I can help you out too.

Eun-hyeok was finally done with his lectures for the day. Glancing at the time on his phone, he calculated that Lisa had been at work for about five hours, and he hadn't called her yet.

When the last student left the lecture hall, he dialed her number, tapping his foot continuously beside him.

The phone rang for about five seconds before it got switched off, causing his frown lines to deepen. Lisa had never ignored his calls, let alone turning her phone off. He tried dialing the number again.

The number you've dialed is currently switched off. Please try again-

He ended the call before the lady could finish.

"What did Ji-eon do?" he murmured, calling her instead. Ji-eon answered after the first ring as always.

"How is my favourite sibling doing?"

Her voice was loud and cheerful and he could picture her smiling at the other end. His mind couldn't help adding the image of Lisa's bloody figure laying dead beside her while she held a bloody knife.

"Cut it, Ji-eon. Where's Lisa?" He replied sharply. He was already worried about her because this was strange for Lisa. Lisa always picked his calls, and she was always eager to talk to him so he was concerned.

Ji-eon was quiet on the other end for a while. "Ji-eon, what did you do?"

"Why are you blaming me? What did I do?"

"Where's Lisa then?"

"Eun-hyeok, you're always so concerned about her. Isn't she an adult? You care about her more than your own sister! You never call me, and when you finally decide to, it's all about Lisa? You didn't even ask me how my day went, or whether I've had lunch, or anything! Instead, you're yelling at your older sister. Don't you have any respect left for me? Or is that girl more important to you than your sister?"

Eun-hyeok sighed again at Ji-eon's dramatic words. "I just want to find out how she is"

"She's doing fine! You don't have to worry about her, alright!"

"Then why isn't she answering my calls?"

"She said something about losing her phone..."

"Ohh, how did that happen?" He sat on his table, facing the window which had a view of the university. A lot of lectures had just ended and students were either leaving the gates or chatting in corners. A cold wind blew into the room through the same window, and he got up to shut the window.

"How am I supposed to know? You can find out yourself. Also... I'd like to know, do you like her?"

Eun-hyeok exhaled, not wanting to discuss that at the moment. Ji-eon had asked him the same question once before, when they were both in high school, and he'd just laughed and avoided the question.

"Not now"

Eun-hyeok hung up before Ji-eon could say anything more. He got up to leave when someone opened the door. A first-year student from one of his classes walked in, dressed provocatively in a half-top and a leather miniskirt. Eun-hyeok wondered why she would dress like that in the rapidly cooling weather.

"Good afternoon, Dr. Kim"

Eun-hyeok stepped back because she was too close. She was one of those students who hardly ever attended lectures, however, he knew her name.

"Yes?"

"Are you heading out?" She pouted.

"What do you want to see me about?" He headed back to his table, his guard fully on.

"Well," she followed behind him, stopping when he stopped "I got a low grade on my last test"

He knew students like these, and they usually got sleazy lecturers in trouble. He crossed his arms in front of him, staring her down.

"And that's because you didn't study"

"I tried to, honestly. But, I've been going through a lot of family problems, and it's really been affecting my health. I have to go to therapy at least thrice a week, and I can't keep up with my studies"

Eun-hyeok silently stared at her. He wasn't buying her bullshit.

"So, I was wondering if you could help me out with that"

"And why should I?"

"Because..." she leaned towards him, exposing her cleavage through her deep neckline. She reached for his arm and held it against her ample front.

"I can help you out too" she finished.

Eun-hyeok pulled his hand away from her, causing her to momentarily lose her balance.

"I'm a decent person, and I suggest you should think of being one too. Cheaply giving yourself away for good grades is derogatory. Now, if you'll excuse me"

He walked away from the dumbstruck student, who stared at his retreating figure with a mix of shame and rage. How could he refuse her? Did he know how many boys went after her? Did he know how many boys she rejected daily because of him?

...

"...Lisa, this is Eun-ji, Kang-hoon and Su-hyeok"

Minji sat down on an empty chair and patted the seat next to her for Lisa to sit. Lisa bowed at the trio.

"Hello"

"Oooh, she's cute. I'm Eun-ji by the way" the blonde remarked.

"Kang-hoon" the other doctor extended his hand for a shake. Lisa took his hand and shook it with a bow.

"And this is my boyfriend, Su-hyeok" Eun-ji held him by the shoulders, laying her head on one of them.

"Hello" Lisa took a seat.

"She's Ji-eon's sister actually. She works here part-time"

"Oh, really?" Eun-ji turned to face Su-hyeok. "You should know her then, aren't you close with Ji-eon?"

"Oh, I do know her. But we're not that close, we've only met a couple of times" Su-hyeok explained. Lisa looked at him and they made eye contact before she dragged her gaze away. So, he was going to lie about them. That would be better.

"That's nice. What school do you go to?"

"Oh, I'm done with that. I graduated early this year actually"

Everyone at the table was amazed, except, of course, Lisa and Su-hyeok.

"Wow. You look young for your age. People like you hardly ever age. I wish I had your body type" Eun-ji remarked with wide eyes and a tone of friendly envy.

"I wouldn't have you any other way" Su-hyeok commented, and held her by her waist. Eun-ji blushed like a schoolgirl. She playfully slapped his hands off her. "Not in front of everyone" she chided. Su-hyeok stole a kiss from her when she finished the sentence.

"Ignore them, that's what I do" Kang-hoon whispered to Lisa with a good-natured twinge in his voice.

Lisa managed a smile at his words tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear although her heart broke at the kiss. Why was Su-hyeok being inconsiderate of her feelings? He should have been aware of her feelings for him, since someone does not just lose feelings for someone they've loved in a matter of days. She stared at the lovey-dovey couple in front of her, and noticed Su-hyeok staring back at her while he and Eun-ji were kissing. Like he was doing it on purpose.

She needed to get out of there, and fast.

"Ummm, I need to go to the bathroom"

She stood as if a needle had pricked her.

"Oh, alright then" Minji, who had a full mouth acknowledged her words while she walked away as casually as she could manage.

As soon as she got out of the door, however, she broke down. The tears she had been holding at bay finally came, streaming down her cheeks. There was a waiting bench at the other end of the hallway leading to another consulting room and no one was sitting there, so Ji-eon walked over there and sat down, her face in her hands so passers-by wouldn't notice her. The tears felt a bit ticklish as they rolled down her cheeks.

She sat down there, not thinking about anything and just let herself cry. She wasn't sure how long she sat there for, but she knew she had no desire to go back in there.

She was going to leave and make up an excuse for Minji, she concluded, wiping the tears from her eyes.

As she got up from the bench, she heard the cafeteria door swing open and glanced in that direction, to find Su-hyeok walking swiftly in her direction.

"Come with me"

He walked past her, expecting her to follow him. However, when he took a few steps and realised she wasn't behind him, he stopped.

"Lisa, I said to come"

"I heard you the first time. And I chose to ignore you"

"Lisa, we need to talk about whatever this is" He walked towards her, and she took a step back. She needed to get away from him, that was one thing she was sure of.

"There is nothing to talk about"

Su-hyeok rolled his eyes and took her forcefully by the arm into a room by the side. She realized the room must have been a storage room of sorts because it contained a lot of folders and boxes. He bolted the door from the inside and held her against a shelf with his hands on either side of her to box her in. She struggled to get away from him, but he just blocked her, preventing any movement. His eyes watched her like a hawk as she tried to get away.

She eventually realised she couldn't escape and stopped trying to get away. She was breathing heavily as she stared back at him with anger. He leaned towards her, angling his head to kiss her. She turned her face to her left so his kiss landed on her cheek instead. Her eyes still held anger as she stared at the wall on the other side of the room.