Two weeks have passed.
Owen's contact became unreachable. All calls went straight to nothing, messages stayed unable to send.
At some point, Jungtae slowly stopped checking their convo.
The first time he didn't check his phone after waking up, it felt strange. The second time, it hurt less. By the third, he simply stared at the ceiling for a few seconds before sitting up.
Mrs. Han noticed.
She noticed he was coming out of his room more. Not smiling the way he used to be but no longer stayed locked in his room from day until night.
It was a good progress.
He helped at the flower shop again, tied ribbons carefully, trimmed stems in silence. Then stared at the snow falling outside once he's done.
It hurt her to see him so quiet. But she was grateful.
One evening, as they closed the shop, Jungtae spoke while brushing off the snow from his coat.
"Mom."
She looked up. "Yes?"
"I don't think I want to go to college."
Her hands paused over the cash register.
