Complexity

10 Minutes

Xinyu POV

"I want that one."

"The cookie one?"

"No, the dalgona. The one with the umbrella."
I point to the neatly arranged sugar candies under the stall's colorful tarp, watching the vendor smile at my enthusiasm.

Nien raises an eyebrow.

"You really wanna reenact Squid Game right now?"

"After what I said to Sohyun?" I mutter.

"Yeah. Maybe I deserve it."

She snorts, handing me the dalgona carefully, as if it really might explode in my hand.

"Geez, this girl... What did you say to her?"

"Stuff."

Nien gives me a knowing look.

"The bullying stuff?"

Of course she'd guess. She's seen it. She's been around longer than me. She knows.

I sigh, tracing the edge of the umbrella shape with my eyes.

"I just wanted her to speak up."

"Zhou Xinyu." Her tone shifts, a little heavier, a little more grounded.

"We all wanted that. Seoyeon's tried. Soomin has too. But Sohyun... she can't. It's not about wanting to. It's about not being able to."

"Then why didn't you guys help her?!" I don't mean to raise my voice. It just comes out—raw, angry, frustrated.

Nien flinches slightly, but doesn't move away. Instead, she exhales and leans her elbows on the booth counter, gazing out at the crowd.

"Because she asked us not to," she says.

"And also... because those girls aren't just petty bullies. They threaten people. They mess with families. They don't stop at words."

My grip tightens around the candy. The sugar cracks slightly at the edge.

Nien continues, voice softer, almost reluctant.

"You know Soomin, right? Always cheerful. Bright. Strong. She tried once. Really tried. And for one day, they backed off. But the next day, they cornered her. Said things. Did things. She never talks about it, but... it changed her. That's why Soomin always gets sharp when it comes to the bullying topic. She's been burned."

Soomin?

The girl who greets people with jokes every morning? The one who brings extra snacks for anyone who forgets lunch?

I suddenly feel like I've walked into a fire without realizing how hot it actually was.

"...I didn't know that," I whisper.

"None of us really talk about it," Nien says.

"Because if we do, we'll start thinking we're powerless. And we're not. We're just... cautious."

I stare at the little umbrella shape again. It's delicate. One wrong pressure, and it all shatters.

Just like Sohyun.

And now, I might have cracked her further.

"She hates me now," I mumble.

"No," Nien says gently.

"She doesn't hate you. She's just... tired. And scared. But you... you made a ripple. And that's more than any of us have done in a long time."

I don't respond. I just try to break the umbrella out of the dalgona.

I fail.

It snaps down the middle.

Just like everything else today.

But I'm curious of one thing.

"who saw Soomin that day?"

"Dahyun"

Sohyun POV

"Kim Soomin!!"
The girl who was still busy munching on Kaede's food turned to look at me, her eyes lighting up like a child caught sneaking candy.

"Eonnieeeee!" she squealed, then bolted toward me, clinging tightly to both my arm and Lynn's.

"You guys on a date or something?" she asked after forcing down a mouthful.

"Not really," I chuckled. "Just wanted to treat this sweet Lynn-chan here."

"What about me?"

"You want something?"

"Well... not really," she shrugged, grinning. "Can I tail you guys then?"

"Yeah, sure," Lynn answered before I could. She gently held onto Soomin's arm, her smile never fading.

And just like that, the three of us wandered off into the heart of the school festival. We checked out the snack booths, played silly mini-games, and even listened to completely useless trivia from Yooyeon eonnie—like how we should always take the knife cover off before using it.

"Yooyeon eonnie, I love you, but I already know that," Soomin groaned dramatically, now clinging to Yooyeon eonnie's hand like an oversized koala.

"We," I corrected her with a smirk.

"We already know," Soomin repeated, sticking out her tongue.

"I was just trying to help," Yooyeon eonnie pouted, crossing her arms playfully.

Yooyeon and her random knowledge dumps. Somehow, they became the soul of our laughter. More classmates joined in over time—Hyerin, always the joker; Hayeon, arriving a bit later but blending in like she'd always been there. We joked, we laughed, we teased each other like we'd been friends forever.

And yet, through all the fun, I felt... something missing.

Someone.

Xinyu.

It's strange. I've only known her for a few months since she transferred here, and yet... her presence feels like a quiet gravity. She's never loud, never demanding—but when she's around, it's like the air shifts.

Like I can breathe.

Like I don't need to wear my armor.

It's the comfort I've been craving for so long.

Not just from her. I've started to feel that warmth from others too—Ningning, Handong, even the classmates I once kept at a distance.

But Xinyu... she's different.

"Why do I feel like I just want to be near her?" I muttered under my breath, half to myself.

"You say something?"

I blinked and turned. Mayu eonnie had appeared beside me, looking at me with that knowing gaze of hers.

"Yeah..." I nodded, a bit flustered. "Just thinking out loud."

Mayu didn't press, just gave me a gentle smile before walking beside me.

And in that moment, I realized something—
Xinyu didn't just become part of my world.
She changed how I saw it.

And maybe... maybe that's why it scares me.