I C U | Pentagon Kino ✔

👻chapter ㅡ twelve👻

"It's not suicide." I told Kino once we reached his room.

He looked at me, wide-eyed. "Really?"

I nodded, feeling exhausted. "Yeah, it's just a feeling. A strong one."

"How? What did you find out?" I kept my eyes on the floor and took my time to answer. As I did, I could almost feel my heart breaking. "That I'm being forgotten."

Kino sat on the floor in front of me and caught my eyes, "What do you mean?"

"I was Ms. Han Seol Hee's favorite student. The school director wants the incident about me to quiet down. Gahee and Yumi are hiding something." I recited these facts to him numbly, and was surprised when he pulled me in a hug. He patted my back awkwardly.

"You did well," he said softly. "You found out so much already."

I chuckled bitterly. "Apparently, all I had to do was show them my picture."

He pulled away and looked at me closely. "Come to think of it, if Gahee was your friend, I don't think she would have seemed so okayㅡnot while you're still in coma."

I turned away and looked out the window. "I just realized it now," I said. "I'm as good as dead."

"Yuna, don't say that..."

"Everyone else is moving on to forget me while I'm still breathing." Tears sprung in my eyes. Kino was quiet. I took in a shaky breath. "If it wasn't really suicide, why would anyone push me off like that?"

"Maybe you were in a fight with someone," Kino suggested. "Or someone was angry enough at you to do such thing."

I told him about Gahee and Yumi's conversation.
When I finished, he seemed to be in deep thoughts. "I'll befriend Gahee."

"Jeez. Why would you do that!"

"To gather information, of course."

I sighed. "Just—be careful."

• •

"Why is there a picture of Yuna on my desk?" Hwitaek asked the next day. Kino shot me a pointed look. I grinned.

"Me, too." Hongseok said.

"And me, too." Hyojong said.

The three of them looked at the photos in confusion. Kino cleared his throat. "Who's Yuna?" he asked.

"Ah," Hongseok said, "She's our classmate. She was in accident two months ago."

Hwitaek sighed. "I hope she wakes up soon."

"Wake up?" Kino asked.

Hyojong let out a sigh too. "She's in coma."

Kino nodded. "Were you guys close to her?"

"Not really," Hongseok replied, "But Hwitaek once made a project with her."

"Yeah, we were partnered together to make a presentation in history class. She also helped me out with maths."

I covered my mouth. "Oh my gosh!"

Kino almost rolled his eyes. "That empty seat next to Gahee is hers." Hyojong said.

When Gahee entered the room, Kino stopped asking questions. "Gahee-ah!" Hyojong called. "Guess what we found on our desks today?" He showed the pictures to her.

Gahee's complexion went pale. "T-That's strange." She said and hurried to her seat.

"Don't you miss her?" Hongseok asked. "You two were pretty close."