pulling on cosmic strings ꩜ pi hanwool, study group

7. the no longer oh-so-quiet minju

Not letting her emotions get in the way, Minju coldly replied to Gyujin, "It's really none of your business."

"Really? Careful. You're talking to a student council member, Minju," he cocked his head to the side.

Before she could retort, he settled his eyes on Gamin, "The freshie who beat up Hyunwoo? What are you doing in the girls' classroom? Getting involved with my girlfriend?"

Gamin simply stood there, resisting the urge to start a fight. He'd already been warned with an expulsion once for that fight with Hyunwoo, he didn't need to be warned another time.

"And you, Jiwoo. Talking to other guys?" Gyujin asked condescendingly. "Take out your hands."

He grabbed a long plastic ruler from a nearby desk and tapped it against his other hand slowly. Minju watched as Jiwoo hesitated.

"What? Embarrassed in front of your friends? Take out your hands, Jiwoo, or it'll get worse for you."

Jiwoo's hands trembled as she held them out, preparing for the ruler to strike. Gyujin smirked devilishly before he reeled back to smack her hands.

Minju grabbed the ruler from below as it descended, the sheer opposing forces causing the ruler to snap in half. Her right hand, still bandaged up, winced. The sharp side of the ruler must've injured and reopened her cuts.

The remains of the ruler clanked on the floor audibly, the classroom now dead silent.

Minju didn't once waver as she glared into Gyujin's eyes, "Get the fuck out."

For once since he's entered the classroom, his face revealed a sliver of fear, which was replaced with a hint of annoyance and anger the moment he felt something hit his head from behind him.

Gyujin raised his hand to pluck it out of his hair, only for it to stretch. He pulled it towards his face, realizing that it was a chewed up piece of gum.

Turning, his gaze found Gamin, and his rage started to get prominent. Before he could say anything, Tahm Kench, the school's high dean, called for him from the door.

"Kim Gyujin! What are you doing in the girls' classrooms again? Didn't you hear the announcement for all student council members to gather?"

Gyujin diligently followed his instructor, dragging his feet out the door. His eyes locked on Gamin, as if telling him it wasn't over quite yet.

‧｡ ₊ ⭑˚ ꩜ ⋆ 𓂃 ₊ ⊹

It was free period when Minju noticed a fist knocking on the wood of her desk in front of her. She had been too engrossed in her studies to notice someone had been standing beside her desk, waiting for her attention. The music from her little MP3 player blasting through her ears probably didn't help either.

She took out her earphones and saw Hanwool looking down at her. Confused, she asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Let's talk."

Without a discussion, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of her seat. Outside the classroom, up the stairs, and onto the empty rooftop.

When they had finally stopped walking, Hanwool faced her and took a moment before finally letting go of her wrist. Taking a deep breath, Hanwool spoke first.