(italics are for flashbacks/previous conversations)

she looks up, notices that the only people left are the poor librarian, some girl whom she's never paid attention to, and herself; so she collects the scattered papers and pens, her half finished coffee, and heads out, - to her apartment, where she spends the rest of her night underlining and highlighting, talking to herself in an attempt to memorize things faster.

the december night’s breeze makes her shudder. she hugs herself and makes a mental note to remember bringing her coat the next time she’s wasting the young night in the library.

the lights from the library go off, and moments later she hears the other two girls’ chatters, as they walk a few meters behind her.

“good night nayeon!” the librarian, jihyo, shouts when she reaches the front gates.

nayeon waves without turning around.

jihyo breaks most of her job’s stereotypes. for instance, she’s loud, a mess, and straightforward; in other words, she doesn’t think twice before calling people out for their .

she actually first got the duty as a punishment for talking back to a professor, in front of over a hundred students; but she ended up liking it and sticking around.

nayeon is still amused with that incident, around a year ago, when a girl from jeongyeon’s class returned a book that apparently had lipstick smudges on it, and jihyo’s blatant self didn’t hesitate before commenting, “listen, momo, we all know your is craving some affection but you could’ve made out with something that.is.not.this.poor.innocent.book.”

//

it’s crowded when she walks into the library, one hour after classes have ended. she smiles at the librarian, trudging to her usual spot, somewhere away from the mob of students drowning in books and papers.

she finds her bag, along with a note, and not only after she carefully puts down the two cups of coffee that she reads it; this is the last time i’m keeping you a seat. the librarian hates me for it.

nayeon smirks, crumpling the piece of paper between her fingers, before throwing it to hit the girl sitting across from her, on the forehead.

“oh, i see trouble is here.” jeongyeon taunts, glaring at the girl who just came in.

“and i see you still haven’t made her your girlfriend yet,” nayeon snarks, her gaze falling on the same girl she smiled at as she walked in. “anyways, i got you coffee.”

they fall into a familiar silence, as each of them dives into her own suffering.

jeongyeon goes home first, like always, leaving behind a beyond frustrated nayeon.

//

jeongyeon snorts as she walks into their dorm. on the small, yet incredibly comfy, couch is nayeon taking what’s probably her 4th nap of the day.

“you’re here again!” she teases; stirring the older girl from her sleep.

the latter yawns, stretching her arms, as she throws an eyeroll at the intruder.

“it smells nice,” jeongyeon comments, ignoring the dirty looks she’s received. she walks into the kitchen and eyes the pot of food.

“and, it feels nice to come home to a very very caring wife; let’s eat.” she coaxes the older girl.

//

it has been over an hour since jeongyeon left, and nayeon doesn’t gather her belongings when she stands up. on her way out, she leans onto the wooden counter separating her from jihyo and whispers, “i’m going to the restroom. it’d be nice if you don’t throw away my bag and stuff.” she cracks a smile, as jihyo rolls her eyes.

and for the first time that week, she doesn’t see the girl in the navy blue hoodie who usually sits at the table closest to the door. the same girl who leaves with jihyo every night.

she has never seen her face before, for she’s always immersed in the sheets; face buried in books, and hair all over the place. but she doesn’t ponder over it for too long, instead, her mind drifts straight to when she starts beating herself over for making the same mistake over and over again.

being in her sixth semester in university, you expect her to have quit the all nighter crew , but here she is, at 11 pm, strolling down the path to the closest restroom, taking a break from studying for the first time for an exam at 9 am the following morning.

the place is around a hundred meters away, but nayeon takes a turn before reaching it. she walks through a bush to a corner right behind the library.

“holy shi- ing ! you scared the out of me.” she curses when she sees the silhouette leisurely leaning against the wall.

“i’d say the same.” the person says with a soft voice.

“well, you don’t seem like it.” scoffs nayeon, taking a better look at the person. she recognizes the navy blue hoodie, jihyo’s buddy .

she’s taken aback when the other girl turns to look at her all of a sudden.

she expects the consecutive sleepless nights of finals the way she expects the sun to rise every morning. what she doesn't expect though is findingthe myoui mina -student council vice president, model student, underclassman prodigy- occupying her favorite hideout, with a burning stick between her innocent pink lips.

//

“we got classes together.”

“isn’t she like jihyo’s age?” she asks jeongyeon, as they lift their coffees to take a sip in a mind-blowing level of synchronization.

“yeah, but the girl is a smartpants, they got her skipping a year back in high school or something.” jeongyeon answers, looking at the girl who is talking to the barista.

“i would have absolutely went for her if i weren’t stuck in this hopeless unrequited feelings situation.”

“ for you then,” nayeon comments nonchalantly, and her gaze isn’t even on the girl in question.

//

“crap!” nayeon hisses, going through all of her pockets, looking for a light. “,” she repeats and kicks a stone.

“here,” mina says. she ignites a match and steps closer to the older girl. the latter leans in to catch it; sighs in relief when she finally inhales the burning tabacco.

“thank you,” she mumbles, leaning her back against the wall, in a similar fashion to mina’s.

“what are you doing out here?” nayeon asks, in an attempt to dissipate the thick silence falling onto them.

“i come out here whenever i feel like crying,” mina mutters, “it’s better to regret my life choices in the dark than back there in the library.” and nayeon can’t tell if the girl is being serious, or if she’s just messing around.

she brings the cigarette to her lips, and inhales. she looks at mina from the corner of her eyes and catches her exhaling the thick, foggy smoke.

the lonely lamppost casts its orange light over them, and nayeon can’t help but stare at the younger girl a bit too long, she looks like a masterpiece out of place .

a/n: i'd love to hear your thoughs about this in the comments ^^ thank you for all the upvotes on just a foreword.