Together

“Shhh, be quiet, Ireh; you’re making too much noise,” he whispers, covering my mouth with his large hands.

We were uncomfortably close, stuck in this confined space where movement was a frill. How did I find myself in this situation, especially with him of all people?

I push his hand away from my face. “Don’t touch me,” I say sternly.

He scoffs, “You think I like touching you? In your dreams!”

He always picks fights at the worst times. Before I can utter another word, we hear loud footsteps approaching our hiding spot.

He covers my mouth again, but this time I let him do it, equally afraid that any noise might give us away. The tension is palpable; even he seems anxious, judging by the goosebumps on his arms.

Once more, how did we end up here? It all started a month ago with an unexpected incident at our school.

“Why so down today, Ireh? I even got you your favourite bread.” Nari pouts, concerned for her stressed best friend. “You know you can always talk to me,” she assures.

“I’m sorry for being like this; I swear it’s nothing big. I just keep overthinking and get stressed about it.” Ireh gives a small smile to reassure her.

“Is this about your mom?”

Nari interprets the silence as confirmation.

“I met my soon-to-be stepfather last week, and ever since, I keep having bad dreams.”

“About him?”

“No. Not about him at all.” Ireh pauses. “It was about murders, several people dying, and it all took place in our school.” Ireh looks up to see her friend holding back a smile. “You find this funny?”

“What? No. Of course, it’s not funny.” Nari quickly changes her expression to a serious one. “Ireh, you remember the last time you had a nightmare? It ended up being nothing but a misunderstanding.”

True as that might be, nothing could help Ireh calm down. Her gut told her that if she didn’t do anything, something bad would happen. Because 50% of the time, her dreams turned into reality. She knew just how to make sure it wasn’t just a nightmare because the first murder was happening tonight. And the victim was none other than her least favourite person.

“Jaemin, can we talk?”

Jaemin raises his eyebrows at the sight of Ireh.

“Well, if it isn’t Miss Green Pants coming to talk to me? How may I be at your service, Your Highness?” He smirks playfully, attempting to hold her hand like royalty.

Ireh snatches her hand away, already annoyed. “Don’t touch me!”

Jaemin rolls his eyes. “Well, what made you spare some time for us peasants?”

“I wanted to ask... What are you doing tonight?” She asks hesitantly.

Jaemin’s face turns pale. “Ireh... You’re not—Don’t tell me—Are you in love with me or something now? What did you eat this morning?”

“WHAT THE HELL? WHY WOULD I LOVE YOU? I WAS JUST asking...” Everyone turns to look as she shouts.

She sighs loudly before grabbing him by the sleeve and pulling him aside to talk in private.

“Ireh, please stop! Are you going to rape me now that I’ve rejected you?”

“Shut the hell up, Na Jaemin.” Ireh had had enough of his comments, and anger was visible in her eyes.

“Okay.” He obeys her to prevent anything harmful from happening.

“Now back to where I was. What are you doing tonight?” She asks again.

“Why do you keep asking that—”

“Just answer, please.”

Jaemin gives in as he hears her plea. “I’m practising overtime today with the basketball club.”

He could see the horror on her face with his answer. “Ireh, are you okay?” Jaemin reaches his hand out to pat her shoulder, but before he can, she steps back.

“Okay. After practice is over, could you meet me in the garden?”

The boy is confused at her request, but by the look on her face, he knows questioning it wouldn’t be the right thing for now. “Alright.” He answers, making the girl pleased.

As I waited for Jaemin in the garden, the very place my dream predicted a murder, anxiety wrapped around me. Was this the right thing to do? What if nothing happened, and I made a mistake? How would I explain it to him?

“Ireh!” I heard his voice calling as he approached.

Soon, he stood in front of me, likely brimming with questions, but he remained patient.

I tilted my head to check if he was followed, finding no signs of anyone.

“Ireh, can you explain all of this now?” he asked finally.

Before I could respond, a bandage caught my eye. “Jaemin, did you get hurt? How did you get hurt? Who hurt you?” I moved closer to examine his forehead.

“Woah woah, since when do you care about me? Why does it matter if I got hurt or not? It’s not a big deal; I just got hit by the ball during practice.” He lightly pushed me back.

“Oh, thank god! I thought someone tried to hurt you,” I sighed in relief.

“What do you mean? You’ve been acting weird since this morning. Seriously, what did you eat? Or is this your way of getting closer to me?”

“Why would I get closer to you? I’m just trying to save your life!”

“How are you saving my life? By trying to flirt with me?”

I gasped, “When did I even flirt with you?”

“You call me to meet you at night for no reason, then you act like you care about me, and you even... you even moved your face so close to mine!”

“I was just checking up on you!”

“Oh really now, then why did you call me here?” He folded his arms, waiting for an answer.

“I told you. It was to save your life.”

“From who?”

“I don’t know that yet.”

“Ireh, you’re seriously sick. Did you consider going to the doctor? Oh, wait, I don’t think doctors can cure lovesickness.”

“Oh my god, Jaemin, I should’ve just let you die!”

“What the hell! Wait, were you the one planning to kill me all along? Omg, it all makes sense now.”

“You never fail to remind me why you’re so annoying every time we talk.”

“Now I’m the annoying one? I get harassed by you, and you dare to insult me?”

“When did I even harass you?”

“You tried to kiss me a minute ago!”

“Na Jaemin, what the heck is wrong with you? You’re being so delusional. Are you obsessed with me or something?”

“You’re the one who’s obsessed with me!”

I took a deep breath to calm myself down. “No, I’ll be the bigger person and forgive you. I’m not an annoying brat like you; I’m way better than that.”

I enjoyed the expression on his face; it was evident he wanted to punch me.

“Well, thanks to you, I wasted my time and ruined my mood,” Jaemin groaned in frustration.

“Hate to break it to you, but you’ll have to endure this a little longer.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m walking you home.”

“Wow, you’re still not giving up after all this humiliation? You’re so determined. Just how in love are you with me, Yoon Ireh?”

“I’m just as much in love with you as your grades in English.”

“Hey! How do you know about them?”

“What do you mean how? The results are on the bulletin board.”

“Why would you check my results then? God, you’re too obsessed! Now I feel bad for your unrequited love.”

“Keep talking to yourself.”

“Hey, you’re not gonna cry yourself to sleep tonight, are you?”

“You’re making me feel bad. Do you want a tissue so you can have my scent with you as you clean your snot and tears?”

“You’re a psychopath.”

After ensuring Jaemin’s safety and dropping him off, the girl found ease in a peaceful sleep. Fortunately, his home was nearby, sparing her the concern of walking back home alone.

The following day, as Ireh walked her way to class, she encountered a crowd of students gathered outside the basketball club. Most of them appeared distraught, with tears streaming down their faces and expressions filled with sadness and fear.

“What happened in there? Is it a fight?” She approached a girl who was leaving the crowd.

“Somebody was murdered there last night.”

“What?” The colour drained from her face at the words. “Mur...dered?”

A visceral need to investigate grasped her. She wanted to take a closer look, to find Jaemin immediately and ensure he was safe and alive.

She ran her way through the crowd, pushing to the front, her eyes searching for him. Finally, she spotted Jaemin, quietly shedding tears as he tried to console his teammates. The victim wasn’t him, but one of his team members.

Before Ireh could call out to him, he noticed her presence and swiftly walked toward her. Pulling her to a less crowded and calmer spot, he wiped away his tears.

“You... Ireh, H-How did you know?” He managed to ask, his voice shaky.