"Say the name, seventeen!" The famous rookie boy group greeted on their Mnet interview back in their promotional days for 'Mansae'. Eunsol adjusted her earphones and shifted in the backseat of the bus as her eyes fixed on her mobile screen. 

It was a typical Wednesday morning, where people were all on their way to their destinations, and that included Eunsol, who was headed to pre-university. The eighteen-year old was quietly munching on her breakfast, which was a box of pocky, at the same time watching the boy group being interviewed on her phone, She chuckled at one scene where the tiniest guy in the group had himself tongue-tied while answering the question. How cute, Jihoon oppa. 

"Who's cute?" 

Eunsol did a slight jump at her seat at the voice and the presence right beside her, before focusing back on her video after realising it wasn't anyone special. 

"Not you. Jihoon oppa is." 

The boy beside her crinkled his nose and chuckled. Soon after he joined her in watching the interview as he took out one of her earphones and plugged it in his own ear. The eyes of the boy widened as he recognized himself in the video as if it was his first time seeing himself on Youtube.

"Hey look, it's me!" he said, acting excited. 

Eunsol sent him a judging look, "Hey look it's you! Spacing out!" she said with a tone of fake enthusiasm. 

The boy clucked his tongue at her and nudged her head. "Ow! What was that for Jeon Wonwoo!" 

He grinned. "Fans call it y when I space out, you know. It's a good thing," he replied with such confidence. 

The girl narrowed her eyes at him, but a smile surfaced not long after Wonwoo chortled. "You're a freak Jeon Wonwoo." 

These kind of moments were those rare moments which both of them treasured the most. Those rare days where she and Wonwoo would take the same bus to school together. Ever since Wonwoo was formally introduced by Pledis, the pair didn't spend as much time as they used to, but it wasn't like she could do anything about it. She knew that it would happen sooner or later anyway. 

The bus jerked forward once again and that was when Eunsol realised that the other Seventeen members weren't on the bus, like how they usually were on those rare days. "Wait a minute, where are the others?" 

"I left them," Wonwoo stated as his hand found his way into his bestfriend's packet of pocky, and started breaking them with his teeth. 

"Left?" Eunsol asked, puzzled. 

The boy nodded, "They all took the car." 

"And what made you an exception?" The former questioned, raising an eyebrow. 

Wonwoo shrugged. "Just," he started as he bit off another piece of the pocky, "because." 

The girl shot him a look, and he returned it with a cheeky smile. "Being Jeon Wonwoo, I think you were the one that got left behind." 

He looked up thoughtfully, pretending to think. "Hmm, let me think about it. Bingo!" He replied without hesitance. 

Eunsol sent him an amused look before letting out a light laugh. "Idiot. Why am I even friends with you?" 

Wonwoo finished up his last piece of pocky and dusted his hands on his pants. "Maybe it's because you love me," he said, wiggling his eyebrows at the girl. 

- - -

Life as a friend of an idol was pretty common in their school. People like Monsta X's Minhyuk and B.A.P's Zelo attended the pre-university, and it was a pretty common sightseeing all of these idols disappear during class due to their packed schedules. Wonwoo was no exception, which often made Eunsol feel lonely and out of place, despite the fact that she was fairly popular due to her "Wonwoo's mysterious friend" reputation. Well, having, or at least attempting, to have a mature mind, Eunsol most of the time tries to avoid Wonwoo when out of the school campus, sometimes also allowing the latter to misunderstand their situation. 

"So... see you." She muttered as she left him behind after getting off the bus, leaving Wonwoo stunned. "Hey! Hwang Eunsol come back here you-" he didn't bother to finish his sentence as the girl turned the corner, her figure disappearing. Wonwoo sighed. He obviously had already sensed the unspoken tension between them, but he just didn't know what to do about it. The only thing he knew at the moment was that despite his busy schedule, he had to be there for her no matter what. I mean, that's what best friends are for, right? 

It was the fifth period, around 2pm in the afternoon and students were flooding the hallways. Next period was a lecture period, where most would be heading to the different lecture halls.

"Hey Eunsol!" The eighteen-year-old turned around to see her deskmate, Lee Sojin. Sojin was a true friend to Eunsol, one of the few that didn't refer to her as 'Wonwoo's friend'. Eunsol smiled and waved, running to her and interlocking their arms.  

"Have you done your research on the different plays? I'm going crazy trying to find all the different 'behind the scenes' cast. They never mention their backstage crew anywhere." 

Eunsol scratched her neck. She wasn't good at this area either. It was like fishing out a creature that doesn't exist. It was a component of the course they, including Wonwoo, were all taking, which was Arts Business Management. "I tried researching about the musical that Exo's Chen played a part in. Maybe you should try a more recent play," she suggested as they continued walking and talking, making their way to the lecture hall. 

"Ok, take your seats and we'll be starting shortly," their lecturer, Mr Ahn announced through the mic. Students strode in and took their seats, lifting up the small tables beside their chairs. Sojin and Eunsol took a seat near the back where their usual seats were. The latter felt a tap on her shoulder and looked back, seeing Wonwoo eyesmiling at her with a lollipop stick poking out of his mouth. She did a small wave before turning back to face the front, not wanting too much attention. Wonwoo frowned. He had been noticing the sudden slight coldness sent by his bestfriend for the past few weeks.  He did have an idea of why she was acting like this, and he was already trying to get used to it. But he just couldn't leave the thought alone and was thinking of how he could sort things out with her before it could get any colder. 

The lecture went on for about an hour  and students were starting to doze off. That included both Wonwoo and Sojin. Eunsol had still managed to stay awake, taking down notes and keeping in mind that she had to make a copy for both the idol and her deskmate. Not long after she felt a vibration in her bag, signaling a new message. She fished her blinking phone out to find out that the message was from Soonyoung, also known as Hoshi, Wonwoo's fellow group mate. 

Hello Eunsol ~ Are you with Wonwoo? He was supposed to meet me at the front gate 10 minutes ago since we have another schedule to attend to. Tell him to come quickly! Jebal~ thanks! xoxo 

Eunsol giggled at the xoxo. Her seventeen bias was Soonyoung after all. She turned around to see her bestfriend totally knocked out. Her eyes softened at the sight. Poor Jeon Won. 

She eyed his phone right in front of her and quietly took it, lighting up the screen. She couldn't help but notice his lockscreen as a picture of him and her, together with Soonyoung and Mingyu the time when they went out for patbingsoo together. She also took note of the numerous notifications which included missed calls from the two boys. The girl sighed. It was time for Wonwoo to leave her again. Time to get going then. 

"Yah, Wonwoo." she whispered as she shook his arm. "Wake up, you're late for your schedule." 

The boy stirred awake and blinked a few times. "What?" 

"You need to get going!" Eunsol half-shouted, lightly slapping his cheeks. That was when he realised that he was supposed to go for a photoshoot with the two guys. 

"Oh ," he cursed under his breath as he frantically started packing. "I'll message you later," he said and Eunsol nodded. She was already used to it, taking down notes and keeping worksheets for him. 

He paused for a while and stared at the girl. "See you," she whispered. 

Wonwoo smiled back, trying to get the message through that he treasured her so much that he actually wanted to stay. Screw all those photoshoots, he just wanted to spend a day with his bestfriend. But he was immediately brought back to reality as he felt another vibration in his pocket, signalling another message from Mingyu. 

"I'll see you." 

{a/n} I hope you guys enjoyed the intro to their friendship! anticipate more :)