They first met at the ball, him in a crisp, tuxedo with his mom fuzzing on his tie and her gliding around the room with her red chiffon dress and plastic tiara. His mom called her over to greet her and she preened under the woman's compliment, asking where the hostess was for the same person was her mother.

And then, her eyes catched his and that's when it started. Black met brown. Hearts soared. They'll ache

Suzy was a socialite since birth, and she was the contradiction of everything he wanted but hated. She was vile and ambitious and a wreck yet delicate and innocent and curious. She was a protagonist and a villain combined, with him being the bane of her existence and the reason why her heart beats.
And, for that, he loved fixing her and breaking her as she had learn to love him and despise him

"It would've been better if your mum never introduced me to you," she'd said the last time they met, tears staining her pristine cheeks. "You're— you're a monster and I hate you."

He smirked, shaking his head. "You've been stupid enough to not know that from the start."

They could just never be— they will never be.

&iv&

B O L L O C K S

&iv&

"Alright, everybody," Chaewon called after entering the room again, smiling softly at everyone, "are we ready to go to our respective seats, hm?" She leaned over the desk and beckoned them to stand up, ordering to make them go at the back of the room with their things— the boys and girls separate in group— before taking the clipboard from Joongki's waiting hands with another beam. "Thank you," was what she told him, and walked around the desk. "Now, since two students will be grouped together from now on, this pair will sit next to each other until the end of term so please— please!— get along with each other."

Her statement was met with silence and a few strangled huffs, Krystal muttering a "—as if" under her breath that even the teachers heard it; she remained unfettered and could only give a cold, sarcastic smile on the boys' stares.

After that, both teachers explained what they would do: when Chaewon calls for her student's name, the boy who picked the said girl's name will sit next to her— and that they ought to this quietly without saying a word.

"There's a lot of time for that," Joongki added when some of the students gave them compelling looks. Turning to the female teacher, he gestured her to begin and she complied.

"Right, well," she cleared and stared at her clipboard, "um, Bae Sooji, take the first seat, please." 

Suzy, looking up from her shoes, stared at her teacher with wide eyes, gripping the straps of her knapsack before nodding. She sent Sulli a weak smile, when she felt the other girl pat her back, then began walking to her new seat, hating and cursing her luck because being called first made her the center of attention— the feeling of him staring at the back of her head made her very queasy, also.

And, when she sat down with her eyes closed, wishing the Gods above that he won't be her partner, she almost had a nagging suspicion that—

"Hey."

— well, bollocks.

She was biting her lip hard that she almost tasted metallic copper, knuckles turning white and head pounding blood that she could hear it circulate around her brain.

"You're not having an anxiety attack, are you?" her obnoxious seatmate asked, a smirk plastered on his lips. "Because if you are, I'd love to carry you to the clinic."

"Just  off, you bloody wanker," she told him, eyes shutting close.

Jiyong laughed, "My, my. You really have a colourful mouth, Miss Kim."

"What?!" Krystal shrieked, standing up from her seat. "You can't possibly be serious, Miss. That's— that's—"

Chaewon sighed, feeling the early signs of migraine showing itself as the series of complains reached her ears; she didn't expect that they'll react the way they were doing right now. "Class, quiet down and please do understand that this is a project that Headmistress had issued." She exhaled deeply, "Please do consider that sharing a lunch table won't be that bad, and it won't be mandatory. You guys will only do it every Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays."

"But we're already 'interacting' inside the classroom, Miss, that you can't possible make us civil even at being in the same table at lunch," Hyomin reasoned with a bored drawl. "It's the only place we'll have our privacy besides the rooms."

"I'm sorry, girls," she apologized, frowning, "but there's nothing I could do and I think that you all will get along."

"Bad?" Jiyeon snorted and kicked the bark of the tree, her hands on her hips, "I'll tell you guys what's bad! Bad, is wanting to set that guy beside you on fire because he's a ing douche with a voice squeaky as a mouse!"

"I don't think that they're that horrible, though," Sulli murmured, voice weak and unsure, "I mean, Taem is nice and sweet and—"

"No," Jiyeon cut her off, "he's not. You're being deceived by that—"

"Calm down," Taeyeon interjected with a firm voice, g