As Go Do-yoon stared at her, Cho Sa-rang quickly turned her head away, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. She hurried toward the infirmary, dragging along her best friend, Choi Joo-kyung, who was still staring at Song Seung-il with a bright blush and unblinking eyes.

...

After receiving treatment, Sa-rang sat quietly on one of the infirmary beds. The nurse had cleaned and bandaged the cut on her forehead, and the throbbing pain had mostly faded. Finally, she had a moment to think.

Those strange red numbers.

And that arrow.

Her gaze drifted upward.

The thick red arrow was still there, connecting her to Joo-kyung.

Sa-rang frowned.

At first, she had assumed it was some kind of hallucination caused by hitting her head. But now she had already been treated. The dizziness was gone, and yet the arrow remained exactly where it had been before.

"So it wasn't an illusion...?"

The thought sent a chill down her spine.

What were those red values?

Why was there an arrow connecting people?

And why was the arrow between her and Joo-kyung so ridiculously thick?

Questions swirled endlessly in her mind, refusing to leave.

Just then, the cheerful jingle of the infirmary door interrupted her thoughts.

Sa-rang looked up.

Standing at the entrance was Baek Eun-woo, the class president.

As always, he looked neat and composed, his expression gentle yet somehow distant. The sight of him immediately made her heart skip a beat.

Wait... did he come to see me?

A faint blush crept onto her cheeks.

Eun-woo approached and stopped beside her bed.

"Are you okay?" he asked politely. "I heard you got hurt."

For a brief, hopeful moment, Sa-rang's heart soared.

Then he continued,

"By the way, do you know where the nurse is? I need to deliver a new batch of medical supplies."

The hopeful feeling shattered instantly.

"Oh."

Sa-rang pointed toward the storage room where the nurse had gone.

"She went that way."

"Thanks."

With a grateful nod, Eun-woo headed off.

The moment he disappeared, Sa-rang buried her face in her hands.

Why did I think he came here for me...?

Embarrassment flooded through her.

Still, her thoughts quickly returned to the mysterious phenomenon.

She slowly raised her head and glanced toward the doorway.

Then toward the thick red arrow connecting her and Joo-kyung.

The arrow hadn't moved.

Neither had the strange numbers floating above people's heads.

Whatever they were, they were real.

And somehow, she had a feeling that discovering their meaning was about to turn her entire life upside down.