back of his head. Instead, a suppressed sigh lumbered from her orange soda coloured lips.

It was one of those days where the Universe and Park Sun-Hwa could only tolerate Moon Ji-hun, despite his questionable antics.

A bubbly, effervescent feeling settled within Park Sun-Hwa's stomach and chest, she couldn't tell if it was from the fright or how winsomely amusing Moon Ji-hun was.

"Moon Ji-hunssi," with both hands upon her hips, Park Sun-Hwa thrusted a sharp angle of one of her elbows into Moon Ji-hun's back, "try not to zone out like you just did then alright? If it's anyone who receives backlash from the Principle, it'll be me."

Park Sun-Hwa had murmured solidly beside her colleague, but it felt as though she were informing one of her badly behaved students.

A secure and smooth response flooded from Moon Ji-hun's lips, his voice booming through all corners of the classroom. "YES."

The students' eyes widened fully, some holding back their chuckles.

Blinking several times and clearing his voice, with his balled up fist hovering beside his mouth as he did so, Ji-hun straightened up his tie. "Right. I, Moonseonsaengnim will be covering your English class today. As you have heard, your fellow classmate, Kim Hyun-Joo seems to be categorised as missing. Parkseonsaengnim will be dealing with that for the time being. Please, keep a look out for your fellow classmate. Anyone who finds her, gets a free week off and won't have to do any exams for this term-"

"Moon Ji-hunssi-" Park Sun-Hwa started, before Ji-hun's large palm was placed just a few centimetres before her face. Her jaw hung loose, not knowingly, but knowingly enough to make her turn towards the side and let out a scoff.

"Free week?" "No way, we get a free week?" "Can we choose a friend if we do?" "No exams? That has to be a lie." A collective amount of voices overlapped each other like a broken choir, before they harshly stopped at the sound of-

Click- Gingerly swiping his index finger and middle finger together, creating a snapping sound, the entirety of the class were, alarmingly, pulled away from their mumbles.

"Those of you who responded with a vivid excitement for a free week and no exams, can leave the room." Moon Ji-hun earned a few mystified expressions, especially from Lim Gun-woo, who sat beside Joon-Young.

Pointing an index finger towards the exit, a touch of solemness poised his bedazzling features. Moon Ji-hun's practical, yet classy personality (he was never seen without a well-picked out tie and cheap but sophisticated wristwatch), and his strikingly pleasant looks, fitted together like a puzzle piece.

Moon Ji-hun carried on, "if you're only interested on the reward, I don't want to see your faces in my class again-"

My class. Park Sun-Hwa wanted to say, but it didn't seem like the proper time for that.

"Almost none of you were alarmed when Parkseonsaengnim announced the missing presence of Kim Hyun-Joo . . . Do you see the dilemma here? . . . You're students of Hyosan High School. All your lives are interwoven someway or somehow. Whether it'd be your: friend, foe, sibling, teacher, guardian, or even . . . a stranger.

We are a community.

You may have a heart, or nothing at all, but that does not mean you are not incapable of helping others. Especially when it comes to your fellow classmates.

Class 2-5 do you understand?"

"Yes-" The class answered immediately, dumbfounded.

But Moon Ji-hun cut them off, and asked once more, "Class 2-5 do you understand."

"YES."

Astounded, the lines above Park Sun-Hwa's eyebrows relaxed.

The ridiculing stars that swam within the dark pools of Park Sun-Hwa's eyes, dissipated away, leaving her pupils enlarged and rounded. Her sunset orange lips fell open, once again, but this time, an expression of stupefaction illustrated across her soft features.

"You really are an english teacher-" She drummed her fingers hurriedly across the rows of cell phones that were inserted within a grey foam holder; Park Sun-Hwa spoke mindlessly.

"Hm?"

Park Sun-Hwa's warming eyes widened and closed several times, they were met with a pair of dark pupils. She studied them briefly, as one does when they fall into a gaze. Every time she found herself looking into those very eyes, she always saw a set of stars swimming around the void within Ji-hun's pupils.

But they seemed artificial, unreal, even.

As if something cruel had stolen the light and tossed it into a never ending blackhole.

It wasn't Park Sun-Hwa's place to ask who stole that light. But given the information she found out from the news a few years ago ago, she could just about answer her own question.

Quite instantly, Park Sun-Hwa ignored Moon Ji-hun's response breezily. Facing the class once more, she stated her departure, gathering some folders within her burly arms, "don't give Moonseonsaengnim a hard time okay? Class 2-5 study hard!"

"Yes Parkseonsaengnim!" They responded in a chorus.

Park Sun-Hwa then slid the door open and exited the room.

"Open your Frankenstein texts and turn to chapter five-"

Oh Joon-Young's arm shot up.

Placing an index finger on the thin page of chapter five, Moon Ji-hun parted his quartz pink lips and did a double take at Joon-Young's pin-straight arm. "Oh, Joon-Young what's the matter," Ji-hun mumbled as he grabbed a biro pen and snapped the lid off with his front teeth, trapping the lid between his teeth and scribbled some notes beside the first paragraph, half attentive at Joon-Young's words.

"Just to let you know, Moon Eun-Byeol's practising for the musical show that is held this evening."

Jang Wu-jin buried his head within both his palms, his elbows propped up on his desk. Fluffing up his hair by raking his fingers through the front of it, his pulse peaking greatly at his Moon Eun-Byeol's name. His midnight black eyes followed the wooden lines of his desk, and eventually landed on a semi-tiny star that was engraved on the middle of it.

With his index finger, he traced the roughly etched lines delicately, as if he didn't, it would slip away from his reach.

There wasn't a speck of light displayed on Wu-Jin's expression as his purply, red-rimmed eyes fixated on the star.

The entirety of the call with Moon Eun-Byeol lasted for four minutes and twenty-three seconds. Jang Wu-Jin was sure of it, with his entirety, since, for the majority of the night, he stared at his blindingly bright phone screen, in hopes that it would help him decode the events of that evening.

The service at school was always shit, Jang Wu-Jin's words not mine. Thus, he only heard Moon Eun-Byeol's ear splitting cry, as if a battle was born from the grounds of Hyosan, and a few muffled clangs that sounded like pieces of metal. That sequence scorched and scarred at his memory, being the main cause of him being awake during the entire night.

He didn't know where Eun-Byeol was at that point, but he knew that she was a fast traveler, since, she always reached the school gates first, every, single, morning. There was an ongoing tally- and the tally was 2,089: 2,036. Her taffy pink lips always stretched into a triumphant grin, as his was drawn into a deepened frown, an eye-roll always followed afterwards.

He thought that maybe, she would've been at least a few blocks away from Hyosan High School, due to her being a fast walker. After the deafening silence that followed once the line abruptly ended, he had searched almost the entire streets of Hyosan. Through every dimly lit alleyway with lampposts that had draining batteries. To the bustling streets, with tourists that yearned to explore every single city- but none of their faces belonged to Moon Eun-Byeol.

Jang Wu-Jin even woke up earlier that morning, filled his rucksack with Ppang bread and whizzed out of his house, just so he could somehow find Moon Eun-Byeol within the school. But, of course, Hyosan High School had floors and floors of classrooms, so he could not search them all. Which was why he needed every second of lunch break to go through the top floors too.

He told no one, for, some part of him believed that she arrived home without telling anyone- which only happened once. That one time, was when, Moon Eun-Byeol slept in the park on her first birthday without her mother. Jang Wu-Jin found her sleeping soundlessly under the pale moonlight, her tranquil body on her mother's favourite bench (where most of the lyrics to Jeong Areum's most treasured songs were born.) He gave her his jacket and slept on the muddied ground, the grass was damp from the night before, but he didn't complain.

The next morning Jang Wu-Jin found that the jacket was returned to him, since he was blanketed by it. Wu-Jin then received a text later on, in the afternoon, that she had returned home.

He only wished that that was how his situation ended as his eyes still lingered on the scrawly star that was carved into his desk.

The story of the birth of the star, that was engraved on Jang Wu-Jin's desk, went like this:

"Hey Class President, that's my seat." Kicking the table leg, it made an awful, piercing sound of metal against polished flooring. Slamming her right palm against the corner of the desk, it teetered from the force. Sharply, Moon Eun-Byeol's eyes landed on the two Airpods that were inserted in the class president's ears, not a fibre of Choi Nam-ra's expression moved.

It was sullen. Unmoving. Her eyes concentrated on the textbook in front of her.

Moon Eun-Byeol's frame tensed up. Placing her guitar beside her ankles, her headset still playing her mellow music, Eun-Byeol continued, "you see this?" She pointed to the roughly etched star on the corner of the desk, "that means that this desk belongs to me. You're always sitting here. This seat belongs to me."

She has told Choi Nam-ra this ever since the first day.

Choi Nam-ra finally looked up, her eyes deadpanned, "so? If I write my name on your guitar, does that mean it's mine too?"

"What-" Flapping her palms around from the sudden botheration, Moon Eun-Byeol curled her fingers into a tight fist, her wrist aquiver, "what . . . of course not. What do you mean?-"

"Just take my seat." A voice called out.

Moon Eun-Byeol stopped, her teeth trapping the inside of her cheek in a beat, a flurry of frustration drowned her expression as her eyes drilled flaming meteorites into the class president's soul. She gripped the straps of her guitar bag with one fist, with an upmost force, so that her knuckles paled and matched the sky outside.

First she steals my grade, the role as class president, and then my chair-

"But this is my seat-" Moon Eun-Byeol had wanted to start again, but caught her tongue when she felt a couple dozen of eyes paint their gazes upon her back. She witnessed as she became the subject of most of her classmate's whisperings.

"Just sit here for now," Jang Wu-Jin cut in.

"But-"

"Please sit down." Jang Wu-Jin finalised in english. It made sense, since they were in an english class. He gritted his teeth, and tried his best to illustrate a convincing smile across his impatient expression.

Pointing towards his seat, a demanding expression loomed over Jang Wu-Jin's tranquil state. He had gotten off his seat abruptly, nearly making the chair topple onto Dae-su, who shot his head up, widened his eyes and mouthed, "what are you doing you idiot?"

"Offering my seat before she does anything irrational."

Swallowing thickly, she dragged her guitar bag over towards the other side of the classroom, her shoes trudging like slugs along the pavement. Before slopping down on to the desk, her blunt eyes fell on the raven haired boy, who was now crossed legged on the ground beside her, Jang Wu-Jin's lemonade pink lips stretched out into a soft smile at the sight of Moon Eun-Byeol doing as he asked.

Good, Jang Wu-Jin thought, I stopped her annoying ass from doing anything else stupid.

With both her amaranth red lips pulled into a frown, "guess this is my seat now," the sides of her teetering lips pulled into a sly grin.

"For today-"

Before she could spare a second for him to speak, she whipped a compass out from her Sponge Bob pencil case, "see this?" She mumbled under her breath as she slipped a slice of apple into her mouth, her source of breakfast crunched between her teeth. With her left hand, she gripped the compass harshly as she etched a star into the middle of his pristine, clean, desk, "it's a star-"

"My desk . . ." Letting his jaw hang open like a fish out of water, Jang Wu-Jin stared at his now tainted table, not liking the idea of writing on top of such a bumpy surface. "- What did you do that for?" He tilted his head, an impermanent puzzlement mixed with rage painted across his eyes.

"That," Eun-Byeol tapped the surface of the wooden desk with the tip of her nail, before munching on another apple, and throwing a slice at him, he caught it, half-vexed, half-gleefully. "That means that this desk belongs to me. A star, like my name," knocking her knees together briefly as she shuffled deeper into her seat, a smile danced on her bubblegum pink lips.

Moon Eun-Byeol then flopped her head onto her pair of arms that were settled on-top of the desk, she faced the opposite direction, knowing what Wu-Jin's expression would be during those moments- bewildered. She closed her eyes, then opened them again, only to have her eyes meet with Dae-Su's entire face, who had a chirpy expression, his eyes sparkling with stars that said: I know something that you don't.

Moon Eun-Byeol nearly jumped out of her skin.

"How long are you sitting in my future brother-in-law's seat for?"

"So long that I haunt your soul." Moon Eun-Byeol bluntly whispered, before burying her face within her arms.

Jang Wu-Jin was pulled out of his recollections as he heard Moon Ji-hun's voice resound. Another tug could be felt from both corners of his mouth. Jang Wu-Jin had tried to contact him late at night, right after his call with Eun-Byeol, but Moon Ji-hun did not pick up.

In fact, Moon Ji-hun's phone was turned off the entire night.

He was filling his stomach with soju, whilst his injured heart was being wrapped around with a gauze- a temporary gauze. One that was wrapped by the hands of Park Sunhwa. They had yet another stressful day at school, one that was filled with irresponsible students, missing assignments . . . and a heck load of unmarked exams.

They were exhausted to say the least, and needed a break. They treated themselves, and even had a small BBQ at the rundown but homely restaurant- and for a moment, Moon Ji-hun felt as though the growing void within him had finally dissipated away.

"I just want to teach the kids english, peacefully," a wavered tone splurged from Park Sunhwa's quivering lips, her pupils dilated, the rims around them pinkish red. Both sides of her blossom pink cheeks were flushed as her fingers were clasped tightly around a glass full of soju. "Is that too much to ask for?"

Across from the absent minded teacher, Moon Ji-hun tried steadying his gaze, his eyes were half open as they trained on his colleague, who looked like she was swimming within the colours of the local restaurant and the customers. An childish chuckle tumbled from Ji-hun's mouth, "stop dancing-"

"I DON'T WANT TO MARK SO MANY PAPERS- WAIT," a wail fell from her lips as her face scrunched up, "WHAT IF WE GROW OLD AND WE STILL HAVE A HUNDRED AND THREE PAPERS TO MARK?"

Ji-hun stuck his bottom lip out, "you're being too loud," he began to squeeze his eyes tightly shut, "I WANT TO GO HOME," a thunderous complaint poured from his lips, causing the other customers to whip their head around with raised eyebrows.

That evening began with chaos and ended with a headache, but that super stellar blackhole within Moon Ji-hun, was practically nonexistent when he spent it with Park Sunhwa.

"Okay . . ." Moon Ji-hun started the class.

He didn't have time to check his phone in the morning, and the only information he had on Moon Eun-Byeol, was the piece of information he received from Oh Joon-Young. But, he had no time to think about that matter, for he was focused with work.

He pressed all his weight on one foot, and took the pen lid out of his mouth, all while placing a full stop at the end of his scrawly sentence. Diving his gaze back onto a page of Frankenstein, the words slipped rhythmically from his tongue.

"I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart." Upon reciting an extract from Frankenstein, Moon Ji-hun then asked the class- well, most of the class. The majority of class 2-5 had dozed off, or were trapped in a daydream. "Now, what does this portray?" Choi Nam-ra's hand shot up, "oh yes Nam-ra."

"That he is a coward. Frankenstein has sacrificed his time with his family and friends to create a being, one that is otherworldly. Yet, the moment the creature springs to life, he despises it, and does not take responsibility."

"Well said Nam-ra." A chair scraped against the floor, a student with pallid skin teetered on both feet. "Oh, yes Hee-su, do you have anything to add to that?"

"Moonseonsangnim, I need to go to the bathroom."

Waving a hand, Moon Ji-hun nodded gently, "very well then, you may go."

Woosh-

The sandy beige door slid open and revealed Park Sunhwa, who had a small grin etched across her face, her arms hugged a pile of mute grey folders.

Jang Wu-Jin's pulse jerked once again, but it was brought back to his regular one, when it did not reveal the person he wanted most.

Park Sunhwa watched as one of her students teetered on both feet and rushed past her with an apologetic bow, she nodded briefly at this, as if to give permission to dismiss Hee-su too. Striding onwards, the inner corners of her lips wavered as soon as a series of suppressed chuckles caught her attention, her sharp eyes landing on a pair of students that seemed to be in their on world.

"Next Bare-su, stand up," Park Sunhwa felt Moon Ji-hun tense up from beside her, she caught his befuddled gaze, before inclining her head briefly and placing her attention on Lee Su-hyeok. He was class 2-5's student that could earn billions from the amount of gazes he caught each day, but educational wise, well, he could earn some to fill his pockets. She prodded once more, "stand up."

"Yes," Lee Su-hyeok answered, his ears burning from being the sole reason why his classmates snickered during those moments.

"What's with 'Bare-su?'" Raising her eyebrows, she turned briefly to Moon Ji-hun, who fell silent, allowing her to speak. She took the highlighter yellow chalk pen that sat between his fingers, "I can take over now, thank you for taking over," Park Sun-hwa half-whispered, before winking in a millisecond. Moon Ji-hun stilled, his shoulders tensing up. She then returned to her professional facade, and faced her class.

"It's short for Barefoot Su-hyeok. Bare-su." A voice answered immediately, and as Park Sun-hwa lowered her glance on to Oh Joon-Young.

"I don't think this relates to-" Moon Ji-hun urged to interrupt Joon-Young's explanation on the name before he drifts the lesson plan on to something else (he definitely did not want to know the history behind Lee Su-hyeok's nickname, especially if it was about feet).

"Ah," Park Sunhwa went along with it, her lips growing into an amused grin as she saw her student explain the name with a load of gestures.

"Okay back on to Franken-" Moon Ji-hun opened his mouth and tried retrieving his highlighter yellow chalk pen, before-

Dae-su interrupted the flow of the lesson once again, but with a further explanation, "he hates wearing socks. He's so weird about it," he turned slowly, and dramatically, giving Lee Su-hyeok the side eye, "I can smell it from a mile away.

Moon Ji-hun mindlessly stepped backwards, his lowered his chin and placed a palm into his pockets, the other hovering below his nose as if he could get infected by the smell. We should add socks as a necessity to the school uniform, he noted within his mind. He flickered his dark eyes onto Park Sun-hwa to see her reaction. But much to his surprise, he witnessed nothing but, a relaxed and merry chuckle, that spilled from her pumpkin pink lips.

He stepped away from the chalkboard, and back to the front, and straightened his tie.

"Okay Bare-su, what did Nam-ra say a minute ago?" Park Sun-hwa began.

"Uh . . ." He looked around the classroom, as if the answer was hidden within the sea of dark green- usually there was, Moon Eun-Byeol would stick her hand up and answer for him. But she wasn't in class. Fuck, he thought.

"Uh . . ." Class 2-5 echoed.

"She was correct, a hundred percent."

A chorus of laughter erupted from the classroom.

Guess I have failed my job. Moon Ji-hun thought as he clutched the tip of his nose-bridge, for he mentally scorned himself for not recognising the fact that Lee Su-hyeok and probably a few others, were not focused.

"What was her absolutely correct answer then?"

Lee Su-hyeok shifted from foot to foot. He wished that Moon Eun-Byeol was there to sway the attention on to her, so that she can answer instead.

For, when Moon Eun-Byeol's hand wasn't up, she'd be occupied with music. She always had a pair of headphones wrapped around her scalp like an accessory. She would doodle away, or be writing something, which always landed her in a situation, that was similar to the one he was in right now. Park Sunhwa would pick on her, and forget that he was distracted in the lesson too.

Lee Su-hyeok wished Moon Eun-Byeol was there, so that he didn't have to answer the damned question-

But, it turned out Lee Su-hyeok's stars were lucky that day, for his wishes were answered.

Back within the science lab's storage room, a pair of battered and knackered students were beginning to fall back into consciousness.

A seething sensation bled through Moon Eun-Byeol's skull, as her heavy eyelids were being forced open by a sea of marigold sunlight, that flooded through the windows of the yellow hallways. An ungraceful groan rattled through her throat as she clutched the sides of her head. When she pulled her palm away, she realised that the only blood that coated her fingers, was the blood from the evening she got-

Attacked?

There was an empty space within her cabinet full of memories. But it didn't take quite a lot to help her remember again, for her restless eyes landed on the rotting figure beside her.

She remembered how her pulse rushed alarmingly at the pair of ruddied eyes that belonged to her foe. Eun-Byeol almost didn't recognise Hyun-Joo when she saw how her eyes resembled . . .

Two blood red moons- whatever Lee Byeong-Chan gave her, was definitely something that was created beyond the bounds of human nature.

Without notice, the utmost inhuman noise erupted from the very pit of Hyun-Joo's mouth.

Eun-Byeol was almost used to the noise, for that was all she could hear for the entirety of the night, but nonetheless, a startled and alarming jolt rattled her senses. She didn't know if she was thankful for the fright, for it told her that she still had her heart, or if she should be frustrated from nearly passing out again. But one emotion she did feel- one hundred and one percent- was, terror.

Terror, for what truly happened last night.

Terror, for Hyun-Joo and herself.

Terror, for what might lay outside of the classroom . . . what if Lee Byeong-Chan released all his grief onto the other students? Moon Eun-Byeol knew that everyone mourned differently, and Byeong-Chan's grief was . . . violent.

She didn't care if the school was now filed under: dangerous. She had willingly promised the night before, we need to get out of here, I'll make sure of it . . . When we do, I'll make sure he doesn't do this to anymore of us or even his family. Moon Eun-Byeol vowed to keep her word, even if it could tarnish her skin.

With her hands aquiver, she noticed that the bedding of her nails dyed with her own blood, frowning, she brought it towards the back of her head. Her throat grew parched, the constant drumming of her pulse began to judder against her eardrum- it was still agonising to turn her head around. Her fingers met with a scrap piece of gauze, that was wrapped taut around the circumference of her head, and covered the very edge of her eyebrows.

At least Lee Byeong-Chan is considerate about my wounds- but Hyun-Joo's? She doesn't even have a band aid . . .

"Hyun, Hyun-Jooah," she let slip the nickname that was obtained during the earlier days of school, and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Eun-Byeol only received a ground shaking growl, which caused her chest to feel as though it were being compressed by a large hammer. She appreciated that it was a sign of Hyun-Joo being alive, but the other half of her heart felt heavy from the state of the girl.

"I'm starving," Hyun-Joo's finally spoke, her voice was hoarse, and she knew this since she felt the dried blood that surrounded the walls of her throat, which was the cause of her sandy tone. I'm so hungry that it feels like my stomach is being ripped into pieces. ". . . What do I do Eunah?" Her voice cracked near the end.

Through half open eyes, Eun-Byeol's russet eyes travelled over towards her foe, who tried to balance on her two feet.

"Stay put, don't waste your energy," Eun-Byeol trapped the insides of her cheeks tightly, so much that a coppery taste swam tinily within her mouth. "Whatever he gave you . . . It looked like it ate up all your energy." And your health, it fucked you up pretty bad. But she thought against saying it, for it would only cause havoc. She slid her back up the cold surface of the cabinet behind her, to steady her flimsy legs upwards.

Along the way, the bottom of her sneakers slipped gingerly and the tips of her feet connected with a trolley full of opalescent containers.

CLANG!-

Whatever scientific that was swimming around within the glass holders, succumbed to the cold ground. The jagged glass pieces grazed against the surface of her skin, causing her ankles to appear raw with tiny, clarified, red cuts littered on it. But it felt minor, it's alright, it's nothing compared to what Hyun-Joo must be going through.

"Shibal," lowering her back briefly, Moon Eun-Byeol let out a brisk curse from under her breath, that left her inflamed, berry-red lips. Wiping her nose with the back of her emerald green sleeve, one that had multiple holes within them from trying to escape Lee Byeong-Chan's fiendish grasp. Gritting the back of her teeth together, she reached for the cold surface of the door handle- it only stayed put.

"That fucker locked it . . ." Hyun-Joo's senses seemed to amplify as she heard the lock's segments juggle around as Eun-Byeol tried to twist it. The key is good as gone, I'm fully convinced that he ate it, she tried to say, but formulating long sentences felt fatiguing, her jaw weighed a tonne of iron slabs.

Moon Eun-Byeol tried jamming her arm into the door with every ounce of her strength. "Who would've thought-" Boom. "I still, I still can't believe this shit. I mean," boom, "Leesaem was actually my favourite."

The constant noise zoomed through Hyun-Joo's ears, the waves reached her ears, but she could feel it with every fibre of her, she clutched her skull and beckoned for Eun-Byeol to pause, "stop, make it stop."

Eun-Byeol felt as her tears prickled at the surface of her eyes, she rammed her shoulder into the door again, "but now, I feel-" Betrayed. Another bone shuddering slam against the door, and yet, it stayed unyieldingly still. She tried again.

"STOP," Hyun-Joo broke, her voice almost ripping at her vocal chords, the red pigment within her eyes only grew.

Lowering her arms, Eun-Byeol bolted towards Hyun-Joo's side. "Do you feel worse? Are you okay?"

A twinge spread through Eun-Byeol's chest.

It used to be Hyun-Joo who placed a pair of stilts under Eun-Byeol's feet to help her grow in confidence. It was always Hyun-Joo who taught her courage, courage to face a crowd of hatred. It was also, Hyun-Joo who used to tear down at Eun-Byeol's confidence with her two hands.

But seeing as her teary eyes focused on Hyun-Joo's battered and weak frame, it felt abnormal to witness this frail behaviour. Moon Eun-Byeol only held onto Hyun-Joo's shoulders a little tighter.

"Stop. Make it stop." Hyun-Joo only thrusted her hands away from her, one that caused Eun-Byeol to land on her back, her spine digging into the collection of fallen glass shards that were spewed all over the ground. She tried and tried to ignore the contorted expression that spoiled Eun-Byeol's face, but her tone only gave away how timid she truly felt. "We need to leave, I want to leave- Just-"

Brushing the pointy bits of glass away from her limbs, that now ornamented her sleeves, Moon Eun-Byeol was glad that she layered up for the crisp chill of the summer night, for it protected her in the daylight. The glass only cut through her sweater, her skin unharmed.

"I can assure you, I've got this shit in the bag." Getting on her toes, her vision a pixelated palette of onyx as she tried to get up, she managed to lock her eyes onto a large, discarded metal can, that used to store some equipment. "Cover your eyes."

"Why?" Hyun-Joo spat, her wrists already breaking out of the taut rope that was secured around them, her skin nearly blood red from trying all night.

"JUST TRUST ME," Moon Eun-Byeol began to heighten her voice as her hands raised above her head, her fingers clutched firmly on the can.

"Shibal- OKAY FINE."

"One . . . Two . . . THREE-" Thus the transparent glass meandered and punctured through the middle, the pieces fell like dangerous asteroids and onto the classroom grounds.

Slowly taking her arms away from her now garnet red eyes, Hyun-Joo's jaw fell loose, her sully vision consisting of a panting Eun-Byeol and the brutally, beautiful, broken door.

Tearing her cardigan off her shoulders, she wrapped it around her palms as a makeshift glove. Eun-Byeol reached through the now shattered window, and opened the door from the outside.

Click- Lady Tyche seemed to be protecting them that morning, as the iron bound door unlatched, revealing the science classroom, and their escape route that they had yearned for.

Every step caused an array of midnight blacks to fill her sight, but nevertheless, Eun-Byeol persisted throughout it all, even if her skull felt as though a violent supernova was crushing at her rational thoughts. Letting her cardigan fall to her feet, one that was fraying from the glass fragments that tore at the stitching, she hobbled towards Hyun-Joo.

"I feel hungry," Hyun-Joo widened her jaw, her teeth aching but not as though she were growing a new set of teeth, but as though she were growing a new appetite.

One that's contrasted to any human appetite. But Hyun Joo couldn't quite pinpoint what it was; Eun-Byeol couldn't tell what was bothering her. Strangely, it looked like Hyun-Joo was battling something, something inward- And it only festered as she felt her arm being slung around Moon Eun-Byeol's shoulders, her body levelling away from the ground, her nose close to her old companion's neck.

"After we submit this hellish experience and the devil to the police, I'll make you home-made ramyeon," Moon Eun-Byeol heaved, as every steps was growing arduous, she gripped onto Hyun-Joo's arm tightly as it rested on the backs of her shoulders. She recalled the hand cooked meals and ready-to-eat meals she made back in the day, "just like we did after school, like we used to," Eun-Byeol was too exhausted to let out a chuckle, instead the heart within her chest, pulsated harder.

"I think I'll need more than one packet," the maroon blood from Hyun-Joo's nose, felt as though it were being melted by trickles of fresh blood that rolled and dripped onto her dusty sneakers. "Shibal . . ." A buzzing feeling clattered through Hyun-Joo's bones, and it was uncontrollable, she thought that Eun-Byeol could feel the overwhelming feeling when her familiar eyes landed on her face.

"Oh God-"

"What? What's wrong?" Hyun-Joo's right hand clambered towards her nostrils, as an awful attempt to let the blood fall back.

"Your nose," at that rate, Eun-Byeol's vision wasn't just blurred by the injection, that Lee Byeong-Chan had inserted into her veins, but the tears that engulfed her sight. They descended in large droplets and to her feet. Moon Eun-Byeol ripped her emerald green bow tie away from her neck and unraveled it so that it was in one long strand. It acted as a hanker chief, a makeshift gauze even. Her arm felt as though it weighed the entirety of Jupiter, the effects of the tranquilliser still seemed to have a toll on her.

Hyun-Joo felt her distant companion pat gently at the dried blood upon her skin with the bow tie. "I deserved everything I went through- Not you . . ."

A vexed flash flittered through Moon Eun-Byeol's now sharp eyes, "don't ever say that again," she continued to press the bow tie under Hyun-Joo's nose, "no living being should endure something as fucked up as that."

Hyun-Joo ignored this and felt her burgundy red blood, ooze down the back of her dehydrated throat. "Don't you want to know why he did it? Why he targeted me?"

"I just know that it's not your fault Hyun-Joo, it seems that Leesaem outside of school hours is not the same as the one we know in the classroom-"

"- You don't understand-" I bullied his son. Encouraged Gwi-nam to beat him up. I deserved all of this, I deserve it, I deserve it-

"I do, I understand it all. You feel guilty because he was such a good teacher to us, and now that it happened to us, it's hard to believe it all. Some part of you wants to believe that this is just a nightmare, and you want to wake up from it. But believe me, you're not alone in this. Because he did shit to us. Leeseonsaengnim is the one to blame. You did nothing wrong. We did nothing wrong."

Hyun-Joo blinked slowly, but harshly to fight back the tears that settled within her crimson eyes, and inclined her head- I missed this. I missed receiving the revivifying words that Moon Eun-Byeol always gave.

At this, Moon Eun-Byeol continued, as their struggling bodies charged through the serene hallways. "Think about what we'll do after this . . . and the apology you owe me, but of course, we do need to catch up after all." Moon Eun-Byeol noticed Hyun-Joo break her gaze away from her, and awkwardly moved away. A small smile landed on Eun-Byeol's cracked lips.

"You're right, I . . . I do," Hyun-Joo struggled.

"But first, we need one from Leesaem."

"Fuck yeah . . ." Hyun-Joo appeared more awake the more they talked, mentally awake, physically she did not. The red tint within her eyes, filled every spot of white within her pupils. She felt that within her vision too, but she only blamed it on the trickles of blood that trailed onto her eyes. She felt Eun-Byeol dab, her now soaked bow tie, one that was unravelled greatly. Every thin thread, was drenched in warm blood.

Nearing their usual classroom, it was as if the sign saying: Class 2-5 was being bedazzled by a halo. The light that spotlighted on the sign was so fitting, it was an accurate resemblance to a hyper-giant. "We're here Hyun-Joo," even though her vision was being clouded by a strange blur, as if she were being caught inside one of Neptune's storms.

"Fucking finally."

Ever so, Eun-Byeol elevated her chin to land her fatigued eyes on Hyun-Joo. She saw a softened smile upon Hyun-Joo's lips, one she hadn't seen in a while. One that used to prance upon her lips whenever they hung out together- how did we let those days slip away? Moon Eun-Byeol thought to herself.

Click!- They tried getting the door to their classroom to open.

At first the class didn't react immediately to the noise, as they were engrossed in the humorous conversation that held every student's attention. The conversation goes:

"- I do suppose some of my teaching today has reached your ears, has it not?" Moon Ji-hun's voice wavered a little too much than he anticipated, his eyes cemented on his student, hoping that it was true.

"Hmm . . . I guess."

"Hmm," the classroom egged on.

THUD!-

All eyes landed on the door.

"Hyun Joo?- Eun-Byeol?-" Park Sunhwa called out quite instantly at the sight of her two students plummeting onto the ground.

"Moon Eun . . . Moon Eun-Byeol? Is that . . ." Gradually lowering his fist he leant on, Wu-Jin's senses grew sensitive at the sound of the door opening, his ears already alert for Eun-Byeol's voice before his eyes even laid on the door. ". . . EUN-BYEOL-" Jang Wu-Jin tore his eyesight away from the star that was etched on his desk, and onto the commotion that was rooted by the door.

"Moon Eun-Byeol? As in rookie? I thought she was getting ready for the summer concert," Gyeong-su tapped on Joon-Young's shoulder.

The Oh boy only shrugged in response, "well I guess she's not now." His eyes drilled onto the scene at the front as he wriggled his spectacles higher up his nose. "But, but . . . Wait . . . something's wrong."

"Oh Eun-Byeol!" Na-yeon waved, before lowering her voice and stepping back, "- Wait . . . you're, you're bleeding!-" Na-yeon could see quite clearly from her seat, and stumbled back into her chair with her palms tightly on top of her lips that were spread open at the sight.

Jang Wu-Jin had stayed up all night, for his thoughts injured him, they went on, saying questions like: what happened to her phone? What if she's kidnapped and they stole her phone? What if- What if- Wu-Jin's chair slapped down on to the ground, blankets of tears glazed his enlarged eyes as they cemented on to the unbelievable answer before him.

Just collections and bundles of what ifs . . . and they were all answered by the sight before him. As he rushed towards Eun-Byeol, his darkened pupils darted all over the tainted features of Moon Eun-Byeol's face. Who was trying her hardest to balance herself by placing a palm on the wall, her veins showing from exertion.

"Moon Eun-Byeol," Jang Wu-Jin repeated once more, but it was as though his voice was faraway, and couldn't reach her ears. What the fuck happened? Who the hell did this to you? All of these questions were begging to be enquired, but his feet stayed rooted, his mind swarming with great fury as his shadowing eyes studied the extreme gashes that sullied her skin.

Seaweed green began to morph into thaw yellows as the walls' colours bled with the student's uniform, Moon Eun-Byeol's mind had been swirling the entire time- and not just her thoughts, but her physical brain too. All sounds began to dwindle into nothing, till all she could truly hear were murmurs from her panic-stricken classmates.

"- Can you hear me?" Jang Wu-Jin ploughed on to try and gain Moon Eun-Byeol's distant gaze. He cleared his throat, irritated, that the lump within his throat, that formed from worry, was causing his voice to waver. His breath hastened when her unhealthily dilated eyes landed on his pinkish ones. His own ones narrowed slowly as his eyebrows began to knit together. "Hey, can you hear me? Eun-Byeol?"

Jang Wu-Jin pressed a palm against his chest as a harsh sensation began to spread across it, from the sight of Moon Eun-Byeol's state.

"I'm fine . . ." She finally answered.

"You're fine? Are you sure? Where the fuck were you?- Hey wake up," he began to shake her shoulders, unable to control the tears, for it was his built up vexations and worry displaying upon his face.

Her tone decreased in volume, her voice barely a whisper, "but Wu-Jinah."

"Yeah?" Wu-Jin perked up at this, his eyes glazing over with thin tears, "yeah I'm right here," he patted his chest repeatedly, "speak to me, are you hurt? What happened . . . where were you?" In spite of his efforts to try and hold a steady voice, he failed.

Jang Wu-Jin's fist was scrunched up against the wall as her back was rested on it, his arm was beside her for security, to prevent her from falling head first onto the rock solid ground.

"Wu-Jinah . . ." She repeated, trying to steady to her voice, but she was frustratingly losing control over it. Leesaem is not who you think he is. Please stay away from him. We need to call the police- Her mouth only fell open half-way, her words being too hefty to leave her mouth as her mind spun on a loop.

The night. Lee Byeong-Chan. Empty classroom. Hyun-Joo. The telescope. Blacking out. Repeat.

The sequence scarred and tore at her inner mind. She refused to let herself cry over it, and let her palm grasp tightly at her umber hair, before letting it fall onto Jang Wu-Jin's arm. He felt as she clutched firmly at his soft cottony jumper.

"Hey focus. It's okay, you're okay, I'm right here, you can tell me."

"Jang Wu-Jin. . . We're not . . . We're not safe here." She finalised.

Moon Eun-Byeol's head lolled downwards, hitting his chest. Ba-dum. Ba-dum- Jang Wu-Jin felt his pulse increase within those milliseconds from both the sudden action and apprehension.

The movement made her gauze slip away from her hair and fall to her cerulean sneakers. Thus, revealing the clumps of her hair that were dyed by her own maroon blood.

Jang Wu-Jin tensed up from beside her.

"What- what do you mean?" He followed her eyes, but when her mocha coloured hair fanned in front of her face, he then let his eyes wander over towards the back of her scalp. He stopped short, his hand almost falling to his side as he trapped a breath within his throat. Wu-Jin's teeth gritted together, the vein on his forehead was evident upon his skin, who the fuck did this to her? "How did you get this?"

"A . . . telescope."

"A what?"

Before Jang Wu-Jin could open his mouth to persist even further, Moon Eun-Byeol's chin elevated greatly and caused the top of her head to hit against the chalk board behind her. Sucking in a sharp breath, she trapped her cracked lips under her top teeth before glancing towards the side.

Moon Eun-Byeol's attention was held by . . . Moon Ji-hun and the phone he held within his hands. Her expression fell even further- which he interpreted it as if to say: why didn't you pick up the phone?

But Moon Ji-hun spectated the scene from afar, his limbs feeling as though they were paralysed to the spot. He wanted to help, but his body prevented himself to. Moon Ji-hun swore he could see the emotion: hatred, occupy her eyes

"I," Moon Ji-hun began, but no sound followed after that, his palms were quavering from beyond his control.

She looks just like her. She looks just like her- She looks just like Jeong Areum.

He then shut his eyes abruptly and faced the other end of the classroom, till all he could see was nothing an oblivion, an endless colour of black like the skies that ruled space.

Both corners of Moon Eun-Byeol's deepened into a frown, though, it teetered gradually, her feet grew numb and way too heavy to walk on. A rush of something familiar flowed through her veins. It was the same exact feeling when Lee Byeong-Chan put a sedation within her.

"Stay with me Eun-Byeol." She heard Jang Wu-Jin say, who desperately tried to get their gazes to remain as one, both his arms were now beside her. "Okay?"

"Leesaem . . . he . . ." Moon Eun-Byeol had been holding up for so long, her skull overworked to try and keep her conscious mind at bay, but the more her soul stayed present, they more her body grew numb to the sedation.

It was as though her own body wasn't the only one going under a sedation, for Jang Wu-Jin felt his own pulse pull into an abrupt halt, his limbs freezing into place as they grew benumbed at the sight before him. The whites around his eyes increased as he felt his arms envelope Moon Eun-Byeol's slumped body.

"Leesaem? What about Leesaem? Eun-Byeol- Moon Eun-Byeol-" Wu-Jin had his hands tightly around her shoulders, his tone now uncontrollable as it faltered like a poorly screwed see-saw. A side of his shoulder weighed down from her heavy head, he raised his upper arm used the muscles within them to support her.

By Eun-Byeol's damaged sneakers, Hyun-Joo was settled within Park Sunhwa's gentle arms, her words answering everyone's pondering questions. "He grabbed me . . . The science teacher grabbed me and locked me up. He took Eun-Byeol when she saw me . . ."

"He locked you guys up? The science teacher? Lee-Byeong-Chan-seonsangnim?" True terror sparked within Park Sunhwa's eyes as they focused on her students.

Moon Ji-hun fiddled with his palms repeatedly, a part of him grew envy towards how well Park Sunhwa handled the situation. Whenever she encountered a chaotic situation, she acted as a distinguisher and put out the fuming fire before her. All the whilst, she stayed cool, never letting the panic consume her rationality.

He wished that he could approach his own daughter that way too, but his hands grew clammier, his feet not budging, as salty tears painted his eyes. He felt selfish for having the evening to himself.

". . . He locked us up," Hyun-Joo repeated.

"Let's just go to the infirmary, okay?" Not even a second and Park Sunhwa had a plan, she then faced Choi Nam-ra, her voice clear and smooth, "Class President. Make sure they study on their own. And please don't say anything to anyone until I come back and confirm the facts." She flickered her ashy black eyes towards Jang Wu-Jin, who kept his fingers on her neck to feel her pulse, a way of reassuring himself. Park Sunhwa tried softening her voice to not make the boy any more on edge, "Wu-Jin, is Eun-Byeol responding?"

Jolting at her voice, Jang Wu-Jin wiped fiercely at his eyes, "she just blacked out- She blacked out, but, her pulse is still here, I can feel it."

"Okay good, that's good," she puffed out her pastel orange lips, relief coursed through her veins. "Moonseonsaengnim, could you help me-"

"I'll carry Hyun-Joo," Lee Su-Hyeok noticed how Park Sunhwa struggled to lift Hyun-Joo up with her hands, and stretched out his sturdy arms to help.

"Oh, oh, okay," agreeing by inclining her head, she patted Hyun-Joo's back and helped level her onto Su-Hyeok's back, but she sucked in a breath, being anxious about if he could carry her all the way, "can somebody help him?" Immediately, On-jo and I-sak gathered together to aid Hyun-Joo on hopping on to Su-Hyeok's back. "Okay good," a faint, proud smile illustrated itself across her lips the sight of her students handling the situation so well.

The blackhole was expanding, Moon Ji-hun's heart was darkening- everything he felt ten years ago, was revisiting him once again. Moon Ji-hun felt as though his soul from the present, was being put into the shoes he wore during the night he visited Hyosan Hospital. A decade ago, he'd seen his wife's life dissipate before his eyes, when he saw the state she was in when she was being rushed into the A&E.

His own daughter looked like her. Jeong Areum. When she laid on the hospital bed. His pulse resounded within his ears, slowly.

"Moonseonsaengnim?" He heard Park Sunhwa beckon his name once more.

Moon Ji-hun didn't dare face the ruckus at the front, and only turned to the side with messy attempts to try and conceal the tears that fell from his closed eyes.

She looks just like her, she looks just like her-

"Right then," an unruly exhale tumbled from Park Sunhwa's lips as she removed her attention from Ji-hun and glanced desperately towards her students that swarmed before her. Her eyebrows still furrowed from Moon Ji-hun who avoided her question. What's wrong with him? "Who else?-"

"I-" Jang Wu-Jin started.

"I can carry Idol," Dae-su appeared right away, calling Eun-Byeol by the nickname he gave her some years ago, and it stuck to her since then. He knew that Jang Wu-Jin couldn't do it alone, he even slipped off his head rest and tossed it into Joon-Young's arms, who caught it awkwardly, and inspected it whilst wrinkling his nose.

"Dude-" Interlocking his fingers tighter together, Wu-Jin held a stronger, hold around Eun-Byeol's shoulders, but delicately enough to not break any of her bones, "I've got this."

"You're struggling to keep her upright, I've got this, it's my duty to help my brother-in-law's-" Dae-su pointed towards his chest for dramatic effect.

"I told you not to call me that you moron-" Firing back, Wu-Jin lifted his leg up and thwacked the side of Dae-su's leg with his foot.

"I can help," Joon-Young cracked his knuckles and leaned out his arms to stretch the muscles within his palms, "she could have a concussion from the looks of it, and if it's not treated from now onwards, she could have memory-"

"Why don't all three of you help?" Park Sun-hwa piped in, she was already on her feet, yet, her temper was still grounded, despite having a couple students wasting precious time and a teacher that is supposed to be her assistant- She placed her palms upon her hips and began to speed up, "come on-" By the door, she popped her head around the sturdy frame, and informed her class once more. "Hurry and go back to your seats, Moonseonsaengnim make sure they stay in here."

Feeling the class' eyes, that were now fewer than ten, his cheeks then burned up from his mind flooding back to reality, he pinched the crook of his nose before flinging his hand to the side. He needed to forget, just for these few minutes, to push those thoughts away.

She looks just like her, she looks just like her-

"I can help," Moon Ji-hun finally croaked out, but when his eyes laid on the doorway, they were already gone. Moon Eun-Byeol out from his reach.

Out in the hallways, the troop of: students, plus a pair of injured ones, and a hectic teacher, rushed onwards for immediate aid.

A shock of wind flurried past Moon Eun-Byeol's ears, causing her eyelids to lift open slightly.

Is it night time already?

Eun-Byeol mistook the lights that were drilled onto the ceiling, for the moon's beams, the windows: the stars. Feeling her upper body move rhythmically, her limbs flopping about and flailing around, she tried feeling her surroundings about, since, her vision was clouded by a haze.

"Ow- Shibal-" Her hand had found someone's eye, and telling from the person's deep but somewhat melodically sounding voice, it definitely belonged to Dae-Su.

"What's," the sides of her purply bruised lips formed into a frown, her crackly and dry voice only loud enough for her to hear, "what's going on?" When the odd strand of her ombre hair flew away from her half-open eyes, they focused on the figure that bobbed in front of her, "Hyeon-Ju?" Her hand wobbled as she extended her hand, her forehead puckering.

The Jang boy who accompanied the urgent trip to the infirmary, almost did two double-takes when he saw her palm hover above him, "Eun-Byeol? Are you awake?-"

"Hey Idol- Don't die on us please- Did you fall asleep again?-"

"Well sometimes when you have a concussion, you can fall in and out if consciousness, so it would be likely that she'll black out again-"

"Joon-Young- God, why are you here? You're not helping and we're already super stressed, stop talking, you're just making us feel worse-" Dae-Su panted as he took a sharp turn, his words sounding harsher than usual, from stress. He then entered the yellow walled infirmary with the shade of canary. He felt Eun-Byeol's pointy chin against the very top of his scalp, and was determined to get her off since it was drilling into his head.

"I'm just informing you on what could happen."

The school nurse dived into the scene and stood on her tip toes, briefly, by Moon Eun-Byeol and her bodyguards, "place her on this bed just here," she then nibbled on her bottom lip, her hand clutching a thermometer, not knowing if she should examine Eun-Byeol or Hyun-Joo first. An animalistic growl erupted from Hyun-Joo's lungs- she did arrive first- Hyun-Joo it is. "I'll be over there after I take . . . what's her name sorry? . . . Ah okay, Hyun-Joo's temperature-"

"Okay, thank you so much, thank you," Jang Wu-Jin bowed several times to express his gratitude, before slapping Dae-su's arm lightly, "place her down, carefully, okay?-" Like eagles eyes, he trained them on both Dae-su and Eun-Byeol, as if he didn't, then it would all turn to dust.

"Of course, it's not like I'll lob Idol across the room-" Dae-su inclined his head with a suppressed sigh, before slipping Eun-Byeol's body off his back, he rolled his shoulders backwards many times to regain his normal posture- until he felt another palm connect with the side of his arm, "aish shib-" A sizzle of temporary pain shot up his arm, he faced Jang Wu-Jin with a scornful expression.

"I said carefully you idiot, look at her."

Moon Eun-Byeol was hanging off the side of the bed, her limbs flung to the side, causing it to weigh her down and if she stayed like that, she could fall to the ground. But, Jang Wu-Jin singlehandedly manoeuvred her over towards the centre of the mattress, and let her head lean towards the side, so that she didn't sleep on her wound.

Witnessing such care upon his fondest companion's face, almost felt peculiar. Sure, Jang Wu-Jin was known to be charismatic and the one Cupid shoots his arrows for- He's the modern incarnation of the deity Achilles, it's impossible to not include captivating to his list of attributes. But, he displayed so much care, that it almost felt fake- which it truly wasn't.

It all showed too. Dae-su narrowed his eyes.

He continued to carefully watch Wu-Jin as he fumbled for the ultramarine coloured quilt that was by Eun-Byeol's scruffy shoes. He pulled it up towards her blood speckled chin. The cotton of the quilt felt soft under Jang Wu-Jin's fingertips, and as he neared the side of Eun-Byeol's cheek, he felt the delicacy of her skin against his index finger.

An intense and vivid feeling surged through Jang Wu-Jin's chest; it was like the feeling that was felt earlier on before.

It was a curious feeling, and Wu-Jin dared to push it away. It was hastily replaced with a twinge, for her eyes lingered on the scrunched up expression upon Eun-Byeol's face, evidently showing that she was in agony.

"How could you be so stupid Eun-Byeol? . . ."

He let out some hushed murmurs, thinking that Eun-Byeol was growing unconscious again, and squeezed his eyes tightly. He let out a suppressed sigh.

"I'm not stupid, my smart actions and kindness caused a consequence-" Eun-Byeol mumbled, her warm breath tickling the surface of Wu-Jin's hands.

The area sizzled. Jang Wu-Jin snatched his hands back, and threaded his fingers through his hair shakily. He shook head whilst letting out an aggrieved chuckle, "if you were smart, you wouldn't have ended up in this situation you-"

Beep- The thermometer within the nurse's hand made a noise.

"Her temperature is way too low," the three boys beside Moon Eun-Byeol, overheard the statistics for Hyun-Joo's well being, "here hold it down so she doesn't kick it off."

A collection of snarls followed after.

Wu-Jin, Dae-su and Joon-Young shared an alarmed look, and then flittered their attention on Moon Eun-Byeol with their expressions falling.

"Hyun-Joo, Hyun-Joo. It's okay. It's okay-" They heard Park Sunhwa reassure, but telling from the unsteady tone that began to lace her voice, it was like she was trying to convince herself too.

Park Sunhwa had no notions about her students being far from curable.

These were her students for Earth's sakes; Park Sunhwa cared for them. But, some part of her knew that their strengths had a limit, and this situation had an unforeseeable future. The state that Hyun-Joo was in, was something she had never seen before. She had no idea what was making Hyun-Joo act this way, and why Eun-Byeol was blacking out so much.

Moon Ji-hun would know what to say, the sentence popped into her mind. Every time her class would wreak havoc, he'd know how to bring their conversations into a halt, like a shepherd rounding their sheep into a pen. Whether it'd be his ridiculously loud claps, or his ridiculously long sentences, especially the ones in english. They'd listen- feel comforted, inspired, or laugh even.

But the reaction he held, when he saw Moon Eun-Byeol collapse onto the floors of her classroom, it was undetectable. She had seen the crestfallen expression upon his face, and how the emotion of devastation held his looks. She knew that Ji-hun often spaced out, but she didn't expect him to do so when his own daughter's life was fading before his eyes.

But she couldn't blame him entirely, it must've resurfaced several unwanted memories- as Park Sunhwa had seen that same exact reaction when she accidentally asked about his wife. He brushed it off, and continued with a different conversation.

"Call an ambulance right now, I'll give her sedatives and clean her wounds."

At the sound of the nurse's voice, Park Sunhwa clicked out of her rambling thoughts, and whipped her phone out from her back pocket, she nearly dropped it from her fingers from the haste.

Jang Wu-Jin let his hands fall back onto the mattress, and tightened his grip around the hem of the fraying blanket, when his overwhelmed eyes flittered towards the scene. His puzzled eyes steadied on Hyun-Joo's state that didn't progress at all.

Instead, it worsened.

Growl after growl, the girl's bones tore at her muscles from under her thick skin, and Wu-Jin could hear the crunches of them as her limbs jerked abnormally. He then lowered his palms and mindlessly squeezed Eun-Byeol's hand, that was hidden beneath the blanket.

"Jang Wu-Jin . . ."

The name sounded like static at first, before he felt an overbearingly warm hand clasp his bare wrist, Wu-Jin released an exhale that he didn't know he trapped within his throat, his stomach lurched in a fluttery moment when his anxious eyes found Eun-Byeol's pastel rouge eyes.

He stared at her hand gingerly, his breaths merely noticeable, before training his eyes on to the girl. The light-hearted state she tried to uphold, was dissipating the more he held his eyes upon her face.

"Eunah?" The name fell out in a flurry from shock, he then suppressed a cough to clear his throat, blinking hastily as his soulful eyes fell on the Moon girl, "I'm still here, are you feeling better? Does your head hurt?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine."

Jang Wu-Jin wanted to lecture her and voice the worries she created on his mind, and how that that night was hell of all hell, that her saying 'I'm fine,' only ticked him off even more- but he stayed by her side with his ears listening intently for what she had to say.

"She did black out, and . . . It looks like she got hit in the head pretty hard, so-"

Wu-Jin ignored Joon-Young's words.

"Dude, not the time-" Wu-Jin heard Dae-su say. From the corner of his eye he could see Dae-su slam the back of his palm against Joon-Young's stomach to stop him from proceeding.

"I'm truly fine. It's Hyun-Joo who needs help more than I do-"

Jang Wu-Jin only let his own eyes fixate on the very features of Eun-Byeol's face, all the whilst the corrupted features of Hyun-Joo flittered through his mind, they were in a similar state, a similar situation- he feared for the worse, but hoped for the better. He hoped that Moon Eun-Byeol didn't thrash around, alarmingly like Hyun-Joo.

That was all he could do, and he hated it.

"Are you," he exhaled strongly, unable to believe Eun-Byeol's words, "are you sure that you are? You kept blacking out earlier-"

"I'm sure crazy man," her eyes dared to flutter shut again, to conceal her vision from perceiving any more updates on Hyun-Joo.

There was crimson blood that stained the very ends of Moon Eun-Byeol's eyebrows and eyelashes, like tiny freckles that danced along the pale surface of her skin. Some smudge marks of maroon told him that she'd been crying and tried cleaning her eyes with the back of her palms.

She'll be okay, right? She keeps saying she's fine, but I don't buy it.

"I guess you'll be okay then," Wu-Jin understood what Park Sunhwa must've been feeling during those scarring moments. Seeing her own students in an abnormal condition was traumatising, and her words were the only remedy to everyone's constant anxieties- and so, Wu-Jin did the same.

He answered his own demanding questions, and it reassured him, temporarily-

But the words weren't enough for Moon Eun-Byeol, her fingers held a tighter hold on his soft jumper, "but," she tried to regain her voice, since she had used almost used it up during the night from yelling for help, "is Hyun-Joo okay? Leesaem injected her with all sorts of things- He, he kept trying to-"

The night. Lee Byeong-Chan. Empty classroom. Hyun-Joo. The telescope. Blacking out. Repeat.

The clear tears created pathways down her face, they washed away at some of the faded blood upon her face, Wu-Jin's own tears mixed in with hers as they fell tinily upon her cheeks.

"- He kept trying to what?"

"He tried to kill her." Her voice faded away.

"He what," an uncontrollable shudder rumbled a little through his spine, his mouth hanging open, "he tried to kill- Did he give you anything? Did he attack you with anything?- During that call, I knew I heard something- Was that you? Did he hit you?"

Moon Eun-Byeol tightened her jaw, her eyebrows scrunched heavily together, as if she were re-living the memory, "I- I can't remember what he did to me at first, but I remember how many shots he gave Hyun-Joo . . ."

This caught the attention of Park Sunhwa, who was on the phone, "- oh Eun-Byeolah, how many did you count? Did you count how many he gave you?"

"Leeseonsaengnim gave Hyun-Joo eight- I lost count after that-"

Jang Wu-Jin recoiled at the words, his teeth dug deep on the side of his tongue; he felt himself drown within guilt. I should've checked the school, I should've- Blinking harshly, he kept his stupefied, dark eyes on the Moon girl and felt as her grip started to loosen. "How many did he give you? Eun-Byeol?"

The night. Lee Byeong-Chan. Empty classroom. Hyun-Joo. The telescope. Blacking out. Repeat. Moon Eun-Byeol voluntarily shut her eyes tight, as if it would erase those memories.

Cutting in once more, Park Sunhwa announced the updates on the emergency services, "an ambulance is arriving now. There's not enough vehicles at the moment," her palm shook as it lowered from her ear, "so it'll drive up to the school twice-"

"Then who's going first?" Dae-su began.

But, Wu-Jin didn't spare a second and stood up on his feet abruptly, causing Joon-Young to stumble on his feet from the suddenness of the action. "Moon Eun-Byeol's going first."

Beep- Removing the thermometer from Eun-Byeol's ear, the nurse's hands shook as her adrenaline increased from it all, the numbers: 36.2°C was inscribed digitally upon it.

"But her temperature is normal- Hyun-Joo is showing signs of rabies, which means that she needs immediate care. When we wait for the ambulance, we can treat Eun-Byeol's wounds. The wound on her scalp, however," she studied it briefly and murmured an apology when Eun-Byeol let out a half-yelp, "- I apologise!- Oh! Good, good, thankfully, she doesn't need stitches. But she may need to get a CT scan when she gets to the hospital."

Jang Wu-Jin felt his feet glue to the floor, the muscles of his entirety seemed too fall into a momentary shut down, as he slowly dragged his eyes back onto Eun-Byeol. "So she'll be okay? She'll be okay right?"

"She'll need-"

"I said I'm fine," upon hearing the devastating tone that laced the Jang boy's tone, Moon Eun-Byeol didn't want to worsen the state he was already in. If she wasn't so dazed by the remainder of the sedation that travelled through her veins, she would've flicked Jang Wu-Jin's forehead and lectured him, saying: you need to stop worrying so much. "Hyun-Joo should get her system checked. Leeseonsaengnim injected her more than I can count."

Jang Wu-Jin opened his mouth to protest, but was instantly interrupted when Park Sunhwa spoke up, "she'll be okay Wu-Jin," she rubbed her palms together and nodded repetitively, her eyes wandering back and forth, from the bed on her left and the bed on her right. ". . . Eun-Byeol will be okay, just trust the school nurse, okay? Won't they Kangseonsaengnim?"

The lady in white swallowed thickly, and shoved whatever she was going to say down her throat. They just need some reassurance. "Yes." Was all that she could answer.

"And Hyun-Joo?" Eun-Byeol added. Her skull feeling like it's being bashed by a semi-hard hammer, but she fought against it, and tried propping herself up to show that she was indeed fine. She wanted to believe that. She didn't care about how she was doing. Her eyes remained on the bed beside her that held Hyun-Joo's unfamiliar body. "She'll be okay right?- Right? Rabies is just a hypothesis . . . right?"

We still need to catch up, to have ramyeon together, and I still need to scorn her for all those years she wasted by doing all that shit to me.

But the school nurse had already dropped the conversation to insert a sedative into Hyun-Joo's veins- the snarls and the sound of her baring her razor sharp teeth began to dim away.

"For now, the sedative I gave her should be enough to keep her at bay."

"At bay? What do you mean?- Will she be-"

Woosh- Eun-Byeol's field of vision suddenly consisted of the coral pink curtain, her eyes no longer on Hyun-Joo's blemished and mutilated body.

Her pulse pumped dramatically as an infuriating amount of apprehension seeped through her veins.

Kneeling down to Eun-Byeol's height, Jang Wu-Jin had fiercely sealed the curtains to put a pause on the useless worry that Eun-Byeol was experiencing. No one within those moments knew what was going on, everyone was uneasy.

Having Hyun-Joo in front of Eun-Byeol has only caused her body to overwork with stress, when she should be focusing on getting better.

Jang Wu-Jin had no idea why Moon Eun-Byeol was so fixed on the girl who used to pour murky, foul smelling trash on to her head during, in the bathrooms, during lunch times. He recalled the times, where he'd have to offer her his old gym clothes because of it- But Moon Eun-Byeol protested saying that the uniform had a scent worse than the trash. But nonetheless, she had no choice but to wear it anyways.

Then it all stopped before he could do something about it, which he was sort of glad about it, since, he had no idea what to do to scare Hyun-Joo off.

The steamy tears, that clouded his vision, began to clear away, his own dark eyes focused on Eun-Byeol. There were temporary wrinkles that etched across her face, due to the hellish rollercoaster. Her coffee brown tresses, that used fall gently and silkily behind her shoulders, were ruffled terribly by the horrid events that belonged to last night.

"Eun-Byeol, look at me."

"Yeah?" She flickered her eyes on to his now relaxed face. It seemed, that, Jang Wu-Jin finally came to terms with the situation. Perhaps she will be okay, and for someone to be reassured by your words, you yourself need to believe your own words too. "They're not making sense . . . will Hyun-Joo be okay?" Moon Eun-Byeol continued.

Moon Eun-Byeol wouldn't believe anything until it was proven to her.

There were some shooting stars that cannot grant wishes, if that were true, Jang Wu-Jin would've bought every shooting star in the sky, so that he could grant the many demanding wishes that Moon Eun-Byeol made during those seconds.But he could only imagine, for he couldn't grant Moon Eun-Byeol's wishes about Hyun-Joo being a hundred percent okay.

"You're getting wrinkles already Eun-Byeol, and you're no where near the age of 40-"

"What?-" A great deal of puzzlement enhanced on Eun-Byeol's features. "What, what do you mean?-"

"Do you still have that polaroid of my bike? Please don't show Ha-ri . . ."

Eun-Byeol sat back against the bed's head rest, it resounded slightly from the weight, perplexed, she tilted her head whilst biting the inside of her cheek, "why?" She enquired and only pulled her eyebrows tighter together when Jang Wu-Jin pushed his bottom lip out.

Good, she's getting distracted.

He continued to speak his mind, and said whatever thing that sat on his tongue. He felt the perturbing emotion, that stained the air, evanesce for a few minutes.

Sincerely, Jang Wu-Jin wished on any shooting star that soared through the blank void of space, that the calm would stay with them. He couldn't bear standing back any longer, and witness the situation slowly tear at Eun-Byeol's fragile mind.

From behind the entrance, Moon Ji-hun had heard it all. He'd seen everything. But now, his eyes glued onto both his palms, as if they'd magically go help his daughter without him doing anything. If just moved his feet and stormed into the room saying, 'I'm sorry, I will help you all now,' maybe he wouldn't feel that guilty about it all.

But it wasn't so easy.

He hated that the past was holding him back. For, everyone but Moon Eun-Byeol's own father was helping her.

Like I said, Moon Eun-Byeol reminded him all too well of Jeong Areum, and he damned himself for still holding on to the fallen star.

Moon Ji-hun was growing tired. Tired of swimming around the pools of an endless shade of obsidian- the super stellar blackhole. He wanted something knew, a remedy to cure or tranquillise the agonies of the growing void within his chest.

He wanted to let go of the fallen star and move on.

But was he ready? He didn't know, he was scared to know- thus the super stellar blackhole within his heart only inflated.

DEAR ALL,

I absolutely hate this chapter, it's given
me so many headaches, and my phone
is moving at 2fps because how big this
chapter is please- T-T

I had so many great ideas for this chapter,
but because so many things are happening
at once during these scenes, it was hard to
write it out with every ounce of my writing
abilities.

I guess I liked the ideas- But the actual
writing is an eyesore, so I'm sorry guys </3
I am also sorry for the slow updates, as you
can see this chapter was 13212 words and
53 pages long- so as you can tell it took
ages to write it T-T & because it's so long,
there's bound to be typos and errors, so
please inform me nicely in the comments
if you do find one thank you!

But the fun is about to start, I can't wait to
use my gruesome vocabulary and describe
those hot and fine zombies.

Have a good day/night and don't forget to
vote & comment! >~<

WITH LOVE, SYLVIA