In many ways, Kang Seulgi was still your typical nerdy engineering major.

Maybe she didn't always wear hoodies and sweatpants anymore. And maybe she was no longer an awkward, stuttering mess, at least half of the time.

But if there was one thing that got her going…

"I'm so pumped for this competition!" 

This year's National Eco Concrete competition was going to be held at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), the national champions of Eco Concrete for what seemed like the past eternity. Predictably, always hot on their heels were two universities from the prestigious SKY alliance - Korea University and Yonsei University.

And unpredictably, not hot on anyone's heels was the other one-third of the SKY alliance - Seoul National University. Even with its esteemed civil engineering program, SNU's Eco Concrete team usually only ever dreamed of placing within the top ten out of the fifty participating universities, which had happened maybe once or twice in school history.

Seulgi had a hunch that it had to do with SNU's competitive culture within the school itself. Everyone was always racing to be the top engineer, top doctor, top attorney, or top anything. It was a matter of who had the highest grades or who had published the most research papers, which left little time for most students to collaborate for "side projects" and "résumé boosters" like Eco Concrete.

Truthfully, at the start of the school year, Seulgi might have classified herself as being one of those cutthroat, competitive students. A big part of why she initially pushed for getting first place was well, it would look great on her résumé.

But as she scanned the bus full of her teammates excitedly chattering about today's competition, she realized how much her mindset had changed over the past semester. Even if they ended up placing their usual rank in the twenties or thirties, she wouldn't have traded the new experiences and friendships she'd made this year for anything. Eco Concrete was truly her second family, and from it she'd learned that teamwork made the dream work.

"Getting all sappy, aren't you," Seungwan chuckled at her best friend, who was currently staring out the window with wistful eyes.

"It's uncharacteristic of me, right?" Seulgi turned back with a grin. "I'm just so proud of you, and everyone, and wow I didn't think I'd end up loving this team so much."

"You should be proud of yourself too, Seul. I also never thought I'd see the day you'd love a team of people more than concrete itself," Seungwan joked.

"Gee, thanks," Seulgi feigned a pout, and immediately broke out into a smile again. "You're right, though. Anyhow, I wonder how Joohyun is doing…"

Winter festivities ended up being cut two weeks short for Joohyun and the Construction project engineers, thanks to Bogum's criminal mismanagement of the team. After New Year celebrations were over, the KSCE president immediately announced an intensive boot camp to train the clueless Construction members so they wouldn't completely tarnish SNU's name in competition. Bogum was unanimously kicked off the KSCE officer board entirely.

Seulgi had to admit, it kind of having to drive her girlfriend to school every day instead of relaxing on their first winter break spent together. But she knew Joohyun had to do her duty, and she lowkey enjoyed sitting in those boot camp sessions while watching the president get all authoritative and alpha as she ordered members around and gave mock presentations.

She even made her own fun out of it, preparing for Eco Concrete's presentation on the side and sometimes snapping aesthetic photos of Joohyun leaning over construction blueprints with a studious expression on her face. And when time permitted, Joohyun would hop over to Seulgi's corner of the KSCE lounge and they'd catch up with a chat or quick snack.

Other than informing the Eco-Concrete team, who fully supported their relationship, they still made sure to be as discreet as possible. Although, eyebrows were definitely raised when Joohyun posted the photos of her on Instagram and gave credits to Seulgi:

"I didn't know they were so close? Since when did Joohyun hang out with Seulgi?"

"Maybe after their alleged haircut session? Which seemed oddly romantic but there's no way, they're both girls!"

"I wonder why Seulgi-sunbaenim goes to nearly all of the bootcamp sessions. Isn't she Eco Concrete's project manager?"

"Hmm, they seem to be really good friends."

Today's National Construction Competition was taking place at Chungnam University, a 40-minute bus ride from KAIST. The competition consisted of multiple sections for different types of construction methods, such as mixed-use or sustainable development. In teams of seven or eight, competitors were locked up in separate rooms for precisely 16 hours to prepare a proposal document bidding to undertake a theoretical building project.

Joohyun's chat status indicated that she was active 15 hours ago, which meant she was in the final stages of preparation and would be presenting very soon. Then it would be off to the Eco Concrete competition later that afternoon, where she would be presenting as well.

What she didn't know was that the Eco Concrete team was on their way to cheer her on - a romantic surprise prepared by none other than Seulgi herself.

An hour later, the bus rolled to a stop at Chungnam, just when Seulgi's phone rang with a new text from Joohyun:

Bae Joohyun: Oh my gosh, I'm so tired!! But all the teams just finished their proposals and presentations are starting now :) Wish me luck <3

Kang Seulgi: Good luck, even though you won't need it :) I'll see you soon!

Bae Joohyun: Thank youuu <3 And wdym soon, a few hours is not soon enough for me :(

Seulgi grinned hard at that last message, secretly loving it when Joohyun was being clingy.

"C'mon guys! This way to the auditorium." Seungwan ushered everyone to the presentation location. In a few minutes the team was seated, taking up a few rows near the front, just in time for the next team to present.

"And up next for the Sustainability section…we have Seoul National University, led by team lead Bae Joohyun!"

Joohyun confidently walked out onto the stage to the thunderous cheers of the crowd. She was followed by the rest of the Sustainability team, most of whom were rookie members and were rightfully looking very nervous.

The Eco Concrete team members screamed twice as loud as anyone else, drawing the presenting team's attention to them. Several of the team members looked happy to see their schoolmates cheering for them, while others seemed confused as to why Eco Concrete had shown up to the event.

Seulgi finally caught Joohyun's eye amidst the noise and gave a flirty (attempt to) wink. The shock on the president's face morphed into a huge smile, her right eyebrow going lopsided in her delight at seeing her girlfriend in the audience.

Then Joohyun pursed her lips in a discreet air kiss back at Seulgi, making her legs go weak even though she was fully sitting in a chair.

The presentation went extremely well, with Joohyun stepping aside to let the younger members shine. The ideas of sustainable concrete mentioned throughout the presentation were clearly Joohyun's and Seulgi was impressed that Joohyun was applying knowledge she'd gained from Eco Concrete to Construction. It was the crossover she never knew she needed.

"The dated construction industry is in need of change, and with concrete as the building block of this industry, we believe the change starts there. Our team will be the first to at least partially implement concrete with a reduced carbon footprint in such a project, and we would love to do it right here, on this site. Thank you, and the floor is open to any questions," Joohyun finished to resounding applause.

The team successfully answered all of the judges questions in a calm, collected manner, not unlike their resilient leader. And with that, Joohyun was finally finished with her last-minute role as Construction's savior project manager.

The Eco Concrete team stayed to watch a few more of SNU's teams in other sections, which were doing surprisingly well for the short amount of time that they had prepared. Eventually, it was time to get going for their own competition. Led by Seulgi, they snuck out of the auditorium to wait for Joohyun, who ran straight to said girl and leapt into her arms the second she saw her.

"Omo, I can't believe you guys came to see us! Construction is really thankful for your guys' support," Joohyun looked around at the members, a grateful expression in her twinkling eyes.

"Anything for our president. My president," Seulgi smirked, to Joohyun's delight and to groans from the rest of the team. "You all did so well!"

"An academic queen," Seungwan whooped. "Now, go kill it all over again for our competition!"

Sometime during the bus ride to KAIST, Seulgi awoke to a glorious sight.

Wrapped in her arms was Bae Joohyun, looking like Sleeping Beauty with her fair skin and impossibly red lips. Understandably, Joohyun had knocked out the moment she boarded the bus, the day's events finally taking their toll. Regardless of it all, she looked so peaceful in rest, her beauty making Seulgi's heart clench.

Seriously, this would never get old. They'd been dating for nearly two months now and her stomach still did flips at how perfect Joohyun was, even after going through 16 hours in hell to prepare a construction proposal.

Entranced, she leaned down with the intent of capturing those captivating lips with her own…

"Seulgi?"

She snapped her eyes wide open to Joohyun, who was staring right back at her. Before she could let the embarrassment of getting caught get to her, she quickly ducked her head and swiftly kissed the president.

"Sorry," Seulgi winked, scratching at her neck, "I have a bad habit of…kissing the KSCE president when she wakes up."

She smirked, reveling in how Joohyun immediately went red and how the bus was giggling at her cheesiness.

Suddenly she was lightly slammed into her seat, her lips being attacked by Joohyun's. At length the president pulled away, eyes triumphant and lipstick smudged from their lowkey intense makeout session.

"W-wow…" was all Seulgi could say, clearly flustered at this very public display of affection.

"Sorry," Joohyun whispered lowly, "I have a bad habit of…showing the Eco Concrete project manager who's in charge."

Seulgi's jaw dropped, along with everyone else's, at this seemingly very forward statement.

"Really guys? In front of our salads?" Seungwan groaned good-naturedly.

"Ugh, get a room!" Jennie teased.

"Wait, no, I didn't mean it like that!" Joohyun protested, to everyone's amusement. "You guys are all erts!"

Behind Seulgi, Byulyi piped up, "Omo, Joohyun's such a tsundere. Kind of like Yongsun."

Seulgi raised an eyebrow at that, especially at how Byulyi's ears were going red under her scrutiny.

"Yongsun, huh? Is there something we should know about?"

"I mean…well…we've been texting…" Byulyi muttered, pulling her cap down low on her head. "Wait, Joohyun! You're her friend, do you know anything?"

"Anything about what?" Joohyun asked innocently.

"Like, does she like, you know. Talk about me or anything?" Byulyi was failing epicly hard at being subtle.

Joohyun pondered a bit, "Yong's super secretive about her love life, so I personally wouldn't know."

Byulyi sulked. "Well, do you know if she's like…straight?"

"Story of my life with this one," Seulgi piped up, earning a slap from Joohyun.

"I'll tell you everything isn't as it seems," Joohyun grinned mischievously. "And if you're texting, keep at it! Yongsun is horrible at texting, so if she's texting you that's gotta mean something, right?"

Byulyi flopped back in her seat and gave a loud sigh, "Aghghghjhrghgfff."

"I just had a flashback to my baby gay days," Seulgi whispered to Joohyun privately, "But seriously, do you know anything on Yongsun's end?"

"Truth is, she's hella whipped for Byulyi," Joohyun whispered back excitedly, "But I can't spoil it 'cause it needs to happen organically."

They turned back to Byulyi, who was currently looking way too giddy while reading an incoming text on her phone. The capped girl eventually noticed them staring, immediately turning off her device and yelping a panicked "What?"

"Nothing," Seulgi laughed, high-fiving Joohyun in secret. Byulyi could only give another one of her angsty and confused sighs.

Finally they arrived at the beautifully futuristic KAIST campus, the birthplace of some of the nation's finest scientists and engineers. Although she and Joohyun were streaming Red Velvet's Power Up to conquer their nerves, seeing other universities already setting up their displays for the poster viewing made her hands start to sweat.

Not unlike previous years, the opposing teams were mostly made up of either nerdy, awkward guys or extremely buff and fratty guys. SNU's team stuck out like a sore thumb, with its two female leads and predominantly female demographic. As they shuffled by to SNU's designated spot, Seulgi could hear arrogant snorts and crass comments directed at her and her team members.

Joohyun seemed especially disgruntled, probably because she had been objectified in that way for too much of her life. She clenched her hands, appearing to restrain herself from punching the lights out of the latest catcaller.

"Men really aren't ," she grumbled, "That's why I like women."

On the other hand, Seungwan was sneaking looks at the other teams' posters. "Gosh, so basic! Men really aren't ."

In no time at all, they were set up and ready for display. Not many people came by their poster, since SNU was never really considered a serious contender. Most who did only came because they had heard the Bae Joohyun was set to compete, and even then they were just ogling at her looks and not even trying to hold an academic conversation.

A few other team leads and some KAIST professors stopped by and were very impressed with their work, praising their concrete samples and calling SNU this year's "dark horse". However, Seungri and Shindong, the two pretentious leads from KAIST, were far from respectful.

"There's no way you girls came up with these ideas on your own. Which university sold them to you?" Seungri spat angrily.

"Yeah, whose research are you stealing from?" Shindong sneered.

"It's all our own work. You're just afraid that we have a shot at winning this year," Seulgi snapped.  It was a fair assumption based on everyone's reactions so far.

"That's right, you lot of ist cowards," Seungwan butted in, having the courage to ditch diplomacy.

Before a legitimate fight could ensue, the intercom blared with the announcement that presentations would commence in fifteen minutes at the main auditorium.

Seulgi's heart beat faster by the second at the prospect of speaking to a crowd, which she'd gotten used to, except this crowd contained distinguished professors and other top civil engineers. And even though they were doing their best to hide it, she could feel nervousness radiating from Joohyun and Seungwan as well.

The rest of the team, who was not presenting, was already proudly whispering among themselves that they were "totally going to get first place", which only increased her anxiety. She couldn't let them down.

As soon as all the universities were seated, the presentations began, with the usual fanfare of teams presenting standard ideas such as recycled concrete or volcanic ash from the Jeju islands as a concrete component. The crowd went ferally wild for Seungri and Shindong, who actually proposed something different, as expected as KAIST's representatives.

"Corals," Seungri began, whipping out a piece of bleached coral from his pocket. "Corals capture carbon dioxide gas and dissolve it in water with other compounds to create their calcium carbonate exoskeletons."

"And what is cement, one of the most important components of concrete, made of?" Shindong added dramatically. "That's right. Calcium carbonate. Which means corals easily found in South Korean seas can be used to produce cement, rather than depleting limestone quarries."

The two KAIST leads went on detailing exactly how they would burn the coral with other minerals to produce their alternative cement, very similar to how Joohyun had proposed her process with food waste. Once they finished, they were met with a standing ovation. As always.

"Seulgi-sunbae, aren't you worried? This seems like a good idea and it's just like ours," one of the freshmen members whispered to her.

Seulgi leaned forward in her seat, eyes narrowed in critical thought.

"Don't worry - it's not as complete an idea as it seems," she assured the younger members, just as Joohyun gripped her thigh and excitedly whispered, "Coral reefs are vulnerable right now, they're in no condition to be harvested!"

As if on cue, one of the judges raised a hand, immediately silencing the ruckus.

"I have a question. It's certainly a plausible and unique idea, but have you thought about the effect of depleting coral reefs as well?"

"Our research found the depletion of coral reefs less damaging to the environment than that of limestone quarries," Seungri answered confidently, but Seulgi knew better. It was a bull answer to cover up the fact that they didn't consider all aspects of their idea.

"I would beg to differ," another judge spoke up. "The coral reef population has been in significant decline due to oce