The late afternoon sun hung low above the streets, casting long shadows across the sidewalk as Soul walked between Bic and Daehwi. Her backpack felt heavier than usual, not because of the books inside, but because of the thoughts she couldn’t seem to shake off. The familiar sounds of the city buzzed around them—cars passing by, distant chatter, the rustling of leaves beneath their shoes.
Daehwi was the first to break the comfortable silence.
“So,” he sighed dramatically, shifting his backpack on his shoulder, “if I ever see another biology worksheet about cell differentiation, I might actually lose my mind.”
Bic laughed softly. “You’re exaggerating. It wasn’t that bad.”
“Easy for you to say,” Daehwi shot back. “You always understand everything on the first try. Meanwhile, I’m still trying to figure out how we ended up with three different signaling pathways that all sound the same.”
Soul smiled faintly at their banter, but her gaze drifted forward, unfocused.
“At least the group study helped,” she said after a moment. “The diagram finally made sense after you explained it again.”
Daehwi grinned proudly. “See? My suffering wasn’t for nothing.”
“And what about pedagogy?” Bic asked, glancing at Soul. “You looked pretty stressed before the exam.”
Soul exhaled slowly. “I think it went… okay. Not great, but okay. The essay part threw me off. I kept second-guessing myself.”
“That’s because you overthink,” Bic said gently. “You always do.”
She hummed in agreement, fingers tightening briefly around the strap of her bag.
“And math?” Daehwi added. “We basically lived in the library for that one.”
Bic laughed. “Yeah, but it paid off. I think we all did better than last time.”
Soul nodded. “I hope so. I don’t think I could handle another bad grade right now.”
They walked a few more steps before Bic turned toward her again, his tone lighter, almost casual—yet clearly meant as a distraction.
“Soul, do you wanna sleep at ours tomorrow?” he asked. “The boys and I would be really happy. Your aunt isn’t there anyway.”
Her eyes widened slightly in surprise. “Really?”
Then her expression softened, hesitation flickering across her face. “I would love to… but I’m not sure if Felix oppa planned something already.”
“Oh,” Bic said, pretending to look dramatically disappointed. “Okay… sad.”
Then he grinned. “We really wanted to show you our new dance.”
Her steps slowed. “Wait—what?” She stopped walking altogether and stared at him. “You’re done already?!”
Bic laughed at her reaction. “Yeah. Finished yesterday.”
“Woah,” she breathed out, genuine excitement breaking through her clouded mood. “That’s so cool! You could show me next week for sure then. Oh my god, I’m actually really excited.”
She lightly hit his arm, laughing for the first time that day.
“Violence won’t make us dance better,” he teased, rubbing his arm exaggeratedly.
But as they continued walking, Bic noticed how her smile faded just as quickly as it had appeared. Her steps grew slower again, her shoulders tense.
After a brief pause, he asked more carefully,
“How is Sungchan, by the way?”
Soul stiffened almost imperceptibly.
