Chapter 1 — After Graduation
The morning after graduation, Elora Kim woke up with a strange feeling.
She had forgotten something.
She stared at the ceiling, trying to remember what she was supposed to do that day.
Then she remembered.
Nothing.
No classes. No assignments. No presentations. No exams.
She was officially a graduate.
Elora reached for her phone and checked the time.
10:17 A.M.
She sighed.
Yesterday, she had stood on a stage wearing her graduation clothes, accepted her diploma, and smiled for countless photographs. Everyone had congratulated her.
"You finally did it."
"Your next chapter starts now."
She had believed them.
But now that the celebration was over, one question kept repeating in her mind.
What comes next?
She opened her gallery and looked at one of yesterday's pictures. She was smiling brightly, holding her diploma with both hands.
She looked happy.
She probably was happy.
But beneath that happiness was something she couldn't explain.
Fear, maybe.
Uncertainty.
Her phone suddenly vibrated.
Mara: ARE YOU AWAKE?
Elora smiled.
Elora: Unfortunately.
Mara: HAHAHAHA. What's the plan today?
Elora looked around her room.
Elora: Nothing.
Mara: Perfect. Let's do nothing together.
Elora laughed.
Maybe doing nothing wasn't so bad.
After lunch, however, she opened her laptop and searched for jobs.
The first listing required experience.
The second required experience.
The third required even more experience.
She leaned back in her chair.
"How am I supposed to have experience when everyone wants experience?"
She closed the laptop.
Maybe tomorrow.
Tomorrow, she'd try again.
That afternoon, she went outside for a walk. She didn't have a destination. She just wanted to clear her head.
She was checking her phone when a message from an unfamiliar account appeared.
Unknown: You graduated already?
Elora frowned.
Elora: Who is this?
The reply came almost immediately.
Unknown: Guess.
She rolled her eyes.
Elora: I don't have time for guessing games.
Then came another message.
Unknown: Still the same.
Elora froze.
She knew those words.
She looked at the username again.
Jeon.
Her heart skipped.
They hadn't talked properly in months.
They had never officially been together.
They weren't even sure what they were.
Friends, technically.
But sometimes their conversations felt like more than friendship.
Late-night messages.
Random calls.
Little things he remembered about her.
Then, suddenly, silence.
Elora had eventually stopped reaching out.
Now he was back.
Elora: Why are you messaging me?
Jeon: Can't I congratulate you?
Elora: You could've done that months ago.
There was a pause.
Jeon: Maybe I was waiting for you to come back.
Elora stared at the screen.
She didn't know what he meant.
That was always the problem with Jeon.
He said just enough to make her wonder, but never enough to make her certain.
She typed:
Elora: Why would I?
His reply came after a few seconds.
Jeon: I don't know.
She laughed softly.
Of course.
He didn't know.
And somehow, despite everything, Elora smiled.
Maybe she should have known then that letting Jeon back into her life wouldn't be as simple as answering a message.
But that afternoon, she didn't think about endings.
She only thought about beginnings.
