Another day at the library, another day of seeing Aeri busily arranging the books. She watches on as Aeri's long arms reach up to put the new books on the shelves carefully and she sighs.

Honestly, Minjeong doesn't really understand why she's working there in the first place. She could've spent the rest of her time at home or maybe hang out with her classmates after school instead. All the freedom she could’ve easily accessed, the thought was just so appealing that Minjeong still doesn’t understand why she chose this - being all cooped up in an old library with books that she doesn’t really plan or is interested in reading - over having the time to do anything that she pleased.

The door opens and Minjeong looks on as Miss Taekwondo or whatever dumb nickname Aeri had dubbed upon her was walks in, clad in her white, slightly oversized gear. She smirked slightly, glancing at Aeri for the older girl's reaction and she wasn't too surprised when Aeri's eyes widened. She almost cackled when Aeri came hurrying towards Minjeong, careful to not bring Miss Taekwondo's attention on her. 

"Aeri-unnie?"

"What?" hissed Aeri as though annoyed, trying so hard to hide the fact that she was stealing glances at the clueless athlete.

"May I go out?"

"Go out to do what?"

Minjeong rolls her eyes, standing up, snatching her tiny pink purse from the desk. "I'm gonna buy some snacks- oh, and before you ask, no. I'm not gonna buy you anything."

"Ugh fine, just- just hurry up!"

"Can't guarantee you that, but I'll try," Minjeong answered with a wink before turning away, walking to the door, ignoring Aeri’s ‘don’t eat in the library, it’s against the rules!’ as she steps out. 

She passes by some of her classmates as she went, some of them greeting her enthusiastically, others completely immersed in conversations they were having with each other. She politely smiles at them, smile leaving her face the moment she rounded the corner.

It's not that Minjeong was friendless. She got along fine with her classmates, and she was quite a popular student amongst everyone. She'd heard people talking about her whenever they thought that they were being quiet enough, and all they say is the same old stuff.

'Kim Minjeong is so pretty'

'I would die to be as smart as she is, did you hear that she's in an advanced math class?'

'I heard that she gives people free cookies sometimes, she's an angel!'

It was all flattering, really. But sometimes, being the center of attention gets a bit burdensome. 

That's why, as stupid as it sounds – who in their right minds would even refuse to be loved by many people? – she tried to distance herself from everyone, making herself antisocial in the process. It was a dumb decision, really, since after she started doing that, people began to talk about her less, which was nice, for someone who often felt overwhelmed by the attention, but it somehow made Minjeong feel a little… lonelier.

With a quiet demeanor like hers, perhaps most people wanted to befriend people who were as loud as they were. 

Aeri was probably her first and only best friend. She remembers the day Aeri became her friend, and she Aeri's. She remembers sitting at one table in the cafeteria alone, eating lunch served by the school, when a quiet unnie sat beside her with two cans of cheese Pringles in her hands.

"Hi… I kind of accidentally bought two of these- I mean, not really, but see, I was planning on sharing the other one with a friend – stupid Choi Jisu – but then she ditched me and she's somewhere God knows where, so I don't really know what to do with it." Aeri had hesitated, before sliding one can towards Minjeong. "Long story short, do you want it?"

"Why?" Minjeong had asked, shyly and quietly. She remembers Aeri smiling at her.

"Because you kind of looked like you needed one."

And ever since that moment, they pretty much became the best of friends and they always went home together, since Aeri lived a few houses away from Minjeong. (what a small world!)

She thinks about Aeri in the library and sighs, thinking about how Miss Taekwondo might be the person who’ll take over Minjeong’s place someday and will be Aeri’s soon-to-be after-school-buddy. Good for her.

She's heard about the 'wonders' of love and whatever corny she'd read in the romance novels she'd stumble upon. But she’s never actually experienced such (weird) things. Teens her age would've already had their first crushes by now, but Minjeong thinks that it's a waste of time, sort of.

Being infatuated with someone, trying to win their heart, eventually losing feelings for them and all that's left is the regret that comes with somehow making a fool of yourself in front of your crush, it was all too much work for one person to do. And Minjeong was that person; she would rather not do anything as silly and as stressful as that, and she'd choose working 5 hours a day in the library any day over doing that.

But Minjeong was curious. Because as far as she knows, Aeri was totally crushing on Miss Taekwondo, and it was quite a sight to see. Seeing Aeri become a stuttering, malfunctioning mess whenever Miss Taekwondo was around was really funny, since Aeri was usually chill and composed… not really, but still!

Hand slowly reaching up to , she began to bite her fingernails, eyes looking around the streets. With her other hand playing with her wallet inside of the pocket of her skirt, she walked over to the stall that sells corn dogs. There was a small line awaiting, and she made a beeline towards the end of the line.

"Hi, I'll have one, please," she heard someone say at the front.

Drumming her fingers against the back of her hand, she began to whistle softly, patiently waiting for her turn. Slowly, the line got shorter and Minjeong was already the second person in line. There seemed to be a conflict between the vendor and the person right in front of her, however.

"Oh come on, can't you spare me this once? I didn't bring some more coins with me!" the girl in front of her said in an exasperated voice. "I swear I'll pay tomorr-"

"I'm sorry kid, but you really ca-"

"What's going on?" Hungry and impatient, Minjeong asked the vendor, who pointed at the girl in front of her.

"She doesn’t have enough money to bu-"

"Here." Minjeong reached into her pocket, fishing her wallet out, before taking a few bills from it. "I'll pay for her." The vendor gratefully accepts the money offered to her, handing Minjeong and the short girl their corn dogs. Taking a bite from her corn dog, she began to walk away.

"Hey, you!"

Minjeong doesn't turn around at the call of the girl, plugging her earphones into her ears, speeding up as she sprinted back into the school, the pounding of her heart ringing in her ears.

—

When Minjeong comes to the library the next day, the first thing she thinks when she flips the first book that was returned earlier that day open was—

What the .

Minjeong kept on staring at the first page of the book that had just been returned by someone who had returned it on behalf of a friend who couldn't return it herself today.

There were doodles all over the page, all of different colors. A doodle drawn with orange ink depicted a cute tiger, and a red one was of a clown. 

She was sure that she was hallucinating – that this was just an illusion – but when the drawings seemed to refuse to fade away, she began to panic.

Oh no.

Oh no.

Oh nonononono–

"Hey, Minjeongie."

Minjeong jumped and immediately closed the book upon hearing the voice of the veteran librarian, fearing what might come when Miss Seo finds out about the shameful, vandalized state of one of her books.

"H-Hi, Miss Seo." Minjeong greeted her stiffly. Miss Seo looked at her suspiciously, before chuckling softly.

"Yah, what's with you? Stressed? Feeling grumpy? And I told you, just call me Juhyun-unnie."

Minjeong huffed, giving Miss Seo a small apologetic smile.

"Both. And fine, Juhyun-unnie."

"Much better," Miss Seo voiced out with a contented smile. "Do you want to take a day off?"

"Oh, heavens no." Minjeong was quick to refuse, shaking her head. "I'll be fine as long as Aeri-unnie's here."

"Always the inseparable pair, you two," commented Miss Seo cheekily, eyes twinkling with fondness for the two. "Speaking of Aeri," Miss Seo suddenly says, looking at somewhere insignificant. "She seems to be really busy these days, doesn't she?"

Minjeong snorted. "Busy fawning over Miss Taekwondo, yeah."

"'Miss Taekwondo'?" repeated Miss Seo, laughing. "You mean Yu Jimin?"

"That's her name?" asked Minjeong. Miss Seo nodded.

"Yeah, that's her. She's a nice and bright kid. Extraordinarily talented too."

"Do you know about her writing inside of the books?" Minjeong accidentally blurts out, clamping a hand to when she realizes what she had just said, eyes widened as she looks at Miss Seo, who smiled.

"I do. She likes drawing cute tiny penguins, doesn't she?"

"And you're not mad?" 

Miss Seo raises a brow. It seemed that the hopeful tone in Minjeong’s voice slipped out a little, for she asked: "Why? Were you planning to hide that away from me for a little longer if I told you that I wouldn't be mad?"

Minjeong, through her anxious state, doesn't even know what Miss Seo's talking about. The book hidden inside a drawer under the desk? Or Jimin writing in the books?

"I- Well, no," Minjeong finally answered sheepishly. "Sorry, Juhyun-unnie…"

Miss Seo smiles at her. "It's fine, it's not like she was doing some serious damage to the books."

It was taking every single power Minjeong had in her hands (well, face, in this case) to avoid cringing painfully at her words, remembering the book that was hidden from Miss Seo's eyes. Oh Juhyun-unnie, if only you knew.

"What class is she from?" asked Minjeong in an attempt to stir the conversation elsewhere. 

"She's the same year as Aeri, but she's in class 4-D while Aeri's in class 4-A," replied Miss Seo, still looking at Aeri, who was returning books to their shelves. Minjeong followed her line of sight, watching as Yu Jimin continued to quietly read the book she borrowed. Aeri seemed to be averting her gaze as she passed Jimin, walking back to the receptionist desk, cheeks flushed, eyes hidden behind her fringe. 

"Hi," Aeri breathlessly greets the two, who were both sporting the same smile that showed Aeri all she needed to know about what's going on in both of their minds. Groaning, Aeri looked away, plugging her AirPods into her ears.

"Shut up…"

Minjeong forgets about the book hidden inside the drawer under the desk.

—

"Oh, you've got to be ing kidding me."

Minjeong stared at the page she had flipped over to, tracing the 'artwork' with a bony finger, sighing exasperatedly. 

Minjeong dreamed of being an artist. She already had it all planned out; when she enters college, she'll be getting a degree in Fine Arts and someday in the future, open a nice little art exhibit and show the whole world her artworks. But even she would never overstep boundaries and scribble all sorts of stuff on things that shouldn't be treated like this.

"What is it?" Aeri asks bossily as she pompously walks towards an agitated Minjeong. Her jaw drops when her eyes follow Minjeong’s line of sight. “Oh no.”

“I know.” Rubbing her hands together nervously, Minjeong looked around as if she was trying to see if Miss Seo was lurking nearby. "This is the second time this happened."

"'Second time'? Don't tell me that something similar happened before this?"

"Yeah," replied Minjeong grimly. "There were drawings all over some of the pages. This isn't much different." She squints at the tiny letters written by presumably a purple marker. "'NN'? Who or what the hell is that? I saw it last time too."

"I have no idea…" And suddenly, Aeri's looking at her weirdly. "Did you… do- were you the one who'd drawn all over it?"

"Are you crazy? I'd never overstep certain boundaries and break Juhyun-unnie's trust?"

"Do you know who did it?"

"Do I look like I know who did it?”

Aeri looked at her, unimpressed. Shaking her head, Aeri picked the damaged book up with wary fingers, as though she was afraid to damage the fragile book even more. She carefully flips the pages, counting quietly.

"Page 122… 123." She looked at Minjeong, then back to the book. "131. Minjeong, pages 123 to 130 are missing."

"Well , that's like, eight whole pages robbed," cursed Minjeong, slumping in her chair. She stared up at Aeri. "What would Juhyun-unnie say when she finds out?"

"Honestly?" Aeri hummed, closing the book. "I think that she'll be really mad, but I don't think that she'll blame us. She loves the library as a whole, including the books themselves, and she loves us too."

"That doesn't make things any better!" The exasperated Minjeong took the book, flipping it to page 122 and sure enough, there was a huge gap from page 122 to page 131. Scratching her head aggressively, she sets the book down harshly. "What are we gonna do now?"

"Find the culprit behind this, what else?"

"Gee, thanks, Captain Obvious," replied Minjeong sarcastically, rolling her eyes. 

Aeri's words aren't that much of a help, but it was a driving force to remind Minjeong that she needs to find out who keeps on doing this.

"Should we throw this away?"

"I think so," Aeri pondered loudly. "I'll pay for a brand new one. I'm sure Juhyun-unnie would never know the difference."

"Rich queen," teased Minjeong, earning a hit to her head with the rolled-up newspaper in Aeri’s hand.

"I'm not," replied Aeri, cheeks pink. "I just hope whoever's doing this stops."

"Yeah… yeah, me too."

—

The next books that are returned to the library are covered in lines made by what seemed like ballpoint pens, markers, colored pencils, etc. The designs changed each time a new book was being returned, but one thing was constant; it's always the same initials and numbers that are being written by the anonymous perpetrator. 

"Are you sure you've never met someone who's got 'NN' as their initials?" 

Aeri sighs, shaking her head. "No. I'm sure of that. Honestly Minjeong, if you're so irked by it, go ask everyone in this school about it. Whoever it is might come forward and reveal their identity to you, since you're almost like the student council president at this point."

Minjeong laughs. She couldn't just do that even if she wanted to. Tedious work and unwanted questions that came from nosy people, yeah, that's a definite no.

The more damaged books that arrive at the library, the thinner Minjeong’s patience gets.

As the days passed by, it was getting harder to hide it from Miss Seo that eventually, she found out about everything when she came to the library unannounced, just as another vandalized book was returned. Aeri and Minjeong had no choice but to tell her everything. 

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

The disappointment in Miss Seo's voice was too much for Minjeong to handle and it made Minjeong want to ram her head into the nearest bookshelf and wreak havoc inside the library. 

Another thing that Minjeong noticed was that a lot of those books were the novels she actually enjoyed reading, and the fact that she couldn't continue reading those books with their pages missing just angered her more.

And that just made Minjeong even more determined to catch the person behind this.

—

Minjeong was young. And dumb.

Now, Minjeong was normally someone who was organized and was an absolute perfectionist. Her books were always arranged neatly on her shelf at home, she never left all sorts of rubbish on her desk (they always immediately end up in the trash bin right beside her desk), and she just was never a messy person in general.

It's just that in this particular situation, she accidentally left her science project inside the school library and now, at 7:30 in the evening, she's devising a plan on how to stealthily break into the library to get it because she didn’t have the keys, without even thinking about how she can just go to school earlier than usual tomorrow. She didn't have to do all of this, really. But then again, she was dumb.

The air felt eerie, and Minjeong would be lying if she said that she wasn't a little scared. She'd never gone to the school at night, much less planned to break in to get something, and she didn't know that it was gonna be this nerve-racking. 

She passed by the tree she normally hung out with Aeri under and it looked scarier than it was during daytime. There was a faint, thin sound coming from somewhere but she ignored it as she continued to the window of the library. The sound was constantly filling her ears and it was irking Minjeong to no end.

See, another thing about Minjeong is that she isn't one to be frightened easily. Aeri was always envious of this trait of Minjeong’s. 

So instead of going down the route she was planning on taking, she follows the irritating sound. It seems to be coming from the area behind the school.

Thunk.

Minjeong recoils at the sudden sound – was that a tin can falling to the ground? – rethinking her decision to play detective. But she still went on anyway, ears alert and fists positioned right in front of her in case she needed to knock some sort of thief out cold.

The closer she gets to the area she thinks the sound is coming from, the louder the sound gets. And for someone who used spray paint for several school projects, she knew that the sound was coming from a spray paint can. 

Slowly and carefully, she stuck closely against the wall, peeking around the corner. And sure enough, there was someone spray painting on the walls.

"Yah!"

The hooded stranger seemed to have frozen at the shrill scream, not knowing what to do when Minjeong started charging towards her. When the stranger finally regained their senses, they let the can of spray paint fall to the ground, trying to run away. But Minjeong was too quick, gripping the back of the person's hoodie, making them fall.

"I'm sorry!" Minjeong almost froze when she heard that voice. It sounded oddly familiar.

But there was no time to stop and think about that!

"I'm reporting you!" threatened Minjeong, already moving to stand up when she was suddenly being tackled to the grassy ground.

"Unnie, please don't. I promise I'll do anything. You just caught me at the wrong place at the wrong time," the hooded girl frantically squeaked out, still keeping Minjeong on the ground. Minjeong was actually considering it.

"Let me go, and let's bargain," Minjeong slowly said, tone sharp and cold. The girl above her scrambled off Minjeong and she sat up, glaring at her. "So…"

"So," Minjeong said again, voice louder and clearer. "Let's make things clear."

"You, young lady," Minjeong half-yelled, pointing an accusing finger at the girl, who doesn't really cower in fear.

"It's Ning Yizhuo-"

"Shhh and let me finish talking!" The girl – Yizhuo – obediently falls silent, blinking. Pulling her hood off her head, a familiar face was staring back at Minjeong. And Minjeong screams.

"AHHHHH!"

"STOP SCREAMING OH MY GOD, WHY ARE YOU SCREAMING?!"

"I know you!" shouted Minjeong. She heard the girl mumbling something in a language unfamiliar to Minjeong but that's not the point right now. "You're–"

"The girl you bought a free corndog for, yeah, that's me," Yizhuo boredly replied.

"Okay, Ning Yizhuo," Minjeong drawled, rolling her eyes. "Let's get things straight."

"Why are you vandalizing school property-"

"It's not like a lot of people would be able to see it anywa-"

"Don't interrupt me while I'm speaking."

"Okay… okay," Yizhuo repeats, hands in the air to show that she was listening. 

But wait...

Minjeong’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Were you the one drawing on the books? Were you the one who carelessly ripped several pages from the books you, at the very least, had the courtesy to return?"

When Yizhuo offers her nothing but a sheepish smile and an awkward shrug, Minjeong sighs exasperatedly. 

"That's quadruple the charges against you!"

"I'm sorry, library-unnie."

"A mere verbal apology won't let you off the hook. Now, Ning Yizhuo. Why were you vandalizing school property? Walls of school buildings? The books in the library? You're in deep trouble."

"I know, I know," Yizhuo said impatiently, waving her arms into the air. "It's bad, but I swear I'm doing it for a good cause!"

"Good cause that involves what, exactly?"

Yizhuo chooses not to reply, whistling nervously. Minjeong facepalms.

"You are so in deep trouble."

"And so I've heard."

"Why do you sound so relaxed?"

Yizhuo lets out a loud bark of laughter, shaking her head. 

"I'm not. I swear I just sound like it, but I'm feeling really guilty and scared," said Yizhuo in a surprisingly calm voice for someone who was terrified as hell. 

"Whatever you're doing, they'll warrant you a suspension- or even an expulsion from the school. I hope you're aware of that."

She hears a sigh, one that would come from someone who was as devastated and tired as Yizhuo. And for some reason, Minjeong is dubious. 

"But you know what?" Minjeong began, trying to find the right words. "Maybe I don't want that to happen. So let's make a deal." Yizhuo looked at her expectantly.

"Since you've been causing a lot of damage to our library, you'll be doing library duty. From Monday to Friday. And I better not catch you slacking off."

Yizhuo looked like she was more than enthusiastic at the thought of working in the library.

"And- And by doing that, you won't–?"

"Yes, I won't tell a single soul about what you've been doing," replied Minjeong sharply, glaring at Yizhuo. 

"Really?" Minjeong cursed under her breath, scratching her nape aggressively. 

"What, do we need to do some sort of vow so that I'll make sure that you won't ruin the books again–?"

"I can just pay for new books…" 

Minjeong scoffed.

"That's not enough. Next Monday, you're gonna start working at the library to make you learn the extent of your actions. And mind you, it's not as easy as it looks."

—

It's Monday. That means it's Yizhuo's first day as a temporary-ish librarian in the school library. 

And she's late, Minjeong thought to herself irritatedly, clicking her tongue as she glared down at her wristwatch. Yizhuo was supposed to come at 9, but it's already past 9 and there was still no sign of the tiny girl.

Silly girl, Minjeong thought to herself, frowning.

"Hey." She felt a tap on her nose, the familiar scent of Aeri’s fruity perfume filling her senses. "What's got you frowning this early in the morning?"

"Someone's joining our staff starting today," Minjeong sarcastically answered. The teasing expression on Aeri's face turns into a frown after hearing Minjeong’s words.

"Someone's gonna be what? I don't remember Juhyun-unnie telling us that."

"Yeah, because Juhyun-unnie isn't aware of this at all." 

Aeri stares at her.

"Minjeo-"

"Y'know what, Aeri-unnie, she'll be more than pleased to know that another student 'volunteered' to help out, just you wait. I bet she'll adopt her as soon as she sees the girl."

"Why, is she nice-?" Aeri's question gets cut off when the doors to the library slam open, the impact shaking the bookshelves nearby and Minjeong could've sworn the glass windows in the top center of the doors cracked a little. Both girls gasp as the newcomer walks in, clad in an expensive-looking fur jacket and a huge red bowtie that was definitely not part of the school's dress code. She was also wearing a pair of sunglasses and Minjeong scoffs. It's not even like there's any sunlight in the library so why bother?

"Is that her?" whispered Aeri and Minjeong ignored her. The fancy-looking girl walked towards the two, Starbucks drink in hand, before flashing an award-winning smile at Minjeong.

"Hi, corn dog-unnie." 

Minjeong did a double take at the nickname, as if it was the most revolting thing she'd ever heard in her entire life.

"Excuse me?"

She ignores the way Aeri was dying from laughter beside her.

"So, how does this work?" asked the girl, choosing not to answer as she looked around the library, twirling a strand of her dark brown hair as she did so.

"First of all," Minjeong snatches the Starbucks drink from Yizhuo, who tries to protest, and flings it to the trash can.

"Unnie! I was gonna drink that!"

"Secondly," continued Minjeong as if she hadn't heard her. "Dress appropriately the next time you come to the library."

"I'm not wearing flashy clothes–"

"Follow the school's dress code. Rules should never be broken." She throws an accusing glare at Aeri, who merely shrugs.

"You aren't even the school's council presiden-"

"I may not be one, but I'm an avid follower of the rules. Unlike you." Minjeong glares at the girl, who scratches her arm nervously. 

"Also, don't call me 'corn dog-unnie'."

"To be fair, you didn't even tell me what your name is."

"It's Minjeong! Kim Minjeong!" bellowed Minjeong, making Aeri flick her lips with her fingers painfully. Glaring at Aeri and Yizhuo, Minjeong pulls out a sheet of paper from its pad.

"Now shoo and here's a list of things you need to do," she pointedly addresses Yizhuo. 

Yizhuo gapes when she reads the list of things she's tasked to do.

"All of this on my first day on the job?! You're joking."

"I'm not," Minjeong coldly replied, dismissing her with a wave of her hand. "Now go."

"Ugh alright fine, I'll leave you alone with your girlfriend."

Before Minjeong could even say anything, Yizhuo already scurried off, disappearing behind a bookshelf.

"She thinks that we're dating," said Aeri, snorting. Minjeong looked at her with a half-amused and half-disgusted look.

"We're practically twin sisters, I absolutely cannot imagine you and I being in a romantic relationship with each other." Aeri grinned, nudging Minjeong. 

"True, hell, we even look the same sometimes. But yeah, I don't like you like that, Mindoongie."

"Yeah, because your type is a really sweet, smart and tall taekwondo player who's as much as a massive bookworm as you are and your dream person just so happens to be Yu Jimin."

That seemed to have done the trick, because Aeri's ears turned scarlet red, like the cover of her notebook.

"You know, I wasn't that harsh on you when you became my partner here. You were being too mean to Yizhuo," said Aeri teasingly and Minjeong rolls her eyes.

"Oh she needs to be taught discipline."

"It's giving enemies-to-lovers type of thing," sneered Aeri, wiggling her eyebrows at Minjeong suggestively.

"You read way too many books, Aeri-unnie," drawled Minjeong, pretending to gag. Enemies to lovers? Seriously?

"What bargain were you two talking about anyway?"

"Well, it requires her to do stuff for me while I keep quiet about the fact that she's an infamous vandal who spray paints and draws on anything she sets her eyes upon."

"And here you were, speaking about how rules aren't supposed to be broken," Aeri teased with a mischievous grin and Minjeong groaned.

"Shut up."

—

It's been three weeks since Yizhuo started working in the library alongside Minjeong and Aeri. Surprisingly to Minjeong, Yizhuo was actually doing a great job in the library, determined to show Minjeong her worth.

Obviously, Yizhuo pulling pranks or being stubborn sometimes couldn't be helped, and this was one of those times.

"Go away."

"No."

"Has anyone ever told you that you're annoying as hell?" asked Minjeong irritatedly, placing books in their respective shelves. Yizhuo was following her around with a couple of books in her hands, like some sort of puppy following her, awaiting her next order.

"Not that I remember,” the shorter girl replied vaguely and she huffed, arms getting sorer every second. "Oh these are just really heavy."

"Deal with it," snapped Minjeong, forcefully taking the books from Yizhuo.