Hello!! Thank you for giving the story an early comments and upvotes! It made me really happy that some are interested with the prompt!

I hope this introductory chapter will give you a clear insight of the direction I'm planning for the story!

P.S. The story update might be less frequent compared to my previous fics because the next months will be the busiest months for my work, but I'll still update it as soon as possible regardless!

P.S. I'm also sorrry in advance for some explicit words!

Feel free to give comments or suggestions!! I absolutely love reading each of the comments you leave. <3 Once again, thank you so much!!

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Chapter 1

Have you ever wondered if the goddess of Luck has a thing like favoritism in this cruel, realistic world?

Life is unfair – Luck is unequal – That was what Son Seungwan sort of concluded in the midst of her Physics class – Her last class before the 12 o’clock lunch break which she has greatly yearned for more than the usual days she had.

She had concluded, as she sat on the second to the last row by their seating arrangement as it was organized in surname-basis and not by height - as much as she hated being associated by her height qualities – which made things so much harder for her to see the equations written on the whiteboard looking like an ant-sized font.

She had concluded, as their professor imposed a burdensome math problem for their individual assignment just right exactly when her heart was feeling heavy and her mind was not in the most perfect state.

She had concluded, as her classmates’ voice of complaints due to the difficulty of the given math problem lingered on her ears and she can’t even give her full attention to the ongoing class.

Life is unfair – Luck is unequal, and she dreadfully reflected on what she had possibly done badly to the goddess of Luck to play with her this way.

“Kindly submit the solution at our next meeting which is due next Wednesday. Late submission will automatically result in a failing grade. Class dismissed.” Her professor concluded while shutting down his old-model laptop.

Sigh. Goodness. Seungwan closed her eyes out of relief that the class was finally over, calming down the unnecessary headache she felt the whole duration of the period.

The brunette didn’t mind the flow of people around her and took her own pace to stand, adjust her glasses, and gather her books and papers filled with scribbled numbers connected to the lesson just now. Unbeknownst to her, a shadow was slowly lurking at her from behind.

“Seungwan-ah!” She slightly flinched with the sudden happy tap on her left shoulder, but she did not bother looking at the perpetrator, since only one person could ever invade her personal space with that heartwarming and cheerful voice.

“You’re quite early today, Sseul.”

“Hmmm, I don’t think so, your class was just late to dismiss today.” She felt another tap on her shoulder. “Seungwan-ah! It’s the last day of classes for this week. Let’s eat at our usual burger joint today!”

Seungwan hated declining her best friend, but she really can’t help it... Just not today.

“Sorry, Sseul. I’m not in the mood to eat something heavy today.”

The red-haired woman in a bun scrunched her eyebrows.

“Even if it’s my treat?”

It was almost tempting.

“...Even if it’s free.”

“Did something happen? You don't decline treats usually.”

Seungwan silently slung her black tote bag over her right shoulder and marched with her best friend on their way outside of the room before answering. “….Kind of. Plenty. I don’t know. Let’s just find something light for lunch and-”

“Are you okay?”

A single question stopped her on her tracks as she looked far at the view of the lengthy corridor filled with erratic college students - experiencing all sorts of struggles and problems the same as her, just like her.

But definitely no one has the same feeling as her.

She contemplated. Being ‘okay’ is a very broad scope. Numerous thoughts instantly crossed her mind, firstly within the scope of her academic performance – which she thinks she’s still doing okay especially she’s aiming for the highest grade to maintain her scholarship. She also had enough allowance to survive the dormitory rents. It might be physical? Aside from the headache from her previous class, she can say she’s pretty much healthy-

No, scratch all that. She knows what Seulgi was talking about. She knows her answer, and her best friend of eight years deserved to know.

“Not really." She surrendered. "...No, I’m not okay.”

She faced the red-haired woman with a melancholic sigh.

“I got dumped yesterday.”

“I see… Wait. What?”

At first, it was just a casual eye widening, and then her breathing slowly staggered, and suddenly her jaw dropped like as if she saw an indescribable alien from outer space.

Kang Seulgi shrieked in the middle of the corridor.

“Wait!! What!? Really?! When?? How?! Why!? Who—but wait!! You’re dating her right?! Wait---” Seulgi shifted closer to whisper. “You and Park Sooyoung, right?!”

“Yeah. Yesterday.” Seungwan took this as her cue to resume their tracks, probably as a way to distract herself as well.

Seulgi followed her from behind with a dark expression. “I can’t believe this. W-Why… You two were happy just a week ago-“

“Relationships are unpredictable, Kang Seulgi.”

“Did she at least tell you why?”

Seungwan clutched the strap of her hand bag tighter to preserve her heart as she recalled the events of yesterday while they descended a multiple batch of stairs.

The brunette answered in a way that she can still keep a piece of herself.

“She told me I was not enough.” It was not in her intention for her voice to crack.

“Oh.” Seulgi stopped on her tracks which she took notice of immediately. She saw the grimace expression from the other woman which she then continued. “I’m sorry. I should’ve been more sensitive in asking.”

Seungwan raised a brow before flashing a gentlest smile she could muster. “Hey, Sseul. What are you saying? You didn’t do anything wrong. In any case, it was me.” She shrugged as she continued. “Sorry for making you worry.”

It made her feel really bad – for making Seulgi worry, and for being this depressed in front of the public.

Her recent breakup made her totally out of focus. Her mind was in shambles especially because she thought she gave everything she could for her first love, for her first girlfriend.

During the span of their six-month relationship, she made sure that Sooyoung was her main priority – more than her academic standing, more than her own happiness.

Park Sooyoung was everything she could ever ask for – and it broke her heart into million pieces knowing that she could not fulfill what Park Sooyoung could ever ask for.

Tears were starting to sting her eyes. She thought she had cried a lot enough the night before, but it will hurt her pride more if she sobbed in the middle of the staircase which would probably reach the ears of the woman who made her feel this way, and she will hate herself more if that happens.

But more than anything, it will hurt her more to see her Seulgi be as lonely as she is.

“Don’t worry, I’m going to be okay.” Seungwan assured. She promised to herself that she will tell Seulgi the whole story someday. “Let’s just eat this sadness out and buy a Milk Tea or something for comfort.”

The red-haired gently smiled as they continued their stairs descent. The dragging silence was the red-haired woman’s cue to speak as an attempt to console her friend.

“Relationships are so hard to understand these days.”

“…There are too many factors in a relationship, you know. I’ve learned it in the hard way.” Seungwan bit her lip. “Love is simply not enough: Time, Social Standing, Beliefs, Commitment, Compatibility-“

“And Dedication. Let’s add that in the list.” Seulgi emphasized.

“Wow, that’s something big.” Seungwan teasingly glanced at her friend as they made their way outside the building. “Looks like someone’s finally getting a first-hand experience?”

“No! No no no, no experience at all!” She violently shook her head. “There’s just... this challenge you've probably heard of as well lately, it made me think relationships are not taken too seriously nowadays.”

“What do you mean? Challenge?” The brunette scrunched her face while walking slowly along with the waves of people on their way to the in-campus fast food chains.

“...You know, the Irene challenge.”

“…Irene challenge?” Seungwan tilted her head. Nope. No idea at all. "What's that?"

Both of them stopped on their tracks in the middle of the sidewalk.

Kang Seulgi blinked at her for one, two… almost countless times.

“You’re not aware of that?!”

“Wha…” Seungwan gasped along with her best friend’s sudden outburst. Knowing Seulgi’s demeanor, this was unusual. “I-I won’t ask you if I know something about it!!”

Weird. Was that challenge so popular and important for someone like Kang Seulgi to erupt like that?!

Seulgi released her grip from her collar and exhaled an air filled with enormous disappointment.

“Seungwan-ah, this is bad. Books are keeping you away from society.” The red-haired woman fixed the brunette’s collar as a mini apology after receiving an angry glare. “Anyway, it’s called the Irene challenge. According to some of the gossips, if you confess your feelings to Bae Joohyun, no matter who you are, she will accept and go out with you… but of course there’s a huge twist to that.”

Seulgi tapped the brunette’s shoulders.

“No one has ever dated her for more than 100 days.”

What…?

What?!

“O-One hundred days?!” Seungwan unconsciously raised her voice which caused some of the people to turn their heads in their direction, but she didn’t mind. “Wait… Joohyun… Bae Joohyun… Bae Joohyun...?! Wait. Isn’t that our…”

“Yup.” Seulgi nodded. “None other than our very own Central Student Council President.”

Bae Joohyun.

It will be an understatement to say she’s popular. She’s a lot more than that: She is the icon of their own – Seoul Central University.

Needless to say, she can even be described as the ultimate role model – Astonishing grades, overflowing extracurricular records, her goddess-like beauty, as well as belonging to a family of an upper class and her overall tactical prowess: Bae Joohyun the perfect all-rounder, she is the visual of the whole university herself.

“Wow… b-but, why?! I mean, she is the Bae Joohyun, the greatly hailed goddess of this oh-so-prestigious university,” She motioned her hands widely to signify everything around them. “…And yet no one has ever lasted for more than a hundred days?!”

“Apparently, yeah.” Seulgi tilted her head. “I was honestly surprised too. I didn’t believe it at first until I heard some specific rumors from the Photography Club.”

“And that is…?”

“…Kim Jun Myeon, our Central Vice…” She lowered her voice gradually. “They said he asked her out, but they only lasted for - like - a month. Some saw him whining around the basketball court bleachers.”

“Damn…” Seungwan winced. “That sounds awful.”

She tightly clenched her fists.

“I know, right? And now, I think they’re betting for Park Bogum - from the College of Medicine, if he can date our Council President for more than a month.” The red-haired shook her shoulders out of disgust.