inceptio | 심재윤

𝟬𝟴․ An Old Friend's Gravestone

CHAPTER EIGHT
"It's like looking at your first love again."

Heejin's third year was almost over in the blink of an eye after a few months passed quite quickly. Living in her apartment, reading nonstop until late at night, has brought Jaeyun some satisfaction. She had needed a glass of water one evening and jumped a little when she noticed her best friend buried in his textbook. Instead of dismissing him as she thought he had hoped, she made him a cup of coffee and returned to her bedroom. Though it was rather optimistic of her to think she could persuade him to study all night, she would have preferred he sleep instead.

When he studied, there was a blaze of tenacity from his soul that both amused and concerned Heejin. Amused by his charming propensity to accomplish his most evident objective, which was to bring about Sooah's demise. Concerned that he would lose himself in his own diligence in the midst of everything; worried that he would put everything on the line. However, she was aware that nothing, not even his childhood best friend or his cousin, whom he regarded as a sister, could ever stop him. She realized that he would never be able to move on from the knowledge that Sooah died due to her adoptive parents—the same people who, thanks to their enormous wealth and the outpouring of compassion they have received, are still alive today.

Heejin recalled being sickened by the hypocrisy of those people after seeing the news. If that was how she felt, she knew that Jaeyun felt far more than she did because, in contrast to her, he was aware of and had love for Sooah.

Her mind strayed, but she shook the ideas away, returning her attention to the book she was supposedly reading. It would be foolish of her to even wonder where Jaeyun was, despite that he was not in her apartment right now and the calendar showed that. It was also Sooah's birthday, two days prior to her anniversary of death. Her grave is the only location he could possibly be found in the nearly five years since her passing.

Nobody could simply sit back and carry on with their day as usual if they had known the truth about her death. That's how Dae felt, knowing what happened those five years and led to those moments, she said when she called earlier to ask for Jaeyun. The incomplete book resting on Heejin's lap was the only indication that she was experiencing the same feelings. She had been sitting in her living room since Dae had called more than two hours ago. She had picked up her book exactly where she had left it, on page 142, and now she was still there, barely managing to read at all due to her disorganized thoughts.