[No-Ah]
University was exhausting.
Not academically.
Emotionally.
There was a difference.
No-Ah sat on a bench outside one of the lecture halls, staring at notes she wasn't reading.
Beside her—
Yun-Ra was talking.
Constantly.
As usual.
"...and then the fan posted the fancam and everyone agreed that the second chorus was his best angle—"
No-Ah nodded.
Not listening.
"Are you even paying attention?"
"No."
"At least you're honest."
Then her phone buzzed.
Once.
Then again.
Then again.
No-Ah glanced down.
Kei.
Calling.
She immediately looked away.
Pretending she hadn't seen it.
A terrible strategy.
Because Yun-Ra saw it.
Immediately.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Yun-Ra slowly pointed.
"No-Ah."
"No."
"NO-AH."
"No."
"IS THAT JEONG KEI-UN?"
"No."
"THAT IS LITERALLY JEONG KEI-UN."
"No."
"WHY? WHY IS HE CALLING YOU?"
"No idea."
"YOU ARE LOOKING DIRECTLY AT HIS NAME."
The phone kept vibrating.
Kei was apparently committed.
A concerning development.
No-Ah stood up.
"I'm going to get a drink."
"You can't just leave—"
"I absolutely can."
And then she walked away.
Leaving her phone behind.
A mistake.
A terrible mistake.
☆ ☆ ☆
[Yun-Ra]
Yun-Ra looked down.
At the phone.
Then at No-Ah.
Then back at the phone.
It was still ringing.
Her soul left her body briefly.
Because—
Kei.
Was calling.
Her brain supplied several important facts:
1. This was wrong.
2. This was a violation of privacy.
3. She absolutely should not answer.
4.She should absolutely definitely answer the phone.
The phone continued ringing.
"..."
She answered.
Immediately.
"HELLO?"
Silence.
Then—
"...What?"
Kei sounded confused.
It was reasonable.
Very, very reasonable.
Yun-Ra sat up straight.
Like he could somehow see her.
"Oh my God."
"..."
"Oh my God."
"...Who is this?"
"Oh my God."
Kei pulled the phone away from his ear.
Looked at the screen.
Looked back.
Still confused.
"This isn't No-Ah."
"I KNOW."
A pause.
Then—
"You're Yun-Ra. Right? "
Yun-Ra nearly passed away.
"YOU KNOW MY NAME?"
"...You yelled it at a concert."
"Oh."
"Several times."
"Oh."
"No-Ah told me about you before. "
"Oh... "
"And I remember you at the fan sign. "
"Oh. Wait, YOU DO??? "
She sat down again.
Dizzy.
Emotionally.
Meanwhile—
Several kilometers away—
Kei was sitting backstage.
Concert finished.
Makeup half removed.
Bored out of his mind.
And somehow—
this had become his afternoon.
Yun-Ra immediately launched into questions.
"How was the concert?"
"Fine."
"Did you eat?"
"Yes."
"Did you sleep?"
Kei paused.
"...Why does everyone keep asking me that?"
Yun-Ra gasped.
"You DIDN'T."
"I did."
"That's exactly what somebody who didn't sleep would say."
"..."
Kei suddenly understood why No-Ah got headaches from this girl.
"I have another question."
"I was afraid you'd say that."
"Why are you calling No-Ah?"
Silence.
Kei blinked.
"Because I can?"
"THAT'S NOT AN ANSWER."
"It literally is."
Yun-Ra narrowed her eyes.
Though he couldn't see it.
Suspicious.
Very suspicious.
Then—
A voice sounded in the distance.
"No."
Yun-Ra froze.
No-Ah was walking back.
Holding a drink.
Looking annoyed already.
An impressive achievement considering she hadn't even reached them yet.
Yun-Ra looked at the phone.
Then at No-Ah.
Then at the phone again.
"Oh no. "
Kei immediately knew.
"No."
"She's coming back."
"No."
"She's walking faster."
"No."
"She looks angry."
"...No."
"Actually she looks very angry."
The line went silent.
Then Kei laughed.
Genuinely, he thought it was funny.
...and to have a friend like that.
That would be good.
And somehow—
that annoyed No-Ah even more when she finally snatched the phone from Yun-Ra's hands.
"What did you do?"
Yun-Ra pointed at the phone.
Immediately.
"He called first."
And just like that—
No-Ah inherited the problem.
☆ ☆ ☆