I walked out of the bathroom slowly.
Too slowly.
Like my brain was still stuck in there with Niran.
"…What did I just say?" I muttered to myself.
I stopped in the hallway.
Ran it back in my head.
"At least I'm human."
Yeah. I said that.
To a dead guy.
A dead guy who didn't choose to be dead.
My stomach dropped a little.
"…Okay," I whispered. "That was bad."
Not just bad.
Stupid.
I rubbed my face hard.
"What if he gets angry," I muttered. "Like actually angry."
"Like… evil spirit angry."
I glanced down the hallway.
Dead quiet.
Too quiet.
"Nope," I said immediately. "I'm not doing this."
I turned and walked back to my room faster.
When I opened the door—
Jea-Hyun was sitting like he owned the place.
Arms crossed.
Leg bouncing.
Eyes locked on Seo-Yeon like she was a math problem he refused to solve.
She, on the other hand, sat neatly on the other side, pretending he didn't exist.
Perfect silence war.
Jea-Hyun noticed me first.
"Finally," he said. "Can we work now or are we doing emotional group therapy today?"
I ignored him and sat down on the bed.
Seo-Yeon smiled slightly.
"I can start whenever," I said calmly.
Jea-Hyun scoffed.
"While you're at it. I will watch something on my phone," Seo-Yeon chimmed in.
"Yeah, sure." Jea-Hyun spat.
"Do that," I muttered.
He is annoying.
He already was.
Typical.
I exhaled and leaned back on my hands, eyes scanning the room without meaning to.
The corner.
The mirror.
The empty air Niran usually hovered in.
Nothing.
"…What are you looking for?" Jea-Hyun asked suddenly, not even looking up.
"Your imaginary friend?"
I scoffed.
"First it was ghost boyfriend," I shot back. "Now imaginary friend? Pick a side, bro."
Jea-Hyun finally looked at me and laughed.
"Bro, you're the one switching the air's relationship status."
I opened my mouth—
Closed it.
Because I didn't have a comeback.
Seo-Yeon tilted her head slightly.
"…Ghost boyfriend?" she repeated softly.
I froze.
Jea-Hyun shrugged.
"He's weird."
I kicked his leg lightly.
"Shut up."
He laughed again.
But mine didn't quite reach my face.
Because my thoughts weren't in the room anymore.
They were still in the hallway.
Still in that bathroom.
Still on Niran's face when I said it.
"…Idiot," I whispered to myself.
And for some reason—
That word didn't feel like it was aimed at him anymore.
The fan was too loud.
Or maybe it was just my head.
I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at nothing, fingers picking at a loose thread on my sleeve like if I kept pulling, it would somehow fix everything.
It didn't.
Jae-Hyun was still sprawled like he owned the place—one leg bent, back against the wall, watching me in that quiet, annoying way he does when he already knows something's wrong.
"You're thinking too hard," he said.
I exhaled through my nose. Of course he noticed.
"…Let me ask you something," I muttered.
His eyebrow lifted slightly. "That serious, huh?"
I ignored that.
"If you hurt a friend," I said, keeping my eyes down, "and they just… walk away…"
The words felt stuck.
Heavy.
"…like they don't even want to look at you anymore—"
I paused.
"Do you follow them… or just stay?"
Silence stretched.
I could feel his gaze now. Not casual anymore. Focused.
"Did you mean to hurt them?" he asked.
Straight to it.
My fingers stilled.
"…No."
A beat.
"Then you don't just sit there," Jae-Hyun said.
Something in my chest tightened—but he didn't stop.
"But you don't chase them like an idiot either."
I frowned slightly, finally looking at him. "Then what—just stand there in the middle like a fool?"
He huffed a quiet laugh, shaking his head.
"You go after them," he said, voice steady. "Just enough to stop them."
My brows pulled together.
"And say what?" I asked.
His eyes locked on mine.
"The truth."
Simple.
Sharp.
"You apologize. No excuses. No 'I didn't mean to but—'" he added. "Just say you messed up."
That… hit.
I looked away again.
"…And if they don't stop?" I asked.
"Then you let them go."
My grip tightened on my sleeve.
"That's it?" I muttered.
"That's respect," he replied immediately. "You don't get to hurt someone and then decide how fast they forgive you."
…Yeah.
That one landed deeper than I wanted.
I swallowed.
"And if they still don't come back?"
For a second, he didn't answer.
Then—
"Then you live with it," he said. "And next time, you don't make the same mistake."
I let out a quiet breath, staring at the floor.
It felt… unfair.
But also—
right.
Jae-Hyun shifted beside me, nudging my shoulder—not soft, not rough. Just enough.
"You really screwed up, didn't you?" he said.
I let out a dry, quiet laugh.
"…Yeah."
No point lying.
He didn't say anything after that.
Didn't comfort me.
Didn't sugarcoat it.
Just sat there like the answer was already enough.
And maybe it was.
Because now—
I knew exactly what I had to do.
I just didn't know if I had the guts to do it.