II. JIEQIONG

Tuesday is Jieqiong's favourite day of the week.

She isn't sure why exactly. Cheerleading practice is held on Monday (and the occasional Wednesday), and all her other extracurricular activities - dancing, and she sometimes joins in baseball as their manager - never take place on a Tuesday. Tuesdays are the days when she's free, the kind of days where she can head back home right after the bell rings without worrying over formations and coaches sent from hell.

Tuesdays are the days where she releases her troubles and frustration into music, and she's always found joy in using her drumsticks to create an arrangement of sound with her old, worn-out drums.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow." Jieqiong waves her friends goodbye on last time, flashing them her trademark megawatt smile before dashing off towards her bike. It's barely been five minutes after the bell rung, and her heart's already bursting in excitement at the sheer thought of music.

Her house is an exact twenty blocks away, but the ride doesn't even feel like half a minute as she dashes through the empty streets, the wind blowing on her hair like a scene out of a third-rate anime. Jieqiong doesn't manage to suppress her smile, and even the thought of tomorrow's mathematics quiz doesn't deter her heart from soaring in excitement.

Jieqiong's residence is located in a nice, suburban neighbourhood that's just near to all the other conveniences located in the city, or as her cousin would call it, the stereotypical white kids neighborhood without the white kids. Her house is the one located in the very outskirts of the neighbourhood, but its neon pink roof can be seen from a mile away (and before anyone asks, it was not her idea, contrary to popular belief.)

A smile forms on her pink stained lips upon seeing the car parked outside the house, and after placing her bike, she jogs towards her front door - painted white, the whites cracked and chipped from its years of wear - unsurprised when the door opens with a turn of the knob. Her father always leaves the door unlocked whenever he's home, and whether it's because he's the ex-chief of police back in China and thinks he's able to kick anyone's or any other reason, Jieqiong finds it convenient for all her key misplacing adventures.

"I'm home!" Jieqiong exclaims, yelping in surprise when her dog tackles her to the ground mere seconds after stepping inside her house. She props her elbows on the ceramic floor, wincing at the pain on her back from its rough collision to the floor. "Aren't you an excited little puppy?" She coos, ignoring her pain as she nuzzles her nose against Daisy's, the puppy waggling its tail happily.

She kisses Daisy one last time before gently placing her pet on the ground, and standing up a few moments later, brushing away the dust from the back of her skirt. Jieqiong looks around the room, void of any human life other than herself, confusion dawning once she realizes her father hasn't come to greet her. Maybe he's busy, she thinks, masking her disappointment with a bland smile.

Jieqiong throws her bag somewhere on the couch, barely batting an eyelash as it lands on the worn leather cushion without a noise. She feels herself walking towards her music studio, but even the thought of letting go even for just a moment doesn't manage to return her genuine smile.

(She can't remember the last time she's seen her father, and now that he's at home, maybe she was stupid to think he'd choose seeing his daughter over pouring over his work.)  

Jieqiong hates Wednesdays.

Those are the days when she has cheer practice, and during those days, she tends to be in a mood more sour than usual. It's Jieqiong though, and her friends never notice the difference - to them, she's that popular chinese transfer student Zhou Jieqiong, and she supposes that's how they'll always see her - beautiful, cheerful, and one-dimensional.

"I heard coach is in a bad mood today." Doyeon is one of the girls in their team, and Jieqiong thinks Doyeon resembles the actress who played in one of those dramas Jieqiong used to watch when she first arrived in South Korea. (She doesn't remember the name - she's horrible at names.)

At least half an hour before practice starts, it's become a sort of ritual for the girls in the team to gather in the locker room, either talking about someone unlucky enough to get on one of the team's bad side or sharing snacks before the coach arrives. They talk about the coach too sometimes, because the social life of students just aren't enough to satisfy girls who breathe drama, maybe. Jieqiong hates the ritual, either because she doesn't find joy in gossiping or she finds the snacks bland to the tongue, Jieqiong does not know.

"Really? I thought she just got married like, last Friday," the one who contributes to the conversation is Jeon Somi, a freshman who resembles an overeager puppy.

"Trouble in paradise?"

"No way! Coach said they were totally in love."

Jieqiong wears a mask of an interested smile, although really, she doesn't care whether they think the coach's husband is already cheating on her barely a week into the marriage or if they think their coach lost a long-lost relative who was on a voyage to the Caribbean.

If it weren’t for the labels that already cling to her like water on soaked skin, she would've been out of their little 'cheerlading squad' by now.

"What do you think, Jieqiongie?" Chaeyeon nudges her side gently, her lower lip jutting in a curious pout.

Said Jieqiongie blinks, and fakes a cheery laugh. "I just hope she doesn't make us stay for more practice later, my back is already dying." The other girls laugh, though Jieqiong doesn't know what she said that was so amusing. Koreans.

Doyeon was right.

Jieqiong's lips are stuck in a perpetual wince as she places the palm of her hand on her lower back, gently massaging the dulling ache, occasionally hissing from the pain. She doesn't know who peed on the coach's breakfast, but she makes a mental note to maim said person if she ever finds out, because her body just hurts and she feels humiliated from all the insults their coach had thrown at her.

(Technically it was the whole team, but the coach always liked to pick more on the popular cheerleaders. Jieqiong is included in said group, unfortunately.)

Good for nothing chinese doll. Go back to your country if you're not serious about this! or can't you do something right for once? Stop messing it up for the rest of us, Zhou Jieqiong! both hurt her pride. Especially as Jieqiong didn't even mess up the steps, she inwardly fumes. Their newcomer, Kim Sohye, made more mistakes than her and the coach didn't even call her out.

"Hey, want some?"

She freezes in her steps out of surprise, and Jieqiong blinks warily at the outstretched hand offering a carton of chocolate milk. She recognizes the milk brand as the one available in their vending machine, but she doesn't recognize the voice of the person offering it to her.

Her head tilts upwards, brows knitting in confusion upon the unfamiliar face smiling down at her. For a moment she figures it might've been her fanclub at it again, but the guy just looks too normal to be a part of something like the Zhou Jieqiong Fanclub they have going on at school. (She still can't believe that's an actual club, like... what the .)

"Sorry, who are you again?" Jieqiong plasters her most polite smile, making sure her tone sounds just the right amount of pleasant.

The guy smiles sheepishly, eyes forming a crescent as he omits an awkward laugh. His hair's dyed to some shade between orange and brown, Jieqiong notes, and she's not sure if that's allowed - but a semblance of oddity is always welcomed in a school where normal and safe seems to be the norm.

"I'm Kim Dongyoung - you can just call me Doyoung, though! - and I just noticed you seem to be a little... distressed, so I think you need this more than I do." Dongyoung or Doyoung or whatever his name is shakes the carton in his hand, and Jieqiong stares at the label for a moment before shrugging, taking it away from his hands with a small smile.

"Thank you," Jieqiong says gratefully, and Doyoung's sheepish smile turns into something warmer, more genuine. "I have to go, but... I'll see you around, I guess? It was nice meeting you, Doyoung-ssi. Thanks again." The rest of her words she manages to say in one breath, causing the male to look slightly taken aback, but before he replies, Jieqiong is already walking past him and towards the school gate, lips starting to sip on the hastily opened milk carton.

(Jieqiong doesn't know why she's still smiling even after the carton is empty and she's thrown the waste in the bin, but her smile is genuine and to her, that's what matters.)

One of the most life-changing days in Jieqiong's life starts like this: waking up at least two hours early and unable to go back to sleep because of Daisy's barks, catching up on the latest episodes of the drama everyone talks about these days, and arriving at school much earlier than usual in the crack of dawn while everyone else is still sleeping soundly in their beds, blankets tossed up to give them a semblance of warmth.

Somehow, the empty hallways and the lack of chatter or just noise in general is calming to Jieqiong. She finds herself at peace for the first time in a while, and it feels pleasant.

Her morning walk brings her to the school's bulletin board, where there are countless stickie notes and flyers of the sort are stuck unceremoniously on the wooden material, barely giving space to the big 'BULLETIN BOARD' on the top of said board.

Jieqiong's eyes skim over the offers - poetry club, chess club, a chance to go to North Korea for an educational trip, a lecture on communism - until she finds words that catch her eye. Are you ready to be a part of something world-changing? are the big, header-y words on the flyer, written in 72pts Comic Sans with an eye-straining red colour.

(It's certainly... unique, for a lack of better word.)

If you're interested in making music or joining a band and have the SKILLZ to back it up, contact Kim Hanbin for a chance to join in the next big thing! Don't miss it, you snooze you lose!

There's the ID of a Kim Hanbin's kakaotalk, and Jieqiong chews on her lower lip in thought, the gears of her brain turning to come up with a decision. The offer is tempting, to say the least, but to suddenly join a (seemingly) garage band could cause a social uprising, or at the least, odd looks from her circle of friends.

(Technically, she doesn't like said group of friends anyways, but details.)

On the other hand, joining a band could mean she'd have more time to focus on her music, and isn't music the only thing she looks forward to nowadays?

Jieqiong remembers the days when cheerleading used to be the only thing she thought about (sometime back when she'd first joined, really), at least, until it suddenly became more of a nuisance than a passion, something that holds her back but she herself is too afraid to let go.

If she lets go, everything she's worked so hard for - reputation, a stable and popular circle of friends to ensure high school safety, every other perk that comes with it - would just all go to waste.

While Jieqiong knows her own happiness is important, she also knows she could manage to sacrifice some of it to salvage whatever it is she's made for herself. (Many people would kill to be in her position, and Jieqiong finds herself too selfish and scared to let go of what she has. She may not like it, but she's fine with pretending. That's what she's used to anyway.)

But then again, life is all about taking risks, a nagging voice taunts in the back of her head, and Jieqiong wriggles her toes inside her shoes, a thinking habit she's too familiar with. Are you that done to the point you're not even taking risks anymore? Come on, Zhou Jieqiong. Do you think that'd make your role model proud?

The lead singer of her current favourite idol group flashes in mind, and Jieqiong whips out her phone, punching in her passcode and, with a gaze of determination, adds Kim Hanbin's contact in a span of five seconds.

To: Kim Hanbin
Hi! I'd be interested in joining your band?

Before she has the chance to chicken out, Jieqiong presses the send button, eyes unblinking as the message's status goes from sending to delivered. She releases a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding, shoulders sagging with relief before it actually dawns on her on what she just did less than a minute ago. (Practically social suicide, really.)

"I'm ed."

Author's Note

Jieqiong's character is a rather complex one, but I really do enjoy writing her, and I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please do leave a comment, they're the ones that actually encourage me to write more, ahaha. Don't forget to upvote too, if you like the story so far! :) As for pairings, there's no actual fixed pairing yet, this fic will also serve as a way for me to experiment with a bunch of pairings sooo don't get your hopes up for a certain ship, even if I wrote it with a hint of romance, ahaha.