CHAPTER 1
♚ don't just waltz into my life and turn it - ndsᴉpǝ poʍu - upside down - ndsᴉpǝ poʍu ♚
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“I see you’re in no rush to get to class.”

I nodded and showed him my ID to take down my name. Yesterday was the third day of my entire second-year high school life that I had not been late, so this event is perfectly normal for me. The student helper assigned to hand out these things almost always had one prepared for me.

Apparently though, they no longer had a grunt doing their scutwork. The usual person in charge of the task was no longer in charge, but instead someone higher in the student body. I narrowed my eyes briefly at the student council armband on the guy in front of me. It read Public Relations Officer. I looked up – my, why was he tall and no, I am not small – at him briefly.

Minhyun, student council PRO and the resident ladies’ man of the entire school. They say it was why he ran for the position – to get all the girls’ numbers. I highly doubt that rumor though. This boy is gorgeous, just a word and he could have a girl giving something from her number to her ity.

He handed me the pink slip. I pursed my lips and looked down at it. Damn, seventy-four and counting. “Park Jinah.” I looked back up at him. “The one usually tasked to do this warned me about you. Please refrain from being late again.”

“I will try.” Of course, I won't.

I didn’t move from my spot.

He raised a finely trimmed eyebrow.

I know I should tread on my words lightly, what with him being a student council member, but there’s no way I can hold it back.

“This is scutwork, usually given to the students that are under disciplinary action, not something given to student council members. This would lead me to believe that there are currently no delinquents needing punishing – but that is highly unlikely. Which could only mean you volunteered for the job. The slight bulk in your blazer pocket is too small to be a wallet, too thick to be a handkerchief, which could only mean a cell – expecting a text. It would be in your pocket otherwise. Your hair has obviously just been combed and the cologne on you still smells fresh and hasn’t even reached the base notes yet. You asked the former one in charge of this about me so you knew who you had to wait for before you could…”

I pushed up my glasses.

“You’re going to skip morning classes to go on some date and use this tardiness checking gig as an excuse.”

His eyes widened in shock. His surprise only further proves my theory to be truth. But then he smiled. “Yes, spot on. That was incredible,” he said, clearly impressed.

My smug grin fell... No one had ever called me incredible when I exploited their none too good plans. I fumbled around with the tardy slip before putting it in my pocket. “Uh… right. Anyway, I won’t tell. I just wanted to get it out of my system.” I said, giving a small bow in dismissal and heading into the building.

“You’re later than usual,” Yooyoung whispered as I sat down at my seat after apologizing to the teacher for interrupting homeroom again.

“I had fun,” I said with a childish grin. Oh, I loved solving little puzzles like the one earlier. It wasn’t exactly a puzzle per se, but I should take what I can get. Figuring out what Yooyoung had for breakfast was fun the first few weeks but it did get tiring.

“At someone’s expense, no doubt,” she remarked.

I recalled Minhyun’s shocked face… and then I recalled his position in school.

… My expense, probably.

Ah well.

I rested my head on the table. It was the class before lunch with Mr. Seoh, with only fifteen minutes left on the clock – thank goodness. It’s not like I hated his class, biology was relatively interesting. It was the timing. Any class before lunch should be one that didn’t even require thinking.

“Okay class, please pass your projects.”

I reached behind me to get the folder of the classmate seated behind me and passed it directly to the one in front of me without adding my own. I did this every time for assignments and projects, basically anything that required work at home. I go to school to learn – I don’t see why I have to do it at home.

Unfortunately though, it seems Mr. Seoh noticed how I had not gotten anything from my bag. “Park Jinah” he said, causing the class to glance at me. Tch. Couldn’t he just have talked to me after class like always?

“No project again today?” he asked.

I shook my head.

“While some students also do not pass certain works, you have consistently not passed a single one. Why?” he said with narrowed eyes.

I bit my lip. I’m going to say it. I’m going to say it. I’m going to say it.

I gave a quick glance at Yooyoung, whose face clearly said: Don’t say it.

Too bad I succumb to temptation easily.

“Because I feel it’s a waste of my time and effort. I go to class to be taught, that’s what school is for. I do not see why I have to do extra activities at home, plus the fact that relearning what you have said in class in another form is just a false redundancy that doesn’t help in remembering this. Spaced repetition would have been preferred, but all your projects’ topics are done right after the lesson. It repeats what we already know, it does not help us remember it in the long run.”

His eye was twitching and his lips were pressed into a thin line.

I stared at him for a moment.

“In case you didn’t understand, I said the timing and content of your projects are way off so I didn’t bother.”

“Damn, Jinah,” Yooyoung whispered, “you are dead.”

Seeming to have finally processed what I had said, Mr. Seoh turned bright red. Oh sweet. I made him blush. “I’ve had it with your disrespect!” he exclaimed, slamming down the whiteboard marker onto the desk. “Detention, Jinah! For a month! Class dismissed!” he took hold of all the papers and left the room.

The silence was broken when students began standing up from their seats and heading out for an early lunch. “He still your type?” Yooyoung asked.

“… A little bit, yeah.” I said with a small smile. “He was pretty cute when he blushed, huh?”

“… He was red in anger.”

“Same thing.”

Yooyoung laughed.

“Detention, Jinah? Really? Not only is your record filled with lates, but now detention too?” Jason asked in an exasperated tone.

I took a bite of my sandwich and shrugged. “Can’t all be a model student.”

“But for an entire month?” Jason emphasized.

“I admit that the hours I’ll be wasting would be a lot, but it’s nothing that big. I can deal,” I answered. 

“Why are you so calm?”

“Why are you not calm?” Yooyoung said with a raised brow.

“It’s detention!” Jason said, wondering why we weren’t as worked up as him.

“So?” the two girls said in unison.

Jason pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a sigh. “You do know who’s in charge of detention, right?”

“A teacher,” I answered, recalling how I had gotten a few days of detention back in first year... because of talking back to a teacher too, multiple times even.

“No.” My eye twitched. I hated being wrong. “Ever since the start of the school year, it’s by the student council.”

“I thought the student council was full of idols and role models and stuff.”

“Yes, but explain to me why our delinquent count has reached to nothing and why those gangsters you usually see in detention are no longer around?”

“They have been reformed by Nu’est’s platform goals and whatnot,” I said, using their party name during the elections last year. “JR had a whole powerpoint of it.” I paused. “A very good and meticulous one, I might add,” I said with an approving nod. I would say his attention to detail and planning was on par with mine… well, close. Mine is still superior.

“No, they… do things in detention that changes you, Jinah,” he whispered.

Yooyoung and I exchanged glances. “You listen to too much gossip, Jason. Who told you that? Some random fan girl of theirs, right?”

“Well, yes, but-“

“Invalid,” I said and went back to eating. “Besides, it can’t be that bad.”

Yes, it was the worst possible thing ever…

… I had told myself yesterday that I’d stop by a fruit stall on the way home to buy some apples. But by the time I get there it would be closed already because of this detention thing. Darn. What can I supplement with apples? Hmm…

“Are you not going in?”

I turned to my side to a blonde boy that was around my height. His hair was placed into a ponytail with his bangs clipped back. I looked at the armband around his blazer: Secretary. Choi Minki, or also known as Ren. While Minhyun did have the most experience, the one with the largest fan club was Ren as it was filled with both guys and girls alike. He was my classmate, but he was seated at the back so I hardly saw him. But now seeing him face front, he is indeed quite the looker…

Come to think of it, all the council members are handsome guys. Smarts, skills, looks and personality – too many things were bestowed on them. I believe that I was equally blessed, well except for that last trait I suppose.

I gave a small nod in apology and opened the classroom door. This was one of the empty classrooms that were used only for certain clubs and activities, in this case, detention. I sat at the seat closest to the door and Ren sat beside me. Looks like he’s the member in charge of detention this time around. The classroom was empty, what was surprising though was that it remained empty. Several minutes passed and nothing happened. Ren and I were the only one in the room. I turned to him briefly. He was reading a book. “Um…” He looked up. “You’re in charge here, right?” He nodded. “… So… only us?”

“You’re the only student that’s gotten detention in several weeks.”

I never knew I was such a badass. “Are you always the one in charge of detention?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Only now, since it's just you. During the first weeks it was the entire council… I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors.”

Well, no… And I really wasn’t too interested to ask… What I did want to know was… “What are you reading?” I had initially thought it was some novel, but seeing it now it was much too thin and I think I saw… my picture?!

“Your record, Park Jinah. Seventy-four lates.” He began reading it aloud. “Detention for an entire month for disrespect and causing a disruption in class,” he said in a blank tone, looking up at me with a raised brow.

“In my defense, it was Mr. Seoh who initiated the disruption. I just responded in turn.”

“And the disrespect?”

“… Just being me,” I muttered.

“I suppose you can’t contain ‘yourself’. Minhyun initially wanted to do it, after he told us what happened this morning.” His face was blank and his voice monotonous. They said he was the cutsey one of the group, maybe this is his detention personality? I highly doubt he could act nice with all those delinquents that wounded up in here before.

“Why didn’t you let him do it?”

There was a hint of a smirk on his lips when he said, “To spite him.”

He isn’t as boring as I thought he was. “So are we just going to sit here for two hours?” I asked.

He leaned back on his chair and rummaged through his bag for something. “Yes. You are only allowed to reflect on your misdemeanor, no music players, no phones, no books, no sleeping, no nothing but staring into space and thinking about your actions.” He pulled out his phone and earphones. “Enjoy the silence.”

I groaned and also leaned back on my chair.

I stared at the whiteboard and let my mind wander.

And when my mind wanders… well, I’m sure it’s been pretty evident by now what happens.

… but I did that last November. Oh! I know! I’ll arrange my books by publisher in chronological order. I’d have to do some research though on what publisher was established first. I should also separate it to local and international enterprises… no, perhaps put it all together. My English books don’t warrant an additional category. My notebooks also need some rearranging. I had done it by amount of pages used, perhaps I should change it to increasing degrees of how neat and pretty my handwriting was? Oh, what nonsense. My handwriting is always neat and pretty.

“Are you alright?”

I blinked and looked away from the ceiling to face Ren. I winced at my stiff neck, but nodded anyway. “I’m reflecting on my actions.”

“Really?” he deadpanned.

“No, but I sure look like I am, right? How long has it been...?” I let out a low whistle when I glanced at my watch. It’s already been an hour – yes! I stared at his desk. He had completed his assignments by the looks of the closed notebooks and the open manga. “In a sense, isn’t supervising this detention also a punishment? You could be doing better things.”

“It is and I could be,” he said in reply to my comments.

“What did you do?”

He ignored me.

Ugh~ What now? He broke my train of thought and now he won’t even keep the conversation alive? Selfish! I stared at him and did what I did best. But instead of the usual ‘two seconds’ that Yooyoung said, it was taking me longer to observe him…

… mainly because my observing had become admiring.

Two seconds had evolved into two full minutes before he finally looked up at me and met my eyes. “Stop staring.”

“But you’re gorgeous,” I instinctively said.

“So I’ve heard.”

“And proud.”

“I’ve heard that too. Any other obvious observations you’d like to make?”

I pursed my lips. He was probably still irritated at me for getting him into this situation- I stiffened.

Any other obvious observations you’d like to make?

The words kept echoing in my head. I had never, ever been told off about my observational skills. They have been honed for years and are second to none of any person I had the chance of meeting since elementary.

I did not care what people thought of me personally, but I did when it came to my appraising.

I was just temporarily blinded by his looks – will not happen again. “By the of your hair in that pony, I can tell that you used a small brush, not a comb.” He looked up from his manga when I said that. “That hairclip is probably from a female friend or relative, not a fan girl. Since the edges and tearing of the black paint shows that it’s been used regularly but you care about it enough to make sure it doesn’t fall apart. Your tie is done in such a manner that while you do know how to tie it, you were rushing in the morning. Your cuffs are pulled up slightly, since it hasn’t come down yet, it rules out pulling it up briefly for hand washing, but perhaps you ate something that could possible stain it... and judging from the outline of your bag, I’d say you do eat cafeteria food instead of bringing homemade lunches.” I stopped and smiled at him.

He laughed.

Oh God, thank you for letting me see such a sight.

“Wrong.”

The smile was swept clean off my face.

“This hairclip was from a fan girl. I value all gifts given to me. My tie is like this because Baekhun pulled on it earlier in jest. My cuffs are like this because I threatened him I would beat him up. And I do bring homemade lunches, the boxes are just in my locker.” I thought that smirk of his was gorgeous, but now I just want to rip it off his face. “But you did get the part about me using a small brush right.”

“I don’t like you,” I said quickly in reply.

His smile widened. “You just jump to conclusions too much. You hardly know me, Jinah, what makes you think you can tell how my day went in just two seconds?”

Because that was how I found out about Minhyun’s plan. That was how I knew Yooyoung’s morning routine by heart. That was how I knew how Jason was doing even when he’s in a different class. That was how I knew my neighbors were having an affair. That was how I knew my little brother's day at school without even asking. That was how I spoke to practically everyone and I was always right.

Except now.

The most mistakes I had ever gotten on a person was one, but with Ren it was the other way around.

“There must be a drug in the room, aerosols or something.” I said, looking around for any smoke.

“You can’t accept that you got me wrong?”

“I can’t accept what didn’t happen! You’re just lying!”

He shook his head and regarded me with a smirk. “Whatever makes you sleep at night.”

Needless to say, I was too irritated and annoyed to talk to him again till the end of detention.

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END CHAPTER 1
♚ don't just waltz into my life and turn it - ndsᴉpǝ poʍu - upside down - ndsᴉpǝ poʍu ♚

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PREVIEW

Chapter 2

“I am never wrong!”

“Maybe you’re just blinded by his good looks.”

_

“You’ve finally met a guy that interests you for more than two seconds.
Now you have to find a way to make him interested in you.”

A/N: OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG Did you see the MV of "Good Bye Bye"? I love the feminine and cute Ren, but he is still a guy, so I'm definitely okay with his new manly charm. DID YOU SEE HIS GORGEOUS FACE? HIS Y BODY? HIS OPEN SHIRT? THEM ABS????? REN WAS SO HOT IN THAT MV /drooooools... Wait, wrong. HE'S ALWAYS HOT, but his body sure got some lovin' spotlight on that MV! And is it just me, or does his voice not sound as boyish anymore? /FANGIRLS

AND THE NUMBER OF CLOSEUPS TO HIS FACE WAS SO MAAAANY <3 <3 <3 <3

Thank you, director and camera man! While I do want to write my opinion on the music video and song in general and the improvement of all the members, the only thing on my mind now is Ren's new side of beint a total god. Please excuse my one-track fan girl mind.

I'm going to go and rewatch the MV like ten times now.

... That and I hoped you liked this chapter! haha~ There wasn't much of Ren's character in this one, but the next chapter will make up for that.