thud.

 

a well-used navy blue bag lands on a grassy patch, a textbook and a couple of worksheets poke out from the corner where the zip hadn’t been pulled all the way. another heavier thud follows and son seungwan is dusting the grime off her hands and adjusting her uniform like she hadn’t casually climbed over the school fence. granted, it only became easy after she learnt where the most stable holds were, and where the safest part of the fence was. 

 

the back of the school is as good as it can get. obscured by surrounding blocks of classrooms and out of view of security cameras, it makes for a perfect entryway for late students. there aren’t many people roaming around since all students would be in class by now and seungwan only ever runs into an occasional janitor.

 

lifting her bag, she gives it a good smack to rid it of dirt and slings it over her shoulder, prepared to head to class. oddly enough, shock isn’t the first emotion to strike her when she finally notices a pair of round eyes staring intently at her.

 

the whole campus knows who those eyes belong to, she has been given a multitude of labels because of her appearance. that’s the funny thing, isn’t it? how easily it is to judge based on someone’s looks. seungwan would say they’re not that unalike after all despite seemingly belonging on different ends of the spectrum.

 

some people call her a real-life princess, she’s rich, she’s smart and above all, she’s gorgeous. the very embodiment of perfection lies in her small frame. and yet, that perfection crumbles before seungwan’s eyes when she spots the cigarette pinched between her index and middle finger. seungwan dares to meet her gaze, finding fear in bae joohyun’s dark eyes. her raven hair falls over her glasses as she pulls away from seungwan. it’s familiar — the illusion of safety slipping away as fear steadily encroaches, the fear of being caught doing something that you shouldn’t be and finally, guilt.

 

if seungwan has any care for school politics, maybe she would’ve said something, anything to assuage bae joohyun’s racing heart. but she doesn’t, so walking away without saying a word makes more sense to her.

 

“yah.”

 

the princess’ voice is soft, unlike the sharpness seungwan envisioned her to have, and it brings her to a halt. 

 

“you’re just going to walk away?”

 

an amused scoff escapes seungwan and she swivels around to face the demanding girl with a raised brow, “yeah? unless you’re going to invite me to join you, i have to get to class.”

 

eyebrows stitching into a frown, bae joohyun is taken aback by her fellow student’s nonchalant attitude. on second thought, she supposes that’s just how students who can’t get to school on time are, students with their loosened tie hanging like an eye sore for teachers, maybe they simply didn’t care, but she has to be sure.

 

“can you promise me you won’t tell anyone?” she pleads, hoping seungwan doesn’t notice the slight quiver in her voice. the decision lies fully in seungwan’s hands and she recognizes she’s powerless, her usual icy facade wanes with every second seungwan decides to drag this on.

 

the student doesn’t think twice, her shoulders rising into a casual shrug, “yeah, sure, as long as you don’t snitch to the teachers about this entrance.” 

 

entrance? she hopped over the fence for god’s sake, nobody in their right mind would call that an entrance. joohyun bites back the urge to retort and before either one of them can utter another word, a shrill voice catches them off guard.

 

“i finally caught you, son seungwan! you’re late again!”

 

crap, of all people, it has to be the headmistress. grimacing, seungwan lets out a groan, she would’ve gotten to class if she didn’t stay to talk to joohyun. speaking of joohyun, she has her own problems to deal with. at the rate the headmistress is storming towards them, there’s no way for her to discreetly rid herself of the contraband in her hands. her panic steals her ability to think and the only thought in her head is how much trouble she’s going to get in because of this.

 

“joohyun? what are you doing here?” mrs kim, the fuming headmistress is hovering over them with her arms crossed at this point. her anger towards seungwan dissipates slightly when she notices the student council president standing slightly behind seungwan.

 

the brief silence allows for the offending stench of nicotine to waft in the air, drawing all attention to its source.

 

“explain.” the headmistress hisses, extending her hand out for the contraband.

 

while joohyun sees how her life is going to crumble because of this mistake, seungwan steps in front of her with an exaggerated sigh.

 

“i—”

 

“miss president here caught me first, just my luck to have ran into her while she was heading back to class,” seungwan says calmly, “cigarette’s mine, she grabbed it from me just before you came.”

 

joohyun’s voice gets caught in as she stares at the back of seungwan’s head, her brain goes blank and the only thing she can focus on is the unevenness of her haircut, it looks like she cut her hair with a dull pair of scissors. more importantly, why is she taking the fall for her when the headmistress is already out to get her? 

 

the rest of the events seem to pass in a blur, she barely processes the headmistress’ subsequent words while she wrestles with the decision to come clean. her heart is still racing even when she obediently hands the cigarette over to mrs kim who quickly puts it out before jabbing a finger towards seungwan’s face.

 

“you’re in very deep trouble, young lady. principal’s office, now!” 

 

the loud bellowing of the headmistress makes seungwan wince and while the smarter move would be to obey, seungwan can’t help the urge to be impertinent in the face of authority.

 

“i can hear perfectly fine, mrs kim, can’t say the same about you though.”

 

“save your snark for the principal, son seungwan!”

 

even if joohyun wants to speak up, the words are stuck in and the only thing she manages to squeak out is interrupted by the chaos that the rebellious son seungwan is causing.

 

“mrs kim—”

 

“you know i barely got to smoke it, can i do a breath test? do they have breathalyzers for smoking?"

 

seungwan’s head is forward when the headmistress smacks her on the back of her head, “stop talking, son seungwan.” she clicks her teeth sharply before turning to joohyun, “you did a good job, joohyun, now run along to class.”

 

dumbfounded as she’s left alone, joohyun takes a few extra minutes to calm herself. she has narrowly escaped having a disciplinary case marring her flawless academic record and she has son seungwan to thank for it. before today, she’s only ever seen her around the hallways but she’s never known her name.

 

and after today, son seungwan would be the only one in her thoughts.

 

---

 

there’s not many places on campus where joohyun can find some time alone. there’s always someone looking for her — be it friends eager to drag her along to do something together, classmates asking her for help with assignments or even teachers tasking her with the planning of school events. 

 

with people comes the pressure of expectations.

 

being the daughter of two politicians, she’s expected to present herself as such. she’s expected to excel both academically and socially, to work hard and be kind, and to do all that she can for the sake of having a successful future. somewhere along the line as she’s being moulded into the person everyone thinks she should be, the real bae joohyun gets whittled down until she’s no different from a marionette.

 

she doesn’t know when it happens — when the first string begins to stretch and unravel. it happens almost unconsciously that by the time she notices it, it’s already too late, the string has already snapped.

 

the pressure of perfection makes slipping up too tempting, and when she confiscates a pack of cigarettes from a student, the temptation becomes all too real. her will to turn it in to a teacher wanes quickly enough and the back of the school becomes a frequent haunt.

 

joohyun has her gripes about smoking; the smoke would cause her to cough, at least the first time she tried it and she’s not a fan of the heavy odour that lingers. yet, to do something inherently wrong for someone like her is liberating in its own way. she chases after freedom for a few brief minutes and after that, it’s easier to carry on playing her part as the best student, the obedient daughter and in some ways, bae joohyun.

 

son seungwan catching her in the act destroys the mirage of freedom, revealing it for what it truly is — a way to escape and if she’s being dramatic, perhaps the beginning of an addiction. in the brief moment they locked eyes, it seemed like seungwan understood why she needed an escape. 

 

and there is no judgment within that gaze, son seungwan sees her.

 

joohyun decides quickly enough that she can’t let seungwan pay for her mistake but getting detention is a lot harder than she expects. naturally, she goes to the headmistress to clear the air but being the perfect student has its downsides — mrs kim refuses to believe that she is the guilty one. instead of trying to explain further, it is easier to cuss at her. 

 

a simple ‘ you’ gets her a single day of detention. seeing the shock on the headmistress’ face makes her heart lurch and she wants to eat her words but if this is the price she has to pay to chase after son seungwan, so be it.

 

---

 

the principal’s office is a familiar sight and seungwan is a frequent visitor compared to most students. her track record isn’t great — she’s often late, talks back to teachers, occasionally sleeps in class and has a blatant disregard for the rules regarding appropriate attire. though, if there’s one thing she has going on for her is that her grades are impeccable.  

 

on the academic rankings, only one person’s name rests above hers and while she’s not the best, she has to make her peace with it. 

 

how does one beat the illustrious bae joohyun?

 

perhaps, for starters, not take the fall for her like an idiot.

 

but between the two of them, it makes more sense for seungwan to accept the punishment for a couple of reasons. she can likely weasel her way out of any disciplinary action harsher than detention since she always manages to convince the principal that despite all her misdemeanours, she keeps her grades up. the guy probably has a soft spot for her at this point, she’ll survive a trip to the principal’s office but joohyun would’ve cracked.

 

she must’ve seen the end of the world in joohyun’s eyes earlier. with the way the poor girl stiffened up to a point where she could barely speak, seungwan didn’t think twice about helping her. 

 

it’s more believable either way, that’s what seungwan tells herself, who would believe that the student council president was smoking on school grounds? plus, she figures she would’ve gotten detention regardless, she’s been late every day for about two weeks, and it’s about time she got caught. 

 

so, sure, getting a month of detention for something she didn’t do , but if the detention was inevitable, at least she managed to help someone out.

 

or so she thinks until she finds bae joohyun sitting in the front row of the detention room.

 

---

 

seungwan pauses at the door, blinking twice to make sure she’s staring at the right person. joohyun stares right back at her, both of them patiently waiting for each other to say something.

 

the teacher in charge of overseeing the detention session clears his throat, “take your seat.” 

 

pulling her eyes away from joohyun, seungwan shuffles to her regular seat at the back of the classroom, right by the window. joohyun’s eyes follow her figure all the way, even turning her head as she walks behind, did she expect them to sit together?

 

brushing off the odd behaviour of the student council president, seungwan slumps into a chair and pulls out her textbook. it wouldn’t be entirely absurd to attribute her grades to the quietude that detention offers, the usually empty classroom makes for a good place to study and she might as well make the most of it.

 

she’s barely a paragraph in when she hears a distinct scraping of a chair as it's being pushed back, followed by soft footsteps and the sound of someone settling next to her. 

 

joohyun being in detention with her isn’t some sort of fluke but rather a choice. upon recognizing that, seungwan doesn’t even bother to look up from her textbook, knowing that getting involved with someone as popular as joohyun would put an end to her rather peaceful school life.

 

“yah…”

 

a whisper quiet enough for merely the both of them to hear, but seungwan refuses to budge. thinking she might have been too soft, joohyun increases her voice by a few decibels.

 

“yah.”

 

seungwan analyzes the situation in her head; if joohyun is persistent enough to get detention to talk to her, she’s not going to give up so easily. it’s probably easier to rip off the bandaid and get joohyun off her back.

 

“yeah?” the rebel sighs as she shoots joohyun a glance.

 

the princess’ eyes light up behind her rounded glasses, “why did you say it was yours?” 

 

“i was going to get detention either way, figured i could help you out but it seems like it doesn’t matter.” seungwan murmurs, pausing for a moment to gauge whether her curiosity needs to be satiated, “why are you here?”

 

joohyun purses her lips and fiddles with her fingers, “it didn’t sit right with me that you were punished instead of me. i went to mrs kim and tried to explain things and she didn’t believe me so… i cussed at her and got detention.” 

 

seungwan bursts out a loud snort, interrupting the tranquillity of the room and jolting the teacher. with a sharp click of his teeth, he warns the two students.

 

“you are here for detention, not to socialize.” 

 

seungwan retorts effortlessly, as if it’s in her blood to be a smartass, “sir, she was talking to me. it would be rude to not respond, wouldn’t it?” 

 

“one more word and you’ll get another month of detention.”

 

that’s all the warning seungwan needs to shut up, she doesn’t love detention that much. biting her lower lip to suppress her laugh, she exchanges another glance with joohyun who is also suppressing a smile.

 

silently, joohyun rummages through her bag to pull out a notebook. seungwan watches with her chin in her hand as the princess rips out a sheet of paper and writes something on it before handing it to her.

 

there are many unexpected things seungwan has come to find out about bae joohyun, this time it’s her handwriting. she had expected something elegant but in reality, joohyun’s handwriting is similar to a child’s, rounded and a little inconsistent with her . cute.

 

‘thanks for helping me out even though we’ve never talked before.’

 

amused, seungwan scribbles down a response.

 

‘you had to pick detention of all places to talk to me? it’s the one place we can’t talk.’

 

the note is handed back to joohyun who bites the inside of her cheek after reading it. she feels a little silly that it had to be pointed out to her but regardless, she writes out her next message.

 

‘we’re still talking now, aren’t we? i like your ear piercings by the way.’

 

seungwan smirks, pushing her hair back to reveal a row of shining silver piercings running down the rim of her ear as she writes. 

 

‘thanks, went to the principal’s office for every single one i got after the first one.’

 

‘you like going there that much?’

 

‘it’s not my fault the teachers are always against me’

 

‘have you considered it might be due to how you seem to enjoy talking back to them?’

 

‘they make it too easy sometimes. if they’re going to ruin my day, why can’t i do the same?’

 

‘didn’t think you’d be that petty…’

 

‘and i didn’t think you’d smoke. in school at that.’

 

joohyun pauses and her pen hovers over the paper, finding the right words feels like a monumental task when she isn’t sure if she wants to explain things. seungwan, sensing her hesitation, snatches the paper back and strikes out her previous line, scrawling an apology in its place. 

 

‘my bad. i won’t tell, promise. plus if it makes you feel better i have like one friend.’

 

‘it’s okay, i’m just not sure how i should talk about it. can i be your second friend then?’

 

the idea of someone asking to be friends in this day and age surprises seungwan, and she can’t help the blush that creeps up on her cheeks. nibbling on her lower lip, she pushes aside whatever this feeling is to retaliate in a playful manner.

 

‘should i be honored that the great student council president wants to befriend me?’

 

‘are you always this annoying? is this why you only have one friend?’

 

‘ouch :( guess the number’s staying at one.’

 

‘????’

 

‘just kidding, i don’t wanna be friends. you’re too popular for my liking. you’re more than welcome to join me for detention though, it’s nice to have company sometimes.’

 

joohyun blinks at the puzzling rejection and frowns at seungwan who merely shrugs. she’s not kidding.

 

‘you are so strange, son seungwan.’

 

---

 

seungwan sticks to her word — they’re not friends . even when they cross paths in the hallway and joohyun takes the initiative to raise her hand in a wave, seungwan merely glances at her and walks away without saying a word. without a playful smile on her face, seungwan looks intimidating, and joohyun doubts she would have enough courage to strike up a conversation.

 

“who were you waving to, joohyun?” park sooyoung, one of her closest friends questions in confusion as she slips an arm around joohyun’s shoulder.

 

the frown on joohyun’s face deepens, “son… seungwan..?” 

 

a scoff escapes sooyoung, “you know her? i didn’t think someone like her would befriend you.”

 

“well… she’s not a friend…” joohyun hesitates. she lied to her friends that the single afternoon she spent in detention was to help a teacher out with something, nobody knows of her illicit habits other than son seungwan and there is a compelling feeling telling her that she needs to keep it this way. “what do you know about her, sooyoung?”

 

turns out, son seungwan is more infamous than joohyun expects. there are plenty of absurd rumours going around about her, one being if she’s part of a gang since some have seen a tattoo on her collarbone. she has gotten into a few fights and scuffles over the years, her worst one happened in their freshman year with an older student. on top of that, she would occasionally ditch classes, especially for teachers she didn’t like. all of this combined made other students keep their distance. though, the most surprising thing is, that her grades are consistently good, there were speculations about her cheating on tests but nothing ever came out of it.

 

in short, seungwan’s not someone most people would want to befriend, and it seems that she’s fine with keeping to herself too.

 

with this new information, joohyun feels at a loss as to what she should do. she ponders it while lying on her bed, with limbs sprawled out. if she is as terrible as everyone says she is, she has no reason to protect joohyun. plus, they had a pleasant conversation during her very first hour-long detention — the scrap of paper they wrote on is still sandwiched between her notebook. 

 

forcing herself up, joohyun hops over to her desk and yanks the paper out of its confines, rereading their conversation with a goofy smile plastered on her face.

 

in a slanted scrawl, seungwan makes it clear that they aren’t friends but… she likes having company during detention.

 

‘you’re more than welcome to join me for detention.’

 

a small chuckle involuntarily leaves as joohyun contemplates how ridiculous it would be for her to end up in detention again, just so she could talk to son seungwan. no, she’s not going to detention to talk to her, to be fair, she should be serving that detention instead of seungwan. she should be doing the right thing by paying for her mistakes, she’s not being silly, joohyun reasons as she changes her alarm to go off ten minutes later than it normally does.

 

being a temporary latecomer is easier on her morals than cussing out her teachers again. 

 

---

 

bleary-eyed and stifling a yawn, seungwan trudges into her temporary prison with her bag thrown over her shoulder. she makes the terrible mistake of taking a nap whilst waiting for detention to start and now she’s more exhausted than before.

 

it’s been a couple of days since her month-long detention started. except for the first day when joohyun decided to join her, nothing eventful has happened since. she sees a couple of familiar faces on various other days but nothing much beyond that.

 

she slides into her usual seat with a tired blink and after rubbing her eyes, joohyun appears next to her, quietly taking her seat as if it’s the most natural thing for the student council president to be doing. she must be dreaming. squinting at the other girl, her voice is a little raspy from her nap, she asks, “why are you here again?”

 

“my alarm went off late,” joohyun proudly shows off her pink detention slip like it’s a prize, not knowing that the bottom of seungwan’s bag is littered with them.

 

seungwan narrows her eyes, casting doubt upon joohyun’s words, “doesn’t everyone use their phones for alarms nowadays? how is it possible for it to go off late?” 

 

the princess opens to speak but nothing comes out, no bumbling excuse or a single stammer to be heard and seungwan’s lips curve upwards. “you can be honest, you know? if you wanted to see me, you could’ve just said so.”

 

joohyun chokes on her spit, stifling a cough as she turns away from seungwan’s smug face. her embarrassment combined with seungwan’s confidence makes her face heat up — idiot, why did she do this to herself? she can still hear seungwan suppressing her laughs as she reaches over for the pink slip in joohyun’s hand to write something on the back of it.

 

‘it’s funny to see that even you’re capable of feeling shy, i never considered you had a side like this.’

 

joohyun holds the slip in her hand as she turns to seungwan who’s casually pulling out her textbook with a small smirk tinting her cheeks. somehow, she could say the same for herself. one look at seungwan and most would assume she’s just another rebellious student — her folded sleeves and loosened tie seem to be a distinct feature alongside having five piercings on one ear.

 

joohyun has gotten a taste of how she acts outside of detention but this side of her — the witty and mildly infuriating side of her that is endearing in its own ways isn’t something she would expect of seungwan.

 

‘is it strange that i feel the same? i never knew who you were until that day and if we hadn’t talked in detention, i think my impression of you wouldn’t have changed.’

 

the smile fades from seungwan’s face, leaving a hint of disappointment as she responds.

 

‘did you think i was a delinquent that would probably go nowhere in life too?’

 

“no,” joohyun blurts upon seeing the hurt in her words. even if it’s unspoken, it seems that it’s what people seem to think of her and joohyun is desperate to make it known that she thinks otherwise. “i thought you were scary, you’re intimidating when you don’t smile.”

 

her gentleness makes seungwan regret responding in such a harsh manner, she shouldn’t have assumed that joohyun thought the worst of her like most people. she forces a small smile, “you’re the same too, you know? you look unapproachable when you don’t smile.”

 

they lock eyes, an unsaid understanding washing over them — they’re not that unalike after all, two sides of the same coin.

 

pulling her gaze away, joohyun writes something on the slip of paper, pausing momentarily before she hands it back to seungwan.

 

‘it’s a good thing you’re funny.’

 

---

 

the next day, seungwan is a little late for detention, all because she wanted to get a snack from the convenience store that’s ten minutes away from school. she ended up getting distracted by a stray cat on her way back and well, teachers in charge of detention duty rarely want to stay longer than necessary, she figures it’s fine. when she strolls into the usually empty classroom, the teacher’s yelling at her but she tunes him out in favour of acknowledging joohyun — a much-welcomed sight.

 

the princess’ face lights up at the sight of her entering, unable to mask her excitement even if she tries her best. and in turn, the corners of seungwan’s lips lift into a smile, clearly having taken joohyun’s words to heart, she makes a conscious effort to appear less intimidating. 

 

“faulty alarm again?” seungwan guesses while settling into her seat, “or did you cuss at mrs kim again?”

 

joohyun buries her face in her hands and groans, “please don’t remind me, i think she might still be upset at me.”

 

chuckling, seungwan flops a hand lazily to extenuate her predicament, “you’ll be fine, miss president, you’re still the favourite of any other teacher.”

 

the awful feeling nesting within her chest intensifies at the thought of not being in the good graces of the headmistress, and frankly, joohyun wants to avoid thinking about it all together. 

 

“should i try to apologize again?” joohyun asks, glancing at seungwan who happens to be casually sipping away at her bottle of cola, “maybe you’re not the right person to ask.”

 

“yah,” the rebel swallows her drink and clicks her teeth, “i’m here partly because of you.”

 

“so am i.” 

 

her retort slips so effortlessly that the words don’t even register in joohyun’s head until seungwan is staring blankly at her. why did she just say that? she’s not here because of seungwan, she’s not!

 

swallowing her embarrassment, joohyun turns away with a painful grimace. she stares down at her desk, watching seungwan from the corner of her eye and hoping she would say something to kill the awkwardness between them.

 

seungwan eventually clears after what feels like an eternity and much to joohyun’s relief, switches the subject entirely.

 

“since you’re here, i have a chemistry test tomorrow that i could use some help with.” 

 

joohyun blinks and nods, “what do you need help with?”

 

“chemical calculations, i can’t seem to wrap my head around it.”

 

shifting her chair, joohyun positions herself beside seungwan as she pulls out her textbook and some notes regarding the topic. joohyun steals a pencil from seungwan and begins with the basics, scribbling down her explanation in her textbook. every so often, when she pushes her glasses up, she looks up to find seungwan watching her closely.

 

the teacher casts a warning glare but is quick to ease off their talking when he overhears the various scientific terms floating about their conversations — he can’t get upset about students studying in detention, can he?

 

---

 

once is a mistake, twice is a coincidence and thrice is a choice.

 

and more often than not, joohyun’s actions are the result of a conscious choice.

 

three consistent days of showing up late is alarming for someone like joohyun, the epitome of a perfect student. the bigger they are, the harder they fall. joohyun’s minor mistake is glaring in the eyes of others, her absence during morning assemblies is more noticed than any other regular student and it catches the attention of not only her friends but the headmistress as well.

 

there are consequences to every action, it’s only a matter of how long you can run from them. joohyun’s mistake is assuming she would have more time but her fleeting delinquency comes to an abrupt halt in the form of a chat with the headmistress.

 

the guilt that washes over her is immense and joohyun keeps her eyes trained on the ground to avoid any tears.

 

“this is very unlike you, joohyun, what has gotten into you lately?” the headmistress is concerned and joohyun can’t fault her for that. 

 

“i’m sorry, my alarm has been faulty lately…” joohyun bows her head and sticks to her lousy lie, she can hear seungwan’s obnoxious snort in her mind, “i’ll get it fixed soon.”

 

mrs kim places a hand on her shoulder with a softened tone, “is that really all there is? if you need someone to talk to, we can arrange something with the school counselor.”

 

joohyun shakes her head, “i’m fine, mrs kim, i’m sorry for worrying you.” 

 

the headmistress pull nods, “okay, i’ll let you off this time. if you’re late again, i’ll have to notify your parents.” 

 

the thought of her parents finding out sends a sharp fear piercing through her chest — they cannot know. she can only get away with so much, pushing it more will only land her in real trouble. gulping, joohyun nods meekly, “thank you, mrs kim, i won’t be late again.”

 

the thought of having consequences for her actions never quite set in for joohyun, or rather, she’s never broken the rules so blatantly before, maybe that’s why she never anticipated getting caught for smoking. in the face of actual punishment, joohyun retreats into obedience. she’s always followed the rules, frequently enforcing them as well and now that she’s breaking them, the wrongness of it all starts to weigh on her. 

 

why is she doing this?

 

her mind reels with a barrage of questions directed at her recent actions, this time, her justifications seem to sound less convincing. exactly why is she attending detention? it’s not to pay for her mistakes because she looks forward to it. it would only be a punishment if seungwan isn’t there.

 

maybe that’s the only way she gets her due — her punishment would be to give up talking to seungwan, at least until she can figure out a way to talk to her without destroying her entire life.

 

---

 

“man, do you know bae joohyun got away with being late?” kim yerim grumbles as she trudges behind seungwan, “and i got detention! can you believe it?”

 

“she could get away with murder if she wants to,” seungwan shrugs, “on the bright side, at least you don’t have detention for another three weeks.”

 

instead of bae joohyun filling the empty classroom with her presence, a friend shows up instead. kim yerim is a girl from her class whom seungwan is friendly with. she talks to just about everyone and gets along well with seungwan, easily trading jibes and venting about the struggles of being a student. they’ve hung out a couple of times after school, hitting up an arcade and loitering around malls, but more often than not, detention is where they seem to cross paths the most.

 

she’s the one friend that seungwan has and it must be a of luck that she knows what happened to joohyun.

 

“i’m just saying, it’s unfair, she was late but mrs kim just let her off!” yerim continues to vent her frustration, “do you think it’s because she’s the president of the student council?”

 

“no, i don’t think she’s the type to abuse her powers.” seungwan considers for a moment, “mrs kim is probably playing favourites.”

 

yerim continues to grumble even more but seungwan is left wondering how joohyun handled talking to the headmistress. she wonders if the princess is even capable of speaking then, what kind of flimsy excuses she would come up with and if she needed to throw seungwan under the bus. it would be an easy way out if she did, and seungwan doesn’t feel any resentment, in fact, she’d welcome it. 

 

the subsequent week feels dull compared to the first. even if seungwan knows it’s unlikely for joohyun to show up again, she can’t help her eyes from drifting to the door every so often, hoping that the president would walk in and quietly take a seat next to her. but she doesn’t show, and seungwan is left feeling bummed out, wondering if that’s the end of her brief interaction with the prettiest girl in school. 

 

all that’s left of bae joohyun lies in chapter fifteen of her chemistry textbook, scattered across paragraphs in an unsteady scrawl.

 

a full week passes by before they cross paths again, though this time, without the need for a detention slip. it’s late in the afternoon, most students have gone home and the ones who stick around are either busy with extracurricular activities or extra classes. in the lazy afternoon haze lies a comforting sense of tranquillity, hanging over the school like a warm blanket. 

 

clink, clink, clink. after a dull session of detention, seungwan pushes a few coins into the slot of the vending machine and she stares intently at the options available. her go-to drink has run out and it’s a difficult choice between apple and orange juice.  

 

“apple juice.” a soft voice says behind her and instead of being surprised, seungwan smacks her lips in agreement. the machine whirs as the side of her fist collides with the assigned button and seungwan crouches down to grab her juice box moments later.

 

standing up, she comes face to face with bae joohyun.

 

“good choice, miss president.” seungwan smiles, stabbing the straw into her drink and taking a big sip, “what’s with the box?”

 

in joohyun’s hands rest a large box, slightly too large to be comfortable for her to carry around but manageable if she tries hard enough. “supplies for the student council, we were running low on markers and printer paper.” joohyun says while hoisting the box up to get a better hold, “you looked like you were struggling to pick something.”

 

biting on her straw, seungwan bobs her head, “i was, they ran out of my favourite strawberry milk.” she hums, “do you want some help?”

 

shaking her head, joohyun rejects her swiftly like the thought of getting someone to help her is out of the question, “it’s okay, i got it, the clubroom isn’t far from here.”

 

oh, well, maybe she’s been reading the situation wrong. seungwan nibbles on the plastic straw even more and nods slowly, as if she’s waiting for joohyun to retract her answer. a moment of awkwardness passes between them and seungwan purses her lips, “okay… well, guess i’ll be heading home then.”

 

adjusting her bag on her shoulder, seungwan starts walking in the direction of the front gate and she gets perhaps about three steps in before the pieces click in joohyun’s head.

 

“wait!” the president calls out, “this box is a little heavy, i might need some help.”

 

there’s a large smile on seungwan’s face as she swivels around smugly, “this is better than exchanging notes in detention, isn’t it?”

 

joohyun blames the blush on her cheeks on the light of the setting sun, it’s making her feel a little warm, she murmurs. they swap the boxes in their hands, seungwan carries the large box of supplies with ease while joohyun holds on to her tiny juice box. their footsteps echo in the empty halls as the tension builds in the atmosphere, lying somewhere between wanting to savour this moment and wanting to talk because they haven’t seen each other in a week.

 

peering at the princess from the corner of her eye, seungwan takes the plunge and speaks first, saving joohyun from an excruciating dilemma. “did you get your alarm fixed?” she teases in hopes of lightening things up.

 

straightening up slightly, joohyun masks her surprise with a terse nod, “yes, well, i had to or my parents—” she stops herself midsentence in fear of saying too much. what is too much anyway?

 

“your parents will be called and you’ll be in trouble?” seungwan guesses with her lips curved up slightly, “i’ve been there, don’t worry. it’s nerve-wracking the first few times, you might feel like it’s the end of the world but do it enough times and you’ll realise the adults are mostly upset because they can’t control you.”

 

the revelation seungwan delivers unto joohyun is a small, gradual realisation of why she acts the way she does. she holds seungwan’s words close to her chest, allowing it to settle as she tries to fully comprehend her words. the rebellious student glances at joohyun and somehow, her voice is oddly soothing despite the use of a few crass words.

 

“we’re young, you know? we’re allowed to up and have fun before the crushing weight of adulting comes down on us. as long as nobody gets hurt and our grades are good, i don’t see why they’d have a problem against us.” 

 

the president lets out a soft hum, “is that why you do all that you do? all for the sake of fun?”

 

“sometimes,” seungwan chuckles, “except for coming to school late, sometimes it’s just so hard to get out of bed.”

 

lifting her lips in a smile, joohyun nods slowly. warmth flutters in her chest as she turns to look at seungwan, the golden rays lighting up her features as slowly curls upwards.

 

“what?”

 

“i think you’re right, seungwan.” joohyun whispers, “it didn’t feel wrong for me to intentionally get detention just to be able to talk to you. i had fun.”

 

seungwan’s shoes squeak against the floor as she stops in her steps, “you got detention because i didn’t want to talk to you during school hours?”

 

tears are welling up in joohyun’s eyes and she wipes at her eyes with the back of her hand, all of this feels so dumb and she feels incredibly vulnerable. “yeah, it’s so stupid, isn’t it?” she chokes out with a mirthless laugh, “the first time was because i wanted to thank you, or at least ask you why you took the fall for me but everything after? i don’t know why i did it.”

 

seungwan’s elbow meets her rib and she begins walking ahead of joohyun, “there’s smarter ways to go about making friends, bae joohyun. sometimes, it’ll happen naturally.” she pauses to cast a glance at the president, “i’m happy to let you know i have two friends now."

 

---

 

the student council has strict rules about letting other students into their club room, only anyone with a valid reason is permitted entry and since seungwan is helping out the president herself, she’s allowed to set foot inside the mysterious club room.

 

much to her disappointment, it looks like any other boring club room except they get to have a comfy couch. 

 

sinking into the couch, seungwan sips at her juice box while she watches joohyun put away various supplies from the huge box. there’s all sorts of stationary ranging from markers to whiteboard erasers and thick stacks of printer paper.

 

“surely someone else could’ve gotten the supplies, aren’t you the president?” seungwan asks while joohyun is dragging a chair towards a nearby shelf. 

 

“everybody wanted to head home after our meeting so i decided to get it myself, plus it drives me crazy if things aren’t properly sorted.” joohyun explains and takes a steady step onto the chair. 

 

a sense of unease grows within seungwan as she notes how old both the chair and shelf look — surely that can’t be safe. she pushes herself up and crosses the room to steady the chair for joohyun. without exchanging words, she helps hand over the smaller boxes of supplies to the president for her to shelve them as she pleases. 

 

despite seungwan’s precautions, nobody could have foreseen the aged shelf giving way due to the new weight being placed on it. a loud crack reverberates through the room and boxes of supplies come tumbling down towards them. joohyun yelps, bringing her hands up to shield herself but in doing so, the chair wobbles beneath her feet, causing her to lose her balance. she stumbles and without time to think, seungwan throws herself forward to catch her.

 

they land on the ground roughly, seungwan shielding joohyun as much as she can as a few boxes rain down on them. they hear the old chair clattering noisily in the background before everything stills. joohyun is the first to recover, whimpering softly as she pushes herself up. she knows seungwan cushioned her fall, if not, she did at least block a few boxes from hitting her.

 

“seungwan? are you okay?” joohyun finally gets a chance to assess the other girl and she gasps when she sees a bright red gash across the bridge of her nose, “you’re bleeding!”

 

seungwan responds with a groan while pushing a box of markers away from her, “does this school not have the budget to get a new shelf?” she grumbles while joohyun fusses over her.

 

her fingers carefully brush aside seungwan’s bangs so she can take a better look at the cut, it’s not deep enough to require stitches but it still looks gnarly. there’s blood flowing from the wound but it’s nothing too alarming. “are you in pain? we can still go to the nurse’s office…” joohyun swallows nervously, the worry on her face evident.

 

seungwan tries to bring a hand up to touch it but joohyun swiftly swats her hand away, “don’t touch it, you’ll infect it!” she chides.

 

this is the second time she’s tried to save joohyun and failed in some ways. the irony makes her chuckle under her breath but it makes joohyun’s eyes widen in fear. 

 

“did you hit your head? any headaches?” she blurts, pressing her hands around seungwan’s temples. her worry only makes seungwan laugh harder and the rebel shakes her head, grasping joohyun’s wrists gently.

 

“i’m fine, i think i hit my face against the chair or something, it doesn’t even hurt that much.” she reassures the president with a breathy laugh, “i think it’s funny that i’ve tried to save you twice and failed.”

 

shoulders sagging, joohyun breathes a sigh of relief and lifts her arms to show seungwan she’s unharmed. “you did save me, there’s not a single wound on me.” 

 

“that’s good, you’re going to need those hands to build a new shelf soon.”

 

rolling her eyes, joohyun clambers to her feet and pulls seungwan up too. the clubroom is a mess but joohyun’s priorities are to treat seungwan’s cut first. thankfully, the student council keeps a medical kit in the event of emergencies. forcing seungwan onto the plush couch, joohyun kneels next to her and gets to work dabbing some antiseptic on a gauze pad.

 

without warning, she presses it to seungwan’s open cut and the poor girl winces sharply, gripping the nearest thing to her which happens to be joohyun’s free hand. 

 

“sorry,” joohyun grimaces, “bear with it for a little.”

 

“some warning would’ve been nice…” seungwan clenches her eyes shut as joohyun continues to clean her wound. she tries to be as gentle as she can be but the cut still stings regardless of her efforts. joohyun can’t help but feel apologetic — if only she hadn’t asked for seungwan’s help.

 

to protect the wound, joohyun covers it with a bandaid and once she’s done, seungwan cracks an eye open.

 

“is it over?”

 

“yes it is,” joohyun sighs, “i thought you were a lot tougher than this. i heard about you getting into fights with seniors.”

 

seungwan raises her shoulders, “it’s different, i don’t need to pretend i’m tough in front of you, do i?”

 

the feeling of their hands being intertwined is comforting and all too apparent now that seungwan has stopped squirming around. swallowing the lump in , joohyun traces a finger over seungwan’s skin, relishing in the tender warmth she seems to constantly emanate. she wonders if seungwan feels the same, she hopes she does.

 

“you don’t.” joohyun confirms softly, slowly pulling her hand away because if she holds on any longer, she might forget how to breathe.

 

she stands, turning to take a good look at the clubroom. the floor is littered with markers of different colours and sheets of papers are scattered everywhere — what a mess.

 

despite joohyun’s insistence that she should rest, seungwan helps her to tidy up the clubroom. she takes a look at the rusty remnants of what is the top layer of the broken shelf and deems it beyond repair. it snapped under the weight of a couple stacks of printer paper so the rest of what remains of the shelf is a safety hazard.

 

it takes a little convincing on seungwan’s part, pointing at her nose makes it easier to convince joohyun to report it to the teachers. the sun sets by the time they leave the club room, and parting ways feels more difficult than it should be but seungwan reassures joohyun with a bright smile that she’ll know where to find her.

 

---

end notes:

started this because of this tweet and can i say it has been taking over every inch of my brain. absolutely going feral because i expected to write a oneshot that's maybe like 5k but wow, why do all my oneshots spiral out of control.... the only reason i'm posting half of it now is because i wanted to get something out before wish you hell drops and the other half still needs some time to cook..! i kinda wanna look over it a few more times before i post it so expect the next part in the coming days.

anyway, very cool. thanks for reading. share thoughts.