"unnie."

joohyun hums in reply, just as sooyoung settles into stride beside her. her face is stony and her jaw is clenched, like she's just seen something she doesn't like.

joohyun knows exactly what she saw.

"unnie, you should stop talking to him," sooyoung says, her voice as emotionless as she can get it to be. sooyoung's fists are clenched by her sides, and even as the school hallways bustle with activity before their next class, she can't help but focus all her attention on joohyun.

i mean- that's just how it's always been.

a little teasing smile spreads across joohyun's face and sooyoung knows - she knows, that the older girl is well aware of the effect she has on her.

"stop talking to who? junmyeon?"

sooyoung doesn't reply, but her face does turn a little pink. she stares at the floor while the two walk towards their next class.

"he's a nice guy. why shouldn't i talk to him?" joohyun's voice has a teasing edge to it, one that drives sooyoung crazy. she's playing with me. she knows exactly what she's doing.

"you know why..." sooyoung mutters. the faint dusting of pink on her cheeks turn a deeper red when joohyun's smile grows wider.

joohyun winks, flashes her thieving grin and waves goodbye, before heading off for class. sooyoung's left in the hallway with her heart pounding and only one thought in her mind.

hell. i'm whipped.

-

sooyoung decides to get joohyun to leave school with her that day. lately they haven't been able to because of sooyoung's practice schedule - volleyball season is coming up, and seulgi's making them train after school almost every day, even when their coach isn't here.

seulgi's sick today, though, and their team unanimously decides to take a break for now. sooyoung feels like a horrible person for internally fist-pumping.

when the last bell rings, she sends a quick text to joohyun, letting her know that she'll be waiting by her classroom. joohyun ends a little later than her today - perfect for sooyoung to compose herself.

you know, the year's almost ending right? and everyone says that you should end the year without any regrets or whatever. carpe diem and all that . so sooyoung decides in the instant that she takes her first step out of her classroom that today's the day.

walking up to the seniors' classrooms, sooyoung tries to calm her heart. she's park sooyoung. excellent athlete, great body, pretty face, and a personality to die for - she's got this in the bag. right?

but that's bae joohyun. she's a literal goddess amongst mere mortals. perfect in every way. passionate, empathetic, understanding, beautiful... god, does sooyoung even stand a chance?

alright, too late to back down now. if she doesn't do it today, sooyoung knows she'll never work up the courage to do it ever.

it. she's gonna shoot her shot. now or never.

she gets up to the seniors' floor, walks with her head held high and a confident stride. just when she's seconds away from joohyun's classroom, seungwan comes out, and that means -

there she is. the devil herself.

and junmyeon behind her, ing hell.

"sooyoung, hey!" seungwan chirps, a sweet smile spreading across her face.

"hi, seungwan unnie! i'm here to steal joohyun unnie for today."

"ah," she hums, with a little teasing lilt. "she's yours then. c'mon, junmyeon."

seungwan's another one of sooyoung's close seniors; they'd met a while ago through the musical they were both working on. seungwan's bubbly disposition was refreshing, and her voice was so powerful. it shook sooyoung to the core when she first heard it, so she'd asked her for help with her singing. seungwan's been a great friend ever since.

she was also the first one sooyoung told about her little crush on joohyun. something about seungwan drew out all y