[CONTENTID1]

forty-one: apologies and welcomes

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[“I’m glad I’m back.”]

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Juyeon would never have believed this, but she was honestly a little happy to see the iron-wrought, vine-covered gates of Academia Mysteria.

The past two weeks, being able to be with her parents again, had gone on so fast that she felt it was hardly any time at all. She had never been happier, being with them (and being able to get some goddamn Starbucks and eat some real food again). Yet now, when they followed the line of cars into the large lot out front, she felt that she had been away for far too long.

The Academia was now her home, too. As creepy as that kind of felt.

”You can drop me off here, mom,” she said, when she noticed that the line was not moving anytime soon. “I can walk from here.”

”You sure, sweetheart?”

Juyeon turned to smile at her, at her crow's feet near her eyes and her smile lines and the slight wrinkles gathering around her soft fingers. "Yeah. Besides, you have a case to work this afternoon, right? I don’t want you to be late.”

Mom was still unsure, and Juyeon had to insist. Finally, she relented, and she gave Juyeon one last kiss on the cheek before Juyeon pulled the suitcase out of the trunk and started lugging it over the snow.

”Have fun,” she called from the drivers’ window. “And be safe!”

Juyeon laughed, although slightly nervously. The last one might be a little more difficult to accomplish. “I will!”

A sudden sharp gust of wind blew harshly against her, and her braids nearly slapped her in the face. That wind was altogether too unusual to be normal. She looked around suspiciously, but found no one.

A car honking brought her out of her thoughts. Mom was watching anxiously. Juyeon gave her a reassuring smile and wave before entering the Academia building, and she was gone from view.

Juyeon realized she should have taken the longer route around the school instead of going through the main doors, but it was too late.

”Is that … Jung Juyeon?”

”It is!”

”Juyeon! Juyeon!”

”Where have you been? You’ve just disappeared!”

”Did you really transfer to High Class?”

Juyeon gave a weak smile to her old classmates. She genuinely missed them. Even the slackers she was so annoyed with now seemed so precious. “Yeah, sorry I couldn’t tell you.”

”Is it everything we imagined? Are there marble floors and silver plates? Do you have servants?”

”It’s, um, a secret.”

”See?” Her classmates looked smug. “What did I tell you? Juyeon’s fine, guys, she’s being waited on hand and foot!”

”Well, you deserve it, Juyeon,” one of the slackers said. “You’re so much smarter than us, all we ever did was bother you. Even though you were totally right.”

”What? No, no, I loved having classes with you guys!” Juyeon was touched by their sincerity. If they only knew what the real High Class looked like, they wouldn’t be so quick to say she deserved her fate. “Don’t be so hard on yourselves, you were all really cool. Even though I’m happy in High Class, I still miss Sunset Class 12.”

Her classmates looked at her for a few moments in surprise. “You know, you’re a little different, Juyeon,” one girl said.

”Am I?”

”Yeah, you’re … warmer. A little less distant, a little more … approachable. Ah, not that I’m saying you weren’t nice before or anything, I-I just mean ―“

”No, it’s okay, I get it,” Juyeon said with a slight laugh. “I was pretty y to everyone. Sorry about that, I’m trying to fix it.”

Her old classmates stared at her in wonder. Was she really Jung Juyeon?

”Hey, High Class,” someone called behind her, and Juyeon turned around to see a round face framed with dark blue streaks and a nose stud.

”Holy , Park Suji!” Juyeon almost went to hug her, then remembered that they weren’t at the hugging stage of their friendship and she had been gone for a few months anyway. For a second, she was confused why she felt so affectionate towards Suji, then shook the feeling off. “You’ve grown a few centimeters sideways, I see.”

”And you’re still first place in having the reddest little tomato cheeks in South Korea,” Suji shot back, grinning. “What did I tell you? Knew you’d be schmoozing with the little lords and ladies someday.”

”My god, it’s been ages, how have you been?”

”Same as usual. Gotta say, my lunch table is a little lonely without you there. What, couldn’t even send me a card while you were walking the red carpet?”

Juyeon instantly felt terrible. “Ah, , I’m so sorry, Suji. I really couldn’t have, it’s ― well ― High Class is a little different from what you might expect.”

”Listen, since you’re already in there, I could use some help.” Suji was still smiling, but Juyeon knew instantly that she was not joking anymore. “I’ve actually been meaning to try and get into High Class myself. Think you can put in a good word for me?”

”You want to go into High Class?” Juyeon was so shocked she must have sounded rude, because Suji stopped smiling. She instantly added, “I mean, well, I’ll t-try, but why?”

”Well, you can’t be the only one allowed in for good grades, right?” Suji shrugged her shoulders. “I mean, I have the highest grades in Sunset now that you’re gone. Why can’t I go too?”

”I-I … Suji, High Class really isn’t what you think it is. Y-you don’t get any special favours.” Well, she was, actually, but it didn’t count! “Don’t expect it to be the palace everyone thinks it is, it’s really not.”

Suji just shook her head at her. “Do you honestly think I’m doing it for the luxury?” she said, her smile turning a little bitter. “Do you think I’m that selfish?”

”What? No, no, Suji, I ―“

”No, forget it. It’s my fault, I’m not being fair to you.” She stepped away. “I’m asking too much of you, I get it. Look, just … just try and ask someone for me, will you? I gotta go.”

”Suji, wait ―“

But she was gone. Juyeon stood there for a minute or two more, before saying goodbye to her old classmates and walking away.

Outside in the main courtyard, it was completely deserted. Juyeon reveled in the open space after having been pushed and jostled by the crowds of normals coming home from the holidays. Even though it was freezing, and pulling the suitcase through the snow was a slow torture, she liked the aloneness of it all.

Meeting all her old classmates actually reminded her of seeing her new classmates again. She smiled at the prospect of seeing everyone …

… except they might not be happy to see her.

She immediately remembered that she had left for winter break without saying goodbye to Exo. It was both a douchey move and a necessary evil, because without a doubt they would have caused a lot of trouble when they heard about it. She only hoped that they weren’t too angry at her. She wasn’t in the mood to beg for forgiveness her first night back.

Then again, if that odd burst of wind had really been Sehun, and he hadn’t come to greet her even now … then that meant even the one who knew she was leaving was pissed. This was going to be trouble.

The suitcase wheels got caught in some unidentified snow-covered object, and Juyeon dropped the suitcase, her arm jerked hard from the sudden stop.

”Ah, ,” she cursed, rubbing at her arm and bending down to dig through the wet, freezing snow for the suitcase handle. The snow began to melt all over her hands, leaving her colder than ever. “, c’mon!”

Someone picked the suitcase up for her.

Juyeon looked up, blinking away snowflakes, and saw Baekhyun. She suddenly had no words to say. Was two weeks enough to forget someone’s face? She hadn’t forgotten Baekhyun’s, yet everything about him seemed much more vivid and handsome than she remembered. It was like she was seeing him for the first time after years of separation, instead of just a few weeks.

”Hey,” she finally said.

”Hey,” Baekhyun said shortly. He wasn’t smiling.

Oh, dear.

She straightened up and wiped her hands on her uniform jacket, leaving slightly dark wet patches on the fabric. Her fingers were numb. “Um, thanks for that,” she said, reaching for the suitcase.

He didn’t give it to her. Instead, he begun pulling it (with much more ease than she did) towards the direction of the High Class main entrance.

”It’s, um, it’s okay, I can do it myself,” Juyeon stammered, following meekly after him. She saw small bursts of light along the wheels of her suit