Mirage

17

"How can you be so pretty?"

Scrolling on his phone, Sunwoo unknowingly was simping over the latest posts of his favourite celebrity who finally made her comeback into the social media. 

From the first second he received the notifications as soon as the recess started, he had been scrolling and admiring the female till the extent he felt full, no foods seemed attractive in his eyes anymore.

However, he did know the consequences if he did not consume any foods now. He absolutely did not want to be too starving later. 

Not in biology class that would make him want to cut alive a mouse.

So, as per usual, he went to buy some breads and a drink and decided to eat them at the rooftop. No one could have seen him fanboying over someone - he thought so.

"Ah, so she has a sister", he mumbled alone, still stalking the female's social media with furrowed brows when his attention was now on the supermodel's sister. "Why she never look at the camera? I'm dying to know if they look alike".

Normal fans' problem? - probably.

Sighing as he trailed up the stairs towards the door that separating the outside world and his current position, Sunwoo stopped scrolling as he reached for the door knob.

He already pushed the door open when he halted halfway, noticing that the space had been occupied. 

"Guess I need to find somewhere else", he spoke to himself, carefully pulling the door back not to make any sound.

"Haeun, look at me".

Sunwoo's ears perked up upon hearing that name, the female's voice that was calling also did sound familiar.

He slowly peeked over from behind the door, squinting his eyes and confirmed that they indeed Haeun and Jia.

And somehow Sunwoo had the urge to eavesdrop.

Jia was already frustrated that her friend did not listen, too immersed in her journal that she scribbled on. So, the former grabbed the journal, softly taking it off from Haeun's grip.

Then only the latter looked up at her - unenthusiastically.

"I'm asking you, what are you going to do now?" Jia asked in which Sunwoo assumed that she had been repeating her question. "Sunwoo has rejected you, but you are not interested in other boy".

Unbeknownst to them, the said boy scoffed behind the door, satisfied with himself that he decided to eavesdrop. One more thing would be said about him, he did not hesitate to push the door more wider and confront.

It was then, Kim Haeun scooted closer to the railing, grabbing the metal thing, the coldness was electrifying. The breeze was not too windy, it was refreshing as it hit her skin.

She stared far, skimming the small part of the town that could be accessed from up there.

"I have no idea", she shrugged, not breaking the stare from the wide open view. "I guess I'll be leaving without having my wish list fulfilled".

"Hey Kim Haeun", Jia suddenly enraged, yanking her friend's arm until their eyes met. "We've agreed not to talk about leaving!"

Behind the door, Sunwoo pondered. He tried to register every words he heard but nothing clicked so far.

Leaving?

"Is she going to moving out?" he thought, his head suddenly was working hard. "But she said, she just moving in into that house? Why they are leaving again?"

Little did he know, Kim Haeun would be living inside his head again but this time, for a long period.

However, the realization hit him hard as soon as he came down from the rooftop. Something about what Younghoon had said to him was now lingering in his head whilst he was trying hard to deny it.

"Me, interested in her?" he cackled. "What a funny insane story!"

He resembled a mad guy as he laughed by himself in the middle of the hallway whilst holding a bottle of juice. Lucky that he was Kim Sunwoo to begin with, no one was brave enough to interfere in whatever he did.

Not until a teacher passed by with stack of papers that then spilled everywhere on the floor. 

Sunwoo was startled when the female teacher groaned not so far from him, apparently frustrated to collect the papers back. And unfortunately, no students were seen in the hallway except for he himself.

"Sunwoo, come here", the teacher waved, motioning him to step closer. "Help me please".

Did he had any other choices? - definitely no.

His reputation might be bad, but he never planned to ruin his school's record. Whether he was willing or not, he did help - collecting the papers of something he did not understand written on it.

Nonetheless, one paper caught his eyes. It made him flicker his gaze from the paper and back to the teacher.

Now only he realized. This teacher was Kim Haeun's homeroom teacher last year. That explained why a letter of absence which belong to the girl during the final exam last year was now in his grasp.

The curiosity was now controlling him. He did hold himself back from flipping the paper to the next page but he failed, he read everything written on it.

That was when his heart stopped beating.

Haeun was right. She did miss the whole week of examination last year - not on purpose but she was unable to come.

She was in the hospital, unconscious.

"Oh, you found it", the teacher snapped Sunwoo back to the reality, taking the letter from his hand. "You're Haeun's classmate right? Is she fine? Poor girl, she's so young to be diagnosed with a fatal disease".

"F-Fatal?"

"She didn't tell you?" the teacher pondered, her lips slightly apart. "Maybe she doesn't want her friends to be worried. You guys should look after her whilst you can, tell your classmates like that okay?"

Now it finally clicked.

Why people was telling him to be nice to her, why she was excused from joining the P.E class, why she was easily got tired, the wish list and the leaving. All these fragments finally could be connected.

Truthfully, Sunwoo felt guilty for calling her a teacher's pet. It was not like she got a special treatment but people were trying to help her out, people were distracting her. Everyone but him was treating her good.

Because someone with a heart disease probably would leave the world without you could notice.