Hanni was feeling a little brave at the time so she took the subway. She knew she still had to walk a bit before reaching the campus of Seoul National University College of Medicine. She had gotten in through a small scholarship but Hanni was still grateful since it cut off some of the fees she had to pay. Hanni was always anxious about being able to pay the school fees on time. Hanni refrained from taking out student loans because she wanted to avoid being in debt.
10:13 am
Hanni made it onto the campus and immediately walked towards her classroom. She was early today.
Hanni turned in some of her assignments to the professor and went to her usual seat.
Hanni pulled out various books and folders arranging them on her desk neatly. She pulled out multiple pens and laid them out in a certain color pattern. Some students snickered at Hanni's extreme measures but Hanni had gotten used to their whispers.
She focused all her attention on the board, propping her chin up with her hand. Occasionally, she would break her eye contact with the board to write down some notes. She color-coded everything in a way that made sense to her. Hanni's organized system allowed her to study more effectively.
Hanni was the last to leave the class since she had brought out so many books and notebooks.
Hanni was drained from her weekend studies and now she had more assignments to complete. Additionally, she had more material she had to revise. Hanni didn't want to make the mistake of overworking herself to the point of breaking down. Her best friend warned her but Hanni refused to listen.
The past few days she was unable to reach the girl because she was at an event where there was no service. Hanni knew the girl was safe and didn't worry too much about her. She was a pretty studio person but she was a bit of a party animal. At first, Hanni was always worrying about the girl but she got used to her showing up at Hanni's apartment door at 3 am.
Hanni decided to treat herself to some ₩10500 coffee ($8~ USD). It was definitely on the expensive side but Hanni felt like she deserved it.
She entered her favorite cafe, Cafe Chieut. This cafe stuck out to Hanni, it was on the side of the slanted road and it was close to her campus.
She ordered her usual and went to sit down at one of the tables. She pulled out her phone, scrolling for a bit. Some movement caught Hanni's attention and she looked up.
It was Sunwoo.
Hanni suddenly felt nervous. She tried to forget about the breakup and hurt for the past day but seeing Sunwoo again, dug up the hurt.
Hanni furrowed her brows. Wait..who is that?
Sunwoo was with someone. A girl. She was smiling and laughing with the girl. Hanni had never seen her before. Sunwoo would tell Hanni about everyone who was in her life. Every person, even if they had the littlest of interactions. But Hanni didn't recognize this girl.
Did Sunwoo move on that fast? Even though Sunwoo was in a deep state of sadness and despair just only a day ago, she "bounced" back so fast.
Hanni stopped her thoughts when she realized Sunwoo was staring straight at her. Hanni averted her eyes, glancing at the suddenly interesting ceiling tiles. Sunwoo noticed that but continued to chat with the girl she was with shortly after.
Hanni's order number was called and Hanni quickly grabbed her drink and cake pop and dashed out of the cafe. Hanni couldn't bear to see Sunwoo again. Especially with another girl.
Anxious thoughts filled her mind. Who was this girl to Sunwoo? Why didn't Hanni know about her? Did Sunwoo talk with this girl while they were still together? Did Hanni get cheated on?
Hanni fell so deep into her thoughts that she didn't even notice the step in front of her.
Hanni fell forward. But she was able to put her hands in front of her chest to soften her fall. She dropped her untouched coffee, spilling it all over the pavement. Her cake pop flew off just a few inches from Hanni but it was thankfully in a packaging.
Hanni sat up, looking at her hands. It was now all red and scratched up. Hanni brushed off the debris on her shirt ignoring the stinging pain. Hanni knew she had to quickly get home to treat her wound. She could not afford to deal with an infection right now.
Hanni got up with one quick move, grabbing the plastic coffee cup and lid. She blends over to pick up her cake pop. It was surprisingly still intact.
༄༄༄
The door swung open and Hanni rushed inside. The pain was now starting to bother her.
Hanni dropped her bag not caring where it landed. She ran into the kitchen and took out a first aid kit.
"Girl, what are you doing?" A voice appeared from Hanni's bedroom.
Hanni shot her head up in surprise. She completely forgot she gave her best friend her spare key.
The girl approached Hanni with a confused face.
"Oh my god. Hanni, what happened?" The girl asked pulling Hanni's hand to take a closer look.
"OW! Danielle let go of my hand! It hurts." Hanni jolted her hand back and softly blew on it.
"Can't even leave you unattended for a few days, tsk."
"And of course, you find a way to injure yourself the day before your first day on the job." Danielle sighed before looking through the bag.
Hanni just kept silent. Of course, something like this would happen to her.
Danielle pulled out a bottle of isopropyl alcohol and a cotton ball. She poured some on the cotton ball.
"Try not to punch me."
Danielle finished up helping Hanni clean and wrap her hands. Hanni just kept staring at her injuries thinking about how she was going to complete her assignments promptly or how she was going to perform at work.
"You seriously need to be more careful," Danielle commented.
"Well, I was too busy thinking about my job." Hanni lied.
Danielle doesn't know the news about Hanni and Sunwoo's recent split. Hanni didn't know how to bring the topic up to Danielle. Hanni felt like she should be going through this alone.
"What's the matter with you?"
"Oh. Uh..nothing just..you know. Stressing about the usual." Hanni replied, contemplating whether or not she should tell Danielle about the breakup.
"Well, remove yourself from your thoughts and come eat. I brought us food." Danielle said as she dragged Hanni out of the kitchen.
Their meal was eaten mostly in silence. Hanni was so hungry and she ended up devouring the fried chicken Danielle bought.
"Hanni, what the hell? Slow down a little." Danielle said a little disgusted at the way Hanni shoved the chicken into her mouth.
"Well...you wouldn't care how you looked eating if you haven't eaten this well in forever." Hanni joked with a mouthful of chicken.
"Ewwww. Hanni that's disgusting. Don't talk with your mouth full of food. I've literally lost my appetite."
Hanni just shrugged off Danielle's words. Hanni was comfortable around the girl. They've known each other since high school. Danielle came up to Hanni first and they both clicked instantly. Danielle was there through every part of Hanni's life. Every birthday, every breakdown, every good test score, every fight with her parents, Danielle was there to hear about it all.
Hanni cherished her close bond with Danielle and couldn't be more grateful for the girl.
"Soooo, how's the girl?"
Danielle's out-of-nowhere question caught Hanni off guard. She was about to take another bite of her chicken but stopped after hearing the girl's question.
Silence.
"Oh my god. What happened this time?" It was as if Danielle knew something was going on between the two of them.
Danielle knew Sunwoo wasn't a good girlfriend for Hanni. They had different mortals and priorities. Hanni was too smart and mature while Sunwoo was too careless and dense.
"We fought again. I tried to tell her what she was doing was wrong and hurting us but she just left and went into her room." Hanni began trying to hold back her tears.
Danielle stood up and approached Hanni, pulling up a chair and sitting beside her.
"It's okay. Take your time." Danielle said, giving Hanni a soft smile while rubbing her shoulders.
"She came back shortly after and said we should break up." Hanni continued.
Hanni leaned back on her chair, letting out a long sigh. It felt like a whole building had been lifted off of Hanni's shoulders.
Hanni turned to Danielle, "Apparently it was because she didn't want to hurt me."
"That sounds like bullshit."
Hanni was a little shocked. Danielle rarely curses hard like that.
"Well, I know that you're hurting right now and I will be here for you." Danielle comforted.
She stood up to tidy up her leftovers.
"And don't get back together, it was for the best."