Won Woo groaned when he heard the alarm on his phone going off on the small nightstand next to the bed, it had been going off for for a few minutes now and was getting pretty annoying. “Turn it off!” He heard Ji Min complain next to him.

He had no choice but to roll over and blindly turn it off since he had a difficult time opening his eyes to see what he was doing, he was so dead tired. The couple weren't able to sleep much from their nerves about starting school today, it was pretty bad.

A few moments later the second alarm started to go off and they both groaned this time. Won Woo sat up and tried to force himself awake while Ji Min covered her head with a pillow. When Won Woo was able to open his eyes, he checked the time on his phone and frowned, they had to get up and go or they'd be late on their first day!

Just as he was about turn and wake his girlfriend up, he heard the front door open and he froze. He wasn’t sure if that was Hani, or someone broke in? Immediately he got out of bed as quietly as he could and grabbed the nearest object he could find for defense. What am I going to do with a tissue box?!

The bedroom door swung open and in marched an angry Hani. She was startled when Won Woo had thrown the tissue box out of reflex and it hit her in the face.

“Ah! What are you doing?!” Hani complained while holding onto her nose and was clearly annoyed.

“What am I doing? What are you doing barging in here without notice?!” Won Woo fired back, equally annoyed. “I thought someone broke in! I was defending my home!”

“With a tissue box?” Hani snickered and bent over to pick it up. “Cute.”

“Shut up!” Won Woo pouted. “Why are you here?”

“It's your first day of school and you haven't left yet?!” She exclaimed before marching over to rip the pillow off of Ji Min’s head along with the blankets. “Rise and Shine, it’s time for your first day of school and I’ll be damned if Jaehwan hears you missed it!” She was nearly shouting now as she pulled the sleepy girl off the bed like some toddler waking up from a nap. “You two might have the luxury to live alone in this apartment, but don’t forget that I am in charge until you’re legitimate adults. Now wake up and get dressed!” She added while lightly slapping Ji Min’s cheeks to help her to do just that. “You,” Hani glanced at Won Woo and he froze, “Grab your uniform and go change in the bathroom down the hall. Looks like I’m gonna have to dress this girl myself!” Ji Min was gently pushed back to fall on the bed so she wouldn’t fall forward from being half asleep and Hani marched over to their closet to fetch their uniforms. She tossed Won Woo his before she returned to Ji Min at the bed. “Go!”

“Y-Yes ma’am!” Won Woo hurried out of the room and shut the door almost immediately. Hani snickered at how quiet his demeanor changed once she used that authoritative tone with him. That was the same guy who threw a tissue box and her and told her to shut up moments ago, right?

“Yah.” Hani said after returning her attention to Ji Min on the bed. “Seriously, wake up. Or do I really have to dress you?” She asked while nudging her. Ji Min groaned and finally sat up. “Did you two not get any sleep last night? What were you doing? Nothing naughty, right?”

“No.” Ji Min frowned after rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. “There was just a lot on our minds about starting school here. We’re nervous.” She admitted while getting up so she could lay her uniform out to change. “I don’t want to regret anything, but I really didn’t think how scary it was going to be out here by ourselves without our friends.”

“You’ll be fine. I’m sure of it! It’s just taking time for you to settle in, that’s all.” Hani said in a caring tone and rested a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. “Besides, you both have me looking out for you, so try to relax, alright?”

“I’ll try.” Ji Min turned to give her a smile. “Thanks, Hani.”

“No problem, kid! Now get dressed before you’re actually late! I’ll drive you both!” Hani smiled sweetly before it turned into a scolding expression, it almost made Ji Min laugh. She got dressed as quick as she could once the older left the room. Won Woo returned shortly after once he knew she was done changing.

“She didn’t do anything weird to you, right?” Won Woo seemed paranoid and it made Ji Min giggle.

“No, I dressed myself.” Ji Min assured him. “How does it look?” She asked with a small turn to show it off.

Won Woo suddenly felt shy to look her up and down even though he was given permission to and it was adorable. He cleared his throat and looked away before muttering something. “You have your skirt on backwards.”

“What?!” Ji Min gasped and looked down to notice the front pockets were behind her. “Oh gosh.” She whimpered while trying to fix it while he wasn’t looking. She could hear him chuckle and she pouted, but it also made her smile. Things were tense with starting fresh in a new city and school, so she was glad that they could have a moment of silliness at her expense.

“Are you two ready or not?!” Hani shouted from their living room and they both sighed in defeat before heading out of their bedroom hand in hand. Once they reached the living room, they could see Hani standing near the front door with her phone out like she was either taking a picture or video. “Awh, you two look so adorable!” She squealed like a fangirl. The couple gave sheepish smiles before Hani put her phone away and beckoned them to follow her out to her car. “We’ll be picking up Junghwa on our way there. She’ll help you two around school, so no need to be nervous! She should be in your class too!”

“Well, that’s good.” Ji Min seemed a little more relax, but Won Woo was still tense. She could tell by his expression. She didn’t say anything but she did reach out and held his hand in hopes to comfort him. It seemed to help a bit when he gave her a small smile, like he was thanking her silently.

Not too long after, Junghwa entered the scene. “It’s nice to finally meet you two!” The girl greeted happily. “I’m Junghwa, I’m sure you already know from Hani!”

“Yes.” Ji Min nodded with a friendly smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Junghwan, I’m Ji Min. And this is my boyfriend, Won Woo.” She introduced herself and her boyfriend because she knew Won Woo was probably not going to be very talkative at first.

“I’m so jealous!” Junghwa laughed. “You two look cute together, I’m happy for you both!” It was nice to be exposed to someone that was so cheery and bubbly like Junghwa, maybe it could help them through these last two months of school.

After introductions, Junghwan managed to make some small talk with Ji Min given Won Woo stayed quiet the whole time. She understood that he was probably the quiet type and didn’t try to push it, but she hoped to get him talking so he wouldn’t be an outcast at school. They arrived to school shortly after and now was the nerve wracking part, obtaining their schedules and having Junghwa show them around the school. It wasn’t supposed to be that scary, but when almost all eyes were on them as they walked through the hallways, it didn’t help not one bit.

“They’re all just probably really shocked at how good looking you two are, don’t worry!” Junghwa assured them. “The students here are kind of like that, always admiring other people.”

“Do you have any admirers, Junghwa?” Ji Min asked out of curiosity. She definitely seemed the type to be the popular girl of the school. Maybe that’s what it was, the other students were wondering who the new kids were and why they were hanging around Junghwa?

“A couple, but nothing too crazy.” She gave a cute laugh. “You two are only here for the remainder of your senior year, so hopefully there won’t be too much action, given you’re both already taken by each other. You might want to make that known just so no drama stirs up later.”

“True.” Ji Min suddenly felt nervous about that now that she noticed other girls eyeing her boyfriend as they passed by. Won Woo saw that and instantly took a hold of her hand, interlocking their fingers to make that statement, she’s mine and I’m hers. Ji Min was happy with that and so was Junghwa. She really didn’t want anything bad to happen to them while they were here. She hadn’t heard much of their story, but she could tell they’ve been through a lot. She was going to keep a look out for them and help in anyway she could.

The small tour of the school came to an end when the first bell rang for class. The three hurried back to their homeroom, though Won Woo and Ji Min had to wait outside for their teacher who luckily happened to be one of the friends Hani was talking about. “You two must be the new transfer students.” The older woman smiled. “I’m Heo Solji and I’ll be your homeroom teacher for the rest of your senior year. I hope you two will do your best to finish with this second chance you were given.” Of course Hani told her the story behind the couple.

“Yes, we will.” Ji Min nodded along with Won Woo.

“Great, then let’s go inside, shall we?” Solji smiled brightly and opened the door for them. Here came the nerves again after they entered the room with their teacher. She greeted the class and introduced both Ji Min and Won Woo before assigning them their seats which unfortunately happened to be on the opposite side of the room from each other, but it was okay. Won Woo was fortunate to be seated near Junghwa at least, but he did worry for Ji Min who seemed alone on the other side of the room. It’s just for two months. He reminded himself. It’d be okay.

~

It was finally lunch time and students immediately left for lunch almost instantly while others lingered a bit because they brought their own lunches. Junghwa was one of them and it was so sweet, she had actually brought lunches for Won Woo and Ji Min, but before she could pull them out, a few of the other girls in class came over to talk to Won Woo. They noticed he hadn’t left for lunch and asked if he didn’t bring anything. He simply shook his head in reply and they instantly offered to share their food with him.

“It’s okay girls, I brought a lunch for him.” Junghwa spoke up now that Won Woo was looking uncomfortable about the situation.

“Already? And you just met today! You sure move fast, Junghwa!” The girls snickered, they were obviously not pleased at all. It seemed typical for Junghwa to already be acquainted with the boys at school.

“Relax.” The girl laughed. “I also brought a lunch for his girlfriend, over there.” She pointed to Ji Min who was putting away her text book and didn’t noticed the situation going on at their side of the room.

“Girlfriend?” The two girls repeated sounding somewhat dejected. “Is that true?” They asked to Won Woo, as if it really needed to be confirmed.

“Yes, she’s my girlfriend.” He nodded.

“Who would have thought!” They felt silly for not realizing it sooner. The way the two were standing so close to each other earlier when their teacher was introducing them. They hadn’t noticed the look of disappointment they had with each other when they were separated after being assigned their seats. Even if those weren’t obvious hints, it made sense now.

“Now, if you don’t mind, we’re going to eat together.” Junghwa said politely before beckoning Ji Min over now that she noticed them.

“Sorry for bothering you!” The girls apologized and went back to their seats in the back corner while Ji Min walked over to join Won Woo and Junghwa.

“You brought lunches for us?” Ji Min asked with a happy yet guilty expression.

“Yes, of course! I knew the first day of school was going to be nerve wracking for you both, so I brought lunch that way you don’t have to be overwhelmed going to the cafeteria.”

“Thanks. We really appreciate that.” Won Woo said with a soft smile. He was finally speaking and Junghwa was glad.

“I’ll try to bring lunch tomorrow, to show our thanks!” Ji Min gave a bright smile after Junghwa handed her the small lunch box full of delicious food. It looked so good it almost had her drooling.

“I have to use the restroom first, excuse me.” Won Woo said politely before getting up from his seat and left the room. When he was out of the room, Junghwa noticed Ji Min’s expression falter a bit, like she looked bothered by something.

“Hey, you okay?” She asked.

“I’m fine.” Ji Min assured her. “I’m just worried about how the rest of the school year is going to go.”

“It’ll be fine, don’t worry. I got your back, and Won Woo’s too. Already those girls were trying to talk to him but I made sure they didn’t get far.” Junghwa explained quietly while pointing over Ji Min’s shoulder.

“Really?” Ji Min asked and snuck a glance at the two behind her, they were watching something on one of their phones with headphones in, they were too distracted to notice the other two girls talking about them. “Well, I guess I’m not surprised.”

“Won Woo seems like a good guy, he barely acknowledge them so I don’t think you need to worry about girls throwing themselves at him, he seems like he can handle it and turn them away.”

“Good.” Ji Min needed to hear that. “I’ll be doing my best as well, even though it’s not like any of the guys were going to throw themselves at me in the first place.” She added with a sheepish laugh.

“Nonsense, I saw the way some of the guys were stealing glances at you during class!” Junghwa playfully rolled her eyes. “I might have to fight off those guys for you if it comes to it.”

“Thanks.” Ji Min giggled at how adorable Junghwa was being, she was definitely nice and caring. It seemed like the couple would do a lot better than they thought with Junghwa at their side.

“By the way, not like you have to tell me or anything, but I’m curious on what the story is behind you two moving here suddenly from Seoul? Hani told me you two have been through a lot and that I should help you two as much as I can, but I’m not sure what she really means by that?”

“Ah, well… it is quite a long and dramatic story to be honest.” Ji Min admitted with a sad snicker. “A lot has happened and now we ended up here, just the two of us alone in his hometown. That was until Hani stepped in and helped.”

“You don’t need to explain if it’s bringing up bad memories, I’m sorry.” Junghwa frowned and placed her hand over Ji Min’s in hopes it’d comfort her and let her know that she was sorry for prying into their business.

“It’s okay. We can talk more about it in the future. Right now we should just focus on eating and getting through the rest of the school day.” Ji Min forced a small smile.

“Right! Of course,” Junghwa nodded quickly and put on a bright smile again. “I hope you enjoy the food, I’m not that good of a cook but I think it’s decent enough?”

“It’s fine!” Ji Min assured her and scooped up a bite to eat. “Like you said, it’s decent enough!”

“I don’t know if I should be glad or sad?” The older girl pouted with a hint of a laugh.

“It just needs a little more salt, nothing too serious!”

“Noted.” Junghwa nodded with a cute laugh. Just then, Won Woo returned from the restroom. “Just a fair warning, the food needed a little more salt. Sorry.”

“That’s okay.” He assured her with a kind smile before digging into his own food. His face suddenly scrunched up and he covered his mouth and forced himself to swallow it.

“What’s wrong?!” Ji Min worried and handed him one of the drinks Junghwa also brought for them.

“Not enough salt?” He asked while recovering. “I guess that’s where all the salt went.”

“Oh no!” Junghwa covered her face in embarrassment. “I’m so sorry!”

“It’s fine!” Ji Min assured her with a small laugh. What an eventful lunch it was.

~

During the second half of the day, Won Woo and Ji Min got to meet the other friend of Hani’s that was a teacher, she was teaching math. Seo Hyerin. She was very nice and helpful when it came to explaining the math problems to her students, especially for Ji Min who struggled with math the most. She managed to survive the class and before they knew it, the school day was over. Everyone started to pack up and leave with their friends, no one stayed behind this time to bother Won Woo since word had spread quickly about his relationship with Ji Min, it was a little surprising but they were glad everyone were on the same page. But they were sure there were going to be some curious ones who will one day ask about them and their story.

Speaking of which…

“Can I walk home with you guys?” Junghwa asked when most of the other students were out of the room.

“Sure.” Ji Min nodded happily and Won Woo seemed okay with it as well. They left shortly after and it wasn’t a very long walk back to the apartment complex, Junghwa and Ji Min held a conversation during the small trip and it was good that those two were getting along quite well, Won Woo was glad.

When they reached their apartment, Junghwa watched Won Woo enter the passcode and opened the door. “Then we’ll see you tomorrow.” She said with a cheery smile. “Where’s your apartment, Ji Min? Is it on this floor too?” She then turned to Ji Min who held back a laugh. “What? Did I say something funny?”

“We live together.” Won Woo answered with a laugh of his own.

“What?! Really?!” Junghwa was completely surprised. Ji Min nodded to confirm it and the girl gave a sheepish laugh, she was embarrassed for the second time today. “I see, that’s nice!”

“Do you want to come in for a bit?” Ji Min asked and gestured for her to follow them inside.

“Uh, sure!” Junghwa happily followed after them and left her school bag and shoes at the door. She took a moment to admire the small cozy apartment despite there wasn’t much decoration going on, the place was kind of temporary to start with as the couple planned to go back to Seoul once they were adults, decorating it now would just make it a pain in the to take it all back down when they move. But things could change and they were going to keep their minds open to it since they also didn’t know when they were going back to Seoul, it was definitely not going to be immediately, that’s for sure.

“Sorry that I can’t be around for long, I have to leave for my part time job, it starts soon.” Won Woo mentioned after fetching the girls something to drink from the kitchen. He set the small tray down on the coffee table in front of them on the couch. “Please stay as long as you want so she’s not alone.” His words were directed towards Junghwa.

“Sure, of course. I’d love to.” She said with a bright smile. “Be careful, don’t overwork yourself, okay?”

“Thanks.” Won Woo appreciated her kind words and he turned towards Ji Min. “I’ll be home around 10pm, try not to stay up because of me, you need your sleep.” He said while patting her cheek with the back of his hand in a cute manner.

“Okay.” She answered in a dejected tone, it was clear that she was worried about him being up late from work and being out alone at night, too. “Like Junghwa said, be careful out there, okay?”

“I will, don’t worry.” He flashed her a warm smile. “See you later.” He waved and headed to the front door with his backpack for work that contained his uniform and other things he needs while working. When he was gone, Ji Min let out a long sigh.

“I hate to ask the obvious, but are you okay?” Junghwa felt bad for her new friends, it was clear that she was still bothered by something.

“I’ll be fine. It’s just been kind of stressful.” Ji Min admitted. “I start to wonder if we should have waited to go back to school after winter break. We’re only attending for this week before winter break, it seems kinda silly.” She muttered with a small snicker. “I wasn’t able to find a job like he did, and I’m feeling a bit lonely and useless now that he left for his shift.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize, it’s not your fault.” She managed a small smile. “I suppose I’m also upset that I have to do homework on the first day of school… even though I know it isn’t really the first day for everyone else.”

“I really hate homework, too.” Junghwa chuckled. “Maybe we should do ours to pass the time?”

“That sounds like a good idea. But what about Won Woo?”

“Maybe if you both wake up early enough tomorrow morning he can do it and you can help him if he gets stuck?”

“Ah, that sounds like a good plan. Thanks. I guess I haven’t been able to think straight lately.”

“That’s okay, I got you!” Junghwa gave her two thumbs up. “But do you want to eat before we do our homework? It’d probably be a good idea to get some brain food in us before the suffering starts, right?”

“True, though we don’t have much in the fridge right now. Sorry.” Ji Min said with an apologetic expression.

“No worries, like I said, I got you!” Junghwan assured her and pulled out her phone. “Let’s have pizza!”

“Please!” Ji Min’s expression brightened up at the mere mention of her favorite junk food. It was definitely going to make everything better, for sure.

~

Won Woo was nervous when he started his first shift at his new workplace, but it turned out just fine and he got the hang of it pretty quickly. He didn’t experience any rude customers when he messed up a few times, but it was probably his visuals that saved him from getting scolded by the impatient ahjummas. Four hours seemed like a long time since he kept watching the time, but he managed through it somehow.

When he got home, he saw Ji Min passed out on the couch with her textbook almost covering her face probably because she was reading until she fell asleep. It was cute and he smiled before putting his stuff away and proceeded to walk on over to kneel next to the couch to admire her for a moment. He took a guess that she was looking ahead in the textbook so she wouldn’t fall behind later, what a good student. Maybe she also did it so she could help him later on, too.

After a few minutes, he noticed she was already dressed for bed and it was clear she was waiting for him even though he told her not to, but he couldn’t be mad, he was happy. Since it was pretty late, he left to change out of his uniform and got dressed for bed as well. He came back to the living room and put her textbook on the coffee table before scooping her up in his arms and carried her back to their bedroom. She seemed pretty knocked out when she didn’t stir in her sleep not once and he was thankful, he really didn’t want to wake her up, but sleeping on the couch probably wouldn’t be a good idea in the end, especially if she falls off during the night. Once she was on her side of the bed, he got on his side after turning the light off. Any thoughts about doing his homework last minute vanished when he got comfortable lying on his side beside Ji Min.

He felt like he was experiencing a bit of deja vu when he saw Ji Min shift in bed and woke up. She seemed confused on where she was until she saw Won Woo lying next to her and it finally clicked in her head. “Welcome home.” She said with a sleepy smile.

“Thanks.” He chuckled and reached over to gently caress her cheek. “I guess you studied too hard earlier and passed out on the couch with your textbook.”

“Oh, whoops.” She giggled before turning so she was facing him while lying on her side as well. “How was work?”

“Boring.” He blurted out with a deep sigh.

“Is it any better than studying for four hours straight?” She teased and he just laughed while shaking his head in reply. “If you wake up early enough, I can help with your homework in the morning.”

“That sounds good, thanks.” He nodded with a small yawn. “I don’t think I would have been able to do it now, I’m so tired.”

“I bet!” She said with a small pout. She reached over to caress his cheek and smile. “Goodnight, sweet dreams.”

“Goodnight. Dream of me.” He teased before leaning over to give her a goodnight kiss. He hen pulled her close to his chest and they fell asleep shortly after with good dreams despite their stressful day.

Chapter two~!

Hello.

LONG TIME NO UPDATE!

I’m sorry.

This year has been long and stressful, I wanted to update this fic but could never piece the ideas together. But I was able to recently. So here it is, even if it’s short. I do have a plan on what I want to do now, so hopefully I’ll be able to start updating this fic more in the new year!

This story will be finished, I promise!!!

Until then~! Merry Christmas and Happy New Years~!