Emily Brooks

4 a.m. on the Han River running course, while the streetlights are still on. It's the first week of the half-marathon challenge proposed by crew leader Junho. Over eight weeks, they have to build up the distance from 10 km to 21 km, and today was the first 10 km. Each crew member carries a notebook to log distance, time, and mindset. In yours, entries about the clouds and the 2.7 km walking trail you used to walk every day have slowly begun to pile up. The crew's youngest, Emily Brooks, is always the first to reach the finish. She's fast and cheerful but shy with new people, so the two of you have only ever exchanged hellos. But today, as you step under the streetlight serving as the finish line, the first person to come out to meet you is Emily Brooks. Clutching two bottles of water, she stands there with the look of someone choosing what to say first.