Detention was boring as hell, obviously.
Ms. Keira wasn't even there, like always. Yejun spent about ten minutes doodling and writing fake death threats in his notebook. For example: "Ms. Keira, if I vanish, know it was you. Signed, your most unbothered student." Wow. Rebellious phase much? It didn't take long for Doyun to show up, late, of course, but whatever. And obviously, the second he walked in, he started being annoying. "Oh darling—" Doyun smirked, not even finishing his sentence yet, waiting for Yejun to react. But Yejun was trying to ignore him. Keyword: trying. "—Guess where we're going today?" Yejun didn't even need to guess. He slammed his notebook shut and stood up.
"Oh, trust me. I remember. We go there every day." Doyun smiled. "Wow, do we?" Yejun rolled his eyes. Still trying to ignore him. They made it to the fifth floor—again. And as usual, Yejun felt weird for not listening to Nari. They really came here almost every day. But today, right before reaching the door, something stopped them.
Well… something.
In the corner, there was a guy curled up in a ball, sobbing like crazy. Like full-on ugly crying. Tears everywhere. Shirt soaked in snot and tears. Dude couldn't even breathe from how hard he was crying.
Damn. What happened to him? Doyun was about to just walk past, but Yejun grabbed his collar and pulled him back. Doyun side-eyed him and whispered, "Yejun, come on. What if he's just being dramatic?" Yejun hissed back, "What if he knows something?" Doyun rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. I don't care." He tried to walk again, but Yejun yanked him back harder.
"You're not going anywhere, bitch." After a few more attempts, Doyun finally gave up and leaned against the wall, annoyed. Yejun walked up to the crying guy. God. Can't this dude cry in his dorm? Whatever. Sometimes Yejun wishes he felt bad for people like this… but he didn't. Not really. Remorse and guilt? He didn't know what that felt like. "Yo, what's your name?" he asked. No answer. "Hey. I said—what's your name?"
Still nothing.
Yejun clenched his jaw. "Listen, I asked you. What's your fucking name?"
His voice was sharp now. Still, the guy didn't respond—until he slowly looked up.
Damn. His eyes were so red. Like he'd been crying for hours.
He tried to talk, but his mouth just opened and closed like he physically couldn't. Eventually, in the most broken voice ever, he whispered, "K-k-k-Kort…" Kort? Damn. Pretty unique name. "Alright. I'm Yejun."
He held his hand out for a shake. To his surprise, Kort actually took it. They stayed quiet for a moment before Yejun asked the obvious question. "Why are you crying? What happened?" Kort, who had calmed a little, started crying even harder. Yejun sighed. Guess everyone needs to break down sometimes. Through choking sobs, Kort finally got out, "M-my… m-my… I-I… My sister" he stopped for a second "she's… d-dead…" Yejun's stomach dropped. Wait. Did he just say—?
"Wait. Kort… is your sister the student that was killed?" Kort covered his face with his hands and nodded. Yejun's head was spinning. "Do you know anything about it though?" "N-n-no… no…" Kort mumbled. Yejun looked over at Doyun, and—are you kidding? Bro was trying to hold back laughter?! Like damn. Yejun might not have cared that much either, but laughing? Wild behavior. "Kort, get up. Go wash your face," Yejun said, offering a hand again. After a few seconds, Kort took it. They started walking toward the bathroom—it was close. So was the door, now that Yejun thought about it. But Kort didn't even glance at it. Huh. Maybe he really didn't know anything. Doyun followed behind, probably just looking for an excuse to try out some new spell.
Yejun noticed Kort's steps were super unsteady. Could've been from exhaustion, but it reminded him of someone… oh right. One of his old teachers back in the normal world.
The normal world. Sometimes Yejun wondered what was going on back there. But mostly, he wondered how his mom could just… not care. Maybe she just didn't have a way to reach him? Nah. He knew that wasn't true.
In the bathroom, Kort splashed water on his face. He'd calmed down a bit now, and Yejun could finally see his features clearly. Grayish eyes. Dark hair. Light freckles. His uniform was from the Light Magic section, duh, but he had it totally customized. Rolled-up sleeves, arms covered in colorful bracelets, fun shoes with chains, and even some cute hair clips.
It actually matched him. Whatever.
"So, Kort. You're sure you don't know shit?"
Kort nodded. "Yeah…"
He turned to leave, tripping over absolutely nothing.
"W-well—I-I-I'll go now…" Yejun watched him leave. Huh.
Strange kid. But honestly? Kind of nice. Doyun looked around. "Damn. I'm surprised he really didn't know anything." "I know, right?" Yejun replied. But Doyun was already walking out, hands in his pockets. So rude. The walk back to the dorms was dead silent. Nothing happened. Only when Yejun flopped into bed did he realize—
They never even talked about the notes. Whatever. The less they thought about it, the better. No, it wouldn't get better. But… whatever. That night, Yejun hoped for decent sleep. Lately, the nightmares had stopped.
But not tonight.
The dream came back.
This time—it continued.
Yejun was 11 years old again. His mom came home drunk. Nothing new. But this time… in one hand, she held a beer bottle.
In the other—a gun.
"N-no… mom… please d-don't…"
But it was too late. Right before it happened, Yejun jolted in his sleep. He didn't wake up.
But it was already morning.
Friday.
Astronomy class was at night.
Should he just skip?
______________________________________________
-Author
Thanks for reading this chapter!