Seulgi’s not upset because she’s been assigned a bad group for her final statistics project.

Seulgi’s upset because she’s been assigned a lazy group for her final statistics project. And even then, she's not even sure that “upset” is the right word.

When Seulgi had first heard that she’d be in the same group as her best friend, Son Seungwan, she was immediately excited. Seungwan’s one of those people that possess a natural sort of leadership that never feels overbearing. She’s always smiling and assuring her friends that everything will be alright, even when Seulgi does something careless like showing up to a statistics exam without a graphing calculator.

(Seulgi had been really stressed and forgot the device at home when she rushed to school. She almost cried at her inevitable failing marks, but Seungwan had pulled an extra calculator out of her backpack with this honest grin and the excuse that she always carries an extra just in case.)

So when Seulgi hears the names of her other groupmates, “Yoon Jeonghan” and “Jeon Wonwoo,” she isn’t quite sure what to think. She knows that it’s not fair to make snap judgments about people without really getting to know them, but Jeonghan looks like a sass monster and Wonwoo looks like he never knows where he is, which is at least mildly worrisome.

“It can’t be that bad,” Seungwan had whispered, an encouraging smile dancing on her lips.

But oh, Seungwan was so, so wrong.

It’s less than a week before the assignment is due, and neither of her two other groupmates have contributed anything to the project.

“It’s not fair,” Seulgi complains softly as she rests her head on the other girl’s shoulder. Seungwan’s been punching in data for the past hour after Seulgi wandered through the campus surveying random students, and both girls don’t want to admit how tired they are. Seulgi likes to think that she’s well-mannered enough to not talk badly about others, but in her current exhausted state, it’s hard not to blame Jeonghan and Wonwoo, at least a little. “They haven’t talked to us once since we started this project.”

Seungwan stops her typing in order to Seulgi’s hair. Though Seulgi knows that the younger girl will never admit it, she can tell that she’s a little annoyed at their other groupmates as well. “The end of the semester is almost here anyway,” she says instead. “Don’t think about it too much.”

And usually Seulgi would obey Seungwan without much hesitation. But this time, when she looks up at the younger girl, she can see dark eyebags beginning to bloom beneath tired eyes and Seulgi feels something in her gut twist at the sudden sensation of guilt.

She really wishes she were better at math.

So this time, Seulgi forces herself to lie—just a tiny bit—by nodding and straightening up in her chair to reorganize the papers.

“You're Jeon Wonwoo.”

The boy blinks at her in surprise, closing the laptop in front of him as he focuses his attention onto the newcomer. “Yes. And you're Seulgi, right?”

She ignores his question. “We’re groupmates and our project is due in four days.”

“I know that,” he answers, not breaking eye contact. He looks almost bored as he speaks and Seulgi would be lying if she said that it didn't tick her off.

Seulgi narrows her eyes at him before crossing her arms with a huff. Anger isn't her thing because she finds that anger always makes her feel guilty once she calms down. It's just not in her character. But Seungwan is her best friend and it's not fair that she has to suffer double the workload just because their two other groupmates refuse to be helpful.

So if she has to be a little passive aggressive to save Seungwan from herself, then so be it.

“It's a group grade, you know. A team effort.”

Wonwoo still has that lost look in his eyes as he regards the woman in front of him. He his head ever so slightly. “I know, I read the rubric.”

“Did you really?”

“Yes.”

This conversation is going nowhere and even though Seulgi hasn't even really done anything, she can feel the guilt coming in already. She frowns at this realization and figures that she should say something more to the point before she scurries away in flustered embarrassment.

“So we should work as a team.”

She doesn't understand this Wonwoo kid or any of his non-expressive expressions, so she can't help but wish it was Jeonghan who got to class early. She can't really imagine the older boy being so quiet.

“Okay. What's your phone number?”

For some reason, Seulgi didn't expect to be asked this question. She's never really been that good at reacting to things on the spot and can't stop the discomfort from washing over her frame.

Seeing this, Wonwoo re-opens his laptop. “Or do you have a Skype account, maybe? We can have a group call tonight.” He pauses before hastily adding, “If you and Seungwan are free, of course.”

Wonwoo’s not used to talking to strangers one-on-one, and now he's worried that he almost made an assumption that would offend the girl before him.

Seulgi doesn't really notice his minor blunder though as she's too busy breathing a sigh of relief at the different options before her. Options always make things a little less scary.

“Oh, that would be a good idea! Tonight at eight should work,” she replies nonchalantly. After a pause, she quickly adds, “I mean, if that works for you and Jeonghan. Seungwan and I don't really do much.”

Another pause.

“I-I mean, we do things but we also have a lot of free time since our extracurricular activities have been slowing down for summer break,” she corrects, not wanting to make it sound like her and Seungwan are lazy because they're not.

Seulgi’s not good at confrontations and she's not good at talking to strangers. Having to deal with a confrontation with a stranger was definitely not her best idea.

The seated boy offers her a small smile and Seulgi can't help but be mildly impressed because it turns out that Wonwoo can express emotions on his face.

“Okay.”

Seulgi isn't really sure what to do because now she just feels out of place. She manages a small smile in return. “Yeah, okay.”

Spotting Seungwan enter the classroom, she's about to quickly form an excuse to leave this barely existent conversation before Wonwoo gently calls her name. “Seulgi?”

Her eyes flash to him once more. “Yeah?”

“I need your Skype ID,” he says, gesturing to the open laptop in front of him.

She feels dumb for not thinking this whole thing through beforehand.

“Right,” she says, mentally chastising herself for being so desperate to return to something more familiar. She's about to walk to Wonwoo’s seat in order to type over his arm, but thankfully realizes that it would be much less awkward if she just turns the computer to face her.

Once she finishes adding herself on his account, she looks up at him once more. “Thanks.”

He nods, the smile gone and that bored expression back on his features. “So eight o’clock?”

“Eight o’clock,” she affirms with a nod of her own. This entire conversation has been all sorts of awkward, so with a small wave, Seulgi hurries back to her seat and the comfort that Seungwan’s presence offers.

“I talked to the Wonwoo guy.”

“Oh? He seems like a nice kid. Reminds me a little of someone I know,” Seungwan hums, solving a physics problem while resting her chin on her palm.

Seulgi frowns, mirroring the other girl’s position as she absentmindedly accepts the Skype contact request on her phone. “He doesn’t really say much,” she answers, choosing to keep the majority of her opinions on the boy to herself. “But we’ve got a conference call with him and Jeonghan tonight at eight on Skype.”

Seungwan chuckles nervously.

“How do I use Skype again?”

Seulgi logs onto her computer at exactly 7:55 to make sure that she’s not late to the group conference. The whole thing was technically her idea, so it would probably look bad if she showed up late.

As soon as her Skype successfully starts up though, she’s greeted by the program’s ringtone and the notification that she’s receiving a video call from “mingyusbeanie717.”

She squints at the username and then cringes when she realizes who it is.

“Hello,” Wonwoo greets. He already has his camera (Seulgi did not realize that this was going to be a video chat), and looks as though he’s just stepped out of the shower. His dark hair is still dripping wet and Seulgi’s somewhat surprised to see the circular glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. He blinks for a moment at the screen before tilting his head to the side and staring directly into his webcam. “Your camera’s off.”

Seulgi inwardly groans because she had just gotten back from dance practice half an hour ago and didn’t have the time to shower. She’s uncomfortable with the idea of using that as an excuse, however, so she quickly ties her hair into a messy bun atop her head before looking down to make sure that her outfit is at least presentable. Her white sweater has turned a light gray and clearly needs to be washed, but it’s not like anyone will notice. They’ll just blame it on the light, if anything, she tells herself, switching her webcam on. “Sorry. Is it working now?”

He hums in confirmation, taking a bite out of a protein bar. Once he finishes chewing, he says, “Jeonghan is going to be a little late tonight. He should be online by nine though.”

“Oh, that’s fine,” she replies, doing her best to hide her frown. The main point of the call was to show off how much work she and Seungwan had finished on their own and then guilt the others into picking up the slack. She didn’t realize that they would be staying on this call for more than half an hour. “Let me text Seungwan and find out where she is.”

Wonwoo nods and Seulgi is reminded of her discomfort when a silence takes hold of the conversation. If she weren’t so self-conscious, she’d play music or something just so that it wouldn’t feel so awkward, but she isn’t sure if her taste will coincide with Wonwoo’s and doesn’t want to make things weird.

She grabs for her phone, noting the way it’s only 7:57 as she sends a text message to Seungwan.

She receives a response almost immediately.

I think that I downloaded the wrong program!

Seulgi blinks at her cell phone in shock before typing back a quick reply: What do you mean? Did you uninstall it or something?

The response she receives makes her want to bash her head into her desk.

I was asking Yerim for help when I got home, and both her and Sooyoung told me that there was a new update or something? So I uninstalled like they told me to, but I don’t think I reinstalled it right and now my computer screen is flashing blue?? Help????

Yerim, Seungwan’s younger sister, is a total sweetheart. Her and her best friend, Sooyoung, have a bad habit of pulling harmless pranks though, and Seungwan’s always gullible enough to fall for them.

(Seulgi isn’t really an exception either, but she likes to think that she’s tech savvy enough to not fall for something this silly.)

“Is everything alright?” Wonwoo asks from the computer screen, regarding her curiously.

The correct answer would probably be no, but Seulgi has a penchant for optimism in the face of disaster. “Seungwan’s just running a bit late, is all.”

Wonwoo nods at this and the silence returns.

It stays for an entire thirty minutes.

Seulgi thinks that she’s going to die.

“Hey, so, um—”

“I think that maybe we should—”

They both stare at their computer screens with identical expressions of surprise at having spoken up at the exact same time.

“Oh, sorry, you first,” Wonwoo mumbles fidgeting a little in his chair.

Seulgi shakes her head quickly, “No, it’s alright, I’m the one who interrupted you.”

“It’s fine, really. Ladies first.”

“There’s no need to be so formal,” she insists, the guilt already starting to eat at her. “After you.”

Wonwoo bites into his protein bar once more, probably to use the fact that he’s eating as an excuse for Seulgi to speak. As he rolls the food around in his mouth, however, his eyes widen as though he’s realized something incredibly important. Without warning, his lip twitches upwards as a small smirk takes hold on his features.

If Seulgi weren’t so distracted by her own awkwardness, she’d probably have enough sense to feel a little scared.

“I really think that chew should talk first, but I’m willing to bargain.”

Wonwoo’s smiling widely now as though he’s legitimately proud of himself and Seulgi can’t stop the expression of pure horror from taking over her features.

He just said that.

Out loud.

Did Jeon Wonwoo have no shame?

Not wanting to be rude, she forces a pained laugh. Wonwoo’s too innocent to realize that the girl on the other side of the screen is still cringing at the thought of his pun, so he joins in on the amusement.

“I guess we can say it at the same time then?”

Seulgi’s too flustered to come up with a better idea, so she just nods at the suggestion. “Alright, on the count of three then.”

The two count down with their fingers and simultaneously blurt, “I think I’m going to log off now.”

At the coincidence, Seulgi can’t stop herself from laughing a little as an honest smile takes hold on her features. A part of her feels bad for bailing on her own venture, but she lacks the confidence to properly explain to Wonwoo what still needs to be done. Besides, without Seungwan there, it’ll be difficult to show off just how much the two girls have accomplished together.

Wonwoo just smiles. “I’ll let Jeonghan know then. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” she grins back.

They both sit there smiling in front of their cameras for a few more seconds, each of them too polite to hang up first. When they realize what the issue is, Wonwoo chuckles a little nervously while Seulgi feels her cheeks flush a little in embarrassment.

“On the count of three?”

“On the count of three.”

Jeonghan rushes to his computer at 9:02, feeling awful about being so late to the group conference call for his statistics project. His volunteer shift at the local soup kitchen ended up lasting a little longer than expected since some of the younger students had bailed, leaving Jeonghan with the feeling of obligation to stay and help the administrators clean up.

He’s about to turn on his laptop when he realizes that he has three missed calls from Wonwoo. He probably hadn’t seen them earlier since he had been driving.

He swipes the screen to call the younger boy back, holding the phone between his cheek and his shoulder as he struggles to multitask.

“Hello?”

“Hi,” Jeonghan greets, a little out of breath from running around. “I’m sorry I’m late, I’m getting on right now—”

“Don’t worry about it, we’re not doing it anymore.”

The older boy blinks, straightening up and holding the phone with his hand. “What?”

“I think that Seungwan had to cancel and Seulgi and I felt a little awkward by ourselves.”

Jeonghan can’t help but sigh. He can’t say that he’s surprised though—it is Wonwoo that he’s talking about. “Oh,” he manages, biting his lip a little in thought. “The project’s due in four days though.”

From the rustling on the other line, it’s clear that Wonwoo is probably shifting around as he thinks of the right thing to say. “Seulgi seems really nice though and I can only imagine that Seungwan’s just as kind. They’ve probably just been busy.”

“I didn’t mean to imply anything bad about them,” Jeonghan hurriedly insists, not realizing how his words could be perceived. Thinking of others negatively makes him feel bad, but it’s a little hard to not feel a bit upset. He doesn’t like complaining, but he and Wonwoo had been juggling this project for the past two weeks or so and it’s unfair that their two other groupmates haven’t even offered to help. He had thought that things were starting to look up when the younger boy had told him about his conversation with Seulgi earlier that morning, but whelp. “If worse comes to worse, we’ll just submit the project and tell them what to say for our presentation when the time comes.”

He knows Wonwoo well enough to know that the other boy is frowning. However, he and Jeonghan share the same sort of mentality in regards to these things, so if the younger boy has any objections about this plan, he doesn’t voice them aloud. “Okay.” There’s a short pause before he adds, “You must be tired from your shift. You should try to get some rest.”

Jeonghan glances at his laptop that’s just powered back on. He can see the shortcut icon on hisa/n desktop that’ll bring him to some of the unfinished spreadsheets that he needs to decipher for the statistics project.

Wonwoo’s never been that good at math and there are only four days until the deadline.

“I’ll try,” Jeonghan decides to say.

The words don’t convince Wonwoo of anything, but the younger boy knows better than to argue with his friend. With a sigh of resignation, he signs off with a small, “Okay, good night” and promises himself to talk to Seulgi about this issue tomorrow.

a/n: so this was supposed to be a one-shot but i think that i got way too into this? lollll. since tiff's birthday is today (06/14) i'll be uploading the first chapter. the others will be posted shortly. c:

thanks to everyone who subscribed and read this first chapter! it's been a long time since i've written anything creatively (and a million years since i've written fluff) so please let me know what you think!