pink
dulce periculumthe school cafeteria springs to life with the incessant chattering of students upon the ring of the lunch bell. joohyun and her friends are no exception, they’re usually talking about the latest trending drama or gossiping — yesterday’s topic was about a classmate that broke his arm during physical education, but he’s irrelevant today.
today, the topic is focused on the collapsed shelf in the student council’s clubroom. there’s no escaping notifying the other members in their group chat since it is a hazard and joohyun would be responsible if anyone else got hurt. it just so happens that both of her friends are part of the student council as well and to say they are concerned might be an understatement.
park sooyoung and kang seulgi are pressing her with questions as they make their way towards the cafeteria. the hallway fills with their overly absurd questions and sooyoung inspects every inch of joohyun’s body for any injuries. a bruise is found eventually, just slightly above her elbow and partially obscured by the sleeve of her shirt — she’s certain it would’ve been worse if seungwan hadn’t caught her.
“I’m fine, don’t worry, it’s just a little bruise.” she tries to brush them off but seulgi is pulling out her phone to snap a picture, probably to send it to a teacher as proof that the clubroom needs its furniture replaced.
“that is huge!” sooyoung exclaims as she uses her fingers to take a rough measurement, “it’s the size of an egg!”
craning her neck, joohyun wishes she could say sooyoung is exaggerating but the ugly purple bruise that appeared overnight is indeed the size of an egg. swatting sooyoung’s hands away, she pulls the sleeve of her shirt down so she could at least hide part of it.
“it’s fine, it’s not as bad as it looks. it could’ve been a lot worse, i could’ve broken a bone or something.” joohyun waves them off but it does little to ease their concerns.
sighing, joohyun slips her arms around both their shoulders and guides them towards the start of the cafeteria’s queue. they get in line and joohyun tries to change the topic, “it’s fried chicken friday guys, it’s a good day.”
“you should’ve asked us to stay yesterday, we could’ve helped.” seulgi sighs and sooyoung nods aggressively in agreement.
joohyun fights the urge to blurt out the fact that she did get help, that would lead to having to explain why seungwan was in the clubroom in the first place and she doesn’t want to get into all of that just yet.
“you guys make the biggest fuss when you have to stay late.” she simply points out, “besides, how would i know the shelf was going to break?”
“fair point.” is the last thing she hears her friends say because seungwan happens to walk past them and suddenly time slows.
their gazes meet and the world narrows around them. seungwan throws her a small smile, nothing too obvious because it feels strange for them to be interacting in front of other people. joohyun isn’t paying attention to that however, she separates from her friends, muttering a quick ‘be right back’ as she chases after seungwan.
fingers wrap themselves tightly around seungwan’s wrist and out of nowhere, she’s being dragged away by joohyun. the president leads her to a corner of the cafeteria where they wouldn’t get in the way of other students walking about and joohyun frowns.
“hey?” seungwan rubs the nape of her neck with a sheepish smile, unsure of the situation.
“your cut is going to get infected if you leave it like that!”
oh, right, the cut she got from yesterday is exposed to the elements. seungwan grimaces, “i don’t have any bandaids at home. plus, isn’t it better to leave it exposed? to air out the wound or whatever?”
“no, it’s just a misconception,” joohyun huffs as she pulls out a pink bandaid from her purse, “and people like you fall for it.”
before seungwan can even protest about how silly the pink bandaid looks, joohyun is already sticking it onto her face. pulling back, joohyun plants her hands on her waist with a proud smirk. she had slipped an extra piece of bandaid into her purse last night in the event that this exact scenario happened. however, she didn’t consider how her pink bandaid with a bunny print would look on seungwan — embarrassing, that’s for sure.
“there,” joohyun bites back the urge to giggle, “now you’re all good to go.”
“just laugh already.” seungwan deadpans.
joohyun snorts softly and clears , “i’ll see you around.”
she hears an audible sigh from seungwan as she skips back to her friends in the queue with a beaming smile. while joohyun isn’t entirely oblivious to having eyes on her, she’s tuned them out so much that she doesn’t care when people are staring at her. though, when it comes to her friends, their jaw-dropped expressions set alarm bells ringing in her head.
“what’s going on? did they run out of chicken or something?”
with a forceful yank, sooyoung drags joohyun between her and seulgi. “you are friends with son seungwan? how? ” sooyoung hisses, not wanting others to overhear them, “and what was that? why did you put a bandaid on her?”
her friends being much taller than her makes it feel like two bullies are looming over her but joohyun pushes their faces away while sticking her tongue out.
“i’m not telling.”
collective groans are heard and seulgi jabs a finger to where the cafeteria seats are. in the huge mass of students, a couple of heads are looking their way, whispering among themselves. “someone is going to find out, everyone saw you guys! you have no idea how quiet it got!”
“why? what’s so interesting?” joohyun frowns, clearly clueless.
“you, bae joohyun, have people lining up to confess to you. your position as the student council president makes you known to everyone in school. of course, everyone will be interested to know what business you’d have with son seungwan. everyone knows she’s in detention more than in classes! they wanna know if you two have something going on!” sooyoung tries her best to keep her voice low but she’s unable to mask her exasperation.
“what?” joohyun exclaims and shakes her head vehemently, “it’s nothing like that!”
“really?” seulgi quirks a brow, lifting her phone to joohyun’s face where a picture of her and seungwan is displayed, “you’re smiling at her like she has the universe in her eyes.”
“isn’t it funny that she’s using the pink bunny bandaids that sooyoung got for me?” joohyun tries to defend herself but her friends’ attacks are relentless, she’s taking critical hits in succession.
“why did you need to give her the bandaid in the first place? how did you know she was hurt?”
“anyone could see that she has a big cut on her nose, isn’t it obvious?”
“no, it’s not obvious. why would we pay attention to people we don’t know? which brings us to the real question, how do you know her?” sooyoung narrows her eyes as she jabs her finger into joohyun’s chest.
neither of her friends knows about her smoking habit so telling them why she even crossed paths with seungwan in the first place is out of the question. she’s too aware of the reputation she’s built up in school and around her friends and she doesn’t want to shatter their impressions of her. the only thing now is that she can’t lie to save herself, so she’s forced to tell a partial truth.
“she saw me struggling to carry supplies to the clubroom yesterday and offered to help. she was with me when the shelf collapsed and she got hurt because of me.” joohyun sighs, “satisfied?”
“woah,” seulgi nods, “wouldn’t expect that of her, why didn’t you tell us earlier?”
joohyun feels the urge to jump to seungwan’s defense, “because i figured you guys would react like this. she’s actually a really nice person, she just likes keeping to herself.”
“i’m sure what seulgi means to say is that she doesn’t exactly have the best reputation around, you feel me?” sooyoung steps in to ease the building tension between her friends, “we’re just watching out for you, yeah?”
relenting with a small huff, it takes a little more coaxing from her friends before her annoyance fully fades and peace is restored. seulgi and sooyoung don’t bring up seungwan again for fear of angering joohyun, through a brief exchange of glances, they decide they would simply keep a closer eye on her now.
for the rest of the day, seungwan spends a considerable chunk of time fiddling with the bandaid on her nose, as if touching it brings about a sort of comfort — a confirmation that joohyun cares about her. she does take extra care not to accidentally peel it off or joohyun might scold her if they somehow meet again during the day.
well, seungwan figures she’ll leave it up to fate, or joohyun, if they are to cross paths again. it’s not like she knows what the president’s schedule is like but joohyun knows she’ll be stuck in detention every day for another two weeks at least — she knows where to find her if she wants to.
“stop touching it.” joohyun’s voice slices through the silence as seungwan turns the corner from the detention room.
she jumps slightly and attempts to mask her shock with a quip, “i’m starting to think you might have attachment issues.”
a small carton of strawberry milk is shoved into her hands and joohyun huffs indignantly, “that’s what i get for waiting for you?”
bae joohyun is certainly full of surprises and it makes seungwan’s heart swell at the thought of mattering this much to her. she even remembers what her favourite drink is and seungwan merely mentioned it in passing. holding the cold drink in her hands, seungwan chuckles softly and accepts it with a grateful smile, “you waited for me to get out of detention to pass me some strawberry milk?”
“yeah, well…” joohyun’s shoulders sag, “i felt like i needed to do something to make it up to you, you did get hurt because of me.”
seungwan hums softly after taking a big gulp of milk, “wanna hang out with me then?”
her eyes widen behind her glasses and her breathing hitches. adjusting her glasses, joohyun clarifies, “r-right now?”
“yeah,” the rebel nods, “unless you’re busy?”
joohyun shakes her head a little too quickly, “i’m free.”
“okay, great, let’s get out of here.”
instead of hanging out in school like joohyun thought they would, seungwan has other plans. unchaining her bike from the bike rack outside the school gate, seungwan hops on with ease and beckons for joohyun to climb on.
“i didn’t know you rode a bike to school.” joohyun comments as she climbs on behind her.
“i live nearby but i hate the walk,” seungwan shrugs, “hold on to me or you’ll fall.”
swallowing, joohyun hesitantly places her hands, or rather fingers with how little contact she’s making, on seungwan’s shoulders, it feels appropriate. she hears a sigh from seungwan before her hands are shifted to be placed around the rebel’s small waist. joohyun isn’t given a second to blush or protest before seungwan begins pedalling.
the abruptness makes her tighten her hold around seungwan, clinging tightly for fear of falling off because it becomes apparent to her within seconds that seungwan enjoys going fast.
“w-where are we going?” joohyun manages to choke out shakily as seungwan goes down a path that’s entirely foreign to her. they’re still twisting and turning through the streets surrounding the school but the malls and shops that students frequent are in the opposite direction.
“to my spot!” seungwan answers loudly as the wind hinders her voice, “you’ll see!”
a few more minutes of twists and turns lead them to a dilapidated building that was abandoned halfway during its construction. it’s sketchy, to say the least and seungwan senses joohyun’s apprehension.
“don’t worry, this building’s sturdier than that shelf you have in the clubroom,” she reassures the princess as they dismount from her bike.
seungwan busies herself with chaining up her bike while joohyun cranes her neck upwards to look at her spot. just like the way she calls hopping over the school fence an entrance, the definition of her spot is questionable. it’s a skeleton of a building, where nature is growing over where walls should be.
joohyun furrows her brows, “this is where you like to hang out?”
seungwan scrunches up her face and shrugs, “it has a nice view of the sunset.” she justifies, “trust me.”
tugging joohyun along by the wrist, seungwan leads her around to the side of the property where a gaping hole lies in the fence, partially obscured by overgrown grass. seungwan goes first, knowing exactly where to step and instructing joohyun to follow after her. once they’re in, seungwan continues to hold joohyun’s arm and drags her up the stairs.
graffiti fills whatever empty space there may be on the pillars and incomplete walls, some obscene and some from people who merely want to make their presence known to ones that might come after. debris and litter is scattered all over, alongside construction supplies that have been left to rot. joohyun doesn’t want to call this awful but there’s no better word for this place.
they stop on the highest floor possible since the entrance to the roof is blocked by debris and seungwan tries to drag her over to the ledge where no barriers have been built. it looks frightfully dangerous and joohyun refuses to budge from her spot, far away from the edge and undeniably safer.
“you have nothing to be afraid of, i’m right here.” seungwan tries to coax her into taking a step forward but joohyun shakes her head insistently.
“this is dangerous, seungwan!”
granted, they’re four stories up and that’s more than enough to break something if they fall but that won’t happen. at least it hasn’t happened to seungwan, and she’s been here multiple times.
stepping in front of her, seungwan places her hands on joohyun’s shoulders, “are you scared of heights?”
as simple as her question is, joohyun can’t remember a time when anyone has asked her that. her voice feels like a gentle caress, enough to soothe joohyun to a point where she’s able to focus on seungwan enough to squeak out an answer.
“y-yes…”
“okay, i won’t force you.” seungwan says softly, “just come over here, you can hold onto me.”
joohyun takes her up on the offer, clinging tightly to seungwan’s arm as they slowly shuffle to a stack of wooden pallets in the middle of the space. seungwan is the first to climb on, proving to the princess that the stack of pallets is sturdy enough for them before joohyun warily joins her. it’s just high enough so their legs are dangling inches from the ground when they sit. considering the dust and grime around them, it might not be any better than sitting on the ground but at least it’s slightly more comfortable.
“you need a better spot, son seungwan.” joohyun declares after drawing a deep breath.
seungwan lets out a soft laugh, its melody is a harsh contrast to their surroundings. she’s fully at ease as she rests her weight on her arms behind her.
“you gotta wait till the sun sets.” seungwan insists, nodding towards the view before them. the whole neighborhood can be seen from where they’re at, though it’d be a little nicer if they were closer to the edge.
“how did you find this place?”
nibbling on the inside of her cheek, seungwan falls silent for a moment, her gaze drawn to a distant building as she thinks. finally, after swallowing her hesitation, she speaks, “got any more of those cigarettes?”
joohyun’s face twists into a mix of annoyance and worry and as much as she knows she should deny seungwan, she finds herself ping a hidden compartment within her bag. she hands her pack of cigarettes and lighter over to seungwan who thanks her with a small nod. lighting it up, seungwan puts the cigarette to her lips, inhaling slowly and deeply.
“i had a bad day in the first year. it was the day i got into a fight with a senior, it was my first scuffle and i felt awful for getting suspended. i was wandering around until the sun was setting and i wanted to get a better look. took a turn and this place was just there, i think i made a good choice that day.” the rebel explains, her legs swinging back and forth casually.
joohyun tilts her head towards her, “why’d you get into a fight in the first place?”
holding the cigarette with her fingers, seungwan looks uncharacteristically pensive. “i don’t remember what he said to me but i remember the anger. that’s all there is to it, i was angry. it doesn’t matter to me anymore but it left a lasting impression on everyone else.”
“does it bother you? that people have this… perception of you?”
“if it did, i would’ve thrown myself off that ledge a long time ago.” seungwan chuckles when joohyun tosses her a concerned look, “i’m kidding, people got over it within a semester. it just comes up every so often and it’s just mildly infuriating at times. sometimes it makes me wonder how things would’ve played out if i had controlled myself a little.”
“i admire you, seungwan. i don’t think i would get over everyone in school talking about me.”
seungwan laughs incredulously as she hands the cigarette to joohyun, “my god, you talk as if you aren’t the prettiest and most popular girl in school. not to discredit you but you do know running for the student council president is equivalent to a popularity contest, right?”
joohyun clicks her teeth, “hey! i got it fair and square!”
“you’re missing the point, miss president, it’s ironic of you to say that when people talk about you on the daily.”
the princess huffs, staring at the cigarette in her hands for a moment before putting it into her lips — to hell with appearances. she tries to let her annoyance dissipate with the smoke but it escapes in a harsh murmur instead.
“it’s annoying.” is all she says, but there are more feelings of unrest that stir within her. seungwan casts her a look that makes it seem like she would press joohyun for more but instead, she chuckles as she throws her head back.
“, i know, right?”
joohyun hums, exhaling and for the first time in a long time, a weight is being lifted off her shoulders, not entirely but enough for her to feel the difference. the conversation dies off and for the next few minutes, they stare into the distance, the only contact being the cigarette that’s being passed between them. when it runs out, joohyun puts out the remaining embers and flicks it into the distance.
“why did you ask me to hang out?” she asks.
the abrupt question threatens their peace and seungwan can’t help the uneasiness that seems to creep up on her. her first instinct is to fight it off with a quip.
“what if i said it’s because i wanted to smoke?”
“you couldn’t have possibly known i’d still keep cigarettes on me after getting caught.” joohyun’s elbow digs into her ribs, “come on, i think i’ve been pretty honest about my intentions with you so far.”
seungwan lifts the pack of cigarettes as if to silently prove joohyun wrong and the princess rolls her eyes and snatches it out of her hands. snickering fills the air and seungwan eventually sighs.
“i like talking to you, it’s easy, it’s fun and while i’m more of a personality over looks type of person, i’m not going to sit here and pretend your cuteness doesn’t add to it.” she starts her sentence off with honesty but ends it off with a cheeky smirk. still, not a single thing she uttered is a lie.
joohyun smacks her on the arm to distract herself from being overly conscious about the heat rushing to her cheeks. at the same time, perhaps she’s picked up a few tricks from the veteran smartass, her retort rolls off her tongue effortlessly.
“if you’re going to pursue me, at least do it properly.”
there’s a visible shift in the air, a burst of tension that rapidly fills the space between them. for seungwan, it’s a blinding epiphany, she’s seeing joohyun in an entirely new light and she needs a moment to process the idea of them dating, let alone the possibility of it.
for joohyun, she half-expects seungwan to have a quip ready and they would banter back and forth like they always seem to. but when the rebel is silent for more than a minute, the gravity of her words begins to set in and regret crashes into her.
“i—”
seungwan stops her before she can utter an apology.
“do you want me to?”
what the hell is she supposed to say to that? they’ve only known each other for two weeks, that’s hardly any time and to decide something as major as this? joohyun’s throat feels painfully dry no matter how much she swallows and she thinks she’ll explode from the anxiety if she doesn’t answer soon. she clears , casting her eyes to the ground.
“i-it’s a little soon to say… i was joking… kinda…” she stammers, voice growing weaker with every word.
“kinda,” seungwan repeats with a nod, “i’ll keep that in mind.”
“w-what do you mean?”
“ if i do decide to pursue you, i’ll do it properly,” seungwan pauses, “and if you want to pursue me, make it fun.”
her ridiculous request makes joohyun’s heart skip a beat and she ignores it with a snort, “yah… son seungwan, what kind of a deal are you trying to strike?”
“all is fair in love and war, bae joohyun.”
despite muttering something about how stupid this sounds, joohyun’s lips are curved in a grin. she lights up another cigarette with ease, passing it to seungwan after she takes a puff. they need it to quell their racing hearts.
their conversation shifts to the topic of academics, mainly because joohyun asks about seungwan’s chemistry test, which she did pretty well on save for a few mistakes. they find out about each other’s strengths — joohyun does better in subjects relating to math and science while seungwan excels at languages. an agreement is made between them that they could go to each other for help since midterms are approaching in the coming weeks.
the sun eventually dips below the horizon and joohyun wholeheartedly agrees that it is indeed a nice vantage point given its derelict exterior. seungwan’s smirk doesn’t fade even when she drops joohyun off at the nearest bus stop, in fact, her smile widens into such a wide grin that the lines between smugness and happiness begin to blur.
the feeling of immeasurable joy carries itself over to the next day when joohyun walks past the detention room just as it ends, playing it off as a matter of coincidence. when seungwan pokes fun at her, joohyun mercilessly flicks the healing wound on the bridge of her nose.
her eyes involuntarily well up with tears and seungwan covers her wound with one hand, the other strikes at joohyun’s weak spot — the huge bruise on her arm. a thumb digs into her injured flesh and joohyun cries out in pain but seungwan is already sprinting off into the distance with her bag bouncing against her back.
joohyun’s threats and footsteps echo down the hallway as she gives chase to the rebellious student who continues to taunt her back. somehow, they end up at the back of the school where they first met, leaning against a wall as they desperately try to catch their breaths.
they calm themselves eventually and joohyun replaces the bandaid on seungwan’s cut with yet another embarrassingly pink bandaid.
they don’t cross paths the next day, mostly because student council meetings are on a fixed day and joohyun can’t simply abandon her responsibilities to hang out with seungwan. an inconsistent pattern slowly emerges, on days where joohyun isn’t busy with the student council or her friends, she’s likely with seungwan. sometimes they study, but more often than not they talk about anything and everything. be it about school, their friends and families and even their futures.
a month of detention breezes by and seungwan escapes the clutches of disciplinary hell. the first thing they do to celebrate is to get her something to satiate her sweet tooth — joohyun’s treat, of course, but seungwan’s the one cycling them to the convenience store.
icecream sandwiches in hand, they sit on the curb with their legs pressed close to their chest. seungwan hands her icecream over to joohyun and without the need for words, they exchange their icecreams to try the other’s. with an unimpressed hum, joohyun scrunches her face — it’s not exactly disgusting but it wouldn’t be her first choice.
a simple nudge later and they trade their icecreams back.
“yah! this isn’t how you try someone’s food!” joohyun exclaims, pointing out the huge bite on her sandwich, a third of it is gone and seungwan is avoiding all eye contact as she nibbles on her own icecream.
tsk. joohyun reaches over and pushes hard on seungwan’s hand, almost shoving the icecream up her nose. caramel flavoured icecream smears all over her face and seungwan looks akin to a child who hasn’t learnt how to eat neatly. a loud burst of laughter erupts from joohyun and she only has a second to react before seungwan is attempting to do the same to her. she moves away from seungwan but in doing so, the icecream slips from her hand and lands onto the ground with a sad plop.
seungwan knows she ed up before the icecream hit the ground, but true fear strikes her when the air grows eerily still. joohyun slowly turns to face seungwan and the tension crescendos in the same way it would in a horror movie.
“you took a bigger bite than me…” joohyun starts softly, but make no mistake, there’s an underlying hint of a threat, “and then you made me drop it…”
gulping nervously, seungwan scrambles to her feet, “i-if you think about it… it’s not really my fau—”
if looks could kill, seungwan would’ve died ten times over.
“i-i’ll get you another one.”
“no.”
instead of getting a brand new icecream, joohyun ends up taking more bites from seungwan’s, even if she’s not the biggest fan of the flavour. if seungwan tries to whine that it’s supposed to be a treat for her, joohyun shuts her up with a glare. ultimately, seungwan does make it up to her by giving her a ride home, even if her own house is in the opposite direction.
in a sea of seemingly endless carefree-filled afternoons, the one thing that threatens to bring it to an end is the announcement of the midterm exams. students have a month to prepare before it all begins and even if joohyun is willing to go to detention, the one thing she cannot do is lose her title as the top student. there’s pressure placed on her, be it by herself or her parents — her standards can only go up and never down.
on top of extra classes, joohyun always studies with her friends when exams draw close. all of that combined leads to a significant decline in how often she’s able to hang out with seungwan and it weighs down on her. her smoking habit hits her with full force, resurfacing like an insatiable hunger. the urge died down in the weeks she spends with seungwan though they do share a stick or two every so often. it’s easy to not stress about everything when she’s with seungwan, her insouciance is infectious and joohyun’s problems are pushed to the back of her mind.
unfortunately, she doesn’t have the luxury of seungwan now, so she falls back on old habits, seeking an escape out of sight of others. it must be fatigue or the stress that’s getting to her because she doesn’t even react when she hears footsteps approaching. it’s neither it seems, upon closer inspection, she’s relaxed because she knows who that shuffling of footsteps belongs to.
“ease up on the smoking, won’t you?” seungwan saunters into view and yanks the cigarette from joohyun’s lips, putting it to her own, “your health matters.”
the princess scoffs softly, “and you’re here to help?”
“here to save the day again,” seungwan winks as she rests her back against the wall next to joohyun, “how have you been?”
“tired, stressed, frustrated,” joohyun lists off with a slow exhale, watching the smoke dissipate through a half-lidded gaze, “you?”
seungwan whistles, passing the cigarette back to joohyun, “just peachy. hate that i can’t hang out with you though.”
a small smile tints joohyun’s face, “i wish i could but between preparing for midterms and planning for sports day, i’m swamped.”
the rebel flops her hand lazily, “don’t worry about it, do what you gotta do. if you need help, don’t hesitate.”
“thanks, seungwan,” joohyun sighs, “how did you know i was here anyway?”
“stalked you, duh. ”
the president rolls her eyes with a playful smile, “how romantic and not at all weird or creepy.”
seungwan releases a breathy laugh before the conversation settles into a comfortable silence. the sun is setting in the distance and lately, it’s a common occurrence for students to leave school as the heavens darken above them.
“are you done for today?”
a soft hum slips from joohyun, “my brain’s fried but it depends, why?”
“i’ll take you home.”
a full day of studying seems to have dulled joohyun’s senses, or she simply doesn’t care about what anyone has to say about her anymore. she packs up her things and says a brief goodbye to her friends before hopping onto the back of seungwan’s bike. normally, she would’ve been more wary about interacting with seungwan in front of her friends but given her fatigue, that caution becomes secondary.
her arms wrap around seungwan’s waist easily and after a few minutes of riding in silence, joohyun rests her cheek against seungwan’s back. shutting her eyes, she takes in a slow breath. beneath the faint layer of smoke that clings to her uniform, seungwan smells wonderfully sweet, as if she is the very embodiment of bliss.
“hey,” she whispers when seungwan stops at a crosswalk, “can you say you need help with math tomorrow?”
“why? my math isn’t that awful.”
“so we can hang out, idiot.”
“okay, miss president, don’t get all grouchy on me,” seungwan shakes her head with a smile as she begins pedalling again, “can you help me with math tomorrow?”
“gladly.”
with no shortage of lousy excuses and her friends being aware of her tell, joohyun gets to spend an afternoon with seungwan without interruption. they do try to intervene and join the supposed study session joohyun has with a junior but they are denied instantly.
the rebel studies as she always does, eyes skimming over lines of content as she highlights key words and scribbles down notes. joohyun, on the other hand, is slouched forward across her with arms on the table while her chin rests on them. she occupies herself with the study of seungwan’s features, the perfect escape from actual studying.
her bangs fall slightly over her eyes, obscuring the scar on the bridge of her nose, it’ll take time to fade completely but on the bright side, it’s not obvious unless you know it’s there. blinking lazily, her eyes trail down to her lips, slightly parted and all too temptatious. their previous conversation about dating comes to mind and it’s been a while since. while joohyun didn’t have an answer back then, it’s not crystal clear now either.
her parents haven’t explicitly barred her from dating but they have made it clear that it isn’t to get in the way of her studies. joohyun from a couple of weeks ago would’ve had no problems with it since there’s nobody that has caught her eye. everyone who has confessed to her has been equivalent to the dullest of greys and the only one who hasn’t is more vibrant than the sun itself.
the best things happen in the most unexpected ways — the same goes for seungwan dropping into her life as casually as she hopped over the fence.
she enjoys seungwan’s presence, that much she’s willing to admit, but with the way she chases for even a fraction of time to spend with her, joohyun fears admitting how hard she’s fallen. the magnitude of her feelings is incomprehensible to her and in some ways, it’s overwhelming to even think about it.
“if you don’t start studying, don’t get upset when my name appears above yours on the rankings.” seungwan hums without lifting her gaze from her book.
“but i am.” joohyun teases, reaching over for a spare pencil and begins doodling on the corner of seungwan’s notes. a small, crude drawing of seungwan appears eventually, wreaking havoc on her notes.
cracking into a small smile, seungwan murmurs, “and people think i’m the bad influence.”
“i think you’re a wonderful influence.”
“yeah right, come on, midterms start in a week. i’ll make you a bet to see who tops the school.” a shoe meets her shin and joohyun grumbles.
“what are we betting?”
seungwan sets down her pen and meets joohyun’s intrigued gaze, luring her in with her words, “how about the loser will do anything the winner wants?”
sitting up, joohyun rests her cheek against the back of her hand, brows furrowing at the proposition. only a fool will agree to terms like that. “too vague, what if you wanted a million dollars?” she counters.
tenting her hands, seungwan looks pleased with herself upon knowing she has garnered joohyun’s interest, “what do you want then?”
pondering her question, joohyun’s eyes focus on nothing in particular. she has everything she could ever want so what can seungwan give her that the rest of the world can’t? the answer is simple in some ways — her time, her energy, and all that she is.
her.
even if it makes her heart ache, joohyun can’t bring herself to say it. taking the rawest form of her yearning, she carves and scrapes away at her desire until all that’s left is a request so simple that it could pass off as one made carelessly without thought.
“give me a ride home for a month.”
“spare a thought for my knees,” seungwan groans, “but okay, i accept.”
“what about you?”
a wicked grin appears on the rebel’s face and it’s almost a telltale sign of what’s to come next, “i heard no one has ever successfully asked the student council president out on a date so i want one, a proper date.”
joohyun doesn’t know how, maybe it’s almost a miracle that it happened twice in front of seungwan but she chokes on her spit. coughing frantically, she turns away from seungwan to suppress the itch in . a loud bark of laughter escapes seungwan and she’s wiping tears from her eyes by the time they both calm down.
“yah, son seungwan…” joohyun’s throat feels like it’s on fire but she forces her words out regardless, “does this mean i have to make it fun?”
“winner decides, sounds fair?” seungwan extends a hand out and joohyun shakes it with adrenaline running through her veins.
for the first time in her life, she wants to lose.
seungwan doesn’t know how long this origami star has been in her sad excuse of a pencil case but she has an inkling of who left it there. pink is the colour she associates with bae joohyun, and this paper star that’s no bigger than the size of a coin is folded from a strip of light pink paper. the exact same shade as the cursed detention slips. with bae joohyun, everything is intentional, even the way the star is left unfolded in a way that as much as it can still hold its shape, it can be just as easily unravelled. it is an invitation disguised as a fluke, and seungwan knows she’s right when she reads the writing within.
if the winner gets to choose, i hope you win.
she’d recognize that handwriting anywhere, and at the end of it is a string of numbers. the midterms start tomorrow, meaning joohyun has left this note for about a week — they didn’t get a chance to study together again after that day. if she didn’t bother to check if her pens were in working condition, maybe she would’ve never found it.
keying the number into her phone, seungwan plops down on her bed and sends a text.
‘congratulations bae joohyun! you have won the grand prize! for verification, we require participants to send a picture of themselves before further instructions will be provided regarding collection.’
snickering to herself, she watches as joohyun comes online and then goes offline. a picture comes through no longer than a minute later — a selfie of joohyun in an oversized hoodie with an adorable smile that is enough to make anyone swoon.
‘how can i claim my prize?’
fingers scrambling to respond, seungwan didn’t expect her text to work, she expected to be blocked if anything.
‘are you insane? why did you reply?’
‘because i want the prize, son seungwan. hand it over.’
‘wait, how did you know it was me?’
‘your profile picture, dummy.’
exiting their chat, seungwan checks her profile picture. sure, everyone can see her picture but it’s a picture of a stray cat. how could anyone tell it’s her? perplexed, seungwan returns to the chat, tapping away.
‘it doesn’t even have my face in it.’
‘but your hands are.’
she freezes, watching the text cursor blink until she finds a way to reply.
‘you’re scary, bae joohyun…’
‘i was expecting you to text sooner, took you long enough.’
‘my bad, i just tidied up. you could’ve dropped a hint or something.’
‘but that would take the fun out of it.’
‘sounds like you want to win instead.’
‘i may be a little competitive…’
‘did i pick a fight with the wrong person? i’m willing to concede if you ask.’
‘why would i want that? all is fair in love and war, seungwan. besides, i’m rooting for you.’
midterms start off with a dreary atmosphere but it tapers off towards the end as students begin to relax and feel freedom inching closer to them with every day. having each other’s number helps them to get through the week, though they do cross paths multiple times. seungwan can’t help but feel an icy stare from joohyun’s friends as they stand protectively around the princess, ushering her away as soon as they set eyes on her. they must know something is up, but seungwan doesn’t let it bother her — they’re not the ones about to win a date with the bae joohyun when their results are out .
the moment midterms come to an end, the students are given a few days to breathe before the next major school event is upon them — sports day.
with how many events there are, students are required to sign up for one event at least, failure to comply results in three days of detention. seungwan, being the person she is, usually calls it a day by being the first to be eliminated in dodgeball. and in hindsight, that also adds another reason as to why people don’t particularly like her.
“that’s it?” joohyun is unimpressed by how empty her sign-up sheet is, “at least sign up for one more.”
seungwan shakes her head as she takes a sip of the strawberry milk that joohyun got her, “i’m only there to not get detention. it’s worked for two years, it can work for another.”
since their midterm results are still being graded, it’s hard to say who will win the bet they’ve made. no harm in making another one, joohyun supposes.
“if i join your dodgeball team, will you join the 100-metre sprint?”
chuckling, seungwan shakes her head with a sigh, “joohyun, the only reason i sign up for dodgeball is because it’s the easiest way to do nothing. i just have to show up and get hit by a ball. now why would i put myself through the torture of running?”
“because i think you can win.” joohyun pouts, “please? if you don’t want to do it alone, i’ll sign up for the team relay with you.”
her pout makes seungwan’s chest clench. she draws a deep breath, reminding herself that no amount of running is worth it, she will not cave. remaining adamant, she declares firmly, “missing the point, i don’t wanna do anything.”
“let’s make another deal,” joohyun counters, “one you can’t say no to.”
a deal, a bet, a gamble, however different, offer the same thrill. just as joohyun fell for her deal, she falls for hers all the same. “our current bet is still ongoing but i can hear you out, what’s on the table?”
“a kiss.”
seungwan thanks the gods that she didn’t decide to take another sip of her drink, she’s sure she would’ve spat it out. the silence stretches on for so long that she wonders if she misheard joohyun. no, it’s not possible, joohyun wouldn’t look that smug otherwise. releasing the breath trapped in her lungs, she exclaims loudly.
“so much for pursuing someone in a properly! i’m still a lady!”
“you’re the one who wanted things to be fun,” joohyun retorts, “this will be fun, trust me!”
“okay, fine, done.” the rebel throws her hands up in mock surrender, she already knows how she’ll weasel out of this one, the loophole is simply too obvious—
“and you have to participate, you can’t just stand there and lose.”
it’s annoying how well joohyun knows her now. folding her arms across her chest, seungwan clicks her teeth indignantly, “your kiss isn’t worth that much.”
joohyun looks at seungwan with what may be the saddest eyes in all of humanity and allows her lips to tremble, “really..?”
“no! i didn’t mean it like—” seungwan tries to defend herself but the growing smile on joohyun’s face forces her to concede, “dodgeball and relay race, that’s all you get.”
seungwan finds out through a text that joohyun signed her up for two events as promised, an astounding record for someone like her, but one of them is wrong. instead of the team relay, joohyun accidentally adds her name to the list of runners interested in the 100-metre sprint. the president tries to play it off as a mistake, even going as far as saying seungwan might not qualify for the final event at all since heats have to be held. it’s impossible to say no to the student council president since she is in charge of the event, and there’s no way seungwan will make it to the finals anyway.
to everyone’s surprise, including her own, after a few rounds of heats, seungwan somehow qualifies to run on the final day.
that’s how seungwan finds herself on the field with her hands on her hips, under the burning sun where her skin is threatening to slough off her very bones. wearing gym shorts would feel nice if there’s even a slight breeze but there’s none so she rolls the sleeves of her shirt up to her shoulders to help with the heat. tying her hair up helps a little but with every minute the sun terrorizes her, the more she considers walking off back into the shade and dropping out of the race.
but in the distance, near the end of the finish line, stands joohyun — her motivation and willpower to stay. even if she can barely make out her face, she knows joohyun is watching her with a bright smile on her.
well, . she wouldn’t call it motivation, but rather an inclination that she’s not going to let joohyun down now. it doesn’t help that her competitors mostly hail from athletic backgrounds. some are from the track team and it’s almost expected for them to qualify but others are from sports teams like basketball. seungwan, who does detention as an extracurricular activity, sticks out like a sore thumb. heck, she doesn’t even have running shoes, but she made it this far, she might as well see it through.
she’s crouched down before she even knows it, fingers pressed onto the searing track as she keeps her eyes trained on joohyun. the president is mouthing something but she’s too far and squinting doesn’t help. the starter pistol goes off and her body simply reacts, closing the distance between her and joohyun.
the sprint feels longer than it seems, but as seungwan runs, she gradually makes out what joohyun is saying — run! seungwan! her tiny figure is bouncing excitedly with her hands raised above her head. the sight spreads the warmth in her chest to her cheeks and it pushes her forwards.
the closer she is, the clearer the words become, until joohyun’s high-pitched shouting is the only thing she hears above the cheering of the crowd.
“run! seungwan-ah! run!”
then, the race is over. seungwan slows to a stop beside two other competitors as joohyun dashes out to meet her on the track.
“you won!” the president beams, ecstatically throwing her arms around her, “you placed third!”
still desperately trying to catch her breath, seungwan lets joohyun bounce her around like a ragdoll. her muscles begin to feel the exhaustion from the abrupt exertion and she’s glad joohyun is partially holding her up. drawing a deep breath to steady herself, she pulls away from the princess.
“kiss?” she asks with her lips tugged upwards.
“you’re crazy if you think i’m going to kiss you in front of the entire school,” joohyun hisses, “and dodgeball isn’t over yet.”
“it better be good.” seungwan sighs, feeling the exhaustion seeping further into her bones.
once the other races conclude, seungwan lines up with the other winners to get their medals. the principal, being the one to give out the medals, has to do a double take when he sees her on the podium. he isn’t the only one, other students from her grade congratulate her with surprised looks as well but their reactions pale in comparison to joohyun’s — the only one who believed she could win.
joohyun, with her overly enthusiastic cheering for their grade’s resident delinquent, is finally forced to introduce seungwan to her friends. it’s impossible to lie that she barely knows seungwan when she literally ran to hug her. though, in her defense, she couldn’t help herself. how could she?
seulgi and sooyoung try to intimidate her with sharp glares and narrowed eyes but it’s nothing compared to a teacher’s and after talking for a little, seulgi drops the act and enthusiastically begins to talk to seungwan about her piercings.
“you have the school’s delinquent wrapped around your thumb, how’d you do it?” sooyoung nudges joohyun with a whisper.
the irony of the statement makes her giggle, sooyoung doesn’t even know the slightest bit of the truth. “what if it’s the exact opposite, sooyoung?”
“you rejected more people than i can count with my two hands just to fall into the cliché of dating the rebellious student?” sooyoung remarks incredulously, “you can’t be serious.”
“we’re not dating,” joohyun clarifies before adding on, “yet…”
rolling her eyes, sooyoung mutters, “well hurry up, because while you were busy messing around with her, jinho was coming to seulgi and i for advice to confess to you.”
before anyone in school can even get close to confessing to joohyun, they would have to go through her two friends. most of the time, they try to guide her admirers in the right direction, giving them hints and tips on what joohyun likes. but as things stand, they’re not very good advisors since they have a one hundred percent failure rate at the moment. it’s not their fault that joohyun rejects everyone.
“why didn’t you guys just reject him for me?” joohyun groans, having someone she doesn’t even know confess to her has never felt right and most of the time, it feels horrible to have to reject them.
“if it were up to seulgi and i, you wouldn’t even have gotten close to her,” sooyoung jabs a finger towards seungwan, “make it official and people will back off if they’re smart.”
joohyun hums, her gaze drifting towards seungwan who’s still talking about her piercings with seungwan. except, instead of harmless ear piercings, this time she lifts her shirt to show off a navel piercing and joohyun’s jaw drops with an audible gasp.
she blames her subsequent nosebleed on the afternoon heat.
dodgeball being the final event of the day gives joohyun plenty of time to recover and for her friends to get to know seungwan a little better. they watch different events from the stands and while it’s a relief that seungwan gets along with them, it feels as if she’s turned down her snark a little, perhaps feeling a little awkward about the situation.
seulgi and sooyoung leave them to grab a snack at some point and joohyun doesn’t waste any time in checking on seungwan. she inches closer to seungwan and closes the gap between them.
“are you okay? i hope my friends haven’t been too much.” concern tints her tone and seungwan shakes her head.
“i’m fine, i’m just not used to… this..?” her voice is uncertain but she looks at joohyun with a wide smile, “how’s the nose?”
pride keeps her from being honest, as much as she wants to get a glimpse of that stupid piercing too. pursing her lips into a thin line, joohyun mutters tersely, “the weather was hot.”
“it sure was,” seungwan agrees, “and you made me run under that sweltering heat.”
“and you won a medal!” joohyun motions to the chunk of metal resting beside her. seungwan lifts it by the ribbon and for the first time, she takes a proper look at it.
she allows herself a moment to soak in her win before joking, “this isn’t anything compared to the reward i’m owed.”
“and you’ll get it after dodgeball.”
“that’s so long,” seungwan whines, “i’m impatient.”
being seated at the top of the stands gives off the illusion of privacy, and with eyes scanning the crowd beneath them, joohyun mentally assesses the chances of them being seen. many students have left the gym to take a quick break as the next event is being set up, if anything, now is the perfect opportunity. swallowing her anxiety, joohyun leans close to seungwan, hovering close enough that seungwan feels her breath on her cheek. when she finally gathers up her courage, someone clears their throat behind them and interrupts them with a sigh.
“dodgeball is starting soon, we gotta go get ready.” sooyoung drawls.
joohyun jolts back so quickly she might as well have set a world record for the fastest reaction time. she’s never recovering from the embarrassment, though if it’s any consolation, she’s glad sooyoung is the one who caught them instead of a schoolmate. the pair are sufficiently blushing as they trail behind sooyoung, though joohyun is notably redder than seungwan. having interacted so often without anyone else’s judgement makes it harder for them to be aware of when they’re being disgusting, but sooyoung makes it a point to remind them.
the dodgeball team that joohyun put together consists of five people, with her friends and seungwan included, she has another student from their grade to fill up the spot. though, when seungwan strolls onto the court behind the student council president, she’s surprised to see a familiar face.
“yerim?”
“seungwan?”
“you know each other?” joohyun looks at the two, “yerim’s on our team.”
bobbing her head, seungwan feels mildly glad to have a familiar face on her team. yerim is the one that suggested the idea of them joining dodgeball to meet the minimum requirement of events joined and it seems that it’s her exact intention today.
“yeah, we started talking in detention.” seungwan explains.
“seems like you enjoy talking to girls in detention, huh?” joohyun side eyes her as she joins up with the rest of the team.
seungwan wonders if her uncharacteristic aggression stems from her embarrassment from earlier, or perhaps it’s just sheer unbridled jealousy. either way, she’s not sure she dislikes it. biting the insides of her cheek, seungwan slings an arm around yerim as they walk and talk.
“what’s her deal?”
“jealousy is a disease, yerim-ah.”
puzzled, yerim stitches her brows together, “you’re not making any sense, seungwan.”
“don’t worry about it, all we gotta do is win.”
“what is going on with you? first you run in the 100 metre sprint, place third, congratulations by the way and now you actually wanna play dodgeball? something’s fishy.” yerim narrows her eyes, casting suspicion upon seungwan — this isn’t the same person who she met in detention all those months ago.
the rebel shushes her friend with a finger to her lips, “trust me, i need a win here.”
“good luck with that. have you seen who we’re playing against? i was hoping for a quick elimination.”
turns out, joohyun and the vice president of the student council agreed to pit their teams against each other. kim yongsun, the vice president, gathered up her girlfriend who happens to be the captain of the volleyball team and a few of her teammates and created a monster of a team.
“why did you think this was a good idea?” seulgi murmurs to joohyun when they’re gathered in a team huddle, tossing a nervous glance at their opponents.
the volleyball girls are a head taller than sooyoung, who happens to be their tallest member. not to mention, the captain is scary on her own but they decided to invite two of their best spikers onto the team as well. any ball they throw is bound to be deadly and the thought of getting obliterated like that sends shivers up their spines.
joohyun has a look of defeat plastered across her face as she looks at her team, “sorry everyone, i expected byulyi but not hyejin and wheein. do what you can but your life matters more than this game.”
joohyun’s pep talk is hardly encouraging and any strategy they come up with is likely to fall apart when the game grows in intensity. still, the teams take their places and once the whistle goes off, the highly anticipated match between the two student council heads begins.
seungwan is the first to sprint to the middle, reaching down and tossing the balls back to her team. her speed is helpful in the first few seconds, but after that, the game seems to favour yongsun’s team heavily. as seungwan stands, a ball whizzes into her peripheral vision and if she continues to move, she will get hit.
she stops, and a ball narrowly passes over her head. her life might have flashed before her eyes in that split second. putting some distance between them, seungwan catches a glimpse of her attacker. byulyi, the captain of the volleyball team looks both apologetic and surprised that she dodged that. her team retaliates on her behalf but their shots either miss or yongsun’s team blocks them. they would be lucky to get a single person eliminated.
with most of the balls on the opposing team, joohyun’s team has no choice but to dodge or catch the balls. the latter being much harder leads to their first elimination — sooyoung trudges out of the playing area after a ball hits her chest.
seungwan bends down to pick a ball up and walks over to yerim, whispering something to her, a strategy of sorts. joohyun’s eyes drift towards them and in doing so, her distraction creates an opening for yongsun to attack. a ball comes barreling towards her and joohyun narrowly dodges it with a jump.
“yah!”
“focus, joohyun-ah! the loser has to—” yongsun shouts across the court but is rudely interrupted when a ball hits her in the arm.
snapping her head towards the source, seungwan and yerim exchange a fist bump, no doubt that they are the ones who eliminated yongsun. the volleyball team looks offended, byulyi gathers them as if they’re gearing up for a war.
“is this good enough, joohyun? can we get eliminated now?” seungwan asks loudly, mildly dreading the balls of death that will be launched at them in a matter of seconds.
joohyun can’t help but grin and she tosses the spare ball in her hands to the rebel, “don’t even think about it, son seungwan!”
“it won’t be up to her, joohyun-ah!” byulyi chimes in, pulling her hand back and launching the ball towards seungwan.
the red foam ball accelerates towards her and using the ball she got from joohyun, seungwan deflects the attack and retaliates with one of her own. byulyi jumps out of the way as the ball lands where her legs would’ve been, a miss but too narrow for her liking.
another ball is into her hands and joohyun is standing beside her, bobbing her head in encouragement. with a small smile, seungwan chances a glimpse at her opponents and regardless of how she knows it’s unlikely for her to win against them, she’ll try her best for joohyun, that’s all she can do to be deserving of a kiss.
it’s almost expected for the other team to set their targets on her, three balls are launched simultaneously in her direction and with a twist of her body she manages to dodge two. the other ball, however, veers off course with a spin, heading directly for joohyun who is picking up a ball.
once is a mistake, twice is a coincidence and thrice is a choice.
three times, joohyun has been in trouble. and three times, seungwan chooses to save her. there is no coincidence in any of this, just like how there’s no coincidence in joohyun ending up in detention multiple times. perhaps their first meeting is a matter of chance but what they’ve become now is the result of numerous choices by the both of them.
and as seungwan ditches the ball in her hands, she doesn’t think there will be a universe where she chooses otherwise.
she dives in front of joohyun in a bold gamble — she’ll take the hit either way but what matters if she can catch it. the ball hits her in the gut and her hands are moving to hold it tight against her body. her skin skids against the smooth gym floor and she comes to a halt right in front of joohyun.
“seungwan!”
the princess is hovering over her with a worried gaze but all that matters is joohyun is safe, and that the ball she caught has just eliminated someone.
“three for three.” seungwan beams as she’s helped to her feet, “you gotta stop getting into these dangerous situations.”
“you’re crazy, son seungwan…” joohyun chuckles nervously, “are you sure you’re not hurt?”
“i’m fine, you should be more worried about our team.”
their conversation couldn’t have lasted for more than half a minute but when joohyun looks around, they’re the only two remaining left on their team. the pair exchanges a look and however bleak the outcome seems, they refuse to go down without a fight. with byulyi, hyejin and wheein still in the game on the opposing team, joohyun’s team is swiftly eliminated.
it’s a better outcome than their team could ever hope for, at least they managed to eliminate two opponents and one of them being yongsun is a win in their books. the day comes to a close with a speech from the principal and the students are dismissed.
with her friends being fully aware of seungwan’s importance, it makes it easier for joohyun to slip away with her hand grasping seungwan’s wrist. joohyun doesn’t say much to seungwan except to utter a soft request to take her home. seungwan obliges despite her muscles protesting the entire way, but having joohyun pressed up against her back somehow makes it feel better.
the ride home is quiet as joohyun wrestles with where to kiss seungwan. a kiss on the lips feels like it would be too much and a kiss on the cheek would be underwhelming for all that she did. she settles on one when seungwan pulls up at the gate of her house. hopping off the bike with ease, joohyun places her hands on the underside of seungwan’s jaw. she doesn’t hesitate, knowing if she does, she’ll back out completely. she turns seungwan’s head to the side and plants a small kiss on her cheeks.
and then she runs into the safety of her home, leaving seungwan shell-shocked — that’s it?
well, a kiss is a kiss, and from bae joohyun at that. most people would feel lucky to even breathe near her and seungwan isn’t one to be ungrateful. a smile tints her lips when she lifts the kickstand with her foot and she begins her journey home. the events of the day replay in her head and by the time she reaches home, her burning muscles are secondary compared to the ache in her jaw from smiling too hard.
the results of the midterm exams are released the subsequent monday, leaving the school in a cacophony of excited chattering. posted on a noticeboard along the hallways of the classrooms, the entire cohort’s rankings are left for the students to see.
upon reaching class, the sight of her classmates yelling across the classroom that the rankings are out makes joohyun’s stomach do flips. normally, she’s confident that she’ll be at the top, but this time, she’s nervous for different reasons. seulgi and sooyoung pop by her class with every intention of checking their rankings together but joohyun rejects them, muttering an excuse about looking at it later.
truth is, she wants to look at it with seungwan but it’s not the outcome that scares her, it’s what comes after this bet is over — what becomes of them after? if she goes on a date with seungwan, does that mean they’re dating? if seungwan takes her home every day, isn’t that equivalent to them dating?
her thoughts are interrupted by a pair of hands pressing down on her desk, and she looks up in surprise.
“seungwan?”
“i came early to see if i won the bet,” the rebel wriggles her eyebrows with a smirk, “have you seen the rankings?”
the princess shakes her head slowly, “no… have you?”
“nope, which makes this perfect,” seungwan yanks her to her feet and grabs her by the hand, “let’s go.”
dodging an occasional student, they weave their way through the crowd. joohyun slowly intertwines their fingers as she allows herself to be dragged forward. with how many students are crowding in front of the noticeboard, they can only stand a distance back.
squinting slightly, they scan through the names, trying to find their own and—
1 - Son Seungwan
1 - B ae Joohyun
a tie is unexpected, but certainly not unwelcomed. they take a few moments to process what it all means and joohyun finally asks.
“does this mean we both win?”
“yeah,” seungwan grins, “don’t wanna say i told you so but, i told you you should’ve studied more.”
joohyun squeezes seungwan’s hand tenderly, biting at her lower lip, “i told you, i was rooting for you.”
“i know, so how does a movie sound for a date?”
“sounds great, son seungwan.”
word spreads around quickly enough that the student council president is seeing the infamous son seungwan, something that nobody would’ve seen coming, even for the couple themselves. they could care less about what others think of them; the attention doesn’t change seungwan, and her reputation remains the same despite dating bae joohyun.
she occasionally winds up in detention as per usual, but each time, joohyun will be waiting around the corner with an unimpressed look on her face. sometimes, she gets her a carton of strawberry milk and they’ll share it.
their bets grow in frequency as well, anything goes as long as the other one is up for it. they’d bet on anything from test grades to something as simple as a coin flip, and their rewards vary from buying each other snacks to holding hands.
a fresh loss leaves seungwan a little peeved, it’s her third loss in a row and it seems that joohyun is winning them all with ease — joohyun has severely understated her competitiveness because she always has a trick up her sleeve. she hatches a plan one afternoon, while she’s watching joohyun study.
in an empty classroom, seungwan sits in front of joohyun with a hand resting on the edge of her desk. snacking on a pack of pocky sticks, joohyun holds one between her teeth while she busies herself with studying for an upcoming test. seungwan has been trying to read a novel but her gaze occasionally flits to the snack and by extension, joohyun’s lips. it’s hard to say if joohyun is inviting her to take a bite or she’s simply too focused that she forgets to eat it. either way, it’s asking to be eaten and seungwan can’t say no to that.
“hey, new bet?” seungwan asks and joohyun hums softly to acknowledge her, “winner gets to be fed by the loser.”
“you’re old enough to eat on your own, seungwan-ah.” the princess murmurs without biting down on the pocky stick.
“haven’t we learnt that the point of these bets is never about practicality?”
lifting her gaze, she acknowledges the point and motions for seungwan to continue.
“first person to make the other one blush wins.”
“done.”
with the commencement of their new bet, seungwan stands and leans across the table. taking a huge bite out of the pocky stick, she leaves barely an inch of the chocolate part untouched. their lips come close but not close enough to touching — it’s all about the anticipation, and seungwan has a -eating grin on her face as she sits.
but joohyun is unfazed, she’s more annoyed at the fact seungwan pretty much ate the entire stick — a common habit of hers that she’s aware of by now. no snack survives the terror that is son seungwan, the one who constantly loves to test the limits of one bite. narrowing her eyes, she finishes it and slips another between her lips.
again, she doesn’t bite down on it, she merely holds it in as if she’s enticing seungwan to take another bite. like a fool, the rebel falls for it, disbelieving of the fact that joohyun would be immune to her charms. she leans over to take another bite but is surprised to find no resistance from joohyun. now holding the pocky stick in , she bites down slightly but not enough to break it entirely.
little does she know, the princess has discreetly curled her fingers around her tie. with a firm yank, joohyun pulls the rebel close, she takes a bite, then a second, until their lips brush against each other. she hovers momentarily, allowing each other to feel the other’s breath on their skin before releasing her hold and shoving seungwan back with a light push.
the rebel drops back into her seat, mouth agape and what remains of the pocky stick shatters as it hits the ground.
“two can play this game, seungwan-ah.” a wicked grin appears on joohyun’s face, “i win.”
seungwan doesn’t need to look at a mirror to know her cheeks have flushed scarlet, the heat makes her throw her head back in surrender but a brilliant idea comes to mind instantly.
“i did say the winner has to be fed by the loser,” seungwan murmurs with a sly grin as she reaches over for a new pocky stick and puts it in , “but i didn’t say how.”
“unlike you, i’m perfectly fine with eating it on my own.” joohyun tries to reach for her own snack but seungwan’s reflexes are quicker and she grabs the box before joohyun can.
with a firm shake of her head, seungwan rests her elbows on joohyun’s desk with a smile, “we have to abide by the rules of the bet.”
joohyun considers her rules for a moment and decides she doesn’t need to follow them. in a smooth motion, she leans forward, yanking the stick out of seungwan’s mouth, tossing it aside while she presses a soft kiss onto seungwan’s lips.
“you’re lucky you’re cute too, seungwan-ah.” joohyun murmurs, “next time, if you want something, i’ll do it as long as you ask.”
“o-okay… then… be my girlfriend?”
“done.”
end notes:
and we're done! big thanks to everyone who was very supportive of this au, i doubt it would've spiralled this far out of control if i wasn't enabled this much. i hope it was as enjoyable to read as it was to write =)
hope everyone is enjoying wish you hell, his car isn't yours enthusiasts, rise up!!! also i was looping blue light by muque for a considerable chunk of this, i think the vibes of the song is pretty fitting for this au.
ngl the dodgeball scene was inspired by michael reeves' plays in ludwig's dodgeball tournament, he's crazy for playing barefoot but i thought it would be too much to make seungwan barefoot. anyway, pocky scene? share thoughts. i feel pretty good about it but i just kinda wanna know if it had the impact i wanted it to have LMAO.
anyway, time to get back to my other unfinished fics... bodyguard au and awnoh... u_u
Comments