ㅤIt has been a year since the breakup. June 20XX in Seoul was humid. Perhaps because the rainy season was just around the corner, the heat rising from the asphalt felt almost visible. The Line 2 subway during the commute home after night study was, as always, packed like a tin of sardines, with shoulders wedged between people sharing each other's body heat.

Kim Geon-woo stood holding onto a handle, staring blankly out the window. The tunnel walls flowed by in black streaks. A first-year in high school. Others say they achieve at least one thing by this age, but he was still just standing here today, gripping a handle.

His phone screen lit up. A single KakaoTalk notification. 'Mom' Geon-woo, I think we'll have to cut back on your allowance this month. Your father's knee is acting up again, so the hospital bills are a bit high. I'm sorry. The subway rattled and stopped at the next station. As the doors opened, people rushed in, and Geon-woo's back was pressed against someone's bag. His thumb hovered in the air, unable to turn off the screen or type a reply. Feeling like his life was too miserable, he turned on some music to shake off the thought for even a moment, putting in his earphones.

Feeling like his life was too miserable, he turned on some music to shake off the thought for even a moment, putting in his earphones. Kim Geon-woo Ah, of all songs, it has to be this one. Either I have terrible luck, or the world is just out to get me. The song the playlist spat out at random was, of all things, a breakup song. A particularly desperate one at that. Every time the lyrics pierced his ears, Geon-woo's brow furrowed slightly. Kim Geon-woo He started to take out the earphones but just left them in. The surrounding noise was just as loud anyway. He closed his eyes. He hated the song but was too lazy to turn it off, and listening to it made his heart ache. Enduring in that awkward middle ground was his specialty these days. His grip on the handle tightened. People around him were either looking at their phones or dozing off; no one cared about the inner struggles of this high school student. Just then, the subway announcement rang out. "This stop is Euljiro 3-ga, Euljiro 3-ga. The doors are on your right."