In Another Life

Isolation

Heeseung and Jangmi held hands, displaying it to the whole school that they were hopeless romantics. He walked her to her classroom before going to his own.

"Heeseung, how've you been? You haven't responded to the group chat," Kangdae said.

Heeseung sat down in the seat next to him, sighing. "Not well. Jangmi saw me with Mingyue, all weekend I've been bombarded by her friends asking if I cheated."

"That's rough, did you explain that she's my sister?"

"I tried, but she wouldn't take my word for it."

"Did you want me to tell her that Mingyue was my sister?"

"That's alright, but thanks Kangdae."

Walking down the hallway, Mingyue kept getting weird looks from her classmates. At first, the girl thought it was all in her head, but even Haneul and Sunoo noticed.

"Girl... What the actual frick is going on?" Sunoo questioned before approaching a group of girls who quickly told him what was going on.

"Well?" Haneul asked Sunoo when he made his way back.

"Well... you know how you and Heeseung went to the cafe?" Sunoo said, looking towards Mingyue, "someone took a picture of you guys and showed Jangmi. She's told the whole school and now everyone thinks that you're a borderline home-wrecker."

"Oh shit... that was taken completely out of context. We were just getting breakfast for everyone. Screw being nice to people."

"Mingyue, don't shut the world out, please..." Haneul whispered in her ear. Not even Sunoo could hear.

The girl with amber eyes really did shut out the world again. She barely spoke, she barely ate, she barely slept. It could show, she went back to a gaunt look in her cheeks and a pallid complexion.

Mingyue didn't even say anything about leaving the Choi's to go back to Kang Jiah's home. A room opened up for her there and she thought that it would be a better change.

Slowly, she packed up all of her clothes and everything else she brought.

"Why am I crying? Am I that pathetic?" Mingyue whispered to herself as she cried. Out of instinct, she went over to her closet and sat down in the corner, just letting all the tears out.

The girl didn't know it would be that difficult leaving, especially under these circumstances. For hours she cried silence tears about all her troubles. She cried about her mom, about the kids at school, about how she's a disappointment to everyone and herself.

"Mingyue? We're home! Enhypen's here too!" Kangdae called up the stairs to her. Haneul had been studying at the library for an upcoming exam so she wasn't there to stop Mingyue. With no response, Kangdae started getting nervous so he went to her room and knocked on the door. "Mingyue? Can I come in?" Again, there was no response, "I'm going to count to three and if you don't respond, I'm coming in."

After those three seconds, he went into her room to find Mingyue passed out because of hyperventilation. He immediately got her out of the closet and made sure she had a steady pulse before calling the paramedics.

The bright moon lit up the garden. It was so beautiful it didn't even feel real. "Let's enjoy to moment."

It was as if Mingyue was seeing through a camera lense, she had no control over what was happening... like a lucid dream. It was ethereal to her, expecially when she turned to see none-other that Heeseung, who was smiling down at her.

She noticed how elegant his clothes were, there were like the ones she learned in history.

Her eyes were concentrated on a portrait, looking back and forth between her work and Heeseung. She had been struggling to capture his star-lit eyes in the drawing.

Mingyue really couldn't tell if it was real or not. Is it bad that she wished it was? Living a life where there was someone that really loved her...

Gun shots.
Hundreds of gun shots firing at once.
The little boy cradled in her arms.

"Mingyue! Wake up... please Mingyue." Haneul cried. Her voice had become horse from hopelessly calling out to her friend. Once Kangdae called the paramedics, he called Yoobin and Haneul.

"Where am I?"

"Mingyue– Yoobin, get the doctor."

"My Moon~" Sunoo called out, his face was puffy and his eyes were red, "You're at the hospital..."

"Oh..."

Mingyue didn't know what to say, she hadn't really talked to them since all the rumors began. It's been about a month and half since she's had a proper conversation with anyone.

She was released from the hospital after she woke up, they sent her home with vitamins to get her nutrition back, but that was the extent...or what Mingyue would accept. She was very stubborn when it came to these kinds of things.

When they got back to the house everyone was there, waiting for any update on Mingyue. Kangdae was the first to walk in, after came Sunoo and Haneul supporting Mingyue just in case she fell. The doctor wanted her to be in a wheel chair because of her weakened state, but Mingyue declined.

"How are you feeling?" Jungwon asks, standing up once he sees the girl.

"I'm fine, thank you asking." Mingyue said, keeping her head down. She felt to ashamed to look at any of them.

Sunoo and Haneul helped her up the stairs, finally noticing the bare room and her packed luggage as they sat her down on her bed.

"Were you just planning on leaving?" Haneul asked, "Would you have even said goodbye?"

"I'm sorry," she said, her eyes refused to meet Haneul's or Sunoo's. She felt like it was time for her to go back to Kang Jiah's house, her say was long overdue at the Choi's. She had been infringing on their family for far too long.

"Stay here tonight, it's late... tomorrow we will help you move, yeah?" Sunoo said, kneeling by her bed to be closer to her eye level.