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LIFE GOSE ON

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Chapter 5

The festival* 🎋 Storage room chaos incoming.

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*After School in 2‑E*

*Chapter 5 – Caught in the Storeroom*

*Saturday, Culture Festival Prep. 6:47 PM.*

The school’s supposed to be empty by 6:00. But 2‑E’s booth is behind schedule because someone – Yerin – ordered 200 paper lanterns instead of 20.

So it’s you, Jaehee, and a mountain of bamboo frames in the gym storage room.

“I told her 20,” Jaehee mutters, sleeves rolled up, hair tied back with a pen. She looks tired. She’s looked tired since Thursday. Since the note.

“You told her,” you agree, holding a lantern frame that’s already falling apart. “She heard 200.”

The only light is the bare bulb overhead. It buzzes. Outside, the rain from this morning started again. You can hear it on the gym roof.

Your phone buzzes.

*Hyunwoo*: _yall still alive in there? coach says building locks at 7. want me to run interference?_

*Hyunwoo*: _also i’m banned from the library so this is my good deed for the week_

You show Jaehee the screen. She doesn’t smile, but her shoulders drop a little.

*You*: _We’re good. Almost done._

You’re not good. You have 73 lanterns left.

At 6:58 PM, you hear it. A _click_ from the hallway. Then footsteps, leaving.

Then nothing.

Jaehee goes still. “Did the…”

You try the storage room door.

Locked.

From the outside.

You both stare at the handle like it’ll apologize.

“Hyunwoo?” you yell.

No answer. Just rain.

Jaehee pulls her phone out. No service. Of course. The gym’s a dead zone.

You check yours. One bar. You text Hyunwoo: _WE’RE LOCKED IN THE GYM STORAGE_

It doesn’t deliver.

“Okay,” Jaehee says. Calm. Too calm. “Maintenance does rounds at 9. Two hours.”

Two hours. In a 3x3 meter room. With the girl you almost accused of betraying you. And 73 lanterns.

“Right,” you say. “Cool. Love this for us.”

Jaehee sits down on a crate. You sit on the floor opposite her. The bulb buzzes.

Silence for 30 seconds.

“I’m sorry,” you both say at the same time.

You blink. Jaehee looks startled at herself.

“You first,” she says.

You pick at the floor. “I shouldn’t have thought you’d show him. That was… I was scared and dumb. You literally gave me your umbrella. People who betray you don’t do that.”

Jaehee is quiet. Then: “I’m sorry I got mad at Hyunwoo. And at you. I don’t… I’m not good at this.” She gestures between you two. “At people. At liking people. I get loud in my head and stupid outside of it.”

“He wasn’t wrong,” you mumble. “About the fox.”

Jaehee’s head snaps up. “What?”

“‘You become responsible for what you’ve tamed.’ Hyunwoo said it was cheesy. But it’s not. It’s terrifying.” You look at your hands. “Because what if you tame something and then you drop it? Or what if it never wanted to be tamed in the first place?”

The bulb flickers.

Jaehee stands. Walks the two steps to you. Crouches down so you’re eye level.

“I wasn’t tamed,” she says. “I walked in. On Tuesday. When Yerin asked me to cover. I could have said no. I didn’t.”

Your breath catches.

“And I’m not responsible for you,” she keeps going. “I _want_ to be. There’s a difference.”

The rain is loud now. The room smells like dust and bamboo.

You reach up, slow, and touch the small star hairpin she gave you. “You said to bring the ending.”

“I did.”

You take a breath. “The girl with the umbrella… she stops being scared of the rain. Because she realizes the other girl isn’t just keeping her dry. She’s willing to get wet too.”

Jaehee’s eyes are dark. “And?”

“And they share the umbrella. Even though it’s too small. Even though their shoulders get soaked. Because close is better than dry.”

Jaehee doesn’t say anything. She just reaches out and gently, so gently, fixes the star hairpin in your hair. Her fingers linger.

The bulb flickers again. Then _dies_.

Dark.

You hear Jaehee inhale.

“Are you–”

“I’m here,” she says. Voice right in front of you. “Are you scared?”

“Of the dark?”

“Of me.”

“No,” you whisper. “I’m scared you’ll leave when the lights come back.”

Something brushes your hand. Her hand. Cold, like always. She doesn’t hold it. Just leaves it there, touching.

“I ran here on Tuesday,” she says. “In the rain. Because I thought you’d be gone if I was late.”

“I ran on Thursday,” you say. “Because I thought you were mad.”

“We’re both idiots,” Jaehee says.

“Yeah.”

You both laugh. Quiet. Real.

Then the door _bangs_.

“IF YOU TWO ARE MAKING OUT IN THERE, I SWEAR TO GOD–” Hyunwoo’s voice. “MAINTENANCE GAVE ME THE KEY BUT I’M ONLY OPENING IT IF YOU PROMISE TO HELP ME WITH CALC–”

The door flies open. Hallway light blinds you.

Hyunwoo stands there, key in hand, completely soaked. He looks from you on the floor, to Jaehee crouched in front of you, hands basically touching, to the 73 unmade lanterns.

He sighs. “I’m gonna pretend I don’t see this. For blackmail reasons.”

Jaehee stands, face red, and smacks his arm as she walks past. “You’re late.”

“You’re welcome,” he calls after her. Then he looks at you and winks. “Told you she knows why the fox matters.”

You grab your bag. The black umbrella is still there. So is the blue note.

You run after Jaehee.

“Jaehee!”

She stops in the hallway. Doesn’t turn.

You hold out the umbrella. “It’s still raining. Is it big enough for two?”

She turns then. And for the first time, she really smiles. Small. Yours.

“Only if we go slow,” she says. “So we don’t miss anything.”

You step under it with her. Shoulders touching. Both getting a little wet.

_End of Chapter 5._