Shinae’s whole entire body is flushed a bright pink as the bell rings resulting in a stampede of excited students to go running out of the room. Their voices float back to the classroom regardless of how far away they get, revealing their utter loathing of Shinae for being partnered with the handsome dreamboat Byun Baekhyun while also eagerly giggling over the substitute’s great err. Everyone knows of Baekhyun and Shinae’s rivalry and it was only a matter of time before some unsuspecting teacher unaware of this unspoken rule that the two must be kept apart made the mistake of pairing them. 

Unfortunately for Kim Minseok he was the teacher who made this mistake.

The moment the classroom empties of all the gossip lovers and Baekhyun fangirls is when Shinae’s body shoots up and Baekhyun’s does the same. Shinae’s eyes land on his back, they narrow and before she knows what is happening her feet carry her forward. She races to the side of the room where the teacher’s worn out desk resides and arrives moments after Baekhyun, who, also had the same idea.

Her lips part to protest the teacher’s decision only to have her pathetic shout be overcome by Baekhyun’s more shrill one. 

“What do you think you are doing!?” His voice rattles Shinae as her eyes slide in his direction for a millisecond before returning to the teacher’s young but striking face. She finds her head nodding in support of Baekhyun’s question; Afterall, it was the one she was just moments away from voicing. 

But the fact that she is agreeing with anything that comes out of this buffoons mouth is shocking enough for her to nearly miss out on the substitutes response. His young face pulls back in shock and complete bewilderment at a student talking to him so bluntly, his intense gaze sharpens before he opens his mouth to respond. 

“Excuse me?” The simplistic question leaves Shinae’s mind in a tizzy and the anger already sizzling inside of her gut comes roaring up and pours out of in a furious growl. 

“What do you mean excuse me!? He and I are never supposed to be near each other let alone partners for some stupid project! Did Mr. Lee not tell you anything about our situation!?” She could practically hear Yixing hiss in disapproval at her crass use of words to a superior, but at this point, she didn’t care she was just furious and needed to let this substitute know that he was in the wrong.

The idea of working with Baekhyun on anything made her insides feel like aged milk, sour and curdled. She shakes her head focusing back in on the teacher’s slowly reddening face, the young vigor that once made his face shine with youth is gone and replaced with lines that deepen against his skin, his eyes narrow as he stands to address the two. 

“I am your teacher and I don’t care about your teacher’s previous decisions, I am now in charge and I have paired you two!” He directs a specifically nasty glare in Shinae’s direction before continuing.

“My decisions are final,” he finishes off by crossing his surprisingly well-muscled arms and landing a look on Baekhyun this time. But the stubbornness inside Shinae begs her to snap back and tell him off further. 

“But sir, they have a point, even the principal doesn’t allow for these two to be partners it’s literally a rule I think,” Chanyeol’s deep voice adds politely. Shinae’s skin prickles at the simple sentence and she bites her lip trying her best to hide the blush that rises to the surface, adding to the angry red that already flushes her skin. 

But the teacher’s glare lands on him instead, the veins in his neck practically separate from his body as his face goes a darker shade of crimson. 

“My decisions is final, the pairings are final, you cannot change partners,” he says the sentences in as many different ways as possible to get his point across. His voice shakes as he returns his gaze to the two main perpetrators,“You two are partners for this project. If you refuse to work together there will be consequences.” 

With that final sentence, Shinae has reached her limit, she turns swiftly, storming back to her seat and grabs her backpack roughly before turning to rush out of the room. Her whole body feels as though it's about to release a thousand gallons of steam with all the heat she is giving off. All the tension and anger in her chest builds up in an unreleased scream. 

Just as she’s about to exit the school a hand wraps around her wrist and pulls her back, she spins around to shout at whoever it is only to come to a realization that it is Yixing. The friend of hers who conveniently got paired up with his crush, while she got paired up with her worst enemy. She pulls away abruptly feeling a disgusting bitterness rise up, she knows it's ridiculous but she can’t help but feel anger upon seeing his face. 

“What Yixing!?” He stumbles back slightly as though being slapped by the intensity of the simple words.

“Shinae, you need to calm down,” His matter of fact voice changes to one of soft consoling. But the gentleness of his words only bring up more rage, she pulls out of his grasp abruptly returning the words with a seething glare. 

“You’re only calm because you got partnered with your damn lover and this whole Baekhyun and I being paired together fits into your plans for us to be besties by the end of the year,” her words are nothing short of a stinging blow. She ignores any of his attempts to grab her again as she storms out the front door of the school and begins running fast. 

———————————————————

Shinae tries her best to shove down the feelings of frustration and annoyance that filled her earlier as her trembling fingers fumble with the lavishly decorated apron’s straps. Moments later gentle fingers replace her own and tie it for her, and she sighs slightly as she can practically see the heart-shaped smile upon his face despite not being able to see him.

“Thank you Kyungsoo,” once she feels the apron tighten perfectly around his waist she turns to face her fellow co-worker and as she suspected his face is aglow with his signature smile. As he nods slightly acknowledging her gratitude before turning and leaving the small supply cupboard, while Kyungsoo is her senior here he’s never been too keen on talking. 

But that quiet demeanor always meshed well with Shinae’s rougher one. 

She shrugs her shoulders slightly before inhaling deeply and forcing the most uncomfortable smile upon her lips and leaving the small room after h