What the Dream Remembered
That night, she dreamed.
「Jihyo.」
Someone was calling Jiwoo… no, calling Jihyo.
「Want to eat this?」
Along with the gentle voice, an appetizing sandwich was held out right before her eyes.
Jiwoo had seen this scene before.
…Inside Jihyo's memories.
「A girl from the next class brought it for me, but I'm already full.」
She lifted her gaze to check the other person's face, but it was blurred as though fog had settled over it alone, impossible to make out.
And yet.
「Thanks. I'll enjoy it.」
The soft brush of fingertips in the moment the sandwich changed hands.
Pale pink nail polish.
And the heavy scent of rose perfume.
The Jiwoo of now knew exactly who that was.
Jihyo, don't! Don't eat it!
She shouted with all her might, but there was no way her voice could reach Jihyo inside the dream.
Jihyo, without a shred of suspicion, carried the sandwich to her mouth.
「Urp…!」
She clamped a hand over her mouth in a panic.
Jihyo was allergic to carrots.
And what she had just bitten into was a sandwich packed full of grated carrot.
Only realizing it too late, Jihyo glanced around frantically, desperate—
—searching for a tissue to spit the sandwich out.
「What's wrong all of a sudden? Are you okay?」
A hand with pink-painted nails gently caught Jihyo's wrist.
「Mmph! Mmph!」
「Jihyo, why are you staring at me like that? You're scaring me.」
Chuckling softly, that girl whispered—so quietly that no one else could possibly hear.
「…Chew it up nice and good. We don't want you getting a stomachache.」
A hand patting her shoulder tenderly.
A voice threaded with laughter.
“…….”
Jiwoo woke and smoothly pushed herself upright.
Tududuk—
The alarm clock on the nightstand beside the bed suddenly shuddered as if vibrating, then dropped onto the floor with a clatter.
Even the firmly shut window was trembling, ever so slightly.
“Haah, haah….”
Kugugug…!
The shaking began to intensify.
It felt as though an earthquake had struck this room and this room alone. The windows were unquestionably closed, yet her hair streamed outward as though a wind were tearing through.
The vortex that had sprung up around Jiwoo was growing more violent by the second.
At its center, Jiwoo pressed her palms over both eyes.
There is no such thing as a cure for the young lady, miss. You must remember—if she overuses her Core or her emotions run too high, she could spiral into a frenzy at any moment.
She swallowed her breath,
then slowly let it out, long and steady.
Once more.
…And once again.
As she repeated the cycle over and over, the trembling of the room gradually subsided.
Only then did Jiwoo rise from the bed as if nothing had happened and pack her things.
Not a single expression crossed Jiwoo's face the entire way out of the dormitory and along the road to class.
When she finally arrived in front of the classroom, she threw open the back door without hesitation.
Screech!
“…….”
“…….”
Every gaze in the room snapped toward the back door as it swung open with force.
And when they saw that the person who had appeared was that Seol Jihyo, the classroom's atmosphere rippled in an instant.
Jiwoo shoved past the gazes and murmurs that clung to her like gum and walked in a straight line.
She came to a stop in front of Jo Bitna.
Tap. Jo Bitna folded her hand mirror shut and looked up at Jiwoo with a sliver of a smile.
“Good morning, Jihyo.”
A smile like something painted into a picture. As if determined not to reveal her true colors, she seemed even more radiant than usual.
Strange, though.
Today, that smile made Jiwoo want to laugh right back in her face.
“I have a question.”
“Sure, what is it?”
Jiwoo asked point-blank, without any attempt at subtlety.
“Do you remember a carrot sandwich?”
Just as expected, Jo Bitna tilted her head and rounded her eyes in feigned confusion.
“A carrot sandwich? Like the ones they sell at the school store?”
“Did you ever get one from someone, or give one to someone? That's what I'm asking.”
“Hmm, let me think. I get given so many things, honestly…. Why? If you want one, should I ask that oppa who works at the school store to save you one?”
Before that kindly smile, Jiwoo's face stayed hard.
This much, she had anticipated.
“…Your nails, then? Haven't you painted them pale pink ever since middle school?”
“You've been so interested in my nails lately. I don't fix my polish to any one color—I change it depending on my mood.”
“Is that so?”
It was the moment Jiwoo's eyes narrowed, ever so slightly.
“Jihyo, you're kind of off today, aren't you? Does your head hurt or something?”
Swoosh.
Jo Bitna reached out and brought her hand toward Jiwoo's forehead.
“Hmm, you do feel a little warm. Oh, Minjae—could you take Jihyo to the nurse's office for me?”
“Uh, sure…!”
Smack!
Jiwoo brushed Jo Bitna's hand away lightly. Startling was only natural—and yet not a single crack appeared in Jo Bitna's expression.
“Oops, that startled me.”
If anything, she simply blinked and let out a honeyed little sound.
…Isn't there something? Anything at all?
Anything would do.
A weakness that would force Jo Bitna to show her true face.
Even if it happened to be her lifeblood.
She was deep in that deliberation when—
“Huh? It's Hankyul.”
Someone spoke up, looking toward the open back door.
Jiwoo glanced over and spotted a tall boy in a hoodie—Bae Hankyul.
The instant their eyes met, Hankyul came bounding over like a puppy.
“Hey, Jihyo! Morning!”
“Ah….”
Jiwoo blinked, caught off guard by the greeting.
She had naturally assumed he'd come looking for Moon Yoojin, but apparently not.
The other students were equally stunned.
Bae Hankyul came looking for Seol Jihyo?
Utterly indifferent to the fervent stares, Hankyul held something out to Jiwoo.
“Here, this is for you.”
…It was banana milk.
“I grabbed it while I was at the school store. You never eat a proper breakfast, Jihyo.”
“Oh, uh, thanks. I'll drink it. But I'm kind of busy right now.”
“Ah, sorry—it'll only take a second. Do you have the Abyss research reference book? I need it next period, but I left it in my dorm.”
“No, I mean, like I said, right now I'm….”
Lending it out was no problem, but the timing was inconvenient. Because she still had unfinished business with Jo Bitna….
Hm?
Jiwoo turned her head and froze for a beat.
Because Jo Bitna was wearing an expression frozen so coldly it was almost startling.
Those red eyes that always curved with a gentle smile were, inexplicably, as cold as a stranger's.
Jo Bitna was staring at something, hard and unblinking, with eyes that held no warmth at all.
What is she looking at that she's gone so serious… Ah.
Jiwoo followed her gaze slowly.
To her own open palm.
To the banana milk Hankyul had handed her.
“…….”
Jiwoo's eyes flicked between Jo Bitna and the banana milk a few times—then she walked straight back to her seat.
“Hankyul, you said you needed the Abyss research reference book, right? One moment.”
“Ah, sorry if you're busy.”
“You're not. You're always looking out for me like this—lending you a reference book is the least I can do.”
Jiwoo fished the book out of her desk and, placing her hand directly beneath Hankyul's palm, set it down with a soft tap.
“Here you go.”
“Ah, thanks….”
Whether he was conscious of the brush of skin against skin, Hankyul's cheeks flushed red.
A reaction anyone could read at a glance.
Jo Bitna surely could too.
Jiwoo stole a glance at her.
Her prediction had been right on the mark. Jo Bitna had apparently forgotten all about managing her expression, watching Jiwoo—no, watching Hankyul—with a face so blank it sent a chill down the spine.
Don't tell me Jo Bitna was… into Bae Hankyul?
Still watching her from the corner of her eye, Jiwoo turned her gaze back to Hankyul.
Shall we test it?
As if to say watch this, she lightly pinched the sleeve of his hoodie with her fingertips.
“Same time after class today, right?”
The subtle skinship made Hankyul fidget helplessly. But he didn't pull away in the end—just nodded.
“Th-that's where we always meet, after all.”
“Yeah. Behind the dormitory. Or should we head over together?”
“Let's do that. I'll come by again after class, then.”
Flustered, Bae Hankyul half fled the classroom in a rush.
Jiwoo saw him off with a beaming smile—then pivoted back toward Jo Bitna once more.
“…….”
Her prediction, it seemed, had been dead-on.
And as proof of it—the moment their eyes met, Jo Bitna was no longer smiling.