"Hey, Kang!"

Seulgi sighs. Today's Wednesday and a particular senior which is none other than Kim Dohyun has been a real pain in the since morning. He never seems to let this day of the week goes to waste, unfortunately for her, and Today is no exception.

"Kang Seulgi!"

She continues to walk in the hallway, not bothering to stop to answer him. Her class is almost starting anyway, she doesn't have any more time for his antiques.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" 

Seulgi stops on her track the third time he calls, finally turning her body around to look at him walking towards her. It's not like she wants to talk to him, she just doesn't want to get any more attention from the other students passing by, although she already garners some because of his loud voice.

"What is it?"

"'What is it'?" He lifts his brows at Seulgi's clear displeased tone. "You seem to be getting braver lately, huh?"

What, does he expect her to greet him with a big smile when all he did to her was be a trouble to her? 

"I'm still your senior. Don't give me that tone."

The first-year purses her lips. Yeah, he's right. Seulgi can't deny that her tone earlier came out a tad bit harsher than she intended it to be that it comes out rather disrespectful too. 

"Right. I'm sorry, sunbaenim. I didn't get enough sleep last night so I have a hard time focusing on things today." She gives him a half-truth reply, pretending that she didn't hear his calls earlier when in reality, she was just trying to avoid him. Dohyun seems to be satisfied with the answer though, his brows relax a little now.

"Alright," he crosses his arms. "Just want to remind you to don't be too overconfident with yourself. Last week, your team lost because of you right?"

It's clear to her that he's trying to provoke her, he's not even trying to be discreet about it. Not with that smirk on his lips. Seulgi doesn't know where he got that source from but one thing for sure is that she's really not in the mood to entertain him right now.

"Yes. Now sunbaenim, my class is about to start so if you'll excuse me…"

Seulgi turns around but before she can even take a step, his rough fingers catch her wrist, closing them around it and holding her in place. 

"Heyheyheyhey not so fast. I'm not done talking to you."

Seulgi looks down at his rough hold on her wrist with a deep frown but he doesn't seem to care a single bit about her obvious displeasure. A slight panic feeling starts to rise on her chest when she realizes the lack of first-years in the hallway. Being late to class just because she's being held back by him is definitely NOT on her to-do list today.

"Sunbaenim, I really have to go.. my class is about to start.." She attempts to break free from him but his grip is solid hard.

"That's not my problem, Kang." 

The smirk on his lips is wiped off when suddenly a hot liquid is spilled on his shirt. His grip on her wrist immediately loosens while he backs away a step or two in surprise.

He looks down at his wet shirt only to see coffee stains on it. 

"What the hell?!?"

"Sorry, my hand slipped." Seulgi snaps her head to her left at the voice, only to see Joohyun holding an almost empty cup with a completely unapologetic expression plastered on her face.

"You bi-" Dohyun looks up at the newcomer, only for his mouth to hang open and for the rest of his words to vanish into thin air when he realizes who he's directing it to. Joohyun lifts her brow at him, as if challenging him silently and the latter only lets out a click of a tongue, leaving the scene with a scowl on his face but not saying anything. He's definitely grumbling under his breath though.

"You okay?" Joohyun faces her when Dohyun's already far enough from them.

"U-uh yeah! I'm okay..." Seulgi snaps her eyes back to Joohyun, still with her eyes widened, surprised to see Joohyun talking to her. Finally talking to her. She even maintains her eye contact with Seulgi. She's been hoping for a chance to finally talk to the older girl again but when it suddenly comes like this, she can't help but feel nervous.

This time, Seulgi's the one who averts her eyes away. "Thank you sunbaenim... I'm sorry that you have to waste your drink." Seulgi scratches her cheek. "Uhh, should I get you a new one?"

"It's okay. I can grab it again later." Joohyun answers in a beat, reassuring Seulgi not to worry about the wasted drink. 

Both of them don't say anything for a few seconds. Joohyun has this expectant look on her face and Seulgi rakes her brain on how to fill the awkward silence but the older girl beats her to it.

"Aren't you in a hurry to your class?"

"Oh yeah! You're right." She mentally slaps herself, totally forgetting about that. "Thank you, sunbaenim. For your help earlier."

"You're welcome," Joohyun replies with a nod. "You should hurry. Your class probably is about to start."

Seulgi sends a small smile to her. Bowing her head slightly before running to her destination. Thankfully, she arrives at the class right on time as miss Nana is about to enter the room as well. 

"You're almost late," Jaebum greets her as she slides to her reserved seat beside him. "Where were you?"

"Ran to some bit of trouble but it's all good now," Seulgi answers back with a small voice as to not disturb the other students.

She can't help but let her mind wander to think about what happened earlier for a few times during the class. Seulgi doesn't really know what happened to her that made the older girl finally not avoiding her, and EVEN saving her from the troubling Fire senior, but she's not complaining at all.

•

Sleep comes hard for her too tonight. She tries to fall asleep by closing her eyes and focusing on the sound of crickets in the quiet night but it's not working. After two hours of tossing and turning and rearranging the pillows on her bed, she finally gives up. 

There's no morning class tomorrow for her anyway. She can get up late.

The night is quiet. Walking along the academy when the sun's already down and the moon is already hanging on the sky surely gives off a different feeling. The usual crowded spots are now vacant from anyone but she's not scared or anything, instead, it gives her a peaceful feeling as she strolls down the pathway. 

She's almost arrived at her destination and throughout her journey, she only sees a total of 6 other students hanging around here and there. They're probably a night-owl type of people, Seulgi assumes.  

She clutches her jacket closer after a shiver ran down her body from the cool gust of winds. A step, two steps, and then at the fifth steps she turns around a corner and the familiar lake enters her line of sight. Her eyes widen slightly when she notices there's a figure sitting on the lakeside, at the exact spot where she used to always sit. 

The back is somewhat familiar to her, and she's pretty sure that her guess is right when she catches a glimpse of the stranger's side profile.

"Joohyun sunbaenim..?"

She doesn't turn around immediately at the call but Seulgi catches the figure's body jolt at her voice. 

The figure turns around and sure enough, it is no other than Bae Joohyun. The moonlight only partially illuminates her face but Seulgi can still see the surprise on her face.

"Seulgi." Her name comes out a little bit breathless as if she can't believe that the junior shows up here in the middle of a random night. 

Seulgi lets out a small smile at Joohyun's surprised expression. The odds of meeting each other here at the place where they used to meet IN THE NIGHT never seem like a possibility to her, especially after what happened. Seulgi's not going to lie that them accidentally meeting like this is a convenient situation for her though.

"Can I sit beside you?" 

Joohyun nods her head wordlessly, her face goes back to the usual by the time Seulgi sits beside her. She only wears a casual black short sleeve shirt, and Seulgi wonders if the older girl doesn't feel cold from the night breezes. 

"I didn't expect you to come here at night too." Joohyun said, breaking the silence.

"You're really clear on avoiding me huh, sunbaenim?" Seulgi jokes lightheartedly. "I can't sleep so I guess I decided to calm my mind here."

Seulgi doesn't miss the frown on Joohyun's lips at this.

"You're still having trouble sleeping?" Joohyun asks, her voice as soft as the calm lake.

"Sometimes, yeah. The vitamin Ds from Yongsun unnie helps a lot but these days it's more kinda like I don't want to sleep because of the nightmares." 

"Oh…" it's clear that she's not sure on how to reply to the information verbally, but her expression says a lot with the worried eyes she throws at Seulgi.

"It's okay though! At least I have this place to relax myself," Seulgi quickly says with a smile, trying to prevent the mood from going down. "You finally came back to this lake too, sunbaenim. It's been a few days I didn't see you here."

Joohyun is quiet for a moment, her eyes flicker back to the ground. 

"...I always see you. Here. I was just not really ready to talk to you yet after, you know, what happened." Her fingers play with the grass on the ground, plucking on them sometimes.

"Oh, I see," Seulgi rubs her nape. "I'm really sorry, sunbaenim. About what I said back then even though I know it's a sensitive thing for you. The things that I said about you, I really didn't mean it too."

She lets out a breath through her nose. "Apology accepted.."

Joohyun gulps, which doesn't go unnoticed by Seulgi.

"I apologize too, for what I said back then. I was kinda being an , and it was wrong of me for accusing you like that about your views on this world…"

Seulgi stares at Joohyun's fingers, which are fiddling with the plucked grass, and the younger girl doesn't know if the tremble of her fingers is from the nerves or the cold.

"I'm very far from a people type of person. I'm not exactly good at expressing my real intentions and I'm not good at talking. But I hope you understand what I'm trying to say."

Seulgi nods her head, feeling a bit satisfied at the relatively smooth communication between them right now.

"Apology accepted," Seulgi copies her. "So we're good now? Truce?"

"We're good."

Joohyun's lips quirk to a smile herself at Seulgi's beaming face. The peaceful ambiance at the place gives a good effect on their moods. 

A shiver runs down her spine, and Seulgi notices this from her peripheral vision. The older girl's too immersed in the view that she doesn't realize Seulgi is taking off her jacket.

She flinches the moment Seulgi drapes her jacket over her shoulders. Her eyes wide as she snaps her face to the girl beside her.

"..What are you...?"

Seulgi's smile never wavers, getting a dose of immense bravery that she doesn't know where she got it from. "You look like you're cold, sunbaenim. It's okay right?"

Joohyun looks speechless with her gaping mouth and Seulgi is starting to think if Joohyun dislikes the action that she just pulls, totally clueless that the older girl is just trying to hide her fluster.

"..How about you? You're not feeling cold yourself?" Her voice quivers, much to Joohyun's dismay but if Seulgi notices that, she doesn't show it.

"It's okay, I'm not cold," Seulgi replies with the best reassuring tone that she could muster, taking her eyes back to the lake. The breezes hitting her sure are cold, but she can bear it better than Joohyun by making her body temperature warmer slightly. 

The mood around them is light, and maybe because of that, the silence isn't an uncomfortable one.

"..You're really too kind, Kang Seulgi…"

The senior says it with the gentlest voice that Seulgi has ever heard coming from her. Seulgi turns her face to her, resting her right cheek on top of her forearms after she brings her knees together.

Seulgi stares at the older girl, who seems like she's deep in her thoughts.

"Is that the reason why you hated me, sunbaenim..?" Seulgi asks with a small voice, her insecurity resonates in her question and she wonders if Joohyun notices it too.

And it seems like she did notice it. Joohyun glances at her with an apologetic expression before looking downward again, at her own hands plucking on the grass.

"..Hate is a strong word. I never harbor that kind of feeling to you." 

"Then why..?"

Her hand freezes momentarily. "I did dislike you, at first. But I never hate you." Joohyun looks at her directly in the eyes. "I'm sorry. If I make you think like that and for all the times I make you feel guilty. You didn't do anything wrong to me. It's just… this chance. The chance that Sir Yang gives to us is like a blessing to me."

"What do you mean..?" Seulgi asks, not exactly catching on what Joohyun's trying to say.

"..My main intention in attending this academy is actually to.. make a name out of myself. Because I figured it's kind of the only way for me to meet my family again."

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