[THIS JUST IN! A stray meteor has struck the newly built Pineapple School. We thank Montmorency Inc. for their swift response. Due to the recent outbreak, the school has been sealed off until authorities can confirm the meteor is unrelated to the incidents. Furthermore, Montmorency's heir — Lady Amélie — has generously donated to the state's repair efforts and even volunteered to teach French as a gesture of goodwill...]
"Shit... We have meteors now?" Daniel huffed, staring at the television, then looking up at the ceiling.
I guess I did good by not going to school today. What dumb luck.
He glanced at his cracked phone screen— a new message.
'...For fuck's sake.' He sighed, slapping the phone down onto the bed, palms covering his face, rubbing in frustration. His heart sank deep into his gut.
After another heavy breath, he picked up the phone and opened the message.
[Jiho's mom: Hello, Daniel. Jiho is alive and fine here. I thought you'd have wanted to know.]
[Reply: You didn't have to tell me that...]
He hovered for a second — then erased it.
Another breath. Fingers hesitating.
[Reply: I already figured it out. Saw a post...]
Deleted.
He looked away from the screen, biting his lower lip so hard it hurt. When he looked back down, he started typing again.
[Reply: You shouldn't talk to me, Miss An. I fucked it all up...]
Deleted.
Finally, after another long moment:
[Reply: Thanks.]
Sent.
He slapped the phone down onto the mattress with a sigh — but a moment later, picked it back up.
[Reply: ...For letting me know, I mean.]
Sent again.
This time, he tossed the phone aside, harder.
One minute passed. Two. His chest rose and fell faster, breath scraping the inside of his throat with growing frustration.
Two minutes.
He snatched the phone back up, typing aggressively:
[Reply: It's good to hear he's alive.]
Sent.
He stared up at the ceiling, his throat tightening until it hurt to swallow.
[Reply: Can you tell him that I want to...]
Deleted.
His eyes dropped to the screen — the "Seen" indicator lit up.
Ji-yeon had read his messages.
No reply.
A sharp pang climbed his body, curling into his fists.
'He must've told her, right? No—he DEFINITELY told her. Fuck. She hates me too now. I bet... No, but why would she go out of her way to let me know? Fuck... just fuck... Fuck. I overdid it. Sent too many texts. Why am I so fucking—ugh—stupid... I bet she did it out of obligation. She must've—'
His thoughts shattered as he suddenly saw her typing.
A second later:
[Jiho's mom: Is everything alright, dear?]
His breath hitched as his eyes widened in disbelief.
He couldn't even swallow. His hands shivered so hard the phone nearly slipped from his fingers.
'What do you mean? If everything's alright with ME?! I'm the one who fucked it up... I'm... the one who...'
His panicked gaze darted around the empty house, double-checking no one's there.
A shivering breath tore through him.
He rocked his legs against the floor, eyes blurry with tears he couldn't release, as he started typing aggressively:
[Reply: What do you mean I'm alright????]
Sent.
[Reply: Jiho didn't tell you what I did??]
Sent.
[Reply: I was the one who fucked it all up. I'm not the one who deserves this kind of talk.]
Sent.
[Reply: Why are you being kind to me!?]
Sent.
[Reply: Jiho didn't tell you, did he?!]
Sent.
[Reply: He died because of me!]
Sent.
[Reply: Even if he didn't, I was the reason you would've never seen him again!]
Sent. His fingers nearly shattered the already-cracked touchscreen.
[Reply: I was the one who almost killed him just because I wanted to fuck Eunhee.]
Sent.
[Reply: It's because of me that he ran outside and—] unsent.
[Jiho's Mom: He's alive. That's all that matters.] came the reply.
He stopped typing.
[Jiho's Mom: Regarding what happened between you, him, and Eunhee — I know.]
He gulped, paralyzed. She didn't hesitate to continue typing.
[Jiho's Mom: Do you want to tell me why you did it?]
"..." He looked down with a deep sigh, his brows twisting as he fought back tears, sniffling.
'Why's she... wasting so much time on this? On me? I don't deserve this.'
[Reply: Because I wanted to fuck her. That's all.]
Sent.
[Jiho's Mom: I don't believe that.] — another instant reply, another hitch in his throat; his fingers clenching around the phone.
[Jiho's Mom: Dear, I've known you and Eunhee for 10 years. You three have been inseparable. I don't believe you'd destroy that friendship for something so shallow.]
'WHY IS THAT... why is she so insistent!? I'm a piece of shit. Why is it so hard to believe?!' he thought, teeth clenching as he typed.
[Reply: You better believe it. I'm fucked up. I wanted her for myself.]
Sent.
[Jiho's Mom: Very well. When you're ready to tell me the real reason, I'll listen.]
She went offline.
"FUCK!!!"
He hurled his phone at the floor, cracking the screen even more. He swallowed his tears aggressively.
'CRYING!? ME?! FUCK OFF, JUST'
"FUCK OFF FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT." He slammed his fist against his bed repeatedly, the bed shuddering under his force.
'She's just delusional. Always have been idealistic, she was. Haaah...' He slammed his head against the bed, breathing heavily.
'Fuck... I need a smoke,' He looked at his pack, taking a cig, and smoking without much hesitation - the only though in his mind at that time...
... Was how he'd promised Eunhee he stopped smoking.
'Yeah, I suck.'
----------------
"Good thing that meteor didn't hit you," Misaki said, letting out a breath as Eunhee laid her head against the bed, looking off to the side with a sigh.
"..."
"... I kinda wish it did, you know?" Eunhee muttered, not looking at her sister, who sat sprawled in the chair by her new bed.
"...."
"... Alright, now you gotta tell me what happened with that dude," Misaki said, her expression flat as she leaned back lazily.
"Why you took me up on my offer?" she pressed.
"Can we... not talk about this?" Eunhee said, voice strained. "I'm fine. Just stressed about today."
"My house, my rules. Tell me," Misaki insisted.
"...."
"Please, sis..." Eunhee's voice tried to stay composed. "I just want to rest. You don't know what I'm dealing with. I'm... I—"
"Yeah. Guess I don't," Misaki sighed, slumping deeper into her chair and gazing out the window.
"Let's make a deal, alright? I'll tell you something about me... and you—"
"I'll have to tell you why I left?" Eunhee cut in quietly.
"Haah, you're no fun," Misaki muttered. "Whatever. Say something, don't say something—just listen, then. Since you're dealing with guy trouble, I'll tell you..."
Her voice softened unexpectedly, enough to make Eunhee turn her head toward her.
"... About my first love."
Eunhee shifted to face her fully now, watching her sister silently.
"...Sis?" she asked.
"Back at the quarantine zone," Misaki began softly, "I met this... pretty boy. He was running through the streets, chased by monsters. He was about your age. I called him into the apartment building I was hiding in... saved him, I guess."
She rested her head against the back of her chair.
"I thought I'd saved him," Misaki said, voice tightening as she bit her lip. "But he was bitten on the hand. Skin ripped clean off."
She swallowed hard.
"I made him hide the bite and brought him up to my place," she said, her voice growing distant. "He was childish. Talked about silly stuff—how he was scared because he wasn't scared anymore, how his mom wasn't answering the phone."
She let out a brittle chuckle.
"He sat there on my couch, dying, still rambling about his school life... about a crush that crushed his heart, typical boy stuff. Like I was his mom. I don't know if it was love, really. I only knew him for... an hour before he died. But the way he talked—" she swallowed again, "—I just wanted to listen longer."
Misaki shut her eyes, pressing her forehead into the backrest.
"Why couldn't the guys who got into my pants ever be that... simple?" she said, her voice hollow. "Talk about school. How they worry about their moms. Just show me who they were, like he did."
She let out a small, broken laugh.
"I just..." she shook her head against the chair, "I just wanted to hear him again. It's like... ever since then, I feel like maybe every man would be better if he got bit. Maybe they'd be that cute too. Some of them, at least."
Misaki chuckled weakly.
"... Your turn?" Misaki asked with a forced smile, her head still buried in the chair's backrest. "Or should I scram?"
"...." Eunhee stayed silent, staring at her lap.
"I..." she began, voice low. "I... I want to feel that too. What you felt with that boy."
She swallowed.
"But... I felt like I'd never be able to unless I left Daniel's place."
"Who's he to you? Boyfriend?" Misaki asked, lifting her head slightly, her face drier now.
"... I'd... I'd like to think of him as my ex," Eunhee muttered. "I also have a boy I care about... and I betrayed his trust with Daniel."
"You cucked him?" Misaki said bluntly.
"No—no!" Eunhee shook her head quickly. "We... we were never a couple. It's just... I... I liked him. And... Daniel, for whatever reason..." She clenched her fists, biting her lip hard.
"...."
"Ahh," Misaki exhaled, leaning further back into her chair. "That dude sounds like the type. Let me guess — he played your heart like a violin. Until he got into your pants, right?"
Eunhee frowned, lifting her eyes to her sister. "The... type?"
"Yeah," Misaki sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. "Kinda like every boyfriend I've ever had. They'll say anything, do anything, just to get in there. Seen it a thousand times. Worked a thousand times too. Honestly," she shrugged, "I could still get a job at a sperm bank as a dispenser."
"SIS!!" Eunhee shrieked, hurling a pillow straight at her.
Misaki laughed as she blocked it lazily.
"Who're you to throw a pillow at your hostess!?" she shot back, grabbing another pillow and flinging it.
"IT WAS GROSS! You should be mindful of your guests!!"
"You ain't my mom, girl!"
Before long, the room erupted into a messy, chaotic pillow fight.
They both laid sprawled against the bed, soon after.
"Either way... Haaah..." Misaki huffed, "You left that Daniel because of that boy you liked, huh?"
"Yes... Haah... Thanks for... Taking me in, sis."
"Anytime. I ain't gonna let you stay in a house with those deadbeats, after all," She replied, "I'd like to meet that boy someday. If he got you out of that guy's house, he must be worth something."
Eunhee chuckled, "Well, I think you'd love him... That is... When I..."
Eunhee went silent, her mind scrambling for words to say.
".... I want to make it right with him again. I miss him, you know?" Eunhee let out.
"Yeah," Misaki replied, "I get it." The two looked at the ceiling.
Meanwhile...
Jiho stood outside his house, fully dressed, hair neat. It was already dusk.
5:54 p.m.
'...I told her I can't go. I wrote it clearly — said I can't leave. She ignored it. She ignored my calls, my messages. She's still coming anyway...'
Jiho stood firm, his fists lightly clenching.
'I need to be direct when she arrives. Tell her I can't do it. My mom needs me here.'
A faint noise pulled his attention. Jiho glanced to the side, sensing it.
'A car... that's Marcel's car. She's here.'
The engine hummed low as Marcel stepped out, smiling casually at Jiho.
"Marcel... I can't leave my mom alone," Jiho said firmly. "I'm sorry, but I can't go on that date with Amelie."
Marcel simply smiled, walked around the car, and opened the passenger door.
Amelie stepped out, holding a small pot in her hands.
"Luckily, Monsieur," Marcel said with a grin, "you won't have to leave."
He gave Jiho a nod and got back into the car, driving off — leaving Amelie standing there.
Jiho blinked at her.
'...Hah?'
-----------------------------
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