Night time has come to the city of Hyosan as the surviving high school students huddled around the fire that they made earlier. Seeking warmth for having her leg exposed to the wind due to her school skirt, Areum shared a blanket that she grabbed from the broadcasting room with Namra as she was sitting in between Suhyeok and her close friend. The black haired girl was leaning her head against Suhyeok’s shoulder as she stared at the fire whooshing in front of her.
“Daesu-yah.” Suhyeok called the plump boy as he played with Areum’s fingers.
“Yeah?” Daesu hummed as he supported his head using his arm that was placed on his thigh.
“How was your audition?” The tall boy asked as he glanced over at the plump boy.
“They said I have to lose some weight.” The plump boy scoffed in anger when he remembered the comments he received after his audition. The tall boy chuckled in amusement when he heard Deasu’s reply.
“Well, you’re a good singer.” Suhyeok mentioned as he turned his attention toward the lit fire.
“Daesu-yah. Sing for us. I want to hear it.” Areum requested as she continued leaning her head on Suhyeok’s shoulder and watched the beautiful fire.
“Just forget it. I don’t want to sing.” The plump boy uttered as he denied the beauty’s request, making the black haired girl moping around.
“Oh, come on. Please, sing for us. I’m sure we needed some cheer from all the horrible things that happened to us.” The black haired girl pleaded as she glanced toward Daesu before returning her gaze back on the fire.
“I actually really like that song.” Joonyeong announced when he remembered the song that Daesu sang to his classmate. Overheard his friend’s statement, Daesu shifted his eyes away from the fire to his friend.
“You do?” Daesu curiously asked as he straightened his body, feeling pleased when he heard his friends' feedback on his song.
“Mm-mm.” Joonyeong hummed.
“Really?” The plump boy once again asked in disbelief.
“It’s really nice.” Joonyeong commented as he stared at the plump boy who tried to hide his smile from his friends.
“You sing well.” Suhyeok added as he continued to play with Areum’s finger, making Daesu clear his throat as an attempt to hide his happiness.
“Just like Areum said, it’ll cheer us up.” Wujin encouraged his best friend.
“Let’s go once it’s over.~ Let’s go anywhere.~ Once we’re done studying 12 hours a day.~ Once the annoying sounds are over.~ Let’s go hand in hand.~” Daesu started to sing his song as the rest of the surviving students listened to him. Areum briefly closed her eyes as she enjoyed listening to her friend’s singing.
“Let’s not run~.” Jimin joined in singing, making Daesu smile when one of his friends was also singing his own song.
“Let’s try walking slowly.~ Is that drool or sweat pool on the book?~ No one notice the plop, plop.~ The falling rain drops.~” One by one, the surviving students start to join in singing, except for Areum, who was resting her eyes, and Namra, who does not know the lyrics.
“What is boiling?~ Simmer, simmer.~ It’s Mom’s doenjang stew.~ Mm-hm, a bowl of instant noodles.~ in front of the TV, which plays nothing but static.~ Let’s go anywhere together.~”
The harmony sounds between the surviving students fill Areum and Namra’s ears as they were the only ones who did not join in singing with the rest of their friends. Namra held a soft smile when she listened to the song as she spotted her close friend slowly drift to sleep on Suhyeok’s shoulder while listening to the melody sounds.
***********
When Areum began to peacefully sleep on Suhyeok’s shoulder, the black haired girl drifted into a dream whilst her friends had small talk between themselves. Through her visions in the dream, Areum could see a figure was leaning its body against the wall in the toilet as the sound of bone crushing could be heard throughout the room.
Frowning her eyebrows in confusion, the beauty went to approach the lifeless figure. Once she reached the unmoving figure, Areum gasped in surprise when she saw the lifeless body start to gasp for air. The black haired girl took several steps away from the figure in shock when she saw it was Gwinam.
“I got to get to the rooftop. Damn it.” Gwinam muttered in a rasped voice. The Yoon boy then began to rise up from his sitting position and went out of the toilet and began to roam his way through the school hallways. Without wasting any time, Areum followed the bully from behind.
The black haired girl followed the boy in confusion as Gwinam went to the direction of the stairwells. The sound of discordant music from the music room could be heard through her newly sensitive ears.
“Where are you planning to go, you crazy bastard?” Areum mumbled to herself as she continued to follow the boy from behind.
***********
Worried about the girl he likes being quiet, Suhyeok glanced over his shoulder to look at Areum, who was leaning her head on his shoulder after they finished singing Daesu’s song. The tall boy chuckled in amusement when he found Areum was sleeping on his shoulder after listening to the melody song.
“It was such a nice song.” Suhyeok heard Hyeryeong comment after a moment of silence once they finished singing the song. The tall boy smiled as he intertwined his hand with Areum’s.
“Didn’t you say that it sucked?” Daesu uttered as he looked over the short haired girl that was sitting beside him.
“No. Now that I actually listened to it, I think it’s kind of nice.” The short haired girl confessed truthfully.
“That was encouraging, Daesu.” Wujin complimented his best friends as he put some firewoods to the fire. The compliment made Daesu chuckled in happiness after receiving positive feedback from his friends. On the other side of the group, Onjo slowly turned her head to look at the class president, who was staring at the lit fire.
“How long… have you been smoking for?” Onjo asked as she started the conversation with Namra. The intelligent girl glanced at the white hoodie girl when she heard Onjo was talking to her.
“Since eighth grade.” Namra paused. “I have no friends other than Areum and a lot of stress back then. I just don’t want to burden her by knowing that I was in a lot of stress.” The class president continued before she glanced over at her sleeping friend. Onjo followed Namra’s eyesight and smile watching the beauty rest after the exhaustion they experienced today.
“Did you ever need a friend, though?” The white hoodie asked as she looked at the fire clacking in front of her.
“I’m not sure. But after becoming friends with Areum, I was content with her company. She helped me realise that having friends by your side is not a bad thing. You rely on each other, laughing and joking with each other, doing what normal teenage girls do just like on TV.” Namra mentioned as she continued to stare ahead of her. “I’m happy to have her as my friend.”
“Did she know you smoked?” Onjo curiously asked as she glanced over the black haired girl that was leaning her head on Suhyeok’s shoulder.
“Yeah.” The class president nodded her head as she lowered her eyes in embarrassment.
“She caught me smoking when we’re in 9th grade. She’s one of the reasons why I tried to prevent myself from relying too much on it when I’m stressed. But once in a while, I smoke when it’s too much for me to handle.” She continued.
“You always put a wall. You always wear your headphones and never say anything to others, apart from Areum. Wasn’t it because you didn’t like us?” Onjo claimed before looking at the intelligent girl for her response while the rest of the student’s bodies also joined in listening to their conversation. Minutes of silence, Namra watched as the rest of her classmates were watching her from their seats., eager to hear her reply.
“I never disliked you guys. I just…” Namra paused after giving her response.
“Not really good at approaching people. I tend to get cautious when meeting new people. Even when Areum approached me, I tended to give her a one-word answer because of my cautiousness.” Namra chuckled in embarrassment when she remembered her first meeting with Areum.
“But Areum was determined to be friends with me after our first meeting. She’s usually the one that started the conversation. She’s always talked about random things in order to get me to participate in the conversation. Eventually that stubborn girl managed to break my wall.” Namra muttered as flashes of their developed friendship started to play on her mind.
“That’s Areum for sure.” Suhyeok chuckled after listening to Namra’s story about her and Areum’s developed friendship.
“Well… I never really liked you. I thought you didn’t talk to us because we were beneath you.” Hyeryeong confessed to the class president.
“To be honest, there were times I wished you weren’t around. Perhaps Areum as well after seeing how close the two of you have been.” Joonyeong admitted as he avoided looking at Suhyeok's direction, where Joonyeong presumed the tall boy was basically glaring at him right now.
“Aren’t the three of you close? You’re the top three students in our school.” Jimin asked in confusion.
“That’s why I hate them. No matter how hard I tried, I was always third.” The boy with glasses muttered before lifting his eyes to look at Namra and the sleeping Areum.
“But it’s okay now. Areum had helped me study a few times whenever I struggled in some of the topics, which made me hate her less because of her kindness and friendliness. I think I was able to come in third because of Namra and Areum.” Joonyeong continued, making Namra lower her head in touch of what he had said.
“Yah. Third place is good too.” Daesu commented as Onjo nodded her head in agreement to Deasu’s statement. “I can’t even be in 20th in our class. Right?” The plump boy uttered as he looked over at Suhyeok as the both of them bumped their fists together. Suhyeok being careful as he bumped his fist with the plump boy with Areum sleeping on his shoulder.
“Hey.” Hyeryeong called as she slapped her hand on Daesu’s leg, making the plump boy quickly look over at the short haired girl. “Don’t compare yourself to Joonyeong.” The short haired girl uttered.
“I was just saying.” Daesu remarked as he frowned his eyebrows toward the short haired girl sitting beside him.
“Why do you always get on my case whenever I say something?” The plump paused when a sudden relisation come to his mind, making the short haired girl took a quick glanced at him before returning her focus on the swooshing fire.
“Wait a second. Do you like me?” Daesu asked in a serious manner as he looked at the side profile of the short haired girl.
“Shut up, you moron!” Hyeryeong claimed as she slapped Daesu’s back after hearing the boy’s statement while the rest of their friends chuckled in amusement after witnessing the two exchanges.
“I’m going to put it out there, so you don’t get hurt.” Suhyeok overheard Deasu speak to the short haired girl as he glanced over at Areum, who was still mindlessly in her dream. The tall boy smiled as he tucked Areum’s loose hair behind her ear. “I like someone else. So don’t like me” The plump boy gently informed Hyeryeong.
“I don’t like you. I’m not interested at all.” Hyeryeong argued as she kept hitting his arm in frustration. Daesu, on the other hand, held his arm after getting hit by the short haired girl.
“Daesu. Who do you like?” Joonyeong curiously asked.
“He’s…he’s a total freak.” Wujin muttered as he pointed his index finger toward his best friend. Suhyeok smiled when he watched Wujin, who was sitting beside him, shaking his head in disbelief. Wujin stared at his best friend skeptically when he saw Daesu was widely grinned when his friends asked him about the person he likes.
“His sister.” Suhyeok told the rest of his friends in a teasing manner as he pointed his index finger in Wujin's direction.
“Hari unnie from Archery?” Jimin asked in doubt. “You’re insane.”
“I go crazy when I’m in love.” Daesu spoke while still grinning when they mentioned Wujin's sister.
“She’s like my little Cupid.” He continued as Namra silently laughed at Daesu's love struck look toward his best friend’s sister while Wujin told him to stop from talking about her sister with his love struck.
“Stop it.” Wujin laughed before continuing. “If we get out of here alive, I’m gonna tell my sister.” The male cousin teased his best friend.
“Will you really tell her?” Daesu asked as he looked at Wujin in a serious manner.
“Yeah.” Wujin replied.
“About what?” Daesu asked once again when he did not believe his best friend’s statement as he put his hand on Wujin's forearm.
“To shoot and kill you. I said not to like my sister.” Wujin said as he glared at his best friend.
“You can’t do that to me, future brother-in-law.” Daesu uttered as he put his hand behind Wujin’s neck before pulling him in a hug. Then, the two boys began to fight as Wujin tried to move away from Deasu’s hug while the plump boy tried to pull his best friend into a hug.
“Will you really tell her? Promise?” Daesu questioned.
“Yeah. I will. To kill you.” Wujin replied as he groaned in frustration when he tried to free himself from Daesu’s strong grip.
“Don’t do that. Seriously. I love her.” The plump boy complained.
“Stop it.” Wujin claimed as the rest of the students laughed at their silly tactics. Once the two boys calmed down after their silly quarrel, Jimin started to tell the rest of friends a story about her parent’s plan to move to Seoul a few months ago.
“My mom and dad prepared everything for my transfer. They said to just go to Seoul.” Jimin started the conversation. “But I really didn't want to go there.” She added as she stared at the fire crackling.
“I wouldn’t have any friends and I was afraid of the Seoul kids. I didn’t know what to do.” The girl in the green vest mentioned before she looked at Onjo’s direction.
“Then, Onjo gave me a great idea.” Jimin uttered as Onjo smiled when her friend mentioned her name. “She said I just had to cut school for five days. Then, the principal couldn’t write a recommendation. That’s why I cut school.” She continued as she glanced over at Hyeryeong before looking away in a solemn expression.
“It’s all thanks to Onjo…that I didn’t transfer.” Jimin stopped. Onjo was feeling smug about their accomplishment, making the white hoodie girl give a peace sign toward her friend.
“But I should’ve just gone to Seoul.” Jimin claimed, making Onjo slowly lowered her peace sign from her friend’s view in embarrassment. “Then, none of this would have happened to me.”
“People have always said… that my sister was an archery prodigy ever since she was a child. So our parents only cared about trying to get my sister onto the national team.” Wujin stated as he started to share his own story once Jimin’s finished with her story.
“They’ve never paid attention to me at all. Whenever we have a family dinner, Areum could instantly read me like an open book. She would always suggest for us to have a sleepover at our grandparent’s house for me to escape from my own house. She’s actually helped me alot.” The male cousin uttered.
“I’ve got to receive the attention our grandparents gave us equally. Even her mother gave me some attention. Areum didn’t mind though. She likes sharing their attention with me since she feels overwhelmed when she’s the only child living under their roof. That’s why I’ve always been eager to pack extra clothes in my bag whenever we went to dinner at our grandparents’ house.” Wujin said while glancing at his sleeping cousin.
The male cousin smiled when he remembered 10-years old Areum suggesting to his 10-years old self that they should have a sleepover whenever they have dinner at their grandparents’ house so he could escape his house for a while.
“I’ll give you all my attention, future brother-in-law. Don’t be sad. You have me.” Daesu offered as Wujin placed his hand on the plump boy’s neck and pushed him down to the floor to stop him from speaking nonsense.
“Thank God that I have Areum as my cousin. Daesu as well.” Wujin chuckled in relief as Daesu remained lying on top of the cold floor. Hyeryeong slapped her hand on Daesu’s thigh, making the plump boy rise from his lying position.
Feeling the sudden tense coming from Areum’s body. Suhyeok instantly wrapped one of his arms around her. The tall boy then rubbed his hand on her shoulder to ease her tensed body as well as giving her some warmth, fully aware how the beauty could not handle the cold temperature very well.
“I don’t really have anything to say. I wouldn’t really know…” Namra started once she spotted her classmates waiting for her to share her story. Then, the class president stared at the only source of light and warmth. “But I feel like I made more friends.” The class president admitted as she looked at Onjo, who was smiling at her and nodded her head as encouragement. Unknown to them, the beauty that was sleeping on Suhyeok’s shoulder started to frown her eyebrows while she was still in her dreamland.
***********
Steps after steps, Areum was still following Gwinam from behind until they reached the music room. Once again, Areum frowned her eyebrows in confusion when she saw the Yoon boy enter the music room.
Before he managed to close the door, Areum managed to come inside of the room and stood near the entrance door as he violently closed the sliding door, which in the process startled the one person Areum had not seen after the girl left the broadcasting room.
Through her point of view, Lee Nayeon quickly moved away from being startled as Gwinam stalked his way closer to the frightened girl. Frozen to her spot, Areum could see that Nayeon was tightly holding onto the bag on her shoulder as the light brown haired girl made some distance between the bully boy.
“What’s that?” Gwinam asked once he spotted the white canva bag on her shoulder.
“What are you doing here?” Nayeon asked in fear as she stepped away from the one-eye boy.
“Me?” The Yoon boy rhetorically asked without any care in the world. “I have to go to the rooftop but the door’s locked.” He continued before he pointed his finger toward the window.
“So, I’m going to go that way.” The bully boy added as Nayeon looked over the window that he pointed at.
“You’re not a zombie, right?” Nayeon asked as she swallowed her fear while staring at the Yoon boy.
“Zombie? Fuck that.” The Yoon boy cursed as he tried to hit the girl in front of him. Luckily, the one-eyed boy stopped his action when he saw the fear in the Lee girl’s eyes. Gwinam then put his raising hand back inside his jacket pocket before shifting his eyes toward the bag that she tightly held onto.
“Is that food?” Gwinam questioned, making the girl move away in fear. “Are you hungry?”
“Are you? Are you hungry?” Gwinam once again asked when he received no response from the pink sweater girl. From where she was standing, Areum could see that Nayeon nodded her head as she was unable to form any words due to being scared of the presence of the bully boy.
“Me too.” Gwinam said as he smirked at the girl in front of him. Then, out of nowhere, he quickly pulled the pink sweater girl by her arm and instantly bit her neck.
Areum gasped in surprise when she saw blood coming out of Nayeon’s neck as her blood began to splutter on the cold floor. The black haired girl covered her mouth in order to hide her whimpering from witnessing one of her classmates being bitten.
Areum gasped in alarm when she opened her brown eyes after having a nightmare witnessing one of her classmates being eaten by Gwinam. The blacked haired girl lifted her head from Suhyeok’s shoulder and turned her head away from her friends’ view as she rapidly took a few breaths as she tried to calm her fast heartbeats.
Once Suhyeok could feel the beauty waking up from her nap in alarm and instantly turning her head away from the group of friends, the tall boy immediately knew that Areum just had a nightmare as he noticed that she was breathing heavily.
Silently telling the rest of his friends, who were worried about her, to continue their conversation, Suhyeok went to help Areum. Facing his body away from the group of friends, Suhyeok placed one of his hands on her back as the other placed on her arm.
“Breath, Rumnie-yah. It’s just a bad dream.” Suhyeok comforted as he rubbed his hand on her hand in circulation motion. However, his effort in comforting the beauty was useless as Areum kept breathing heavily. “Rumnie-yah. You’re safe now. You’re here with me. Breath slowly.” He continued.
“I can’t. The dream was surreal. I just…” Areum paused as she inhaled some oxygen due to her short breath. “...I just saw Gwinam…he bit Nayeon. Her blood was spl… spluttered everywhere. She was the one that…hiding inside the supply room in the music classroom..” The black haired girl stuttered in panic when she remembered some of the flashes of her dream.
The tall boy was watching Areum with concern when he saw the beauty was having a panic attack. Without wasting any precious time, Suhyeok instantly brought Aruem into a hug as the black haired girl still remained panicked.
The tall boy then comforted her by rubbing her back using his hand in circulation motion. Unawared to the tall boy, the rest of the students' bodies were watching him comforting the panicked Areum.
“Rumnie-yah. Please calm down. Breath slowly.” Suhyeok comforted her in worry as he placed his other hand on her hair as he supported her head from falling.
“Follow the rhythm of my breath. Areum-ah, can you do that?” the tall boy whispered to her ears.
Areum closed her eyes as she nodded her head against the crook of his neck. The black haired girl then tried her best to follow the rhythm of Suhyeok’s breath. Once Suhyeok felt Areum’s body begin to relax after following the pattern of, the tall boy then pecked a kiss on top of the beauty’s head.
“That’s my girl.” he whispered in her ears as Areum’s brown eyes still remained close after she managed to tone down her panic attack.
Both Namra and Wujin were staring at the pair with worry after they witnessed Areum trying to hide her pain from them. The rest of the group friends were unable to continue to resume their conversation when they saw one of their friends was alarmed once she woke up from her short rest.
***********
Once Areum was able to calm down, Cheongsan began to share his story with his friends. The black haired girl once again leaned her head on Suhyeok as she listened to Cheongsan’s story while playing with Suhyeok’s right fingers as a mechanism of coping after her panic attack earlier while Suhyeok arm wrap around Areum as he rubbed his thumb on her shoulder blade as a comfort to the beauty that everything would be fine.
“Onjo and I…” Cheongsan paused before he let out a heavy sigh while looking at the fire making a crackling sound. The boy in the green vest was unable to continue as he kept staring at the warm fire.
“I just, well…I just want some water.” Cheongsan mentioned when he was unable to let out what he was going to say due to his mind being blank at the moment.
“Eh~ Not stuff like that. Be completely honest.” Hyeryeong expressed after hearing Cheongsan’s lame story.
“Be completely honest. Do you like someone?” Daesu asked, supporting the short haired girl in getting Cheongsan confess his feelings toward Onjo. Hyereyong was smiling at Cheongsan when Daesu helped her in telling their friend to be honest when sharing his story.
Once hearing the question from the plump boy, both Suhyeok and Areum looked over at Cheongsan with knowing looks. The boy in the green vest was silent for a few minutes when he noticed Onjo was gaped at him through the corner of his eyes.
“Mm-hmm.” Cheongsan hummed in response, making Areum lift her head from Suhyeok as the beauty was eager to witness Cheongsan finally confessing to Onjo.
Once Areum straightened her posture, Suhyeok removed his hand from her as he replaced the hand that she played with and intertwined their hand together.
“You do? For real?” The white hoodie girl asked in disbelief after hearing this new information about her childhood friend. All of the surviving students who knew about Cheongsan true’s feelings toward Onjo began to look at each other in excitement.
“Yeah.” Cheongsan replied as he blinked his eyes.
“Why do you keep on stalling? Do you have a crush?” Onjo uttered as she wanted to know the person her childhood friend’s likes.
“Uh…pretty much.” Cheongsan stammered as he stared at Onjo’s eyes.
“Pretty much? What does that mean?” Onjo mumbled as she shifted her eyes away from Cheongsan when she tried to think of his reply.
“Who is she?” The white hoodie girl once again questioned as she gazed at him. All of the group of friends remained silent as they avoided Cheongsan's eyes when he silently asked help from them to help him with his current situation.
“No one.” Cheongsan lied, averting his eyes away from the girl beside him when Onjo insisted to know who the girl he had crushed on.
“Who is she? Do I know her?” Onjo urged as curiosity got the best of her. Cheongsan remained silent when he did not believe that the girl he had crushed on was oblivious of his true feelings for her. “Who is it?” She insisted as her eyes glinted with happiness for her friend.
“You. It’s you, Onjo.” Cheongsan admitted as the glint in her eyes slowly disappeared.
“I like you.” He continued, making the rest of the group of friends that acted as the bystander smirked and smiled at one another.
“Yah. Stop that.” Onjo scoffed in disbelief when she heard the boy beside him finally telling her who he had a crush on. Then, the white hoodie girl glanced over at her friends, who were smiling after witnessing Cheongsan finally confessing to Onjo.
“Guys, he doesn’t mean it. He’s just kidding. We have been friends and neighbors since kindergarten, that’s all.“ Onjo explained, making the rest of the students’ bodies become more amused with her denial. The white hoodie girl then returned her focus back to Cheongsan and whispered to him.
“Stop joking.”
“I’m not joking.” Cheongsan uttered as he stared at her. “I liked you everyday for the past 12 years since we were six years old. And I’ll always will.” He added, making Onjo break their eye contact due to feeling overwhelmed.
“Daebak!” Daesu uttered in a low voice after witnessing Cheongsan’s confession.
Then, out of nowhere, Onjo left the group of friends as she went to have some space to think about what happened, leaving Cheongsan behind without any answer from the white hoodie girl. When Areum and Suhyeok spotted Cheongsan’s disappointed face, the pair felt sympathy as they silently stared at the boy in the green vest.
“Cheongsan-ah.” Suhyeok called, making both Cheongsan and Areum look at him.
Areum looked at him with curiosity when the tall boy called the devastated boy. The black haired girl then saw Suhyeok had motioned his head toward Onjo, silently encouraging his close friend to follow the white hoodie girl.
Areum held a small smile when Cheongsan took his close friend’s advise. The boy in the green vest then stood from his sitting position and went to approach Onjo, who was lost in her own thoughts. Once Cheongsan went to approach Onjo and leave his group of friends behind, they began to converse with each other.
“Did you know? I had no idea.” Daesu muttered to his friends.
“You’re the only one who didn’t know.” Hyeryeong uttered as she rolled her eyes at the plump boy.
“Everyone knows?” The plump boy once again questioned.
“Yes. We also know about them.” Hyeryeong stated as she motioned her head toward Areum and Suhyeok’s direction, who was talking with Namra and Wujin.
“Ahh…Them? I already know about it. They have feelings for each other. Especially Suhyeok. We could see it in his eyes and actions whenever that boy was with her. Right, Joonyeong?” Daesu muttered as he waited for Joonyeong to back him up on his statement.
“Yep.” Joonyeong replied.
“Hey, what are you guys talking about? I could hear you mentioning my name from here.” Suhyeok asked after hearing his name come out of his friend’s mouth, causing Areum, Namra and Wujin to stop their conversation as they shifted their attention toward the rest of their friends and waited for their response.
“Umm…We didn’t say your name. I was saying Cheongsan was so cool after confessing to Onjo.” Daesu lied as he grinned to the four students, barely managing to escape from getting caught by the tall boy.
Suhyeok nodded his head, not completely believing the plump boy’s words but he did not press the issue any longer. Daesu sighed in relief when Suhyeok did not question him any longer. Then, remembering the incident earlier where Areum was quite frantic after waking up from her short nap, Daesu took the opportunity to ask the class vice president what was her dream that caused her to panic.
“Areum-ah.” Daesu called, causing the black haired girl to turn her focus to look at the plump boy with curiosity.
“Yes?” Areum uttered, waiting for Daesu to continue.
“What do you dream about that makes you frantic?” The plump boy asked. Suhyeok silently glared at him for asking what she dreamt about while Hyeryeong slapped her hand on Daesu’s arm in warning for not being inconsiderate after watching Areum waking up frantically.
Silence for a long time, Suhyeok turned his head to look at the beauty and he could see that Areum’s posture became stiff as she rapidly blinked her eyes. Shaking her head away while closing her brown eyes from remembering her dream earlier, Areum took a deep breath with her eyes closed before answering the plump boy’s question.
Suhyeok watched with concern as the beauty slowly opened her eyes after taking a deep breath and their eyes immediately found each other. Sending a soft smile toward the boy she likes, Areum shifted her eyes toward Daesu with guilt.
“I’m sorry, Daesu-yah. I’d rather not talk about it. It really feels surreal for me.” Areum admitted as she shifted her eyes toward the warm fire.
“No, it’s my fault. I shouldn't ask you about it. Sorry.” The plump boy apologised before lowering his eyes from embarrassment.
“No, it’s fine. You didn’t know.” The beauty muttered as she tried to reassure her friend about his question. Then, the group of friends begin to talk about random things.
Minutes into their conversation, Areum suddenly became stiff when she could smell an unusual scent through the windy air. The black haired girl quickly placed her hand over her nose, preventing herself from smelling the alluring scent any longer.
“What’s wrong, Rumnie-yah?” Suhyeok asked when he noticed her stiff posture, gaining the other friends’ attention as well.
“You didn’t smell that?” The beauty asked as she frowned her eyebrows when he worriedly stared at her. The tall boy shook his head in reply.
“Smell what?” The tall boy questioned as confusion evidently could be seen in his eyes.
“Namra-yah. Can you smell it?” Areum asked as she turned to look at her close friend, completely ignored Suhyeok’s question as she had a bad feeling after smelling the blood scent coming through the air.
The black haired girl watched as Namra sniffed through the air for the scent. The class president shook her head when she could not smell anything.
“What scent do you catch, Areum-ah?” Suhyeok once again asked when he saw the beauty covering her nose with her hand.
“Blood.” The beauty stated, alerting the rest of her friends. “None of you guys were bleeding, right?” She asked, wanting to know if one of her friends had bleeding after she kept smelling the sweet blood scent.
“It’s getting stronger.” Areum quietly whispered to herself when she saw all of her friends shaking their heads in response to her previous question. However, Suhyeok managed to catch her quiet words, making the tall boy quickly glanced at her direction. Suhyeok observed Areum as the beauty was focusing on searching for where the scent was coming from.
After a few minutes of focusing, Areum was about to give up on searching the source of the scent until she heard the distant clang of metal from the side of the rooftop area where Onjo was currently at. The beauty glanced over at her friend, who distanced herself after hearing Cheongsan’s confession, only to spot Gwinam was hanging onto the wall on the other side of the rooftop.
Areum could hear from where she was sitting that the bully boy was slurping when he saw Onjo as the lower part of his face was covered in blood. Once the Yoon boy climbed over the wall to the rooftop, Areum and Namra immediately stood up from their sitting position as Onjo gasped in surprise at the bully boy's sudden presence.
Without wasting any precious time, Gwinam stalked his way to his nearest target, which would be the white hoodie girl, and quickly pulled her closer by her shoulder while putting his bloody hand against Onjo’s mouth, preventing her letting out any sound to alert the others.
“Onjo!” Cheongsan yelled when he heard the muffled grunts from Onjo, alerting the group of friends as well of the uninvited presence.
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