.  Enjoying some green grapes on the table, Eun Jiho replied, “No, once the intro is over, they’ll send out some commercials.”


  “Oh, really?”


  “We didn’t miss it yet. Look.”


  As Eun Jiho turned on the TV and switched the channel, a fried chicken ad was on the screen, just as he said. The logo of in the top left corner came into my view.

  “Oh my God, this isn’t a dream, is it? Holy moly! Unbelievable!!” I made a fuss.

  Watching me jump around in excitement with an apathetic glance, Eun Jiho replied, “Why are you so hyper?”


  “Can you believe that this is real? I don’t at all,” I uttered. Swinging my arms, I continued, “You know, about a year and a half ago, we were watching a drama here, talking about the actors and actresses! But now, Yoo Chun Young is there, on the screen, when we gathered here to see him on the show!”


  “It isn’t strange at all even if he was on the TV at the time.” Eun Jiho responded yet apathetically, then suddenly rolled his eyes. “Oh, but regarding his personality, it’s quite a mystery that he’s been involved in the art of filmmaking, which requires teamwork.”


  He nonchalantly added, “What motivated him to work in the industry?”


  Eun Jiho wasn’t in the business of agreeing with my feelings of astonishment. Plopping down on the floor, I quickly took out my phone.

  When I entered the chat room of Class 2-8, many conversations had already taken place. A bunch of unread messages was waiting for me to keep up with the topic of the night.

  [Lee Mina: OMG, my mom and dad don’t trust me lol Was I supposed to take a picture with Yoo Chun Young as a souvenir?]

  [Yoon Jung In: Me too. I told my parents that I’m kinda close to Yoo Chung Young and Kwon Eun Hyung]

  [Yoon Jung In: They know that we’re going to the same school, but why don’t they believe me?]

  [Suh Hyeri: You’re being perfectly candid, adding the word ‘kinda,’ huh?]

  [Lee Mina: LOLOLOLOL]

  [Jung Siyeon: LMFAO]

  [Yoon Jung In: Lol Ah, come on, for real!]

  [Yoon Jung In: Didn’t you guys see us talking in the back during every PE class?]

  [Suh Hyeri: Eun Hyung, if you’re annoyed, don’t hesitate, just say it!]

  [Jung Siyeon: We’re by your side!]

  [Yoon Jung In: Oh lord]

  [Yoon Jung In: Do you want me to invite Eun Hyung to this chatroom? I will!]

  [Yoon Jung In: Not joking!]

  [Suh Hyeri: Nooo! I’m wearing no makeup.]

  [Lee Mina: LOLOLOLOL]

  [Yoon Jung In: LOL]

  [Jung Siyeon: Hey, we aren’t doing FaceTime lol Did she just say no makeup? LMFAO]

  [Lee Mina: I’m laughing like crazy lol]

  Reading and scrolling down the texts until that point, I barely moved my fingers to type a message.

  [Ham Donnie: Hi……]

  [Yoon Jung In: Oh!!]

  Their responses returned immediately such as where I’d been from six in the afternoon, where I was, or if I was watching the first episode of Yoo Chun Young’s TV drama.

  Facing a fusillade of questions, I replied to them one after another––Ban Yeo Ryung and my families decided to throw a watch party at my house, so we set the table with food, ordered fried chickens, and were now waiting in the living room.

  [Yoon Jung In: Wow, it was true…… that you guys have been living next doors since you’re born. Amazing!]

  [Lee Mina: Exactly]

  [Lee Mina: So jealous of you]

  [Kim Hye Hill: Yeah…… when I was born]

  [Kim Hye Hill: I found myself living with my enemy]

  [Lee Mina: LOLOLOLOL]

  [Jung Siyeon: LMFAO]

  [Yoon Jung In: Kim Hye Woo getting nuked lol]

  [Kim Hye Woo: Woman, what have I done to you?!]

  [Kim Hye Woo: Ah, Ham Donnie, you might be feeling so weird]

  [Kim Hye Woo: Cuz you guys have been friends since middle school]

  I slowly typed in my message again.

  [Ham Donnie: Uh-huh…… If someone slaps me on the face]

  [Ham Donnie: I think I’m gonna wake up from my dream]

  [Lee Mina: I feel you]

  [Lee Mina: If it was me, I would’ve already cried;;]

  [Ham Donnie: True, I’m holding back my tears]

  [Lee Mina: LOL]

  The moment I smiled aimlessly, looking at my phone screen, someone’s voice came over from behind my shoulders.

  “What are you doing?”


  It was Yeo Dan oppa, who asked me the question in a soft tone. Just until now, he was in the bathroom to wash his face.

  ‘Since when has he been sitting there?’ I wondered.

  Lifting my head, I looked up at him and replied, “I was talking with my friends. They all said, it’s unbelievable.”


  “Really?”


  “Uh-huh. All their parents won’t believe them taking the same class as Yoo Chun Young. So, they’re wondering if they should have taken a picture with him as a souvenir.”


  Squinting my nose, I giggled, “They’re so funny.” However, my eyes widened as I found him showing no reactions to my words.

  “Oppa?”


  Until that moment, Yeo Dan oppa was gently massaging the back of my shoulder. He suddenly stood up and replied, “Sit over here, not on the floor.”


  “Huh? Uh, no thanks. You’re my guest today, and I feel comfortable sitting here.”


  When I was alone at home, I usually had my meals on the living room table, taking a seat on the floor.

  As I looked around, only my parents and Yeo Ryung’s parents were sitting on the four-seater sofa. Yeo Dan oppa was taking a seat on the ottoman. The rest of the folks were on the floor, pulling their knees into their arms or with their legs crossed. Sometimes eating the fruit slices on the tray, they were watching the commercials.

  Placing his hand back on my shoulder, Yeo Dan oppa uttered, “Still……”


  “Thanks, but I’m really fine.”


  He tilted his head for a second, then came down to the floor to sit beside me.

  Sitting too close with our arms attached, I slightly worried, ‘Will it be okay?’ Thankfully, both our parents paid all their attention to the TV screen.

  “Oh, it’s about to start.”


  After all the commercials, the PG-15 sign appeared, at last. While I murmured, looking at it, someone from beside me stealthily grabbed my hand.

  I flinched in surprise but tried hard not to look so obvious. Carefully rolling my eyes, I stared at Yeo Dan oppa.

  ‘What’s going on with him?’ I thought. Usually, he wouldn’t have even sat next to me in order to thoroughly hide our relationship.

  When I turned my eyes over the table, Eun Jiho, who didn’t look that interested in the drama in the first place, was throwing a glance at our side. He paused, taking the green grape off the stem.

  Just in case that his glance could get my parents to look in this direction, I mouthed to him, ‘Face the front.’


  Eun Jiho turned his head away from us. However, he couldn’t stop himself from directing his eyes to this side from time to time.

  His attitude was getting on my nerves, but once the drama finally began, I couldn’t pay attention to him anymore.

  As I turned my head toward the TV screen, only some fabric with a rough surface came into view. As if it was blocking the person’s eye and mouth, there were some moaning sounds from the speaker. When the person’s sight shook up and down, the pale light from the bulb and the scenery outside flashed through the fabric.

  However, it was overall too fragmentary to get more information. All we could see was a ripped, useless green flag, gray cement walls, and some plywood walls.

  At that moment, a voice echoed around our ears in layers like a hallucination.

  “Hye Suh, can you hear me? Where are you?”


  “Unnie……”


  “Where are you, Hye Suh……? Where are you?”


  “Unnie, I’m scared. Help me, please, save me……”


  “Hye Suh, you know that you’re never alone.”


  After a short pause, the desperate voice continued.

  “I can hear what you hear. I can see what you see. I can feel what you feel.”


  That was when the sight changed with a splashing noise. The fabric covering the eyes got off; jade green bubbles blocked our view. The woman’s body slowly drowned in the deep water.

  “Hye Suh! Hye Suh!”


  “Yeon Suh unnie……”


  “Hye Suh!”


  Then a voice resonated around the screen, which sounded utterly unsuitable in the urgent situation.

  “Cho Yeon Suh.”


  The scene changed all of a sudden. A woman, dozing off with her head against the window, perked her eyes up at the call.

  She was wearing a baseball cap over her disheveled brown hair. She had dark circles that looked almost black under her eyes. Making matters worse, she had chocolate sauce and sugar powers around her lips.

  Staring at the woman, I heaved a deep sigh involuntarily. How could she look so stunning even with that look? It was just admirable.

  Around that time, everyone in the living room seemed to be throwing a glance at Jooin’s face. Perhaps they had the same thought as mine.