.  Eun Hyung continued, “.…… He turned around nonchalantly and descended toward us. I tried to observe the look on his face, but his disheveled hair was covering most of his eyes, and since he sank his head on his chest, I couldn’t see his facial expression at all.”


  “So what happened next?” I asked.

  Eun Hyung shrugged, “He tried to walk past us, but Eunmi was still trembling until that moment while holding my sleeves. Besides, Eunmi seems to look much younger than him, so he paused his steps for a second and apologized for surprising her, then he left. That’s all.”


  Throwing a glance at the top of the staircase where Ban Hwee Hyul had disappeared, I uttered, “Then, just now at the PE class……”


  “Something like that has happened, which is hard to forget. Besides, the place was inside a hospital, so I can’t seem to shut my mind off you know……”


  Speaking that way, Eun Hyung disheveled his hair as if he felt bewildered. Watching him behaving like that, I also nodded from having some mixed feelings.

  So far from what I had seen just now, it wasn’t something that acrobatic for Ban Hwee Hyul, who seemed to have athletic abilities as superb as Yi Ruda, to sit down on the outside of the rooftop balustrade. However, Eun Hyung would have no idea about the situation, so many things would definitely spring up within him.

  Besides, the fact that the happening took place inside the hospital also seemed to matter. I rubbed my chin.

  Since I seldom went to hospitals except for some local clinics, it was my first time to visit a substantial medical center that mostly appeared in TV dramas. From this experience, I got to learn that Balhae Hospital, where Eunmi was being hospitalized, was a tertiary center. Thus, something called a referral was required from a primary care provider to get diagnosed and receive medical services in the center.

  Local clinics mostly wrote referrals for the patient in the first place to go see the doctors in a general hospital if they couldn’t handle the situation. In this aspect, there were two possibilities why Ban Hwee Hyul was wandering around the tertiary center.

  First, he might be suffering from a severe illness that required surgery, or else, someone he knew could be a patient in that hospital just like Eun Hyung.

  ‘Is it then because of his brother?’ I said to myself. Recalling the hidden story about the missing nationwide Number 1 that I got to hear last time, I cast down my eyes. Ban Hwee Hyul’s brother was being hospitalized in a coma.

  I wondered, ‘Was his brother then also a patient in Balhae Hospital?’ At that moment, Eun Hyung called me out of the blue.

  “Ah, Donnie. Now I come to think of it when you called me earlier……”


  “Uh-huh?”


  “You asked me if I knew anything about Ban Hwee Hyul, right?”


  “Um, yeah, but the kid you grabbed before…… his name is Ban Hwee Hyul.”


  Since we were in neighboring classes, I responded that way without hesitation while assuming that Eun Hyung would also know about this much sooner or later. However, the look on Eun Hyung’s face became more serious than before.

  Glancing at the spot where Ban Hwee Hyul left, Eun Hyung murmured, “The hospital…… his name…… no…… no, it’s not. His height, physique, and appearance aren’t…… at all……”


  According to what Eun Hyung just said, he might seem to grasp the identity of Ban Hwee Hyul soon.

  Suddenly, Eun Hyung pulled himself together and said to me, “Ah, I just asked you since it was a little lingering in mind. Nothing special. Anyway, we’re gonna be late.”


  Eun Hyung’s attitude clearly looked like he still wanted to let us not get involved in these kinds of things. Something then entered my head all of a sudden. Lately, I had been searching for Ban Hwee Hyul here and there such as inside the cafeteria or snack bar. Due to those memories, I couldn’t help but smile awkwardly.

  ‘Oh, I should just get my mind off of that thing for Eun Hyung and his efforts……’ Promising to myself, I quickly climbed up the stairs with them.

  Unlike the past, our classes were right next door, so we got to bid farewell when we were almost at the end of our way to our classrooms. The moment I was about to step inside my class, Eun Hyung, who was also trying to fling open the front door of Class 2-7, turned his head to look at me with a grin.

  “Donnie, you know that we have a nationwide mock exam on Friday, right?” he asked.

  “Yeah, I do,” I replied but didn’t know why he brought up this topic out of the blue, so I was a little confused and felt bitter at the same time. If I didn’t study anything, it would rather be fine. However, I made a fuss like going to cram school, which I didn’t attempt before. In order to make some progress and show people that I could achieve good results, I was feeling nervous even more.

  Eun Hyung uttered still with a smile, “Wish that day comes ASAP.”


  “What?” I asked. My eyes opened wide this time. Was he saying that he wanted the mock exam day to come as soon as possible? Was it his way of expressing confidence?

  However, Eun Hyung wasn’t the type of character who put meanings in academic performances. Besides, his test scores or GPAs were always stable and excellent just like his state of mind.

  ‘What is it then?’ While I was surrounded by confusion, the bell rang, which made me soon dash into the classroom in a hurry.

  The breaktime was too short for me to change clothes. Since I was the only one who was still wearing gym clothes instead of the school uniform, the teacher pointed out my outfit. Except for that, it was a regular day.

  Tuesday and Wednesday went smoothly too.

  Honestly, it was something slightly unexpected. I mean, it was, of course, great to have such run-of-the-mill days, but considering that this was my most desperate wish as a high school student, it felt a little sad.

  Anyway, it wasn’t bad for me though. According to the atmosphere during the PE class that day, I had thought that something big would occur in the near future.

  What Yi Ruda said during the dinner party on the first day of the new school year also played a part in my concerns.

  ‘You’ll see that there’s gonna be, at least, one thing happening in our class.’


  ‘And the victim would be someone who remains alone even after a week.’


  Someone who remains alone even after a week…… Ban Hwee Hyul was indeed the one.

  He had been the easiest prey to Hwang Siwoo and even provoked his anger. Still, nothing took place, which seemed like a calm before the storm for some reason.

  And finally, it was Thursday.

  On the day before the nationwide mock exam, I decided to go to school an hour earlier than usual since I could have a self-studying session for about an hour and a half. The classroom would be quiet, so it would be better to concentrate on my studies.

  I felt sorry to also wake both Yeo Dan oppa and Yeo Ryung up early in the morning. Thus, I told them I would go to school alone just for today. They first said that they would follow me since they were early birds; however, as I mentioned that it was only for today, they agreed to my decision in the end. Besides, taking a good night’s sleep was significant for the day of the exam, so I would go to school on time that day.

  In this regard, I got to arrive at school alone earlier than usual. The campus was very silent that nothing seemed to exist, which was quite embarrassing to walk around, but it wasn’t that frightening and weird. Well, I actually built an immune system toward something scary and strange from the abandoned school experience last time.

  When I climbed up the stairs without hesitation and opened the classroom door, a dead silence, utterly unimaginable when there were full of kids inside, greeted me.

  ‘Hmm, good to study alone then,’ I thought while setting up the desk with my workbooks to prepare to study. Next, I slowly walked around the empty classroom as if I was an actress getting ready to perform on the stage. Placing my hand on the windowsill, I looked down at the schoolyard, which was also vacant as well.

  The moment I tried to return to my seat while feeling that now it was enough to enjoy the quiet mood, a backpack hanging on the side of the desk nearby came into my sight.

  My eyes opened wide. Did someone come to school earlier than me?

  Observing the seat for a second, I soon realized that it belonged to Ban Hwee Hyul. The look on my face turned even more severe.

  Sorry to say, but Ban Hwee Hyul was always confused about my name and didn’t carry his textbooks at all, which even surprised other classmates. Thus, he would have not come to school early to study. Then, why……?

  Rubbing my chin nervously, I suddenly came up with something in mind. Quickly lifting my head, I hesitated for a moment but soon dashed out of the classroom.

  I stood in the hallway and glanced around to check the direction, then ran toward the women’s bathroom immediately. According to the structure of the school that I was aware of, right underneath the window of the woman’s bathroom was the garbage dump.

  As soon as I opened the door of the women’s bathroom, the cold morning air welcomed me without any bad odors. Looking up at the window beside the sink, I quickly pulled the plastic bucket, which was placed upside down next to the basin, toward the front of the window, then put my foot on it.