The morning started cloudy, with that annoying autumn chill, and your body even heavier than the day before. You'd already woken up feeling unwell, headache, tiredness, and a constant sore throat. When you looked in the mirror, you didn't even look like yourself. Puffy eyes, a red nose, and no energy to get out of bed. You just rolled over and went back to sleep, wrapped in the covers.

But in the midst of all this, you forgot to tell one thing: that you weren't going to school. And most importantly, you forgot to tell your boyfriend, Hyunjin.

The morning wore on, and he began to find your absence strange. You never missed school without notice. When the teacher called your name during roll call and there was no answer, he looked at your empty seat with a frown.

8:17 – "Hey… is everything okay?"

8:34 – "You didn't come today… did something happen?"

9:05 – "Answer me, please. I'm getting worried."

9:46 – (four missed calls from Hyunjin)

You, full of exhaustion, didn't even hear your cell phone vibrate beside your bed. And Hyunjin, on the other side, was starting to imagine a thousand things. He was worried. During the break between the third period, he didn't think twice. He grabbed his backpack, made up some excuse, and left school without looking back.

Forty minutes later, you woke up to the doorbell ringing insistently. Staggering with sleep and confusion, you went to the door, still wearing a baggy sweatshirt and messy hair. And there, right in front of your building, he was. Hyunjin. Panting, his cheeks red from the cold wind and a distressed expression in his eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked as soon as you opened the door. His voice was low, as if he'd been holding his breath the whole time.

You blinked, a little confused.

"You disappeared. I texted you a bunch, called you. I was worried, I thought... I don't know, something had happened."