Chapter 3: Observations
WarmthHow did I not notice her before?
Because you didn't know her before, .
No but like, we've been classmates for 4 months now... There's no way I wouldn't notice her. She's literally in front of me!
Yeah, yeah. Stop this nonsense and go back to the lesson.
Oh wow, look at her hair... I wonder what kind of shampoo she uses. Her hair looks really soft.
Hey, hey!! Joohyun, focus!
I wanna touch it.
Irene slammed her eyes shut as she tried to revert her focus back to their current lesson in Trigonometry rather than Kang Seulgi's hair. Seriously, she looks like a creep. The brunette has been staring at the other girl's profile for at least 20 minutes.
She had no idea what their teacher is talking about right now, and she's sure she might fail the next quiz if she continues this. But that doesn't stop her eyes from wandering towards Seulgi's direction and gawking at her for half an hour.
She tiredly sighed as she rubbed her eyes and massaged her temples. In her mind, she kept chanting, 'focus, focus, FOCUS', but it still did no good. It never really bothered her before but now, she wanted to kick someone in the face for putting Kang Seulgi's seat right in front of hers.
Finally, the cheerleader decided to open her eyes (joohyunnie, open your eyes) and tried to look straight at the blackboard and nowhere else. What she saw literally blew her mind.
They were having a seatwork. On the topic she doesn't know because she's been so busy ogling at the girl in front of her. She gulped. She's doomed right now. She was internally panicking, eyes crazily darting across each end of the board to understand even a little bit of the lecture. The small girl felt her breathing quicken and her palms sweat.
Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. How do I do this? Fu-Okay calm down, Joohyun... Deep breaths, deep breaths...
She must have been breathing too hard because the next thing she knew, Seulgi was already looking at her with worry.
She's looking at me. Don't be weird, Joohyun. Give her the 'Irene Bae Glare'.
And glare she did. She scrunched up her eyebrows in a frown, as if to say 'what are you looking at?'. That seemed to do the trick, as the girl in front of her visibly gulped and decided to leave her alone. The small girl sighed. Great, she scared her away.
Okay, but that's not the problem right now. She needed to figure out how to answer these questions, else she'll fail. She can't even answer the first question! The cheerleader huffed; she had no choice.
Irene nervously tapped the dark-haired girl, hoping she'd get her attention. For a second, she thought Seulgi was ignoring her. (In reality, Seulgi couldn't believe that Irene Bae was tapping her shoulder). Slowly, the other girl turned and glanced at her questioningly.
"U-Uh... Can- Do you- I mean..." Irene Bae. Stuttering. The Irene Bae. "Um... I haven't been listening... And uhh... I don't know how to... Umm-"
"Do you... need help?" The vice president hesitantly interrupted the stuttering girl. The brunette was already blushing fiercely from embarrassment so she just nodded her head in agreement.
Lesson: Never get distracted during Math class.
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It would be a lie if she'd say that she hasn't been stalking Seulgi after that. Well, stalk is such a strong word. She's observing, the brunette tells herself. Yes, she's merely being intrigued and curious, like every other human.
Right.
Okay, she observed Seulgi because she really was curious. Why had the girl been kind to her despite Irene's rude behavior? Something's up, she thinks. Seulgi was only helping her to get to her good side. The girl must want something from her. Fame? Money? She didn't know. That's what she's curious about. And that's what she's going to find out.
Mission: Find out what Kang Seulgi is up to
Observation #1:
Irene was at her locker, peacefully taking out her books and notebooks. Her peace was rudely interrupted when a loud bang resounded along the halls. She jumped at the sound and turned to look at the source of the noise.
Behind her were two buff jocks roughly shoving a lanky freshman up against his locker. The poor boy had a few tears in his eyes and snot running down his chin. He begged that he had no more lunch money while the two jerks laughed at his predicament. Before the cheerleader could do anything, she heard a familiar voice rang out.
"What's going on here?" asked the authoritative voice. Seulgi had her hands on her waist, disappointedly looking at the two jocks.
"None of your business," answered one of them, high-fiving the other.
"I'm sorry, but I'm here to remind you that bullying is not allowed in our school. In any school, actually."
"Listen girly, why don't you just go away and do your girly stuff while we get our lunch here?"
The vice president narrowed her eyes menacingly and gritted her teeth in anger. Irene continued to watch in silence. She was getting worried for the girl, seeing how the jocks were twice her size and there's two of them. 'They could snap her like a toothpick,' she anxiously thought.
"Listen here pal, why don't you give him back his money and I won't report you to the principal?" the dark-haired girl retorted.
The jocks now had their full attention on Seulgi. They dropped the pitiful freshman down to the ground while they glared at her.
"Are you asking for a fight? 'Cuz we can give you that," one of them said, as both scarily cracked their knuckles. Seulgi remained unfazed. She too cracked her knuckles and dropped her bag before saying,
"Bro, I used to do karate. I'm sure I can kick both your asses and drag them to the principal's office."
Do you think she can really do karate? That would be pretty cool.
Now's not the time, Joohyun! You better do something to save her before these guys turn her into a punching bag.
Thankfully, before anything serious could happen, a tall boy and a teacher entered the scene. Irene sighed in relief. She recognized the tall boy as one of the student council associates, Bogum.
The two jerks finally stopped and turned to run while the stout teacher tried to catch up. Seulgi helped the freshman up, giving him a hanky to wipe the snot from his nose. Irene watched as the dark-haired girl asked him if he was okay and if he was hurt anywhere.
She saw the girl reach into her pocket, bringing out her wallet. She took out a few bills and gladly gave them to the boy. Seulgi smiled at the bright look that the freshman gave her before patting his head and telling him to do well in class.
Her smile is really...
She shook her head, trying to get the thought out of her mind.
"What a weird girl," she whispered instead.
Observation #2:
"Give me 20 laps and you could all go home."
Several groans and whines were heard from the cheering squad.
"If you don't get moving, I'll make it into 50!" shouted their coach before loudly blowing her whistle. Upon hearing the loud whistle, the cheerleaders begrudgingly started their run, muttering curses as they jogged.
After what seemed like a million years, they were finally finished. Irene felt as if her lungs were being squeezed and her legs would give out any second. The brunette was the last one to leave the shower room and the last one to get to her gym locker.
When she finally left the locker room, the small brunette tiredly made her way towards the school exit. That was until she heard the sound of a classroom door opening. The Student Council Meeting room. And it's just her luck that the one who left the room was none other than Kang Seulgi.
Irene stood in the middle of the hallway as she watched the tall girl wave goodbye to her friends. The brunette dashed behind a nearby wall to hide and from there, she once again observed Seulgi.
The dark-haired girl was humming as she strolled towards the school doors. Before she could exit though, another person entered. It was the school janitor and in his arms were a pile of heavy boxes. Immediately, Seulgi ran to his side and said,
"Sir, let me help you with those."
"Ah Seulgi, you don't need to!" the man smiled. "I'm just going to deliver these to one of the teachers."
"But they look heavy and I'm sure you're already tired," Seulgi pouted. She then adjusted her sleeves and took two of the boxes. "I can carry them, you know?" She smirked as the janitor shook his head in amusement as he gave in to her request.
"Now, where to?"
"In Mr. Lee's office," the man replied before both of them headed to the said place.
Irene remained hiding behind the wall. When they passed by her, she pretended to do something to make her less suspicious but they seemed to be in their own bubble, engaging in a small conversation. When the coast was clear, Irene let out a breath she was holding before furrowing her eyebrows.
"Interesting..." she murmured.
Observation #3:
Irene never meant to follow Seulgi this far. It's not exactly her fault that the route to their respective homes were similar and you really can't blame her for being so intrigued at this Kang girl. That's why she's currently standing a few meters away from Seulgi.
Irene had looked behind her at one point during her journey home and spotted Seulgi just a few feet away from her. Initially, she thought Seulgi was stalking her too (but that was all in her head, of course).
Irene made sure to create a safe distance between her and the taller girl. She didn't want to be caught stalking someone. But it's not like Seulgi would actually find out; you know how clueless she can be.
They were at a crossing, waiting for the stoplight for pedestrians to turn green. At the corner of her eye, Seulgi noticed an old lady walking slowly by her side. She saw her carrying a large basket and her struggle with its weight.
Irene keenly watched as Seulgi politely talked to the grandma, telling her she would carry the heavy basket instead. The old woman let out a grateful smile at the vice president as she carefully handed basket.
The cheerleader could see the tall girl's own struggle with the weight. Her arms were thin and Irene's sure she can't handle the heaviness too. However, she continued smiling down at the grandma while engaging in small talk.
When the light turned green, the dark-haired girl walked alongside the old woman as they crossed the street together. Despite the old lady's slow pace, Seulgi remained by her side until they've reached the other end of the street.
Just how many people does she help in a single day?
Irene snapped out of her trance and quickly crossed the street before the light turns red. Her face turned red as the passersby looked at her curiously. She ignored them as she tried to look for a certain dark-haired girl but found no one.
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Author's Note: WOAAHHHH OMG GUYS ;3; THANK YOU SO SO SO MUCH!! A HUNDRED SUBSCRIBERS?!? ASDHGJKSLA Thank you :') i dont knwo what to say! thank you, thank you, thANK YOU!!! You guys are awesome!! :'>
Anyway, so here's another chapter ASDGHSJ i hope you guys liked it... The title is corny... again HAHA I didn't like the ending and I have a feeling you guys won't too HAHA
AASDSDFSDV this actually has like a part 2 (or something). I had to cut it because it was too long, I guess. BUT don't worry, I've already written like 3/4 of the part 2, so it won't be long before I make an update again... I think... :D
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed it! :) Don't forget to leave a comment :D THANK YOU AGAIN HUHUHUHU
also, for those who commented about who they think should be in Irene's circle of friends, THANK YOU!! I have an idea now ;-; huhuhuhu... You guys rock ;- Keep rocking :D (and just rock the world HHHH)
That's all... I think... hehe! :D Thank you again, I don't think I can thank you guys enough :<
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