The Thirteen gang was walking together toward the parking lot since they planned to hang out first and buy some food before heading to Setta's house.
"Khan, let's go," Jio called out to his friend, who was only standing in front of his motorbike.
"O-Oh, right," Arkha said, then put his helmet on. But a few seconds later, he suddenly thought of an excuse.
"I just remembered—my brother asked me to go to the game center with him today," Arkha said.
"Oh, it's okay. You promised him first, right?" Setta replied.
"I'm really sorry, but I'll still come over tonight. Bye, I'm heading off first," he said before running back into the school building.
~~~~~
Hesa had just arrived back at his boarding house. After leaving his bag on the chair, he immediately went to the kitchen because he was thirsty. The weather outside was especially hot that day.
But just after finishing his drink, he heard a strange noise coming from his room, making him head there right away.
Creeeak.
The door opened, revealing his room in completely normal condition. Nothing was missing, and nothing had changed places. Everything was exactly where it should be.
So what was that sound he had heard earlier?
"Ah, probably just a rat," Hesa thought.
Feeling like nothing was wrong, he was about to go back to the kitchen when something suddenly crossed his mind.
"The sticky note."
Hesa immediately walked over to his study desk and picked up the paper lying there.
The writing on it had changed.
There was now a reply to the message he had written.
"Nice, it actually got answered. I can go to this address now."
Hesa immediately changed his clothes and got ready to leave.
He remembered what happened earlier in the cafeteria during break. Arkha had looked at him suspiciously when he said he'd be late coming to Setta's house. There was student council work today, but Hesa had finished it quickly because his actual plan had been to go to Sunshower School.
Had Arkha noticed that too?
"Should I just bring him along or not?" Hesa thought for a moment.
"He probably already suspects I've got another reason besides student council work… plus, I did mention wanting to go to Sunshower with him before."
Hesa immediately called Arkha, but while standing in the living room, he heard the sound of a phone ringing from outside, making him instinctively turn his head.
Without wasting another second, he opened the door to check.
And sure enough, his friend was already standing there, about to knock.
"Perfect timing. Turns out you called me first," Arkha said.
"You're here? Weren't you with the others?" Hesa asked.
"I had a feeling you were lying, so I went back to the student council room earlier. But Minju said your work was already done and you'd gone home first," Arkha said.
"Well, I got caught. I finished my tasks quickly because I wanted to go to Sunshower, but Kyungmin already gave me his home address, so I'm going to his house first," Hesa explained.
"Huh? How did he give you his address?" Arkha asked.
"Sticky note," Hesa said, showing him the paper.
"Oh, okay. I'm coming with you," Arkha said.
"Yeah, let's go together," Hesa replied.
~~~~~
After about an hour of driving from Hesa's boarding house, they arrived in front of a house that looked quiet, though the lights were already on.
Hesa knocked on the door, but no one answered.
Eventually, a neighbor noticed the two of them standing there.
"Excuse me, the owners of the house just went out," the neighbor said.
"Do you happen to know where they went?" Arkha asked.
"I'm not really sure, but they did mention they'd be gone for a few months. Usually, when it's that long, it means they're on a business trip out of town," the neighbor explained.
"Oh, I see. Is there no other family member living here?" Hesa asked.
"That couple only lived with their one child, but unfortunately, he already passed away," the neighbor replied.
"If I may ask, who are you two? And what do you need?" he added.
"W-We're distant relatives who haven't seen each other in a long time, and we came here because we wanted to meet our uncle and aunt," Hesa said.
"That's true, sir. We just missed them since it's been so long," Arkha added.
"Oh, I see. That's a shame—you just missed them. Or maybe I can let you know when they come back?" the neighbor offered.
"N-No need, sir. We'll just come back another time," Arkha said.
"Alright then. I'll excuse myself," the neighbor said.
"Ah, yes, we're heading off too," Hesa replied.
The two of them immediately returned to the car so they wouldn't raise suspicion. They drove away from the house, but once they were far enough and the road felt quiet, Hesa turned the car around and drove back to Kyungmin's house.
"Why are we coming back here?" Arkha asked as he got out of the car and followed the older boy, who was walking toward the small garden in the yard.
"I didn't come looking for this house just to talk to Kyungmin's parents. I also wanted to return his watch," Hesa said.
"But didn't Kyungmin already give that watch to you?" Arkha asked.
"He didn't give it to me directly, so I feel bad accepting it. Plus, it got broken while it was in my hands," Hesa replied.
"That was Heeseung, not you," Arkha corrected him.
"Still, I couldn't protect it properly."
Hesa took the watch out of his jacket pocket, then buried it there in the yard.
When he was done, he turned to Arkha, who had been waiting for him the whole time.
"Sorry for making you wait. Let's just head to Sunshower now," Hesa said.
The two of them got back into the car and quickly drove away.
Neither of them realized that someone had been watching them from a distance.
That person dug up the soil where Hesa had buried the watch.
The boy cried as he held the watch close in his arms.
"Asta…"
~~~~~
Hesa stopped the car when he saw the traffic light turn red. While waiting, he glanced around at the buildings nearby, and his eyes accidentally landed on one particular building with a large sign in front of it.
Hesa immediately froze.
"T-The orphanage…"
Honk!
The sound of a car horn snapped Hesa back to reality. The light had already turned green.
"You sleepy?" Arkha asked.
"N-No, not really," Hesa replied.
"You okay?" Arkha asked again.
"Y-Yeah, sorry. I just zoned out for a second," Hesa said.
"What were you zoning out about?" Arkha asked.
"The usual. School assignments," Hesa answered.
"Sure…" Arkha said suspiciously.
"You really don't trust me at all, huh?" Hesa said.
"Whatever," Arkha replied.
For a while, silence filled the car. Hesa glanced at Arkha, who was busy playing with his phone.
"Setta isn't the key to this problem at all…"
That was true.
Hesa had become too comfortable with the peace in his life lately that he had started to believe everything was over.
When in reality, there was something huge he had forgotten.
Fifteen minutes later, Hesa got out of the car and looked up at the sky, now painted orange by the setting sun, while up ahead, Arkha could be seen pushing against the already locked school gate.
"We're late," Arkha said.
Hesa looked at the school grounds, now eerily quiet.
"My mom saw Kyungmin fall from outside the school area, right?"
He looked at Arkha, who was staring back at him.
Without another word, Hesa immediately pulled Arkha toward the side of the school building.
"What is this?"
From there, they could see the rooftop area.
"You're thinking what I'm thinking too, aren't you?" Arkha suddenly said.
"What are you thinking?" Hesa asked.
"School rooftops are usually always crowded, except during class hours," Arkha said.
"Even during class hours, there are usually students skipping class and hanging out on the rooftop," Hesa added.
"Exactly. Kyungmin threw himself off the rooftop… but was he really alone?"