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All content is unrelated to reality.
< Watching with bgm makes it more immersive.>
Lee Han "Shh, it’s me, Hana"
It was Lee Han.
Lee Han covered my mouth and dragged me down behind the rock, face-first.
Mud touched my cheek.
My heart was pounding so hard it felt like the sound might cut through the rain.
A flashlight beam swept across the forest.
Tree trunks, bushes, right above the rock where we were hiding
White light skimmed over a single strand of hair.
Principal "It must be a beast"
Low, and without emotion
It was the principal’s voice.
Principal "There have been a lot of deer coming down from the north lately"
Teacher Yoon didn’t answer.
Instead, footsteps drew closer.
Splash, splash
The sound of wet earth being stepped on, one step at a time, toward the rock
Lee Han’s hand tightened around my wrist.
He was shaking too, Lee Han was
The footsteps stopped right in front of the rock.
I couldn’t breathe.
Rainwater ran down the back of my neck.
One second felt like an hour.
Principal "Yoon"
The principal called out.
Principal "It’s time for the ferry"
Only after a long while did the footsteps fade away.
The flashlight beam shrank toward the edge of the forest, then disappeared.
Lee Han "Now"
Lee Han whispered.
We hunched over and crawled the other way.
Wet bushes scratched our arms.
A branch caught on my sleeve and scraped my wrist as it passed, but I didn’t look back.
I couldn’t see it.
So I didn’t know.
That on the end of that branch, a star-shaped knot bracelet had been left hanging there
Where Lee Han dragged me was the old wood shed behind the dormitory.
The moment I shut the door, my legs gave out.
I sank down, leaning against the pile of firewood.
Only then did my whole body start trembling.
It wasn’t because I was cold.
Hana "Yu-ri unnie… said to save her…."
The words wouldn’t come out all the way.
Lee Han crouched in front of me and brushed back my wet bangs.
His face was as quiet as ever, but the corners of his eyes were red.
Lee Han "I know. I heard it too"
Hana "Why were you there?"
Lee Han was silent for a moment.
Only the sound of rain beating on the shed roof filled the air.
Lee Han "I saw it two years ago too"
I held my breath.
Lee Han "It rained that day at the graduation two years ago too. I just wanted to see my senior off, so I secretly followed…
There was that door, and my senior went in"
Lee Han’s voice cracked very slightly.
Lee Han "It was the same then, exactly the same as today"
Hana "Then why, why didn’t you tell anyone?"
Lee Han "I did"
Lee Han lifted his head.
Lee Han "I told Jae-hyun hyung everything that night
Hyung believed me, and said we should look for a way together"
Hana "But…?"
Lee Han "The next morning, I asked again, and hyung laughed"
The inside of the shed felt frozen solid.
Lee Han "He said, 'Did you have a dream?' and he remembered everything else, but he couldn’t remember that part"
I clutched the inside pocket of my school uniform.
Wet paper touched my fingertips.
Yu-ri 'Hana, don’t drink the Wolmyeong tea'
Lee Han "Since then I haven’t drunk it. I pretend to drink it, then pour it into a flowerpot"
Lee Han looked straight into my eyes.
Lee Han "Don’t drink it either, or tomorrow morning you’ll be fuzzy about what you saw today too"
Lee Han "And go in first today. If you show up at the cafeteria with that face, they’ll all know"
I went back into the dorm through the back door, still in my wet uniform.
The evening bell rang, but I didn’t go down.
From beyond the door, I heard Unhak ask if noona was sick or something.
I just said I’d gotten a bit of a fever.
I covered my mouth under the blanket so my voice wouldn’t shake.
That night, I couldn’t fall asleep for a long time.
Whenever I closed my eyes, all I could hear was Yu-ri unnie’s voice.
Only when the window outside began to dimly brighten did I finally drift off.
It was near dawn.
At the end of the hallway, there was a creak.
The sound of someone stepping on the wooden stairs
Once, and then again
Someone was going down very carefully.
The next morning, it was raining again.
The cafeteria was noisy as usual.
Unhak burst into my room again, and Seongho complained about the side dishes.
There were cups on every table.
On the morning after graduation day, Wolmyeong tea always came out once more.
Yoon teacher always said that everyone must have felt empty yesterday, every year.
The scent of honey tickled the tip of my nose.
It had been my favorite smell of the day until the day before yesterday.
Unhak emptied his cup and laughed.
Seongho raised his hand and asked for another cup.
Jae-hyun too, Tae-san too, Ryu too
They all drank it as if nothing was wrong.
I just sat there quietly, both hands wrapped around my cup.
To the flowerpot by the window was three steps
Teacher Yoon was slowly walking between the tables with the kettle in hand.
Unhak "Noona, you’re not drinking?"
Unhak, sitting next to me, peered into my cup.
Unhak "You didn’t even eat dinner yesterday because you were sick. Drink this at least"
Hana “…It’s too hot”
Unhak "Then should I drink it for you?"
Unhak reached out playfully.
Without thinking, I pulled the cup toward me.
Unhak’s eyes went wide, then he pouted.
Unhak "So mean"
In the meantime, Teacher Yoon had come up to our table.
Teacher Yoon "Hana, has your fever come down a little?"
Hana "Yes, I’m fine"
Teacher Yoon "Good, drink it while it’s warm. That’ll help you get better"
The teacher passed by with a smile.
But it felt like the hand holding the kettle had paused over my cup for just a moment.
The instant the teacher turned back toward the kitchen
I turned toward the flowerpot by the window and, without anyone noticing, tilted my cup and poured out the tea.
From across the way, Lee Han gave the slightest nod.
Just then, the cafeteria door opened again.
It was Teacher Yoon, who I’d thought had gone into the kitchen.
The cafeteria went quiet.
The teacher slowly walked between our tables, then set something down on the frontmost table.
Thud
A star-shaped knot bracelet, stained with wet mud
I reflexively grabbed my wrist.
It was empty.
Teacher Yoon "I picked this up in the northern forest this morning"
Teacher Yoon’s voice was gentle.
As always
Teacher Yoon "It was something Yu-ri treasured, but it looks like she lost it before leaving"
"I wonder if someone went into the forest and dropped it?"
No one answered.
The teacher’s eyes swept across the tables row by row.
Jae-hyun, Seongho, Tae-san, Ryu, Unhak, Lee Han
And me
The teacher’s eyes stopped on me for just a moment.
Teacher Yoon "Good, then that’s fine"
The teacher smiled.
And clapped once.
Teacher Yoon "I have some good news
This year, there will be an extra graduation"
The cafeteria stirred.
Someone cheered.
Unhak shook my arm and asked excitedly, "Noona, who do you think it’ll be among us?"
I couldn’t answer.
Teacher Yoon "The extra graduation ceremony is in seven days."
Hello, this is Hiki!
If you enjoyed it, please leave a like!
I’ve been serializing it on Pota first, so I’m posting it on FanPlus a little laterㅠ
I’ll try to keep it quick!
Thank you always!
