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Moonbyul shifted uncomfortably in her seat, like she had done so for the past ten minutes since she sat down at the seemingly forbidden table. It was evident that she did not belong at this table and she wasn't the only person who thought this. Curious glances were coming in from every direction of the cafeteria and the onlookers weren't doing much to keep their whispers at a low level. To make matters worst, she was wedged in between Yongsun and Irene and every movement she made, she found herself brushing against either one. She glanced furtively across the table at Wheein, who grimaced as Namjoon (who sat with his back turned to her) managed to accidentally nudge her yet again with his elbow as he chatted animatedly to his two soccer buddies about an upcoming match. Wheein leaned away from him and lightly brushed against Hyejin's shoulder with her own, to which she smiled apologetically. Her eyes met Moonbyul's and she gave her a look of desperation, she too wanted nothing more than to get up and sit at their regular table. 

"I didn't realise it was 'bring-your-friends-to-lunch' day," Irene said in an effort to lighten the awkward atmosphere but unfortunately her blank expression made her seem unwelcoming to the newcomers. 

Namjoon broke out of his conversation momentarily to retort, "As if you have any friends outside this table." 

Irene shot him a glare while Hyejin reached behind Wheein to punch him on the shoulder. 

"Alright, alright! It was a joke, chill." 

As the group began to dive back into their different conversations, Moonbyul took the opportunity to nudge Yongsun (hard) with her elbow, "Why am I here?" she hissed.

Yongsun said nothing but grinned and waggled her eyebrows suggestively whilst subtly nodding her head at Irene. 'Mingle' she mouthed at her. 

'I don't know how.' Moonbyul mouthed back.

Yongsun rolled her eyes and scootched closer to Moonbyul. Before the blonde can even begin to protest (she was momentarily distracted by Yongsun's perfume. Goddamn, it smelt so good), the girl pushed her back onto the seat so she could reach over and get Irene's attention, "So Irene, Moonbyul was just telling me how you two have a lot in common."

"Was I?" Moonbyul said with confusion and at the same time, Irene said "We do?"

Yongsun nodded, "Yeah.. you both like..." Her eyes dart to the plate of fries in front her, "....Fries." 

Irene mirrored the same confused look on Moonbyul's face as she mulled over what Yongsun had said, "I mean...who doesn't?" 

"Right?" Yongsun nodded at Moonbyul, giving her a triumphant look, as if she had just offered the blonde a great opportunity. Moonbyul begged to differ and grimaced at Irene, who surprisingly found the whole situation amusing and flashed the girl a sincere smile. Dazed, Moonbyul felt her pulse quicken and her ears go warm. She quickly averted her gaze on anything that wasn't her and instead, focused on Yongsun as she lazily popped a fry into , leaving a trace of ketchup on the corner of her lips in the process.

Moonbyul jutted her chin forward at Yongsun to communicate to her to wipe but apparently math was not the only thing the brunette seemed to struggle to understand. To the girl's annoyance, Yongsun frowned and jutted her chin forward in retaliation as if to say what, what, what? With a roll of her eyes, Moonbyul tapped the corner of her own mouth as a sign. Finally registering what she meant, Yongsun  the ketchup from and smiled bashfully. 

Cute, Moonbyul thought to herself. 

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"What is it about Irene that you like?"

"Huh?" The question had caught Moonbyul off guard. It wasn't because she struggled to find the answer to that question - after a few years of habouring a crush on the girl, she was confident that she had plenty to say - it was more the fact that she had spent the last few minutes staring absentmindedly at Yongsun as the girl worked through her homework questions. When deep in thought, Moonbyul had taken notice of the way the girl often poked out her tongue and how her eyebrows knitted together. While she read, Yongsun had a habit of underlining every other word in the question, even if it wasn't important, as if she was afraid that she was missing something, and in between doing so, she would casually spin her pen/pencil between her fingers as she mulled over what she had just underlined. As Moonbyul watched for these mannerisms, the sudden question had dragged her out of her thoughts and for the first time in a long time, her mind was preoccupied with someone other than Irene. 

"What do you like about Irene?" Yongsun repeated, her gaze was firm, giving the blonde her undivided attention. 

"She's pretty."

"That's a bit superficial, don't you think?"

"It's not just that."

"Okay. So tell me."

"Irene is an enigma. She's..." Moonbyul stopped to ponder for a moment before continuing, "She's like an abstract painting. There's so many different elements to her that makes her her. It's hard to explain." 

"Hm."

"What?" Moonbyul asked defensively

"I always assumed that if you love someone, you'd find it easy to describe it."

"I don't love her." 

"Right, but you've liked her for two years and never even spoken to her until now."

"Right." Moonbyul replied weakly. She had lost this argument. 

"All I'm saying is, it sounds like you like the concept of her, rather than her." 

"That's not true."

Yongsun shrugged her shoulders, growing wary of the hint of aggression in the blonde's voice and possibility of a heated argument that was sure to ensue if the conversation was to continue. So instead, Yongsun picked up her pencil and tapped it against her cheek as she returned her attention to her homework.

"Do you need help with that question?" 

The tapping of her pencil ceased and Yongsun nodded gratefully. 

How did she know? she wondered to herself.  

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author's note: I know. It's been a while. Apologies.