Days like these

5: Target smokes, doesn't she?

Eight of them lounged on the low concrete wall, cigarette smoke curling into the damp air. It was their daily hideout, far from teachers, far from consequences.

Jiwon didn't smoke. She never did. She just leaned against the wall, arms crossed, half-listening as her friends tossed around mean jokes and hollow laughter.

The crunch of footsteps broke the hum of their voices.

Naoi Rei appeared around the corner, pristine blazer and perfectly knotted tie an almost comical contrast to the grimy wall. The faint scent of her perfume cut through the nicotine haze like a knife.

"Well, well. If it isn't the vice princess. Lost your way to the tea party?" One of them, Sooah teased.

Haeun blew smoke deliberately in Rei's direction.

"Careful, your silk stockings might get dirty here."

Rei's lips curved in something too sharp to be a smile.

"Oh, don't worry about me. I can have these dry-cleaned. Unlike your reputations, which are… well, permanently stained."

The laughter stuttered into silence.

"What's that supposed to mean?" This time it was Jaeho.

Rei stepped forward, slow and deliberate, her heels tapping against the cracked pavement.

"It means the entire school already knows you're mediocre. You just hide it behind cheap cigarettes and first-year bullying. Adorable… in a pathetic way."

No one answered.

"Smoking in school doesn't make you look important" Her tone was cold.

One of the boys scoffed. "What are you, our mom?"

Rei didn't flinch. "If I was your mom, you'd have better manners."

"Tsk" The boy clicked his tongue.

Rei's lips curl, not in amusement, but in precision.

"You know, I wouldn't waste my breath on people who reek of desperation."

Rei takes a step forward, heel clicking against the concrete.

"You can keep pretending you're untouchable in here… but the truth is, none of you are worth remembering."

The words are clean, cutting, and somehow quieter than the wind.

The boy opens his mouth to retort, but

"Put those out. Before I make you."

Rei's gaze shifts, past him, landing on Jiwon.

For a moment, the noise fades,
Jiwon was casually leaning against the wall, calm, a faint smirk tugging at her lips as though this was all entertainment. To Rei, it looked smug. Complicit. Ringleader energy.

Rei's jaw tightened

She didn't wait for an answer. Turning sharply, she left without another word.

Jiwon watched her go, faintly amused by the drama. But she didn't notice the way Rei had already decided she was the one to watch, the "clever" one, the troublemaker.

...

The group of eight had claimed this hallway long ago. It was their "spot" — far enough from teachers, close enough to the vending machines, and private enough to say whatever they wanted without getting caught.

Sooah had found a new target.
A small first-year girl with round glasses, clutching a stack of library books to her chest like they were armor.

"What's this? Book club meeting? Didn't know we allowed first-years in our hallway."

The girl shifts her weight, mumbling something too soft to catch. Haeun laughs, stepping closer.

"Oh my god, look at her skirt. Did you borrow it from your grandma?"

Jaeho, one of the boys, reaches out and flicks the edge of the girl's glasses, making them slide down her nose. The others chuckle.

Jiwon stands off to the side, one hand in her pocket, sipping her drink. She doesn't join in, but she doesn't stop them either. Her eyes linger on the girl’s trembling hands gripping the books tighter.

"Bet she's the kind of kid who eats lunch in the library." Dami giggles which honestly Jiwon found unpleasant for her ears.

The girl's cheeks flush pink. She glances at Jiwon, just for a second, like maybe she's looking for help.

Jiwon looks away.

It's not that she enjoys this. It's not that she thinks it's okay.
But she tells herself: If I step in, they'll just turn on me. And I'm not in the mood to bleed today.

Sooah finally waves her off. "Go on then, before I make you carry my bag to class."

The girl hurries past, books clutched so tightly her knuckles are white.
The group bursts into laughter, the kind that bounces off walls, the kind that sounds too loud in the empty hallway.

Jiwon forces a small smile, but it doesn't reach her eyes.
Somewhere deep down, she knows that silence is just another form of cruelty.

She turns around and walks off.

"Where are you going?" Sooah asked.

"I have some work to do." Jiwon didn't bother turning back and made her way to the cafeteria.

...

The cafeteria was loud, noisy, and suffocating as always. Jiwon sat at the farthest corner table, earbuds in but no music playing, just a shield from people. She was pushing food around her tray, pretending to eat, when a loud clatter shook her table.

Yujin.

Tray stacked high with way too much food: rice, kimchi, two bowls of soup, and a mountain of fried chicken.

Jiwon raised an eyebrow.
"You can't sit here."

"Already sitting." Yujin shoved a piece of chicken into her mouth, grinning like a puppy caught with stolen snacks.

Jiwon sighed, turning her gaze away. "Don't you have… fans or something to sit with?"

"They're not fun." Yujin leaned forward, lowering her voice dramatically. "Besides, you looked lonelier."

Jiwon scoffed. "Wow. Thanks."

Yujin, completely unfazed, kept eating. Her tray was a mess of mixing sauces, and she dropped her chopsticks twice. Jiwon tried not to laugh, "tried" but when Yujin somehow managed to knock over her soup bowl while bragging about her chopstick skills, a small chuckle slipped out.

Yujin froze. Her head shot up like she just spotted a miracle.
"…Did you just laugh?"

Jiwon immediately went cold again. "No."

"Yes, you did." Yujin leaned closer with a grin. "I saw it. Heard it. Witnessed it with my own eyes and ears."

Jiwon picked up her tray. "I'm moving."

"Wait- no, no!" Yujin panicked, nearly spilling her rice. "Okay, fine, you can keep pretending to hate me, but at least finish your food. You'll need strength if you're gonna keep glaring at me all day."

For the first time, Jiwon looked at her, really looked. And the corners of her lips twitched again, against her will.

...