The night had long since fallen, yet the rain refused to stop.
Sheets of water lashed against the glass, wind howled through the cracks, and thunder split the sky again and again
as if the heavens themselves were angry.
In that flickering chaos of lightning, Garam lay motionless in his dark room.
Eyes shut, chest heavy, the silence around him pulsed in rhythm with the storm.
The suffocation he felt had heavied his chest. The day ended but his fearful heart, his trembling hands which carried him... all irritated him.
"What do I want now? I can't say it anymore."
He wanted to unburden his heart, to lay everything out, so sleep could be his. The tightness around his neck was ready to choke him.
He thought of his mother "would she listen?
His phone, lying beside him, kept lighting up.. flashing weakly, again and again..
a small, stubborn light in the darkness that he refused to see.
But then a thunderclap, and a loud, desperate knock came.
The door shook.
Garam groaned, dragging himself up. His body moved like it didn't want to.
With an annoyed stance he opened the door and the air shifted.
"Why aren't you answering your phone?"
A familiar voice came. Sharp and trembling.
"Mom…?"
"Where's Gyu?!" she demanded, panic cracking her tone.
Garam froze. His throat tightened.
"He's not here?"
"He must be… at his house," he said quietly.
"What do you mean? I told you to bring him home!"
"Mom, not now—"
"Who's he with?"
"His… friends, maybe."
Even he didn't believe his own words.
His mother's gaze softened into something worse than anger — disappointment.
"Take me to his house. Now."
"Mom, I don't even know— weren't you out of town?"
"Yes," she said, voice breaking, "but when one son faints and the other ignores every call — tell me, which mother could stay away?"
"You came alone?"
"Yes."
Hana dialed Gyu again. The call rang into silence.
"My heart won't rest," she whispered. "Take me to him, Garam." she pleaded.
"He's fine… you're worrying for nothing. He's not a kid anymore."
He tried to sound calm, but she wouldn't move.
Finally, Garam sighed, defeated, and called Ben.
"Hello is everything alright?" Ben asked.
"Yes. Give me Kaven's number."
And he did.
Garam dialed his number.
"Hello? Who's this?"
Before Garam could answer, Hana snatched the phone.
"I'm Gyu's mother. Son, are you with him?"
"Oh, no, Aunty- he was asleep, so I went home.".
Without a word, she grabbed her bag and turned to leave.
"Mom, where are you going? It's the middle of the night!"
"To Gyu!"
He grabbed her wrist. And looked at her with wistful eyes.
"Don't leave me please not now" the only thought echoed in his weary mind.
....
Three Days Later
"Hey, it's been three days since Garam last came… and Kaven too."
"You think they fought?" Terry asked.
"Garam? No way," Ben said. "He's not the type. For him, talking is already rare. Fighting? Impossible."
"Let's drop by his house later," Auron suggested.
"By the way, anyone heard from Gyu?"
Ben shook his head. "I don't have his number."
"Kaven, then?"
"He's not answering either."
As they walked, they spotted Kaven across the street... picking up medicine at a pharmacy.
They shouted his name, but the sound drowned beneath a passing bus.
By the time the road cleared, he was gone.
---
Garam's Room
The clock read 3 PM, but his room looked like midnight.
Curtains drawn. No light.
Just the faint hum of rain.
He was still asleep.
Ben barged in and shook him hard.
Garam jolted up, eyes wild, breath heavy --
as if waking from something darker than sleep.
"What happened? Everything okay?" he asked, voice hoarse.
"We should ask you that! You're still in bed?"
"Didn't sleep much last night."
"You sick or something? If you keep missing school, they'll erase your name, Mr. Cho might replace you.
"Maybe that's better," Garam murmured.
Ben hesitated then quietly asked, "Do you… know how Gyu's doing?"
Garam's eyes flicked up, unreadable. Then, flatly he whispered "No."
"Go now. Let me rest."
He turned away, shutting the world out again.
Ben sighed as he came out of the room. "He hasn't gone to see him… and I really thought things were getting better since that night."
"Hey! Match this evening -you in?" he shouted from outside.
"No" Garam's tired voice came from behind the door.
At six, He stepped out quietly, with a mask covering half his face, and disappeared into the dusk.
---
The Next Morning
Sunlight spilled softly through thin curtains.
Gyu stirred.
The room looked familiar --yet distant.
His bedsheets were clean, his clothes changed.
His body felt lighter, but his mind blank-
as if the last three days had been swallowed by fog.
He remembered someone putting wet clothes on his head. Being med fed.
He moved slowly, still dizzy, and stepped into the hall.
A small note waited on the table:
"Food's on the table. Eat properly."
He frowned. Who… wrote this?
He checked his phone — dozens of missed calls from Mom, a few messages from Kaven:
Kaven- "Feeling better?"
"If not, don't come. I'll take notes."
Gyu smiled faintly. Annoying as always, but sweet.
-"I'm coming today," he texted back.
Kaven-"Wait for me, we'll go together."
He opened his drawer and found all his clothes washed and neatly folded.
"When did he do all this?" he muttered, brow furrowing.
In the kitchen, a cup of herbal tea waited beside another sticky note:
"Drink this. And stop worrying me."
Gyu laughed quietly. "When did I ever worry you?"
He took a photo of the empty cup and sent it to Kaven:
-"Done. Happy now?"
Standing by the gate later, he spotted Kaven walking toward him, smiling as usual.
"You even had breakfast, huh? Alone?"
"Yeah," Gyu chuckled. "It was tasty. Thanks."
"Thanks?" Kaven blinked. "You're welcome…?"
"If it was that good, why didn't you save me some?"
"Was it for two?" Gyu laughed.
Kaven stared at him, confused, but laughed anyway.
The two of them walked off toward school under the morning light.
---
At School
Class had already started.
Garam sat at the back, head down, eyes closed.
"You awake?" Auron asked.
"No. I'm just tired."
He lifted his gaze for a second-
and saw them.
Gyu and Kaven, sitting together, laughing softly.
He looked away and closed his eyes again.
His phone buzzed.
Mom: "Is he fine? i didn't get any response from kaven. I'm coming home."
Garam: "Mom… please, just call him once more."
During lunch, Gyu remembers his Mom's call and finally calls her.
"Eomma." he chirped.
"Do you know how worried I was? I came to see you that night! How are you now?"
"I'm better now… You came that night? I don't remember."
"I had to leave for work right after Gyuah. When I came, you were already asleep."
"and why do you live in such an isolated place?"
"Eomma, then why did you come there alone?
"I wasn't, Garam took me there." She said, Knowing what his next words could be.
"He came inside?" she only smiles.
Flashback-
Garam, standing in the doorway.
"I'll stay," he said quietly.
Hana's eyes filled with relief. "You'll stay? but here not inside.?"
He nodded once. "Yes."
Flashback fades.
Gyu's voice faltered. "Mom… are you saying Garam was there?"
"Hmm, but you know how stubborn your brother can be, he wouldn't have gone inside."
But for Gyu his world stuck at the word stay.
He remembered fragments now..
A cool towel pressed gently to his forehead.
A voice, low and tired, murmuring something soft.
Hands lifting a spoon of porridge.
Medicine against his lips.
He tried to recall the face... But it didn't clear.
He pressed hard.
Through his blurred vision, he saw a shadow move — quiet, hesitant. His head pounded too much to think clearly.
He believed it was kaven but now his heart emphasizes someone else.
Flashback-
Gyu was trembling in cold sweats, his fever 104 F left his head pounding like a hammer knocking on the door. mind hazy.
A damp towel was placed against his forehead.
He tried to lift the towel.
"Don't," a voice whispered softly.
His head throbbed harder, flashes of a rainy dark night blurring his thoughts.
"It's cold," he murmured faintly.
"No," the voice answered, calm but distant.
"I'm not Gyu," he said suddenly, tears welling in his tired eyes.
"I know," a soft reply came.
"Then take it off. I don't like it."
"Please… you have a fever."
"I said I don't like that name," he muttered. "I have my own."
"What is it?"
"Beom… Gyu."
"That's what I said -Gyu."
"No," he whispered weakly, almost pleading. "I'm Beomgyu."
The room fell silent again. only the sound of rain tapping on the window filled the emptiness.
Then, a hand, quiet,careful.. placed a strip of medicine beside him.
"Take this when you wake," the voice said.
The figure turned to leave, but Gyu's voice, fragile and weak stopped him.
"Please… don't go. I don't want to be alone. Stay… just for a while."
For a long moment, no one moved.
Then the faint creak of a chair... someone sitting down, staying just beyond his sight.
No more words.
Only the sound of rain, and Gyu's uneven breathing filling the silence.
By the time morning light brushed across the curtains, the room was empty again —
but the towel was freshly changed,
and the medicine glass was gone.
Flashback end.
His breath caught.
Three nights.
Garam had stayed....silently, unseen... caring for him when no one else was watching.
A faint smile curved his lips.
And across the classroom, Garam looked up....just for a second before turning away, pretending not to notice.
---
Somewhere behind these quiet walls,
Garam hides — behind silence, behind guilt, behind love that doesn't dare speak.
But walls can only hold for so long.
And one day, Gyu will tear them down.