In the next school day that comes, Seulgi gets to take her entire class to their school’s modest library.

It’s for their term paper writing, and she has instructed them to write some sort of biography for the Greek god or goddess of their own choosing, with their resources limited to the books kept within the four walls.

(She's been trying to engage her students to read more, amidst this age of technology where every answer is just one click away.)

And Seulgi is admittedly a bit excited to read her students’ works; perks of having a class that runs on forty percent sass and sixty percent wild imagination.

So she lets them roam around freely inside the two-storey structure—independence is a concept her students have no difficulty grasping; their own bosses, they are—and settles on one of the tables conveniently situated to oversee them.

She’s on the final chapter of American Gods (that she's saved for a time like this), on the third to the last page that has her in her toes, when a shadow abruptly blocks her source of light.

Seulgi snaps her head up, confusion quickly settling in on her face at the sight of Yeri towering over her, looking like she needs Seulgi’s attention pronto.

“Yes, Yeri?” She checks, blindly tucking her bookmark in between the pages. “Is something the matter?”

“I can't find the book you told me about, Seonsaengnim,” Yeri says to explain her sudden appearance.

Seulgi’s forehead dips into a crease, jogging her memory for the title. “Did you look in aisle C-D?”

Yeri nods twice, and her face falls when she chances a glance at the huge clock hanging by the wall behind her teacher. “I'm not gonna be able to finish my paper in time, Seonsaengnim! Help me, please?”

“Okay, okay,” Seulgi pacifies, pats Yeri’s head as she slides out of her chair. “We’ll find it.”

She gives her students a quick look before leaving her table, feeling incredibly pleased when she's greeted by bowed heads and the sound of pens scratching against various forms of paper. (It only means that her class is taking their work seriously.)

Seulgi turns then, following Yeri down the row of tall shelves. They pass by a few tables on their way, and Seulgi finds herself smirking at the argument that she overhears Joy sniping a male classmate with: look, Ares is all rage and rippling pectorals. He's not smart. Athena’s obviously gonna win; Hyejin’s very passionate the stigma about Hades needs to die. He's the least shadiest of them all, and he's not a cheater; and then chuckles at Wheein about how No Face should’ve been a Greek god then she'd know what exactly to write about.

They reach aisle C-D in about a dozen strides. Seulgi glides in between the two sturdy shelves that house those thick, gold and brown hardbound encyclopedias, stopping at the spot Yeri points at, where she spent good long minutes searching.

The taller woman stoops down slightly and runs a hand on each spine, reading off the title where her fingers land.

She hums when she reaches the last book. “I could've sworn there were enough copies here. I checked all the books in the list before going home last night.”

Seulgi straightens back up, and then pulls one of the few with a titleless spine. It vaguely resembles the The Complete World of Greek Mythology that they're looking for with its black and gold cover, though, this book’s title in front definitely suggests that it's not it.

Seulgi carefully stacks it on the farthest end, pulling another one sandwiched in between two huge colorful encyclopedias before sliding the remaining books towards the vacated space with a light push.

“Someone else must’ve borrowed it and taken it out, Yeri-ah,” she says as she flips another book on its back and shakes her head.

“But Seonsaengnim…”

Seulgi looks over her shoulder, offering a smile to Yeri that’s full of reassurance. “Let’s do one last sweep, and if it’s really not here, I’ll check the teacher’s lounge for a copy, okay?”

At Yeri’s grateful nod, Seulgi starts pulling out the remaining books one by one, stacking them on the nearby shelf in hopes of finding the last copy of the one Yeri needs.

But the book just isn’t there, no matter how much Seulgi insists to herself that she checked last night (which she did). So, with a defeated sigh, she returns the last book she's taken and resolves to just let Yeri use the teachers only copy for the meantime.

She slides in four more, and she's about to return Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar back to its place, when her eyes catch a familiar pair of dark, wide ones.

They're looking up at the higher shelf that’s directly in front of Seulgi’s, gleaming with deep thought as Irene continues to scan through the titles on the high shelf.

It soon morphs into a stubborn kind of determination when she stretches a hand out and—

Jumps.

Irene jumps twice: first low that her feet barely lift off the ground; second, slightly higher, and Seulgi’s gaze catches the way Irene’s hair bounces at the effort.

It’s ridiculously entrancing that Seulgi almost forgets she's in the middle of their library and not in some Cover Girl CF shoot.

Both jumps leave Irene empty handed, though. But her face only twists into an even more adamant determination, pushing the sleeves of her modest off-shoulder top up, as if preparing for another.

Her fingers curl on the edge of the shelf for support, and then she leans on her toes for a quick push before propelling herself off of the tiled floor again.

Irene only manages to pull the book out of its spot: squeezed tightly in between the shelf’s end and a black book that says New Testament in its spine (which totally does not belong in there, but the student assistant is too busy sending off flirty glances towards some male student to notice.)

Irene’s upper lip quirks along with her nose, a habit that Seulgi’s long noticed she does whenever things don’t quite go her way; and she looks like she’s one jump away from throwing a tantrum that Seulgi can't help the amused chuckle escaping from throat.

(Nor melting right on the spot because that was adorable beyond words and Seulgi is one mere defenseless mortal.)

The sound wafts through the next aisle despite the hand Seulgi cups over . In turn, Irene lets out a startled squeak, and her hands fly onto her chest as she frantically looks for the source; only for warmth to taint her cheeks red when she finds Seulgi grinning apologetically at her from the other side.

(In this really, really charming way that Irene wants to capture despite not having an affinity for taking pictures of people—or anything that isn’t the sky or the clouds.)

“Seulgi-ah,” she rasps, and then clears when she notices that she's almost ceased breathing.

“Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you.” The younger woman tilts her head next, chuckling softly. Then, she says, teasing, “Need some help?”

It takes about five beats before Irene finally answers, with an embarrassed giggle that Seulgi doesn’t miss. She tucks the stray locks of her hair behind her ear, and says, “I'm… starting to think that I do.”

Seulgi rounds the aisle to get to where Irene is. She knows she’s only barely taller than Irene, and that she probably won’t reach the shelf either; but Irene’s looking at her with her wide, beady eyes and Seulgi is physically incapable of saying no.

Yeri’s book will have to wait.

.

She asks Yeri for a minute, but Yeri knows that it's never just a minute with Seulgi if Irene is involved, and she silently mourns for her paper that's probably never going to be finished.

But then, Irene grasps Seulgi’s elbow to steady her when she wobbles a bit upon reaching up, and she says please be careful so softly it'd tug on even Joy’s non-existent heartstrings.

And maybe, maybe this is worth losing a few points for.

.

“There you are,” Joy whisper hisses as she rounds the aisle and finds Yeri ducking behind the stacks of ancient-looking encyclopedias. “I've been looking all over for you. I need some help with my paper.”

“Shhh,” Yeri shushes. The younger girl yanks her by her wrist in response, pulling her to her current hiding spot.

“What is your—”

Yeri presses her fingers on Joy’s lips, cutting the taller girl off, and Joy is left with no choice but to follow Yeri’s gaze.

She finds her adviser at the end of it, hands playing with the hem of her cardigan as Irene murmurs a shy thanks.

It's matched with a smile that Irene fails to stifle, which makes Seulgi absentmindedly scratch at her own temple as she says anytime back, chasing the sheepishness away.

Joy’s non-existent heartstrings do tug, and there's this unnamed feeling that flutters in her stomach that she thinks are supposed to be butterflies. (That, or she’s just hungry; probably a combination of both.)

But she's Joy, so she says, “Are we watching a toothpaste commercial?”

Yeri steals another glance towards her teachers, biting back the urge to squeal when Seulgi takes the books Irene has gathered in her arms, including the one Seulgi had to lean up—not jump, thank God—for. “That’s so romantic.”

Joy, in turn, rolls her eyes. “She’s just helping Irene-seonsaengnim carry the books, Yerim.”

“You weren't here, okay?” Yeri gripes, throwing Joy a sharp look. “You didn't see the whole thing.”

“Gross,” the taller girl shudders visibly. She’s rooting for her two teachers to be together, yes, but that doesn’t really mean she wants to witness a lovefest. “Adult romance.”

.

In the end, they find the book in Tzuyu’s hands, when she brings it back to the shelf at the last minute. Yeri can’t help but think Tzuyu’s kept it on purpose, because Tzuyu loves watching Yeri fail at things. Plus, Literature is her favorite class so it’s like a double whammy.

But Seulgi lets her take the book home, at both her and Irene-seonsaengnim’s insistence. Yeri’s never one to take a gift horse in the mouth so she stuffs the book inside her bag, even making a show of ping it and tucking the book behind her laptop just as Tzuyu passes them by.

She does owe Tzuyu some kind of gratitude for everything that occurred today though, Yeri supposes as she watches Irene hook her bag on her shoulder, preparing to leave, with the books she has borrowed for the day still cradled in Seulgi’s arms.

Maybe she’ll put her plan of painting the front cover of Tzuyu’s Math notebook with correction fluid for another day.

(Besides, she needs to make sure that Seulgi-seonsaengnim will walk Irene-seonsaengnim home, because those books look heavy and Irene is small and precious.)

.

(But she doesn’t really have to. Seulgi does it all on her own.

And Yeri has to wipe the proud imaginary tears off of her face when Seulgi doesn’t even stutter as she tells Irene, these are really heavy, let me walk you home?)

...

Homeroom the next day is rather uneventful, with Seulgi just listing down the to-dos for the remaining days of the school week and some additional reminders from class 3D’s other teachers, such as another play rehearsal in two days.

Yeri leans back on her chair, hands playing with the pink cap of her correction fluid bottle (because today is technically another day, which means she’s already honored the moratorium she has personally set; which also means that today, she’s back to war.)

She’s feeling a little too eager to carry her prank out that she completely forgets to ask about how walking Irene-seonsaengnim home went and how it was. Yeri has been watching Tzuyu’s every move, specifically eyeing the spot where she keeps her notebooks, when Seulgi suddenly bids the class goodbye and it becomes too late for Yeri to do anything.

Though, judging by the bright smile on Irene-seonsaengnim’s face, and the cup of coffee she greets Seulgi with, Yeri knows it went better than she expected.

.

She never really gets the chance to prod Seulgi about it when Lit class comes, because Seulgi waltzes in inside the classroom with her laptop bag slung across her torso while pushing the school projector’s rolling stand to the front.

Seulgi spends quite a few minutes hooking her laptop in, with this concentrated look on her face that Yeri doesn’t have the heart to break.

(Joy would, but she’s a little too busy mouthing lines from the script of the school’s spring play that she’s holding in her hands.)

They dive right into the lesson once Seulgi finishes, the power point presentation she prepared flashing on the screen right away as she hits a key on her laptop. There’s an image of a painting of five or six women encircled around a green field, whom which Seulgi introduces as the Horae, or goddesses of the seasons.

“They are also the wardens of the gates of Mount Olympus,” adds Seulgi. “And the goddesses of order and justice, starting with…”

The teacher makes a noticeable pause, and Yeri swears she sees her fight a blush from coloring her cheeks with a clear of . She presses a key again to go to the next slide, though her lips clamp together tightly before she starts speaking again. “This is, uhm—we’ll start with the goddess of peace. Her name is Eirene.”

Joy’s head snaps up from her literature notes, with a smug grin that Yeri has no problem matching. “Is she your favorite, Seonsaengnim?”

“Aniyo,” Seulgi refutes. Though the way her eyes dart all over the room make it not convincing. “Athena and Hades are.”

“But she must hold a special place in your heart, Seonsaengnim? Being peace-loving and all?”

“Oh my God,” Seulgi mutters under her breath as she runs a palm that scrunches her face. She honestly has seen this coming, prepared for it even, and yet, here she is, fumbling in front of her students at the mere mention of Irene’s name.

“Yah, Park Sooyoung,” Tzuyu’s voice echoes from the left side of the room. “Let Seonsaengnim move on to the next slide already. I have a Math club meeting after this.”

Joy’s teasing smirk turns into a saccharine smile as she twists her head to look at her classmate. But it’s Seulgi who she speaks to when she says, “Seonsaengnim, please tell us more about the goddess of peace? I wanna hear everything.”

.

Yeri vows to thank all the gods as soon she gets out of class for Park Sooyoung’s existence.

.

And Seulgi’s tendency to be forgetful, because now she—and those who weren’t in a hurry to get out of the classroom and go home—is staring at what’s probably the best email she has ever read in her entire life.

To: kangsg@ kaizanhs.kr.edu

From: baejh@ kaizanhs.kr.edu

Subject: <3 <3 <3

My saviour! <3 Thank you so much! And thanks for last night, too!

- Hyun

The collective gasp that ripples inside the modest room is what gets Seulgi’s attention. But it’s not until Wheein yells Seonsaengim, and she sees a scandalized yet intrigued Hyejin sitting next to Wheein when she looks, a hand pressed over Hyejin’s chest as falls open, that Seulgi realizes that something isn’t quite right.

“Your laptop is still hooked onto the projector, Seulgi-seonsaengnim,” Yeri says meekly, the sudden heat on her face making it hard for her to talk.

Seulgi turns her gaze to the screen, eyes growing wide and horrified at the message that’s being shown. She clicks on the X button in panic, which proves to be the wrong move because now her entire inbox is visible, half of it filled with emails from one Bae Ju Hyun.

And perhaps, this is not what it looks like is the wrong thing to say because Hyejin gasps even more—though melodramatic and smirking as she arches a brow, that Seulgi grows more embarrassed—but her brain can’t really come up with any other reason because this isn’t really what it looks like.

“I just helped her fix her laptop, guys,” Seulgi explains, with hope that her desperation isn’t seeping out of her tone. “It caught a really bad virus, and we had no choice but to reformat everything.”

“I’m pretty sure I heard Byulyi-seonsaengnim use the same excuse once,” Wheein mumbles at the same time SinB wonders (out loud. Of course). “Is that what adults call Netflix and chill?”

Seulgi slams her laptop shut and slides out of her desk chair, despite the buckle in her knees as they shake. “Let’s just start cleaning the classroom, okay?”

She walks towards the projector’s stand to turn it off and get a move on from this, or else she’d end up banging her head on the very wooden and very sturdy desk.

If Irene doesn’t kill her first.

hi guys! i'm sorry it took this long. i got swamped with work and drowned in so much seulrene, my little gay heart didn't know how to function. (not that i'm complaining, at all.)

this also got really long that i had to cut it and post it in two parts.  thank you for reading, and for all the comments, the subscription and the upvotes!