A languid summer day stretched beneath a sky so clear it seemed almost unreal—no clouds, only a vast, endless blue. The sun burned gold and heavy, pouring warmth over everything it touched. Droplets of water scattered across the lush green lawn, each one catching the light and flashing like tiny diamonds before vanishing into the grass.
Nau Rin shielded her eyes from the piercing brightness with a pair of thin-framed sunglasses. A light, soft hat rested low on her forehead, and over it she wore large headphones that hummed with music. She moved gently with the rhythm, her body swaying almost unconsciously as she guided the sprinkler from one end of the lawn to the other. The stream of water arched through the air, forming a fleeting rainbow that shimmered and dissolved, cooling the thick, sun-drenched afternoon.
Then, faintly, as if woven into the music or carried by the wind, she thought she heard her name. She paused, slipping off her headphones, and turned. Her mother stood there, holding a small box.
"Take this to Minho's mother," she said.
Nau Rin gave a quiet nod. "Okay."
She shut off the water, set her headphones neatly by the window, and stepped outside, making her way down the familiar path.
Minho's mother welcomed her with a bright, familiar warmth, ushering her inside as though she had always belonged there. She guided Nau Rin to the table, placing a sandwich and a glass of fruit juice in front of her before sitting down across from her.
"It's hot outside, isn't it? Make sure you drink something," she said gently.
As Nau Rin nodded with a warm smile, she settled in like she was in her own home. She took a generous bite of her sandwich, enjoying the flavor without any hurry.
Just then, the door to the room opened—
—and Minho stepped out.
Minho asked, glancing at her.
"What are you doing here?"
Before she could answer, his mother cut in, her tone lightly scolding.
"What kind of question is that? Can't she come over?... You kids have all grown up, you hardly visit each other anymore."
Minho opened the fridge, grabbed something, and took a bite before shrugging.
"Alright, alright, I get it. She can come whenever she wants. She could even move in if she likes."
His mother shot him a sharp look, and he immediately fell quiet.
When Nau Rin followed Minho into his room, she was met with a space that hovered somewhere between disorder and intention—too composed to be called messy, yet too unsettled to feel truly neat. It was the kind of room that revealed more the longer one looked at it.
She moved to sit on the floor, but Minho stopped her.
"Just sit on the bed. The floor's dirty."
Still, she lingered beside it, unmoving.
Minho glanced at her, let out a short sigh, and pushed himself up from his chair.
"You're something else," he muttered, tugging at the blanket and sheets. He quickly pulled them aside until the mattress was bare.
"There. Better?" he asked, dropping back into his seat without waiting for an answer. Only then did Nau Rin settle herself at the edge of the bed.
Nau Rin sat at the edge of the bed. Meanwhile, Minho pulled out a small square box from his drawer and set it on the desk.
"Look."
Inside, a pair of gleaming earrings caught the light.
Nau Rin leaned in to get a closer look, then picked one up, turning it slightly between her fingers.
"What are you planning to do with these?"
A smile spread across Minho's face.
"I'm going to pierce my ears."
Just then, Seohun and Taehyun walked in. Nau Rin turned to them right away.
"Look at this," she said, holding up the earrings.
Taehyun snatched it, examining it with curiosity.
"What is it?"
Then Minho placed an ear-piercing gun on the table. All eyes shifted to it.
He scratched the back of his neck, looking a little uneasy.
"I was going to do it myself… but it's kind of harder than I thought."
"So what now?" Seohun asked.
Minho let out a quiet sigh.
"I need to find someone who can do it."
Seohun turned his gaze to Nau Rin.
"Can you?"
The other two followed, their eyes landing on her all at once.
Without hesitation, Nau Rin answered,
"Of course."
Taehyun grinned.
"Then let's get started."
Minho's eyes widened instantly.
"Right now? I'm not mentally prepared!" he protested, jumping to his feet.
Seohun placed a firm hand on his shoulder.
"How long do you plan to prepare?" he said, grabbing one of Minho's arms and nodding to Taehyun.
Taehyun caught the other, and together they pushed him back down into the chair.
"Wait, wait—I'm not ready yet!" Minho said, panic creeping into his voice.
"You said you decided, didn't you?" Seohun replied calmly.
"I did, but—"
"Then let's just do it."
At that moment, the door opened, and Nau Rin stepped back in, carrying a small bag. She set a glass on the table and began taking things out—medical gloves, cotton.
Minho's eyes widened even more.
"When did you even prepare all that?" he exclaimed.
"Quiet," Taehyun whispered. "Your mom might hear."
Nau Rin slipped on the gloves with steady hands.
"It's fine. You can scream if you want. Your mom just stepped out."
She dipped the cotton into the liquid in the glass.
Minho eyed it suspiciously.
"What's that?"
"Alcohol. Couldn't find pure rubbing alcohol," she said calmly, already wiping down the needle of the piercing gun.
Watching this, Minho's composure began to crumble. He tried to move, but Seohun and Taehyun held him firmly in place.
Moments later—
A sharp, piercing scream tore through the room.
Nau Rin calmly wiped the blood from the needle, removed her gloves, and tossed everything into the bag.
Meanwhile, Minho sat hunched over, eyes watering, both ears pressed with cotton.
Taehyun smirked.
"Isn't it supposed to not hurt?"
"Shut up! It hurts like crazy!" Minho snapped.
Taehyun laughed.
"If we weren't here, what would you have done?"
Minho shot them both a glare.
"Butchers …" he muttered under his breath.
She walked down the corridor alone, trailing behind the others, simply holding her art supplies in one hand.
When she entered the classroom and took her seat, a blank sheet of paper lay before her—pure, untouched. On the board, a title had already been written:
"A Place You Imagine."
Art had always been her greatest enemy.
To earn even a simple B, she had to pour in every ounce of effort she had—far more than she ever wanted to admit. Letting out a quiet sigh, she opened her pencil case—only to find her pencils snapped into several pieces, the wood splintered and jagged.
For a moment, she stared.
Then, gathering the fragments in her hand, she glanced around. But everyone else was just busy with their own work, heads down, lines forming with quiet confidence.
She slipped the broken pieces back into the case, picked the least damaged one, and lowered it to the page—drawing the faintest of lines.
By the time the class ended, the teacher moved between the desks, examining each student's work.
When she stopped beside Nau Rin, his gaze settled on her paper—an unstructured, almost indecipherable sketch scattered across the white space.
A few students behind her stifled quiet laughter.
But the teacher said nothing of the sort.
"Messy… but it has its own sense of narrative," he remarked. "Good."
She gave her shoulder a light pat before moving on.
—
After what felt like an unbearably long class, she stepped out into the hallway, bought a drink from the vending machine, and began to walk back.
A boy bumped hard against her shoulder as he passed. The impact was sharp enough to make her turn.
He was already looking at her—his gaze cold, cutting, and unpleasant.
She said nothing. Just turned away and kept walking.
Then came the voices behind her.
Clear. Careless. Cruel.
"Isn't that her? I heard she's had a reputation since middle school."
"Yeah, always clinging to guys, never letting go."
"And yet she still plays it smart… especially for someone so plain. I wouldn't even bother with a girl like that."
Their laughter followed, thin and fading, dissolving into the air like something rotten.
Nau Rin's brows drew together for the briefest moment—
—and then smoothed out, as if nothing had happened.
As she walked, she glanced across to the hallway. There, through the open space between the corridors, she caught sight of Taehyun.
Instinctively, she lifted her hand, about to wave—
—but stopped.
Her hand fell back to her side.
From a distance, she watched him laughing freely with his friends, his voice bright, effortless.
And she remained where she was, silent, simply watching.