Confetti shoots out at her right. Confetti shoots out at her left.

As Seungwan walks down the hallways of her high school, she is welcomed with a parade of her own creation. Hers and Sooyoung's, that is.

Usually Yerim would be part of their motley crew, but she neglected to participate in their largest back-to-school prank yet, citing reasons of it being a surefire way to get in trouble. Though, that hadn't stopped her from prank calling the principal last Saturday pretending to be a city health inspector and scheduling a tour for five in the morning the very next day. After waiting for hours, the principal's exhaustion and hasty drive home gave Sooyoung and Seungwan enough time to stuff all of the lockers with confetti, save their own.

As to how they did it, Sooyoung managed to swipe some keys off a cafeteria table left carelessly by one of the janitorial staff at the end of last year. They wasted no time making copies of the master keys to use whenever they needed, which became awfully convenient in times like these.

Their plans were always airtight. They're convinced that their scheme went off without a hitch, leaving no evidence of their connection to the prank.

The duo confidently strides toward their own lockers, hearing surprised squeals from some and excited ones from others. There are students kicking up the confetti like first snow, one even going so far as to lie on the ground outside his homeroom, making confetti angels as his arms and legs swing up and down like windshield wipers. There's a group of boys at the entrance to the bathroom scooping up confetti in their arms and leading a joint countdown before they throw it in the air, letting the pieces of colored paper rain down upon passerbys. The majority looks like they're having fun, and the minority that doesn't finds that wading through the sea of cut paper was a mere annoyance at best.

This is a definite success.

As Seungwan and Sooyoung turn the corner, chuckling at how a girl slips and slides into a particularly hefty pile of confetti, they hear their largest shriek yet. 

It was Bae Joohyun, hand still squeezing the edges of her locker door as confetti spilled down the sides, a torrential rain settling on her shoulders, some still trickling down her uniform while other pieces lay to rest in her otherwise black hair now speckled with color.

She has quite a long list to describe her. The school's angel. The model student. Perhaps most relevant to these current circumstances, Student Council President. 

Of all the nouns that she is, the last is most dangerous for the two pranksters. It meant they might have consequences.

Even so, it doesn't seem to stop Seungwan from doubling over in laughter. 

Joohyun's frightened expression quickly morphs into something resembling anger, yet more like a deep seated simmer rather than a boil. She whips her head around, scanning for potential culprits.

That's when she sees her. There, in the center of the hall, palm smacking her thigh like a clapping seal, is Son Seungwan. The girl has just as long a list of nouns. Class clown. Resident prank master. Not-so-evil genius. 

There was no "innocent until proven guilty" for Joohyun, at least when it comes to Seungwan. She is confident that the girl found too much enjoyment in witnessing the aftermath of this prank to be blameless.

As Seungwan pauses her laughter to wipe her eyes of forming tears, she looks up from her hunched position, locking eyes with Joohyun. 

Oh no. She's walking towards her.

Seungwan finds herself rooted to the spot, the rapidly growing pool of the paper blizzard swirling about her feet. 

Meanwhile, Sooyoung, her common sense still present, claps Seungwan on the back before spitting out excuses of needing to head to class. She swings her backpack over her shoulders as she disappears into the crowd of befuddled and amused students coated in colors.

So when Seungwan feels a hand on her wrist, she knows it's not her partner in crime.

With a tug, her feet are suddenly dragged along the tile, trails of confetti following behind.

"Hey, Joohyun," Seungwan says with a shaky laugh. "I swear I can explain."

"There's nothing to explain, Seungwan. You just carried out a very disastrous prank and disrupted the learning environment," Joohyun says, trained authority written into her voice.

"Oh, come on, it was fun, wasn't it? No one's going to get hurt, and it's like a celebration of us coming back to school, wrenching us from the bleak monotony that is our soul-crushing education system!"

Though their pranks were certainly disruptive, Seungwan always ensured that there would be no lasting consequences on the student body. She was a prankster, not unethical.

Joohyun scoffs at Seungwan's strange excuse, as if dismissing it without needing to say a word. "Well, we'll see how fun it is in the guidance counselor's office."

"Woah, hold on." Seungwan pulls them to a stop, bell ringing through the hallways as everyone's already shuffled to class, leaving the waste of colored paper haphazard on the floor. "Can't I call in a favor or something? I don't really want this on my record."

Seungwan should've taken more precautions to conceal her identity as the mastermind, but it was too late for that. It would be hard for her to hide her reputation for these kinds of shenanigans. Now, she needs any other method to get herself off the hook.

Joohyun turns toward Seungwan, not yet releasing the junior from her hold, expression quizzical. "What favors do I even owe you, Seungwan?"

She laughs airily to stall, mentally scrambling through her memories for anything that she's done for the older girl. She breathes in relief when she recalls their long history together, though their connection is almost nonexistent these days.

"Remember the time in middle school when that older guy tried to ask you out?"

Joohyun nods, not quite sure where this story is leading, but curious nonetheless.

Seungwan goes on, "Remember how I totally botched his attempt by pretending I got the stomach flu and was going to retch on him if he didn't move out of my way that instant?"

The junior could see that Joohyun does remember, her cold front breaking slightly, laughter almost spilling through but restricted to a light chuckle.

A part of Seungwan tells her to keep telling stories, continue being an entertainer so that Joohyun could laugh even harder.

It's been years since she's seen the senior like this.

"I guess I haven't paid back that one." Joohyun has a glint of amusement when she gives her verdict. "How about a compromise?"

Seungwan's eyes light up. She could do with a compromise. The girl stands at attention, arms up and back straightened in a mock salute.

"I'm all ears, Commander in Chief Joohyun. What do you need from this loyal soldier?"

Imperceptibly, the corners of the president's lips raise, but they lower again as Joohyun's vision sweeps across the floor, sighing at the mess of colors covering every square inch of the tile save for the tracks that students had made through them, like a food dyed winter wonderland in September.

"I'm sure this would be a terrible inconvenience for our janitorial staff," Joohyun comments. "What if I told them that they didn't have to worry about it?"

"That would be so nice! I'm sure they'll love that." Seungwan's head quirks to the side, asking with slight confusion, “But who's going to clean?”

Joohyun's eyes glimmer with quiet amusement as the corner of pulls into a smirk.

Seungwan's face falls. She stammers, “D- Don't tell me that I have to —“

"Oh yes," Joohyun interjects. "You have to. But don't worry,” the other corner of pulls up as well, both joined in smile that expresses smug victory. “You won't be alone. I'll be there to supervise.”

---

As soon as the last bell rings, Seungwan is roped out of her classroom, her backpack barely in tow as Joohyun promptly shoves a broom her way.

They stand together as students shuffle out of their classrooms and toward the school entrance, chattering as they went by.

When the hallways clear until only the two are left, Joohyun looks between Seungwan and the floor, a wordless command to start sweeping. 

So Seungwan did, brushing up the bits of paper into piles like raking autumn leaves. Joohyun trails her with a trash can, helping Seungwan dispose of the confetti. Joohyun was clearly more than supervising, but if it let Seungwan get the work done faster, she wouldn't complain.

"You didn't have to take all of this upon yourself. It's not really your job," Seungwan offers, stating the obvious.

Joohyun dismisses the comment nonchalantly. "It's nothing, just my duty."

Glad to see that the sense of strict ethics never left her.

"Couldn't send a student council underclassman to watch me instead?"

"I wouldn't want to bother them," Joohyun says, moving on to the next pile Seungwan created. "Besides, we've been kind of understaffed lately." She sighs, pausing to roll up her sleeves. "Exactly what we need when we have a rally in only two weeks."

"The back-to-school rally?" Seungwan asks, receiving a hum in affirmation. "Also, what do you mean by understaffed?"

"Well," Joohyun begins, "More and more people are leaving after realizing how much work we have to do, not all of it fun. There's more than dances and rallies, there's also paperwork and actually catering to the needs and troubles of the student body." The senior puts a hand on her hip, sighing as she takes a momentary break from the endless collection of confetti. "Sometimes, I think that it would be nice to have more dedicated help."

Joohyun rattles on, talking about various issues the council is currently facing regarding the lack of hands and how much of a trouble this is going to create going forward. The junior mindlessly listens between the of broom to floor.

Seungwan can't help but feel a little worried for the senior. It seems like the role took a lot on her at times, with Seungwan noticing how the senior would always be caught darting in and out of classrooms, running errands for students and staff alike.

She didn't always look the happiest. There were shining moments where the girl would give soft smiles, usually to those that offered a helping hand. But it was clear she had too much to bear on her own. Even then, she never complained, never blamed others.

Seungwan has always wished that she could make those around her smile. That includes Joohyun. All she can manage for now is to continue sweeping, offer her ear for Joohyun's rambling.

As she talks, Seungwan learns that the senior has also found her own quaint reasoning to excuse the continuous leaving of student council recruits.

They're too busy to stay committed to community service. They have other priorities. Student council work is too much.

Seungwan's outside perspective differed. From what she saw, she had noticed that most of them were only attracted to the council because they could spend more time marveling at Joohyun's beauty outside of class. Those kinds of people were not the type to stick around when push comes to shove.

In fact, the student council had practically been whittled down to Joohyun and Seulgi, the vice president and Joohyun's current best friend, as well as a few others who were genuinely interested in student leadership. Those individuals were probably closer to the attaining the aims of the other more lackluster recruits, able to witness Joohyun's naturally cold facade thaw for them, sliding into the instinctive role of caring upperclassman rather than the usual pedestal of school idol that most others had placed her on.

Seungwan could've been one of those mindless followers too, had she not met Joohyun before her groundbreaking high school debut.

They were friends in middle school first — best friends, even.

Their first encounter was so simple. Seungwan was the new transfer from Canada and Joohyun was the class representative, tasked with giving the newbie a tour.

They would've clicked at first sight if not for Joohyun's initial barrier.

Seungwan could tell the girl was bored, having conducted this tour one too many times. So she did what she does best, goof off. 

During the third stop, the cafeteria, Seungwan made sure to swipe a milk carton. She peeled it open with her small, nimble fingers, raised it to her lips, and took a swig. Intentionally, the rascal ended up with a pretty nasty milk mustache. But that was not all. To top it all off, Seungwan threw in her horrible impression of the monopoly man, used only in dire circumstances on the toughest of crowds.

The rest was history.

All Seungwan could remember from that day was how much Joohyun was laughing, as if she hadn't for a long time.

They were inseparable after that. Even if they weren't able to see each other in class, as they were separated by a grade level, they would always go to each other's houses after school. They'd have daily walks to and from, always past that old park with the rusty swings.

Some days, they would stop there on their way. Seungwan's favorite thing to do was to stand on the creaky swings, hold the chains tight, rust lining her hands, and swing as far as she could, kiss the sky and the air and the trees with every .

Joohyun, on the other hand, would always stay with her own feet planted to the rubber floor, cautious and worried.

Somehow, Seungwan knew that if she started flying, Joohyun would catch her. 

Seungwan wonders if she would still do that now.

After Joohyun graduated from middle school, it was almost as if she graduated from Seungwan too. When upperclassmen started fawning over her, when they could no longer walk home together, they drifted apart.

Seungwan wasn't bitter. It wasn't either of their faults, really.

Besides, she had her own support network to fall back on. A few months into the new school year, Seungwan stumbled across Sooyoung, a giant from the grade under her, as well as Yerim, an absolute savage of a sixth grader who always tagged along with Sooyoung.

Joohyun, meanwhile, had started spending time with Seulgi, an adorably introverted classmate and the only one who didn't treat her like some sort of foreign body they weren't allowed to touch, though Seulgi did sometimes fall victim to commenting on how pretty she thought Joohyun was every once in a while.

So they were both fine, both changed, now independent of each other even if their previous existences were like vines intertwined, graduation and new responsibilities a chainsaw that severed their connections.

The junior grew more into the role of entertainer as time went on, always finding that making people laugh was something of her forte. People never witnessed a dismal expression. As long as someone was watching, Seungwan could always be found wearing a bright smile that could stave away any darkness. The only time you might ever catch her face slip, turn wistful, would be when a certain upperclassman walked by in the halls. But then again, Joohyun's cold demeanor might freeze anyone, right?

While Seungwan seemed to escape from her shell, Joohyun might have retreated more into it, becoming more reserved. Whether it was maturity, timidity, or defensiveness, no mere speculator could know. 

If you were to ask the source herself, she might not give a straight answer. It could be that she was affected by the comments around her. When people talked, all they would speak about was her looks. She didn't want to hear their gossip anymore, forced herself to shut them out. 

Despite a cold front, Joohyun was never fully able to stymie the numbers of people who wanted to surround her, drawn to her beauty like moths to a flame. In some way, she built more barriers, keeping very few people to her close — not even few, at that. Her inner circle consisted of herself and Seulgi.

Joohyun City, Population: 2.

Over time, others learned to stay away, admire from afar like she were some center piece in an art exhibit.

That didn't mean Joohyun grew any less kind, the opposite, in actuality. If there was a student in trouble, even if she didn't know them, she would go out of her way to help. She loved to serve the student body, earning a reputation that directly resulted in an election to the position of Student Council President.

Maybe being kind was her way of fixing the comments, changing the narrative. Comments of how pretty she was shifted to comments of how much Joohyun had helped others.

Those comments, Joohyun preferred.

So the former best friends have changed, and they haven't, in some ways, both slotting so easily into their separate boxes, filled-in squares on a grid multiple units apart, no longer intersecting.

And here they are now, their quiet conversations still resounding in the empty hallways of the school, interrupted only by stray teachers walking out of their classrooms and onward to the teacher's lounge. Seungwan doesn't mind the interruptions, the pace of Joohyun's rant never ceasing to pick back up despite them. This was the first time they had really talked since Joohyun graduated those years ago. 

It's familiar and strange all at once.

Seungwan pauses her relentless sweeping, Joohyun holding open the trash for her, eyebrow quirked up in the shape of a question mark.

"Did you hear anything I just said, Seungwan?"

She almost trips over the broom. "Y- Yeah, I did. Something about rallies, less people to plan, hard work, blah blah blah. I wish you good luck with all of that." She hopes that finishing the statement with a smile would earn her some pity from Joohyun.

"You practically missed the most important part."

"Did I?"

"I asked if you wanted to join us, help plan the event."

"Me? Resident class clown and troublemaker extraordinaire?" Seungwan brings a nervous finger to her sternum, pointing self-consciously despite her exaggerated tone. "I may know how to plan pranks, but I don't have the slightest clue as to how that would translate into event planning." 

Seungwan stares at the floor as she continues sweeping, watching the colors recede into white tile as she avoids Joohyun’s eyes. She’s definitely giving that warm gaze that she always does when she wants something, when she would look at Seungwan on their morning and evening walks, on the cusp of asking to stop for ice cream.

Seungwan knows that she would cave in as soon as she saw that look. They might have been distant for several years, but some things just don’t change.

"Seungwan," Joohyun starts, pouting, "That's the thing though! You understand how to get people to have fun." She gestures to the gap on the floor left by the confetti angel student. Seungwan can still imagine his joyous face in her mind, teeth threatening to peek out behind her lips.

Although Seungwan can't see her, she feels like Joohyun is smiling too.

"Your prank today was proof of that."

"And yet I'm getting punished for it," Seungwan quips.

"But consider," Joohyun grins, having caught Seungwan hook, line, and sinker, "You could plan the most fun event of the year and not get punished for it. In fact, the school administration would greatly appreciate it." The president pauses, considering her last statement before correcting herself. "I would greatly appreciate it." Seeing how Seungwan is still unconvinced, she follows with more of a pathos appeal. "You know how boring the rallies last year were, and it's my first major event leading it all, so I just want to make sure it goes well!"

Seungwan has been successfully evading the older girl's gaze, still chasing the edges of cut paper instead of Joohyun's eyes.

"You'd probably do amazing without me, Hyun. You always do."

The old nickname had slipped out so naturally. Seungwan is a little embarrassed actually, to even remember this kind of proximity, as Joohyun nears closer with every sweep of the broom. 

The senior doesn't say anything until she is mere centimeters away, seemingly unfazed by the sudden reappearance of the phrase of endearment, as if she hadn't heard it at all.

"I think I'd do better with you, Wan."

If Seungwan wasn't looking at Joohyun before, she is now. Her smile is smug, and that gaze is still the same warm one that Seungwan knew would make her crumble.

How could she say no?

---

Seungwan wishes she had said no. 

She is currently in the middle of an aisle of the nearest Party City, harsh lighting and intimidating displays extending to the ceiling, forming a fun house without mirrors. The store is always more daunting when alone, but thankfully she was with Joohyun. They came to get decorations, not just for the upcoming rally, but to stock up for the entire year. Seungwan could already feel her arms ache from her future of carrying bags of streamers and glitter.

She's not quite sure why she so readily agreed to go on this errand with Joohyun. When a familiar contact appeared in her phone notifications, a number that she still hasn't deleted, she didn't hesitate to open it, finding a text message from the Student Council President concerning needing extra hands for a decoration run, but lacking volunteers.

It could've been the nostalgia she felt at seeing that the senior hadn't changed her texting style in the slightest, still using proper punctuation and formal tone like she was born two generations ago, or it could've been that Seungwan had nothing else to do after school that day, wallowing in boredom. Whatever it was, the junior ended up wandering around the store with Joohyun, offering occasional advice on various subjects including whether or not the student council should invest in a t-shirt cannon or a popcorn machine. (The popcorn machine, of course. Not everyone likes t-shirts, but food is universal.)

Still, perhaps it could be fun. Party City is a location rife with hijinks, and her go-to for any materials she needs to pull off another perfect prank. She knows the store like the back of her hand, so while Joohyun was stooped over inspecting the different prices and quality of confetti, Seungwan sees an opening for a perfect opportunity to mess with the senior.

The Halloween stock is already on the shelves, even if it was mid-September. Capitalism always gets to the consumers early, after all.

It is normally Seungwan's favorite time to visit the store, finding the displays of blown up yard ghosts and cheap plastic masks an entertaining diversion from Party City's usual atmosphere. The fake blood vials and gruesome masks don't frighten her at all, but if Joohyun was the same scaredy cat she knew in middle school (and the confetti prank confirmed this), then the senior is sure to find any of these shoddy props to be nightmare material. 

Seungwan wanders aimlessly around the construction of a short tunnel intended to be a demonstration haunted house, enticing customers to purchase the items that the staff placed in there. 

As she walks through, a rig with plastic bats swings down from the ceiling, triggered by Seungwan passing a sensor on the floor. She flinches before turning to her right, finding a single light illuminating a pile of rubber entrails, oozing with some green substance. Seungwan doesn't pay too much mind to the various other scares lining the rest of the way, able to see mechanical parts peeking out just feet away, poorly concealed.

The staff did a fair job, probably one of the highlights of their depressing, dreary 9 to 5.

It isn't nearly enough to scare her, but it is more than enough to scare Joohyun.

Speaking of the devil, she could hear the president calling her name from two aisles down, clearly suspicious of where Seungwan disappeared to.

An idea was born.

The resident prankster snatches the closest werewolf mask off a shelf near the entrance of the tunnel, swiftly ducking back in as she hears footsteps approaching. The perfect cadence of squeaking school-assigned loafers indicates that it could be no one other than Ms. Bae Joohyun.

"Seungwan? Where did you go?"

The president startles when she heard the girl's voice respond from inside the dark tunnel situated at this far end of the store.

"Joohyun, is that you? I think I got lost," Seungwan says softly, trying her best to take on an innocent tone.

The senior rolled her eyes. "The opening is right here Seungwan, just come out."

Joohyun hopes that she would be quick about it. Staring into the darkness is already starting to give her the creeps.

"I- I'm a little scared. It's dark Joohyun, can you please come and help me?"

At the threshold of the tunnel, Joohyun is at an impasse. Rapidly, she ran through several scenarios.

First, and most likely, Seungwan is just pulling a prank. Joohyun knew that the girl isn't ditzy enough to lose her way through such a straightforward tunnel, probably scheming to lure Joohyun in and scare her.

Second, Seungwan could genuinely have stumbled in and become disoriented. Joohyun would be, if that happened to her. The junior had an uncanny ability to wind up in odd circumstances, so Joohyun couldn't rule out that possibility. However, she still doubted the third scenario...

It was possible that Seungwan was actually scared. The tremor in her voice seemed too real. She could be lost in there, surrounded by those terrifying props, unable to move.

But Seungwan was in high school, she couldn't possibly be affected by those kinds of things anymore, right?

That didn't stop Joohyun from recalling a time when Seungwan was trapped in a similar position, when they were younger. Somehow, she had meandered away from the field trip group on their tour of the city. There were the blinding headlights of cars and buildings, the overwhelming sounds of engines and sewers, and Seungwan was lost amidst all of it. She was alone, desperate, feared that no one would ever find her again.

That is, until Joohyun did. As class representative, it was her job to keep track of all of the younger individuals. She wouldn't miss a single one, especially if they were her best friend.

And Seungwan was. 

Joohyun remembered retracing the path of the tour, breaking away from the group to ensure that Seungwan was safe. At the time, she didn't care about the dogs barking at her heels, the pigeons flying too close to her head. All she cared about was Seungwan. That momentum carried her across busy intersections, past the clocktower with its winding staircase, beyond the pond with those ducks and reeds.

In the center of the park, arms wrapped around legs pulled close to her chest, she found Seungwan. Joohyun grabbed her hand. She didn't let go.

Now, these were completely different circumstances. Young girl lost in the middle of the city. Older girl lost in a 30 foot long tunnel. Hard rationality didn't apply to Joohyun, however. Anxiety still gnawed at the back of her head.

And so she steps in. The girl might hate horror, might hate Halloween, but she hated the idea of Seungwan in danger more. 

So when bats swing down, narrowly missing Joohyun's face, she screams, but goes on. When she is directed toward a view of the most vile human remains, she squeals, but goes on. After a mechanical skeleton dangles to her left, after strange cryptic audio comes pouring out of speakers to her right, she goes on.

Yet halfway through, she still hasn't found Seungwan. Perhaps she really is lost, after all.

As Joohyun steps over yet another mummy doll, she feels something cold on her shoulder. Weird. She doesn't remember the displays being sophisticated enough to actually touch her.

"Joohyun..." A low growl thunders, raising chills along the senior's spine.

How did it know her name?

She is hesitant to turn around, shutting her eyes in fear. She doesn't have a choice though, as hands grip her shoulders and whip her around, bringing her face to face with a horrifying monstrosity of a werewolf, hair attached to unconventional places, bared teeth dripping with the same green slime that coated the human entrails.

Joohyun only gives the predictable response. She screams like a banshee, wail resounding through the tunnel, no doubt spilling out onto the aisles of the store. If the staff didn't solely consist of apathetic teenagers, maybe one of them would have been concerned enough to run over and help.

Instinctively, Joohyun latches onto the hand of the creature, holding it as she delivers a solid punch to its stomach. Between fight or flight, her body chooses the former.

The werewolf recoils in pain, retracting as it sinks to its knees, releasing a groan too high pitched to be a spawn of Satan. As a matter of fact, it almost sounds like Seungwan.

As the monster moves their hands to their head, Joohyun raises her arms to ready for another attack, at least, until the mask was pulled off, revealing Seungwan's mussed tresses.

Though Joohyun should be mad, she can't help but breathe a sigh of relief. First for the fact that the monster isn't a serial killer in disguise, but second because Seungwan is safe.

Before she knows it, Joohyun comes to her knees beside the girl, enveloping the junior in her arms.

Seungwan melts in her embrace, half shaking in pain, half shaking in laughter.

"Ouch, that really hurt," the junior squeezes out between winces. 

The statement is met with a slap from Joohyun, and another flinch. 

"That's what you get, you idiot," the older says, trying to take on a disappointing tone despite her relaxed smile. "You scared me like hell."

"That was kind of the point, Hyun."

Releasing Seungwan from her hold, Joohyun stands up, beginning to walk the direction she came from, throwing a comment over her shoulder. "You're such a jerk, you know that right?"

"It's my middle name," Seungwan responds happily, as if the humor cured the pain of the er punch. "Would I be more of a jerk to ask you to walk through the rest of this haunted tunnel with me?"

Joohyun doesn't stop, barely seeing the light of the entrance. "Why would I do that?"

Seungwan explains, pouting, "Because we were already halfway through, and I didn't get to see the rest of the props yet!"

"You can see the rest of them yourself, Wan," Joohyun retorts. As she waves an arm dismissively, it gets caught. She looks at the culprit, discovering that the cuff of her sleeve is now hooked on the gear of the mechanical skeleton's wrist joint. Her goosebumps return.

In this unfortunate moment, Seungwan's voice echoes from a few feet behind her, both knowing and mocking. "Are you really sure you want to walk all the way back there on your own?"

"I'm sure," Joohyun answers as she attempts to free herself from the skeleton's hold, doing her best to not peer up at the plastic sneer written on its ghoulish face.

Seungwan comes closer. "Need any help, President?"

"I..." Joohyun tries extricating herself once again, but feels the tug of fabric. She really wouldn't like to rip this uniform. Sighing, she replies to Seungwan's offer. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all!" Seungwan exclaims, a tad too enthusiastically, reaching over Joohyun's shoulder to unhook the girl. However, her hand stills before she makes contact with the offending joint. "Well, I'll help you on one condition."

"Now's not really the time to be joking around —"

The junior starts walking away.

Joohyun catches the steel glint at her like a devilish wink. Lest she be trapped here alone, she rushes to stammer, "W- Wait! Please help! What do you want?"

"Walk through the rest of the tunnel with me."

"But... But... Ugh, okay, fine!" Joohyun huffs, exasperated. "But promise me you won't terrify me?"

"I don't make promises I can't keep," Seungwan smirks. "But I promise we'll be out of here intact!"

That's quite a dubious answer, but Joohyun doesn't really have a choice.

In mere seconds, the president is freed... almost. Now her hand was clasped by something else, Seungwan's.

The younger was gleaming in spite of the dim light. "Ready for more haunts?"

The president is hardly able to respond before Seungwan is towing her along. Joohyun can only grip Seungwan's hand tighter as fake claws scrape her shoulders and bones rattle underfoot.

Joohyun shrieks as spiders dangle from the ceiling. "I really can't do this, Seungwan!"

Her playful demeanor dissipates, leaving a softer expression behind. "You're doing so well already. Don't worry, we're almost there." As if it were innate, Seungwan slides closer to Joohyun, allowing the senior to clutch her arm to her chest. Seungwan doesn't balk at the sudden contact. "Stay as close as you want," she reassures.

Before they know it, they're at the end of the tunnel, Joohyun not quite ready to let go.

"Why would you put me through that," Joohyun mumbles into Seungwan's shoulder.

The senior's chin bobs along with Seungwan's shrug.

"Let's just say that I think you're cute when you're scared." 

The response was so nonchalant, so casual, that Joohyun almost misses it. Was that really all it was? Her initial scare was surely for the sake of relishing in Joohyun's terror, but that didn't explain her kindness at the end. Why did she encourage Joohyun's comfort if the only purpose was to continue frightening her?

Joohyun doesn't quite know the answer, but settled on a possible conclusion.

Maybe Seungwan knew that Joohyun couldn't make it back alone. Maybe Seungwan wanted to help her through it, some sort of penitence for her wrongdoing.

Maybe Seungwan is just kind like that.

"Anyway," the junior said, inserting herself between the lines of Joohyun's thoughts. "Did you find what type of confetti you wanted? I had a few opinions from my recent experience and..."

Seungwan's voice drones on as she walks further down the aisle, Joohyun simply watching her from behind. She doesn't know what to make of the girl, how she's changed. She is no longer that lost child in the city, steps assured, unbothered by the grotesque displays around her that still manage to unsettle the upperclassman. Though childish in some ways, especially when it comes to practical jokes, she's grown up. Joohyun wasn't there to witness the transformation.

She hurries to take hold of Seungwan's hand again. She didn't let go before, why should she now?

As their hands slot naturally together, fingers interlocked, Joohyun resolves to make the younger carry all the materials back to the car. Joohyun's beating heart was enough for her to carry on her own.

---

The next day, Seungwan is sitting with Sooyoung and Yerim at lunch, conversations circling around various topics. Seungwan never did much of the talking with them around anyway, always preferring to listen to their off-topic tangents and banter.

Sooyoung's currently making comments about the latest rumors, while Yerim is responding with snarky asides as to the validity of those statements. Silently, Seungwan watches them ramble, playing out like a radio show before her.

Oftentimes, Seungwan found herself at the center of classroom hijinks, provoking laughs and smiles from those around her. Sometimes though, she prefers this. Rather than be the source of brightness, she just wants to bask in it. And Sooyoung and Yerim are always bright.

She's too invested in their debate over what they think is actually in the mystery cafeteria meat to notice the hand on her shoulder at first.

A nervous cough sounds out from behind her, causing Seungwan to spin in her seat.

Oh. It's Joohyun.

"Sorry, do you mind if I cut into your lunch?"

Maybe Seungwan would, if it were anyone else.

The junior smiles. "No, not at all. What do you need?"

Seungwan can hear the demon duo muttering behind her about how much Seungwan would whine whenever they suggested cutting lunch, but is suddenly throwing away her precious period for School Angel Bae Joohyun.

"It's nothing much, I just need some help with some filing, and unfortunately, Seulgi's not here to help as a result of a meeting with the dance team. I swear we'll be done by the end of the lunch period, but I can't really do it alone."

Seungwan isn't used to Joohyun approaching her so spontaneously. She could feel so many eyes burrowing into her, sudden spotlight drawn on her in the center of the cafeteria. In some instances, she might like that, but only if she was the one who initiated the event that attracted attention.

It seems that Joohyun just draws eyes wherever she goes.

Anxious to get the burning stares off of her back, including those coming from Sooyoung and Yerim, Seungwan hastily agrees.

"Great!"

Joohyun pulls at Seungwan’s arm, helping her up from her seat. Her hand doesn’t let go as she starts walking away, barely giving Seungwan time to sling her backpack over her shoulder and stumble after.

Funnily enough, the junior feels even more eyes on her after that.

They make their way to the student council room, trudging through hallways with straggler students nowhere to be during lunch, too removed from the social scene to pause and watch the school’s queen walk by, hopeless peasant in tow.

As they approach the spare classroom that doubles as the headquarters for the student council, one of the aimless students lingering in the hallway begins approaching them.

"Joohyun! Can I speak with you for a minute?"

They slide the doors open, Joohyun finally letting go of Seungwan's hand. The junior was burning, not knowing if it was from the contact or, now, from lack of it.

"Wait inside. I'll see what this boy wants."

Seungwan pulls up a chair, sitting at the perfect angle to peer through the small window of the door.

The student is nervous, unable to make eye contact with Joohyun as he speaks. It looks like he's saying something important, words weighing down his shoulders, bending him over as he looks down at the floor.

Through the crack of the door left slightly ajar, Seungwan can only make out bits and pieces of the conversation. But one phrase is all she needs to hear to understand what unfolds before her.

"I like you."

So it's a confession.

The boy is tall, fairly good-looking. Seungwan swears she has seen him around before, sitting at the cafeteria table just across from Joohyun's, surrounded by that particular crowd of popular students that were frequent subjects of Sooyoung and Yerim's midday gossip. She remembers catching him stare at Joohyun, even when there were others trying to get his attention.

His low voice comes to a stop as he looks up from the floor, waiting for Joohyun's answer.

Seungwan directs her gaze to the girl, who wears an apologetic expression. Her lips move, and his face falls as she talks.

The junior doesn't need to catch any words through the door to tell that this is a rejection. She would feel sorry for the boy if she wasn't so pleased with the outcome, though it wasn't unexpected. Sooyoung and Yerim had often brought up the topic of Joohyun's constant stream of suitors and subsequent constant stream of rejections.

Yet this time is somewhat different.

The boy doesn't look like he is taking no for an answer, fallen expression morphing into anger, eyebrows knotting and arched. As Joohyun begins to step away, he takes a hold of her wrist, knuckles white.

Seungwan thinks that she's had enough of watching.

She busts through the door, making her appearance as loud and dramatic as possible.

She swaggers and sways as she approaches Joohyun, placing one palm on the door frame as the other clutches her abdomen.

"Ah, Joohyun! I think I ate something really horrible in that mystery meat!"

For a second, Joohyun appears less concerned by the boy invading her personal space and more concerned with Seungwan's physical state.

Seungwan's eyes lock on where his hand is still attached to Joohyun, slicing through and swinging her arms wildly about.

"Move, man, or I'm going to be sick!"

He backs away, stunned at this outrageous and sudden display.

Quickly, Seungwan grabs Joohyun's arm and pulls her to the nearest bathroom which is fortunately just a few feet down the hallway.

She peeks out the door and watches the boy's figure recede down the hall, arms crossed and gait heavy as he storms off.

Breathless, she closes the door, turning to Joohyun who leans against a sink, stunned.

"How was my acting?"

Joohyun lets out laughter that she's been holding in, chuckles echoing across the bathroom tile. "I've seen better."

Seungwan nudges Joohyun's shoulder, with her own, lopsided grin plastered on her face. "No, you couldn't have! That was Oscar-winning!" 

"It wasn't the most original plot, Ms. Actress."

"What's wrong with recycling a scene from the seventh grade?"

A look of nostalgia is written into Joohyun's features. 

"Nothing." Her expression shifts from reminiscence to gratitude. "Thank you, by the way."

"That guy was terrifying, wasn't he?"

The senior's smile dampens slightly. "Quite."

"Well, I'll be your knight in shining armor for as long as you'll have me!"

Seungwan strikes a valiant pose before taking Joohyun by the hand, leading them back to the student council room.

---

"Here," Joohyun says, reaching to push a banner out of the way, revealing a gray door with a vinyl label, "Storage", plastered on it. "The files are all going to be in here."

The president walks into the room, ducking under some misplaced streamers and stepping over various cardboard boxes before winding up in a corner lined with shelves of folders and binders.

To Seungwan, it resembles a secret library in the corner of a metal jungle.

"The last president left this whole place a mess," Joohyun clarifies, "But according to laws concerning the practice of student government, we have to keep a lot of these records, and it will be a real pain if I'm trying to file something in reimbursements and end up with a folder for activities requests."

Seungwan has no idea what those words mean in the context of the student council, but simply nods in assumed understanding.

Joohyun chuckles as she reads Seungwan's subconsciously raised eyebrows to mean confusion. "It's not that complicated, so you don't have to worry. I'll show you."

They spend an hour more than they intend to on "filing".

With so many props from past school plays, courtesy of the drama department sharing the storage room with the student council, Seungwan finds it hard to resist reciting all of lines from Romeo and Juliet’s balcony scene when she finds the old feathered cap poking out of a stray bin. 

Joohyun laughs through the whole performance, unable to contain herself when Seungwan starts replacing "Juliet" with "Joohyun" halfway through. Maybe Joohyun could change her mind about how award-winning Seungwan's performances are.

If it were anyone else, the proximity created by the close quarters of the storage room might make this more intimate, the beginnings of a riveting romance. 

But it's not anyone else. It's just them, in some damp, dim storage room at the upper west edge of the campus. Still, Seungwan can't explain why her hands become clammy every time Joohyun smiled when Seungwan replaced the love interest's name with hers.

When they are finally finished, the pair back in the not so dark, not so dim student council room, Seungwan takes a look at the clock, eyes widening in realization.

"I'm going to be so late for my biology class!"

Joohyun takes her own look at the clock, somewhat impressed that they were able to kill so much time together. "Oh, don't worry about it. I'll write you up an official excusal slip."

She pulls out a pad of slips from a nearby cabinet, taking a pen off the table to start writing down the excuse. The president reads it aloud as she scribbles. "Official student council duties." Joohyun flicks the pen as she finishes her signature, tearing off the slip quickly and neatly.

"Behold. A presidential pardon," Joohyun says as she hands the paper to Seungwan, who bows as she receives it in mock reverence. 

"I'm too unworthy of such an honor. Thank you for your mercy, your highness." If Seungwan could curtsy for effect, she would've.

Joohyun can't help but smile. "This is not a monarchy, Seungwan."

The junior glances up from her bow, smirking.

"Then why are you such a princess, Juliet?"

Joohyun doesn't want to speak. She'd definitely stutter out some lame response and have to move countries, change her name just to avoid the shame.

Seungwan brushes away the flustered atmosphere, continuing casually.

"I never thought I'd witness the power of the Student Council President. Maybe I should hang out with you more often."

Joohyun recovers as Seungwan sidles past her and out of the room, watching the junior stride calmly to the science building.

"Maybe you should," Joohyun says to the air, as if in some strange twist of fate the broken air conditioner would spring to life, generating a wind that could carry her wish to Seungwan's ears. "I'll need a knight in shining armor."

It would be fine if she didn't hear it, though. Joohyun would just have to resolve to spend more time with the junior on her own.

---

And resolve she did, making more excuses about things that they would have to plan, sending underclassmen home early to create the illusion of no one else around to help.

Seungwan didn't mind being pulled in all directions though, not if it was Joohyun doing the tugging.

So here she is, at the end of the week, pulled along again.

They are walking to the gym from the student council room after school, hoping to scope it out and finalize where they plan to hang the decorations. The buildings are on opposite sides of the campus, making their walk longer than most.

It is cold too, weather indicating the seasonal transition between summer and fall. This is reflected in the growing gray sky sprawling overhead, like it was about to rain.

Joohyun doesn't normally like the cold, but walking alongside Seungwan somehow made the atmosphere warm up by a degree.

The younger's voice, like hot chocolate, spills out.

"So the school is already buzzing about your latest rejection."

"Oh, really? Well, it's not new, I suppose."

Apparently the boy was wealthy, popular, and handsome. Not that Joohyun had noticed, or even cared.

It was odd how others often found themselves more invested in her affairs than she was.

"A lot of people are jealous," Seungwan says. "They're saying he's a real catch." The junior's face shrivels in disgust. "I don't think a catch would ever treat anyone like that. I know I wouldn't."

Joohyun doesn't know how to respond. The whole scenario sounded like something out of a drama, too complicated and frivolous for her taste. 

In fact, she had gotten a concerning note earlier today, a warning taken directly from the script of a soap opera. 

"Stay away from her, or things will escalate," it read.

What a contrived movie plot.

Joohyun doesn't know who the "her" is, doesn't know who could've sent this message. Rising tensions over her rejection, a rally to plan, and now this? It's starting to become too much.

Fortunately, Seungwan's comforting presence was a great distraction.

"Speaking of catches," Seungwan says, putting her hands in her pockets, "What's your ideal type?"

"Where did that question come from?"

"Oh, I don't know." She shifts from side to side. "Just curious, I guess?"

Cold air brushes across Joohyun's cheeks as she walks, lips pursed in thought. Her hands, holding onto supplies from the student council room, are turning red from the cold.

Joohyun answers with the only thing she can think of.

"Someone warm."

"Is that all? Not even a quality like intelligence or humor?"

"Kindness is a quality. Kindness is warmth."

Seungwan rolls her eyes, smile showing anything but disappointment.

"You're just saying that because we're walking in the cold." The junior pulls Joohyun close to her side, radiating with that indescribable quality that Joohyun craves.

"You don't need anyone else, then," Seungwan comments, voice hardly a decibel above silence. "I'll be warm for you."

Joohyun nuzzles into Seungwan's sleeve. Well, they wouldn't have to worry about the cold much longer. Soon they would be in a well-insulated gym. Unfortunate how the school would spare no second thought to keep the student athletes warm while the rest of the school population froze. She'll have to keep that issue in mind for the upcoming year's agenda.

When they reach the gym, pushing open the heavy metal doors, Joohyun notices how unusual it seems so empty. It was normally packed with students during events, P.E., and games, but even when she was there over the summer, setting up extracurricular events with the rest of the few student council members, it didn't appear to be so vacant.

It's a hardwood desert, Seungwan and her being the sole travelers on a mysterious journey across this wasteland.

Of course, the lines of the basketball court somewhat ruin the ambience of it all.

Besides, this is no journey, they have work to do. They don't have much time to waste either, since they were already two hours past the last bell, having spent those previous hours with floor plans and markers. The janitors always locked up at three hours after, leaving only one hour to spare if they didn't want to spend the night at school.

So they got to business, Seungwan pointing at the rafters to suggest they tie a net and have a balloon drop, Joohyun countering with practical concerns surrounding how they would even get up there. They continued like that, with the junior proposing incredible, but insane ideas, and the senior shutting them down and presenting their limitations. Sometimes, Seungwan would evade such worries, contriving new plans that took into account all possible considerations. Maybe they could spend more time looking into those ideas together later then.

They've looked at all of the major locations in the gym, where they need to place the large banner, what streamers would look nice around the handles of the bleachers. They're very well done for the day, with no real reason for them to continue dawdling around.

Yet Joohyun wants an excuse to extend their time together. 

She looks across the gym, spotting racks of basketballs left out from yesterday's home game. 

"Ah," Joohyun begins, pointing at them, "Maybe we should put those away."

"What if we don't?" Seungwan proposes. "Want to play a game instead?"

That is a much better idea. It happened to be a bonus that Joohyun could never turn down the opportunity to play a game.

"What do you suggest?" Joohyun asks, curious.

"Ever heard of the game 'Horse'?"

Joohyun nods, having played it once as a kid. She hasn't touched basketballs very much over the past few years, academics always taking precedence over more "unnecessary extracurriculars" as her parents might say. Still, she's athletic enough to be confident in whatever Seungwan challenged. Well, she also might have been on the girl's basketball team in middle school, something Seungwan may or may not remember. Either way, this is a game basically rigged for Joohyun to win.

"Let's make it more fun, spice it up a bit," Seungwan adds. "How about we raise the stakes? Whoever wins gets to ask whatever they want of the loser."

"Sounds exciting."

"Trust me, it will be," Seungwan declares as she grabs a ball from the rack, passing it to Joohyun. "Princesses first."

The president ignores the comment, dribbling to the free point line. She staggers her steps, bounces the ball twice, straightens her arms on the release, and swishes the ball. Nice to see that these natural abilities have not left her.

Without surprise, Joohyun retrieves the ball as it bounces under the net, nonchalantly passing it back to Seungwan.

Her jaw is hung agape. "Forget princess, I should be calling you queen."

"If you played as well as you talk, you would beat me easily," Joohyun shoots back, pride clearly written over her features.

"Be assured that I don't," Seungwan says, walking to the free throw line as Joohyun backed away. "I had an extremely short stint of playing basketball in the fifth grade, but it's likely something that you wouldn't need to worry about." 

Worry she does not, as Seungwan completely airballs.

The junior plays it off with a laugh, tossing the basketball to Joohyun. "Goodbye, H. It was my least favorite letter anyway."

"Really? Why?" Joohyun probes as she lined up her shot at the three point line.

"When you sound out the 'H', it sounds like you're panting. No one likes panting."

Joohyun is too busy laughing at that bizarre explanation that she actually misses. Aw, no fair. She was distracted. 

"So even our perfect majesty falters sometimes, huh?" Seungwan jokes.

"Of course I do," Joohyun answers succinctly. She can't admit that she only tends to lose so much focus in the presence of one particular class clown.

"Let's hope that, conversely, the knight has a few shining moments."

As if she predicted the future, Seungwan sinks her shot.

"Hmm," the junior says, rather perplexed herself. "I guess I had enough practice in fifth grade to create skills that would last a lifetime."

Joohyun shouldn't underestimate Seungwan. On most occasions, the girl would have enough bad luck to miss almost every shot, but today must have been her lucky day.

They whittled down each other's letters, both down to their last 'E'.

However, they had been stuck at the final letter for almost fifteen minutes, Seungwan's sudden basketball prowess seemed to have disappeared without reason, perhaps suspiciously so. Joohyun, on the other hand, had been trying to achieve trick shots that would guarantee her chances of winning. If she made them in the first place, that is.

The president is starting to grow skeptical of Seungwan's sudden string of failures. The girl is fairly close to the basket, somehow unable to make shots that she had accomplished so easily just minutes ago.

Wait, is she... letting Joohyun win?

From their past interactions, Seungwan is well aware of how much Joohyun enjoyed games — even more so, winning. But it is never fun when the opponent doesn't give their best effort.

This became a new game entirely. Forget basketball, forget victory. Joohyun was now determined to lose. Sure, she might give up a chance to get the junior to do absolutely anything, and all of the infinite possibilities that came with that, but she preferred leaving her dignity intact. 

And losing to Seungwan didn't seem that bad.

All she had to do was get Seungwan to score once, and then botch her own attempt. Simple.

"Wan," Joohyun called out. "Why are you missing all of those easy shots. What would even happen if you tried something harder?"

Seungwan smirks. "I'd miss the more difficult ones too."

Joohyun bats her eyelashes. "Better for me, right?"

"Certainly," Seungwan responded. Though she understood that that course of action would be worse for her chances of winning, Seungwan predictably takes herself to the half-court line. "Watch me make this backwards, then."

Joohyun starts to doubt the efficacy of her plan. It isn't exactly soundproof, seeing as there is hardly less than a percent chance that Seungwan could actually make that shot.

The senior crosses her fingers as Seungwan aligns herself along the half-court line, making a show of adjusting her shoulders to the ideal angle, even though they both know that she will put very little effort into ensuring this attempt's success.

As the ball left her fingers, Joohyun watches as it defies the laws of physics, forming a perfect arc as it travels toward the basket, reaching its target like a trained nuclear missile. With a swish, it falls to the floor, rebounding four times before it settles to rest, Joohyun too stunned to retrieve it for her junior.

"Aw, darn, I didn't..." Seungwan begins, stalled by the realization of what had just occurred. "I... I made it?"

When Joohyun breaks out of her stupor, so too did a grin break out on her face. She always won, after all, even if that meant winning at losing.

Confidently, she saunters over to the half-court line, absentmindedly tossing the ball over her shoulders and watching it fling in some random direction.

"Looks like you win."

"I- I guess I did," Seungwan replies with an upturn at the end, almost as if she were asking a question rather than stating a fact.

"Have you thought about what you wanted from me?" Joohyun inquires as she collects the ball and puts it back into the rack.

Seungwan gathers up the carts, rolling them to the corner of the gym where they were usually stored. "I'll have to keep thinking about it."

"You have my number," the senior offers. "Just let me know whenever you think of something."

"Sure. So we'll be heading home now?"

Joohyun answers with a sigh, "I suppose so."

She shouldn't get too greedy with Seungwan's time, but she couldn't help it. The hours passed all too quickly when they were together.

As they walk toward the exit, Joohyun notices the sound of rain pattering on the metal roof.

"Ah, I didn't bring an umbrella."

Ever the optimistic one, Seungwan puts a positive spin on the situation. "It's a free shower after all the exercise!"

Joohyun just laughs. Maybe the heat of the gym is getting to their heads. They'd be out soon anyway.

She presses the handle to open the doors. 

They don't budge.

Checking her watch, she looks at the time. 

Oh. They're thirty minutes past closing.

Noticing Joohyun's frown, Seungwan pipes up. "What's wrong?"

"We're locked in."

Seungwan's face falls for a second, before rebounding as fast as a basketball could bounce.

"Look on the bright side," She says, nudging the senior. "We have an excuse to skip our assignments for the day."

That statement only gives the upperclassman more anxiety, starting to fidget nervously. She doesn't know of anyone she could call that could get them out, short of ringing the fire department and having them bash the doors in. The secretaries were long gone, and she doesn't have the numbers of any of the janitorial staff. They could always hope that a stray security guard would roll by on their rounds, but Joohyun was well aware that their work ethic is lacking, to say the least.

Luckily, Seungwan has a solution. "Let me just call Sooyoung and Yerim. They know how to break into anything. They'll be able to get us out of here in a flash. Just sit tight, and we'll be out before you know it."

The junior steps away to call the pair while Joohyun slumps to the floor beside the doors. They were lucky that they had brought their backpacks with them. It's one less thing to worry about.

Out of courtesy, the senior tries her best not to eavesdrop, distracting herself by counting the number of lights that hang on the ceiling. She couldn't help but catch some odds and ends of the conversation, though.

Something about how being trapped with, blah, blah, unintelligible muttering, was the perfect opportunity, eccentric gesturing, blah, we'll be there in an hour.

Joohyun can't piece together enough to fully understand what the hold up was, but she wouldn't complain. Better to wait an hour than to wait the whole night. She'd have to change her perception of the girls' unsavory skill set.

Soon, Seungwan is at Joohyun's side, relaying how Sooyoung and Yerim had their own school projects to take care of and would only be able to swing by with the proper materials in an hour. Joohyun had heard that much herself, readily accepting Seungwan's explanation.

"So," Seungwan starts, "What do we do now?"

Joohyun is about to reach into her backpack and suggest that she has some books to study, but Seungwan's hand meets hers, stopping her from taking anything out.

"Oh, come on, Hyun. This is possibly the only time we'll ever get locked in a gym together and you want to use it to study?"

"What else am I supposed to do?"

Seungwan bites the inside of her cheek, paused in thought. 

"How about another game?"

"I don't really want to play basketball again —"

"Not basketball, just talking."

That sounds interesting enough. Joohyun would always prefer talking with Seungwan to studying, even if she was expected to prefer the latter over the former.

"What do you have in mind?" Joohyun questions.

"We can test our chemistry. I'll say two choices, and on the count of three, we say which one we like better. If we make more of the same choices, then our compatibility is higher."

Part of Joohyun thinks that such a simple game would be a poor indicator of how compatible they truly are, but the other part of Joohyun is curious. 

"Why not?"

"Okay then, let's do a practice round. City or suburbs."

Seungwan counts down.

"City," the junior says.

"Suburbs," answers the senior at the same time.

"Guess we're already incompatible," Seungwan teases.

Joohyun pouts. "It was only one round."

"Let's hope the next ones don't all go like this then," the class clown jokes. "If you don't mind me asking, what do you like about the suburbs?"

"It's comfortable. The city's a little too busy for me," Joohyun explains. "It's easy to feel small in a city."

"What if you were there with someone else? Would you feel less small?"

Joohyun imagines holding hands along city streets, walking side by side as cars rush by. She thinks of sitting on apartment balconies and people-watching, having a birds eye view as businessmen and interns bustled on the concrete. She thinks of warm sweaters in the cool spring season. She thinks of someone with just as warm hands and even warmer smiles. If she was there with Seungwan... If she was anywhere with Seungwan, whether it be city or cramped storage room or locked gymnasium...

"Maybe," the senior replies.

Seungwan nods, accepting the response.

"Reputation or love?"

These choices came out of the blue, they warranted some sort of clarification, Joohyun thinks.

"What do you mean, between reputation or love?"

Seungwan leans into the wall, an indent forming around her shoulder pressed into the navy blue padding. Joohyun watches her sigh, close her eyes as she tries to conjure a comprehensible explanation. The senior gets the feeling that there's more to the question than just a simple choice.

Seungwan bites the inside of her cheek, her lower lip pulled inward.

"Think about it this way. Let's say that you are in a position of power, respected by members of your community as someone ruled by order and tradition. But you love someone that society cannot accept. If you run off with them, you'll lose all of what you have."

"It's just like you to come up with a plot straight out of a novel," Joohyun says with stifled laughter.

"Hey, I asked for you to make a choice, not critique my example. I'll give you a second to think about it."

Think Joohyun does, perhaps too much. In the silence of the gym, cool air seeping through some unreachable window, Joohyun thinks. 

Reputation or love.

Though Seungwan's scenario recalls a medieval fantasy, a story too far removed from her own, Joohyun can't help but remember making a similar choice before. 

She looks over at the junior, eyes closed as she listens to the sounds of the rain, the cushioning of the wall a pillow to rest her heavy head. 

Seungwan was a choice she made, before.

Joohyun remembers the circumstances that led to them drifting apart. She remembers telling Seungwan that she was busy. It was high school. A middle schooler wouldn't understand.

She remembers conversations with new people, conversations circling around her attachment to a particular middle schooler who wouldn't understand. She remembers pointed remarks about immaturity, remarks that included words like lame, words like immature.

And Joohyun hadn't changed much after she made that choice. She was worried then, is worried now about what others think. 

And her choice was to leave Seungwan then. What would her choice be now?

She feels guilty about it, as she traces the lines of Seungwan's face, usually bright smile as dim as the lights of the gym. It all reminds her of a decision she regrets. She recognizes that absence of light from when she'd pass her in the halls, catching the girl staring only to avert her eyes so quickly.

All of it was reversed in a second, when she took her hand in that hall full of confetti. She doesn't want to let her go again.

The junior's eyes open.

"Have you made a choice? 3..."

Seungwan looks as though she had already come to a conclusion minutes ago, before even posing the question. Perhaps she went through the same thought process as Joohyun, albeit much quicker, more decisive. She's more carefree after all, not as attached to illusory reputations as Joohyun is. 

"2..."

Though Joohyun had not been close to her for these several years, she feels like she knows Seungwan's answer before she even says it. Her main goal had always been to make others happy, and if it took flipping off a crowd for the one she loved, she would do it in a heartbeat.

"1..."

All this thinking, and Joohyun still can't answer.

Seungwan smiles at her like she knows. "Well, I didn't mean to dump a heavy choice on you there. Let's go back to an easier one." The junior puts her hand to her chin as she searches for another set of options, ones that preferably don't have Joohyun question her life choices.

"Sea or sky? 3, 2, 1..."

The choice is obvious enough for Joohyun.

"Sky."

"Sea," Seungwan follows, a millisecond after.

As if trying to see said sky through the ceiling, the junior angles her head upward, pressing her crown to the padding. "They're the same sometimes, aren't they?"

"The sky and the sea?"

"Yeah. If we were up there," Seungwan gestures above, "And we were looking down..." Joohyun peers over the edge of an imaginary cloud as the junior goes on. 

"You could almost mistake the sea for another sky."

"There are a lot of differences though, aren't there?"

"Well, yes."

Joohyun begins an explanation of the opposing viewpoint. "Firstly, their chemical compositions are entirely different. The sea is a liquid. The sky is a gas."

"You could say that the sky has water vapor too, just in gaseous form. And they're both intimately connected through the water cycle. The sea evaporates and becomes the sky. The sky condenses into clouds and rains down. The rain makes its way back to the sea. So on and so forth," Seungwan rambles, revealing a contemplative depth that Joohyun hadn't noticed before.

Too quickly, she returns to her usual jesting self. "I would know because we covered it in every single biology class we've had since the seventh grade."

Joohyun continues developing her line of reasoning. "I suppose that they are also too distant to be considered remotely close to one another. They're separated by miles of air."

"That depends on where you believe the sky starts and the sea ends. Look out far enough and you'll see that they're holding hands on the horizon."

The sky and the sea holding hands. What a cute way of thinking.

"Don't they look visually disparate too? Often, the sea is a much darker blue."

"Well, let me put it this way," Seungwan begins. "Have you ever seen the sky on a stormy day? It churns, rumbles with thunder, a shifting, tumultuous gray throughout. On those days, the sea appears the same. It churns, rumbles with the tides, a shifting, tumultuous gray throughout."

"How poetic," Joohyun comments. "Do you think of these things often?"

"I wouldn't say that I think of these particular subjects too much," Seungwan says, bashfully rubbing the back of her nape. "I just end up thinking a lot."

Joohyun hums her acknowledgement, the conversation drifting to a lull.

The senior breaks the silence first.

"I guess I've never thought of it that way. They might be more similar than I thought."

"Or maybe not," Seungwan poses, seemingly overturning her entire argument. "They don't have to be similar to stay together, like they don't need to have direct contact to stay connected."

An inkling of Joohyun feels that the statement holds more depth than Seungwan wants to reveal.

"Joohyun, have you ever seen the sea fall from the sky?"

The senior imagines a thick blanket of water appearing above their town, slapping down onto the pavement and streets and buildings, dyeing everything blue. If she ever witnessed such an event, she likely wouldn't have survived to tell the story.

"I can't say that I have."

"Then I found out what prize I want from you," Seungwan states as she stands, offering a hand for Joohyun to take. "Let me show you what it looks like."

The president is confused, but takes Seungwan's hand without hesitation.

"How are you going to go about doing that?"

"You'll be surprised at what I can do," Seungwan says as she walks behind the bleachers, finding a door tucked into the corner of the building. "Roof Access", the sign reads.

"Seungwan, you can't take us to the roof when it's raining."

"But it's not raining," the junior comments as they enter the stairwell.

Joohyun worries that the girl has lost some brain cells from being stuck in the gym for so long.

"Then I must be hearing incorrectly, because I'm convinced I can hear the rain coming down on the roof."

The metallic noises were unmistakable, an annoyance for most students who spent their P.E. periods inside the gym on days like this. The incessant patter resounds like their footsteps, filling the usually silent passage with white noise.

"That's not the rain you're hearing, Hyun," Seungwan smiles, letting go of her hand once she reaches the top of the steps. She opens the door leading to the roof. "The sea is falling from the sky."

And it is. 

That shifting, tumultuous gray that Seungwan described earlier is hanging before her eyes, a moving tapestry of weather, dancing above their town.

Joohyun had always liked looking at the sky, but usually that meant when it was sunset or sunrise, colors dashed on cotton clouds. But somehow, even when all she sees is this expanse of dark gray, barely able to make it out between the raindrops that crashed on the sheets of metal coating the rooftop, she still finds it beautiful.

Seungwan made it beautiful.

She took the sea and all of its rolling majesty, slow waves and water, put it into a bucket, and splashed it across the heavens. All it took was a few words, and Joohyun's everyday scenery was transformed.

The sea is falling from the sky.

She had never looked at rainy days like this before, and likely never would again unless Seungwan was there, painting a coat of magic across normalcy. There was nothing out of place about the junior, but somehow... somehow her words, her presence, it was all a fantasy to Joohyun.

How easily did Seungwan turn the commonplace into a rarity, a rarity that became common whenever she was with her.

The junior steps out from under the awning, stretching her arms out to catch raindrops in her palms.

"Hey!" Joohyun shouted, "You're going to get sick!"

"I'll survive a cold, Joohyun," Seungwan replies. "But I don't think I can survive without enjoying the rain a little."

She hops into a puddle that formed in an indent on the roof, splashing water onto her navy slacks. The cold makes her giddy, giggling as droplets are thrown upward, crashing into the raindrops that come from the opposite direction.

Joohyun can only watch with a smile.

"It would be nice if we had some music up here," Seungwan remarks.

"Oh really, what for?"

The junior's eyes flash with mirth as her loafers tap out a rhythm on the metal.

"So we could dance!"

Seungwan steps her way along the roof toward the awning. Once again, she offers a hand for Joohyun to take. 

Once again, Joohyun doesn't hesitate. 

The sounds of rain on roof become its own symphony, plinking and plunking tones far removed from those heard on conventional instruments. The atmosphere rumbles its own bass line, thrumming like their hearts. The pair spins to the irregular cadence, hands clasped together. They box step, they fox trot their way across the ceiling.

In all of their amateur glory, they show the true meaning of the word. They have no latin roots, no foreign moves. But they know amare. And they would dance with love.

When the water soaks their shirts to their seams, when their socks grow damp from waltzes through puddles, they don't notice. All they know is that the world is ending, the sea is falling from the sky, and all they have is this magical, musicless dance.

But all at once, it's over, their trance interrupted by a ringtone reverberating from Seungwan's pocket.

"Oh, it must be our saviors," Seungwan says.

Joohyun doesn't feel like she needs to be rescued right now, but reluctantly walks back down the stairs as Seungwan pulls her along.

By the time they walk back to the exit, Sooyoung and Yerim have already cracked the door open.

"Seungwan, you're such an idiot..." the taller starts to say, until she notices the state of their appearances. "Woah, why are you both soaked?"

The junior beams. "Felt like taking a bath in the sea today."

Sooyoung and Yerim exchange a look.

The sophomore rolls her eyes. "Don't tell me being locked in here made you crazy."

"Oh, she's definitely crazy," Yerim chimes. "We both know she has a lockpicking kit in her backpack, and yet she didn't use it on the door! She has to be insane if she made us come all this way to come get her."

Joohyun balks, turning to the junior. 

"You had what?"

Seungwan paces away before Joohyun could press any further, wrapping her arms around the demon duo.

"Sorry, Hyun, they have a project to get to! I'll see you later, okay?"

Joohyun sighs, but contentedly. Perhaps the resolve to spend more time together was not all that one sided.

As she makes her way to her car, she doesn't feel the need to run even as raindrops drip down her arms and legs. Her feet fall in constant rhythm, another dance in the sea.

---

That Saturday, Joohyun is woken up by a phone call. She doesn't get many of those.

Rolling over and fumbling for her glasses on the bedside table, she puts them on, looking at the caller ID on her screen.

Wan.

The president doesn't remember making plans with her. Why would she be calling?

Swiping to answer, a bright voice comes through the speakers.

"Good morning, Joohyun!"

The senior, still groggy from sleep, croaks out, "Hello, Seungwan. Did you need something?"

"Not really, I was just wondering if you were free today."

Joohyun quickly runs through a mental itinerary. She was planning on reading the next chemistry chapter and catching up on other academics, having replaced most of her study time for the past week with Seungwan. 

It couldn't hurt to set aside her studies again.

"Yes, I'm free. But I don't recall us needing to do anything for the student council today. Don't you want to enjoy your weekend?"

She hears a scoff from the other end.

"You must think so lowly of me, Joohyun. We don't need to be working to hang out together."

"What else would we be doing?"

Seungwan tsks, disappointment pouring through the telephone line.

"All you think about is work. Haven't we done enough this past week?"

That much was true. With Seungwan around, event planning had suddenly become Joohyun's favorite pasttime.

"Well," the junior continues. "I thought we could have some fun. There's a weekend discount at the aquarium in the city, students get in free!"

Joohyun doesn't warm up too well to the idea of fish, but Seungwan sounds excited. She couldn't say no.

"Sure. What time should we go?"

"They close at 6:00, so maybe we should leave at 1:00?"

"I'll drive over ten minutes before, then."

"Do you need my —"

"No, I remember your address."

"Huh, okay. It's a date! I'll see you then."

With Seungwan's bright voice fading into the beep that followed all calls, Joohyun's features light up.

It's a date.

---

Two hours after that call, most of which was spent by Joohyun raiding her closet for something presentable to wear (she wasn't quite sure why she was fussing so much), Joohyun rolled up to Seungwan's driveway.

Shooting off a text to let the girl know she's there, Joohyun waits, with Seungwan appearing in her doorway a minute later.

As she approaches Joohyun's car, the senior catches more details of her outfit. ed flannel thrown over a graphic tee, sleeves rolled into cuffs.

How could Seungwan make cute look so effortless?

Joohyun, on the other hand, had put perhaps too much effort into her outfit to only wind up with a simple sundress and pumps.

Seungwan opens the door to the passenger seat with a smile, easily sliding into the car.

"You look cute today, Hyun."

Correction: the effort was all worth it.

"Thank you."

They sit for a minute as Joohyun punches the address of the aquarium into her phone and Seungwan chooses appropriate music for their drive.

Soon enough, Joohyun put her foot on the gas and pulls out of the cul de sac.

Seungwan looks pleased with her choices. "Ready for 30 minutes of the best songs you'll ever hear?"

"It'll be hard to hear them if you're talking the whole time," Joohyun warned, without any bite.

"You'd leap at the opportunity to hear my voice!"

She isn't wrong about that.

So as Seungwan wasted away the half hour belting to the music of 80s, Joohyun wouldn't complain.

---

When they walk past the admissions counter, Seungwan already feels as though they are underwater. 

The walls are painted a deep blue, lighting becoming more scarce as they follow the long corridor at the entrance. 

There are models of fish hanging from the ceiling, postured to appear swimming. There are schools of minnows, sea turtles in jet streams, reef sharks center stage. The plastic models, despite being still, appear as though they are in motion, forming patterns of movement above their heads.

Like sea foam, excitement and awe bubble up in Seungwan's chest. She can't imagine how she will feel once seeing the actual exhibits.

Joohyun is already walking past, inspecting the map offered at the information counter. Noticing how Seungwan lingers behind, she turns to witness the view — not the one overhead, but of Seungwan, eyes transfixed to the chandelier swirl of life across the ceiling.

She thinks that if she didn't take her hand to bring the junior back to reality, they might've spent hours in that corridor alone. 

"Come on, Wan. Let's go see the freshwater exhibit first."

They meander in, following the bustle of people lining the tanks. As they enter, they are focused on a central display constructed to emulate a river, water cascading down a series of levels as fish swim upstream. The salmon and trout glitter under the fluorescent lights, mossy green water flowing in eddies around them. 

Outside the tank is another spectacle, children pressing their palms against the glass as they peer in. They tap to get the attention of the fish, doting parents having to seize their hands to stop them. Their little pouts were adorable.

Joohyun watches these interactions from several feet away, until she notices the absence of Seungwan from her side. The girl had joined the children, squatting down to be at eye level with the freshwater creatures. Joohyun could see how she trails their fins with her eyes, laughing to herself whenever they gape, mouths bobbing up and down in rhythms that mimic the water trickling steadily down the tank.

The senior pushes politely through, bending down to join Seungwan.

"Are they that fascinating?"

Seungwan doesn't break her gaze as she replied. 

"I think they are," she responds, voice just loud enough to be heard over the chatter of the other visitors. She points at a green, speckled fish, staying close to the rocky bottom of the tank. "That one there is a Chinook salmon, also known as a King Salmon, because of how large it is. Fun fact, it's probably the most common fish in rivers and streams in North America."

Joohyun is impressed. "Wow, you must know a lot about this."

Seungwan stands up, chuckling as she pulls Joohyun up with her. "No, I'm not." She gestures to the informational posters on the side of the display. "I just read it off that sign right there. Almost fooled you though, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did," Joohyun smiles.

They funnel into a section with open air, finding more people surrounding the tank in the center. 

"Oh, these must be the otters," Seungwan comments.

Though Joohyun doesn't care much for animals, she understood why so many people were interested in them. They were floating and holding hands! Even Joohyun finds it hard to be scared of them.

Spinning aimlessly about, they look as soft as stuffed animals. The senior feels as though she could watch them drift for hours.

Seungwan pipes up, "They're cute, aren't they?"

"Too cute. I wonder what it would be like to be an otter, just float and hold hands."

She's a little envious of how languid they seemed.

"I'd rather hold hands with you."

"Huh?" Did Joohyun hear that right? "What do you mean?"

Seungwan beams, tapping her finger to Joohyun's nose. "You're cuter."

Joohyun is left a flustered mess as Seungwan simply slides a hand into the senior's. "Isn't it better this way?"

She can't disagree.

"Let's go," Seungwan suggested, as she starts walking toward the next set of doors. "The ocean section is up ahead. I hear they have sharks!"

Her enthusiasm is infectious, leaving Joohyun almost feeling just as excited at the prospect.

The exhibit is more spacious, various tanks lining the walls as well as set up in cylinders in the middle. 

Together, they admire everything from crabs to octopi, the animals crawling along synthetic surroundings of rock faces and sand.

The largest tank is to their left, housing an array of sharks. Naturally, the crowd concentrated there, people bustling past each other to get better views of the sand sharks swimming close to the edge of the tank.

Joohyun is swept up among them, growing increasingly uncomfortable as strangers pressed against her arms to push past, others forgetting the meaning of personal space entirely. Worst of all, she had been separated from Seungwan, unable to spot the short girl amidst the mass of people. As much as she tries to weasel her way out, the flow of visitors is seemingly endless, a riptide that continuously pulls her back.

A hand shoots out over the shoulder of the man just behind her, pushing through with mumbled apologies.

Then appears the bob of brown hair that Joohyun had been searching for.

"There you are!" Seungwan declares, roping her arm around Joohyun. "I've been looking for you."

Easily, she parts the crowd, shuffling past the other visitors as the senior trails behind.

"It's really packed in here," Seungwan observes, the crowd closing in around them as more people filed in to see the sharks. They make their way to an area of the floor with fewer people, finding themselves next to a cylindrical tower that extends to the ceiling, glowing with bioluminescent jellyfish. 

Seungwan catches Joohyun staring as the pink blobs glided along.

"If you think that's cool, you haven't seen anything yet. Here, follow me," Seungwan says, ducking under a section of the glass. Joohyun finds herself on the other side, inside a dome carved into the bottom of the tank, allowing for the pair to become completely enclosed by the display of jellyfish, bobbing like glowing lanterns around them.

"Now the only crowd around us is the jellyfish," Seungwan joked.

Joohyun couldn't say it was less crowded, because as the junior presses into her, it became very clear that the dome was only constructed to house a single occupant at a time. 

Funnily enough, the senior doesn't mind at all. She could never mind being so close to Seungwan, an arm still wrapped around her shoulders, breath tickling her earlobe whenever the girl speaks.

Sheepishly, Joohyun curls inward slightly. "Aren't you going to miss out on the shark exhibit?"

Seungwan replies all too easily.

"Being with you is more important."

Even as the jellyfish bounce along, puppets suspended above, forming a mesmerizing spiral of translucent pink lace, Joohyun is hypnotized by the scent of Seungwan's hair, a flurry of peaches swaying gently at her side. The junior's lips are their own teasing shade of pink, taunting Joohyun as they dance rapidly, reciting a string of facts about the Aequorea species and the chemical reactions that produce their glow. Luciferin. Oxygen. The words grace the shell of Joohyun's ear, floating away too quickly for her to hold.

A tap on her shoulder breaks her out of her stupor. 

"Were you listening, Joohyun?"

When the senior stumbles over an answer, Seungwan can only chuckle as she ducks out of the glass dome, the comforting warmth leaving Joohyun's side.

The president follows, chasing the fragrance of peaches that escapes into the adjacent hall.

They go from one tank to the next, looking at the different species, undersea life put on full display. Seungwan rattles off fact after fact, clearly entranced by the opportunity to see the specimens in person. Joohyun wonders if she's simply reading off the information cards. Sometimes, she scans them, finding that even they lack the material that Seungwan is relaying.

The girl never made her intelligence or passions very obvious, most people simply viewing her as a class clown, an entertainer, nothing more. 

As Seungwan's eyes light up to discuss the delicate differences between stingrays and manta rays, Joohyun sees past that, sees a brilliance that others might not take the time to recognize. 

As much as Seungwan enjoyed her pranks, the intricacy of their execution had to reveal some level of genius on the part of the mastermind.

And Seungwan was a genius.

She is more than pranks, more than amusement, more than entertainment. She is Seungwan, someone who could reveal a world that others could not see, could find courage in dark corridors, could find fascination in fish. 

She is so much more than Joohyun remembered her to be. She is so much better.

Often, while Seungwan's eyes are fixed on the displays, Joohyun's eyes are fixed on her. 

Such is the case even as they make their way to the exit, fingers still interlocked. Seungwan hadn't let go since she lost Joohyun the hour before.

"They save the best for last," the junior says, walking through a doorway that opens up to the most beautiful display Joohyun had ever seen.

It is as if they are traveling through a long tube, water surrounding them in an arch above. The corridor is coated in glass, allowing a direct view underwater.

Rays swim above their heads, belly undersides like magic carpets drifting across the ceiling. Seaweed sways like ribbons, subject to the whims of the currents generated by passing fish. Anemones and coral paint the sand with splashes of color, clownfish dashing in between, flashing like orange stoplights. Eels slither about not much further, hiding in holes that decorate the rock face of the sides of the tank, yellow eyes like flashlights from the deep. 

Joohyun and Seungwan direct their attention upward, heads sweeping to see a large school of fish flit and glimmer in the open water, the mass of scales reflecting light like a shifting disco ball, cut in half and splayed on invisible strings, a shining centerpiece.

They forget the people around them who shuffle over to the exit, nearly unaware of the beauty before their eyes.

In this aquarium, they are the sole witnesses to this everyday miracle. 

The glass fades away. Blue invades their senses.

The sea becomes the sky.