chapter two

Byun Baekhyun was just minding his own business on his little roof when he heard shouting. Well, the shouting had nothing to do with him, really, but hey, life was short and he was curious. Peering over the edges of the rooftops, he caught sight of the haughty student council president.

The student council president, arguing? What a sight to behold. Honestly, he was just too curious to let that one slide. He leaned closer in to get a better listen of the conversation. He heard Soojin let out an exasperated sigh, her face scrunched up in a look of anger.

“Just leave me alone, we’ll talk about this later!” She shouted, walking away from someone. Baekhyun couldn’t really put a face with the second person. It looked familiar but—Ah, he got it. It was the vice president she was arguing with.

Even more interesting, if he could say so himself.

Then, he froze. Did that mean she was coming up to the roof? He thought for a second, his eyes sliding over the pavement in deep thought. He shrugged.

“Better hide,” he said to no one but himself. Deciding there was no other good hiding spot on the roof, he stayed on his tiny roof above the garbage chute room on the rooftop. He slid over to the middle of it, lying on his stomach, hoping that the vicious student council president wouldn’t find him and eat him up with her words.

He watched, amused, as the doors to the rooftop were pushed open with such force that it hit the wall behind it, echoing around the rooftop. She didn’t pay attention though, continuing to walk with long strides.

“Agh!” She yelled, not noticing Baekhyun’s presence. Soojin had a look of pure terror on her face, breathing hard as she yelled. He was impressed with the volume of her voice. Is that how all student council presidents sounded? “Stupid assignment,” he heard her mutter, craning his neck to hear better. “Stupid mark. Stupid classmate, agh!

He wondered what happened to her to get her in such a crazy state.

“I should just rip up the assignment sheet now, I can’t even look at it, jeez, I…” She continued talking to herself, mumbling under her breath. Watching her take out a sheet of paper and getting ready to rip it, he nimbly jumped off the roof, barely leaving a sound. If he did, she was too busy being angry to hear. He quietly walked behind her, looking at the sheet she was holding over her shoulder. He slowly recognized it as an assignment he failed earlier that week.

“So are you going to rip it or what?” Baekhyun questioned, causing Soojin to yelp. She quickly turned around, taking several steps back in alarm. Baekhyun raised an eyebrow, teasing her sudden reaction. Soojin looked him up and down, a look of disgust on her face.

“What are you doing?” She exclaimed, clutching the paper to her body.

“Honestly,” he started, taking a few steps closer as she simultaneously walked backwards, “I was trying to take a nap on the rooftop when I heard shouting. You ruined my nap, thanks a lot.” She took a deep breath of air, as if she was trying to calm herself down.

“Okay that’s nice, but can you not look over my shoulder like that, jeez!?” she shouted. Okay, that ‘calming down’ thing didn’t really work, he noted.

“Why are you so angry today?” He asked, truthfully curious. Usually, he didn’t really care how other people were feeling, but this girl seemed to be really scary when angered. He noticed her expression change into a softer, more disappointed look, as she lightly crossed her arms together, the paper being pressed to her chest. Baekhyun widened his eyes, opening his mouth to say something else, but was cut off.

“No, it’s… nothing. Just having a hard time,” she quietly said, her expression turning darker. Baekhyun couldn’t read it, but he knew that she wasn’t lying. “Why are you up here?” She continued. “Especially during lunch hour; most people are doing their homework.”

Something about the way Soojin talked was a lot less forceful than last time. Her voice was softer, and it seemed as if she wasn’t paying attention to the questions she asked or what he answered with.

“I’ll… do it later,” he replied sheepishly, though he was sure that both of them knew that he was lying through his teeth. Even if she knew he was lying, she didn’t point it out. She just nodded, her eyes unfocused, as if she was deep in thought. “Why you’re up here is the real question,” Baekhyun stated, flustering her.

“I’m just fed up I suppose,” she replied nonchalantly, turning away from him. She heaved a sigh, running a hand through her hair. “You wouldn’t understand. You’re too… concerned about yourself.” Personally, Baekhyun felt offended, letting out a fake gasp.

“I’m better than you think,” he responded, slightly irritated by her low thoughts on him. She eyed him suspiciously. “You can tell me.”

“Okay, okay, I got a low mark on my English assignment, are you happy?” Soojin let out, flailing her arms around for a bigger effect. Baekhyun opened his mouth, but nothing came out. That was it? He expected something bigger, something juicier.

“What’s that, a 98?” Baekhyun teased, causing her to groan aloud.

“No!” She shouted, her hands clawing her hair. Suddenly, she got quiet. “I failed,” she told him, barely above a whisper.

“You’re kidding?!” Baekhyun yelled, probably loud enough for the whole school to hear.

“Shh, shh…” She ushered, running towards him. “Gosh, do you ever shut up?”

“You failed!?”

“Can you please not let the entire school know with your annoying voice? Because that’d help a lot.”

Baekhyun was still helplessly confused. “Y-You failed? Like, less than sixty percent? Are you sure?” All she did was nod in response. “I’m confused. How did the most perfect student fail?”

“Stop calling me perfect, it’s annoying,” he heard Soojin quietly mutter, sounding lifeless.

“Then why were you arguing with the vice president?” Baekhyun questioned.

“He told me to step up my grades or else I won’t be the president anymore,” she replied, letting out a sigh. Baekhyun scoffed.

“Over one mark? That’s silly.”

“A failing mark,” she shot back, giving him a glare. Baekhyun didn’t respond, being quiet for once. He didn’t know how to console the girl or give her advice. He couldn’t give advice; he was barely anything special himself. He couldn’t understand the girl at all. She was too focused on being the prissy Miss Perfect for the school.

After a moment of silence, Baekhyun walked away from her, climbing up the ladder to his little rooftop. He plopped onto the hard concrete, crossing his legs as Soojin warily watched him from afar. Giving her a small smile, he patted the spot next to him.

“Take a break, will you?” He shouted to her, leaning back on the rooftop. It was his own strange little way of trying to comfort her, and to be honest, he doubted that it would work. So that’s why when Soojin followed his steps by clumsily climbing up the ladder, he felt proud. Maybe Soojin didn’t hate him.

The two sat in silence, sitting side by side their legs crossed. It felt like minutes, even hours, had passed by. But he didn’t mind. It was soothing, in a way. He had to resist the urge to let out a chuckle; who thought that Miss Student Council President and resident troublemaker Byun Baekhyun would somehow be next to each other in peace?

“Just so you know…” Baekhyun started to say, turning to look at her. He never realized how pale she was, or how deep her dark circles were, still visible despite her makeup. It was probably from how long she was up at night, working on assignments. He suddenly felt a twinge of guilt for the girl. “I failed that project too,” he told her softly, not wanting to ruin the tranquility of that moment.

He watched as a light smile appeared on her face, her eyes not breaking away from the clear blue sky.

“That’s good to know.” And for once, he could say for sure that she actually meant her words.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, are you done yet?” Baekhyun mumbled into his cell phone, pacing atop the school roof. He wasn’t supposed to be there as it was off limits, but then again, he wasn’t supposed to be skipping class either, but that wasn’t stopping him.

“I just want the best for you dear,” the voice on the other line replied in an annoyingly sweet voice. “I honestly think—“

“Hi big brother!” Baekhyun heard a third voice enter the picture, coming from his phone. His heart dropped. It was his younger brother greeting him on the other line.

“Hey,” Baekhyun responded, his voice slightly hoarser and quieter than before. There was a pause before the person on the other line, his mother, spoke again.

“Shouldn’t you be in class? Why are you skipping? You—.” Her voice was suddenly drowned out by the bell ringing for lunch.

“You’re the one who called me in the middle of it,” he half-heartedly responded, sounding as bored as he could so she could hang up faster.

“Well,” his mother let out a nervous laugh, “you shouldn’t have picked up, son. I apologize. See you at ho—“

Baekhyun hung his phone up before she finished her sentence, not bearing to hear those four words; see you at home. It was stupid, really. It wasn’t like she is even home when he was awake anyways. It wasn’t like she really cared about him anyways.

“Having fun, now?” A voice called out from behind. Even before he turned around, he knew exactly who it was, a small smirk on his face as he faced her.

“The time of my life, Miss Cha,” he responded. He didn’t fail to notice the teasing smile on her face, as she shook her head while crossing her arms.

It was strange really. The two, somehow, bonded over a failing mark on a stupid English project. Sure, they weren’t on the best of terms, but compared to their first meeting, their relationship had increased tenfold.

“So, want to tell me why you skipped class?  And why you’re on this stupid roof again?” She nonchalantly asked him. He furrowed his brows; how did she know?

“Nothing, just a phone call from my mom,” he quickly responded, not wanting to dwell on the topic for any longer.  “I like it here. And plus, how do you know I skipped class? Keeping tabs on me, Soojin?” Instead of getting flustered, like every other girl he teased, she only gave him a mock glare, before letting out a little laugh.

“Funny, Byun Baekhyun. I wouldn’t pay attention to you if you were the only person left single in our school,” she teased, leaning into his face.

“Really?” Baekhyun faked a gasp, causing her to roll her eyes. “That’s great, because I wouldn’t either.

“Ha ha.” Before Baekhyun could even open his mouth to respond, his phone rang again, loudly ringing SEVENTEEN’s debut song. “Nice ringtone.” He gave her a small glare before checking the caller ID. It was his mom, again. Declining the call, he put his phone back in his pocket, trying to act as unaffected as possible. Soojin raised her brow, curious as to who it was.

“My mom.” Baekhyun quickly answered, not waiting for her to ask. She looked utterly confused.

“Why did she call in the middle of class? And now?” Soojin asked, leaning towards him. He only shrugged.

“She doesn’t know anything.” She furrowed her brows at his answer.

“Why?”

“Work,” he stated. The more questions she asked, the more he wanted to get away from the topic. He realized as her shoulders sank, her gaze dropping to the floor.

“Oh.” Her voice got quieter. “Same.”

For some reason, silence sure liked to come venture into the two’s conversations.

“Do you have any other family?” Baekhyun asked, genuinely curious. He was treading on a difficult topic, he noted, but he wanted to know. Plus, they were friends, in a weird sort of way. All he heard was Soojin let out a sigh.

“Yeah. Parents. Grandma. I’m an only child though.” Soojin only gave short-lived answers, fueling his curiosity.

“Lucky,” Baekhyun mused to himself. “I, myself, have two older siblings and a younger brother. It to be honest.”

“No it doesn’t. Better than being lonely.”

“Where are your parents?” She paused, unable to look at him.

“Working. All the time.”

“It’s tough, huh?” Baekhyun asked. He thought about his own family. “Parents who can’t even pay attention to their kids.” Soojin looked up at him, shocked by his words. “Honestly, the closest thing I had to a mom was the maid,” he continued. It felt nice letting it out. “But I shouldn’t burden you with you with my problems.”

“N-No, it’s…” Soojin paused. “…okay. It’s okay. My parents… don’t really know me either. Heh. It’s silly, really. I should already be thankful for having a roof over my head and food on the table, but still… I—“She paused. “I’m okay.” Soojin gave him a smile, though it seemed somewhat forced. Deciding not to call her out, he smiled back at her, unsure of what else to do.

Once again, Baekhyun’s phone rang, interrupting her sentence. He sent her a quick apologetic look before checking the caller ID. He heaved a sigh, trying to signal Soojin to wait a second.

“Hello?”

“Hi big brother!” A voice exploded on the other side of the phone, causing Baekhyun to stumble back a few steps. Apparently, it was loud enough that Soojin could hear it, as she bursted out into laughter the moment she saw Baekhyun’s facial expression. “Today’s a no school day so I thought I would call you. I’m really bored and mommy and daddy aren’t home. I really don’t know what to do and…”

Baekhyun started to tune out his brother’s voice, holding the phone several centimeters from his ear just in case he goes deaf. Now, all he could hear was Soojin’s airy laughter, taking huge breaths every few seconds because she couldn’t breathe.

“I see that being talkative runs in the family,” she remarked, a smug look on her face.

“Nah, just in the males,” Baekhyun teased back, earning an arrogant nod from Soojin.

“Who are you talking to, Baekhyun?” His brother questioned over the phone. “Is it your friend? Can I talk to him?”

“Ooh, he just called you a boy,” Baekhyun said to Soojin, causing her to scoff.

“Oh shut up, Byun.”

“Can I talk to him, can I talk to him?” Baekhyun’s younger brother could be heard through the phone.

“Shouldn’t you be doing your homework, kiddo?”

“But you never do it.” Baekhyun’s face flushed, slightly embarrassed by his brother’s tendencies to copy him. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Soojin give him a stern look. He knew that she would lecture him about that later.

“It’s because I do it at school,” Baekhyun lied.

“No! I hear you talking to Jongdae every night and he even says you d—“

“Okay, got to go do my homework kid, see you at home!” Baekhyun lied, trying to end his conversation with his brother as fast as possible.

“Wait, I—“The phone called ended. He let out a sigh, glad that the conversation was finally over.

“I can’t believe you!” Soojin exclaimed, lightly shaking her head. “You’re such a bad role model for your brother.”

“Hey, I didn’t ask to be idolized!”

“But still… you should at least pretend to do your homework. Motivate him in some way.” Baekhyun only rolled his eyes.

“It’s his fault.”

“He’s, what, barely six, and you think he knows what he’s doing?” Soojin let out an exasperated sigh, clearly annoyed with his attitude.

“Okay, I’m sorry, I’ll try to be a better role model.”

She looked at him with wary eyes. Despite the fact that Soojin knew next to nothing about his brother, she was so insistent on him doing his homework. He guessed that she was an empathetic person, so empathetic that she would get angry over it. It was endearing, in a cute sort of way.

Oh god, he didn’t really just use the word cute to describe the student council president, did he?

Suddenly, the pair heard someone ferociously calling Baekhyun’s name, breaking the silent nature of the conversation. Looking over the edge of the rooftop, he realized it was one of his closest friends, Jongdae. He was yelling something about food and that ‘the last one pays the bill.’

He felt bad, honestly. He didn’t see her much, but when he did, it involved a lot of lecturing from her. But he supposed he was used to it. He didn’t want to leave her so quickly, but despite all, he knew he was going too.

“I’ll see you later, yeah?” Baekhyun told her. “Make sure you go inside soon, it’s really humid.” Walking pass her, he hesitated. A split second later, he moved his hand up, patting her head, as a sign of comfort. And yet, after one pat, he felt a smaller hand swat his away

“Don’t touch my head, Byun Baekhyun.” He almost knew that she had a smile on her face.

Baekhyun couldn’t help but feel thoroughly amused as he stepped through the doors to the roof and witnessed the student council president scratching her head in confusion. She was sitting at his usual spot, his own little rooftop on the garbage chute room, and seemed to be doing something like her homework.

Deciding that it would be fun to sneak up on her, he put his plan into action, sneaking over to the ladder while trying not to catch her attention. As he slowly climbed up the ladder, he froze as he heard her muttering indecent words.

“I can hear you!” she called out, turning her head to look at him. Baekhyun just let out a nervous laugh, climbing up to the top of the roof and sitting next to her. He looked at all the sheets laid out in front of the girl. Somehow, he recognized it as yesterday’s English homework.

“Is this last night’s homework?” Baekhyun shouted to himself, lifting a sheet up to look at it. “Sweet! Can I copy—“ He felt a light slap on his hand, and found Cha Soojin glaring at him. She ripped the paper from his hands, and placed it back in her overflowing pile of papers.

“Yes, and no,” she responded icily, continuing to work on another sheet of paper.

“I can’t believe you didn’t do your homework. Why are you doing it now?” Baekhyun questioned, yet was met with no answers. “Ah, I thought you were better than this.”

“I had no time, can’t blame me,” Soojin answered in one breath, her eyes glued to her sheet. He couldn’t help but notice that Soojin was gripping her pencil with so much force that it seemed like it could break any time soon. But he didn’t say anything. “Bathroom break!” She suddenly shouted.

As the girl sped off and slammed the door to the rooftop behind her, Baekhyun suddenly realized that her cell phone was left behind. Looking closer at it, he couldn’t help but realize that it was a cheaper and older model of his current phone. It had a transparent case on it but it was slightly ripped. He couldn’t help but think that Soojin was one cheap woman.

Before he could bat an eye, her phone suddenly blinked, and a loud alarm rang. Baekhyun screamed in surprised, sliding back a bit from the phone. He swore, he could sense students looking up at the rooftop in confusion. He picked up her phone, trying to shut off the annoying sound. Apparently, the alarm rang for her to finish last night’s math homework.

Baekhyun was completely and utterly confused. Why was Cha Soojin, the student council president, falling so behind in her schoolwork? He knew it was bad; in fact, he knew it was horrible, but he clicked the ‘view schedule button,’ making a timetable appear on her phone screen.

He couldn’t help but widen his eyes as he saw her schedule. Job after job was lined up after school; she was skipping night study halls at school. Her jobs were going until two or three in the morning, and some ended earlier. ‘Overtime’ were written on some of the days, lasting up till four or five.

“What do you think you’re doing?” A voice came out of nowhere. He felt the phone being torn away from his hands, and looked up to see Soojin, fuming with anger. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, as if she was trying to calm down.

He doubted it would work.

“It rang!” Baekhyun exclaimed, pointing at the phone. “I was just trying to shut off the alarm.” She took a glance at her phone.

“So why did you think it was necessary to open my schedule? Huh, Byun?” Soojin yelled, her glare piercing through his soul. He froze; why did he open her schedule again? “Can you answer that or is it too hard of a question?” He honestly had no idea.

“I didn’t mean to—“

“Curiosity killed the cat, Byun Baekhyun, so I think you should start oppressing your wants,” she continued to talk, putting away her sheets. Soojin threw her backpack around a shoulder.

“Why do you have—“

“Why don’t I have, is the question.” She started climbing down the ladder. Baekhyun stood up, stumbling over his own feet.

“Can you let me talk?” He shouted, looking at the girl. Soojin eyes locked on his, as she let out a sigh.

“Not right now, Baekhyun. Sorry.” Then, she pushed the door open and left the roof, leaving Baekhyun standing by himself.

He heaved a sigh. He guessed they weren’t friends like he thought they were.

Baekhyun was not a person of knowledge, but he knew of three things for sure. One: he knew that it was raining lightly outside. Two: that Soojin was still angry at him even though a week has passed, and three: that Soojin was also currently sitting outside on the roof with an umbrella over her head.

He didn’t know how she stuck the umbrella to the roof, and he honestly didn’t know why she was up there, but he knew she was sitting there through the rain. He was just trying to run back into the school when he noticed a figure sitting on the roof. Considering that the roof was off limits to all students, he had a pretty clear idea of who it was.

“Why are you here, Soojin?” Baekhyun asked, standing behind her. She was somehow comfortably sitting cross-legged on the floor, with the handle of the umbrella taped to the floor. It seemed as if a tonne of duct tape was used for that. She didn’t reply for a while.

“Oh, it’s just you,” Soojin responded, her eyes glued to the dark sky. She patted at the spot beside her; it was a gesture he was familiar with after doing it for so long. Baekhyun hesitantly sat down, his head half under her pink umbrella and his yellow umbrella.

More accurately, it was Chanyeol’s gigantic yellow duck umbrella but that wasn’t so important.

“Uh, Baekhyun, you know,” she started to say, her eyes still not able to meet his. He somewhat sensed what was going to happen.

“Yeah?” He answered, unable to hide the small smile creeping on his face. She took a quick glance at him.

“Wipe that smug look off your face,” Soojin snapped. Then, she let out a long sigh. “Listen, I’m sorry about the other day, I just…” She paused. “…overreacted I supposed.” He could tell she was sensitive about her jobs. “I feel like I need to support my family, that’s all. My family isn’t the richest.” She eyed Baekhyun’s crisp clean shirt and wrinkle-free pants.

“It’s okay. I mean, I shouldn’t have went through your phone,” he apologized. “Truce?” He put his hand out, ready for a handshake.

“Truce,” she echoed, shaking his hand.

“Now, do you have any duct tape? My arm’s getting super tired,” Baekhyun complained, switching the hand that was holding his umbrella up with. Soojin let out a familiar laugh, before taking out a roll of duct tape. “You’re crazy, you know. I didn’t think you were like this.”

She just shrugged, a smile on her face.

The two attempted to duct tape his umbrella’s handle to the roof as well, wrapping the tape around it one too many times. After an eternity of trying to tape the handle, Baekhyun could finally rest his arms, rolling his shoulders back in exhaustion.

“So why do you like the rain so much?” Baekhyun asked, wanting a conversation to start up.

“Who knows? Maybe it’s because I was born when it was raining.”

“I thought you would like the heat instead, since you have one hell of a temper!” Soojin looked at him, a playful glare on her face. “I’m sorry, please don’t hurt me.” All she did was let out a sigh.

“I know what you mean. It’s horrible really. I’m trying to work on it, so please, give me some time,” she seriously responded, moving her legs up, her arms wrapped around them.

The two sat in silence, as the only sound between them was the patter of the rain. The rain was strangely comforting, and it wasn’t as weird as he thought it would be. It was starting to rain harder though, the pattering of the raindrops coming down stronger.

“So,” Baekhyun started to say, slightly worried. “How are we going to get out of here?” Soojin turned to him, a cheeky grin on her face.

“Aw, are you scared of a little water, Baekhyun? It’s okay, I’ll help you,” she teased, causing him to roll his eyes.

“Pft, don’t worry about me Soojin, worry about yourself.”

Before any of them could say another word, the school bell rung. Soojin froze.

“Hurry, we’re going to be late for class!” She exclaimed. Soojin suddenly stood up, hitting her head on the top of her umbrella, which caused her to fall back down. “Ow.” Baekhyun couldn’t help but burst out laughing, trying to calm his chuckles before she hit him.

“Calm down, it’s just the last two periods.”

“So?!”

“You should lighten up, you know? Take a break once in a while.” From the corner of his eye, he could see her roll her eyes.

“I don’t think that skipping classes counts as taking a break.” Baekhyun just shrugged in response.

“I’m just going to stay here.” He noticed that she let out a sigh, looking as if she was troubled by a decision. Maybe she was going to stay and skip class for once.

“I—“ She was suddenly interrupted by the rumbling of thunder, causing Baekhyun to jump. “—don’t think that it’d be a good idea to stay.”

“You’re right,” Baekhyun quickly responded. He rushed to get up, getting half his arm soaked in the process. Soojin let out a few giggles. “Oh, shut up.”

“Let’s go!” She ran out from beneath the umbrella, starting to get wet from the rain.

“But what about the umbrellas?!”

She froze.

“Okay,” Soojin started to say, walking back towards her umbrella in the rain. Soaked from head to toe, she grabbed onto the handle of her umbrella, pulling it. “It’s stuck!”

“Well you duct taped it!”

“Well you didn’t protest!”

Baekhyun rushed over to Soojin and both of them pulled on her umbrella. It didn’t move an inch. In the distance, thunder rumbled.

It sounded kind of far away, at least.

Soojin started to shiver, her hands still gripped on her umbrella.

“Still like the rain now?” Baekhyun joked, trying to get the duct tape off the floor.

“Less talking, more working!”

By the time Soojin’s umbrella was off the floor of the roof, both her and Baekhyun were dripping wet, their hair sticking to their heads like some kind of maniacs.

The two started to head to Baekhyun’s umbrella, but as soon as Baekhyun took a step, he slipped on the wet floor, tumbling down. Soojin let out a few stifled laughs, her hand pressed against .

“Idiot,” she called him. She walked towards him, her hand out to help him up. Baekhyun had a few other ideas in mind, stretching his leg out. Fortunately for him, she didn’t see his leg, tripping over it and sliding a few centimeters on the wet roof. Soojin screamed. He burst into laughter, feeling like his stomach would die on the inside from laughing too much.

“The rain’s not that bad, huh?” Soojin shouted, lying on the roof on her back. Baekhyun sat up straight, looking up at the sky.

“Yeah. It’s not.”

And that was how both Baekhyun and Soojin turned up to their respective classrooms during last period, soaking wet while holding an umbrella with a little too much duct tape on the bottom of the handle.

author's note: sorry for the super long wait! but it's finally out, yeah? i hope i wrote well enough for you to differentiate baekhyun’s narrator and soojin’s! i tried to make baekhyun’s a bit more witty and free but honestly, i don’t know how you guys see it. im planning to have this set to four chapters, maybe an epilogue. just a plan though, so im not sure.

i hope you enjoyed this chapter, and i would be really happy if you guys subscribe, upvote and comment! it means a lot to me. thanks for reading~