In the first lecture, Chang Seol tries her best to stay alert and awake. In the second one, she zones out half the time. By the third lecture, she dozes off in the back seat. When she wakes up, she finds herself in an empty lecture hall. Half of the day is gone.
It's a little dark. Yawning, she looks for her bag. "What's this?"
Where did her bag go?
"Eh?" Did someone steal her bag? She walks to the door. "Are you kidding me?"
She pulls it hard. It's locked for real. Did they not see her in the lecture room? How could they lock her inside? She slams the door. "Is someone out there?"
Nobody answers her. She doesn't have her phone either. "Who did this to me?"
Panicking won't help her. Her father always told her that only fools are afraid of darkness. If she stays calm, she can easily find the way out. She needs to find the light switch first.
***
"She hasn't turned on her phone." Mun Soyoon frowns at her phone. The classes are over already. Where did Seol go? She calls Sin Jeong-Hyuk's number until he picks up.
[Who?]
"Oppa." Mun Soyoon's voice is sugary sweet. "We lost Seol."
[What?]
"We can't find her anywhere. Her phone is turned off. Did she come home?" She asks him quietly.
The call is cut off. She puts away the phone with a smile and eats the sandwich.
"What are you playing at?" Sang Hee-Chul narrows his eyes on her. "If you are worried, shouldn't you look for her?"
"I am just keeping my side of the bargain." She tilts her head. "Sang Hee-Chul, how many times have you come across a helpless puppy on the roadside?"
"Who counts these things?" Sang Hee-Chul takes a sip of his coffee. The classes are already over. There are only a few students in the cafeteria.
"How many times have you helped those puppies?" He hears her next question.
"A few times." Sang Hee-Chul replies, "I can't help all of them."
Her coffee is getting colder. She doesn't feel the rush to finish it. "How many times have you ignored them and went on your way?"
Sang Hee-Chul wonders what she's getting at. Mun Soyoon is not a simple person. Sometimes, she scares him. At other times, he finds her intriguing. They are both hopeless though. Both of them can't turn their eyes from the ugly side of the world. Then, art is not about everything beautiful.
"You are thinking of the concept, aren't you?" Sang Hee-Chul leans forward. "Don't get too serious."
She's not serious at all. Mun Soyoon drinks her coffee and makes a face. "It tastes so bad."
"Why did you drink it?" Sang Hee-Chul laughs at her, glancing at her head. "No, you should tell me where did you get that afro? I think that I also need something like that."
Her hair is short, curly, and dark reddish-brown. She looks like she's wearing a hat. He's been laughing since she appeared in university.
"It's good, isn't it?" She smirks at him, patting her hair. "I made a new friend today. He is a trainee beautician."
"Is that so?" He chuckles. "Will he do my hair?"
"I will introduce you to him." She puts her bag over her shoulder. "Let's go. We are going to look for Seol."
***
After nearly an hour, the door is opened. Namgung Yeon-Sik walks in. He turns on the light of his phone and looks for the light switch. After turning on the light, he looks around.
Jeong-Hyuk called and told him to look for her. She didn't appear for his lecture either. Mun Soyoon talked to the first-year students. Someone saw her sleeping in the lecture room. A little while ago, her bag was turned in Chang Seol's bag to the office.
"Is someone here?"
The lecture hall is silent. He wonders if she already left the university. But without her bag and wallet? He frowns hard. Is she becoming a target of pranks already?
In the corner seat, he catches a glimpse of a shoe. He goes to the desk and finds her dead asleep on the seat. He lets out a heavy sigh and calls his friend. "Found her."
Chang Seol's flutter when she hears someone's voice. She slowly opens her eyes. His back is turned toward her. Is it him? She sits up and watches him in a daze.
"I will look into this matter." She hears him speak on the phone. "I know."
He looks over his head, surprised to see her awake. He hangs up the call. "Chang Seol, are you okay?"
Even if she's not okay, she can't say that she's not okay. She gives him a quiet nod, feeling a lump in her throat.
"You must have been shocked." He gives his hand to her. "Can you walk?"
"Yes." She looks at his hand, hesitating to hold it. If she holds that hand, can her ribcage contain her beating heart from flying out of her body? Let's not take that risk. "Professor, thank you for saving me today."
Did he save her? Someone would have come if he hadn't come today. The door was only latched. The guards would have come to check the hall once before locking it at night. She would have been found. But someone did this to her intentionally. "Did you fight with someone recently?"
She shakes her head. She did have a small argument with Old Mister. Furrowing her brows, she looks up at Yeon-Sik. "I fought with Old Mister."
"He won't do this to you," Yeon-Sik assures her. "That person has a good heart."
A good heart? Her face becomes sour. So far, she hasn't been able to see where the 'good' in that old man's heart.
"He has an annoying personality though." Yeon-Sik lets out a laugh when he sees her expression. Such a transparent girl… "Let's go home."
Walking a little behind him, Chang Seol stares at his back. The flu is back. She wonders how it's connected to this person in front of her. She glances at his hand, feeling regretful. She should have held it.