there might be typos since i'm too lazy and sleepy while writing this heehet
AND WANNA ONE ALBUM PRE ORDER MAKES ME CRAZY WHAT IS MONEY

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Of all days, why would I run into him like this? On days when I look my worst, when I look like the I am.

Jinri tried her best to act as if she didn’t see Seongwoo: she quickly averted her gaze and started to hum a random tune, every now and then checking her phone. What’s worse is that the girl in front of her left, so she is the one directly behind the said guy.

When she was sure that Seongwoo isn’t looking, she covered herself with the hood of her hoodie since she doesn’t want him to see her again in that state (wet and messy hair, pale face with not even a hint of color and big, dark bags under her eyes). If she’s asked to think of one word to describe herself on that specific day, it had to be this word: disaster.

She let out an exasperated sigh as she closed her eyes. Thanks a lot, universe. Her mood from then on was not really at its best. She knew that she was running out of time, and if she doesn’t make it, she’s screwed. More than she already is.

“Uhm, sir?” the voice of the guy at the counter distracted Jinri from going deeper into her thoughts. It was Seongwoo’s turn, but there seems to be a problem. The guy with black rimmed glasses knocked on the counter in order to grab Seongwoo’s attention. He was too busy checking the pages of his print-out while listening to music. “Sir, your credit card is not working.”

Seongwoo looked up and pulled out one earphone. “Mm?”

His voice sounds really g—focus, Jinri!

“Your credit card’s not working, maybe your account was blocked or something.”

“But I was able to use it just this morning, how can it not work?” Jinri didn’t see how he looked like, but with the tone of his voice, Seongwoo did seem like he’s also on the edge, just like any normal university student during their finals week.

The guy at the counter simply shrugged. “How are you going to pay for this, sir?”

Seongwoo let out a sigh and took out his wallet from his back pocket. He took a few bills which is certainly not enough for his print out. “My money isn’t enough. Can I take the papers first then come back with the rest of the payment?”

“Nope, you can’t take this without the full payment. Sorry, shop rules.”

“But I need to pass this by noon!”

“I really can’t. Sorry.”

“But I need to pass this paper by noon and I only have a few minutes!” Frustration is evident in the way Seongwoo tried to reason with the guy. “Can’t you make an exception? I can leave my ID or my ph—”

“I’m really sorry, I’m going to need to hold onto this first until you pay for it.” The man took the thick print out from Seongwoo’s hands and placed it on the counter. He then looked at Jinri and gestured for her to come closer.

Seongwoo let out a frustrated sigh as he took out his phone from his pocket. When he turned around, he accidentally bumped into Jinri and dropped his books on the floor as a result. Jinri bit her lower lip and mentally cursed herself for being in the way. Out of guilt (and since she didn’t want to seem like a cold, ruthless and heartless person to Seongwoo), she bent down to help him with his books. As she stood up, she pulled her hoodie down to cover her face more and handed Seongwoo his books with her other hand. Her hand was both shaky and sweaty out of nervousness. What a good day to be alive.

I hope he won’t recognize me, please help me I look like .

Jinri looked up to get a glimpse of his expression: he was staring at her with an expression she can’t quite distinguish. Whether it’s frustration, irritation or curiosity, she really can’t tell. She can feel blood rushing to her pale cheeks as she felt Seongwoo’s gaze on her.

She was so sure that she isn’t a big fan of clichéd romantic ideas such as the concept of time stopping when you’re in front of the person you like. Jinri is a er for rom-com movies but such clichéd ideas were just too unrealistic for her. They were all cheesy, too used up and cringe-worthy. Maybe it is because of her lack of experience in the field of dating and love, but she used to be skeptic about those kinds of ideas.

However, that specific day was different. Not because of how the universe tried to make her life seem like hell.

At that specific moment, with Seongwoo right in front of her, staring at her with his beautiful dark brown orbs, she just proved herself wrong. It did feel like time stopped, and all that she was able to hear was the sound of her heart beating violently as if it would jump out of her chest. Dugeun, dugeun.

She now knows why. Those kinds of moment doesn’t just happen everyday, it takes one special person to make any moment that special.

“Thanks,” Seongwoo’s voice pulled her out of her train of thoughts.

Jinri blinked quickly, trying to clear her previous thoughts in order to come up with a sensible answer. “Y-you’re welcome. Sorry, I was in the way.”

Seongwoo pursed his lips into a thin line and shook his head. “It’s not your fault, I should be apologizing instead. Sorry. Go ahead first.” He bowed politely at me before heading out of the shop.

Jinri is so sure that her mind stopped functioning for a few seconds, and that the only thing in it is Seongwoo. She can feel her cheeks blushing as she bit her lower lip, trying to fight the squeal that’s threatening to escape from her lips.

So this is what talking to Seongwoo feels like.

Her heart felt so light, as if she was jumping on the clouds. If she could, she would’ve jumped out of joy and sing happy songs to express how happy she was. Just that little interaction was enough to bring her to cloud nine.

“Miss, I know you’re overwhelmed by that guy, but please, give me your flash drive or just go because a lot of people are waiting behind you.” Her cloud nine moment lasted only for a few seconds, and her mind started to function again. Jinri looked at the guy by the counter, glaring at her as he tapped his fingers on the thick print out.

Out of embarrassment, Jinri cleared and fixed her hoodie. She handed him the flash drive and told him the name of the file. “It’s the file Y-J-R Pre-thesis final final final.”

“During finals week, you can’t fangirl like that, miss.” The guy by counter shook his head out of annoyance, which Jinri chose to ignore. Instead, she looked outside to check on Seongwoo who’s talking to someone on his phone, impatiently tapping his foot on the ground. From the looks of his figure, he seemed nervous. Professors in their school take deadlines seriously. A work submitted one minute late is still considered late and is unacceptable.

Jinri knew the consequences of late works, and she knows that there is a way for her to help Seongwoo.

“Uhm, excuse me. What was the problem with his work?”

“Whose work?” the guy answered without even looking.

“The one before me.”

The guy gave her back her flash drive and looked at her. “Oh, the guy you like?” Jinri blushed and scrunched her nose. He didn’t have to be that blunt. “He can’t pay for his work since his card won’t work, and as you can see, he doesn’t have enough money with him.” The guy then proceeded to compile Jinri’s print out before handing it to her.

Rummaging through her bag for her wallet, she asked, “How much is his work? I’ll pay for it as well.” She took out a few crisp bills from her wallet and placed it on the counter. Jinri looked at the guy as he took her money and placed it inside the cash register.

“What?” The guy looked at her, blinking.

“My change?”

“Uhm, you don’t have any change. You paid for his work, right?”

“His work costs that much?” Jinri’s eyes widened, only realizing how much money she spent for Seongwoo. She was supposed to buy herself some expensive treat after submitting her work, a form of reward for being able to finish the semester successfully. It has been her little form of reinforcement for herself every semester since she knows she went through a lot. Maybe this semester would be an exception.

“Yes. Bye. Next!”

Jinri wanted to punch herself for being so selfless, but there’s no going back now. She needs to stand by the decision she made.

The things you do for Ong Seongwoo.. do you really like him that much, Yoon Jinri? She thought as she walked out of the shop. As soon as she reached the door, she walked as quickly as possible in order to escape Seongwoo and his possible questioning for what she just did (and also because she was too ashamed of what happened). Jinri bit her lower lip as she looked at her wrist watch.

She’s only got ten minutes before the deadline.

She’s oh so doomed.

“Where the hell are you?”  Jaehwan was literally screaming through the phone as Jinri ran with all her might towards their department’s building. She been running as fast as she could for the past five minutes, and so far, everything’s on her side. Nothing has come to stop her from running smoothly across the university in order to reach their department on time.

“Something came up! Tell you later! Professor Nam?” Due to her shortness in breath, Jinri wasn’t able to come up with complete sentences. She knew that Jaehwan understood her anyway.

“He isn’t here yet, but it’s almost time. HURRY UP YOU !” Jaehwan really is an affectionate friend, and Jinri knows it so well.

“Guard the door for me!” As soon as she entered the building, she ran faster than she already is. Jinri skipped through the stairs, and even though she felt like she might throw up anytime soon, she didn’t stop. She cannot risk her current standing, and most of all, she doesn’t want to get delayed. Throughout her whole university life, only papers and deadlines like this can bring out the sleeping runner within her. On normal days, she’s too to walk. If she can only roll out of class, she could’ve done so.

“Faster! Jinri, fast— he’s here! Faster, you !”

“Stall him! Hold his pants, pull his hair, trip him! I don’t care! Do whatever you want if you want the both of us to graduate together!!!”

“The things I do for you, Yoon Jinri. YOU OWE ME THIS ONE!” Jinri heard Jaehwan sigh from the other line, and a few seconds later, all that Jinri can hear from the other line is Jaehwan’s fake cry. “Sonsaengnim…..”

“Get off of me, Mr. Kim!” Professor Nam’s flustered voice can be heard from the other line. Upon hearing this, Jinri ran as fast as she could, already making her way towards the floor where the professor’s office is. “What is your problem, Mr. Kim?!”

“Seonsaengnim… I got my heart broken! Some girl fooled me and took my money!!!”

What the hell is that story?! Jinri thought to herself. Upon reaching the fourth floor, she hung up her phone. She can already see Jaehwan from afar, acting with all his might as he hugged Professor Nam’s legs. Upon seeing Jinri, he bit his lips and motioned his head towards the faculty room, mouthing the words ‘’ll get him out of here!’

“Do not touch me, Mr. Kim! Where on earth are you taking me?” Looking flustered, Professor Nam tried his best to get Jaehwan off of him, however, the boy wouldn’t budge. Instead, Jaehwan stood up and tried to drag the said professor away from the office, mumbling a few words within the topic of ‘some girl fooling him and taking his money’.

Being one of the best students in that specific class was actually a helpful factor. After a few moments of doubts, Professor Nam finally gave in and listened to what the heart-broken and ripped off boy has to say.

Trying to keep her unstable breathing as silent as she could, Jinri quietly went inside the office, greeting the other professors inside the room as well. In order to not make it look suspicious, she slipped in her thesis within the middle of the pile of works before making her way out.

“It all happened last night, professor.” She can hear Jaehwan sobbing from outside the office. “She broke up with me after ripping off my savings. I wasn’t able to concentrate because of what happened. I’m hoping that you might consider the quality of my work because it isn’t at its best and I know it. I’m really sorry, seonsaengnim. Can you please give me a little consideration? You know what it feels like to be in love. You know how it can make you go crazy. Seonsaengnim…”

Jinri leaned on the wall right outside the office, listening to Jaehwan’s drama amusedly. She didn’t know that her friend can act this good. Heck, he was even able to cry on the spot. It was as if it did happen to him. If Jaehwan told her this story with that kind of emotion and expression, she would’ve believed him because of two reasons: Jaehwan does not cry a lot, and because he really acted that well. He should at least try acting as a career if music and soccer wouldn’t be a success.

Professor Nam looked like he was deep in thought.

He’s actually considering it? Jinri thought as she looked at the two. She decided to fix her clothes and make herself look decent while waiting for the conversation to be over so it wouldn’t look suspicious.

The professor gave Jaehwan a hit on the forehead. “Idiot.”

“Seonsaengnim!” Jaehwan looked like a kicked puppy as he rubbed his forehead. It did leave a slightly red mark on his skin.

“Why would you let a girl take all of you money? You’re smart in school yet you’re an idiot when it comes to dating.” He let out a sigh and nodded slowly. “Alright, alright. I’ll think about it since you have been an excellent student this semester.”

Jaehwan bowed continuously as their professor headed towards their office.

“Yoon Jinri, take your heartbroken friend here for a drink.” Professor Nam gave Jinri a slight pat on the shoulder as he passed by her. She bowed politely in response, trying to fight the urge to smile. “Enjoy your vacation.”

Jinri nodded, and when she looked at her friend who is busy wiping his tears with the sleeve of his sweater, she immediately let out a chuckle. “And the best actor award goes to..” she tapped on the wall, imitating the sound of a drumroll. She quickly walked towards the guy, who looked both sad and amused at the same time. Holding her phone in front of him like a microphone, she smiled at him. “Kim Jaehwan! Congratulations! Now speech.”

Jaehwan looked at her, a little dumbfounded, but was able to let out a soft chuckle. “You .”

“I know.” Smiling, she nodded slowly. “But seriously, thanks.”

“If you’re expecting a dramatic hug from me, then you’re not getting any of this.” Jaehwan smirked as he gestured at his body.

Deciding to just go with the flow, Jinri smirked back and opened her arms wide. “Come here, sweetie.” She puckered her lips, earning a very offensive ‘ew’ from Jaehwan as he used his arms as a shield to cover his chest.

Despite Jaehwan’s endless protests and offensive ‘ew, get off me you ’, Jinri gave him a tight hug. She knows that without this crazy friend of hers, she wouldn’t be able to survive the life in the university. Jaehwan should also be grateful, since Jinri rarely give him hugs. She saves her hugs for very special occasions just like this one. She wouldn’t want to admit it, but she does thank the heavens for giving her a weird and crazy friend like Jaehwan. University life wouldn’t be the same without him and Minhyun by her side.

“Uhm. Do you know how sweaty you are right now?”