xxx

"Back here once again," Wendy groans and flops down at their usual spot on the quad (by the shadiest tree). Seulgi nods and flicks on her pink lighter when Wendy motions a cigarette in her direction.

"Senior year at least, Wen. We're almost out of this hellhole," Seulgi gives her best grin and leans a head against her friend’s shoulder. Wendy blows a ring of smoke out into the sky and hands over the cigarette.

“Senior year, alright.”

Seulgi lets out a sigh before taking a drag. She throws a lanky arm over Wendy's shoulder, cozying up in the comfortable silence, and stares at the students buzzing excitedly in front of them.

“Hey,” Seulgi mentions while absentmindedly running fingers through the curls of Wendy's newly bleached hair.

"Hmm?"

 "Promise me one thing."

"What’s up?"

"That we won't spend this year being bored out of our minds."

Wendy gasps in scandalized fashion. "Seulgi. I'm Wendy. Wendy the reckless. Wendy and bored do not go together in the same sentence," she smirks and wiggles her eyebrows suggestively before holding out a hand for the cigarette.

"Ha. That can only mean one thing coming from you."

"...being perpetually drunk this whole year, most likely," a wispy voice calls out from behind. They both turn their heads.

"Sooyoung-ah!" Wendy jumps up from the grass without warning and pulls the smiling girl into an embrace.

Before Seulgi can get a word in, Wendy mutters I miss you's into the crook of the younger girl’s neck and plops a wet kiss onto her lips.

Yerim hurries and takes refuge next to Seulgi, who herself looks particularly disgusted.

“Seulgi unnie!”

“Our Yerim-ie,” Seulgi squeezes the sophomore’s cheeks.

Yerim sighs in exasperation. “I had to listen to Sooyoung complain on and on about missing Wendy the entire way here.”

“I am so, so sorry.”

Seulgi glances at the two lovebirds, who, of course, still have their mouths pressed together.

 "Jesus. You guys haven’t seen each other for like two weeks, not two years, calm down," Seulgi complains and both girls make a face.

Sooyoung sticks out a tongue. "Missed you too, Seulgi unnie."

 "Oh, hi Sooyoung. Glad you noticed me at last."

Wendy chirps, "Hey, two weeks is a long time to not see your girlfriend, you know. I've been so damn h-orny. Like. You don't even know."

"Oh my god. Be any louder will you."

Wendy just shrugs and gives Yerim a quick hug before going back to eating Sooyoung's face alive.

Yerim buries her head in Seulgi’s shoulder. The older girl pats her head, eyeing a group of gawky boys staring wide-eyed in their direction.

"Let's get out of here guys. Those boys are practically with their eyes," she gestures at the unwanted attention and pulls (drags) them off each other and into the school.

xxx

Turns out they've already made to the opposite end of the building when Seulgi realizes she forgot her binder near the tree.

She groans and shoos her best friends off to class, the three happily intertwining fingers as they bounce away, and takes annoyed steps back to the quad.

The bell has already rung by the time she’s back. As soon as she bends over to pick up her binder, she feels a tap on her shoulder.

"Hi...excuse me?"  a girl she's never seen before asks nervously and Seulgi's breath hitches. She has long, chestnut hair, doe eyes, and the prettiest smile. She was stunning.

"Oh. H-hey what's up?"

"I'm really sorry, but can you tell me where room 153 is? I can’t seem to find it on the map."

"Oh yeah. Um, I can walk you there if you’d like."

"That’d be great. You're a life saver," the girl smiles widely in her direction and Awkward Seulgi has to take a moment to gather her composure before smiling back.

"No problem. My class is in that direction anyways." Seulgi lies. She’s already late, no use in trying to rush to class, right? "Are you new here or something?"

"Yeah, I just moved up here from Daegu. My dad got a job here."

"Ahh no wonder. You don’t seem like a freshman."

The girl, who might as well have moved here from heaven, laughs at the statement.

“Yeah no. I’m a senior.”

Seulgi chuckles back, “Me too,” and begins smoothing the creases of her plaid skirt, trying to will her hands to do something useful.

"My name's Joohyun by the way," she holds out a hand.

"Seulgi." She tries to ignore the electric sensation of her touch.

"Nice to meet you, Seulgi."

"Likewise."

xxx

The sun is bright. The breeze light and airy. 

“So how are you liking Seoul?” 

Joohyun twists thoughtfully.

“I just moved here two days ago so I can’t really say."

"Understandable. Seoul is pretty huge."

"It’s definitely way more crowded. There’s so much life here.”

“Crowded is an understatement. Sometimes it feels like you're stuck in a sardine jar. I guess you just have to get used to it,” their footsteps are slow and steady. Seulgi indulges in the pleasure. “I always wanted to visit Daegu. I go down to Gyeongsang-Do sometimes but just to visit family in Busan.”

Joohyun lets out the cutest laugh. Seulgi’s stomach does a flip.

“I mean, Daegu’s just a less cool version of Busan, so you aren’t really missing out.”

“Right. So I’ve heard.  It’s still on my bucket list though.”

“Well, if you ever need any recommendations on the best Daegu restaurants, I got you covered.”

“Thanks.” Seulgi nods. And if you ever need someone to show you around Seoul, I got you covered, too. She wants to add. It’s on the tip of her tongue, but she can’t bring herself to say it. Not yet.

“Thanks so much for the help Seulgi.” Joohyun flashes a big smile when they finally arrive in front of her classroom. “I’ll be seeing you around, of course?”

The way she says it makes it sound more like an invitation than a friendly gesture. Seulgi does an internal fist pump.

“Definitely.”

She turns her heel in stride. All that’s in her mind the whole way back to the other side of school and to her first class is Joohyun’s tiny mole underneath her lips, Joohyun’s dorky laugh, imagining how beautiful Joohyun would look curled up beside her in bed.

Yeah.

Maybe Senior Year would be an interesting year after all.

xxx