“What are you doing sneaking around?”

Choyoung looked up from her hiding spot behind the water fountain. It was Soonyoung again. It was School Lock-In and everyone was going to be spending two nights in the school, hence the name ‘lock-in.’ It was a way for every grade to interact with one another and become a more unified school. Soonyoung was wearing light grey sweatpants with the brand name ‘Dumbbell’ written vertically along his right leg as well as a plain navy crewneck long-sleeve. His socks matched the color of his navy tee.

Reaching up and grabbing his wrist, Choyoung pulled him down and told him to be quiet. It didn’t bother her really as to who it was because she could care less. The most important thing right now was to watch the mini-drama unfold in front of her. There were two kids in her class, Choi Hansol and Lee Minji, who were suspiciously talking to each other in private. Choyoung had seen this as she was coming out of the bathroom after getting changed into her pajamas and decided to get in on the action.

She brushed her bangs away from her face only to have them droop down again in front of her forehead. was open, anticipating either of the two to talk. Ever since the beginning of the year, she could sense that Minji had something for Hansol. Call it girl instinct, or whatever, but she was definitely going to prove that she was right all along. Soonyoung moved over to the right to get a better look at the scene.

“Hansol oppa,” Minji started, voice slightly wavering, “I’ve liked you for a long time now,”

Dead. Choyoung clutched her heart as all the feels started to attack her. All Soonyoung could do was cringe at the cheesy scene and wonder what was so special about confessions. He edged closer to Choyoung to hear the conversation better. His chest was inches away from her back but she was too busy fangirling to even notice. He was straining himself to hear so he wasn’t aware of the space between them either.

“Would you like to go out with me?” Hansol casually asked, sweetness pouring from his voice. Minji’s mouth dropped; she couldn’t believe that he was actually returning her feelings. It was so unreal. Choyoung scooted backwards so that she could scream and fangirl somewhere more convenient but instead, she bumped into Soonyoung, causing the both of them to tumble over. The trash can behind them tipped over, clattering onto the ground. Choyoung squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that her classmates wouldn’t turn the corner.

“Hey Soonyoung hyung, you go, man!” Choyoung heard Hansol say in English. She didn’t understand what he said but she figured that he was making fun of her.

Hesitantly opening her eyes, she saw Hansol and Minji holding hands and giggling to each other like the lovebirds they were as they walked away to the main building.

“We seriously need to stop ending our conversations like this,” a voice came from below her.

Looking down, she realized that Soonyoung was lying down underneath her. Soonyoung’s face was bright upon hearing and understanding what Hansol had told him. He was staring right up at Choyoung who was struggling to get up without touching him awkwardly. In her struggle to get up, her knee slipped between his legs making Choyoung yelp in embarrassment. Soonyoung couldn’t help laughing at her wide-eyed expression when she finally stood up. He sat up in a criss-cross position on the floor, placing his elbows on his knees and propping his head up.

“Nothing happened!” Choyoung wailed, attempting to kick Soonyoung’s shin but her legs were too short to reach, “Forget about what just happened!

Picking himself up from the floor, Soonyoung stuffed his hands in his pockets as he continued to chuckle, “Relax, you didn’t hit anything vital. The repro system is still functioning,”

Disgusted, Choyoung covered her ears to prevent hearing any more of his weird Ed references. It was bad enough that she was even remotely close to it,” Stop! I don’t want to hear it! You’re so gross!”

“Anyway,” Soonyoung changed the topic, “Now that I’m here, you know I have to comment on that ridiculous outfit you’re wearing.”

Choyoung frowned, knowing that she was going to get made fun of it sooner or later. She never actually had a set of pajamas because all she wore to bed was a camisole and boxers that she borrowed from her older brother. And of course, that wasn’t appropriate for school so she dug out the only other outfit she could use. They were footsie pajamas that she had gotten a few years back. It was light pink with a dusty purple unicorn on the front. A long zipper ran down her back to the back of her right ankle. She wore a black undershirt and grey shorts underneath if she were to ever get hot in her getup. Back then, she believed that she would still wear them when she grew into them but her laziness got the best of her.

“Actually, can you not?”

“How old were you when you bought this?” Soonyoung questioned, ignoring her request.

“Dude,”

“The unicorn in the front just makes it even better,”

“Staahhhhpp,” Choyoung emphasized, actually saying ‘stahp’ instead of ‘stop.’

“And the light pink binds it all together,”

“Your shirt and socks match with your braces,”

“…was that an insult or-?”

“It was supposed to be an insult but I can’t really think of anything to make fun of you about so can we just drop the subject and never speak of my failure again?” Choyoung rapidly spit out in one breath.

“How did I end up getting stuck with you? Of all people, it was you.”

Soonyoung’s name happened to be at the very bottom of the top hat everyone passed around so Choyoung had no choice but to be stuck with him. If anything, she’d even find it more enjoyable to be with Jihoon than Soonyoung. At least Jihoon wasn’t as irritating as Soonyoung. Choyoung huffed and crossed her arms across her chest; she was not happy.

The students were sent out to do a treasure hunt for items around the school and within minutes of starting, a second year team of Mingyu and Wonwoo found two items off the their list. Pretty soon, everyone was raking up their own items while Soonyoung and Choyoung were just taking a stroll around the school. Neither of them actually put any effort into finding anything out of pure laziness. They weren’t into treasure hunts either.

“Ah, how about we play a game?” Soonyoung suggested, hoping to liven up the atmosphere.

“What game?”

“Never Have I Ever?”

Choyoung rolled her eyes, “That’s what middle schoolers play,”

“Please?” Soonyoung pleaded, pulling into his signature pout, “We’ll play only one round, just one,”

“Alright fine,” Choyoung agreed, “But I’m going to win,”

The object of the game was pretty simple. One person would start off by saying, “Never have I ever…” and then finish it with any action that they can think of be it serious or dumb. If the other players have done what they said, they have to put down their finger. The game continues until one player has no more fingers standing. Soonyoung decided he would go first.

“Never have I ever crushed on a teacher,” Soonyoung looked over to Choyoung, noticing that she didn’t even move her fingers, “You’ve never crushed on a teacher? Not even Mr. Cho?”

“Why? Do you like Mr. Cho?” Choyoung countered, smirk playing on her lips, “And besides, I don’t think any of the male teachers are attractive no matter what the other girls think. My turn. Never have I ever kissed someone on the first date,”

Expecting to see Soonyoung put a finger down, she was surprised that he didn’t budge. Choyoung stopped walking, “C’mon, you can’t not have ever been on a date. You’re sixteen!”

“Sorry to ruin it for you, princess, but I’ve never been on a date,”

“You’ve never had a girlfriend?”

Soonyoung flicked her forehead lightly and playfully scolded her for speaking out of turn. She put on a disapproving look on her face but she let him continue. Soonyoung brushed his hair out of his face, “Never have I ever liked anyone older than me,”

“You ,” Choyoung mumbled as she put a finger down. Soonyoung was taken aback by this.

“Wait, who did or who do you like?”

“That’s personal!” Choyoung defended, “Besides, you’ll probably laugh,”

Butterflies began arising in his stomach. He was not mentally prepared for this. He didn’t even like her but he didn’t want to break her heart either. Taking her by the shoulders, he faced her and looked her square in the eye, “Look, Choyoung, you’re cool and all but like I said before, we’re moving too fast,”

“What the actual fudge, man?” Choyoung struggling to control her laughter, “What is up with you thinking that I like you?”

The expression on Soonyoung’s face was priceless. It was like he had just been hit in the face with a brick that had, ‘Realization’ written on it. His hands dropped to his side and they started walking again. It was awkward for him now and what made it worse was that Choyoung couldn’t stop giggling at what he said.

“No but really, you can’t just admit that you liked someone and not tell me!” The curiosity was eating him alive, “I promise I won’t laugh,”

“Bu Seunggwan,” Choyoung revealed, bowing her head in embarrassment after she did. Every girl in her grade liked or currently liked Seunggwan. No one could not like Seunggwan. He was nice to everyone and was always b with cheerfulness; he was also the class clown. Among the girls, he was pretty popular. He was gifted with both looks and talent; winning at least three talent shows the school held that year. It took Soonyoung all his willpower to not judge her but he did anyway.

“So you go for the soft guys?”

Seunggwan wasn’t the the best in athletics. In fact, he often strayed away from it. According to the rumors going around the school, Seunggwan always skipped P.E. because he was afraid of getting injured. Not to brag or anything, but it was Soonyoung who was known around the school for his athletic abilities.

“Oh and Lee Chan,”

Soonyoung immediately stopped in his tracks at the mention of that name, “Lee Chan?”