Chapter 13
As I left the wealthy neighborhood, I finally started to breathe a little easier.
I touched the back of my neck.
Nothing was there. Nothing choking me.
Yet it still felt like something was clinging to me, pressed between the thick scarf wrapped around my throat.
I scratched at the back of my neck for no reason.
“Excuse me, miss?”
I looked outside the window, then turned my head toward the driver’s seat. We still had a long way to go before reaching the terminal.
“You’re not running away, are you?”
Running away?
Is that what I looked like?
“No,” I replied, shaking my head.
The old man gave a faint smile through the rearview mirror. It was a smile of quiet relief. I turned my head back to the window.
He seemed like he wanted to talk more but didn’t. He didn’t even glance back at me. The car rolled on in a slightly awkward silence.
Before long, we arrived at the terminal.
I took out a ten-thousand-won bill from the envelope of money I’d been saving in my jacket pocket and handed it to him. After receiving my change, I stepped out of the taxi.
“Ugh…”
I shivered as I entered the terminal. It wasn’t as warm as the taxi, but it was still heated.
There was a strange, dusty smell—probably from an old heater—but it wasn’t bad. Not pleasant, but not unbearable either. I headed straight to the ticket booth.
If Jin Eun-sol came to a place like this, he’d probably wrinkle his nose in disgust without hesitation.
I frowned. Why am I even thinking about Jin Eun-sol?
There was no line at the booth—probably because it was still dawn—so I stepped up right away.
“Where to?” the clerk asked.
I glanced at the schedule. What time is it now?
I shoved a hand into my padded coat pocket to check my phone. I fumbled, but it wouldn’t come out.
Did I leave it behind?
“What’s departing right now?” I asked.
The woman looked a little confused, but checked the schedule and answered dryly, “There’s one bus heading towards Busan right now.”
Busan.
That was far.
Mom must’ve gone as far away as she could.
Though honestly, I didn’t even know where exactly she was.
“I’ll take one, please.”
“Are you a student?” the woman asked as she rang up the total.
Why would she ask that?
I blinked, confused. “Huh?”
“If you’re a student, show your ID. I can give you a discount.”
Ah…
“No,” I said, shaking my head.
I hadn’t even started high school yet—I didn’t have a student ID.
She gave me a brief glance before handing me the ticket and my change.
“Gate 6,” she said.
“Thank you.”
I nodded and walked toward Gate 6. I glanced at the signs as I walked.
Apparently, I could sit anywhere as long as it wasn’t in first class.
So this was how express buses worked.
It was my first time riding one.
There had always been opportunities before, but Jin Eun-sol never let me go on school trips or picnics. I missed every chance.
“What if you get sick when you’re there?”
That’s what he always said, looking at me like I was a burden.
Thinking back now… was that really such a big deal?
He’s the one who’s sick, not me.
Still, I always nodded quietly and agreed with him. While the other students were away, I studied in an empty school.
That’s all I was doing—studying—but I cried anyway.
Cried because I was alone.
Because it was too hot.
Too cold.
Because I was the only one stuck in that classroom.
I’d bury my face in my arms on the desk and cry until I couldn’t anymore.
By the time I was in my third year of middle school, I didn’t even cry anymore.
It had become… too normal.
I stepped out at Gate 6.
“Busan?” the driver asked as soon as he saw me.
“Ah… yes,” I nodded.
“Get on quickly. We’re leaving now.”
The bus driver, wearing white gloves, extended his hand toward me.
What is that…?
For a moment, I stared at his gloved palm in confusion.
He looked at me over his sunglasses and said,
“I need your ticket.”
“Oh! Right, here,” I said quickly, handing it over.
I climbed onto the bus. Inside, it was nearly empty—just three other passengers scattered around, all asleep.
I took a seat in the middle, carefully and quietly.
The engine was already running, and warm air blew softly from the vents above. As I settled into the seat, the tight knot in my stomach began to ease.
I hadn’t realized how tense I’d been.
Leaning back against the seat, I let my body relax.
Sleep pulled at me, heavy and warm.
My eyes fluttered open.
Has the sun already risen?
Sunlight streamed through the open curtains, landing directly on my face. The bus had come to a stop.
Did we arrive already?
Why didn’t anyone wake me?
Or… is this just a rest stop?
I turned my head towards the window and raised my arms to stretch—
Thunk.
My hand bumped into something.
“Oh, sorry—” I started to apologize automatically, but the words were caught in my throat.
There, seated beside me, was someone entirely absorbed in a mobile game. He didn’t even glance at me.
It was Jin Eun-sol.
My entire body froze.
No… No way. Am I seeing things?
How could he be here?
“Ah, uh…”
A strange, shaky sound left my lips.
But Jin Eun-sol didn’t react. He kept his head down, eyes glued to the screen, fingers tapping calmly.
That silence…
That focused indifference…
It made me feel like I was suffocating.
Say something—anything.
Even if it’s anger. Even if it’s harsh. Yell at me, act crazy, do something.
But Jin Eun-sol’s lips stayed firmly shut as he continued to play.
My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might burst from my chest.
“Ah,” he finally said.
That single word made my whole body flinch, like I’d been shoved off a cliff.
I was shaking. Every inch of me was trembling.
I felt like I’d explode if anyone even touched me.
“He’s dead,” Jin Eun-sol muttered, eyes still on the screen as he set the phone on his lap.
It wasn’t clear if he was talking about the game… or to me.
I clasped my hands together, not knowing what to do with them, and swallowed hard.
Thud!
As I swallowed, my head slammed into the window with a sickening thud.
“Agh!” I cried out instinctively, but it was cut short by a large hand pressing down hard on the back of my head.
My entire body trembled.
My face was crushed against the cold glass, skin scraping against it.
I couldn’t even register the pain—only the raw, paralyzing terror that swallowed me whole.
“Sister.”
