

LIFE GOSE ON

 

Chapter 4

*After School in 2‑E*

*Chapter 4 – Locker 27*

Friday morning. You’re late because you rewrote the ending of your story three times and still hate it.

You skid into the 2‑E hallway at 8:28, shove your outdoor shoes into locker 27, and freeze.

There’s a folded paper stuck in the vent. Not a school notice. Pale blue. Not Jaehee’s yellow.

You look around. Hallway’s empty. You pull it out.

_2‑E,_

_You left this in the library. Thought you’d want it back._

_– H_

Inside the paper is a page. Your page. From your notes app.

_She didn’t know her name yet. But she knew the way her hair fell when she looked down at the barcode scanner._

Your blood goes cold.

You never printed that. You _can’t_ print from your phone at school. And the only time your phone was out of your hands was…

_“You forgot this yesterday. I was going to give it to the lost and found but… I opened it. Sorry.”_

Jaehee. But Jaehee uses yellow sticky notes. And signs MJ. Not H.

H. Hyunwoo.

First period is Korean Lit. You don’t hear a word. You just stare at the blue paper, refolded so many times it’s soft. How did he get it? Did Jaehee give it to him? Why would she–

“2‑E. Question 3.”

You snap up. The whole class is looking. You mumble something about metaphors and sit down burning.

---

*Lunch.*

You skip the rooftop. Hide in the library instead. It’s empty. Mr. Park’s at a meeting.

You’re at the counter, holding the blue note, when the door opens.

Jaehee. No blazer. Just her uniform shirt, sleeves rolled up. She looks like she hasn’t slept.

“You weren’t at the roof,” she says instead of hello.

“I… had something to do.”

Her eyes drop to the blue paper in your hand. Her jaw does that thing. That tight thing.

“Hyunwoo gave that to you.” Not a question.

“Did you give it to him?” The words come out before you can stop them.

Jaehee flinches. Like you slapped her. “What?”

“My story. That page. The only time my phone was out was when _you_ had it. Did you show him?”

“No.” It’s instant. Sharp. “I wouldn’t.”

“Then how–”

“I don’t know!” For the first time, Jaehee raises her voice. Then she looks horrified at herself and softer, “I don’t know. I put your phone on the counter and went to get the cart. When I came back… he was there. By the door. Said he was looking for me.”

You remember. Wednesday. You were reshelving. Hyunwoo came in first. Jaehee was late.

“He must have…” Jaehee can’t finish. She looks sick. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I should have–”

“It’s okay,” you lie. It’s not. You feel cracked open.

Jaehee steps forward. Then stops herself. Her hands are fists. “Did you… did you think I’d do that? Show someone?”

You can’t answer. Because for half a second, you did.

Jaehee sees it on your face. She nods once, like she’s confirming something to herself. “Right.”

She turns to leave.

“Wait!” You grab her sleeve. “I didn’t mean–”

“You did.” She doesn’t pull away, but she doesn’t look at you. “And that’s… that’s fair. We’re not… I’m not anything. I don’t get to be mad about Hyunwoo, or mad that you don’t trust me.”

“You _are_ something,” you say, desperate. “You’re–”

The door slams open.

Hyunwoo. Out of breath. Basketball in one hand. “There you are. Both of you. Coach is doing locker checks for cigs and I remembered–” He sees your faces. Stops. “Oh. Bad time?”

You’re still holding Jaehee’s sleeve. Jaehee’s still looking at the floor. The blue note is on the counter between all three of you.

Hyunwoo’s eyes land on it. “Ah. Shit.” He runs a hand through his hair. “Look, 2‑E, before you think I’m a creep – I didn’t read it on purpose. It was open on your phone when I picked it up. You dropped it when you ran to the bus stop Tuesday. In the rain. I was behind you.”

Tuesday. The first day. The umbrella day. You did run. You were a mess.

“I screenshotted it because I didn’t know whose it was,” he keeps going, fast. “Then I asked Jaehee yesterday if it was hers because it sounded like… well. Like someone she’d like. She said no. Got weird. So I figured it was yours and printed it in the computer lab to give back. I didn’t mean to–”

“Stop,” Jaehee says. Quiet.

Hyunwoo stops.

Jaehee finally looks at you. “He’s telling the truth. I saw the screenshot yesterday. I told him to give it back. I didn’t… I didn’t tell him what it meant. Or who it was about.”

She picks up the blue paper. Folds it, carefully. Hands it to you. Not to him.

“I’m not good at endings,” she says, echoing her text. “I’m worse at beginnings, apparently.”

She walks out. Doesn’t run this time. Just walks.

Hyunwoo watches her go, then looks at you. “For what it’s worth, 2‑E? The story’s good. The girl with the umbrella? She should end up with someone who knows why the fox matters.”

He sets his basketball down. “I’m gonna go tell coach I’m quitting student council liaison duty. Some things shouldn’t be a group project.”

He leaves too.

You’re alone in the library. Again. Holding a blue page, a black umbrella in your bag, and two star hairpins in your hair.

You open your notes app. Delete everything.

Then you type:

_Chapter 4: The girl who was wrong._

_She thought the taming part was the hard part. It wasn’t. The hard part was believing she was worth staying for._

You hit send. To Jaehee.

Three dots.

*Jaehee*: _Library. After school. Bring the ending._

*Jaehee*: _Please._

_End of Chapter 4._