Tuesday came, the moment Teren woke up, he felt some indiscernible weight on his shoulders and in his chest. His face contorted into a frown.

But as soon as it appeared, it vanished. It only left those lifeless eyes on his face. Disregarding this heavy feeling, he came out of his bed to start a new day.

Teren came out and prepared the kitchen to make his breakfast. Only silence pervaded the whole house until-

Ding*

His phone vibrated.

Question marks popped out of his head.

There are only two people that know his contact number. Who could possibly be contacting him this early in the morning?

Opening it, he read the message.

"Good morning...?"

Like a bullet piercing his chest, Teren's eyes widened in a stupor while he stumbled back.

Obviously, it was from Iesa Hun. However, this was the first time ever that she messaged him so early in the morning just to say those two words.

Teren couldn't handle it. His mind became hazy while his eyes drifted and at that moment, a voice entered his ear.

"What's happening to you, Teren?"

He looked and saw his mother in front of the television.

"N-nothing..." he answered, trying to hide expression in vain.

His mother frowned and suspicion enveloped her face.

"Don't tell me...a girl?"

The mother immediately had her suspicion.

"No way!"

Teren shouted before turning around to reply to Iesa's message.

[Good morning to you too.]

His thumb encircled the send button. Although she was the first to message him, he was still full of hesitation about whether he would reply. But in the end, why would he not reply?

Message sent

Teren intently stared at his screen, waiting for a reply but after a few moments, he finally realized what he was doing.

'I shouldn't be this serious about this. It's just a normal gesture. She's... my friend now. Maybe greeting good morning is normal for friends...?' he arched an eyebrow and concluded that it is the case.

Thus, he continued preparing his breakfast.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the phone, Teren didn't know that Iesa was having her wiggly smile and flushed face.

"I thought he wouldn't reply..."

She had long been awake and was pacing back and forth if she should send the message. After all, why would she? Unlike Teren, Iesa knew that, usually, friends don't send "Goodmorning" to each other unless they meet personally.

In the end, she did and right after received a reply, making her toes curl and clench.

"Wha-... what should I follow? Why did I start without knowing what to say? What is my purpose for greeting him?"

A plethora of questions swirled inside her mind, making her dizzy.

'Maybe I should look at our conversation last night and see if there's anything I can follow up with.' she nodded and scrolled up to the conversation.

Half an hour later, her thumb was skinned from excessive swiping. Iesa was petrified, she was scared.

"H-how long is our chat!? What time did I sleep? What? It shouldn't be that long!"

Her head overheated and as if a defense mechanism, she breathed in and out to regain her composure.

But soon, another problem surfaced in her thought.

'I haven't replied yet...'

Seeing that she had already spent so much time, she threw all these worries away and readied herself at lightning speed.

Since it was still early, she took her time walking. When she reached school and entered the classroom, the first spot her eyes laid upon was the farthest seat.

It was empty.

'Well, it was still a bit early.' she then walked in with her usual cold and cool demeanor.

Sitting beside the seat she first glanced at, she then saw Lina pressuring Nick if something happened yesterday. Of course, Nick kept his mouth closed but his face obviously says that he was hiding something.

When Iesa sat, Lina's eyes turned to her.

'Oh, the queen of prostitutes is here...'

Iesa's face twitched, not knowing where that title came from. But considering that it was Lina, who had the foulest thoughts, she took no offense.

The two glanced at each other and with that moment of eye contact, sparks flew.

Lina's sharp expression became mild once she ignored Iesa. The well-liked president easily changed her expression.

Iesa then took this time to focus on others' thoughts. It was unusual for her to hear the thoughts of others in her own will. Before, she couldn't control nor does she want to hear them.

But now that her mind was always occupied, she was seldom from hearing people's thoughts.

'What? Is he saying that he got a ticket for Yumera's concert?!'

'What time is it?'

'Is there homework? What if there is and it's the first subject?'

Normal thoughts circulated within the classroom, making Iesa sigh in relief. It seemed that no one knew about what happened yesterday.

Iesa didn't doubt that Nick would keep it a secret but it was different for Mike and Catherine.

'No, actually... they are not here yet.' she looked at their empty seats.

Before the first subject began, Teacher Jerad entered the room.

"Shush!" he first casually shushed his students while gaining attention.

"I have something to say. Sir Hanon will not be here for today for personal reasons."

This made the students have disgruntled faces for they liked Teacher Hanon.

"Don't worry, nothing bad happened to him nor did he quit. Although, expect not to see him for a couple of days or so. With that said, your first period will be vacant and please use that time to study."

Right after Sir Jerad finished his words, the door opened and entered Catherine.

The class felt deja vu when they saw Catherine's disheveled hair and tired face. It reminded them of Iesa a week ago.

She was not late so Teacher Jared let her. Right then, before she walked to her chair while combing her hair with her hand, the door opened again and Mike entered with the same state.

'What happened to these two?'

Everyone thought except for the select few. Mike and Catherine looked at each other and sympathized.

When they were about to relax and go to their respective seats, the door opened one last time for Teren to enter.

"Ah-!"

Mike and Catherine who just relaxed after one restless night got scared.