a/n. and finally i found the time to update!

Joohyun turns the tap on, splashing water on her face lightly to cool herself down. She’s glad she didn’t put on heavy makeup that day, choosing to go simple on the first day of the semester. She doesn’t have to worry about ruining her makeup or having to touch up on it. Looking up, she stares at her reflection in the mirror, relieved that the colour of her cheeks and ears have turned back to their original shade.

Stupid Kang Seulgi.

She dislikes how the woman has been doing and saying things that she least expected and can’t predict. Expect the unexpected, they say. However, Joohyun doesn’t like surprises that involve messing with her feelings—not that she has any for the bowling club president—and her mind. She likes to think she has absolute control over them so to have her questioning her own feelings and thoughts, it scares her a little. Not having any answers to them makes it even scarier.

You’re just overthinking things, Bae Joohyun.

She heaves out a heavy sigh. It’s not the right time for her to be having these thoughts when practice is ongoing. She needs to focus—focus on teaching Seulgi how to properly hold a bow and shoot an arrow. Hopefully, her cousin would text her early to go home. As for the conversation that they were going to have, Joohyun will think of another day to talk to her privately. When exactly? She’ll think about it later. 

Patting her face dry with a paper towel, she looks at her own reflection once more to double check that the colour of her face has gone back to normal. Her heart rate has gone back to normal too. She then gathers her hair to tie up a simple ponytail with the hairband she has on her wrist.

It’s time to be serious, she tells herself.

Though, when she walks out of the washroom, she still feels nervousness coursing through her veins.

-

When Joohyun returns to the hall, she sees Seulgi sitting on the floor right beside her bow that is now resting on the stand. She’s hugging her knees with one arm as she uses her phone with the other hand. It’s an endearing sight, honestly, seeing her wait for her. 

“You know, pres…” Joohyun jolts a little when she feels an arm sling across her shoulder but soon relaxes when she realises the person to be Kim Sejeong, the club’s vice president, her second-in-command. “I approached her earlier asking if she wants a head start because you can be quite scary when you start teaching someone...”

She glares at Sejeong, offended by the comment but the latter is accustomed to it so she simply continues, “...but she politely declined my offer saying she only wants you to teach her. How in the world did you even get the bowling club’s president to be interested in archery? I know she’s close with your best friend but I didn’t know the two of you are close as well. I don’t see you interacting with her a lot whenever the sports committee holds a meeting so to notice the tension earlier on between you two was… interesting.”

Joohyun nudges Sejeong’s side gently. “There was no tension between us,” she hisses.

However, Sejeong doesn’t buy her response. “Don’t worry. We’ll keep this away from Coach Kwon. She’ll know absolutely nothing about today. You can trust the whole team that we’ll keep our mouths shut because wow, our president is finally adding some spice to her life. Kang Seulgi is a great catch.”

“There will be nothing going on between Seulgi and I, okay? I don’t even swing that way,” Joohyun grumbles. 

“Right, because you have a crush on Minho.”

She nudges Sejeong again.

“Does Seulgi not know about your crush on him?”

“How are you acting as if a girl liking another girl is normal?” she asks, slightly baffled.

“Why do you think Chungha always waits for me after practice?”

“Because she’s your best friend and you two live near each other? But okay, that doesn’t—”

“Ddaeng,” Sejeong makes a cross with both her arms in front of her chest. “I think I’ve spoken to you enough. Your girl is looking at us right now.”

Indeed, Seulgi is looking at them but Joohyun can’t accept the fact that Sejeong had just called the monolid woman her girl.

“She’s not my—” Another sigh leaves Joohyun’s lips upon seeing a smug look on Sejeong’s face. There’s no point arguing with the vice president. “Whatever. Just get back to practice.”

“Yes, ma’am!” 

With that, Sejeong skips over to their other clubmates, seemingly happy to be let off as if she wasn’t the one who approached Joohyun first.

—

“So, this is a little awkward, isn’t it?”

Yerim simply shrugs, not finding it the least awkward like what Seungwan claims the atmosphere to be. She likes the silence as they walk down the hallway after leaving her cousin and the pretty sunbae—she knows her name is Joohyun but she prefers calling her that to tease Seulgi—in the indoor sports hall.

“I don’t think so though?” she says, looking at Seungwan with an eyebrow raised. “Unless you find it awkward to be with me.”

“No, I don’t!” Seungwan shakes her head. “Which buildings have Seulgi not shown you yet? I can bring you there.”

Honestly, Yerim no longer wants to explore the campus. She has four years after all to do so and she’s sure she won’t need to know where all the buildings are located apart from those where her classes will be held. It’s enough that her cousin has shown her where her main building, the cafeteria and library is.

“Are you in any clubs, sunbae?” she asks out of curiosity. She might as well get to know the senior a little while waiting for Seulgi. “What time will the archery club end their practice?”

“8pm latest, I think?” Seungwan answers. “What club do you think I’m in?”

If there is one thing that Yerim dislikes, it’s to be answered with another question. “I wouldn’t be asking if I knew,” she scowls.

“Come on, just take a guess!”

“I’m not going to guess.”

“What if I give you a hint?”

“No.”

Seungwan pouts and it makes Yerim wonder how she’s the younger one between them. 

“Then I guess you’ll never know what club I’m in.”

“That’s fine with me.”

Silence falls upon them again and Yerim stops in front of a random lecture hall. She feels the slight awkwardness now as she stands in front of the senior who is looking at her in her confusion. “Why did we stop walking?” Seungwan asks.

“Let’s go our separate ways from here. I can wait for Seulgi unnie in the library until she’s done.”

“But I’m supposed to take you around the remaining parts of the school though?”

Yerim sighs. “I know you wanted to leave unnie alone with the pretty sunbae so I simply helped you out back there. I can handle myself from here.”

“I’m making things awkward for the both of us, aren’t I?”

Now, where did Seungwan get that idea from? For someone who seemed bubbly and playful when they met earlier, Yerim didn’t expect the senior to be a little… pessimistic. It doesn’t suit her.

“You can join me in the library if you want to,” she suggests, feeling bad that she caused the mood to drop.

“Spending time in the library on the first day of school sounds depressing,” Seungwan scrunches her nose, seemingly appalled by her words. “Let’s go to the rooftop garden instead and wait there together until Seulgi and Joohyun are done.  I’m sure Seulgi hasn’t brought you there yet. The gardening club takes good care of the area and I help them once in a while.”

Rooftop garden?

It definitely sounds better than sitting in the library. She gets to see flowers and plantations instead of books and shelves only.