As much as she likes to believe she’s used to it, she really isn’t, and the actual noise her feet release as she violently walks out of her apartment building is echoing through the quiet street of her neighborhood. Ah, waking up in the morning for work. So ing tiring. She clutches her large blue - very ratty - bag, or sag, in her arms and fixes her cap so her hair is hidden penuriously under. She’s been so overwhelmed and busy these past few days that she doesn’t even have time to trim her hair, which has grown ridiculously. It’s a woman’s dream to have hair that grows easily, but it only stands in the way of an easy work life.

There’s a whine threatening to escape her lips, a whine that she’s been suppressing since the beginning of this week, but she tells herself she’s not a whiney person, so she grunts instead, steam, dragon-like, exiting her ears and nose. 

“Ooh, look who we found here.”

She jumps at the playful voice, and turns around in time to catch Baekhyun and Chanyeol walking towards her, mischievous smile lighting up their faces. Okay, so maybe not towards her because her apartment house is overviewing one of the sub street and they could be just trying to reach the main highway, and okay maybe Chanyeol’s face isn’t mischievously lit up like Baekhyun’s dumb, dumb face, but is merely smiling softly. She wants to flop down the gravel road and wiggle around pathetically.

They’re wearing their usual daring black outfits: tight skinny jeans and black graphic tees, with Baekhyun wearing a leather jacket and Chanyeol a knee-length overcoat. Chanyeol’s raising his hands to brush the freshly dyed streaks of blond hair, so she gets to catch the glinting bands - rings - around his rough fingers. Baekhyun’s accessories are easier to catch. His ears are full with different types of earrings, his lower lip snug with the golden hoop around it, and his eyes hooded with makeup. They look unrealistically cheesy yet ethereal, and she wonders - for a split second - if they have tattoos under all of their clothes. She shakes the thought away monstrously quick. 

In comparison to them, she looks like a plucked duck - and she chooses duck because it’s much more annoying than chicken. Ducks taste good, too, and are lavishly expensive, just like her - with her loose jeans, overused converse shoes, and her black and white tee. The baseball cap on her head is not even hers, and it’s almost seven years old, so the tips are starting to chip off. Her bag, which she’s carrying different necessary things in resembles the sag of elderly women with too many sons and daughters, but it’s practical so she doesn’t care. She’s not against dressing up; she actually does her share of cleaning up when she gets ready for university, but she’s a sloth when it comes to dressing up for work. She’s sensible enough to put foundation and eyeliner, so she considers this as far as she can do for the stupid labor canal they call work.

She realizes that she’s gaping at them, so she hisses. “Such cliché thing to say.”

“We found where you’re liviiiiiiiiiing.” Sings the dumb one, Baekhyun, totally ignoring her tone, and shoving his hands in his jacket’s pockets, practically running towards her so he can stand in front of her. God, she hates that he’s short but still taller than her. She wants to kick him in the balls again!

She rolls her eyes at him, her hand going to her cap, a subconscious movement she does when she’s nervous (for what reason? She has no idea). “So what? I’ve already known we’re living in the same area; finding my place of residence was only a matter of time,” she trails off, giving him a one-over on purpose, and whispers under her breath. “Idiot.”

He points at her scathingly. “I know that you’re saying bad things about me. I might not hear it, but I can understand it!”

She puts a hand on her hip sassily. “Understand what? The expression of disdain that lights up my face whenever my eyes are misfortunate enough to look at you? Even I’ll be able to tell I’m cursing you under my breath with how ugly my face has gone,” she trails off again, whispering. “Idiot.”

He hears it this time, and his eyes shift into two obnoxious slits. “Yah, stop it. I’m not an idiot.”

“I’d beg to differ.”

Before they can fall into a rhythm of good ole’ bickering, Chanyeol intervenes. He walks towards them, muttering something about them being dumb little children, and clears his throat. He looks at her with his round, innocent eyes, and asks. “Where exactly are you going? We don’t have university today.”

She got to admit; there’s just something about him that mellows her out. She’s not an idiot; she is a brilliant person in the game of ignorance, however, so she doesn’t allow herself to entertain the thought of Chanyeol. She answers him decently because he’s slightly less stupid than Baekhyun, or so that’s what she tells herself to redeem the burn that’s going rampant in the back of her neck, “Someone’s gotta put a roof over my head. I work at a bar in the weekends and in McDonalds in University days, part time,” she narrows her eyes at them. “What are you doing so awake in the morning? You’re not following me around like some freakish, psychotic stalkers, right?”

Baekhyun snorts. “Why’d we follow you around? You’re not that interesting and we’re not that desperate,” he pretends to flick his long hair girlishly. “I’m too fabulous to be a creep.”

She rolls her eyes. Honestly, she doesn’t think she’s capable of not rolling her eyes around them—or just Baekhyun. He’s annoying. She doesn’t understand why Chanyeol wanders off with him, but perhaps she has an idea. She’s not curious enough to ask for a confirmation, so she just huffs. She walks away from them, her bag bouncing against her thighs. As she expects, the boys walk after her, or besides her. She instantly turns to give them a highly suspicious look. They stare back bravely, smirking and knowing that it might cause her problems - she’s a fiery person. Her existence is a problem in itself - Thankfully, she doesn’t say anything.

They gather under the shed of the waiting bus, sitting in the bench respectively. The two boys sit a little further to the right from her, leaving an open place in the middle which she appreciates immensely because she’s not exactly ‘comfortable’ being squished against them. At least they understand personal space. A point for them. 

She peeks at them secretly and finds them murmuring to one another, Chanyeol looking worried whereas Baekhyun, now that she realizes, looking tired, gray smudges hanging under his kohl, heavy-lidded eyes. Once again, Baekhyun’s leaning his entire weight on Chanyeol, chin on his arm, and she weirdly has a pudding emotion of wishing to protect him from this world. He’s oddly cute, despite his clothes and personality. She quickly shakes the thought away. 

She feels them occasionally staring at her, too, as people come and go, buses of different destinations sliding in front of them and eventually leaving. She doesn’t understand why, but she’s strangely attracted to them as they are to her; her eyes subsequent. Not in the romantic way, but in a way where her eyes find themselves gravitating towards them, like jewels on a gallery she can’t resist. She’s not even a jewelry girl, for frick’s sake, so why’s she constantly in need of turning her head towards them?

She knows they’re feeling the same, for some reason, and she doesn’t have a name for this feeling, honestly. She doesn’t want to put a name on it anyway. Names give things character, it gives them power, and it’s in her personality to ignore things when they elicit feelings from her, especially the ones where her whole body is squirming like it’s being forcefully submerged in cold, icy water. 

“Y’know,” Baekhyun begins suddenly, fed up with this silence dwelling between them, silence in which he can touch, for ’s sake. His voice is mellow, playful, and she readies herself. “If we all gathered our savings, maybe we can pitch in for a car together? I do believe we’ll find it the most comforting against the agonizing wait of buses.”

“Perhaps a Toyota.” Chanyeol nods approvingly. But she’s heavily aware of the laughter he’s suppressing under his fake solemn eyes. 

“Ew,” Baekhyun pulls a face at him in disgust. “That’s your standards? A Toyota? How to tell a poor person from a mile away, Chanyeol.”

“Toyota has a lot of expensive cars, dickhead. Chanyeol’s not poor, you’re just stupid.” She finds herself subconsciously defending, rather loudly, and rolls her eyes, blowing breath out of her lungs harshly, once again resembling an angry dragon.

Baekhyun smirks at her burning defense, his eyes strangely lit up with something she can’t put a finger on, but he - nicely - doesn’t comment. “What’s your type of cars, then?”

Honestly, she hasn’t expected that question. She hasn’t expected to be included in the conversation, so she takes a while to rise herself from her dumb stupor. She clears , something she has been doing lately, and stares right ahead, refusing to meet his expressive eyes. “I wouldn’t be caught investing in a deal with you es anyway. I’d rather have my own car, but I have to say, I’m more of a Chevrolet type of person.” 

She can’t help the smug tone there.

He puts his hands up ridiculously. “With what money, genius? Those cars are expensive as . You’re a working university student, remember? Perhaps you’re not aware of how money works in the world?” He scoffs, “A Chevy? Please, a rich person would have a more realistic dream than you.”

She takes the chance to poke him harshly on his cheek, having to reach past the space between them, making him wince and laugh at the same time. He didn’t expect that, alright. “Maybe I have a secret inheritance you don’t know about?”

“Doubt it. You’re just as sad as we are.” Chanyeol shrugs. She narrows her eyes at him, daring him to say it again, but he shrugs again, eyes twinkling in that usual way of his, where he isn’t sure he wants to burst out laughing or keep a mysterious front for the onlookers.

She opens to spew another insult, but someone calls her name. She - and the boys - turn her head towards the caller, internally groaning upon seeing that it’s no one other than Junsoo. 

“I didn’t know I’d find you here. What a coincidence!” He comes closer to where they’re sitting, having courage a lot don’t in ignoring the two boys sitting right next to her. He stands across where she’s resting like a tall, ignorant pest, his smile wide and expressive. She wants to punch him. He doesn’t learn his lessons, does he?

“I wouldn’t call it a happy one.” She retaliates. 

His smile dims a little, but she doesn’t feel sorry for him. He glances at the seat beside her, the empty one the two boys left alone, and knowing instantly what goes inside his head, she quickly puts her bag in it. His face falls entirely, and she hears Baekhyun - Chanyeol as well, her head provides - snickering. She shoots them a warning look to shut the up, but considering they’ve been given these stares from everyone their whole lives; they are better in ignoring them. They continue to snicker obnoxiously, and she knows that they’re doing this to rile Junsoo, for some reason. 

“What are you doing here?” Junsoo asks, after deciding to stand idly next to the shed, extremely close to where she’s sitting. 

She lifts a single prim eyebrow. “Waiting for the bus? You know, Junsoo. I didn’t consider you as a scatter-brain knucklehead.” She sniffs. “Okay. I’m lying. I always considered you to be just that.”

Once again, Chanyeol and Baekhyun snicker off like two heroine addicts. It wasn’t even funny. She’s sure they’re doing this to egg Junsoo on. She finds this oddly... complacent, as if they’re doing it just to cheer on her mean girl front. Of course, nobody has made her feel glad to be an evil villain - naturally - but she wouldn’t lie and say it wasn’t a pleasant feeling regardless. Junsoo’s the kind of person who deserves being wronged anyway, with how wide his mouth is open and how carnivores his words are. 

He once again spares the boys a measly glance, nervous in saying something that might trigger them but disgusted of their overall presence at the same time. It annoys her that she in her self is not worthy of respect - and intimidation - and that Junsoo’s only willing to compromise and hold his tongue by the presence of bigger opponents; bigger men. Suddenly, she wants to punch his jaws in. It isn’t a sudden feeling in itself as she always wanted to punch him, but it’s frightening how intense the emotion has grown in a second. She swallows, reeling herself in. 

“You don’t have to be so rude just because these two boys are next to you,” Junsoo says impishly, as if her head works the same way his does. He once again spares them a look - they actually bare their teeth at him like some sick lions - and then back at her, sniffing. “They’re not exactly the type to help a fellow human when needed, so don’t be too intent in angeri