Chaewon absolutely hates taking the bus. She detests nothing more.

Her bus stop is sandwiched in the middle between the first and last stop, so by the time the bus gets to her, it’s already crowded, like an incredibly packed can of sardines.

Gowon is short, and she’s small, so this is literally a nightmare for her. But she has to deal with it everyday, well because school. Yes, education is very important but it’s also hard, so why must she start every morning already battered, haggard, and annoyed?

She’s so tired of getting squished in all different directions, being pushed here and there, and she just really wishes she had another, more efficient way of getting to school.

Bright and early, just as usual, the bus makes it stop in front of her, and Chaewon grunts and huffs her way to a very tight free spot somewhere in the middle of the bus.

Great, she hasn’t even stepped foot in her high school yet and her uniform is already wrinkled beyond repair. The bus starts to move, and Chaewon grips tightly onto the railing on top of the seat in front of her, expecting as usual for her body to be sadly swayed along with the movements of the bus, but weirdly enough, her body stays relatively rooted to its spot.

Well, that’s weird.

That usually doesn’t happen. Even the girl sitting in front of her is moving her body along with the movement of the bus, so much more for those who are standing like her.

She was just about to turn her head to see what’s going on, when she sees two hands gripping the same railing as hers, adjacent next to her hands. Holding tightly, and as Chaewon allows her eyes to travel up this person’s forearms, she can see how taut the muscles are, clearly strained to the point where she can slightly see the veins, a pale green contrasting with the owner’s fair skin.

Hold up.

So if Chaewon is correct, whoever this person is has her arms almost around her, gripping on tightly and consequently protecting Chaewon from the physical abuse riding a bus usually inflicts.

When the bus hits a smoother expanse of road, Chaewon slightly moves her head to the side, and she catches a glance of a girl— yes a girl, definitely taller than her.

Hair blacker than ink, and unless her peripheral vision is gravely mistaken, this girl is really beautiful.

The bus halts to a stop, almost too strongly, and again, Chaewon feels herself barely move thanks to the other girl’s protection. Immediately, the other students start exiting the bus and before Chaewon can say anything, all she sees is the tall girl’s back walking away in front of her.

With the day’s events, Chaewon didn’t think too much of the girl anymore, chucking the situation to just being a fluke. Maybe the girl just had nothing else to hold on to, and it just so happens to be that they were relatively near each other.

Chaewon just shrugs it off. Oh well.

——

Except the next day, and the next, and the next— the same thing happens again and again. It’s been weeks. And it happens every time, without fail.

Chaewon would ride the bus as usual, and after a few moments, she’ll just feel a presence loom above her, sees the arms situate themselves around her, hands gripping the railings tightly. Bus rides are so much more less of a pain when she didn’t feel like she’s fighting for her life the entire way to her school.

So yeah, she’s definitely thankful, but she still has no idea who this girl is, heck, she doesn’t even know her name. But everyday, the curiosity just gets stronger and stronger. Chaewon wanted to stop her, start a conversation, something, but every time they reach the school, the girl always hurriedly disappears, and by the time Chaewon gets off the bus, the long-legged girl is already too many steps ahead of her.

Chaewon guesses she’s either an upperclassman or an underclassman because she doesn’t see her around school. So, that in itself didn’t help her predicament either. Besides that, Chaewon can’t 100% assure herself that she can actually talk to the girl given the chance because well, she’s really intimidating.

The tall girl is really beautiful, to the point where Chaewon wouldn’t be surprised at all if she found out that the girl part times as a model or something.

But Chaewon promises herself. Next time, no matter what. She’ll talk to the other girl. About what, she didn’t get that far yet. But it’s a mission and she’s gonna go for it.

——

Except, the next week, Chaewon finds herself getting flung all over the bus again, endlessly bumping into the people around her.

The girl’s not there anymore.

Chaewon almost desperately tries to find her,