Clash!
The Outcast Club
Why - Taeyeon
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A day had passed, and the annual Club Clash was finally here. Yura couldn’t get a good night’s sleep, however, because every time she closed her eyes, she envisioned Jungkook’s face millimetres away from hers.
“Music students, we’re boarding Bus A!”
“Line up here if you’re in Drama!”
“Basketball and Taekwondo Club, come over here!”
Groups of students from all grades scurried left to right, trying to find their respective buses for the long road trip that awaited them. Presidents of the teams held up self-made signs to guide club members onto the right buses.
Amidst all this, Yura looked around in confusion – she couldn’t see the sign for HFC anywhere.
“Where are they?” she muttered to herself, checking her phone for any new messages. A lack of sleep didn’t exactly help out her already irritated mood, either. Was she just walking around in circles?
“There you are!” an unfamiliar touch grabbed her arm.
Shocked, Yura spun around and peered down to see Yoongi in his wheelchair. He sported a black beanie and wore baggy, casual clothes like her.
“Yoongi sunbae,” Yura said in surprise. She peered around, “Where’s the others?”
The senior student seemed taken aback by the respectful term but awkwardly cleared his throat.
“You’re going the wrong way. We’re on the other side," he quickly wheeled off.
Yura jogged up to him and helped push him along. From the corner of his eye, Yoongi noticed students gawking at the both of them, and glanced at Yura, who didn’t seem to either care or notice.
Yoongi stared up at her. “I can wheel myself, you know?”
Yura raised an eyebrow. “I can walk by myself too, but everyone needs a hand sometimes.”
Yoongi opened his mouth to refute, but his voice failed him. What she was saying wasn't wrong. Giving in with a sigh, he allowed her to continue pushing him away.
“You walk too fast," Yoongi mumbled, finally able to come up with a conversation starter. "You know how much I had to wheel myself in order to catch up to you?”
“Well, why didn’t someone else come with you?”
Yoongi sighed. “I would’ve gotten Jimin to push me around, but the brat slept in. Damn kid, he's probably coming late on purpose, trying to weasel out of helping the lame kid around.”
Yura let out a small grin before recomposing herself. “I don't blame him, he probably hates being ordered around by you.”
“It’s his fault for being born later than me,” he smirked, making Yura crack another smile.
“Speaking of which,” Yoongi looked up at her again. “Why are you so late? Couldn’t sleep?”
Yura froze and subconsciously touched her face. “How did you know?”
“With the amount of dark circles you have right now, you could be a panda's doppelganger.”
Yoongi smirked, half-expecting her to either glare at him or smack his arm, but Yura was still as stone. When she stood there, zoned out, for a good amount of time, his grin slipped from his face as he poked her arm. "Hey."
In Yura's mind, Jungkook’s devilish smirk had immediately took over. She remembered how close he'd been to her, and how serious his expression was when he was staring at her. You could've sliced the thick tension in the air with a knife. She'd felt some sort of loss (was it desperation? Disappointment?) when he laughed it off and had warned her to be careful about who she invited over. He was just another stupid kid! Just because he had nice hair and dark eyes and soft, deceiving facial features like his stupid pearly smile that hid his true, teenage boy self didn't mean -
"Han Yura? You're scaring me. Yura."
Immediately, Yura slapped her cheeks with her palms, scaring the bejeezus out of Yoongi.
"Hey, are you okay?"
“Marvelous. Absolutely peachy. Just sleep-deprived."
Yoongi squinted his eyes suspiciously.
"I believe it's my turn to ask the questions now," Yura swerved the conversation around. "So, uh - why didn’t you get J-Hope to come with you instead of Jimin?”
At that, Yoongi let out a snort.
“Yeah, why didn’t I didn’t let the loud, screeching kid wheel me around at ungodly speeds and then have him cackle like a hyena as I scream at the top of my lungs?”
Yura laughed. “It happened before, huh?”
“Lets just say that you should be glad you haven't known him for that long,” he rolled his eyes.
“HEY! That only happened once!”
Both Yura and Yoongi’s heads snapped up to see a navy blue bus in view, with Hoseok stomping over towards them.
“Speak of the devil,” Yoongi muttered.
Yura chuckled and quickly squeezed herself out of the confrontation, abandoning Yoongi to to hurry over to the HFC station. From behind, she could hear Hoseok whining and Yoongi groaning in irritation.
Namjoon, with a welcome sign in his hands, greeted her humbly.
“Hey, you made it!”
“Hope I’m not too late,” Yura said apologetically, “It was hard to find our bus. Nice hair, by the way.”
Namjoon, now sporting a silvery hair colour instead of his blonde one, flushed in bashfulness. “Does it look weird? Yoongi and Haera convinced me to get something a bit more daring.”
“Not at all,” Yura assured. “It looks cool. I would love to dye my hair, but my cousin would freak.” She shuddered at what Ken would say.
“I like your hair black,” he smiled, showing off his dimples. “Oh, the others are already in the coach bus – we’re sharing the ride with the Arts Club.”
“Goody,” Yura noted and glanced at the sign he held in his hands. “I’d be glad to help out if you need anything.”
“Nah, it’s fine. I have to stay here to welcome the other kids – club president’s perks,” he let out a wry smile. “Jungkook and Jimin are still on their way. Plus,” he looked in amusement at Hoseok and Yoongi, who were still going at it. “I’ve got all the entertainment I need.”
The two shared a laugh as Yura nodded, “I guess so. I’ll go load my luggage.”
As Yura trailed towards the luggage compartment on the side of the bus, she couldn’t help but think that it had been forever since she’d been on a school trip voluntarily, especially with friends. She struggled to pick up her suitcase and muttered a string of cusses when she couldn’t heave it over.
“Need some help?” An attractive, deep voice asked.
Nice voice… Yura thought as she cleared . “Oh no, I’m fine—” She whirled around to see Jungkook smirking mischievously beside her, donning a baggy white shirt, torn jeans, a black beanie and a backpack slung over his shoulder.
She gaped at him for a second in astonishment as Jungkook howled with laughter.
“Ha! Bet you thought you were getting hit on by a hot, deep-voiced babe, huh?”
Yura’s eyes narrowed sharply as she brusquely shoved him aside with her shoulder. “Yes, and I'm deeply disappointed that it's just you. Now if you’re done laughing, move.”
“Ouch, I'm not babe material for you?” he pouted.
Yura ignored him and heaved her luggage up across her shoulder, but Jungkook easily snatched it from her and set it inside the compartment.
Yura blinked and watched as he rolled up his sleeves and closed the compartment with ease. She could see his biceps rippling as she forced herself to look away.
Why is he trying to act like a gentleman now? Yura thought while avoiding his gaze.
“This is what I mean. Next time, I won't decline your offer,” she recalled Jungkook whisper the previous night.
Yura swallowed and mentally cursed. I must be going insane. Her face began to heat up, and in embarrassment, she hastily left to board the bus.
“Hey, Yura, who are—” Jungkook froze when he saw her quickly scurrying away, and hurried towards her with a knowing smile.
“Hey. Hey, Yura. Miss Han,” he poked her arm with every pause. Finally, he tugged on the back of her hood, making her almost bump back into him, “Yo, Yuyu!”
Annoyed, she glared at him with furrowed eyebrows. “What? What do you want?”
Jungkook let out a toothy smile. “Who are we sharing buses with?”
“Arts Club,” she replied coolly as she heaved herself up the stairs. In a split second, Jungkook’s face fell as groaned in disgust.
“Ugh, we’re stuck with those wannabe Picassos?” he whined as he trudged up the stairs. “What rotten luck! Y'know Yura, when we bussed with them last year, they demanded to hit up every rest stop, it was damn annoying... Like honestly, how small must their bladders be if they've gotta get off every five minu - OW! That hurts!” He hissed as Yura jabbed him sharply in the stomach.
The chatter in the bus instantly stopped upon the duo’s entrance. The Arts Club members haughtily raised their chins up and glared at the two that entered. It seemed tensely silent before one of them spoke up.
“Great, we’re one of the highest ranking clubs, and we have to bus with the Loser Club?” one person muttered.
“It’s bad enough that we do, but to even go with Han Yura and Jeon Jungkook?”
“Lord knows what they do for fun.”
“Shut up, or else they’ll break our necks and use them like toothpicks!”
Yura furrowed her eyebrows in disbelief. What absurd gimmicks were the students up to now? Most of the arts members ignored them, some shied away in fear, and others flat out glared.
Jungkook cleared his throat and repeated himself in an even louder voice, “Oh no, we’re—stuck—with—those—wannabe—Picassos? What—rotten—luck!” He said each word loud and clear, earning intensified glares from the Arts Club.
“Jeon Jungkook,” Yura hissed.
“What? They’re a bunch of pricks. I don’t care if they hear,” Jungkook lowered his voice to a murmur as Yura grumbled in response, making a beeline to the back where the other HFC members waved them down.
Haera happily shot out of her seat and greeted Yura with a giant hug. “You came!”
“Of course I did, I paid for it pretty richly,” she responded. Or actually, Jaehwan did. Thanks Jaehwan, she inwardly thought.
“Come sit beside me and Jin oppa!” Haera proudly proclaimed. In no time, Yura was plunked in between Haera and Jin. Taehyung, who was sitting in front of her, greeted her warmly.
Jungkook crossed his arms and strode over with a dissatisfied frown. “Wow, I feel so loved. Thanks guys.”
Jungkook muttered a 'hey' to Jin as he plunked down in the seat in front of him.
Jin frowned. “I can’t believe you just said that out loud to the Arts Club, Jungkook. Now they’re gonna hate us even more.”
He lazily shrugged. “Psh, whatever. They can’t lay a finger on me.”
Jin squeezed Yura’s arm, “Yura, can you be a dear and kick Jungkook’s chair for me?”
“My pleasure.” Automatically, she kicked his seat as hard as she could, rattling it with a loud ‘thwack!’
“YAH!” Jungkook yelped.
“Yah?” Yura raised an eyebrow, as if daring him to start something. “Yah?”
Jungkook leaned back with a tired sigh. “Forget it. I give up.”
“Ignore him. Have some food, Yura. Haera made kimbap and some other lunch goodies,” Jin kindly offered, outstretching his hands blindly to find the lunchbox. “I think it’s here, it should be—oops!” His hand almost knocked the lunch over, but luckily Yura caught it in time with her fast reflexes.
Yura exhaled in relief and smiled at him. “I’ll get it myself. Thanks, sunbae.”
Haera urged her to eat a kimbap, and as she did, she was taken aback by the savoury taste that filled .
“Wow, Haera. It’s delicious.”
“Of course!” Haera puffed her chest out proudly, “I made most of it by myself!”
“Well, it’s hard to ruin kimbap. Anyone can make it,” Jungkook snatched one out of the box and munched on it tastily.
Haera stuck her tongue out at him as she leaned into Yura’s ear.
“To be honest, my cooking . My boyfriend helped me make the rest,” she giggled.
And I still don’t know who this mystery man is, Yura straightened up. “Haera, who exactly is your boy—”
“Time to head to Jinhae, folks! The cherry blossom capital at its finest!” All eyes were on a blond, lanky boy at the front of the bus, who was smiling boyishly. Yura presumed that he was the Arts Club president, standing proudly beside Namjoon while the last of the students piled in. At the last minute, Hoseok and a panting Jimin stumbled into the bus, helping Yoongi into his seat, nodding in greeting at Yura and the rest.
“Everyone’s here?” Namjoon called as he counted the heads. “I… think we’re all set to go.” He nodded at the Art Club’s president.
“19…20… and 21. Everyone’s here on my end too. Alright, sit back and relax, folks! Socialize and have fun! Before we get going, are there any questions?” the blond kid tilted his head.
A daring male student raised his hand. “Soonyoung sunbae! How long is the ride there?”
The blond Arts Club President, Kwon Soonyoung, also known as Hoshi, thought long and hard about it. He glanced at Namjoon.
“Uh… How long is it again?”
“Maybe three hours?” Namjoon tried.
“Three hours,” Soonyoung replied confidently with a hamster-like grin that radiated positive energy. “Plenty of time to chat with your friends and share some food!”
“Hoshi!”
“What? Let’s keep it snappy with the questions, our bus driver is waiting!” he pressed.
“Is it too late to change buses?”
Soonyoung blinked thrice in bewilderment. “Huh?”
“I mean,” the girl glanced at her nails, “I was thinking, we’re one of the most popular clubs, so shouldn’t we have bused with the dance club or even the taekwondo club? Why do we have to go with them? I don't know, they might have a seizure or something.” she jerked her head towards the back, where the HFC members sat.
Some of the Arts members laughed, but others looked extremely uncomfortable with the girl’s careless words.
Abhorred by the insolent remark, Yura almost shot up to set the girl in her place. But before she could, Hoshi blinked again, evened out his expression, and checked his student roster on his clipboard.
“Hm… Let’s see here… Jung Shinyoung-sshi? Is that right?”
“Yeah.”
With a calm smile, he raised his index finger and pointed at the door.
“Please get out.”
“…Huh?” the girl blinked.
“I will not repeat it again. Get out. As far as I’m concerned, you’re no longer a part of Arts Club anymore, nor qualified to be a part of this trip.”
Everyone went silent at the icy cold remark until Shinyoung spoke up again.
“What? You can’t make me! I paid for this trip with my own money!”
“And you lost it all with your disturbing comment. We don’t need discriminatory people in this club.” With a poker face, Hoshi motioned to the door. “Have a nice day.”
“Argh!” The girl squealed as she got off of the bus in shame. The boy who had asked the first question – her boyfriend – called her name and ran off after her.
Hoshi closed the doors and smiled frostily, “Now then. For the people who laughed at Miss Shinyoung's comment, would anyone else like to follow her out by disrespecting my cousin’s club and his fellow members? Anyone? Any takers?”
Yura gaped at the scene as she turned to Haera. “Cousin?”
Haera beamed in delight. “Soonyoung is Namjoon’s close cousin. Cool, huh?”
“No way…” Yura whispered as Jin chuckled at her reaction from beside her. “That’s why Namjoon wanted to bus with him. The members of the Arts Club are generally well… you know, but Soonyoung himself is a good president.” Jin supplied.
“Well? Still want to ditch HFC for the Arts Club?” Jungkook whispered.
Yura's response was immediate. “Obviously not.”
The members, who had heard her reply, exchanged awed grins with each other.
“Fine then, I’m trusting that all of you will have a good time here. And no animosity either – we’re here to bond and challenge each other fairly at this Club Clash, not to discriminate and bring others down. Capeche?” Hoshi winked.
“Yes, sir!” Everyone chorused as Namjoon ruffled Hoshi’s hair, rewarding him with a dimple-filled grin.
*
In four and a half hours, the students of Hanyang High arrived in Jinhae, the famous cherry blossom city, in which cherry blossoms flourished all through the streets.
But it wasn’t the cherry blossoms that made the students grin in excitement – rather, it was the -
“Luxury hotel, here I come!” J-Hope squealed as he put on his shades and straw hat. If Suga could move his legs, he would’ve kicked him.
“What are you, a Hawaiian tourist?” he eyed his tacky aqua blue shirt and shook his head.
“Excuse me, but this is fashionable now. Je suis à la stylish!” J-Hope wiggled his head with a thick Korean accent.
“You mean, ‘à la mode,’” Namjoon corrected, leaving J-Hope bashful.
“Of course darling, à la modie.”
“No, it’s 'à la mode’—”
“Luxury hotel, HERE I COME!” J-Hope quickly fled, skipping and dragging along his luggage through the double doors.
Jin shook his head, tapping his walking stick with a sigh. “Even if I can’t see him, it’s like I can automatically see the excitement on his face.”
Namjoon chuckled. “That’s a paradox, hyung.”
There was a silence as Jin sighed again. “Do me a favour, Namjoon, and let’s just go inside without talking about bringing up any complicated words I don't understand, okay?” The two made their way inside as Namjoon blinked in puzzlement.
V rolled Yura’s luggage over to her as she smiled.
“Thanks, Taehyung," she amicably pat him on the head.
“No fair, Taehyung gets a pat, but when I help you, I get a glare?” Jungkook crinkled his nose at her, and Yura rolled her eyes. Drama king.
“Okay, that’s it for our luggage,” Jimin stretched his limbs and hobbled over to them. “Those arts kids were sure quick to check into the hotel. Even Soonyoung.”
“I don’t blame them. It seems we’re not the only school that decided to have a field trip today,” Jungkook commented, seeing different vans in the parking lot with other uniforms that differed greatly from theirs.
"We don’t want to be last, so let’s hurry and check in too!" Haera urged, and the remaining HFC members entered the fancy hotel, meeting up with Namjoon and the others in the check-in line.
Despite J-Hope calling it a ‘luxury hotel,’ the hotel itself was not overtly luxurious, and was more of an inn than anything else. Still, it had elegant décor and exuded a homey, cozy atmosphere. Namjoon took care of gathering the members' card keys and other arrangements at the front desk.
“The girls are on second floor, guys on third,” he handed out each key accordingly.
“We get our own rooms?” Jimin’s eyes sparkled.
Yoongi snorted. “Our school's not that kind. We've all got roommates.”
“At least we’re rooming together, right, Yura?” Haera smiled and tugged on her arm, “C’mon, let’s go, let’s go!”
Yura grabbed her suitcase and jogged up to her, pushing past the others in the lobby. “Wait, Haera—”
BAM! Yura bumped into someone, causing someone to grab her arm instinctively. Yura glanced up and saw Jungkook’s worried expression. “You okay?”
“I-I’m fine, but—”
“Yura noona?” a shrilly voice squeaked. Yura’s gaze flew up to the towering boy in front of her.
“No way… Sanha?”
At the mention of his name, the brown-haired boy lit up like a Christmas tree, showing off a bright grin.
"So it is you, noona! I can't believe it!" He looked stunned.
“How – aren’t you supposed to be in New Zealand?”
Sanha laughed jovially. “I returned last year!”
"What? But how come you didn't--"
“Ahem,” Yoongi’s voice yanked Yura back to reality. She suddenly became very aware of Jungkook’s hands still on the small of her back and cleared her own throat.
“Oh, guys, this is Sanha. He used to be my neighbour up until middle school when he moved away to study abroad,” Yura shot an apologetic look at the others. "Sanha, these are my club members. We're here for our school's club gathering... er, thingy."
“Seriously? That sounds like fun! We're just here for a field trip, but maybe we'll run into each other now and then. Oh, and noona's friends, it’s nice to meet you all!” he chirped.
In Yura’s eyes, Sanha hadn’t changed. The way in which his cheeks puffed up in a giggly grin was identical to the dorky but naïve, brace-wearing tween who used to follow her around in middle school.
The HFC members seemed to realize this, as they a murmur of ‘hey’s and ‘hi’s reverberated through the air thanks to Sanha’s nice manners. Even Jungkook cautiously lowered his guard.
“Noona, you don’t know how devastated I was when I found out that you moved schools!” Sanha pouted. “I thought we all agreed on going to Gyoeun High ever since elementary school.”
The HFC members exchanged curious glances at the mention of 'we.' Yura was chummy with others?
Yura could sense the others’ curious gazes as her ears tinged pink. “Well, I’m living with Jaehwan now.”
“I heard, I heard! How is he? I miss Jaehwanie hyung, and little Shinbi too.”
“They're good. Pay us a visit sometime. I’m sure they’d both be thrilled that you’re back.”
"Yeah, if Shinbi even remembers me! I left when she was just a baby, so she must be giant now!"
At Yura’s last statement, Jungkook felt a vein of annoyance throb inside him. Although he was Yura's childhood friend for lack of a better term, he wasn’t so sure he liked the idea of this toothpick-like kid visiting Yura's home.
“I’m so stupid – I lost your contact info during the move. Give me your number, noona!" He whipped out his phone, and Yura immediately exchanged contact info with him.
"Oddly enough, the other hyungs told me they weren’t sure of your info either,” Sanha admitted, expression extremely confused. “It’s been real weird without you around.”
Yura handed back Sanha's phone and chewed her bottom lip, which she’d begun to do ever since he’d started to mention his ‘hyungs.’
“You mean, uh, MJ, Jinjin, Minhyuk, Binnie… they’re all here?”
“Yeah! As a matter of fact, hey, I see Eunwoo hyung there now!”
“W-Wai—”
“Heyyy! Eunwoo hyuuung!”
“Yes, yes, Sanha. What’s wrong - did you lose your way or something?”
That voice – that familiar voice sent shivers down Yura’s spine. With her own neck restraining her, she forced herself to stare into a familiar face that made her stomach churn with guilt. She could recognize those wide, astonished eyes and baby-face anywhere.
“...Yura?”
Jungkook could feel Yura’s body tense up straightaway. He stared the boy down, as if sizing him up, while the Eunwoo just seemed to be gazing at her with a mixture of surprise, yearning, and wait - Jungkook tried to read his gaze. Was that… pity he saw?
“Eunwoo,” a voice whined as a short girl with long dark hair hooked her arm around his, “we’re not rooming on the same floor, but at least… oh.” Her voice trailed off immediately as she pinned her gaze on Yura.
Yura couldn’t believe it.
There was a muted silence as the members of HFC confusedly glanced between Yura and the two new unfamiliar individuals. As she saw a nervous expression flicker across Eunwoo’s perfect façade, she knew that she was certainly not welcomed.
Haera noticed the momentary fear that registered in Yura’s eyes and linked arms with her. The unknown girl clinging onto Eunwoo saw Haera's interaction with her, and her jaw set. Haera stared right back shamelessly.
"Guys, I think we should go.” Yura gave a bewildered Sanha an apologetic look before finally murmuring to the other members behind her.
Eunwoo reached his hand out to touch her arm. “Yura…”
In one swift movement, Jungkook tugged Yura close to him, causing Eunwoo to stare at Jungkook, as if finally noticing his presence.
“See you later, Sanha,” was all Yura could say before allowing Jungkook to lead her away from the trio – the rest of the HFC members following behind without an ounce of hesitation.
________________________
Hopefully that was a long enough chapter for y'all! #astro4lyfe (Sanha and Jinjin are my biases and I couldn't resist. Check them out if you haven't!)
Thanks for waiting as always, you guys! I took some time to think about how these stories are going to go forward and I think I've begun to enjoy writing again, slowly. I've been at that part where writing was feeling like a chore and I felt like it was just so difficult to write something that would satisfy both you guys and myself at the same time. I didn't want to force myself to write complete garbage with no soul or emotion behind it, so I'm hoping with some planning, this fic will begin to naturally flow again. I'm trying to rekindle that excitement that I used to have when writing fics, so please don't give up on me! I'm hoping you guys are still here and will continue to support. It's been tough, but your support is what keeps me going. <3
It feels like this fic will have quite a few chapters, but we'll see where it ends up lol. #wingingit
Hope you're all having a wooonderful summer and there are more dramatic chapters to come so watch out for some crazy backstories coming up next! (i sound like a tv show host fml)
I'll do my best to keep these updates coming! ^^
-muzikmaster
[The Outcast Club] Well damn guys, I just updated. I kept you all waiting, didn't I? Hope you guys enjoy, and I'll be working on some more updates soon!
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