Chapter Two: Monday Curse

"I swear, I'm going to dissect that Junmyeon," Mi Ja harshly slices her fingers through her messily tangled hair. It's Monday, which isn't exactly a good thing, plus, she wasn't able to eat breakfast because of Junmyeon.

What did Junmyeon do? Nothing much, he just snuck into her room, and even with permission from her parents, and turned her alarm clock off. It took her, who knows, half an hour maybe? It took her, after her supposedly alarm would ring, that long before waking up completely.

And what can be worse? The last person he wished to see last apparently was first. Junmyeon sat outside her room, drinking coffee while reading the newspaper. But hey, if Taehyung wasn't standing beside him nervously, Junmyeon would've gotten bruises before the day even starts.

"I was the one who dragged him there," Taehyung guiltily retells her. He scratches the back of his neck and he swears, he feels extremely at fault.

Mi Ja raises an eyebrow at him, speculating him, and then asks all of a sudden, "Are you also the one who turned my alarm clock off?"

"Negative, nope, not me. I mean, he even left a love note there, right?" Taehyung bites his lower lip, trying to stifle back his laughter trying to erupt off his lips. Mi Ja glares at him, "Taehyung, if I kill him tonight, it would be his dying message."

Before it gets forgotten, of course! The star of the crime scene, the most important clue to finding out that the culprit behind the turning off of the alarm clock, it was there, under the legs of the clock. Written with a pen almost running out of ink, known because of the repeatedly striking of the pen on the sheet of nondurable paper, there was a note saying: 'Good morning, sweetie! Or should I say, good evening? Hahahahahahaha. (love, Junmyeonggi)'

"Don't worry, it's cool, I get it. I won't take him with me tomorrow when I pick you up," Taehyung reassures, and then places his arm around her shoulders. They were a few blocks away from school, and if Junmyeon wasn't nice enough to offer them a ride, they would've arrived even later. Maybe that was actually Junmyeon's sign of asking for forgiveness? Mi Ja asks herself. Then an image of Junmyeon saying sorry popped inside her head, and damn, that was horrifying. No, maybe Junmyeon just luckily had some business near their school. Maybe, that was it, there's absolutely nothing more to it. Or else, it would be disgusting.

"What if he insists, though?" Taehyung questions.

"Don't let him, please. I'd offer my soul to you, just don't let me start another morning by seeing his face first," Mi Ja almost tears up. It's a bit a ludicrous that Mi Ja despises Junmyeon that much to even shed few drops of tears. She doesn't exactly know why, but maybe because Junmyeon was the first boy he saw grew up as a fine man. Maybe she was afraid of people changing. Then, Mi Ja laughs, 'Nope, that's nonsense, seriously nonsense.".

It feels like they've been walking in feet for years, but they've just arrived at the school grounds. They surge towards the building, silently challenging each other for a race. They run and run and run until they reach the building and they can no longer stop their feet. Taehyung holds up his hand on the wall and presses his heels strongly so he'd stop moving, and she does the same except that she puts her arms around Taehyung's.

They laugh at each other until they can no longer hold more happiness. At one glance, they look really satisfied. They really are. For now, at least. When he feels like the laugh-drug's already wearing off, he takes the opportunity and asks her, "Why did it seem like we were walking to school for like.. Forever? I'm so tired, damn!"

"Because when spent wisely, few minutes can last forever," Mi Ja smiles at him, and then ruffles his hair. He chuckles, "I wish every girl would be like you, because I know you'll always be there. You'll always be, right?"

That's a selfish request. Really selfish. Mi Ja says to herself, would it be okay for me to selfishly wish that I'd be every girl for you?

Mi Ja looks at him, expressionless, and that alone makes him feel chagrined. He waves his hands unsteadily and awkwardly laughed, "I don't mean anything by that, don't worry so much! You looked like you were about to reject me, haha!"

"I did? Whoa, that was unexpected," she laughs, a bit sarcastically. Before the awkwardness befalls upon them again, she taps his shoulder and tells him, "Four minutes until time. So..."

She grins at him, and he knew what she means. Race. A race towards their classroom. A race with Taehyung who makes her heart race uncontrollably.

Lunch brings nothing but bad luck to Mi Ja. She bumped into the school's coldest girl, Soojung, who happened to be only secondary to Mi Ja in terms of class standing. Mi Ja has always been a brainiac, but she's not always wise, in case you didn't notice.

As their shoulders touched scarily strong, Soojung's tray falls down and the soupy viand and rice end up being splattered upon her clothes. She looks up at Mi Ja, because Mi Ja's just too tall, and sends her a feisty glare. Mi Ja can almost hear the crackling sound of ice from her cold nature. If she was cold and rude and blunt, then Soojung was extra cold and extra rude and extra blunt. Or maybe even extra extra?

"Worthless piece of trash," Soojung clicks her tongue and clamps the dirtied rice in her palm and the wipes it against Mi Ja's legs. Soojung smirks and before she turns around from the tall girl, she wipes the sticky liquid from her fingers to Mi Ja's coat. She rotates around on her heel and Mi Ja doesn't know if it's a coincidence but Soojung hit her with her hair.

Mi Ja, being competitive, kneels down and grabs the spoon. With full strength, she heaves it upwards and then throws it to Soojung's back. Soojung groans, but doesn't turn back to face her again.

So, Mi Ja ends up being the most embarrassed. All eyes are on her, and even Taehyung's inevitably stunned. Instead of nervously asking Mi Ja if she's alright, Taehyung grins and claps his hand, "I've always wanted to hit her with a spoon or anything! All hail Mi Ja!"

And just like that, people who aren't in favor of Soojung joined in with Taehyung. They chant to Mi Ja as if she's a hero. But she knew. She knew that Taehyung only wanted to lighten the mood around her so he did that. And she is most grateful.

After everyone has dispersed back to their sets, few moments later, they get stunned by the sudden squeaking of the microphone. Mi Ja suddenly gets nervous, thinking that it possibly be an announcement from the student council president, who was rumored to be Soojung's suitor, summoning her.

And maybe Taehyung notices that the openly displayed pallor on her face as she bit down her lower lip. Maybe he did, because his hand suddenly makes its way to hers. He intertwines his fingers with her shaky ones, and when their eyes meet, he sends her a reassuring smile.

"Believe me, except for the part of you throwing a spoon at her back, I'm your witness," he grins at Mi Ja, and even if it doesn't completely help her ease down her tension, she curves a smile in reply.

Despite their little dramatic soap opera, it turns out that the announcement's actually about the one week field trip the juniors are going to have after the exams. Oh, what a coincidence! Taehyung and Mi Ja turns out to be juniors, and normally, one would expect that Taehyung's the one who'll be extremely fired up about this extracurricular activity. However, he's scared to death.

They're going to the beach and the mountain and historical tourist spots in their country. He hates the beach, he hates the mountain, and he hates going to longterm trips. But somehow, while Taehyung's stuttering in fear, the girl beside him is smiling restlessly with twinkling eyes. Mi Ja, for short, is looking forward.

But before they worry about the trip, they should worry about the exams. Exams. And both Taehyung and Mi Ja are actually in the same boat about this situation. Exams, they're gross and they make Taehyung feel sick. But he has no choice but to study harder and harder and give it his best, because Mi Ja's also trying hers.

"Math was fun today," Mi Ja sighs as they sit under the shed of the bus stop, waiting not for a bus but for Junmyeon's car to pick them up. Junmyeon actually called her phone during the middle of lectures, and she had to stand outside the classroom with a bucket on top of her head. She didn't exactly hate it, not felt shy, because due to that call that made her phone ring a loud and vulgar song, she was able to skip a deadly Chemistry session.

"Yeah, because I really don't understand anything and you do," Taehyung sarcastically mimics her jolly tune and even bats his eyelashes. Mi Ja laughs out loud, "That's because I already know that lesson. Plus, I'm smart."

"So you're saying that I'm dumb?"

"Well.. If you put it that way, then yes." Mi Ja nods calmly. He frowns at her and then pinches