------------------------------------------------------------
⚠️ Content Warning: It may be distressing for readers who have experienced panic attacks, academic burnout, or trauma related to failure and bullying. Reader discretion is advised. You know your own limits best; please consider them before reading.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Yuki opened her eyes and found herself standing in the hallway outside the exam room — but the shadows were wrong.
Too tall.
Too sharp.
When she pushed the door open, everyone turned toward her at once — like predators scenting fear. Their stares burned.
Junghye was in front, leaning against the teacher's desk with a smirk too wide to be real. Even though his handsomeness is something outer worldly with the black lather jacket, mid parted hair and usually gives off bunny like beauty but today his expression seemed a lot creepy.
"Well look who came back," he said loudly, mockingly.
"The girl who steals question papers because she's too stupid to solve them."
The class erupted — whispers like knives.
Cheater.
Pathetic.
Failure.
Yuki's breath broke. She stumbled forward.
"I never stole— I would never— I studied— please listen—"
Junghye laughed right into her face.
"Studied? You?"
His dark voice dripped venom.
"You can't even remember your own notes."
Someone else chimed in — another classmate, tone cruel, bored.
"She just wants sympathy. Look at her pretending to try."
Another voice from the back:
"Maybe she collapsed so she wouldn't have to take responsibility."
Laughter.
Cold.
Explosive.
Merciless.
Yuki shook her head so hard her vision blurred.
"I DID STUDY! I DID! I— I tried so hard—"
Her voice cracked into a sob, words dissolving into air.
But her protests only fed them.
Junghye stepped forward —
eyes glinting like mirrors hungry for her fear.
"If you worked so hard," he said sweetly,
"why do you still fail like this?"
Saying he backed himself from Yuki.
Yuki tried to scream her heart out but sounds didn't come out of her mouth. While everyone started throwing paper, trash which was hitting her. One rotten egg flew to her and hit her head. The cold, gelatinous yolk exploded against her scalp, matting her hair in a slime that reeked of sulfur and decay. A stream of putrid, brownish liquid, thick with bits of rotten membrane, slid greasily down her temple and into her eyebrow. The stench was so violent it invaded her nostrils and mouth, triggering a gag as the foulness dripped onto her lip.
Her frantic wiping only smeared the vile slime, grinding the stench of rotten egg deep into her pores. It was as if the filth was seeping into her very skin, a greasy, putrid stain she could never scrub away.
Everyone was so violent towards her that she covered her ears with both of hands and with eyes shut she screamed as loud as she can.
When is opened her eyes, she saw no one. Everyone vanished with in a moment. Her eyes searched but found no one.
No sound came — only shaking breath.
Then suddenly — the classroom dissolved like burnt paper.
She was in her old workplace — harsh neon lights slicing her eyes open.
Her ex-boss towered over her, voice booming across the room:
"We fired you because you're slow. Because you're weak. Because you break."
His finger jabbed her chest — hard.
She flinched like she'd been hit.
"You dream of studying?"
His laugh was sharp enough to cut skin.
"You can't even handle a shift without crying."
Another coworker appeared beside him, sneering.
"She just wants pity. She thinks effort means success."
He spat the last word like poison.
Yuki backed away — but her feet sank into the floor like wet cement.
She couldn't run.
She couldn't breathe.
The scene cracked — like glass under pressure — then shattered.
She was now kneeling on her room floor.
Notice of payment for her tuition fee.
Her savings scattered like broken hopes.
Coins. Notes. Crumpled pay slips.
She counted them again and again — hands shaking violently.
Short.
Not enough.
Never enough.
Administration staff appeared around her — towering, faceless, voices booming like thunder.
"Miss Yuki, if you can't pay,"
a cold voice declared,
"you lose your seat. You lose your future."
She sobbed — ugly, raw, animalistic — clutching her money like dirty lifelines.
"I'll find a way— please— please don't take this away—"
They ignored her.
Turned their backs.
Left her kneeling alone in failure.
Yuki sprang forward, wrapping her arms tightly around his leg. "Please! Please! Just a few days! I can pay! Don't—don't take it away!" Her voice broke, wet and desperate, clinging to him like a lifeline.
He tried to pull away. She didn't let go. She dug her fingers into the fabric of his pants, her tears soaking his shoes. "I… I can… I'll find it—please!"
With a sharp yank, he forced her off, but Yuki flopped to the floor and lunged again, clinging with every ounce of her small strength. "No! No! I won't let go!"
Again, they pulled. Again, she fell. Again, she wrapped herself around his leg like a stubborn shadow, refusing to release. Her cries tore through the room, strangled, hoarse, hopelessly insistent.
Finally, the staff exchanged a glance. One spoke into a phone. A moment later, two large security guards appeared. In one swift motion, they grabbed Yuki—hands harsh, unyielding—and dragged her across the cold floor. She kicked, screamed, clawed, but it was useless.
Her coins and papers scattered under the wheels of her desperation, vanishing into the hall as if mocking her. Yuki's body slammed against walls, scraped across tiles, and she howled like an animal, every sound swallowed by the indifferent authority around her.
They didn't stop. They dragged her mercilessly outside her room. But outside her room was her university hallway and they keep dragging her harshly as she protested violently. Her sobs echoing against the sterile walls. Finally, with a brutal shove, they threw her out of the university doors. Yuki landed hard on the pavement, gasping, trembling, the sting of cold air on her cheeks matching the ache in her chest.
Alone. Shivering. Rejected. And yet, beneath the despair, her desperate heart refused to die. I'll find a way… I have to… she yells , "Don't turn your back on me..... please!! just let me in just once!!!"
Then — one blink.
She was back in the exam hall — desk in front of her, question paper staring like a taunt.
She lifted her pen — hand shaking uncontrollably.
She wrote the first word —
and the letters slid off the page like ink rejecting her.
She wrote again.
And again.
And again.
Nothing stayed.
Her handwriting dissolved.
Her mind blanked.
Answers tangled into knots she couldn't untie.
"I KNOW THIS— I KNOW THESE ANSWERS— WHY CAN'T I—?"
Her voice cracked into a wail.
Laughter exploded around her, thunderous, suffocating.
She looked up — and every single teacher, student, and examiner stood in a huge circle around her desk.
Hundreds of them.
Faces twisted with disgust.
"Look at her," one sneered.
"She can't even answer basic questions."
"She thinks she's smart," another spat,
"but she's just a failure dressed like one."
Pointing fingers.
Mocking eyes.
Voices stabbing through her skull.
Dumb.
Pathetic.
Worthless.
Burden.
Disgrace.
Failure.
Yuki pressed her trembling hands over her ears — screaming — but the laughter only got louder, sharper, tearing her from the inside.
Her vision warped —
faces melting like paint in rain —
the room turning liquid beneath her feet.
Suddenly she was underwater —
cold and endless —
test papers floating like ghosts around her.
She kicked. She clawed upward.
No air. Only pressure.
The weight of expectations dragging her deeper.
Above her — through the rippling surface — she saw Jennie, her mother, her father, her borther, Professor Kang, Momo, her friends — all reaching for her desperately.
Their voices were muffled — drowning in water and panic.
"YUKI, COME BACK!"
"BREATHE!"
"WE'RE HERE— JUST REACH!"
But her limbs were heavy.
Her lungs burning.
Her scream swallowed by deep blue emptiness.
She sank further — deeper —
the light disappearing —
their hands shrinking into unreachable silhouettes.
As she drowned — mind shattering under voices that weren't real but felt truer than life — one final whisper echoed like ice against bone:
"You failed because you weren't enough."
Darkness swallowed her whole.
Waking
Yuki burst upward with a violent gasp —
like someone who had been underwater for too long and finally clawed her way above the surface.
Her hair was damp against her forehead.
Her hospital gown clung to her trembling body.
The room felt too bright, too sharp — like the world was made of broken glass and she had to breathe inside it.
Her chest heaved, lungs frantic for air.
Her fingers clutched the bedsheet like an anchor.
I'm drowning— I'm still drowning—
the dream hadn't let go.
It was still under her skin, still in her pulse, still screaming in her head.
She looked around wildly — eyes wide, unfocused — searching for exam papers, for teachers laughing, for fingers pointing, for Junghye's sneer, for the room that had swallowed her whole.
But instead—
White walls.
Soft beeping.
A dim lamp.
The quiet rhythm of IV drip.
And Jennie.
Curled beside the bed, spine bent awkwardly against the chair, exhaustion still wrapped around her like a blanket. One hand remained on Yuki's arm even in sleep — like she hadn't dared let go.
The dream still pressed on Yuki's chest.
Her breath hitched again.
Her voice came out broken, barely a sound:
"...I have... an exam."
The words fell like glass from her mouth.
Fragile.
Bleeding.
She tried to sit up — her body too weak for her mind's desperate pace. Pain shot through her shoulders. The room spun. The floor felt like it was shifting underneath the bed.
But she still pushed.
Her trembling hands reached for the IV tubes as if they were chains she needed to tear off.
"I need to — I have to go — I can't fall behind — I have an exam— I need— I need to fix it— I need to study—"
Her voice broke halfway through the sentence, collapsing like she had in that bathroom.
She nearly fell off the bed trying to stand.
The sudden sound — the rustling bed, the IV pole rattling — snapped Jennie awake instantly.
"Yuki?!"
Her chair scraped the floor as she lunged forward, hands quickly catching Yuki by the shoulders just before she collapsed again.
Jennie's voice was a mix of shock, fear, and heartbreak.
"Hey — hey — look at me. You're not taking an exam today. You're in the hospital. You collapsed. You scared us."
But Yuki shook her head violently — breath short, words tangled in panic.
"No— you don't understand— if I fail again— they'll think I didn't try— everyone will laugh— I'll lose everything— I'm not enough— I need to study— I have to— please— let me—"
Her voice broke into sobs she couldn't swallow.
Jennie cupped her face — gentle hands on a girl falling apart.
"Yuki, please. Breathe. You don't need to prove anything today. You're safe here. No one is judging you. You're alive — and that's what matters."
But the nightmare was still alive in Yuki's mind — echoes crawling through every thought.
Junghye's voice.
Mocking.
Cruel.
Inescapable.
You're not enough.
Yuki shook, tears spilling like she'd been cut open.
"Jennie... I saw them. They were everywhere. They were laughing — saying I'm useless — saying I can't do anything. They said I cheated. They said I don't deserve to study. They — they — they all hated me— everyone— I was drowning— I was drowning and I couldn't get out—"
Her voice cracked.
She wasn't crying.
She was breaking — quietly, violently, all at once.
Jennie pulled her into a tight embrace — holding her like someone holding a collapsing wall with bare hands.
"I'm here. I'm here. You're safe. Breathe with me, okay?"
Her voice trembled but stayed steady enough for Yuki to lean into it.
Yuki clung to her like someone gripping the last piece of wood in a sinking ocean.
Her body was weak — but her fear was strong.
Too strong.
Her heartbeat finally began to slow — not calm, just exhausted.
Like her body gave up the fight after too much storm.
She stayed in Jennie's arms, shaking softly.
Breathing uneven.
Eyes red and unfocused.
The nightmare wasn't gone.
But she wasn't drowning alone anymore.
And in her first fragile moment back in reality —
that was the only thing keeping her afloat.
Yuki (panicked):
"I... I have to go... my exam... I can't miss it..."
She tried to push herself up, hands trembling, knees shaking.
Jennie immediately reached for her shoulder.
"Yuki! Stop! You can't—"
Before she could finish, the doctor returned, clipboard in hand, scanning her carefully.
Doctor:
"No, Yuki. You cannot go anywhere like this. You collapsed. Your body has been pushed beyond its limits."
Yuki:
"But... the exam... I can't fail—"
Doctor:
"If you try to go now, you risk permanent damage. Your organs, your heart, your nerves — they can't handle this stress anymore. You need rest, fluids, and proper evaluation before you do anything else."
Yuki's fingers fidgeted with the blanket, panic clawing at her chest.
Doctor (nodding toward the clipboard):
"We need to run several tests to understand exactly how your body reacted. Blood work, electrolytes, kidney and liver function, glucose... and a urinalysis as well. We'll also monitor your vitals continuously. Once we have the results, we can decide the proper treatment."
Yuki (whispering):
"All of that...? Now?"
Jennie's hand rested lightly on her arm.
"It's okay," she said. "We'll help you. You just have to do it."
The doctor gave a small, firm nod.
"Before the tests, we'll feed you something light. Porridge — easy on your stomach. Your priority right now is hydration and recovery, not exams."
Yuki's breath hitched, and for the first time, the urgency of her panic collided with the reality of her weakened body. She sank back into the bed, Jennie brushing her damp hair from her face, trying to anchor her.
The door to Cabin 12 opened softly. Minjae, Junho, and Jihyo stepped in, each carrying bags with food.
Junho:"Hey… how's our patient doing?"
Yuki blinked slowly, still pale, and whispered,"I… I'm okay… I think…"
Minjae:"You look a little better. Dizzy?"
Yuki:"Tired… but okay."
Jennie looked up, brushing a lock of hair from Yuki's face.Jennie:"The doctor gave her tests to do, and fed her a little. She needs to eat something before we start."
Jihyo set down the bags.Jihyo:"Alright… you've all been up all night. Jennie, you should go home, shower, eat something, get fresh."
Junho:"Yeah, you need a break too. Don't overdo it."
Jennie shook her head firmly.Jennie:"Nope. I'll eat something now, help Yuki with the tests, and once she's relaxed, then I'll think about going home."
Minjae groaned, clearly exasperated.Minjae:"Jennie… seriously? You never listen!"
Jennie glanced at him, smiling faintly.Jennie:"I said I'm staying. That's final."
Jihyo laughed softly.Jihyo:"Well… can't argue with that. We'll help."
Sana, who had been quietly observing, threw up her hands.Sana:"Fine! I give up. I'll go home, rest, attend my afternoon class, and cover for tonight. Someone has to survive."
She gave a small wave to Yuki.Sana:"See you later, Yuki. Get better!"
Yuki managed a weak smile.Yuki:"Bye… Sana…"
With that, Sana left, leaving Jennie, Yuki, Minjae, Junho, and Jihyo in the cabin.
Jennie pulled a chair close to Yuki's bed and scooped up a small spoonful of porridge.
Jennie:"Here, Yuki. Take it slow. Small bites."
Yuki nodded weakly, letting Jennie guide the spoon to her lips. Each bite was shaky, slow, but she managed to swallow.
Yuki (murmuring):"I… I'm… hungry… a little."
Jennie (smiling softly):"Good. That's the point. Just a little at a time. You don't have to eat it all at once."
Minjae unpacked some of the food they'd brought, setting small plates of sandwiches, fruit, and juice on the side table.
Minjae:"Alright, while Yuki eats, let's eat too. We've been up all night."
Junho:"Yeah, can't take care of anyone on empty stomachs."
Jihyo handed Jennie a plate.Jihyo:"Here, you too. Eat something, at least a little."
Jennie shook her head, smiling faintly.Jennie:"I'll eat while feeding Yuki. One bite at a time."
Yuki took another small spoonful of porridge.
Yuki:"…Feels… nice…"
Jennie:"Good. Keep going."
The others ate quietly, chatting softly to keep the mood light.
Minjae:"Yuki, try some juice, okay? It'll help with energy."
Yuki nodded, taking small sips, while Jennie finished feeding her the porridge.
Jennie (finally sitting back, brushing hair from Yuki's face):"Alright. Feeling a little stronger?"
Yuki:"…A little."
So how would be her test results? What will be found? The damaged parts inside will be revealed ?