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Part 5, Act 1
Welcome to the Underworld
Entering the Gates of Hell
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The weekend came and left in what felt like hours– Because it was for Valerie and her new found, and childhood, friends. The important things such as furniture and wifi were going to be set up by the next weekend hopefully according to the message she got at 4 am from the store. She had one issue, upon being picked up not even 30 minutes after being dropped off hungover and brought to the school she had no idea who anyone in her class was. On top of that, she was in her second year rather than her first and was going to be behind most likely due to the school year starting months prior.
Yeah, she had her teachers and friends but it's not like they took her classes or were very conventional options.
" Chill out, Valerie. What are you even thinking about?" The long, blonde questioned, looking between the road and her- surprisingly- sober friend.
" Do you know where any of my classes are physically? Besides what was on the maps." She questioned, looking back over at the woman before a voice from behind her made her jump.
" You're taking Sport Science?" The tattooed man from behind the two girls questioned before a pregnant pause," Um... No clue."
" Gee! Thanks so much!" Valerie spoke sarcastically while rolling her eyes, sighing out softly moments after faking her peppy tone," I'm going to make your life hell once Rose is gone."
" Yeah yeah, I'll remember that when you're running low on drugs." Jay threatens, though it was obvious he didn't mean it as he light a cigarette.
" Hey! Hey! Head out the window! My car smelling like weed is one thing but cancer sticks is another!" She reached an arm back to shove the man's shoulder as he moved to the window and opened it.
" Fine fine! Calm down you crazy bitch!" Jay grumbled as he kept the cigarette outside the car.
" Anyways Hun..." Rose shook her hair away from her face, gripping the wheel with one hand," Don't stress, I think the class representative will come outside for you or something. If not, just run into a few people and ask. That isn't so hard is it?"
" Yes, it's so very hard." The girl said sarcastically before Rose laughed and started hitting her shoulder.
" You're so funny!"
" Ow! You cunt!"
With a few more minutes of driving, they reached the school. It reminded her just how tall the buildings were and just looking at them made her stomach churn. While looking over the countless windows Jay knocked on the car's and made her jump as he put out his cigarette. Slowly she got out, wiping her fading blue boyfriend jeans with black comic designs over her knee.
Rose seemed to notice Valerie's anxiety easily before hopping over and wrapping an arm around the girl's waist, smiling at her widely," You'll do great. I know you will. Also, I see the student body president over there and he's probably going to bring you to class if I had to guess."
She pointed to a male on the sidewalk that made the nervous girl look over.
The man had a blue suit on, standing rather tensely with his arms crossed in front of him. He was looking around for her but it wasn't for long before she caught his eye. Valerie's colorful rainbow shirt was probably like a target for the male who saw her beside Rose and Jay easily while he started walked towards the three in large strides.
" Looks like he saw us," Rose grumbled as she unwrapped her arm from Valerie.
" Shit, I was hoping he wouldn't." Jay frowned before pushing Valerie to meet up with the man, " Don't mention your past too much with that one, well anyone."
The two didn't give Valerie the time to respond as they walked away, forcing her to conversate with the male who walked right up to her.
" Hello, I'm Jung Wooyoung." He bowed to the girl who bowed back instantly. His voice was professional but his voice had a pleasant tenor tone to it as he spoke to the girl," You're the new student from Daegu, right?"
It took Valerie a moment to respond before she nodded with the man's words," Yep, I'm Hwang Valerie, it's nice to meet you. I'm sorry for taking you out of your class to do this."
" Oh no, I don't have a lecture in the morning, I'm doing work the whole time I'm here this period so there's no need to apologize." Wooyoung spoke while waving her to follow him as he turned and walked towards the building," You haven't been here, right? I'm just showing you to your classes and introducing you to your professors. Of course, you have multiple like in high school but you have a special class with two teachers that is just your majoring class to divide your work between the physical work and intellectual work. You know, like brains and brawn."
It was obvious Wooyoung found the physical aspect of her degree almost sickening as he spit out his words while waving her to follow him across the campus to guide Valerie o her homeroom class.
" So, you got out of the car with the Parks... Family?" The male questioned as they walked on the sidewalk, making them turn in front of the main office.
" We're basically family, but not by blood. We grew up together." Valerie spoke, leaving out the details of the major events.
" Oh... So you're friends with... Those bunch.... So you must know a bit about what they do? I heard quite a bit about their crowd..." The Ravenette spoke out, thinking it over before turning towards the girl as they reached her building," Do you partake in their... Activities too?"
" Activities? What do you mean?" She faked slight innocence easily- after all, she didn't know they were a part of something here officially," Have they joined something I'm unaware of?"
He made a face at her response but shook his head from her act," Never mind, you haven't seen them in a while I presume... Let me show you the floor you're on."
Wooyoung guided Valerie to the building her classes were in, opening the glass door for her as she quickly entered. Each floor had the same layout, going up what seemed to be endless stairs.
The farther up they went she felt her stomach churn uncomfortably, the floors going higher than she preferred from the ground until they reached the seventh flight to face a wall with two doors. There was a door on the left side of the wall that had a bathroom sign over the front of it, stating the space was unisex. The door to the right had a sign next to the frame reading 'Physical Science' along with the teacher's names, Jeong Yun-o and Kim Suho.
Wooyoung caught her attention during her anxious look over of the door placements inside the stairwell of glass by walking up in front of her towards the map in between the two doors to show her where her next class was placed.
" -probably ask your teacher if they could assign a classmate to take you to your next few lectures, if not I can find the year's valedictorian who can show you around or something. Got it?" He questioned her before moving towards the classroom door.
She didn't admit to missing the beginning of his words but instead nodded on and followed the male who opened the door to the lecture hall.
The desks were on a raised platform, sitting the students in between the built in wooden wall that acted as a desk for the person sitting at it but as a wall to separate the rows. No one paid mind to the two walking in at first, giving her the perfect moment to look over her classmates and see what was the layout.
All the desks were pointed to the blackboard with students sitting in pairs together rather than in groups, most likely due to a partner system that she was going to be thrown into if there was an odd number of students. The pairs sat mainly in the front and middle of the rows in the front half of the lecture hall rather than the back half.
The students that sat at the desks spoke rather loudly amongst themselves and to each other over the walls behind them, all being familiar with each other as they laughed and dropped honorifics. There was one person in the sea of conversating young adults that seemed disconnected from the group in the corner of the room though.
Her attention was broken from the person as quickly as it had focused on them by Wooyoung, who pulled her by her bicep towards one of the professor of the class.
The man was relatively tall behind the desk, going through papers and packets scattered all over the surface. He had his arm-holding papers resting its elbow on the hardwood completely covered in ink that his short-sleeve shirt showed off almost deliciously.
Valerie's brain glossed over a previous time she felt that way for a teacher and how she handled that situation. But with her eyes catching Wooyoung she removed the thought from her head immediately when she noticed the teacher's attention on her, looking over her skin-tight rainbow top before looking down at the high-waisted comic painted jeans. Then his eyes caught her shoes, the only thing on her outfit that was acceptable for the class planned that day– checkered vans.
Her attention snapped back into reality as she realized just how long she was standing there without speaking, making her bow respectfully to the teacher, " A..ah, Hello Sir. I'm Hwang Valerie, I'm the online student that would constantly email you?"
The introduction made the male smirk from a memory as he pushed back his brown hair with his free hand while he nodded, " Ah yes, the one that would email the wrong teacher and then have everything late despite it all being early, I remember you. I'm Professor Jeong, the only teacher you should email. It's nice to finally meet you in person, Ms. Hwang."
" —Alright, " Wooyoung cut off, trying to insert himself before the conversation continued on due to their slight experience with each other, " Mr. Jeong is your intellectual teacher, He doesn't just stay in this class but other classes also. That's why you take Chemistry in a different building with Mr. Jeong despite his office and official classroom being here."
The professor nodded along with the student's words before he put down his papers, " If you take Kinesiology and Chemistry with me then there's a chance we'd both walk to the same building."
" —Actually, I was wondering if you could assign someone or if one of you can take her around campus rather than me, it'd strain my schedule if I keep this up because I can't go to classes with her to help." Wooyoung cut in once more, trying to rush obviously while looking at the time on his watch, " You have a copy of her schedule online, right? Can you pair her with someone she'll have several classes with? If there are missing gaps, I'll call the valedictorian."
" Um... I'm pretty sure I do, but do you have it on you right now so I can quickly check over it?" He stretched his tattooed covered arm out to her, showing her the delicate details of the roses and dragon over his wrist and up his elbow, " I can search during this lecture but I can't promise anything. Worse comes to worst, I'll find a Sub to take over before showing her around or something."
The girl instantly took the hand out as a sign to hand over her schedule. She took the small bag off of her back and unzipped it, pulling out her schedule for the day that she barely bothered to look at and handing it to the teacher.
He inspected it for a moment before nodding on, going onto the computer on the right side of his desk to type and search something with one hand, " I can find someone... I'll make the two of you partners seeing as how most of your classes are the same... But, of course, that's your decision. Hell, if you agree and want to switch your class to their schedule or something I can help work something out with your other teachers. And when I say switch your class to their schedule- I mean it in the sense of they've been here the whole year and a half you weren't so they know the courses and locations better than you."
She nodded before taking her schedule back from the man who handed it back to her, " So you have a student planned already?"
" I guess you could say that." The man hummed before turning to Wooyoung, " Alright, I think we have it all settled here, if anything happens or doesn't follow through I'll call you, alright?"
The ravenette nodded, looking over his phone quickly before turning to the girl, " I'm not trying to be mean and pawn you off, so to say. Your class starts officially in 5 or so minutes and I didn't want you missing your lesson- so for your education... I'm pawning you off."
His reassurance didn't make Valerie feel any better before he turned and walked off, not even bothering to say goodbye. With that, her attention was turned to the handsome teacher who smiled at her, " So the student I'm pairing you with is a bit of a... Bad apple."
" Is there a problem with bad apples, Mr. Jeong?" Valerie questioned, giving the male a slight smirk.
" Oh, there's no problem with them... None at all, Wooyoung tends to go a little wild so to say when it comes to certain types of students. So I didn't want to say who it was in front of him." He explained himself, though the beginning of his response sounded a bit swayed towards her words, " Oh, and please. Call me Mr. Jaehyun. We're a bit more laid back than the business students obviously."
The girl giggled out a bit but nodded on, " Alright, well, who is this bad apple, Mr. Jaehyun?"
" Yuhkei Wong, the student who looks asleep but is really hitting his vape..." Jaehyun sighed, making the girl turn to try and see the male he spoke about.
When she looked over her shoulder she saw the man almost instantly, his actions being obvious beyond belief by the fact of how tall he was. Instead of keeping it in the sleeve of his jacket or literally anything he had it in his hand under his desk and was hunched over in an obvious position that was able to be seen by anyone who looked over, " He's obvious, isn't he?"
" A bit." The man chuckled as he picked up a random paper before calling out, " Yah, Mr. Wong! Where's your last anatomy test?"
Valerie turned to the teacher to not be looking at him as Yuhkei called back in a deep voice, " I was here when we took it, it's not my fault if you lost it. If you lost it you should give me a 100 on a part of your negligence!"
"—I found it!" Jaehyun shouted as he waved the paper up, " I found it! No need!"
She could feel the eye roll as if it was directed towards her from Yuhkei before looking towards Jaehyun, " What was the point of that?"
" So he would put away his vape." Jaehyun chuckled before nodding at her to go over, " Now you can sit next to him and converse with him the best you can."
Valerie nodded with a thin smile and bowed politely before going over to the seat, causing the other students to notice her slowly.
The other students didn't call out to her, rather they dimmed on their previous topic to take a moment to look over her frame and outfit. Their thoughts and feelings were kept to themselves mainly so she ignored them as she walked over to the man who was now sitting back on his phone in the chair farthest to the left row of the last row of desks.
Valerie walked up to the chair and smiled towards the, what she correctly guessed as, tall man who she could now officially look over.
Yuhkei was handsome, almost flawless in her eyes. He was a bit roughed up with a few healing scrape marks she could easily identify as marks from a hand wrap glove resting over his tanned cheekbone and against his left lip and jaw. His hair was black, resting over his forehead and eyebrows a bit messily as if brushed by only his fingers. His outfit was no different from his hair, a slightly disheveled black shirt and slowly drooping black shorts as if he was ready for working out.
It took Yuhkei a moment but he realized the girl was next to him after she made it to the chair. He most definitely didn't recognize her so her coming to his desk was confusing to him.
" Hi, I'm Valerie, I'm new here." The girl smiled, waving to the male with furrowed eyebrows, " I'm your partner? I'm not too sure what that means but, I know I sit with you."
" Hello..." He grumbled for a moment before moving his chair over a bit so she could pull hers out without hitting his legs.
" Thank you." She smiles before sitting down and pulling off her bag, placing it on the seat next to her as she pulled out her jacket.
" Do you always dress obnoxiously bright?" Yuhkei asked as she shook her head as she put on her hoodie, " Okay, why did you dress in bright colors if you were just going to cover them with a jacket?"
" Oh, I'm not covering my shirt, well not intentionally. I'm just going to be showing you how to hit a vape as unnoticeable as possible." Valerie snickered as Yuhkei's eyes widened at her openness, " The teacher can see you from his desk easily, you need to find a new way to do it... or a new wardrobe at that..."
" What's that supposed to mean?" Yuhkei asked venomously, glaring towards the girl who shrugged lazily.
" Just that you can't hide your huge ass vape in your sleeve, can I show you?" Valerie asked while tilting her head at the male, pulling her vape from her bra from in her zipped jacket while keeping it in the sleeve, " I can show you with my own, and I can guarantee it's harder to hide than your nicotine."
" You could tell?" Yuhkei questioned, caught off guard by her laid-back attitude before shaking his head, " What do you suppose I do about it then?"
" I personally recommend hoodies, lots of them. The bigger the better." Valerie started, nodding to herself as she yawned. She brought her sleeve to her mouth, taking a hit of her pen in a normal amount of time to yawn before inhaling and holding all the smoke in her lungs as she brought her sleeve away. The lack of breathing didn't stop her from talking normally, keeping the smoke in entirely as she spoke, " Of course I can tell, those huge sizes could never be THC. It's always nicotine."
Yuhkei raised his eyebrow at her, finding nothing odd with her movements as he listened to her, " I don't know if hoodies are... My style."
The girl challenged his raised brow and raised one back at his words, " Hoodies are everyone's style." She turned for a moment to look at the teacher's attention along with their classmates before blowing out pure air from zeroing the smoke, " How'd I do?"
" Do what?" Yuhkei questioned, thinking she was going crazy for a moment.
" I just hit my pen while speaking with you and you didn't notice a thing." Valerie smirked, though she couldn't exactly tell if that was a good thing or bad thing, towards the male who shook his head.
" I saw no smoke." He fired back.
" I zeroed it, idiot."
" Show me what you have."
Valerie showed Lucas her cart and pen from her sleeve, the slim vape going practically unnoticeable when dropped back into her sleeve.
" I don't believe you, do it with my stick." The man challenged, " And show me."
" I'll one-up you." Valerie offers, intertwining her fingers together in front of her around her knee, " How about, I do it with your vape and then after, I do it with my pen. If I can zero them both without being seen then...—" Her attention was brought to the front of the classes' chalkboard which stated they had a physical activity that day, "— you have to get me a pair of sweats for our physical lecture today."
Yuhkei raised an eyebrow at the girl, completely shocked at her challenging spirit but the sight of it made him smirk and nod while thinking, " I think I brought some sweats with me... I'll partake in this challenge. When I win, you have to do all my homework for Jaehyun's classes."
" Deal." Valerie smiled and held her hand out under the desk to be handed the nicotine.
The male was a bit apprehensive at first with handing it to the girl but slowly he put his thick, rectangular vape into her hand. He watched her take it, putting it in her sleeve with her own vape as she lined them up together. Valerie turned so her back was facing the class and teacher, taking a deep hit from both pens as it obviously crackled as she took in the smoke. She did what she did before, though the slight intoxication made her more aware of how tight her chest was as she held the smoke down and spoke with Yuhkei.
" So who are you? Where are you from?"
" I'm Wong Yuhkei. I'm from China—"
" I knew it, I used to know a guy in Daegu with an equivalent last name- Wong is the Cantonese version of Huáng, right? And then the Korean equivalent is Hwang. He used to be miscalled Wong and Hwang, it really pissed him off... Well, he was Chinese and explained all that to me once... Sorry, continue."
" I feel like you know more about my last name than I do now..."
Valerie moved back slightly, looking like she was going to go in her bag as she exhaled the smoke under the wood desk, her lungs burning as she blew out pure air and a bit of smoke while she handed the male back his vape before doing the same thing with her pen- though rather than taking a small hit she took a blinker to challenge herself.
" Holy shit you're good at that... When did you learn how to do this?"
" Years ago, too long of a story."
" You're making me interested now... Maybe you should tell me about it sometime."
" Hmm, maybe."
A silence came over the two as Valerie kept her eyes closed as she held the smoke in, her lungs begging for air before she finally blew out nothing and gasped for air while coughing a bit. Yuhkei offered her help, patting her back as she shook her head and covered her mouth, " I'm okay, I'm okay."
" I had to make sure before you died in front of me. Imagine how that'd look on my record." The male grimaced as she rolled her eyes in response.
" Yeah, whatever, how selfless." Valerie scoffed, " Now I need pants, please. Preferably before our next class starts."
" I got it, I got it, don't get your panties in a twist."
Yuhkei did keep up his end of the deal, first, they had to go through an hour-long in-depth lecture on the nervous system. But by the start of the new lecture Valerie was striding outside on the football, lacrosse, and rugby field in large grey sweatpants being held up by the string as tight as they could go. They were rolled up sloppily to mid-calf due to the length of the fabric being long. It looked so strange to see her in them that Yuhkei almost started laughing at how ridiculous she looked due to the cuffing at the bottom.
Of course, they had Professor Kim rather than Jaehyun now. A man who proved to be the stricter professor out of the two of them but that was probably due to the fact he was on the more physical side of the workload. Like their laid-back professor, Professor Kim had tattoos. Though his were minimal and more meaningful, holding names and quotes among other scribbled designs. But the detailing of the tattoos meant nothing the moment the whistle around the man's neck was blown.
" Alright, line up with your partners. Today we're working on the same football drills as last week. If I see any of you kick a ball, unless it's for a goal, with the tip of your shoe I will pull you out of the activity." Suho spoke out, holding a clipboard, " For a warm-up, do two laps around the track. Run, walk, jog- I don't care as long as you and your partner complete the laps and start working before 15 minutes. Got it?"
With a communal sound of agreement, everyone started going around the field, though Valerie waited besides Yuhkei until they were the last two.
" So, what do you want to do? Jog?" Valerie asked, making Yuhkei look down at her while shadowing the sun a bit for her.
" If you want, I was thinking of a sprint," Yuhkei teased, earning an immediate shake of her head.
" Ew no, I'm high right now. I can't run." Valerie stated while stretching her back out before starting to jog side by side with Yuhkei.
" You can't run? But you can jog?" He asked with a raised eyebrow being shot towards the girl.
" Listen, it is my first week back into civilization. It's a miracle I'm actually trying."
Yuhkei was confused by her wording, choosing to shake it off for now as he turned his attention to jogging while the girl started picking up speed beside him due to her shorter legs. She said she wanted to jog but she didn't anticipate the height difference to cause her to move slower than the male so rather than Yuhkei running with her, she was running after him.
It took the male a moment to realize her quicker pace, making him roll his eyes but slowed his pace for her. The girl was silently thankful as she was able to catch her breath easier while they did their laps.
By the time they were on their second lap, their professor joined the two. He was looking at his attendance sheet and walked up next to Valerie, looking over her after.
" I don't think we've met before, are you by chance 'Hwang Valerie'?" He asked beside her as she nodded on," It's nice to meet you, I'm your other professor, Professor Kim. We have a few other classes together besides this and anatomy together so I'll be seeing you a bit more... Did Professor Jeong choose Mr. Wong as your partner?"
" It's nice to meet you too, Sir. I apologize for sending you the work for him to you throughout the year, I was confused on where to send my work for classes." Valerie put on her 'teacher's pet' act as she spoke out before nodding with his words," Yeah, he said something about our classes being relatively the same."
" Ah, I was confused as to where you came from and was shocked to see Mr. Wong speaking with another student, especially a female." The teacher spoke a bit stiffly, but she understood he was trying to tease the male beside her.
" I don't know what you mean, teach'." Yuhkei sighed and flexed out towards the teacher, making the girl close to drooling," I'm the picture of masculine health."
" Says the loner." The professor stated but turned to the girl once more," Interesting pants there, I take it they're Mr. Wong's? How did you get them? Make a bet?"
Yuhkei physically stiffened next to the girl and went back to his jogging form," What's that supposed to mean? I don't gamble?"
" My sources say otherwise.." The professor mumbled to himself and Yuhkei, rather than the girl to whom he was originally speaking to.
" Um, we didn't bet anything. He's just... the best partner... anyone could ask for." Valerie teased while the male in question rolled his eyes and glared a bit at the teacher.
" Is that all, Sir?" Yuhkei tried to speak respectfully but it was obvious to Valerie that he was trying not to get angry
" Ah..." The teacher spoke softly as if to think but he turned away from the two," Yes it is, oh and take my warning about kicking with your toe seriously. You'll get a zero for the whole unit."
His final warning made Valerie raise her eyebrow at his harsh rules towards how to kick the ball but Yuhkei, who was calming down a bit, explained to her the situation of his strictness," Everyone has been kicking the ball wrong so far in this unit."
The girl hummed in response before asking the man," So... Do you actually have a known gambling issue or was he referring to something else?"
Yuhkei's eyes snapped to Valerie's who were already on the man curiously," No. I've never gambled before. He must have gotten me confused with someone else."
" Yeah, sure. Like there are other 'Wong Yuhkei's here." Valerie rolled her eyes before nodding on," Alright then, let's just do this."
They finished their last lap behind everyone else, which wasn't too surprising seeing as how they were the last 'runners' to begin with. But, rather than being the last to participate, they were the first group to officially start due to the groups' conversing first before they began participating in the sport.
Yuhkei had to teach Valerie how to do all the drills they previously learned, which included passing, juggling, and scoring. They also relearned proper footing and such due to her not being in class but that was mainly due to Yuhkei not believing the girl when she said she knew what she was doing. But she thankfully didn't have to deal with being babied the whole day.
By the time they finished, she had a class with Mr. Kim and Yuhkei in another building. Though, she didn't pay much attention until two lectures later. Her physics lecture in the Social Science building was located on the 9th floor- something she couldn't possibly climb on a pure whim when no student or teacher helped her find her way into her class.
" Excuse me?" Valerie spoke out to a group of students watching her catch her breath on the stairwell that were loudly gossiping in the stairwell," Do you know where the physics class is? Floor nine?"
" I do, I have the same lecture in a moment." One of the men in the group of five says, raising his eyebrow to the girl," Do you have the class with me? I've never seen you before."
" I'm new! Started today, can you help me find my class then? Mr. Jaehyun was supposed to show me how to get to class but I zoned out during class and missed him when he left..." Valerie chuckled softly while scratching the back of her neck.
" Sure..." The male nodded slowly before saying goodbye to the group that went downstairs without the black-haired man," I'm Kunhang but my brother and friends call me Hendery, and you?"
" I'm Valerie , it's nice to meet you Hendery— if you let me call you that. You're a lifesaver, by the way, I don't think I would have made it on time if you ignored me." Valerie smiled at the ravenette, walking up the stairs side by side as her calves burned softly.
" You may call me that if you want, ignoring you would have been rude and irrational. So it was the least I could do." Hendery spoke, giving a slight smile back," Do you enjoy the school so far? What do you major in?"
" I do, it's a bit overwhelming at the moment but I'm sure I'll ease into it soon. I take Sport Science. Originally it was going to be exercise science but I decided to change last second."
" My brother takes that course, he said it was enjoyable enough. Were your classes online originally? Is that why you're here now and overwhelmed?"
" Yeah, I was online for my first year and a half or so." Valerie spoke breathlessly as they made it to the class they were required to be in," Oh, we're here."
" It seems so.. try not to be a stranger, Valerie. I hope to get to know you more in the future." The male smiled before walking into the classroom.
Once the door closed behind him Valerie gasped for air, pretending like she wasn't trying to regulate her breathing after trying to seem not out of breath going up a few flights of stairs.
' I really have been cursed to see hot men the moment I got into Seoul...'
Lunch came faster than Valerie anticipated, but that was probably due to the fact she zoned out the majority of her classes. The classes she took were intellectual, to say the least besides her physical activity class in the morning. Though, she honestly didn't pay attention to the majority of them, to begin with.
Something else that took Valerie by surprise was the black-haired male waiting for her. He was obviously doing so just by the fact he made a b-line to the girl the moment she left the classroom. He pulled her to the side, out of the way of other students as much as possible, to speak with her about his dire matter.
" Sorry for pulling you aside, but you're the new student, Hwang Valerie, right? I'm Nam Seungmin, the valedictorian of our year." The male smiled, showing off his pearly whites," You have lunch now, right? I mean... I already know you do, I thought it'd be common courtesy to ask.."
With the frown growing on his face Valerie decided to speak up for Seungmin," Yeah, I do. Honestly? Don't even bring up the fact you already know, it's a bit creepy. Unless of course, you happen to find yourself in a.. situation where you need to do that as a scare tactic it'd be perfect."
The male chuckled and nodded on," I'll keep that in mind. Do you know where to go for food? I can take you there if not, even if you do I can accompany you to try and introduce you to interesting individuals."
His tone was a bit hard for her to decipher the meaning of his description but rather than dwell on it Valerie inhaled and waved the male to start walking. The motion made Seungmin perk up instantly as his smile grew once more, guiding the girl who honestly forgot where to go either way.
" So, your file said that you're from Daegu. Why come to Seoul? Don't they have more athletics there?" Seungmin questions, though his words seemed innocent the fact he insinuated he read her student file before they met made Valerie's hair raise on the back of her neck.
" I am, and I came for my own personal reasons. Why so interested?" She tried to keep her response as vague as possible, unsure if she was supposed to speak with him about anything involving Daegu.
" Awe.. so secretive." His pout was playful, trying to get anything out of her but seeing her attention in front of her rather than on him he dropped it and sighed," Okay fine, I'll find out sooner or later.."
She ignored how sure of himself he seemed and thought over how the conversation started once more," Hold on... My student file? Are students even allowed to read that?"
" I mean we're not supposed to but the student council has the power to do so." Seungmin says before thinking on," I'm not exactly in the student council though so..."
The information made Valerie physically freeze, almost making her trip over the final step in the stairwell to exit the building. How could a student, the valedictorian of all people, admit to doing something even the student council wasn't supposed to do. Especially while not on the student council," Wait, did you... Break into my file?"
" Breaking in is such a... Harsh term." Seungmin tried to defend himself before turning to the girl once more as he opened the glass door," I prefer calling it 'having my sources'."
His child-like smile seemed to not understand the severity of the situation but with a sigh of just not caring anymore Valerie went through the glass door before Seungmin did," Whatever... I need to smoke. I can't deal with this now."
" Ooh, you smoke?" His interest peaked once more as Valerie rolled her eyes," Let me guess the brand! Newports? Marlboro?"
" Not close but now I miss the feeling of cigs in my mouth, thanks." Her words were bitter but the male ignored her clear disinterest in the 20 questions game he was playing with her.
" Electronic then, I see." The male caught on while guiding her down the path to the stalls with a long line of students outside of it.
Outside and nearing the stalls was a mix of grease and fresh air. It brought fond memories of Daegu to Valerie's mind of her with Jay and Rose, before she was institutionalized.
Valerie, with the remembrance of the past, she hummed a sad yes, pulling the device out from her pocket and taking a deep inhale while she walked beside the male. Seungmin seemed to watch Valerie curiously as she held the smoke in her lungs, walking like she wasn't phased by the fact she wasn't breathing with a drug in her lungs.
" So, first day. What are your thoughts so far?" The male asked as the girl blew out a small amount of smoke.
" So far? Boring and overwhelming." Valerie spoke," Learning on your first day is no fun- especially when you don't understand anything."
" Well, you participated in class online- didn't you?" Seungmin questions as he tilts his head.
" I did but it was a 'here is all the assignments, finish them in your own time' kind of situation." Valerie spoke as she took another inhale of her vape as they stood in the line of students to try and get food.
It was almost immediately after the two joined the line a voice cut in that physically made Seungmin cringe at the sound of.
" Seungminnie Oppa~! I've been waiting for you, you didn't bring me to lunch. Who is this girl?"
Their attention was forced to a brunette with straight long hair. Her features were flawless, both physically and fashionably as she wore an expensive school girl outfit in– what Valerie hoped to be– white faux fur coat.
" I'm Valerie, the new student." The dyed girl bowed politely, taking notice of the beautiful girl's eyes.
" Hm.." It was obvious she was looking Valerie up and down, judging her outfit of the day," I'm Jennie. I'm majoring in Fashion so I don't typically intermingle with other classes... But your clothes tell me you're a valuable friend."
Valerie raised an eyebrow and cast a look over to Seungmin who in turn rolled his eyes and shrugged," Thanks..?"
" Alright, so, Valerie, this is Jennie. Her father owns the school. Her friend Irene—" Seungmin starts his introduction, a woman coming up behind Jennie just a few moments after that the male signaled to," is another student majoring in Fashion who is a part of the student council. Irene, Jennie, Valerie is our newest student from Daegu. Play nice, won't you?"
" Of course!" Jennie smiled as she turned to Valerie," I honestly, love your hair. Where did you get it done?"
" A friend of mine did it for me, he's very talented, no?" Valerie showed off, smiling at the girl.
" Very, you have to give me their number." Jennie protested, touching the silky hair to look at the ombre.
" I think I know someone with hair similar to yours..." Seungmin spoke out as he pretended to be in thought, though his tone made it seem like he already knew the answer she would give.
" Ah, well he doesn't go to school but I'm not too surprised..." Valerie spoke off as she scratched the back of her neck, " I mean, with him being friends with Lay and V, you probably see him on campus often."
" Lay and V?" Jennie questioned as if shocked that Valerie knew them, " You know them?"
" Yeah, a friend of a friend." Valerie shrugged before noticing the line getting shorter.
As the group moved forwards they spoke of how Valerie's day was so far. Though their conversation was bland and almost seemed like no one in the group really cared for what anyone spoke about, they walked towards the stall and ordered their food as they attempted to conversate.
They waited to the side in the damp grass as their food cooked, though, they decided it was time for 20 questions then.
" So, you're from Daegu?" Jennie questioned while Valerie nodded, " How was it like there? Compared to here?"
" Um... I did online college until today..." Valerie smiled a bit shyly before saying, " Uh... I had a fond childhood... But since my final year of highschool I've been kind of like... Sheltered."
" Tiger Parents?" Irene questioned, as the girl slowly nodded.
" Yeah... Kinda... Only one parent though." Valerie spoke while Seungmin became interested.
" Oh, sole custody or something after high school?" the male questioned.
" Nothing like that... It's always just been me and my Dad... I just... It was kind of like getting mega grounded." Valerie spoke, though it technically wasn't a lie.
" So like... What did you do? All that time?" Seungmin questioned once more.
" Uh... Talked with... my dad, school work, like– 30 minutes computer time, and a few other things I had to do to finish my grounding." the girl responded, though faltering in the beginning.
Their names had gotten called for to get their food, allowing them all to sat down together at one of the tables along the cooler yard. Valerie was unfamiliar with all the food options, so, with the little knowledge she had, she got a bibimbap bowl. The other three got healthier style foods, them being a sandwich and salads but Valerie didn't particularly care.
" So, I have to tell you what happened with Wonpil," Jennie spoke quickly, her interest in gossip starting as she turned to Seungmin.
The male on the other hand seemed rather annoyed with the woman for bringing it up, " What happened?"
" He and that cheerleader broke up. In the middle of the away game yesterday!" Jennie told, slamming her fork into her food rather than eating it, " They were losing and Wonpil, right before a penalty shot, went up to her and did it in front of everyone!"
Irene nodded on with Jennie, her being a victim of the incident, " The girl started bursting out crying and left, the team couldn't do any more cheers!"
" Wow, that's nuts." Seungmin rolled his eyes, taking a bite into his sandwich as he wasn't into the gossip.
" Who's Wonpil?" Valerie questioned, though Seungmin seemed shocked she didn't know.
" You have your homeroom with him and a few other classes. He's the school's Soccer Captain, a very promising Junior, or something like that... He failed anatomy one so he's taking anatomy two with you." Seungmin spoke out as he pointed his head to Jennie, " Jennie knows all about him."
" Oh not like that!" Jennie whined out, " I design the cheer squad's uniforms while on the team and get close views of him. He's really handsome and is honestly the biggest player when it comes to pretty girls."
" Jennie and him had an altercation a month ago at a party." Seungmin dropped which made the girl blush harshly.
" I mean, what's wrong with that?" Valerie questioned, " Sex is normal, who cares if someone has it with someone?"
" See?" Irene adds on, waving to the dyed-haired girl, " She agrees!"
" Whatever! Anyways—" Jennie tried redirecting the conversation, " He's back on the prowl again that means!"
" So, Valerie, stay away from Wonpil unless you're into being fucked and dumped," Irene says, waving it off to the girl as she eats her food.
" I mean, is he known for that?" Valerie questioned.
" Yeah, asking girls out, sleeping with them, fighting with them to cause a scene, and then going on to the next girl." Jennie claims, " I was one of the ones who threw myself at him."
" Ah, well if he is handsome... No shame right?" Valerie questions as Jennie laughs out at her.
" You're funny... I really like you."
The group was reduced to silence as they ate their lunch. They exchanged their classes with Valerie as they finished their food, finding that she had her next class with Irene and Jennie. When they knew the class was about to begin they all threw away their trash and went to their respective department buildings.
As the three girls got into their English lecture a hand held the door open for the three of them. Valerie, being at the back of the group, turned back to find V behind her with the door pushed back under his hand, the sight of the male caused her to smile but upon seeing behind him it started to falter a bit.
Lay stood behind V, indicating the two also shared the class with the three girls. Valerie rushed to the row beside Jennie as V slipped in beside the dyed-hair girl.
" Hey, how's your first day?" V questioned, pulling out his notebook for the lecture, " Completely lost?"
" Utterly." Valerie sighed out, rubbing her eyes, " I've heard that question one too many times, honestly..."
" Well, how about this- are you having fun and making friends?" The handsome man questioned with a smile as their teacher stepped towards the desks in the lecture hall.
" I am having fun, as masochistic as that sounds.." Valerie smiled back crookedly before thinking about all the people she met that she genuinely wanted to stay friends with, " I can think of a few people I've befriended, yeah."
" That's good. I'm glad." The man hummed softly, nodding as the teacher began the lecture.
" Today, we will be looking at the ancient work of Plato..."
Throughout the lesson, their whole row seemed to be giggling about something new every minute. At times it would be the teacher's pronunciation, others due to the more inappropriate parts of the story.
Whatever it was they were conversing about, it was a miracle that they didn't get scolded by the teacher. The way he taught was perfect for stoners, and Valerie realized that after a few hits of her pen in her jacket a few times as the class passed.
By the time the class ended the line of students were rushing to their classes in separate buildings.
While the ones that sat with Valerie all went to different buildings as her, she felt herself become excited to see if she would be able to make friends in her next class or if she would have ones she previously made in it.
When Valerie found her chemistry class- huffing and puffing might she add- she was more than happy to see Yuhkei once again since the morning.
Mr. Jaehyun directed her to Yuhkei's table, telling her to sit with the male while he went on to the front to get something together on the computer.
As Valerie sat she turned to Yuhkei and pulled his sweats out of her bag," Do you want these back now? Or do you want me to wash them and then return them?"
The Chinese male seemed to think over the offer before pushing the fabric back into her possession," Wash it for me, please."
Though she could tell his beg was teasing, it didn't stop her from putting his sweats back into her bag as she went back to listen to the professor.
The girl, unlike many would realize, loved learning about chemistry. It was something she was interested in during high school and it was the same now as she watched Jaehyun show them an experiment before their eyes as he spoke about it.
" You like this science shit?" Yuhkei questioned, pulling Valerie's attention as she realized how interested she was in the experiment on the front table.
She pulled her teeth out from over her lip, turning her gaze to the Chinese man as she nodded," Yeah, always have and always will. I was planning on just studying biology in high school to begin with but when I found this and exercise science, I knew I wanted this major."
" That's cool... But... Do you love it?" Yuhkei questions.
" Love it?"
" Yeah like..." The man inhaled as he thought over his words," it's something you see yourself doing in your future?"
The thought that flashed through her mind was most definitely not what she saw for her future. Instead, it was a dream she knew she couldn't want anymore.
" I'll take that as a no..." Yuhkei sighs out before turning his attention onto the foaming experiment at the front of the room," If it's obtainable, whatever you think of should be what you do... But it's your decision of course."
Valerie nodded on slowly before resting her upper half over her desk," But what if it's a dream that you shouldn't obtain?"
" Shouldn't? I feel like dreams are supposed to be things you want to obtain." Yuhkei raised an eyebrow towards the girl.
Valerie silently thought over his words, resting her cheek on her arms," Well, if I did obtain it I'd probably move back to Daegu... But I kind of promised my dad I wouldn't go and do anything involving it again."
" Mhm, a promise..." The man nodded, thinking over the context of the situation," Well I for one don't want you to leave Seoul right after meeting you... Find something similar to it here... After all, how would your dad know if you're not in Daegu."
Valerie thought over it before nodding slowly," Maybe you're smarter than you put out..."
" Huh? What do you mean?" Yuhkei questioned with a scoff," You calling me stupid?"
" Maybe a bit..." Valerie giggled at the serious man, pushing his shoulder playfully," Oh calm down, y'know... Maybe people would like you more if you stopped brooding all the time."
" Brooding?" Yuhkei questioned while Valerie rolled her eyes at the man.
" Yeah," Valerie spoke as she played with her hair's tips while looking at the male," You do it every time you get pissed off with someone or look off in a daydream... Honestly, a few students saw it when they tried coming up to me but you scared them off..."
" They should know not to come near my seat." Yuhkei shrugs while the girl rolls her eyes at him once more.
" So you're one of the handsome assholes?" Valerie questioned, only to earn a grunt in response," Come on, if you deny your looks I'll literally out you for smoking in class."
" Calm down woman!" Yuhkei scolded before rolling his eyes and ruffling her hair," Whatever, I'm an asshole so what? Don't they make the best friends?"
" With their twisted sadistic love, yes." Valerie smiled as she slapped the man's wrist for daring to touch her hair," You'd insult me and in the same sentence defend me."
" Isn't that how friends are, though?" The Chinese questioned, pointing a finger towards the girl as if already knowing her answer was going to be an agreement.
She huffed at his knowing look before turning back to the teacher as he spoke about bromine.
The two paid attention in class the best they could despite being unsure about the lesson as a whole. They hadn't been paying attention at all so their knowledge was blank on how to understand what the teacher was explaining.
When the bell had rung though, Yuhkei and Valerie felt relief wash over them that allowance of them to leave the school.
" Do you have a ride home?" The black-haired man asked once they made it to the parking lot.
Though, originally it was because they went similar ways but the Chinese man couldn't help but ask the question now that he arrived next to his motorcycle while he didn't know where she was going after," I don't know what you're doing but I can drop you off and go on my way."
" I'm fine." Valerie waved off, pointing towards the neon pink car that was a few spaces away," My friend is driving me home and sleeping over so I'm good... You better not be stingy when I ask for a ride in the future though."
The man chuckled out and nodded, pulling his vape out openly as he smoked it to wave goodbye," Alright, have a nice night. I'll catch you tomorrow."
" Alright... Goodnight to you too." Valerie bowed before the two separated to go to their separate vehicles.
Rose texted that she would be there in a moment, telling the girl just to get in the car to wait. So with the time to spare she looked over the assigned homework for the week so far and whined at the four essays that were already announced.
As she started on one of them on her phone, using a Grammar app as she worked, Rose came in the car complaining about her class.
" Agh! I hate the newest project we have!" Rose complained," 'Create a minimalist design that expresses yourself'. Minimalist?! Do I seem minimalistic?"
" Well, I think— coming from the perspective of a person who knows nothing— that it's more of a make a minimalist outfit that you can express yourself in... Well I mean..." Valerie thought over her words before concluding," Like, make a minimalist outfit, white dress with some high heeled boots and model the part of you that you feel in that outfit."
" I can try that but if I don't like it then I'll just have to find a way around the minimalist thing..." Rose nodded, buckling in her seatbelt," By the way, Jay will not be joining us today. He is going home with Kris, V, and Lay. So it'll be just us girls hanging out today~"
Valerie felt a smile grow on her face as her best friend started driving to her home, allowing them to speak over what they could do at the home- besides doing homework of course.
Within the 10 minute drive back to the apartment, the girls finally decided on doing a spa day once in the elevator. They had rushed into the apartment to get the things required for the activity and they ended up scavenging peel-off face masks, masks, moisturizers, and oils.
First, Valerie papered Rose, placing the peel mask over Rose's skin with a soft brush. The two girls made sure the mask wouldn't drip off of her face by letting it dry for a few minutes before Valerie had the same relaxing treatment done to her own face.
While they waited a bit for Valerie's own mask to harden they began their gossiping about the people she met with that day.
" So... Someone named Wong Yuhkei? A Chinese student." Valerie says while Rose brushes her fingers through the girl's hair.
" Not someone that I know... I don't know the students in your department..." Rose whined as her fingers get caught in a knot, yanking on Valerie's scalp.
" Ow! Rosie!" Valerie yelped, the blonde apologized over and over," Well, how about Jennie and Irene?"
" Oh my god..." Rose groaned out, annoyed by just the mention of their names," Jennie is a drama, princess girl. She must be the head of the social circle, if she's not she'll take the girl down. She did it to the original popular girl, kinda nuts. Then Irene... Parrot mode, annoying. Normal Irene mode, amazing."
" Ah... Well, that's kinda everyone I can think of that I met today..." Valerie pouted, moving off of Rosie's lap as she grabbed her pillow onto her lap.
" I'm sure you'll make more friends soon. Tomorrow will be better because you'll have some other friends you can branch off of." The blonde says, switching to lay on the pillow in front of Valerie's lap to get her head massaged," oh you do this the best..."
" Thank you." Valerie giggled and rubbed her fingers against the blonde's scalp," Most likely... that's how it usually starts... Also, you're totally picking out my outfit for tomorrow."
" Ooh~ what classes?" Rose questions as she perks up at the conversation instantly," How much do you walk?"
" I switch buildings three times but I have long breaks in-between before I do. I also have all my labs tomorrow." The dyed girl spoke," Ooh, but I heard it's like the first really cold day so I need a coat I can stay warm in?"
" I got just the coat for this, do not worry." Rose says, putting her hands up to show the energy," I feel it coming together, why?"
" Because, why style my own outfits when I'll have a live-in stylist until Sunday?" Valerie questioned, making Rose laugh out," Ooh, and I would like to talk about that!"
" Oh yeah, of course." Rose nodded before sitting up from Valerie's lap," Alright. I'm going to Australia, um, to see Mom and, uh, see my father. It's been a while since I've seen him..."
" So how long are you going exactly?" The girl questioned as Rose fixed her headband back into place so it wouldn't go in the drying mask.
" One to Two months... I believe?" Rose questioned before seeing the look on her face," I know! It sounds like a lot! But technically it is still shared custody and I have to spend time with him to make up for it. He, on the other hand, also had a baby recently with his new wife. A little boy and I wanted to help them take care of him and do online school down there for a while to meet my baby brother."
Valerie thought over it and smiled for Rose, holding her hands and smiling at the angelic lady," When you leave, tell your father congratulations for me—"
" I will."
" And congrats to you, big sister!" Valerie called out at the thought," You've always wanted another sibling, granted probably not from a woman around your age but, hey! It's a baby!"
Rose giggled out before saying thank you, noticing the mask was dry," Hold on."
The girl ripped the mask off softly, much to their surprise. Valerie's face felt a bit fresher after it had come off much to her surprise, so in turn, she did Rose's mask. It came off softly also, though the girl panicked at the last second about it going to hurt.
They did lip masks afterward, multitasking them with doing their assignments that they could do in the apartment at the moment.
Valerie got through half of her English essay on Plato by the time the mask was done, causing the girl to take a break from the work to put the oil and moisturizers on each other's faces.
The night had ended with the utmost relaxation over the girls, so much that they managed to complete a lot of their work— much to their surprise.
-
Not to be sappy but...
Recently I started working on the book again after a period of no motivation.
Well the other day (June 18th), I planned on writing the book but had a trip planned unknown to me to go to ✨ lego land ✨.
The trip was not my choice of location btw but ngl their Ninjago stuff kinda fireee. I also got a cow :3
Anyways, I was walking around while my anxiety was spiking and saw someone spam notifying me. I had opened my app and saw someone reading, voting, commenting, and adding the book to their list and it literally made me feel so happy :) So I want you to know that I appreciate anything and everything said!
Please comment on how you feel or any thoughts you have! I'd love to read them and try and interact with you guys!