‘Progress is progress.’

That’s the phrase that Heejin has to keep telling herself every time she gets even the slightest interaction with Hyunjin. At this stage, Hyunjin doesn’t seem to be running out of any area that Heejin also happens to be in. And, in their Transfigurations class, Hyunjin actually says a greeting or farewell in some way shape or form, but only occasionally and with one or so words.

But hey, progress is progress, right?

Ever since Olivia mentioned her pace, however, she couldn’t help but start to worry. Heejin was still aware that she can’t just tell Hyunjin that she loved her and then call it a day. She has to rebuild and regain that trust and she can only blame herself as to why the road back up has been made so much more rocky than it could have been. So when she deals with both the highs and lows of Hyunjin leaving class with yet another quick and awkward ‘Bye,’ she starts to get frustrated at how this 'progress' doesn't feel like progress at all. At this rate, she may very well still be single by the end of the year.

“Why are Slytherins so- so- ugh!” Heejin groans as she joins her friends in the Great Hall.

“Hey!” Olivia calls out as Heejin sits down next to Yves.

“Ah sorry- I mean,” Heejin runs her hand through her hair. “I’m just getting nothing. Nothing! Not even a whole sentence!”

“Huh, maybe you should stop then,” Yves suggests before Gowon throws a fry at her. “I was just kidding!”

Gowon looks at Heejin, “Ignore ‘em. Anyways, do you have any ideas on what to try next then?”

“To be honest, no,” she answers truthfully. “I don’t know how I am supposed to jump from somewhat awkward ‘Hi’s’ to having actual conversations again.”

“Well, have you actually tried to start a conversation?”

“It’s difficult. During class, she goes back to focusing on the professor. Outside of class, she always finds a way to excuse herself. It’s just hard to keep her attention.”

“Then, try to think of ways that would catch her attention," Gowon suggests. "Remember how you would always find things in people that would make you lose interest? Instead, try to think of things that would keep her interested or at least, make her feel like she needs to listen to you."

Heejin nods in understanding as she starts to mentally list all of the things Hyunjin seemed intrigued by.

One of the first things that Heejin thought of that could pique Hyunjin’s curiosity was quidditch. As she recalled, it was one thing that both she and the Slytherin had loved to talk about whenever they were together. And considering that the Ravenclaw versus Slytherin game was coming up, Heejin thought there was no better time to bring it up than now. The two had competitive spirits and she was sure that Hyunjin couldn’t shy away from game talk.

After some debate as to when she should broach the discussion, she decided that it would be best to do it after school hours since Hyunjin wouldn’t have the excuse that she’d be late to class. If she remembered correctly, Hyunjin and a few other Slytherins would often go to a small quidditch training pitch when games were coming up and so it came to no surprise that she was able to find her there.

Luckily for her, Hyunjin and her teammates were already packing up to leave and so she didn’t have to wait long to approach her. As she walks up, a teammate notices her first, prompting them to give Hyunjin a small nudge to catch her attention. They lock eyes for a moment before her teammates tell her they’re heading out. So, when Heejin finally reaches her, they’re alone.

“Hi,” Heejin starts first, hands clasped behind her back.

“Hi,” Hyunjin replies a bit fatigued, eyes still on her bag as she packs her things.

“Sorry, did I catch you at a bad time?”

The Slytherin pauses as if debating whether she wanted to continue the conversation or not. It soon comes across Heejin's mind that maybe she should avoid questions where only a yes or no would suffice.

“No, just-uh, just tired from practicing,” Hyunjin continues to keep her answers short. She zips up her bag and slings it over her shoulders, eyes finally rising to look at Heejin. Heejins heart pangs as the usual warmth in Hyunjin's eyes continues to feel absent, “Bye.”

Hyunjin walks past Heejin with ease, leaving the Ravenclaw stumped. Taken aback, Heejin can't keep shut and turns towards Hyunjin's direction, “That’s it?”

Hyunjin stops walking and turns around too, “Uh… yeah?”

“Seriously? You’re not even curious as to why I’m here? No accusing me of spying?” Heejin stands bewildered.

“No…?” Hyunjin shrugs.

Heejin huffs, “So you have nothing to say?”

“I mean, what do you expect me to say?”

“Oh I don’t know! Maybe I expected you to say ‘What are you doing here, Jeon? Spying 'cause cared ya scared you're gonna lose?’ and then I reply back with 'In your dreams!’” Heejin acts out and Hyunjin puts her hands on her hips, momentarily dropping her head.

Immediately, Heejin turns somber at the sight and her pained thoughts escape her lips, “The Hyunjin I know wouldn’t have wasted a second to ask me something like that.”

The transfer meets her eyes.

“Maybe it would've been that way in the past, Heejin." There's no malice in her voice. More melancholic, really.

Still, when Hyunjin walks off the field, it feels like she just dumped a bucket of ice cold water all over Heejin. But as annoyed as Heejin wanted to be with how quickly the girl had left once again, she knew that Hyunjin had a point. Their relationship–or at least what's left of it–will never return to how it used to be given everything that has happened. So honestly, it felt more gut-wrenching than anything else.

Yet, Heejin does her best to stay positive because maybe the fact that it won’t be the same is a good thing. Their relationship before began as a lie–where feelings became messy, unsure and complicated primarily due to that one aspect. Now, she has the chance to make their relationship have a much more authentic start and thus have more reassurance if the messy and complicated come up again.

And so, this interaction surprisingly ends with a small smile on the Ravenclaw’s face not only for that, but also because if it’s any consolation: At least she's calling me Heejin again.

----- Some Days Later -----

“Heej, you can’t be serious,” Gowon rubs her temples after Heejin recounts her talk with Hyunjin at the pitch a few days ago. “I said start a conversation, not a fight.”

“It’s not like I meant to start one,” Heejin sighs. “And it wasn’t a fight… just another misunderstanding. But don't worry, I’ve seen where I went wrong now. I’ve been stupidly hanging onto my old perception of her back when we were together and I just need to loosen it.”

“Exactly! You just have to find a new angle and see what sticks,” Yves says. “Now, you know that quidditch doesn’t seem to do the trick, so what else do you got?”

Heejin blinks a few times, “... Nothing.”

“Seriously?” Gowon asks.

“Well, I mean, a lot of the stuff that I know she’s interested in has some connection to our relationship. Playing guitar, ice-skating, board games… I don't think it would play out well. And I feel like the only general thing I could bring up without it being remotely awkward is school work and that can only go so far,” Heejin slumps against her headboard.

“That’s why you need to just start bringing up other things that she might be interested in, even if it’s like the randomest thing. Hell, the randomness might even intrigue her,” Yves suggests.

“Damn, when did you start getting so smart about getting into relationships?” Gowon says impressed.

"Well, if it worked on Jiwoo, I can only assume it would work with others, right?" Yves shrugs with a smirk. "But yeah, maybe talking about new stuff might help?"

"Then, it's settled," Heejin sits back up with her sense of determination revitalized. "Time for another round!"

For her own sake, Heejin decides that the best time for her to catch Hyunjin without having to search for her was after dinner. Hyunjin was never one to skip such a meal, so she thinks it'll save her time.

As she suspected, Hyunjin was sitting with some fellow Slytherins and eating as she chatted along with them. Heejin does her best to not look like a complete creep, trying to only glance rather than stare in that direction just in case Hyunjin leaves earlier than she expected. 

Heejin is in the middle of taking a bite when she catches Hyunjin already walking and waving goodbye to her friends. 

"Oh shi-," Heejin nearly chokes on her food. She drops her fork down and her friends hold in their laughter as they watch Heejin try to frantically swallow her food while getting out of the bench without bringing any attention to herself. But of course, Heejin seemed to have forgotten that she was the Jeon Heejin, so she definitely caught some eyes during this–but thankfully not Hyunjin's. 

She sends a parting wave to Yves and Gowon, then does her best to unsuspiciously follow her Slytherin by keeping a long enough distance to not to be noticeable yet still be able to keep Hyunjin in her sights. Considering that it was still dinner time, Heejin was grateful that there weren't a lot of students in the hallway at the moment because of it. She's sure Hyunjin would have realized that she was behind her since students would usually give way for the Ravenclaw in advance. 

Soon enough, she observes Hyunjin enter a classroom that is usually kept open as a study space for students. When the door closes, Heejin approaches it steadily and just before she grabs the door handle, she pauses. 

She didn't think of what random topic to talk to Hyunjin about. But then on top of that, how the hell was she going to explain why she went to the study room?

Why am I overthinking this?! It's a study room, Heejin. The reason being there is obvious, dummy. But a topic? Random, random… uh- stocks! Stocks?! Aw it!

Heejin didn't want to waste another second waiting to talk to Hyunjin again and just barges into the room. 

When Heejin looks back on this moment in the future, she thinks that maybe she should have waited after all because with only two steps, she felt the air escape her lungs and the world crashing down on her already heavy heart. 

Her presence hits the others in the room and despite everything that has happened so far, Heejin thinks she finally understands what people mean when they say they could feel their heart split into two. The sting of the crack widening after having to see Choerry’s lips against Hyunjin's cheek.

As far as Heejin saw, the action only lasted for a mere second since Hyunjin seemingly pulled away after it dawned on her that Heejin was there. But still, the damage was done. 

Heejin's ears began to buzz as if it were a safety mechanism. Blankly staring at Hyunjin's moving lips–unable, or unwilling, to hear what the Slytherin was trying to say to her. The buzz turns into a form of comfort and soon enough, she finds herself far from the room as she seeks any other place that would provide such a quiet escape. It isn't until she lands on a wooden chair that is surrounded by high shelves of books to hide behind for the loud sound of reality to finally reach her.

The quiet serenity of denial fades as notes of sadness, fear, heartache and anger begin to inevitably swallow her whole. Her tongue, now too, stings with the bitter taste of irony as the image of Hyunjin walking in on her and Chaeyoung all that time ago cruelly flashes through her mind.

So what consumes her above all else is the gnawing feeling of indescribable pain that karma claims as ‘What she deserves.’

She finds herself clutching the edge of the table tightly, knuckles turning pale. After realizing what she was doing, her grip is released and opts to bury her head into her crossed arms atop the creaky, aged table.

Some time passes and the Ravenclaw expects her sleeves to dampen with tears, but it never comes. Of all scenarios, surely this was one of the more qualified moments that should make her bawl her eyes out. And yet, she has this urge to squeeze her feelings out not through tears nor through this table, but rather through another outlet. Because crying won't win Hyunjin back and you best believe that one mere kiss on the cheek isn't going to make Heejin's stubbornness vanish. Not when her feelings are so strong.

And so, she sits up and pats her cheeks a few times as a way of telling herself to get a grip. She knows she can't dwell on what just happened, so instead she takes the time to reassess the situation as a new layer of complexity has appeared.

To start, she recalls what Chaeyoung had told her a while back: that if Hyunjin and Choerry were dating, the whole school would have known by now. So it pleases Heejin to know that her continued pursuit still won't be smeared with the label of a homewrecker.

Then, she comes to the conclusion that she needs to stop taking small steps and start making bigger moves. Because sure, talking about stocks or any other random topic could be a stepping stone in her whole operation, but Heejin can't play the much safer long game when there's another woman trying to steal Hyunjin away from her at the same time.

The Ravenclaw rolls her eyes as she stands from her seat. She flattens her robes with her palms, ensuring that she doesn't look like a completely wrinkled (and emotional) wreck and then makes her way out of the library. In the midst, she scoffs, muttering to herself, "Of all the freaking people, it just had to be Choerry. Hyunjin knows I don't like her."

As she weaves through the bookshelves and tables she had passed earlier, her eyes unintentionally land on one table that was occupied by a particular student. And maybe it was because she was in a moment where some vulnerability still lingered, but Heejin thinks that maybe this was fated as Yves' words came to the forefront of her mind.

"Well, if it worked on Jiwoo, I can only assume it would work with others, right?"

Heejin knows this is working on her, so surely, it must work on Hyunjin too. Maybe it didn't work before, but now there's a whole new element added to the mix. And just like that, Heejin believes that she has finally come up with the perfect plan. 

However, she must admit that as she headed towards the occupied table, each step felt both heavy and apprehensive. Because to be quite honest, there is no doubt that there is a very, very big part of her that wants to turn around oh so badly as she eyes the student a few feet away from her now. But, Heejin was desperately in need of a power move and given the circumstances, she thought she was left with no other choice.

Within the last few steps she took, the other student finally took notice of her. The grin that appears is irritatingly smug and Heejin's temptation to turn around becomes increasingly appealing. But instead, she grits her teeth as her determination of the end result outweighs the possible consequences of this interaction.

"Well, well, well, to whom do I owe this pleasure?"

Heejin's hands are clasped tight behind her back as she puts on her best smile, making the Slytherin's expression grow wider.

"Hello to you too, Ryujin." 

Candidate 3: Shin Ryujin-

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow," Heejin whines when she's suddenly tugged by the ear and away from where she just was. She does her best to look at who the culprit was while still being dragged out of the library, "YVES?! Let me go! That hurts!"

Yves shushes, "We're in the library!"

When the two are finally out in the empty hallway, Yves lets go of Heejin's ear much to her relief.

"Sorry about that, Heej," Jiwoo, who was standing next to Yves, slips in once the other two are in place. "I tried to convince her not to do that when she said she was going to get you."

Jiwoo gives a light slap in Yves' arm and the taller girl fakes pain before looking at Heejin, "Please tell me you were not doing what I think you were doing?"

Heejin avoids her friend's eyes. 

“You know I must say, watching you try to win back Hyunjin is like peeling back an onion…,” Yves starts.. “One bad idea after another.”

"But if you think about it, it means I'm getting closer to the center goal!" Heejin attempts to reason.

"Still, even if you peel back a layer towards your ‘goal,’ you're bound to leave tears on the way."

"Wow, you guys are keeping up this onion theme very well," Jiwoo pipes up in amusement, only to quickly apologize for interrupting the solemn mood.

"No need to say sorry and thank you, baby," Yves replies happily only to turn serious again with Heejin. Her genuine concern is evident as she asks, "What were you thinking?"

"I-," Heejin gives herself a moment, then sighs. "I don't know. I saw something that I probably shouldn't have and my mind turned cloudy. Then, I saw Ryujin and a stupid idea popped into my head. Before I knew it, I was talking to her, or about to."

"You saw something? Wait- first off why were you even in the library? I thought you left to go talk to Hyunjin?" Yves realizes. "Did you even talk to her?"

Heejin looks down as she tries to forget what happened and shakes her head.

"Well, if you ended up here so soon, that means whatever you saw must have involved Hyunjin in some way, right?" Yves tries to piece together. "But why would that make you want to talk to Ryujin of all people? You never approached her before. You never wanted to approach her actually. I mean, what? Did you see Hyunjin with-"

Yves cuts herself off when she feels Jiwoo place a cautious hand on her arm. The tall Ravenclaw looks at her confused, but then Jiwoo silently nods towards Heejin–face wincing as if in pain at Yves' words.

"Heej…" Yves trails remorsefully and a part of Heejin hates it despite knowing it's out of care. She doesn't want to be pitied right now.

"It's fine. I'm fine," Heejin tries to reassure, "Just… thanks for getting my head out the gutter. Although, maybe don't do it by the ear next time?" She jokes in an attempt to lighten the mood, but Yves and Jiwoo still look worried.

"Guys, c'mon! I'm moving past it, okay?"

And as if her life was a sit-com at her own expense, Hyunjin suddenly appears around the corner of the hallway–slightly panting as if she was in a rush. Their gazes connect and just how it has been every time since their eyes first met during the Sorting Hat ceremony, it sends tingles throughout Heejin’s body that she doesn't think she'll ever get used to.

Heejin's eyes soon shift away at the sound of a door closing behind her.

"Heejin! I thought I was gonna miss ya! Guess I didn't need to pack my stuff away so quickly."

There's a recognizable chuckle behind her and Heejin doesn't even want to turn around and acknowledge that this was, in fact, really happening. The world must be having a good laugh right now.

"Sorry, Ryujin, but we were actually just leaving," Yves breaks the unexpected tension in the near-empty hallway and Jiwoo nods enthusiastically as if to make Yves' lie seem more truthful. Although, Heejin thinks her friend might have been serious at this point considering who was standing a few feet away from the four of them.

"Oh really?" Heejin doesn't miss the disappointed tone in Ryujin's voice.

"Yeah, it's kinda urgent," Yves and Jiwoo lock arms with Heejin on each side. 

"Sorry, again," Heejin adds on to hopefully ease the situation and the trio start walking in the direction away from where the Slytherins are.

Before they got too far, however, Ryujin tells their retreating backs, "It's all good, we can just continue our talk after our quidditch game this Saturday!"

Oh crap.

Heejin scolds herself. How could she forget? It’s the biggest game of the season as it will break the unbearable 1-1 tie between the two houses and it’s the match to see, for one last time, the highly renowned 7th year prospects go head-to-head: Ravenclaw's Jeon Heejin versus Slytherin's Kim Hyunjin… 

and Shin Ryujin.

A/N: Happy New Year!!

To celebrate, I thought what better way then to give you all an update :) And boy oh boy did stuff happen this chap, hm? I apologize if this chap is a bit all over the place as I had severe writer's block (as I'm sure for those who've waited already guessed) for a while, but I became extremely motivated by wanting to get this out today. I know it may not be New Year's Day for everyone by the time this is out, but I hope you don't mind the lil delay on it.

2022... these past weeks really, have been a crazy ride to say the least for our 12 moon girls and honestly, I hope that you are taking part in the boycott like me. As a way to satiate the lack of content from them, I also hope this fic has helped in some way to fill the void that really can't be resolved without all 12 of them back and happy. I'm sure our 12 will be back stronger than ever, just as my fictional Heejin and Hyunjin's relationship will be!... Right? At this rate, our witches are still in an odd limbo with one another with no real sign of what direction they're heading. But hey! Maybe the quidditch match might help? 

Lemme know your thoughts about the chapter and your favorite 2jin/Loona 2022 moments (and maybe even anything about Loona's situation)! Infinite thank yous for reading, sticking with me into the new year and for your kind patience with my updates. I raise a toast for an even better year for all of us <3

- S

(rv_twice 5 on twitter)