Seungmin could feel your presence around the school again. He wondered why you hid.

Turning over to look at his friends, his expression remained neutral and unbothered as he watched Jisung point at something on his phone and make Felix laugh. He breathed a mildly annoyed sigh, unable to verbalize the fault he had placed on Jisung since the moment it was revealed what had happened between you both after everyone split up to find the cat café.

It was because Seungmin knew it was not entirely Jisung's fault that nobody had heard from you for weeks. Both of you have made grave mistakes in the recent fight, which was much more severe than anything any of you have ever picked with each other. Both of you have said things you shouldn't have, using the vulnerable knowledge of each other as something as abysmal as snowballs on a fun winter day.

But he has not heard from you for weeks. Nobody has heard from you for weeks. Jisung had frantically reached out to you the night of the fight when he realized there wouldn't be a time when you could finally come home. He could wait and wait until the sun rose, and there would be no traces of you, so he resulted in texting and calling you an uncountable number of times.

Jisung had assumed the worst when he decided to call Seungmin. You were not the type to ignore his calls and messages; even though the tension might still be up, Jisung thought he would have some of your grace, in which you would at least tell him you were safe. But there was only radio silence, and he assumed the worst: you had been taken by the man he saw that day.

Except you were the type to ignore his calls and messages because you were the type to distance yourself as soon as complications arise immediately. Seungmin hated thinking about it this way, but your record tracks: you ran away from your city, you ran away during the car crash, and you had run away this time after experiencing Jisung's temporary hatred toward you.

Seungmin only tried to text you a few times. He assumed if you won't reply to his messages, you would not pick up his calls either. The results were the same: complete and utter silence.

Yet, lo and behold, you were here with them. Hidden behind walls, or among trees, or cloaked with invisibility. Seungmin wondered if Jisung noticed, but it didn't seem like anyone but he did.

"I think you guys should go ahead first. I forgot something in my locker," Seungmin said once he looked away from the other end of the street where you usually came from.

"Huh? Why? We can wait here for you. It won't take you that long," Hyunjin said, raising a brow at him.

Seungmin shrugged. "I figured I could find my homeroom teacher on the way to discuss my grade."

Jisung put his phone down at the peculiar explanation. It may be within his character to forget a homework assignment in his locker, but Seungmin was not someone who lacked time management. If he needed to find a teacher to talk to, he would have done it during school hours instead of waiting until the last minute.

"Are you waiting for someone?" Jisung asked, his connotation failing to be discreet.

Hyunjin and Felix turned to Seungmin then, looking more surprised than suspicious. They have each reached out to you individually despite knowing the very little chance of getting a response, which they have yet to get. But regarding your whereabouts, those two also have their fair share of concerns.

Felix did not fault anyone for what happened. If anything, he didn't think he should have a say since he was neither closely related to you and Jisung's relationship nor well-versed in what happened to you in the past. Maybe Jisung had the right to be upset about not being able to help you with something with unpredictable danger. Maybe you were also right in taking the extra step to protect his defenseless self.

One thing that was definitely right, though, which he and Hyunjin both agreed on when they were chatting during an after-school walk, was that better communication should have happened. Regardless of the agitated emotions and who was right and wrong, Jisung should have clarified for the pessimistic you, and you should not have assumed the worst knowing Jisung's loving nature.

And you had been gone for weeks. Felix has been without a reliable friend, and Hyunjin has been without a pseudo-sibling. Seungmin has been without his best friend, and Jisung without his soulmate.

If you were here, like Jisung assumed, everyone would want to know.

"I'm not waiting for anyone," Seungmin said. "I really just need to talk about my grade."

"Seungmin, your grades are fine," Jisung huffed in faint annoyance.

Jisung hadn't been able to study well, nor had he been able to study at all. His bedroom had long lost its comfort. It was just a cell of memories with you, trapping him in and torturing him every single night. He still hasn't rolled up the mattress on the floor and refused to wash the shirts you've worn before.

Hurting you was so easy for him that day. He just had to speak and walk away. He should have turned around. He should have emphasized that he still loved you and was only angry for now. He was negligent of your habits with human complications and made a mistake that cost him every ounce of peace.

"Okay," Seungmin replied. "I still have to head back to get my stuff from the locker."

"Then go," Jisung said. "We'll wait for you here."

Jisung's irritability has been putting a strain on everyone's mood, and there is only so much one can handle before the awful truth comes out and kills everyone. But Seungmin has someone else he has to worry about; he looked to the side slightly as if to give you a signal to follow him if you were even here in the first place, then he exhaled in annoyance.

"Fine," Seungmin muttered. "I won't be long."

He went through the school building and headed to the backyard, where they usually had lunch. Standing by the familiar spot, his eyes squinted in concentration. He couldn't even be sure if you were really at the front gate or not, and he couldn't be sure if you followed him to the back either, but he felt the obligation to give it a try. As your best friend, he had to at least try to see if you would receive his support.

Besides, he hated the idea of leaving that petty map argument unresolved. He hasn't apologized to you yet, nor have you to him.

"[Name]?" he called out softly, standing on his spot and looking around, feeling like an absolute idiot. "You can come out if you're here. It's just me."

A ghostly breeze brushed past his face, blowing at his bangs to caress his eyes. Seungmin closed his eyes at the wind. His lips pursed into a gentle frown. Footsteps slowed down before him as his temporary blindness faded, and he found himself looking at you with your hands clasped before your chest. You smiled faintly at him, eyes filled with recognition of your friend's face.

Seungmin softened, as did you. You looked the same, understandably. It has only been a couple of weeks since he last saw you, but you appeared exhausted. And you found him stoic and angry, which he usually was if he made no attempt to put expressions on his face. But as he looked at you now, he was a gentle boy.

His hand paused mid-air when he was about to brush at a piece of your hair away from your face, his movement stuttering before he clenched his fist and let it drop back to his side. You looked down at his hand and back up at his face, your eyes widening slightly at the unusual gesture.

Seungmin opened his mouth, wanting to speak but unable to because his mind was blanking out. Eventually, he found it in himself to speak. "I'm sorry about what I said that day. About your magic being unconventional."

You shook out a breath, finding the willpower in yourself to breathe normally after so long. Every day felt like a knot in your chest, sucking in your oxygen and craving for your impending end. You missed the daily life you used to have; you missed having a place to go home to, you missed your friends, and you really missed being with Jisung.

The first thing you gave him was a huff of amusement. Then you jumped in your steps, moving forward and engulfing him in a surprising hug. Seungmin grew into a smile of his own, accepting the hug graciously, knowing how hard it was to overcome the distaste for human touch. He was the same way with people, but since he had not seen you in a while, he supposed he could make an exception.

"How have you been, Seungmin?" you asked, the evidence of joy clear in your straining voice.

"Annoyed that you ghosted all of us," he replied somewhat jokingly. "If you want to ghost Jisung, fine. But I am not part of the argument you guys had. I do not deserve to be ignored. Neither do Hyunjin and Felix."

You pulled a remorseful face as you pulled away from the short embrace. You did feel bad about disregarding all of their questions and constant check-ups. You went as far as not to tap into the notifications so they do not know whether you even read their messages; you did it once on purpose for Felix, and you figured he might have thought it a technical mistake, so he never told anyone.

"I'm sorry," you whispered. "I needed some time alone."

You had engulfed yourself with a simple furrow of your brows. Throwing guilt at you was the last thing Seungmin wanted to do, but he figured it wasn't his choice whether you would shoulder everything by yourself or not. You were doing it in front of him, your thought process adding tons of stress atop what you were already experiencing when he accused you of leaving no traces behind.

His heart ached to see you like this. The witty and independent friend he adored back then was swapped with someone needing comfort and understanding. That friend was tired of causing people roadblocks in their smooth-sailing life.

"Yeah," Seungmin nodded, "did you have enough of it? I hate to say this, but we're all getting tired of Jisung throwing temper tantrums because you're not with him."

Your lips arched downward into a nostalgic smile. "How is he doing?"

"Very bold of you to ask, actually!" Seungmin replied with a rare exclamation.

It took you one look to know that he was being sarcastic. You groaned at the knowing expression on his face that seemed to be putting you at fault for every terrible attitude Jisung had given him the past weeks because you wanted to play as a missing person. The worst was that he has all the right to blame you for his share of the consequences that have nothing to do with him. You have exaggerated the problem a bit.

"Seungmin," you muttered with a downward arch of your lips, urging him to tell you the truth.

"He's sorry, and he wants you to come back home," he replied.

You sighed deeply and squeezed your eyes shut as if Jisung's yearning for you caused complications to your returned daily routine. Your back arched and bent like an exhausted mother would, then you pursed your lips to clear the drying tongue in your mouth that had something to say.

"He is right, you know?" you said. "I just do whatever I want."

Seungmin grimaced. "We don't have free will."

"Oh, wow. I almost forgot how much I hated talking to you." You widened your eyes in pretend shock. "What nihilistic bible did you get that from?

"I'm saying there is a reason for everything you do, and the reason doesn't have to be your fault," Seungmin clarified assertively. He wanted to make sure you understand your actions were not (entirely) a reflection of your morals despite their consequences. Then he cleared his throat and grimaced. "And, uh, it's actually just behavioral psychology. Not that you'd know anything about that."

You stared at him in silence. Seungmin responded by being your mirror image because he wasn't sure what you were thinking. You were not thinking of much aside from the want to be playful with a friend, which you have not done in a while. Therefore, still maintaining the silence and the same deadpan gaze, you reached behind your bag and unzipped the front pocket.

Seungmin realized you were taking your magic strings out. He debated making a distasteful joke about you using magic on regular people. He did not make the joke.

"Come here," you said with a funny beckon of your head. Your hands were busy wrapping red strings around your fingers. "I just wanna talk, Seungmin."

He began to take stuttering steps back while you advanced toward him. He held up his hands in mock surrender, and airy chuckles parted between words. "It's cool. We can talk from a distance. What did I even say? What did I even say–hey! Don't chant anything! Stop it!"

You widened your eyes with a grin when Seungmin suddenly dove toward you, hoping to snatch away the red strings from your hands. You swiftly hopped away from him, making him jolt forward when you were nowhere to be grasped as he had expected. Seungmin grunted slightly as he pulled himself together, only to immediately dash from his standing spot when he realized there was ample time for you to begin chasing him in circles again.

Your missed laughter rang in his ears, making him lose track of time. He missed his best friend dearly.

Before he knew it, he had run himself out of the allotted duration reasonable for retrieving something from his locker. He snapped out of it once he remembered his friends were still waiting for him outside the school gate, and he waved at you to pause the friendly chase. He panted once you stopped with a tilt of your head, and he waved his hand again in dismissal.

"I have to go back," Seungmin said. "They're waiting for me outside, which you already know."

Your heart dropped, but acceptance was quick to catch it. Fiddling with your fingers, you did not bother to unwrap the red strings around your fingers as you watched Seungmin gather himself and stand up straight. You flashed him a brief smile that conveyed a sorrowful farewell he wished he could change. He was going to talk you into coming back, into meeting everyone outside the school gate, but the reassurance you needed could not come from him. It can only come from the person you were avoiding, which was the tricky part of it all because you refused to meet Jisung and wouldn't believe his reassurance.

Supposed he would just have to wait.

"Text me anyway," Seungmin requested softly. "And maybe Hyunjin and Felix too."

You sighed. There was no harm in that. "Okay."

He went in for a hug this time, which you gladly accepted. This was a goodbye with a footnote craving out the date of a future meeting.

"Do you have a place to stay?" he asked during the embrace. "You can stay with me."

"I'm okay, Seungmin," you replied with a pat on his back, your eyes shutting into a peaceful smile. "I'll text you after work."

Your relieved smile was a sure sight, a tender view, for Jisung, who stood on the open porch that connected the school building to the backyard. Crescent eyes and crescent lips broke his heart into pieces he could not rearrange to fit by himself. You would rather meet secretly with Seungmin than return to him after every apologetic missed call and unread text because he hurt you. He hurt you. You hurt them, Jisung reminded himself.

Tears welled up when you opened your eyes and saw Jisung. Yours were frightened and embarrassed; his were pained and panicked. Seungmin grew confused when you flinched away, but he quickly caught up with the situation once he turned around and found all three of his friends standing by the porch. He cursed under his breath; he ran out of reasonable time to look for something in his locker.

Jisung hardened his gaze when he looked past Seungmin to find you scrambling with the red string on your hands. He could recall everything you said about your magic and every sight he has seen of you doing it. Red strings were for strong-type magic, like enhanced abilities. But technically, you could use any color strings for anything with the consequence of greater discomfort, like what happened the other day with the car crash. If there were one thing you would do now, it would be to run away.

You were running away. You were leaving him.

"Wait! [Name], please!"

Jisung leaped forward with his arm outstretched as if he could reach you from such a great distance. But you were gone in a second, not even sparing him another glance before the magic took you away. All that was left for him was the weight of his school bag hanging on his shoulders, the accidental scrape of his shoe against the edge of the porch steps, and a painful faceplant against the filthy ground.

Felix gasped in shock. Hyunjin stared with sympathy at Jisung's fallen body. Both of them were halted to an uncertain pause when Jisung's fists curled against the ground.

Tremors passed through Jisung's body because the fall was painful. His nose felt broken; it was not. His forehead felt to have grown a bump; it did not. His knees and the heels of his palms were scraped with dirt and blood—that was correct. In an attempt to brace himself, he had reached his arms out before he fell, causing his skin to screech past the ground violently. And his uniform pants would never save his knees from any fall.

It was painful. Everything was painful. He could only wish that his body remembers these injuries and his heart forgets the cause, because the heart was where it hurts the most.

Jisung missed you. There has not been a single empty moment without you infiltrating his head, taunting him of his misery and his desperate yearning for you. Jisung wanted you back. He wanted you back with him, sleeping and eating and laughing and talking. It was all he wanted.

He missed you, and he stopped being angry at you, and he was worried about you, and he was in love with you. He was so in love with you that it all turned into frustration, disappointment, and an impossible dream to return to wrestle himself for what he forgot to say. I'm angry at you right now, but I still love you. I still love you. I always will. Why didn't he turn around? Why did he stomp away? He could have salvaged this!

Oh, but who was he to have such wants? He was but a boy who uttered the most hurtful things to you. He was just a boy who kicked you while you were down on your knees, and you were never going to get back up again anyway! He was a boy who, for even a repulsive moment, acted on his capability to tear you to shreds; talking about you escaping your home, talking about you leaving your one family member behind, blaming you for everything. There was no reason for you to return to him after what he said to you. He didn't deserve it.

"I'm sorry–" Jisung drilled his forehead against the ground because he couldn't find a better way to make himself feel. Repulsed, pursed groans left his trembling lips as he dragged his skin along the dirt. He wanted to feel pain. He wanted to bleed. He wanted to feel beaten. He wanted his body to remember in return for his heart to forget. But the tears wouldn't stop falling, and his ears wouldn't stop ringing. "I'm sorry."

Broken murmurs of apologies trickled out his lips like ants piled into a line. Felix wiped his eyes with the hem of his sweater as he stumbled toward Jisung. The freckled boy knelt beside Jisung with soft hands tracing across Jisung's body. Felix attempted to slowly pick Jisung back up on his feet, ignoring the soured tip of his nose and the tearful redness at the corner of his eyes.

"Come on, Jisung," Felix pleaded. He placed his hand under Jisung's forehead to shield his