It was only the day after that Seulgi realized that her handkerchief is missing.

And she went hectic about it, searching everywhere she doesn’t even give a damn about what the teacher was talking about in front of the class.

She put up her bag to her lap and searches for it clumsily, at the same time praying that it only slipped in between her books or something. She diverts her attention when she heard a ‘psst’ coming from her right.

Wendy looked at her in panic, glancing at the only adult in front of the class before looking back to her. “What the heck are you doing? Put that down before she notices you” Wendy whispered hard enough for Seulgi to hear.

Nonetheless, she continues her search. She didn’t mind getting her handkerchief missing but this particular one is an exception, as it was a gift from Joohyun. But it didn’t take long for her to stop as she jumped in her seat when a booming voice rang inside the classroom.

“Kang Seulgi.”

Her head snaps immediately to the teacher that is known to be the strictest in the school. And can be scary sometimes.

She gulps when she saw all of the heads turned to her. It doesn’t help that she’s shy too so she instantly felt small under their gazes, although she knows that her classmates won’t judge her or anything like that. She probably look like a deer caught in headlights right now, but what made her really nervous is the fact that the teacher is glaring at her, hard.

“What on earth are you doing just now?”

The entire classroom fell silent, making her more nervous than ever. “I-I was just searching for my.. pencil box..! to take some notes..?” She finishes it, her sentences came out unsurely.

The teacher lifts her brow, her posture still wasn’t changing. “Well Sherlock, your pencil box is on your table”

Seulgi mentally face palmed herself at this while her face starts growing warm from embarrassment. There were a few snickers coming out from the others but it stop when the teacher now directed her words to them.

"You think this is funny?”

The laughter died down immediately, and Seulgi straightened her body up again when the teacher looked back at her. “Pay attention to class Kang, I won’t let you go easily the next time you do it again.”

And Seulgi made sure that she wasn’t doing anything beside sitting obediently at her seat with her notes open, except she didn’t really paid attention to what the teacher was saying, instead she only think of where must she dropped or left the handkerchief.

-----

As soon as the bell rang, indicating the break time, Seulgi continued her previous action that was stopped in a hurry. Maybe she forgot it at home? But she didn’t remember letting it out yesterday.

“What are you searching for?” Wendy’s voice entered her ears as she can see her best friend walking to her seat from her peripheral vision.

“My handkerchief,” Seulgi whines. “The handkerchief that Joohyun unnie gave to me.. I can’t find it”

Wendy’s mouth opens, now understanding the situation. “Maybe it slipped inside your bag, or inside your pockets?”

Before she could reply, her eyes widens in panic when she saw Joohyun’s head peeking inside the classroom. Some of her classmates bowed to her and greet her while she politely reciprocates the gestures.

It was quite unusual for upperclassmen to visit an underclassmen class, so it wasn’t surprising that she got a lot of attention from it. Moreover, it’s Bae Joohyun that they’re talking about.

Seulgi herself never expected the senior to be visiting her classroom, and TODAY for crying out loud. She seldom let out a curse word, but she can’t help muttering it under her breath when Joohyun’s eyes locked with her as she smiles and walks inside the classroom towards her.

The timing is just ridiculous.

Meanwhile, Wendy follows Seulgi’s eyes as she turns around and was met with the senior walking just a few feet away from them.

She smiles in greeting. “Hi guys”

“Hi unnie”

“Do you mind if I hang out here? Yongsun is discussing her group project with the others and I don’t want to disturb them.”

“Of course, you don’t even need to ask.. you’re always welcome here” Wendy glances somewhere else.

“Is that your lunch?”

Joohyun looks down to what she’s holding. “Yeah, I just feel like making something for myself today”

Throughout the conversation, she notices that Seulgi wasn’t talking. Instead, she only stares at the open book on the table at the same time biting her bottom lip, fingers fiddling under the table.

“Are you okay Seulgi?”

Seulgi snaps her head. “Y-yeah.. why wouldn’t I be?”

She cursed at herself for stuttering, looking back to anywhere else except the senior. She can’t see what Joohyun’s expression is but she bet the brunette had a questioning look on her face.

“You’re quieter than usual..” Joohyun put down her lunch bag on top of her table as she stands in front of it. “Something must have been bothering you”

“U-uh.. actually, yeah” Seulgi stuttered, fidgeting more in her seat. “but you don’t need to worry about it”

Wendy sighs before dropping the bomb. “She lost her handkerchief”

Seulgi’s face morphed into horror before she whispered loudly to Wendy, clearly not expecting her to tell Joohyun about it.

“Wendy!”

“What? It’s better to tell Joohyun unnie, maybe she saw it somewhere and can help us with it”

Seulgi could only look down at her lap. Though what Wendy said makes sense, she can’t help but feel extremely guilty by it. “I’m really sorry unnie, I tried my best searching it.. I racked my brain this morning to think about the places where it might be at but I still didn’t manage to find it”

She looked up to Joohyun only to receive a reassuring smile. “It’s okay, calm down.. I’m sure you’ll find it later” She glances at Seulgi’s bag on the floor. “Maybe it slipped inside your bag?”

Joohyun picks it up and put it on top of the chair in front of Seulgi’s seat, she looks at her. “May I..?”

Seulgi merely nod her head. She’s sure that it wasn’t there as she already checked it a few times, but maybe she’s wrong. While Joohyun searches for it inside her bag, Seulgi inserts her hands inside her school blazer's pockets. Maybe it was in there but her search came to no avail.

“Wendy, Seulgi”

The both of them turned to look at their class leader who just called them as he walks toward them after bowing his head politely to Joohyun, acknowledging the only senior student in the classroom. Just now, their history teacher told the class to give their assignments to the class leader and he will collect it and give it to the teacher immediately. Apparently, the two best friends haven’t given their works to the class leader and they are asked to collect it to him.

“You guys are done with it right..?” Kai, their class leader, receives their notebooks hesitantly.

Seulgi nods her head. “Yeah yeah, just take it”

Kai left after giving a smile to them, checking the list of their classmates as he walks away.

After the boy left, Seulgi turned back her attention to the front only to see Joohyun holding the handkerchief in her hand with a smile.

Seulgi stuttered in surprise as she receives the handkerchief from Joohyun, rubbing her fingertips onto the fabric unconsciously while Wendy stood there gazing at the handkerchief with her eyebrows shoot up herself.

“U-unnie.. where did you find it?”

Joohyun sat on the seat after returning the raven haired girl’s bag back to the floor. She opens the wrapping of her lunch before taking out her titanium chopsticks and put her lunch on Seulgi’s table.

“It’s inside your bag”

“Oh, really?” Seulgi thought that the handkerchief wasn’t in her bag as she can’t find any sign of it back when she searched for it but guess she’s wrong. She doesn’t care about it anymore though, as long as it’s already found then nothing matters.

“You’re really clumsy sometimes” Wendy shook her head, chuckling a little bit as she founds it quite funny how Seulgi’s mood can lifted up that quickly.

“It’s a good thing that Miss Jessi let you go back there.. who knows what she could do to you” Wendy shivers at the same time rubbing her forearms with her palms, making Seulgi let out a short laugh at the exaggeration.

They ate their lunches for the rest of the break time, having pleasant conversations as they talk about anything and everything. It felt like how they usually spent their break in cafeteria, the only difference is that they spent it in the two sophomores’ classroom, and with the minus of Yongsun.

Seulgi can’t help but feel that Joohyun’s gaze fell upon her quite often than it should, even when Wendy is talking. But every time she looks at her, the latter would always divert her eyes back to the Canadian again.

Maybe there’s something on her face? Lips?.. Food maybe?

Feeling self-conscious, Seulgi found herself her lips to make sure that there isn’t anything on her lips. At the end she founds nothing so she just continues to munch on her food again as she listens to whatever Wendy is talking about.

“.. So anyway, how are you and Jaerim sunbaenim?”

“H-huh? Oh..-” Joohyun whipped her head to the youngest between them in lightning speed but before she say anything, Wendy cuts her off as she notices something different.

“-Wait, are you blushing?” Wendy failed to stifle her laugh at the sight of red color flooded her cheeks. It was very rare for the older girl to blush as most of the time Joohyun had her composure but right now her face is anything but that. Anyone would think it was rather a cute sight to see, including Seulgi of course.

Seulgi looks at Joohyun too, curious with what she’s going to say, though her heart aches a bit with the fact that Joohyun blushed because of that question.

“Am not” Joohyun said with her eyes wide, waving it off as if the idea is ridiculous. She lightly punched Wendy’s shoulder before glaring at her playfully.

“Okay, okay you’re not” Wendy relented though she knew better that Joohyun did blush.

“.. Uhh okay, Jaerim, we’re fine, I guess?”

“Oh come on, tell us the detail”

Joohyun pressed her lips together. “Actually, I haven’t talk to him for days.”

This came out as a surprise for them, though for Seulgi it starts to makes sense on why she never see Jaerim coming to their table anymore and how weird he was being at the exam day back then.

“Why?” Seulgi put in a small piece of chicken bites, munching on it and wait calmly for her answer, though she felt bad for feeling a little bit too happy than she should have been after hearing that piece of information.

Seulgi sighs in frustration when the bell rang at the moment Joohyun opened . Her lips curved into a frown when she looks at the senior who hurriedly grab her lunchbox and left in a rush.

“See you guys later”

See you, Seulgi mutters quietly.

Yup.

The timing is just ridiculous.

-----

Joohyun has been quite weird lately. No, it’s nothing big like she will ignore Seulgi all day and sent her a death glare or anything like that. Joohyun is still being her usual self, sweet and kind senior yet playful and can be very affectionate sometimes. But still, Seulgi still finds it weird when the older girl was being a little bit more.. jumpy than usual.

As they walk side by side, she actually left some space between them when they walk alongside each other. In the last few years if the weather was this cold Joohyun would hug her the second she got the chance but no, not this time.

Seulgi didn’t say anything about it though, maybe she’s just not feeling it. So instead, she’s the one who initiate it. Her lips formed a smile when Joohyun smiled warmly at her for the action.

She felt like hugging the older girl after she turned down her offer once again.

“Again? We haven’t watch any match together for so long Seul..”

Seulgi just smiled apologetically.

“I know unnie.. I’m sorry, but I really can’t this afternoon. There’s someone important that I have to meet” Seulgi gave her the half-truth, but confused when Joohyun looks a bit pissed off.

“Who? Don’t tell me that it was that boy from your dance class.” Joohyun casts a side-eye at her. Seulgi would actually laugh at the absurdness if it wasn’t for the sudden hardening grip on her hand.

If she didn’t know any better, Joohyun would look like she’s being jealous.

“Well, I do made a plan to meet him later..” she teases but stop herself when the older girl glares at her and turns away, leaving her without words. Seulgi actually chuckled at this but was quick to catch up to her and grab her hand.

“Wait unnie”

 Joohyun turns to her sharply, still with her eyes glaring.

“What”

“I do have to meet him but it wasn’t related to anything involving meeting this important person.” Seulgi said, rubbing her thumb at the back of the senior’s hand easing her. The older girl’s eyes softens and she gains her composure again, seemingly a bit embarrassed at her own actions. She didn’t know that she would get that worked up.

Seulgi smiles a little when she knows that the older girl has calm down but she’s still guilty for not able to watch the match with Joohyun so she adds something that she hopes will make up for it “But,we..” Seulgi hesitates. “But we can hang out on winter holiday? At my house or something? I mean, if you want to.”

She sighed in relieve when the older girl finally let the corners of her lips tugged upwards, breaking out into a grin.

“I would love to.”

-----

At first, Seulgi didn’t see Joohyun at the match, but she caught a glimpse of her at the mid-row after she performed her routine. Unfortunately ( or fortunately? ), Seulgi can’t go to the bleacher this time because the mascots from both of the schools can’t go anywhere except to the center of the basketball court, and besides the cheerleader squads.

So, Seulgi settled herself at the back of where the cheerleaders are seated. Quite in a secluded area but more than enough to see how the match goes, or just to see Joohyun. She smiled in content when Wendy came to sit beside Joohyun with snacks on her hands, giving it to the seniors, including Lay and Suho, before eating it herself.

They never interact for the rest of the game.

But she can still feel being stared at.

-----

Friday is spent at Seulgi’s house.

The weather is cold outside so they decided to just hang out in the living room, accompanied