“Mornin’ missy!”

Hyuna bowed slightly as she greeted the older man back, “Morning Ahjusshi!”

It was 7 in the morning, she was in early today. The carshop usually opened at 8 but she always needed to be there a little earlier for the morning preparations on Fridays, when the weekend began, because the weekends were usually the busiest.

She was particularly tired today, and her boss noticed, if her constant yawning was any implication.

“Too tired for today?” He asked

She shook her head vigorously, fighting off another yawn as she did, “I’m fine! I’ll be fine.”

“If you say so…” He said, only looking out for her health but knowing that she would probably never miss a shift. He knew she needed the money.

Just as he walked into his back office, she let out a big yawn, stretching her arms wide as she did. She was still drowsy since she slept late last night from playing her new game. Sohyun didn’t help with her lecture that morning as she got ready for work and the former got ready for school.

Still, she didn’t regret staying up late to play.

“Yah! Kim Hyuna!”

She turned to see a short blonde bounding her way, two coffees in hand. She waved as he came closer.

“Thanks” She mumbled tiredly as he handed her a coffee, “You have no idea how much I needed this”

He chuckled, “We missed you last night, what’s up? Another job?”

“Nope” She shook her head (more to wake herself up than anything), “New game”

“Ahh” He said knowingly, “Of course. And that also explains why you’re so tired this beautiful morning?”

She nodded sleepily, her face a sheepish grin “It was soooooooooooo worth it, man!”

The old manager peeked his head out his back office, “If you’re already here, Yoseob, hurry up and help out at the back!”

Yoseob made a face at the thought of physical labor, he especially disliked when his uncle made him help out at the carshop. It usually meant some heavy lifting. Really heavy lifting. 

“I’m only here to stop for breakfast,” He said, trying to squeeze out of this one “I’m gonna be late for school if I stay too long” And he usually only did stay for breakfast, his uncle only ever forced him to help out when there was a new shipment—Which usually meant tires and other large spare parts.

His own parents worked abroad, leaving him to himself in his own apartment they paid for. That also left him with no other choice for food and laundry than his Uncle, who practically lived in his carshop.

His uncle scoffed from inside his office, “Since when did you care about getting to school on time?”

Hyuna laughed at this, and Yoseob smiled guiltily as he shrugged, “He knows me too well”

“Go,” She said, jerking her head to the direction of the back entrance, “I still need to sweep the floor spotless before I can touch any food, anyway”

“I won’t keep you then,” He said, reluctantly making his way to the truck parked at their back entrance, “I’ll see you tonight?”

She flashed a grin, “For sure”

** ** **

He stepped down from the SUV, eyes squinting against the bright sunlight. He turned to face the large school towering over him, he knew it was going to be a view he would need to get used to. Feeling his face still swollen from the sleep, he slipped on a pair of sunglasses.

“Just leave your stuff in the car,” His mom said, “I’ll put it in your room when I reach the house”

He nodded, slipping his backpack off and placing it in the backseat. He had been in the car for about 2 days, it was a relief to finally smell some fresh air—and he knew he needed to wash up, but his mother made no plans for stopping at the house first.

“C’mon” She said, tugging his hand as she led him into the school.

Curious heads turned as they made their way to the main office, he could only lay his head low in slight embarrassment. He still managed to admire the navy blue uniforms the students were wearing, though. A nice change, he thought, from the previous schools.

His mother left him in the hallway as she talked to one of the registrars, finishing up mundane paperwork.

“Here,” She said as she walked out of the office, handing him his schedule printed out, “They said class just started but its fine if you’re a little late since it’s your first day”

He nodded, studying the class times and class rooms assigned on his schedule. He had already noticed the numbering patterns of the rooms as he walked passed them; he wouldn’t have a hard time finding his way around. He already had an idea of where everything was.

“And here,” She added, placing a soft package into his arms, “Your uniform”

He eyed the package, “Do I need to change?”

“Of course” She said, “I’ll be going, then. I need to check out our new place, the movers are already there waiting”

He nodded, letting her hug him and plant a soft peck on his forehead before she found her way back to the parking lot.

The hallways were now empty. He checked the large clock hanging on the wall—class started at 8:30. He began his search for the nearest men’s bathroom, relieved to find that he didn’t need to look too far. Briskly, he stepped inside, finding a spacious stall where he could change out of his clothes and into the fresher uniform.

As he finished changing, waiting to wash his face first before slipping on the blazer, he heard the bathroom door clank open loudly.

“Aish!!” He heard a light voice, “Stupid, old, aging Ahjusshi!!” followed by a loud faucet.

Curiously, he opened his stall, seeing a shorter (he didn’t think anyone could be as short as him) blonde, furiously rubbing his face with water.

He coughed loudly, making his presence known as he stepped closer to a sink beside the blonde—who whipped his head towards the noise.

 

“Oh…” The blonde muttered, “Hi! New student?”

He nodded, with a slight smile, turning on his own faucet to lightly wash his face.

“I’m seobie, by the way” Yoseob chirped, “You?”

“Kikwang.” He said curtly, peeking at Yoseob and noticing the shorter still had a few black grease stains on his face and his blonde locks

“Late too, huh?”

Kikwang nodded again, adjusting his necktie as he looked at himself in the mirror. He walked back to where his blazer hung, slipping it on before placing his old clothes into the package originally for the uniform. He cursed in his mind, he wish he hadn’t listened to his mother and still kept his backpack. At least then, he’d have a place to put his old clothes instead of carrying around a package.

“Oh,” Yoseob said, noticing the package “You’re that new?”

“Yeah.” Kikwang said, already heading out the bathroom, “Bye.”

Yoseob looked after him curiously, “Weird kid”

** ** **

“Hyung, do you think he’ll come?” a taller student asked quietly, once their teacher turned to the blackboard, as he turned to face the guy sitting behind him, “Junhyung Hyung?”

Junhyung had his head rested on his desk, his eyes shut and his breathing loud. It was still hours too early for him to properly function. The convenience of the taller boy seated in front of him shielded him from the teacher’s scolding.

“It’s Friday…” The taller one continued thoughtfully, “Maybe his Uncle made him work a bit in the morning?”

“I don’t care” Junhyung mumbled, not wanting to be bothered again.

They heard a lightly clatter from the back of the classroom, the taller of the two stretched his head to see what it was—Yoseob was sneaking into the classroom from the back entrance, crouching low to avoid the teacher’s sight.

He made his way as fast and quietly as he could towards his seat beside Junhyung. Once he did, he suddenly sat up straight, pretending nothing happened.

“Mornin’ Dongwoonie~” He whispered to the tall boy who had his eyes on him the whole time

Dongwoon smirked, “Nice going, Hyung”

“C’mon, I’ve been doing this so long” Yoseob said, “I’m practically a pro”

“Did your uncle…?”

Yoseob rolled his eyes as he remembered, it was all the confirmation Dongwoon needed. “Ugh, don’t remind me”

At that point, the teacher called the attention of the whole class. Junhyung made no movement while the other two shifted their heads to the front.

“Ooh~!” Yoseob said excitedly, Junhyung lifted his sleepy head slightly at Yoseob’s excitement. He dropped his head back on his desk to sleep when he realized it wasn’t worth his time. “New student~!”

“Good morning,” The new student said, a bright and friendly smile gracing his already cute features, “I’m Lee KiKwang” he bowed before the teacher motioned for him to sit on an open seat near the front

Yoseob and Dongwoon gasped in unision

“Hey,” Yoseob said, tugging on Dongwoon’s arm “I thought he looked familiar! I ran into him in the bathroom earlier!”

Yoseob hadn’t noticed it was the same guy until he uttered his name. This Kikwang just seemed so different from the one he ran into. For one, he wouldn’t have ever thought the Kikwang he ran into would be able to smile so brightly that it was almost blinding.

“Man, I didn’t even recognize him!”

“Hyung,” Dongwoon replied, “Isn’t he sitting in…”

Yoseob gasped again, “You’re right!”

The two exchanged an evil glance, both scrunching up pieces of paper into tiny balls. They both shifted their eyes to the new student, who was already getting friendly with everyone around him. Yoseob silently counted to three—

The two of them quickly threw the paper balls at Kikwang’s head, perfect hits, before swiftly laying their heads on their desks innocently.

Kikwang looked around curiously, scratching his head in slight confusion. His eyes rested on the three boys at the back who had their heads on their desks. Probably those troublemakers, he thought to himself.

“Everything ok?” His seatmate asked, noticing his hand on his head

He turned to look at her, “Yeah, it’s nothing… I’m Kikwang by the way”

“I heard.” She said, not affected by his blatant overfriendliness. “I’m Gayoon”

He smiled, “Nice to meet you, please take care of me well”

She looked at him weirdly for a moment before turning back to her books and focusing on the lecture. He continued to smile, now also turning his attention to the teacher.

"Class, pay attention!" The teacher said strictly, the room immediately fell silent. "I know it's the first day of the year, but you need to focus." the class nodded and she quickly added-- "And don't show up late again, Yang Yoseob"

Yoseob perked up, grinning sheepishly, "Hehe, sorry~"

** ** **

“Thanks kid!” An older man said, giving a little extra to the mechanic

Hyuna bowed, happily accepting the money, “No problem, Sir! Let me know if you experience any more problems!”

He waved goodbye before stepping into his car to start the engine. He smiled at the healthy sound it made, “Thanks again!” he yelled before driving off.

She huffed, wiping the dripping sweat off her forehead with her arm. She counted the money—he had left her almost as much as the price they charged just in tip.

“Wow!” She mouthed, running to the register to put the money in before placing her tip money safely in her bag.

“Excuse me!” Another customer entered, “Hi, could you help me?”

She was at the customer’s side in a short moment, “How could I help you, miss?” she asked as she watched the older lady step out of her SUV

“The engine’s been making a weird noise since yesterday, I was on the road for two days to get here, so I didn’t have time to make a stop anywhere to have it checked”

Hyuna nodded, “Mind if I look?”

The lady encouraged her on and Hyuna was soon studying the engine, hood kept up in place. She checked all the pipes and valves, making sure everything was properly working and in place.

“Ahjumma, the battery’s just low” She said, smiling at the lady

“Oh?” the lady replied, “Silly me!”

Hyuna shook her head, “Don’t worry, it’s a common mistake. I can charge it up for you right now, if you want?”

“Oh please do, dear” The lady said, smiling gratefully

The process only took a few minutes, and soon the lady was back in her SUV, ready to leave. Hyuna smiled as she waved goodbye to the kind lady.

“Have a safe trip!”

The lady laughed, “I’m sure you’ll be seeing plenty of me, son! I’m horrible with cars”

Hyuna grinned, she had earned another regular customer. “I look forward to it!”

Once the lady was safely out of the carshop, Hyuna’s boss was by her side, watching the older lady drive away.

“and here I thought at least she would notice…” he mumbled

Hyuna shot him a look, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Aren’t girls supposed to be really good at that kind of stuff?” Her boss said, “At noticing other girls?”

Hyuna pouted, knowing where this was going, “Yang Ahjusshi!” she whined

“I’m just saying!” He defended, “Don’t you ever get tired of it? She called you son just now”

She rolled her eyes, “I’m earning good money, aren’t I? What does it matter if they think I’m a boy or a girl? It’s not gonna affect me”

“Whatever you say” He muttered, walking back to his office to count the sales.

She shook her thoughts out of her head, sighing harshly. Everytime they had a female customer, he would bring this up. Sometimes, she felt like he was having too much fun trying to predict whether a customer would notice her femininity.

It didn’t matter to her. In fact, it was more help than it was hindrance. She avoided any prejudice against her skill this way.

She walked to her station, pausing as she noticed her reflection on a wall of reflective glass. Dressed in loose overalls and hair tied under her hat, she couldn’t deny the manly aura she must’ve been giving. The overalls were comfortably loose to wear because it often got hot when she worked in the carshop, and her hair would only get in the way if it wasn’t tucked away under her hat.

She touched her face gently, noticing a grease stain streaked across her cheek. She wiped the stain off, checking her reflection at several angles as she tried to imagine herself in a more feminine outfit. She shivered at the thought. She was never one for frills and glitter, anyway.

She snapped out of her thoughts as she heard another call pull in. She pushed the girly thoughts to the back of her mind, adjusting her overalls and hat before heading to the new customer.

She was a skilled enough mechanic, wasn’t she?

The best in town, actually.

Then why did her boss always have something to complain about when it came to her looks? It didn’t bother her, so it shouldn’t bother him.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

It’s a little late, sorry~! I won’t be able to update it next week, but the week after since finals will be consuming me (: and my general sanity

This was originally longer, but I decided to cut it down a bit—the other parts made more sense in a new chapter since this is fairly transitional.

Thanks for reading~!

-Nin