"I'm starting to panic."
"First, I sent him a text."
"He didn't reply."
"Then I called him."
"He didn't answer."
"I called him over and over."
"But no one ever picked up."
"After I called him one more time, his phone was switched off."
"So I went to the boys' dorm to look for him."
"When I got there, I was at a loss again."
"I'd never been to the boys' dorm before."
"I didn't know which floor he lived on or which room was his."
"Luckily, I ran into one of his classmates."
"He told me my boyfriend had been on leave for many days."
"He told me the dates."
"I realized it was from that day onward that I hadn't heard from my boyfriend."
His classmate didn't know why my boyfriend had taken leave, either.
"He said that the guys in my boyfriend's dorm had only realized later that he hadn't come back. They couldn't reach him by phone, so they asked their counselor and found out he'd taken an extended leave."
"And it was my boyfriend's mother who'd requested the leave for him."
"She said my boyfriend wasn't feeling well."
"But she didn't give any details."
"She only asked the teacher to be understanding, saying that because of my boyfriend's health, she didn't know when he would be able to return to school."
"She said he might even have to take a leave of absence."
"...I'm really worried."
Yu Yanyan cupped the teacup in both hands, gazing at the emerald-green tea inside with a dazed expression.
A faint warmth seeped into her palms.
But a chill kept spreading through her heart.
As if trying to draw more warmth from it, she tightened her grip on the teacup.
"Could he... have come down with a really serious