The sun had barely risen over Seoul.
The streets were quiet, except for the rhythmic sound of shoes pounding against pavement.
Harin ran along the tree-lined path of Hangang Park, her breath steady, her ponytail swaying with every stride. The crisp morning air filled her lungs and pushed the fog of sleep from her mind. Her legs moved almost on autopilot, but her thoughts were far from still. She enjoyed these early hours, when the city felt almost private, almost hers, and the sky glowed pale gold above the Han River.
Not far from her, on another path of the same park,Junwoo ran as well, sneakers striking the pavement with the same measured rhythm. He wasn't thinking about Harin, yet a strange weight pulled at him , a fleeting curiosity about the city, the quiet morning, the life moving around him. For a moment, it seemed as if fate might bend their paths together. Perhaps today, they might meet. Perhaps not.
Harin slowed near a small bridge, hands resting on her knees. She looked up. The sky above glowed softly, painting the river in hues of gold and rose. The air was cool against her flushed skin. She let herself stretch, letting the warmth sink into her muscles, appreciating the rare stillness before the day took over.
Junwoo paused a few blocks away, gazing at the horizon. The first morning light brushed the tops of buildings. He inhaled slowly, relishing the calm, and for a moment, he forgot emails, patients, and schedules. Just movement. Just air. Just the morning.
Both turned away from the river, returning to the paths that led back to responsibilities, classes, and the bustling day that awaited them. The potential meeting remained a phantom, a fleeting suspense that neither would fulfill , at least, not yet.
Back at the university, the chaos of midterms engulfed students. Harin and Jisoo huddled in the corner of the study room, textbooks and notebooks spread like a battlefield.
"I'm so cooked," Harin groaned, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. Her pencil scratched a note in the margin of her pharmacology notebook, but her focus was fading fast.
"Me too," Jisoo replied, stretching her arms over her head and yawning exaggeratedly. "I can't wait for this to be over… before finals season comes back to haunt us ."
Harin chuckled, a soft, tired sound. "me too..."
The next day, the dreaded practical pharmacology exam awaited. Harin and Jisoo stood outside the lab, nerves buzzing like live wires. They had already survived the written exam , and now they were waiting for their turn with the mice . Some classmates whispered encouragement, others paled at the thought of touching mice.The room buzzed with a strange mix of fear, disgust, and forced confidence.
Everyone stood in their white coats, gloves on, masks tight, pretending they were ready.
They weren't.
Jisoo's eyes widened. "Oh… no. No no no." She layered gloves over her hands, muttering like armor. "I… I can't touch them."
Harin laughed softly. "It's okay, Jisoo. You've got this."
The professor clapped once, stern and merciless.
"Two students at a time. You will enter, weigh the mouse, mark it, and prepare for administration. I will grade you on the spot ."
A collective tension rippled across the room.
Harin glanced at Jisoo.
Jisoo whispered, "If my mouse climbs on me, I'm transferring schools."
But the professor began calling names, and , of course ,
Harin and Jisoo were separated.The students waited outside the lab, lined up along the corridor like prisoners awaiting judgment.
One by one, two students at a time were called inside.No escape.No mercy.Harin stepped in with a classmate she barely knew. Both wore white coats, gloves pulled tight, faces carefully neutral ,pretending they weren't terrified.
The mouse sat quietly in its container.Too quietly.Harin entered first.
Her mouse was surprisingly calm, almost sleepy.
She weighed it.
Marked it.
Prepared for substance administration .
Professional. Focused. Breathe in, breathe out.
She thought:
Maybe this exam won't be so bad.
Oh, how wrong she was.
Then it happened.Her classmate lifted the mouse.A pause.A very specific pause.Her classmate froze."…Professor," she whispered, her voice suddenly hollow, empty, like her soul had just exited her body."…It pooped. On me."Silence.Harin's eyes widened.The mouse had, indeed, pooped directly into the gloved hand.A small, undeniable blessing.The classmate stared at her hand in absolute disgust, arm frozen in midair, as if any movement might make it worse.The professor didn't even look up."Change your glove," he said flatly. "And continue."The classmate blinked in disbelief."Continue…?""Yes."She slowly removed the glove like it was contaminated evidence from a crime scene, replaced it with another, hands shaking.Harin bit her lip, fighting the urge to laugh .Be professional, she told herself.Do not laugh. Do not laugh.But fate wasn't done.As the classmate tried again, the mouse suddenly bit her glove."AH !"She instinctively let go.Big mistake.The mouse jumped.Hit the lab bench.And ran."IT ESCAPED!"The professor's head snapped up."Close the door ! CLOSE THE ..."Too late.THUD.CLATTER."CATCH IT !!""IT'S UNDER THE TABLE !!""WHY IS IT SO FAST ??"The mouse darted across the lab bench, a tiny blur of chaos, making a desperate run for freedom like it had planned this moment its entire life.Students screamed.Someone jumped onto a chair.Another froze completely.And then.WHOOOOSH.Before anyone could process what was happening, the professor , a man in his fifties with glasses slightly slipping down his nose , lunged forward with shocking speed.One clean move.He caught the mouse mid-run.Silence.Then the hallway outside exploded."WOOOOAH !!""NO WAY , DID YOU SEE THAT?!""MVP PROFESSOR!""HE MOVED SO FAST—!"Harin stood frozen, heart pounding, staring at the professor in disbelief.The classmate looked like she had aged ten years in ten seconds.The professor calmly placed the mouse back into its container, adjusted his glasses, and said:"…Please continue."Harin nearly lost it.When they finally stepped out of the lab, Harin leaned against the wall, covering her mouth."That," she whispered, breathless, "was a disaster."A funny one.A story they would tell for years.Inside the lab, the next pair was already being called.And somewhere in the hallway, students whispered excitedly:"Did you hear what just happened?""A mouse pooped, bit someone, escaped and the professor caught it like an action hero."Midterms were brutal.But this?This was unforgettable.And somehow…
one of the funniest days of the semester.
The two survived the exam with flying colors, laughing as they recounted their small victories. Hunger drove them to the cafeteria, where they sat down with steaming plates of food.
"Everything okay?" Jisoo asked. "How's the purification coming along?"
Harin exhaled softly. "It's hard. After I finish, I have no energy left… but I feel lighter. A little freer."
Jisoo reached across the table, gently touching Harin's hand. "I know it's not easy. Purification takes time, but it's worth it. One day, you'll feel like you're really back to yourself. And you're getting there."
Harin smiled, grateful. "Thanks, Jisoo… for always being here. I don't know what I'd do without you."
"You don't have to," Jisoo replied.
Their classmates soon joined them, chatting about the weather, joking about exam mishaps, and teasing each other. The tension of the lab melted into laughter, chatter, and the comfort of familiarity.
Later that evening, the room smelled faintly of ramyeon. Harin and Jisoo sat cross-legged on the floor, steaming cups in their hands, textbooks pushed aside like they had already accepted their defeat.
"Press play." Jisoo demanded, blowing on her noodles.
"You say that like we're not drowning in midterms right now," Harin said, trying not to laugh.
Jisoo shrugged. "Everyone knows the best time to watch K-dramas… is during exams. It's literally part of the academic survival guide."
Harin snorted. "True. One episode for sanity's sake.''
She pressed play. The OST began softly, and the female lead appeared onscreen, standing at the edge of a cliff, terrified yet determined.
Jisoo slurped her noodles. "I like her. She's so brave ."
"Yeah…" Harin murmured, eyes softened. " I want to overcome my fears one by one too..."
Jisoo nodded immediately. "And you will."
"Step one," Jisoo said, pointing her chopsticks at Harin, "finish your ramyeon. Step two: survive midterms. After that, everything else is nothing."
Before Harin could respond, the male lead appeared onscreen.
For a split second, there was silence.
Then.
"OH. MY. GOD!" Jisoo screamed.
"NO WAY, HE'S HERE " Harin shrieked back, hitting Jisoo's arm with excitement.
They both exploded in fangirl energy, flailing their arms wildly.
"He's so handsome I can't breathe " Jisoo gasped dramatically.
"He's such a gentleman , I'm melting . ''
They threw themselves back on the floor, pretending to collapse, hands on their hearts like they were dying of love.
Then they sat up again instantly.
"No, replay that scene. I wasn't emotionally ready," Jisoo said.
Harin already tapping back ten seconds.
Their laughter filled the room, mixing with the warm steam of the noodles and the soft glow of the screen , a small moment of peace in the middle of chaos, and a fragile reprieve from the mountain of work . For a moment , the world felt smaller . Kinder .
But life did not pause for long .
Later, Harin went to the boxing gym with her brother. The smell of leather gloves and sweat, the rhythmic pounding of fists against bags, grounded her. She moved through warm-ups and drills, thinking about her shadow, the part of herself still haunted by fear.
Every punch reminded her: she was still fighting , in the gym, in herself, in life.
Jisoo's words echoed in her mind: "Step by step… you're coming back to yourself."
Her shadow whispered fears, doubts, memories. But something stronger called her forward , her higher self, waiting for her, urging her to keep climbing, to face the world, to finally be free.
With each punch, each kick, each controlled breath, she felt a small victory. The soft, persistent whisper called to her:
This is your time. Rise.
Harin clenched her fists tighter, sweat dripping. Her heart felt lighter yet steady, full of resolve. She was still healing, still fighting. But now she knew ,she wasn't alone. One day, she would soar higher than she had ever imagined.