“Seriously, Bi, his voice - even that haunts me!”

Family phone balancing between her shoulder and her ear, Choyoung took a step back from her easel, eyebrows furrowing together in frustration. There was something off about her piece but she couldn’t figure out what. It’d been like that for the past two hours already, her going back and forth trying to fix whatever was wrong with her painting. However, it was hard to fix something that you didn’t know needed fixing. Returning her paintbrush into the muddied water, she flopped down onto her bed, already-loose bun unraveling onto her pillow as another groan left her lips.

“You know, from what I’ve heard in the past hour or so, the way you talk about him is just like how you talk about Chan,”Bi responded from the other end in a sing-song voice, making Choyoung wrinkle her nose in disapproval.

There was no way she talked about Soonyoung the way she did Chan. Him and Chan, thought they looked alike, were two totally separate leagues. See, for one, she actually liked Chan. Soonyoung was just… well in the two days she’s known him, she didn’t really like him. All she knew was that at the very least she could somewhat tolerate him… and that was when his mouth wasn’t running. Pinching the bridge of her nose, Choyoung rose up from her bed to look back at her painting. All she had so far was a hot mess of colors that didn’t really look like anything at this point. Where was a muse when she needed it?

“Hey, Cho, by the way, are you going to tomorrow’s lock-in? Bi asked, “I was thinking about going but I don’t know. You know I don’t actually like going to those things,”

“If you don’t like going to those things, then what makes you think I like them any more than you do?” The noirette moved her easel aside and picked up her wet supplies to dump them in the bathroom sink, “But I guess if you do end up going, I have no choice but to go as well, right?”

The both of them giggled as they continued to chat about their very first school lock-in in middle school when one of their classmates that didn’t realize that it was an overnight party so he did everything in his power to get sent home early. Anyway, just as Choyoung dumped the red paint into the sink, a hand falls onto her shoulder sending her into a screaming fit. Whipping around, she kicks her younger brother in the shin, “What the heck, Kisoo? That wasn’t funny at all!”

“Well I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t have to warn you to get off your phone before mom and dad catch you talking about your boyfriend,” Kisoo snickered while wincing nonetheless as he hopped out of the bathroom clutching his shin. He skillfully avoided a bottle of coconut shampoo flying at his head before sticking out his tongue, “Better get off that or else I’m telling Kyung that you like his brother!”

A shrill shriek ripped from Choyoung’s throat as she chased Kisoo down the stairs, discarding the phone onto the couch. Kisoo was eavesdropping! She knew it in her gut! There was no other way he would know that since she’d never breathed a single word about it. Almost tripping over the edge of the low coffee table, Choyoung was literally a few seconds away from grabbing the back of his hoodie before he locked himself away in his game room.

“You better not tell anyone, you little insect!”

“And now I know my brother knows and we all know he can’t keep his mouth shut,” Choyoung massaged the sides of her face as Bi laid out their sleeping bags on the floor.

Ah yes, the annual school lock-in. Basically, any student who wanted to pitch in a good ten dollars would be spending two nights at school (Friday evening and Saturday evening) at the school where they’re “locked in”. Supposedly, the event was a way for the school population to become more unified by allowing every grade to interact with each other. However, as Choyoung scanned the rest of the gymnasium, it seemed like everyone seems to just stay within their own established friend groups. That is, everyone but the Annoying One himself who had just arrived at the gym and was now frantically waving his arm at her.

Pretending like she didn’t see him to avoid questioning looks from her classmates, Choyoung quickly averted her gaze towards her now-set sleeping bag and slid down from the bleachers. Her tenseness didn’t go unnoticed, however, when Bi snickered, throwing a nonchalant glance over her shoulder, “I see your Prince Charming has arrived,”

“Oh please, he’s not even close,” Choyoung scoffed, sitting criss-cross on top of her blankets and stuffing a pillow between her legs, “Call me when he’s receiving awards in something not math related,”

The both of them giggled when Bi flung a pillow at the younger’s head. Seriously, Choyoung had to have something against boys considering how often she rejected them before they’d even said anything to her. Their bubble of fun was quickly burst though when Bi noticed Soonyoung approaching their spot by the bleachers after signing in. Groaning, Choyoung ran a hand through her hair as she glared. Why in the world could this guy not take a hint? And for someone who was supposed to be the smartest in his grade too!

Whistling, Bi jabbed a thumb over her shoulder to the empty hallways, “Well, that call’s coming sooner than you think,”

After another round of giggles, Choyoung scrambled to her feet to make a run for it. The last thing she wanted to do now was spend the rest of the evening being stuck with him. Scaling the hallways deemed to be a harder task for the socked runaway because the newly waxed tiles had her slipping and sliding around with no proper grip. In fact, had she not caught herself at the water fountain, she would’ve run around the corner into the most awkward episode of her life…

Meanwhile, on the other side of the building, Soonyoung and Jihoon had just finished settling in beside their new first year neighbors despite Bi’s consistent warnings about how Choyoung just wouldn’t come back if Soonyoung stayed put. That didn’t stop him from tossing his pillows and blankets on the floor nonetheless. From the floor to his right, Jihoon looked up at his older friend, annoyed, “Clearly we’re unwanted guests here, dude. Let’s just go,”

“Wait, no I didn’t say that you weren’t welcome here!” Bi exclaimed rather eagerly as she sat up on her knees, petite fingers fiddling with the ruffled hem of her pajama top. She didn’t notice it, but Soonyoung’s mouth had pulled into a smirk at her reaction. “Choyoung’s doesn’t have a problem with you, Jihoon! It’s just…”

“Did she say where she was going?” Soonyoung interrupted, blankly staring at the hallway Choyoung ha