chapter 9
the psychology of good studentsJooyoung buys coffee for the both of them without Kyungsoo asking. She figures it’s the least she can do for him, since he spent so much time just trying to get her to feel better. And besides, he would probably have asked for it if she hadn’t gone to buy it automatically.
Kyungsoo smiles when she gets back. “Even though the grading system , and zero is just a number... We’ll work harder the next time. No point brooding. Okay?” He comforts.
Jooyoung nods.
She sips on her coffee and somehow reflects on her entire life in that window of silence that occurs after that. She’s feeling especially pensive today, and perhaps Kyungsoo can sense it, because he doesn’t disturb her as she thinks.
“I feel I should be doing more for the student government,” she mumbles over a sip of coffee all of a sudden, and Kyungsoo tilts his head in curiosity.
“You’ve been doing loads,” he assures. “And, honestly, a great job as Vice President. I’m sorry I said you couldn’t handle the role that day out of spite.”
“Tch. You’re not forgiven.”
“And you’re just joking,” he says as if he knows exactly what’s going on in her head.
“Fine,” she concedes, not wanting to turn it into useless banter. “But yeah, I feel as Vice President I should be taking more responsibility especially since our leader is... well...”
Kyungsoo takes a large sip of his coffee, listening, and she knows he doesn’t exactly like her to keep talking about people behind their backs (he’s such a People Person, she thinks) so she drops the topic.
“Krystal’s pretty,” she says instead, not out of jealousy or spite or anything — it’s just the first thing that pops into her mind. He raises his eyebrows like he is shocked to hear Jooyoung complimenting Krystal for once, so she decides to joke around.
“And I wish I was half as pretty as Kryst-“
“Han Jooyoung, you’re way prettier, what are you talking about?” Kyungsoo interjects all of a sudden, putting his coffee cup down. His eyebrows are no longer raised and he looks way, way too serious. It almost scares Jooyoung.
She blinks at him. Then he seems to realise what he had just done and goes back to nonchalantly drinking his coffee, clearing his throat.
“Awww!” Jooyoung teases, her lips stretching into a big grin. She reaches over to smack Kyungsoo playfully on the arm. Her cheeks are flushed, and her breath had hitched for just a second upon his words. It’s the first time anyone has told her anything of the sort, honestly.
So she pushes her coffee to the side of the table and leans over eagerly. “Say that again please. Do Kyungsoooo.”
He mumbles something and sips his coffee, avoiding her gaze.
“Kyungsoooooo,” she calls again.
“Shhhh,” Kyungsoo shushes, putting a finger to his lip. Jooyoung merely laughs and sits back down, striking a model-esque pose with her elbows on the table.
“If you think I’m prettier than Krystal with my hair constantly uncombed and my clothes looking like pyjamas wait ‘til you see me properly dressed up. You’ll faint, Do Kyungsoo!”
He scoffs. “Will that day even come?”
“Aww, are you waiting? Look forward to it, it will.”
But then Jooyoung knows this situation is too good to be true. It’s proven to be so when Kyungsoo suddenly gets this wistful look in his eyes.
“Since we’re on the topic of Krystal, I talked to her a few times after our exchange programme meetings, you know, and I really don’t think she’s all that bad, she’s maybe just...”
Kyungsoo continues talking but Jooyoung has shut down her hearing. She gives him a flat look and sips her coffee loudly, making her slight displeasure clear. Her ears don’t take in anything that he says.
Stupid Kyungsoo and his “Krystal is great!” obsession. Right after he told Jooyoung that she’s prettier, at that. This spoils everything. (But she isn’t that mad.)
“... so yeah, she has her own problems as well, that’s why she sometimes- Han Jooyoung, are you listening to me?” He asks, waving a hand in front of her.
Jooyoung doesn’t stop sipping at her coffee. “No.”
“Hey!”
“No.”
Later, in the night, Jooyoung procrastinates doing a reading for a class (again) and goes down to the vending machines to get a drink. The food hall is closed since it is late (one or two a.m., she doesn’t know) so her best alternative is a canned drink from the machines.
She hums, drink in hand, and takes the longer route back to her room, passing the basketball court.
Krystal is there.
Jooyoung is surprised, to say the least. At this time in the night Jooyoung expects Krystal to be clubbing or at some social event, or else getting her beauty sleep so her face wouldn’t be puffy the next day.
But she’s at the court, without a coat (again) and practising like her life depends on it. Krystal doesn’t notice Jooyoung sitting herself on a bench near the court to watch.
She doesn’t know much about netball, but it’s still obvious Krystal’s improved since the last time she saw her practise. She manages to catch the rebounds almost every single time, even when the ball bounces off the hoop and flies out of the goal circle.
But just when Jooyoung is about to leave after watching for a while, Krystal trips over her own feet and tumbles onto the ground, right on her arm. The ball flies out of her hand and bounces away somewhere. She grimaces in pain, and Jooyoung gasps.
Then she runs over to help without realising what she’s doing.
“Be more careful!” She chides, rushing over to Krystal’s side. Then she notices Krystal’s surprised face and big blinking eyes, which look almost comical to her. Her hair, tied back in a ponytail, still cascades down her shoulder beautifully, which is pretty unfair.
“Hello to you as well,” Jooyoung says sarcastically after a moment of silence.
Krystal begins to laugh her twinkly laugh. “Hey, Vicey!”
She holds back her tongue and decides not to say anything about ‘Vicey’. Instead, she squats down and examines Krystal’s arm, which looks slightly strange and out of place, especially from the elbow down.
“Is that a fracture?” Jooyoung asks, trying not to make her horror evident. She glances around. “Do you have a towel?” Krystal tentatively nods her head in a certain direction, and Jooyoung goes to fetch the towel she sees lying on the floor. Then she dashes back to the bench she was sitting at, and wraps her cold canned drink with the towel. Luckily she hasn’t opened it, she thinks.
Krystal is still beaming at her when she returns, and Jooyoung begins to feel awkward about this whole situation. Gingerly, she places the makeshift ice pack on her elbow, adjusting the position awkwardly a few times until Krystal speaks up.
“It’s not a fracture,” she smiles. “Probably just a sprain.”
“Oh no,” Jooyoung says as she removes the ice pack from her elbow. “Should I not be putting an ice pack on your arm then?”
“No, ice packs are perfect!” Krystal chirps. Jooyoung grunts.
It’s obvious Krystal’s in pain from the way her face contorts slightly after every few seconds of smiling, so Jooyoung doesn’t leave her there alone even after she’s put the ice pack on her arm. She isn’t educated much on first aid but she figures company will help alleviate pain.
But she still is Jooyoung. And what’s happening doesn’t change the fact that she dislikes Krystal.
So she grumbles, “By the way, don’t get me wrong. I’m helping you because... because...” Her eyes dart around before focusing back on her face. “Because I major in psychology. And acts of kindness release oxytocin in both my brain, which is supposed to make me happy, and also in yours, for you to like me more.”
Krystal laughs. “And I major in nursing, so technically I don’t need your help with first aid.”
“You think you can do first aid on yourself with your arm like that?”
She laughs again.
Then there is a brief silence where both of them stare at the fractured arm.
Krystal breaks the silence after a while, in her bright and cheery voice. “By the way, I like you enough already, Vicey.”
Jooyoung merely grunts.
There's a student government meeting the next morning, which means Jooyoung hasn't combed her hair or properly washed up. Morning events and meetings are ungodly.
She checks her watch, tapping her fingers on the desk. Minseok eyes her from above his laptop, which he has almost buried his face in.
Her watch reads 9:03am, 3 minutes after the stipulated time for the start of the meeting.
Krystal has not arrived.
It is maddening, to say the least. She had done this a few times previously with some excuse Jooyoung found hard to buy. But she tells herself to calm down and be more understanding, since Krystal had injured her arm last night and is probably resting.
But it wouldn't have hurt to just send a simple message telling them she isn't going to be present, right?
She makes eye contact with Minseok at this moment and he mouths, "Is she coming?"
Jooyoung shrugs.
And after a few sigh-filled minutes, she can't take it anymore.
"We're going to start the meeting," she addresses the student government scathingly. "Without your President."
It startles her for a moment how she says 'President' like how Kyungsoo had done with her title when he was mad at her (for good reason). The room turns silent, and even Minseok looks shocked at her icy tone.
Ignoring all these, she runs a hand through her hair, frustrated, then plugs in her laptop to the visualiser to start the meeting.
As soon as the meeting is over, Jooyoung bursts out of the room. She can’t stand seeing the empty seat at the head of the table anymore. All through the meeting she’s been looking at it (although she kept convincing herself not to) — and the more she stared, the angrier she got. So she goes to a cafe to get an iced drink to cool herself down.
But she stops when she reaches the place. Her eyes transfix onto a certain table and before she knows it she finds herself getting riled up all over again.
Because sitting there, giggling with a group of friends, is Krystal Jung. She’s wearing a cast, given, but other than that she looks perfectly healthy and way too free. She’s even wearing her thicker makeup than usual, for goodness’ sake, and is chattering away to all her friends.
What the heck? So she can turn up at a breakfast chit-chat with her friends but can’t turn up for a student government meeting? Jooyoung narrows her eyes. She would say this out loud sarcastically if not for the fear that she’d look crazy talking to herself.
Jooyoung furrows her eyebrows and wills herself to turn away in order not to get herself agitated so early in the morning. But it doesn’t help. Krystal’s laughter can be heard from the other side of the cafe, for goodness’ sake. And she can’t stop picturing her cutesy white dress and her shiny long hair and her pink glossy lips and the darned empty chair. She buys a cup of iced long black (with extra ice, she requests) and stomps out of the cafe, purposefully passing by Krystal’s table as she leaves.
Later in the afternoon, Jooyoung goes to the convenience store for her shift still scowling. The first thing she does when she sees Jina is to curse at her.
Which Jina reacts by bursting into laughter. “What’s up, angry-pants?”
“Don’t talk to me. I’m so annoyed by stupid Plastic Jung.” Jooyoung can’t help but mumble a few extra curse words under her breath.
Jina laughs again, and Jooyoung glares at her to stop. So she suppresses her amusement and shifts towards her, wrapping her in a big bear hug instead. Jooyoung grunts.
“I can’t even be properly excited about my flying off to London tomorrow because of her. And let me just tell you, if she turns up at the meeting later, I’m going to flip.”
“Don’t waste your energy being angry over someone like her,” Jina comforts, ruffling Jooyoung’s hair, then resting her chin on it. Jooyoung feels a nice warm fill her outside and insides. Sometimes she wonders if Jina is really older than her, but pretending to be younger just because it fits her aesthetic of a small, cute girl. Jina would make a good older sister.
“Aw, Choi Jina.” Jooyoung holds Jina’s arm, which is wrapped around her, then snuggles into it. Honestly speaking there’s not much to snuggle into — Jina is too petite for Jooyoung — but it’s still comfortable. So they stay like this for a moment until the door opens and in walks in an amused looking Do Kyungsoo.
“Am I interrupting something?” He asks, and Jooyoung makes it a point to bury her face in Jina’s arm.
“Yes,” she says matter-of-factly, But Jina forcefully pulls her arm out of her grasp and nudges her toward Kyungsoo instead.
“No!” Jina exclaims. “You can take Jooyoung. She’s a burden.”
Kyungsoo laughs. “That I agree.”
Then he sits himself down at a table and begins to pull out his textbook, laptop and pencil case. And when he makes eye contact with Jooyoung, he smiles and points at the isotonic drink on special offer at the counter.
She knows what he wants with that single gesture, and so she pays for it without even questioning him anymore. Then she goes over to his table and slams the drink on the table, causing him to jump up slightly.
“Sure it takes so much sweat and work to study,” she sarcastically says, unscrewing the cap for the bottle of isotonic drink and thumping it in front of Kyungsoo. “Drink up.”
"You sure are pissy," he comments, amused.
"Only at you," she says, but she isn't, really. Maybe just a bit, but not enough to warrant true frustration. The prior sarcasm was just an over-exaggeration of her feelings.
He sighs. “Jooyoung, why do you think I’m studying here?”
“Free study snacks and drinks, what else?”
His expression changes. “Hey, I’m studying here for you. Have you ever seen me actually study like this before, when our exams aren’t even coming up in the next week?” He asks with mock hurt. “It’s for you.”
“I have Jina,” she counters. Jina shouts at her from the counter but she doesn’t waver. Inside, however, she feels a surge of gratefulness rise up in her heart. It feels as warm as Jina’s hug. And is what she’s feeling heart palpitations?
Kyungsoo stares at her for a moment, still in (mock) hurt at her cold answer, then starts to pack up his things. “Okaaay then. I’m just going to get out of here and hang out with my other friends-“
What?
“No!” Jooyoung shouts instinctively, putting her hands out to block him. She doesn’t notice that she has gasped, nor does she notice how loudly she had exclaimed. Kyungsoo does notice, though, and begins to hold back a laugh, before resuming his nonchalant demeanour.
“Well, then. If you insist...” He shrugs, then opens up his textbook. Jooyoung continues to linger, awkward and flustured. And without looking up, he says again, “Let’s go to the exchange programme meeting later. Together.”
“Mm.” Together seems like a usual thing now, for Jooyoung. It feels so normal it’s comforting.

a/n: didn't do as i expected for my exams, and goodness knows why i'm still so tired and busy, but i guess life will find a way :"") anyway thank u so much guys for your comments, subscriptions and upvotes i'm really very very grateful to every single one of you <3 short chapter, very sorry!
I OWED SO MANY OF YOU REPLIES i’m so sorry!! just replied to everyone i hadn’t replied to aaa but i hope everyone’s having a great 2019 so far! i think it’ll take a while before my next story because of circumstances.... but i promise i’ll be back :”)
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