[ ― seven. ]
"i'm still here." iseul sighed, resting her head in her hands which were propped up against her desk. the school day was almost ending but she had noticed jukyung still running around, running errands for lee suho. if she had known lee suho was such a sadist, she would've given up on the guy earlier, his cold personality could only be attractive for so long until it becomes trashy. she wondered how jukyung put up with and still remained so energetic, but then again, she was probably desperate to keep her real face a secret, although iseul saw nothing wrong with it.
"where else would you be?" iseul lazily lifted her gaze to the figure that spoke to her, disregarding his question, before doing a double take, realising who it was.
"han seojun..."
"you know, you ask some weird questions." seojun pointed out, hands in his pocket as he tried his best to look as aloof as possible, but his curiosity of the new girl had somehow gotten the better of him. "and you talk to yourself too much, people might think you're going crazy." iseul rolled her eyes, standing from her seat.
"well maybe people should mind their own business." she fired back, glaring at the boy before pushing past him, purposefully bumping into his shoulder as she left the classroom. what iseul didn't realise was the onlookers of the class who watched their little exchange, im jukyung's group of friends included.
"that guy is so pretentious, how is he the second lead?" iseul mumbled, crossing her arms as she angrily walked towards the vending machines. the girl was busily grumbling to herself that she barely paid attention to her surroundings, turning the corner of the hallway and bumping straight into a figure. "ah―!" the girl fell back, completely losing her balance and falling on her butt.
"watch where you're going." the boy iseul had bumped into warned, stepping past the girl without even sparing a glance. iseul hissed in pain from her backside, rubbing her back as she carefully stood herself back up.
"aish, why is everyone a j..." iseul trailed off, recognising the voice as soon as it registered in her head. "hey!" hurriedly, the girl turned around, catching his wrist just in time before he had disappeared around the corner. like the cliché scenes in a kdrama, the next few seconds played in slow motion, iseul's wide eyes meeting his chilly gaze that pierced into her soul. "yeosang."
"do i know you?" he questioned, raising a questioning eyebrow as he tilted his head. "i've never met you before." he added after scrutinising her face for a minute. "your hand." iseul glanced down at her hand that held his wrist tightly, afraid to let it go, afraid to face the reality if he just leaves like this. "let go." he ordered, his voice demanding. it wasn't anything threatening, and if anything, iseul was the one at fault here, but the tears that stung at her eyes couldn't be held back any longer.
"sang-ah..." she cried, lowering her head as a soft sob escaped her lips.
"y-yah, why are you crying?" he questioned, surprised from her sudden outburst. "did i hurt you? was i too harsh? i'm sorry if i did or if i was, but you should've been more careful." he sighed, his tone softening a little. however, iseul shook her head, which only confused the boy further, wondering what he had done.
"i missed you..." she managed through her hiccups, her grip loosening as her other hand covered her face, embarrassed that she was crying over someone who didn't even recognise her. yeosang's eyebrows knitted together in confusion, stepping towards the girl so he stood closer, placing his hands on her shoulders to calm her down. carefully, iseul lifted her head, having calmed down a little as soft sniffles were the only thing left after her mini episode.
"who are you?" he questioned, his eyes boring into hers. iseul could feel her heart break into small pieces just at those words. her best friend who she's known for years, or who she thought she knew for years was stood before her with no knowledge of her existence. if yeosang's in this world, iseul thought. then the other world must've seriously just been all in my head.
pushing his hands away, the girl began running. running as far as her legs would take her. winding through the school building, the girl barely knew where she was, unfamiliar with the other floors as she slowed down, wiping away the dry tears that stained her cheeks. "aish, you're an idiot, iseul." she scolded herself, realising how stupidly she had acted.
"who are you to have the solo?!" iseul's pace slowed down, stopping in front of an ajar door to realise it was the door to one of the music rooms. "drop out whilst i'm still being nice, hm?" one of the girl's poked the victim harshly, pushing her back with each poke. the victimised girl cowered away, shaking her head.
"i- i don't want to." her voice was meek and frail, causing iseul's heart to break just at the sight of them. the leader of the gang scoffed, rolling her eyes.
"yah, do you really think you have a choice?!" the girl rose her hand, ready to strike at the girl but there was no way iseul was letting that happen. slamming the door open caught their attention, the three of them turning their heads like a deer caught in headlights.
"what do you think you're doing?!" iseul stomped over, standing protectively in front of the girl. "who are you to raise your hand towards your classmate?" she questioned, glaring at the three girls.
"what the hell? who the hell do you think you are?" the leader questioned, crossing her arms as she glared at iseul. "i was just playing with gowoon, who are you to cut into our playtime?" iseul scoffed, crossing her arms as she stepped up towards the girl, towering over her with a glare.
"playtime is for little kids, how about you learn to grow up?" iseul spoke in a low, threatening voice, contrary to her previous state literally five minutes ago in which she was a crying mess. "come on, gowoon." iseul turned around to the girl, sending her a bright smile before grabbing her hand and dragging her out of the situation.
once they were out of the school building, she turned around to face the girl who held her head in shame. "when kids like that bully you, you should hold your head high." iseul spoke up, now walking beside her as they headed down the road together. "if you lose your ground first then that's basically told them they've won, so don't ever let them win, okay?"
gowoon glanced up at iseul, her eyes glistening as she smiled towards the older girl, nodding her head. "thank you..."
"iseul." iseul answered for the girl, sending her a smile.
"wait, iseul? as in hwang iseul?" iseul nodded, staring at the girl in confusion.
"why, do you know me?" she questioned, pointing at herself as she tilted her head.
"not personally, i've just heard about iseul unnie a lot." gowoon vaguely answered, a knowing smile on her lips as she wondered what gowoon meant. "ah, is it okay if you walk me home? it's getting pretty late and my brother would be angry if i went home alone." gowoon requested, it wasn't a complete lie, but she wanted to spend more time with iseul.
"sure, i'll just message my driver." iseul agreed, pulling out her phone as she began typing away on the device. gowoon smiled, the two walking together towards her house.
han seojun, you owe me one.
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