LOGINThe teacher announced the group study at the end of class. Jin Ma, Yuina, and Gu Jung were put together. They had to stay in the empty science room until they finished the project. The door closed behind them. The lock clicked from the outside. Jin Ma stood by the long table. Yuina sat on a stool. Gu Jung walked to the windows and pulled the blinds down. The room grew dim. Only the afternoon light came through the cracks. “We should start the work,” Jin Ma said. Gu Jung turned. “We will. After.” Yuina looked at him. “After what?” He walked toward them. He stopped in front of Jin Ma first. “After I stop pretending I only want to tease you.” He put his hands on her waist. He pulled her against him. His body was hard and warm. Jin Ma’s hands rose to his chest. She meant to push him away. Instead her fingers curled into his shirt. Gu Jung kissed her. It was not soft like before. His mouth opened against hers. His tongue slid inside. Jin Ma made a small sound. Heat flooded
The next morning Jin Ma arrived early. The classroom was almost empty. She sat in her usual seat by the window. Her wrist still felt sensitive from yesterday. She tried not to think about Gu Jung’s fingers. Yuina walked in a few minutes later. She looked tired. Her eyes met Jin Ma’s for a second. Then she looked away. She took her seat two rows ahead. Gu Jung came in last. He moved like he had all the time in the world. He dropped his bag on his desk at the back. His eyes found Jin Ma first. Then Yuina. The same small smile appeared on his mouth. During the first lesson he did nothing. He only watched. Jin Ma felt his gaze on the back of her neck. It made her skin warm. She wrote notes without reading them. Yuina kept shifting in her seat. Her shoulders were tight. At break Gu Jung walked past Jin Ma’s desk. He stopped. He leaned down. His voice was quiet so only she could hear. “You touched your wrist last night, did you not?” Jin Ma’s pen froze. She did not look up. “G
The classroom felt too small that morning. Jin Ma sat near the window. She kept her eyes on her notebook. Yuina sat two rows ahead. Her long hair fell over one shoulder. Gu Jung stood at the front. He was tall. He had sharp eyes. He ran the class like he owned it. The teacher was late again. Gu Jung leaned against the desk. He looked around the room. His gaze stopped on Jin Ma. Then it moved to Yuina. A small smile touched his mouth. “Jin Ma,” he said. His voice was low and clear. “Come here.” Jin Ma’s stomach tightened. She stood up. Her chair scraped the floor. She walked to the front. Everyone watched. Yuina turned in her seat. Her eyes were cool. Gu Jung held out a paper. “Read this out loud.” It was a note. Someone had written mean words about Yuina. The words called her easy. They said she chased boys. Jin Ma’s face burned. She had not written it. She did not know who had. “I did not write this,” Jin Ma said. Gu Jung tilted his head. “Read it anyway.” The class
The car pulled into the driveway just after noon. Jude and Judith stood in the living room and watched through the window. His father stepped out first. Carol followed with a small suitcase. They looked tired from the early flight. Jude opened the front door. His father smiled and pulled him into a quick hug. Carol hugged Judith tight. “We are home early,” Carol said. “Sorry for the short notice.” “It is fine,” Judith answered. Her voice stayed steady. They brought the bags inside. Jude’s father talked about the flight and Carol’s sister. Carol moved to the kitchen and started making coffee. Everything felt normal on the surface. Underneath the air was tight. Jude and Judith stayed close without touching. The photo sat on Judith’s phone like a bomb. They had not heard from the unknown number again. That did not make it safer. Carol poured four mugs. She looked at her daughter and then at Jude. “You two okay? You seem quiet.” “Just tired,” Jude said. His father sat on
The call came on a quiet Tuesday morning. Jude was in the kitchen making eggs. Judith sat at the table with her laptop. The house phone rang. Jude answered and put it on speaker. His father’s voice filled the room. “Change of plans. We are coming home early. Carol’s sister is sick. We fly back the day after tomorrow.” Jude froze with the spatula in his hand. Judith looked up. Her face went pale. “Day after tomorrow,” Jude repeated. “Yes. See you soon. Keep the place clean.” The call ended. Silence settled hard. Jude turned off the stove. Judith closed her laptop. “Two days,” she said. “Two days.” They stared at each other across the kitchen. The two weeks had felt long at the start. Now it was almost gone. Panic mixed with the heat that never left them. Jude walked over and pulled Judith out of her chair. He kissed her deep. She kissed back harder. Clothes came off right there. He lifted her onto the counter and pushed inside. They moved fast and rough. Both of them
The days blended together. Jude and Judith stopped pretending during the daylight hours. Distance became a thin lie they both ignored. Jude took her on the kitchen counter while coffee still dripped into the pot. He lifted her up, pulled her shorts aside, and pushed inside hard. Judith held the edge of the counter and moaned into his neck. They finished before the coffee was done. Later that same day he found her in the laundry room folding towels. He locked the door and turned her to face the machine. He bent her forward and took her from behind. The dryer hummed and covered the sounds they made. Judith came with her cheek pressed to the cool metal. Jude followed right after. At night the heat grew sharper. Jude held her wrists above her head against his bedroom door. He told her how good she felt. How tight. How he thought about her all day. Judith answered with the same dirty words. She told him not to stop. She told him harder. He gave her what she asked for until her legs s







