To Minyoung, eating sweets didn’t have a schedule.

It was Tuesday, the day after the first tutoring session and at 8 in the morning, the girl was already at the school cafeteria, deep in concentration while looking at freshly baked bread. SVT High’s cafeteria served three meals a day and sold various snacks, breads, and drinks. La Boulangerie Douce, the bakery a few blocks down, always delivered freshly baked specialty bread to the school in the morning, ranging from sweet custard breads to savoury pizza breads. Humming, Minyoung selected her favorites: a small custard bread, a red bean bread, a slice of a chocolate swiss roll, and a carton of strawberry milk to drink.

Minyoung carried her selection of breads and drink to the cashier, which was being managed by friendly Mrs. Jo.

“Good morning, Minyoung!” Mrs. Jo smiled. “Hungry this morning?.”

“Good morning,” Minyoung beamed as she took out her wallet. “Yeah, I don’t want my stomach to grumble in class.”

After paying for her purchases and saying goodbye to Mrs. Jo, Minyoung made her way to the stairs leading up to her classroom with her small bag of snacks. She was about to start the long hike up the stairs to the third floor when someone took hold of her shoulders from behind and yelled “boo!”

The girl screamed in surprise and a booming laugh made her turn around. Her eyes widened when she saw Choi Seungcheol doubled over in laughter.

“You! Choi Seungcheol!” Minyoung grumbled as Seungcheol continued to laugh.

“S-sorry!” Seungcheol took a deep breath to compose himself, after which he grinned. “Good morning, Minyoung.”

Minyoung scowled, whirling around and she started to stomp up the stairs to leave the amused boy behind.

“Aww, I’m sorry!” Seungcheol ran up the stairs to catch up to her, his eyes twinkling.

She pouted. “Don’t talk to me, I’m mad at you.”

The boy chuckled. “Anyways, how are you?”

“Could be better if it wasn’t for you.” The girl grumbled though there was no malice in her voice. It was hard to stay mad at him since he was grinning from ear to ear and his eyes crinkled. It was kind of endearing, really.

Seungcheol pouted, clutching his chest in a dramatic manner though he grinned afterwards. “Oh, that hurts.”

“Anyways, why are you here so early?” Minyoung checked her watch. It was only 8:10, still some time until the bell signalling the start of classes. There were some students already on campus but most of the student body didn’t arrive until 8:25. Many wanted to relish their time in their beds before a long day at school.

The boy rubbed the back of his neck. “I sort of fell asleep at my desk last night so I sort of didn’t get to finish studying history and we sort of have a quiz after lunch today.”

“’Sort of.’” Minyoung repeated, raising a brow.

Seungcheol laughed and then nudged his head at the direction of the plastic bag she was carrying. “What’s that?”

“This?” She quickly glanced at the bag she was holding. “I bought some snacks at the cafeteria.”

This time, it was Seungcheol who raised a brow. “Snacks? At first thing in the morning?”

Minyoung shook her head at him. “Tsk tsk. Didn’t you know? A wise man once said ‘snack time is any time.’”

Seungcheol put on a look of feigned shock. “I can’t believe I went on with my life not knowing this piece of wisdom.”

They both laughed as they continued to ascend the stairs, chatting as they went.  Once the pair finally reached the third floor of the building, they started to head to their respective classrooms – Minyoung in 3-1 and Seungcheol in 3-2. Minyoung was about to open the door when she turned her head to Seungcheol's direction.

“Wait, Seungcheol!” Minyoung called out, making him turn around just as he was about to open the door to his class. “Good luck with your history quiz.”

A look of surprise briefly flickered across his face before transforming into a smile.

“Thanks!”

–

“Time’s up! Everyone please pass your papers to the front!” History teacher Miss Lee called out as the bell rang. Minyoung passed her paper to Kang Yoonji, who sat in front of her and was the last person at the front of the row. The history teacher regularly quizzed the students to help them build up on the knowledge they learned in class and to make sure they stay on track with their studying. This time, the quiz required them to recall important facts and details Miss Lee taught after the exam cut off so the students wouldn’t forget what they learned.  

Once the teacher received all of the papers, she dismissed the class and the students eagerly got up to enjoy their favorite time of the day – lunch time.  Iseul ran up to Minyoung’s desk with her square lunchbox in her hands.

“Minyoung! Let’s go eat outside.” Iseul chirped. “It’s really nice out.”

“Sure, why not?” Minyoung dug out her own lunchbox from the depths of her backpack. The two girls joined the other seniors descending the stairs and made their way to the side doors leading to the back of the school.

The back of SVT High was similar to a park, decorated with tall trees and various structures.  Two outdoor basketball courts could be found at the leftmost side of the school and often hosted friendly games occurring every lunch period. On the other hand, a soccer field was located at the rightmost side and was usually busy with students playing around. Separating these two areas were grassy areas with trees, picnic tables, and benches.

Minyoung and Iseul sat down across one another on an empty picnic bench under the trees near the buildings and opened up their lunchboxes.

“So,” Iseul started, a curious look in her eyes. “How did tutoring with Seungcheol go? You guys finished first yesterday.”

Minyoung looked up from her lunch, which was kimchi fried rice with a fried egg on top. “It was fine.”

Iseul raised an eyebrow. “Just fine?”

“Yeah, just fine.”

“That’s all?”

Minyoung nodded. “Yeah.”

Iseul set down her chopsticks and huffed. “Ah, I can’t believe this. I was expecting something juicy!”

Minyoung leaned over and flicked Iseul lightly on the forehead. “What were you expecting, a drama? We’re supposed to be helping them with their studies!”

Iseul whined, clutching her forehead. “But you’re paired up with Seungcheol! The school prince! I thought there was going to be something.”

“Sorry to burst your bubble but we just worked on circular functions the entire time.” Minyoung stuck out her tongue at her friend.

Iseul pouted as she opened up her lunch – rice with a fried pork cutlet and gravy on top. “Pooh. But anyways it’s good that it went well with Seungcheol. So what's he like?”

“He has really long lashes.” Minyoung said absentmindedly as she dug her spoon into the egg, breaking the yolk.

Iseul stared at her, eyes widening. “Jung Minyoung.”

“What?”

Iseul set down her chopsticks again. “You were staring at him during tutoring?!”

Minyoung stared at her. “What? No!”

“You totally were!” Iseul cried out giddily. “Oh my god!”

The girl tried to fight the embarrassed flush creeping on her cheeks. “I did not stare at him!”

“Don’t lie! How would you have known if you weren’t staring at him?!”

“Hey, Lee Iseul!” Minyoung protested as her cheeks fully turned pink. She set down her spoon, scrambling to explain as Iseul continued to laugh in glee. “It’s impossible to not see! That’s how long they are!”

Iseul gave her a sly look. “Alright then.”

“It’s the truth!” Minyoung whined, waving her hands. “Look, my lashes are short, okay?! I’m just jealous that he has naturally long lashes! Mascara can’t even help me!”

“Okay, okay, I got it.” Her friend continued to grin slyly and Minyoung groaned, hiding her face in her hands.

Iseul was never going to let her live it down. Never.  

After returning their empty lunchboxes into their bags in the classroom and each buying a cup of frozen yogurt from the cafeteria, Minyoung and Iseul went on a walk around the school grounds. The weather was particularly warm that day, allowing the girls to enjoy their dessert as they walked.

“Do you remember the question for number two? What did you put down for that?” Iseul asked, digging into her mango frozen yogurt. The pair were trying to recall the history quiz they took and comparing the answers they remembered putting down, which was a routine they developed since the start of their high school years.

“I put down B.” Minyoung furrowed her brows as she ate a spoonful of chocolate frozen yogurt. “Miss Lee’s question for that one was almost the same as the notes.”

Iseul let out a sigh of relief after hearing her friend’s answer. “Oh, me too!”

The girls continued to discuss their answers for the quiz as they walked past the basketball courts. They passed a group of people occupying two connected picnic tables under the trees when they heard someone calling out.

“Jung Minyoung!”

The said girl turned around to the direction of the voice and saw Seungcheol waving, seated on one of the picnic tables. He waved at her to come closer and Minyoung blinked in surprise. Iseul nudged her side and the two of them walked towards the picnic benches. Once they got closer, the boys of the basketball team looked up from their books and greeted them enthusiastically.

“What’s up?” Minyoung asked, standing by Seungcheol’s right and peering at the textbook in front of him. “Studying hard?”

Seungcheol moved his history textbook so the girl could see. “You guys had history before lunch right? How was the quiz?”

The girl shrugged. “Lots of writing as usual.”

“What questions did she ask?” Seungcheol asked and Minyoung narrowed her eyes at him.

“I’m not telling you.” The boy let out a whine of protest, which was made louder with the rest of the team joining in as well. The boy then gave Minyoung a puppy eyed look to get her to budge, which reminded her of her pet dog when someone stopped petting him, but Minyoung firmly shook her head.

“But we’re tutoring partners!” Seungcheol pouted, looking up at her with sad eyes. Minyoung shook her head again as she waved her spoon.

“First of all, you're cheating. Second of all, Miss Lee gives out different quizzes for every class, remember? Ours is going to be different from yours.”

Seungcheol held up his hands in defense. “Whoa, I’m not cheating. I believe the correct word is curious.”

She raised a brow at him. "Oh really?"

The boy nodded, biting back a smile. "Yes, really."

Yoon Jeonghan, a fellow third year who was also in Seungcheol and Jisoo’s class, turned to his friend.

“See, Minyoung’s answer is the same as the one we’ve been telling you.”

“I thought she was going to help since she’s my tutor....” Seungcheol stuck out his lower lip, looking up to give the girl another puppy eyed stare.

Minyoung sighed in defeat upon seeing his look. Curse this guy’s puppy eyes. “Fine, I just have one tip. Just remember what Miss Lee talked a lot about in your class. That’s what she did for ours but I don’t know if that’s going to help if she teaches your class differently. That’s all I can tell you.”

Upon hearing those words, Seungcheol’s eyes widened as though a light bulb went off in his mind. Minyoung couldn’t help but smile when she noticed the boy’s reaction.

“Well then, good luck with your studying!” Minyoung and Iseul gave them a wave as they turned around and resumed their stroll around the school. Once they were a good distance away from the boys, Iseul gave Minyoung a jab on the side and the girl yelped.

“What was that for?!”

“You said it’s cheating but you gave a hint anyways. Since when do you ever do that? Is it because it’s Seungcheol?” Iseul had a sly look on her face as she exaggerated the boy’s name.

Minyoung stuck out her tongue at her. “Don't get too excited, missy. It was just a little budge to get them to the right direction with their studying.”

“Riiight.” Iseul gave Minyoung a teasing look. However, it went ignored as Minyoung continued to dig into her frozen yogurt with a light smile, finding it just a bit tastier than usual.

Another update! BTW Coups has really long lashes - there was even a post on the internet about it LOL. I'm kind of jealous since it's natural :'( There might be some mistakes since this chapter isn't beta'd at the moment. Thank you for the subs and thank you for reading!