In fact, although she was happy to hear Kang Mo’s voice and receive his call, she couldn’t entirely rejoice.

The more time she spent with Kang Mo, the more she felt like she was stepping into an inescapable quagmire. Unknown emotions seemed to entwine her ankles, constantly dragging her into the deep swamp.

Just from his voice transmitted through the receiver, from the laughter flowing into her ears, her heart palpitated violently, clearly revealing its presence, and her entire being was stirred uncontrollably by some anticipation. She didn’t know why her heart was shaken to its roots like this.

The signals sent by her body, more honest than reason, were unusual. Should she continue to ignore it and let her heart flow as it is…? Is it really okay to do that? Her weakened mind suddenly put the brakes on.

The face of her friend that kept appearing without reason, the memory of that day that couldn’t be erased. The guilt that came to her whenever she was about to forget once again caught Seo Hee’s heavy ankles and sank her heart.

Is it because the scenery is unusually similar to that day…?

Fragments of painful memories that she never wanted to recall again, that she had constantly tried not to recall, rushed at her mercilessly, taking Seo Hee back to a certain day in her third year of high school.

[This is the timeline separator]

It was a morning when the land that had been shriveled up all winter was sprouting, when young green buds were rising on every tree, at the dimly brightening dawn, with the unmistakable scent of spring permeating the exceptionally clear air and sky.

On a day when her heart fluttered at the scent of spring carried on the warm breeze, she thought she wanted to go somewhere on a whim, but reality brought Seo Hee to the bus stop to go to school.

It was the day of the first test of her senior year, when she couldn’t just be excited by the spring breeze.

Sitting by the window in the very back of the bus, Seo Hee’s gaze was momentarily captured by the awakening spring scenery rushing past the window, but she soon came to her senses and spread out her summary notes on the bag she was holding.

Once this test is over, she will be able to fully enjoy this spring. She barely suppressed her excited heart with anticipation.

Seo Hee usually became oblivious to her surroundings once she focused on studying. It was common for her not to notice even if someone called her, showing a frightening level of concentration, but that day was a little different from usual.

The summary notes weren’t easily registering in her eyes, and eventually her hearing focused on the radio that she normally wouldn’t even listen to.

It was when she was trying to concentrate her mind to look at her notes again after paying attention to the news she heard.

[We bring you unfortunate news.]

It was just one sentence, but it was enough to distract Seo Hee. Her eyes flickered for a moment.

[This morning, at an apartment in Seoul, an accident occurred where a female high school senior jumped to her death. L, a student at a girls’ high school, was found collapsed at around 4 a.m. by a security guard patrolling the apartment. L was transferred to a nearby hospital by 119 but died. The police…]

While listening to the continuing report, Seo Hee shivered at the eerie sensation of her spine growing cold. Although she also attended a girls’ high school, there wasn’t only her school that fit that description. Nevertheless, for some unknown reason, she felt that the student’s school might be her own.

Seo Hee tended to accept death as something that could happen to anyone at any time and took it in stride. But perhaps because it was the death of someone her age, she felt unusually uneasy that day.

Why did that student die? Was it because of the pressure of exams, or did she have other problems? Her heart ached strangely and felt disturbed by the report that only mentioned she left a short suicide note without revealing its contents.

With such an unsettled heart, she went to school, but her friend Joo Yeon, who was supposed to come early, was nowhere to be seen.

The clock hands turned relentlessly, and while gazing at the sky outside the classroom window that brightened from dim to incomparably clear and sunny, Seo Hee’s heart beat anxiously for some reason.

It must be because she heard the unfortunate news in the morning. If it had been a student from their school, there would have already been a commotion. But the school was quiet as usual, and she inwardly felt relieved and tried hard to suppress the inexplicable anxiety.

Why wasn’t her friend coming today of all days? Was she going to be late, which she rarely did, or was she sick somewhere, or did something happen at home? All sorts of thoughts crossed her mind.

In the end, Joo Yeon didn’t show up even by the time of the school assembly, and the anxiety she had tried to suppress rose up again.

When it was time for the assembly, their homeroom teacher came in. The taciturn middle-aged male teacher held the assembly as usual and gave a brief word of advice about the test. After finishing his speech, the teacher wrote the class size, attendance, and a brief test schedule on the blackboard as it was a test day.

Capacity 23, attendance 23.

Seo Hee’s face contorted. Even on normal days, the teacher often mistook the capacity and the students had to correct him, but such a mistake was not at all welcome on a day like today.

There are other things to make mistakes on. How many students are there that he can’t even memorize the class size by now? Complaints came out naturally.

While the classmates were laughing, one of them pointed out the teacher’s mistake. On a normal day, she, as the class president, would have done this herself.

“Teacher, our class capacity is 24. Joo Yeon hasn’t arrived yet, so the current attendance is 23.”

As soon as the classmate finished speaking, the students who had been holding back laughter burst out laughing, but Seo Hee couldn’t laugh.

She fervently hoped that the teacher would smile and correct it, saying “Oops,” and jokingly tell them, “You’ll get old too, I even struggle to find things I’m holding in my hand.”

But for some reason, unlike usual, the teacher didn’t take any action. He simply lifted his head that he had lowered for a moment, looked at Seo Hee, and spoke softly.

“Class president, can you see me for a moment?”

Instantly, a chill spread through Seo Hee’s back and her pupils trembled finely. The ominous premonition reared its head again. Although she hadn’t confirmed anything yet, her body, sensing the anxiety, reacted first.

It felt like all the blood had drained from her body, and her hands grew cold. Her legs trembled, and she thought her body was shaking, and eventually, cold sweat soaked her entire body and dizziness set in.

Seo Hee, who had turned as white as a blank sheet of paper, didn’t know with what state of mind she got up from her seat. She just followed the teacher who left the classroom first, dragging her feet as heavy as if she were wearing lead.

“Hey, what’s wrong with our homeroom teacher?”

“I know, why isn’t he changing the capacity?”

“Class president? Seo Hee, Baek Seo Hee.”

She couldn’t hear her classmates calling her at all. Someone grabbed her wrist, but without even being aware of it, she headed towards the door at the back of the classroom without stopping.

Going outside, the teacher was waiting for her.

As soon as she saw the teacher’s sympathetic gaze, tears welled up in her eyes without her knowing. Before the teacher could even open his mouth, Seo Hee shook her head violently.

“No. It can’t be. It won’t be. Teacher… no. Absolutely not, Joo Yeon absolutely can’t.”

She couldn’t bring herself to say the word ‘death,’ afraid that if she did, it would truly become reality. Her vision blurred. Everything she saw was submerged in the hot tears that welled up, wavering hazily.

“I want to believe it’s not true too, but… I’m sorry.”

Even when her father passed away, even when her maternal grandmother passed away, she didn’t receive such a big shock, but the completely unexpected death of her friend was unbearable.

The moment the ominous premonition became reality, an indescribable pain engulfed her. A terrible pain came as if someone was grasping her heart and beating it arbitrarily, and she hurriedly covered her mouth to stifle the scream that threatened to escape.

A large hand touched her shoulder. She despaired at the silently tapping touch.

She had thought it couldn’t be. Although it was a student with the same initials at the same school, she believed without a doubt that it wouldn’t be her friend, that it wouldn’t be her closest friend.

Although her heart trembled with unfounded anxiety, although her mind was disturbed by an unknowable premonition, she thought it wouldn’t be you, Joo Yeon, it shouldn’t be, it absolutely mustn’t be…

The two were known as best friends at school. Even when their classes were separated in the second year, they unfailingly found each other’s classrooms during breaks. They habitually met and talked when they arrived at school, and of course at lunch, and the two were always together even when leaving school.

They delivered notes to each other through friends and saw each other every break, and they even met on weekends. Despite such frequent visits, they also wrote handwritten letters to each other.

People said they were eccentric. How could a friendship be so poignant? They even joked that they were a couple, but they could respond to such words with laughter, close enough to be at ease with each other. That’s how precious they were to one another.

How could you leave? Joo Yeon, how could you leave me like this?

She collapsed in front of the unbelievable reality.

She thought she could be indifferent to death. Growing up seeing many deaths directly and indirectly at a young age, she thought it was a word that wouldn’t be strange no matter when it struck or to whom, but it shouldn’t have been you.

Joo Yeon, of all people, and a death you chose yourself, shouldn’t have been.

Why, why on earth did you do that?

Joo Yeon was a bright friend. She was introverted and didn’t have many friends, but she was kinder to Seo Hee than anyone else and was a friend who was straightforwardly cheerful.

Such Joo Yeon, a friend who was so bright and innocent, she couldn’t believe she would do such a terrible thing.

What on earth happened to Joo Yeon?

Did her friend’s face look depressed lately, did it look sad, did she show signs of struggling? Or did she show any signs of a hurting heart, even slightly? No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t easily recall her friend’s expression or appearance.

The teacher, unable to bear the sight of Seo Hee trembling as if in a state of shock, shook her shoulders.

“Seo Hee? Baek Seo Hee, are you okay?”

It felt like her ears were submerged in the deep sea. The lowly vibrating voice that hummed was gradually increasing in volume.