Feeling giddy and hyper, Kang Seulgi hopped her way to the student council room, knowing that the only person left by now is her target to bother —Bae Joohyun. It had been a habit to bug her senior ever since the two had become friends because they basically live next to each other.

Seulgi had always been the more… cheery one. She had been all rainbows, and sunshine, and puppies. On the contrary, Joohyun was the serious one. She focused more on tasks and obligations than anything else. Whenever Seulgi would ask her over at home, Joohyun would decline. Seeing that she was older than Seulgi, the two gets different levels of difficulties when it comes to school assignments, hence, her actions.

Joohyun also wanted to pose as a good role model for Seulgi, but it seems like… Seulgi is Seulgi. She couldn’t do anything about her personality, even if she pushes Seulgi away – Just like what’s about to happen now.

Seulgi opened the door and entered the student council’s room with a smug grin.

“Hey, Joohyun u—”

“Not right now, Seulgi. I’m busy.” Joohyun cut her off, pushing her out the room as soon as Seulgi stepped into the area. It was as if Joohyun had been expecting her arrival and chose to stay by the door to welcome (and throw out) the intruder.

Seulgi scratched her head, allowing the older girl to push her out. “You always say you’re busy. When will you ever be free? And when will I ever be free to stay in this room?”

“Good questions.” Joohyun smiled (which was actually a rare sight to see, so Seulgi feared she has something up to her sleeves). “Firstly, I’ll never not be busy. Don’t you think there are a lot of stuff our school has to handle? Do you think we’re going to take things lightly like you do?

“And lastly, you’ll never be permitted to enter this room. You’re not a part of the council, so what gives you the right to think you’re welcome here?”

Joohyun felt like the weight of the world left her shoulder, knowing that her sudden unusual harsh words would make Seulgi leave.

But to her dismay, it only worsened Seulgi’s smile on her face.

There was this thing with Seulgi’s confidence that sickens Joohyun, and she knows that whatever she does, Joohyun will be Joohyun, who will always consider Seulgi’s needs and wants.

“What gives me the right to think I’m welcome here?”

Seulgi pushed Joohyun back inside the room and entered the room as well.

“I’m Kang Seulgi. And even if you say that, you’ll just allow me to stay in here anyway.”

Joohyun groaned, and decided to let Seulgi stay as she sat back down on her swivel chair to finish documents that was due for the day.

---

“You don’t understand, Seungwan!” Joohyun exclaimed, flailed her arms animatedly, and widened her eyes for emphasis. “She’s a nuisance! A hazard to my health!”

The younger girl was seated on one of the chairs in the student council room. She was still going over the documents that Joohyun had finished, proofreading the work as she listened to her babbling president.

“Well, I think Seulgi’s a nice girl.” She said, not looking up from the papers. “You know what you need, unnie? I think you have to cool down. She’s right that you have to loosen up. You’re getting too much into your work.”

Joohyun sighed. Was everyone from their batch this carefree? “Are you crazy? I don’t have the luxury of time to leave these tasks undone. If we fail to finish these, I’m the one to blame. I’m the student council president.”

Seungwan put down the documents in a rather violent way. But the calmness on her face never left. “Unnie, do you want to know why you’re always left here in the student council’s room?”

Joohyun deadass stared at the younger girl, as if urging her to continue.

“It’s because you claim all the tasks for yourself. The rest of the body has nothing left to do, because you claim to take all of it. We are left with nothing but to cheer you from afar. You have to leave some tasks for us, because we honestly feel worthless too, if you continue to leave us like that.”

Joohyun continued staring at Seungwan, left with nothing to say. She didn’t want to look like she was agreeing with what Seungwan was saying, so she kept up with the intimidating aura – the one that even Seungwan can’t match up to.

“I don’t know about you, unnie. I’m proposing some alternatives. I say you share some of your burdens with us, your colleagues. And get yourself a well-deserved free time. Go hang out with Seulgi. Eat lunch together. Tutor her or something. Hell, she’s failing Geometry so bad.

“And it’s only just Geometry!”

Joohyun got triggered by the sound of ‘failing’.

“God damn it,” Joohyun muttered. She sighed, finally making a decision. “I’ll just… Go get a drink.”

She was already by the door, when she turned to Seungwan’s direction again. When the younger girl felt that the senior’s presence was still in the air, she looked up from the papers she was scanning.

“What?”

“Um… And send a message to the rest of the student council.

“Take care of the seven other tasks that has to be accomplished within the week. I… have a project to finish.”

Seungwan smirked. “Project, you say? But you always finish your projects a week before the actual discussion of the instructions for the project. It’s impossible that you have a project left undone.”

“Whatever.”

And with that, Joohyun slammed the door and made her way to Seulgi’s classroom.

---

“Eh, why did you excuse me..? We’re in the middle of a discussion.”

Joohyun glared at Seulgi, and with that, the latter flinched.

“Is it true that you’re failing Geometry?”

Seulgi avoided her senior’s gaze, as she thought of alibis.

Sadly, all the reasons she came up with was only leading to worsening the situation.

“Um… I think I was unable to submit some written works… Ehehe… hehe?”

Joohyun smacked Seulgi’s arm, which made her earn a yelp from the younger girl. “You idiot! Your mother will be so disappointed if she gets to see your quarterly grades. You’re going to get grounded, Seulgi!”

Seulgi stopped worrying over an alibi for a second.

If she gets grounded, then she has to come home early.

She won’t get to wait for Joohyun until she finishes her tasks in the student council room (which makes her stay in school two hours longer after the class dismissal).

She won’t get to go home with Joohyun.

She won’t get to bug and tease Joohyun until they both reach home.

If she gets grounded…

“Unnie! Please help me catch up with my topics! Please help me with my lessons!” Seulgi pleaded, as she moved forward – a little too close for friends to stay in.

Joohyun stepped back, desperate for space as she felt like she was being deprived of her personal space. “I guess there’s really no other options. You’re going to be so dead if you fail. And I don’t want to hear your mother yelling at you to study, from my room at home.

“Your mother can really be a bother to my study time… but don’t tell her I said that.”

The two laughed at the fact.

It was times like this that Seulgi felt like she was the safest – no screaming from Joohyun, just pure happiness and freedom. She didn’t have to restrain herself from joking around, and she didn’t have to worry that she was bothering the older girl.

On the other hand, the shorter girl enjoyed rare moments like this where she wasn’t guilty of wasting time on saying stupid things. Where she actually had time to be normal, and not locked up in a room to type her fingers off and make her brain work until it’s all wounded up.

It was times like this where Seulgi would feel nostalgic, remembering the very first time she met Joohyun. Times like this always takes her back to the days where Joohyun wasn’t busy at all.

“I missed you.” Seulgi admitted.

Joohyun flicked Seulgi’s forehead. “Get back to class, I’ve had my word with you.

“Listen to the discussion and stop yourself from sleeping in the middle of a class, you dunce. Stop staying up late playing video games, that’s making you sleepy all day.” And to be honest, it makes your physical and facial assets deteriorate.

“Roger that!” Seulgi said, already on her way into the room.

But she was stopped when Joohyun pulled at the back part of her blouse’s collar.

“And after class, meet up with me in the student council’s room. I’ll have to teach you a lesson, young lady.”

“Feisty,” Seulgi smirked.

For the second time today, Joohyun flicked Seulgi’s forehead.

---

“Yo, yo, yo!” Seulgi said as she made her entrance into the student council’s room, only to be surprised by the very first thing she noticed.

“Whoa, since when did these maggots exist, and when did they think it was finally time they do something for the welfare of the school?” Seulgi exclaimed, alarming the whole council, as if they didn’t really notice (or they chose to ignore) Seulgi’s entrance line.

A tall person stood up from her desk and pointed a finger (no, not the middle finger, thank God) to the mono-lidded, unwelcomed person. “Who are you and what makes you think you can just enter this place? And much worse, who are you to say things like that to us?”

Seulgi laughed mockingly, making the tall person’s blood boil. “Well, you’d know who I am if only you stayed a lot more often in this place. This place is basically my hideout.

“And to answer your question,” She smirked as soon as her eyes found where her beloved senior was seated. “I’m Bae Joohyun’s lover.”

As soon as everyone heard that, their heads turned to the council president (well, except for Seungwan, because she knows all too well that Seulgi is naturally like that). Eyes were shining with curi