Son Naeun was never the type to skip, for she had always been proud of her refined behaviour.

She had a reputation of a model student and she planned to maintain it that way.

Yet… despite of saying that, she still found herself accepting the invitation of two particular troublemakers, the three of them currently on the run.

Naeun argued to herself that she had a valid reason, though.

Chorong had already went home early due to having almost experienced a panic attack in the middle of the hallway, and despite of the fact she had gotten away from the confrontation unharmed, she was ultimately picked up by her stepfather to prioritise her wellbeing.

That left Naeun with neither the motivation to pay attention to her afternoon classes, nor the will to even stay within the school grounds.

Her close friend’s company was what gave her the strength to survive through the day, after-all.

Hence, when the two delinquent-looking students had announced their plans of ditching, with Jung Eunji being the one to ask her to come with, Naeun decided it was finally the time to break her model student status by tagging along and learning their secret escape route.

“Careful.” the oldest of the new trio cautioned as she gave Naeun a boost up the brick wall, assisting her with her very first wall-flipping experience all the while sticking her gaze onto the ground to respect the girl’s privacy. “Eunji, get ready.”

The second veteran school-skipper was already on the other side, having the important role of catching their new recruit.

It’s because of her said-role that she wasn’t capable of looking elsewhere, having no choice but to keep her eyes focused on the approaching target.

However, she couldn’t help herself but to let out a cheeky whistle when Naeun swung her legs over the top, instantly gaining herself a death glare and the sound of a husky chuckle that soon corrected itself into a snarl. “Yah, stop looking up her skirt and prepare to catch her properly, you ert!”

“Don’t worry, I got it.” the singer laughed before cooing to the hesitate girl, “Jump on the count of three, okay?”

“O-Okay.”

“Alrighty- one, tw- WOAH!”

It was either Yoon Bomi had her complete trust in her best friend or that her playfulness had no boundaries, because she had given Son Naeun a quick push on the back as soon as she had climbed up onto the wall herself, resulting the poor girl to fall involuntarily with a shriek of terror.

Thankfully, Jung Eunji’s reflexes were fast enough to catch her in her arms, though she failed to secure a proper footing beforehand (thanks to her cheeky friend), hence they ended up crashing onto the ground together, with Naeun crushing Eunji beneath of herself.

The positioning of the fallen girls was incredibly familiar looking, and soon enough Bomi could figure out why that was the case-

It was a near identical replica of her and Park Chorong’s first encounter, the event that led them all to their current situation.

“Gosh, I apologise on the behalf of my idiotic friend.” Eunji couldn’t help but to laugh when she witnessed the other girl frantically push herself away from her body, forgetting all about the soreness of her body. “Are you alright, Naeunnie?”

“I should be the one asking you that.” Naeun scoffed- but with a visible blush that couldn’t lie. “You’re not hurt, a-are you?”

“The b*tch you’re talking to has taken a bat to the skull before.” Bomi followed without missing a beat, obviously entertained by the heart-fluttering situation her friend got caught in, though she was still nice enough to offer a helping hand to her initial victim. “She’ll be perfectly fine, don’t worry.”

“Yeah, the two of us are practically indestructible at this point.” her friend agreed before pulling herself up, rubbing her sore rear-end slightly. “Kinda like cockroaches, now that I think about it.”

“You can be a cockroach by your goddamn self, Jung Eunji.”

“Ah true, because you’re more like a sewage rat huh.”

“ off, you .”

“ it.”

The current expression on Son Naeun’s face made it hard to believe that she once despised the exact same girls before her, as she was subconsciously grinning from ear to ear at the sight of their silliness; it was an unexpected turn of events, how she managed to feel so at ease with their company and even appreciating the chaotic ruckus they had created.

Never in her wildest dreams had she thought she would ever associate herself with anyone at school other than Park Chorong, let alone befriend two gangster-looking females who were now teaching her the art of escaping school.

She felt as if her vision had been expanded, and the realisation of her growth soon struck her; it made her wonder how much of life she had missed out on thanks to her previous dull lifestyle, as now she was enchanted by the path of imperfection and freedom, completely seduced by the thrill.

However, her train of thoughts were soon disrupted by a light tap on her shoulder, having failed to realise a voice had been trying to get her attention for the past 30 seconds or so. Eunji forced herself to step in after seeing how zoned out Naeun still was, even after Bomi waved a hand in front of her face.

“Helloooo? Earth to Son Naeun?”

“O-Oh um, were you saying something?”

“Not me- her.”

Following Jung Eunji’s gaze, she redirected her gaze to the girl who was keeping herself busy by lighting up a cigarette.

The leather-wearing student flinched upon meeting both of their staring eyes, a sheepish grin now plastered on her face as she held the half-empty pack towards Naeun, not bothering . “Uh… you smoke?”

“You think?” Naeun scoffed back in a playful manner, resulting the generous one to chuckle before storing her stress-reliever back into her pocket.

“Don’t corrupt her, oi.” Eunji added with a sneer, nudging her friend slightly. “And weren’t you trying to ask her something?”

Naeun’s playfulness was replaced by curiosity as she continued to stare at Bomi, who’s grin had now disappeared.

The girl merely sighed before inhaling a lungful of smoke, releasing it into the cool atmosphere with one long puff.

The trio had to spend a few more seconds in silence before another word was ever muttered out again.

“I just can’t stop wondering about what they were trying to tell me.” Yoon Bomi eventually spoke up as she extinguished her cigarette under her shoes. “Back in the hallway, they were saying how Park Chorong was… not Park Chorong? I don’t actually know, I couldn’t really hear them.”

“Uh, because you were too busy beating the hell out of them?” the singer raised an eyebrow, immediately halting her jokes when she saw the serious look in her best friend’s eyes. “But same, I caught that part as well. Why were they saying all that, Naeun-ah? That doesn’t even make any sense. ”

Somehow getting sandwiched in the middle of the line as they all strolled on side-by-side, Son Naeun glanced back and forth in between the delinquent duo with her heartbeat accelerating uncontrollably; she felt an incredible sense of pressure knowing how Chorong’s image and reputation were in her hands, destructible with a mere slip of a tongue. She wanted to relay the story in complete honesty, yet she was also worried about her friend’s privacy.

Hence, without even noticing it herself, Naeun’s arms hooked themselves onto each of the other girls’, subconsciously seeking for emotional support as she prepared herself for the explanation.

Both Eunji and Bomi tensed up from her sudden touch, yet as if they had communicated telepathically, both of them remained completely silent and simply walked on, giving the girl as much time as she required.

Suddenly, Naeun slowed down until she had stopped in her tracks, gradually pulling the others to a halt as well.

And with one last sign, she parted her dry lips and quavered:

“Please listen carefully, because I am not going to repeat myself…”