Back to school
"Welcome back to school, class! How was your winter break?" The homeroom adviser's voice echoed in the classroom in the morning. Even if a chorus of groans and "too short!" were heard, Jangmi felt great and well rested. It was her first winter vacation in South Korea, and she couldn't imagine spending it any other way than with her brother and her friends. Although she still had training during the break, she was happy that she didn't have school—so she could rest and have fun after training.
The adviser chuckled at his students' reactions before calling their attention again. "Okay, class! I'll be handing out your reports cards! Your class standing was high. You guys did well, don't worry!" He reassured them before calling the students' names one by one.
"Park Jangmi!"
The adviser called her name, making her run to the front of the classroom. When the older man gave her report card, her smile was weird. It was as if it was a little sad. "I know your schedule must be hard considering that you're an athlete, so good job on the scores! It's still a high ranking!"
Jangmi bowed and thanked her adviser before going back to her seat. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she approached her seat. Sitting down and opening her report card quickly, she saw the one thing she feared the most.
She moved down from 3rd to 5th place.
"Jangmi, what did you get?" A classmate of hers, Choi Beomgyu, asked her with a soft nudge. He sat on her left side during class; so naturally, they were partnered together many times. Though they weren't as close as her and Sunoo, he was still a good acquaintance. The more they worked together, she realized that he was not an admirer or a fan. He always considered her as a classmate—not like some celebrity.
He took a peek at the paper in her hands and gasped. "What? How could you move down when you're super smart? I thought you would actually move and take first place this time!"
Jangmi ran her hands through her hair in frustration. Hearing it from a classmate of hers just made her feel way worse. She felt like her image of perfection started to crack and crumble. She wanted to run to the bathroom and cry the feeling of failure away but stopped herself from thinking that of it as such. She could hear Sunghoon's voice telling her "No one's forcing you to be on top all the time." all over again.
So, this should be okay, right?
"Beomgyu?"
"Yeah?"
She couldn't believe the words coming out of her mouth; and honestly, so did her classmate. "Fifth place is still high, right?" Jangmi looked at Beomgyu as she asked. She tried to blink the tears away but failed to do so as he still noticed her glassy eyes.
"Yeah! Of course, it's—are you crying over your ranking?" His voice was suddenly laced with concern. The girl sighed shakily and nodded. The boy reached over to pat her shoulder reassuringly.
"Hey, don't cry! If anything, you should be proud of yourself! You told me that your training was more rigorous and that you barely got to study, right? So, you should be proud of yourself for still getting a high ranking," he told her with a smile. He mouthed a little 'fighting' to her, changing her frown into a smile in a few seconds.
"Now," he interrupted her train of thoughts to talk about something else, which felt good to Jangmi. She just didn't want to talk about her grades at the moment, and Beomgyu took notice in it quickly. "To lighten the mood, I finally heard the music teacher meow!" Although it was nonsensical, at least Jangmi was distracted.
"People made that up, Beomgyu! She doesn't meow!"
"Yes, she does! I was walking behind her this morning when she dropped the music sheets and meowed! She really meows, Jangmi! It's so weird," he said before imitating the sound of a high-pitched kitten-like meow. The girl laughed before the adviser called the class' attention to tell them that he was leaving.
Once their homeroom adviser left, Jangmi's acquaintance smiled at her teasingly and started to meow again. After succumbing to him, she rolled her eyes and started to snicker at him. "Why would she even meow?"
"Right? That's also my question!"
---
When lunch time came, Sunoo ran to Jangmi's table quickly. She was fixing her things when her best friend clung his arm around hers. "Did you get fifth place?" He asked her, concern laced in her voice. All the girl did was sigh and nod.
Sunoo knew how much of a perfectionist his best friend was. He remembered all the times Jangmi would beat herself up over a score of 95/100. Although he would try to reassure her that it was still a really good score, she always thought otherwise. She would tell herself to work harder the next time, and it broke his heart to see his best friend overworking all the time.
When he heard the news from his seatmate, who said she overheard her and Beomgyu's conversation, his mouth dropped. He couldn't imagine how much more Jangmi would beat herself up for it. But now she seemed okay? He would like to think that it was a good thing, though.
"Yeah, unexpected. But, I should still be happy about my results," Jangmi told Sunoo with a bittersweet smile and tone. "My training schedule was more rigorous, and I wasn't able to study much so—"
"But you still got fifth place! High five!" Sunoo interrupted her and raised his hand. His assumption of his best friend being okay with her score was slightly correct. Jangmi did the same and gave him the high five. "Congratulations, Jangmi! I'm proud of you!" The girl smiled and clapped alongside him.
"Thank you, Sunoo!"
A part of her still blamed herself for not being able to study much, but she did the best she could even if her schedule became stricter and longer. She even remembered falling asleep on the floor once because she was studying for a test. It wasn't until the early in the morning when Jay had woken her up for school.
Still, it was the best she could do.
Her arm clung around her best friend's, making her move closer to him. "Anyways! What rank did you get?" He instantly scratched the back of his neck and laughed awkwardly. "I don't think I should tell you..." His voice faded, making Jangmi confused. It was highly unlikely for him to get a low ranking, but did he?
"C'mon! I'm your best friend and you want to keep this a secret from me? I'm offended," she whined jokingly as she removed her arm from his, which made him grab her arm and place it back. "No! Fine, I'll tell you," he said before breathing deeply.
"I got third place."
Jangmi's eyes widened as she heard the news and squealed. She jumped up and down in excitement. "Really? Congratulations, Sunoo! I'm so proud of you," she said in a high-pitched tone.
Usually, she would be jealous of people who had higher grades and better skills than her. But now, she was filled with so much happiness and excitement for her best friend. She was genuinely happy for him to get such a high ranking because she knows how hard he studies. It used to be her ranking, sure, but none of that seemed to matter anymore.
She felt like he deserved it more than anyone; and that included her.
"You're not mad?" Sunoo asked carefully as he eyed Jangmi's expression—who's smile didn't change at all. "No! Why would I be? I'm proud of you, Kim Sunoo!" She squealed as she hugged him from his side, still smiling brightly at him.
Their hug was cut short when they started to notice more people starting to come out of their classrooms. Since they were dismissed for lunch early, they had time to walk to the cafeteria slowly. But now, they were given no other choice but to run—which was exactly what they did.
They reached the cafeteria to only see four people in the line so far, so they hurried up and queued. "Pyeonyuk? Sunoo, look! They have pyeonyuk!" Jangmi said excitedly as she pointed at the food in the glass casing. The best friends stared at the food in awe as they felt their mouths start to water in hunger.
They were both known to always be hungry. Jangmi understood her body: naturally high metabolism and high intensity training meant that she couldn't afford not to eat at all—or else her performance quality would decrease. Sunoo, on the other hand, doesn't know why he's always hungry. He just liked to eat, and that was it. He always needed to eat something throughout the day. Jangmi didn't mind; in fact, she loved it. She felt like she found someone who was finally like her.
They got their trays full of delicious food before heading to Jay's table. No one was there yet, meaning they could talk freely about many things until the other boys arrived. ("Yes! We have no interruptions," Sunoo sighed in relief, making Jangmi laugh.)
Sunoo placed a spoonful of rice into his mouth before tapping Jangmi's shoulder. "We're going to watch Sunghoon hyung's competition later. Will you be able to make it?"
The girl sighed and shook her head. "I have training later, so I won't be able to go."
She noticed Sunoo's defeated expression as he nodded. "Oh, hyung will be sad. But it's okay; I'm sure he'll understand," he told her sadly before slurping his the soup that came with his meal. The statement made Jangmi pause from her eating and raise an eyebrow at her best friend.
"Why would he be sad?"
"He likes it when we, his friends, watch his competitions. Since you're also his friend, he would want to see you there," He paused as he thought about it. "I mean, you are friends, right?"
"Yeah, but I don't feel as close as you guys," she told him honestly, her voice faltering slightly. She really liked the fact that her and Sunghoon got closer over the past months, but she just didn't feel so close to him. Not yet, at least.
"Don't worry, Jangmi! Hyung likes you a lot—"
"What?
"—as a friend! He already thinks that you're both pretty close," Sunoo completed his statement before glaring at the girl next to him. "Let me finish my sentence next time before you jump to conclusions," he gritted his teeth. Jangmi laughed at him awkwardly and apologized before continuing to eat her meal
Both of the best friends sat in silence and enjoyed their lunches when they heard someone bang their hands on the table loudly. Sunoo jumped up, while Jangmi remained unfazed.
"I wanted noona to be surprised, not you," Ni-ki grumbled as he walked away to get his lunch. She laughed out loud before she responded. "Why? Wasn't surprising me at my house, for two weeks straight, not enough?"
"Nope!" Ni-ki said mischievously as he stuck his tongue out at her. Even if there was distance in between them, she could clearly see his teasing. Jangmi's eyes widened, her body rushing towards the younger one to catch him—but to no avail, he was faster. "HEY, NISHIMURA RIKI! IF I CATCH YOU, YOU'RE DEAD!" She shouted at him, her voice echoing against the walls of the cafeteria.
It was no surprise that she made a few heads turn because she was known for being quiet. Hearing Jangmi shout in the cafeteria was surprising. Who knew she could be loud?
She instantly covered her mouth in realization of how loud her voice was. Smiling awkwardly, she bowed apologetically with an awkward smile on her face. "Sorry!" Jangmi told them all before sitting back down to see Sunoo laughing at her, making her hit him quite harshly.
"Ouch! What was that for?"
"Why are you laughing? That was so embarrassing, Sunoo," she frowned and hit her forehead on the table—or tried. Jay's hand stopped her before she could.
"Hey! Don't hurt yourself," he warned. His voice was soft as he sat down beside you. "Do you feel like your grades were that bad that you have to hurt yourself?"
Jangmi smiled awkwardly as she waved her hands to reject the statement. "This is not about the grades! I mean..." she gulped at the thought of her dropped ranking but shook the heaviness away. "I dropped to fifth, but it's okay! It's still high, I think."
The older boy ruffled her hair and smiled. "That's still high! Congratulations, Jangmi!" He said as he pulled her into a short hug before a forced cough ruined the moment.
"I got high grades too, Jay. Why won't you hug me like that?" Heeseung's teasing voice asked Jangmi's older brother. All he did was stand up and pat the older boy's shoulder. "Congrats, hyung," he said expressionlessly before heading to pat Sunoo's head. "Congratulations to you too!" His voice changed to a more enthusiastic and sweet tone when talking to the young boy.
Heeseung just glared at him for his obvious favoritism towards the younger ones before shaking his head and sitting down where Jay just came from. He placed a small light blue paper box with a thin red ribbon in front of Jangmi and smiled.
"Open it!" He said as he watched Jangmi's expression. "Oppa! I told you not to spend—"
"I don't mind spending," he chuckled while pointing at the box. "Open it!" He repeated a little impatiently. He just wanted to see the look on the younger girl's face.
Jangmi pulled the box closer to her and untied the red ribbon. She opened the box to see a cupcake and gasped. Her face lit up as she came to the realization that the older boy had bought her a strawberry cupcake. Heeseung chuckled at the younger girl's reaction, feeling butterflies in his stomach at the fact that he was making the his crush happy right at that moment.
"Consider it as my congratulations!" He smiled at her and ruffled her hair. "I love strawberries! Thank you!" She smiled back at him and hugged him tightly. Heeseung froze at the sudden hug; and although he already knew that she was naturally a touchy-feely kind of person, he didn't expect her to be like that with him. It took him a few seconds to wrap his arms around her small body. He saw the others snickering at him and just shot them a glare.
"Okay, that's enough," Jay chuckled awkwardly as he told them to separate. Heeseung looked away from Jangmi to let his flushed cheeks fade away. He wasn't going to lie, her hug felt warm and comforting—even swearing that her hugs felt like heaven on earth.
Before she dove into the cupcake, she looked up at the rest of the table. "Does anyone want to try a piece?" She asked. Jungwon was the first to reject the offer, followed by Sunghoon, then Jake, Jay, Ni-ki, and Sunoo.
"Okay then! It's all mine!" Jangmi said enthusiastically before taking a bite. In all honesty, she didn't want to share it because strawberry was always her favorite flavor. She just asked to be courteous to them. The cupcake was just a normal size, and yet, she was able to consume it completely in four bites.
"Are you already done?" Sunoo asked shockingly as he glanced at her: cupcake gone as she wiped her lips of any remnants. She smiled shyly and nodded. "Was it good?" Heeseung asked her. She nodded quickly as a response.
"It was very good! Thank you again!"
Sunghoon watched the two as they smiled at each other and couldn't help but feel a little bitter. He knew that Heeseung was close to Jangmi, but he didn't expect them to be that close. Or was his hyung's way of telling them that he going to confess soon?
Whatever it was, it bothered him.
"Jangmi!" He called her attention away from the older boy. "Yes?" She answered back politely and blinked at him in confusion. Sure, they talked during lunch time, but they were all short. Sunghoon preferred to talk to Jangmi when they were alone: more time to talk with less interruptions from the people around them.
The older boy stared at her for a bit. "Can we talk?" The words rolled out of his mouth so seriously that Jangmi felt her palms start to sweat as her breath hitched. Should she have offered a piece of her cupcake? Was that why he was so serious? Did she do something wrong?
He noticed the fear in the younger girl's eyes and chuckled. "No, it's not serious. Don't worry. I just wanted to ask you about later," he added before standing up. The girl stood up as well and followed Sunghoon into the hallway.
When they got there, he stood right in front of Jangmi, took a deep breath, and then spoke. "Will you be going later? To my competition, I mean," he asked her nervously, to the point that his palms were sweaty as well. He didn't even know why he was nervous.
It was just Jangmi.
"Umm..." the younger girl looked at the floor and refused to look up at him. She knew how hard Sunghoon had been training for this competition because he would tell her all about it; and even if she didn't know the jargon coming from his lips, she would just search it up to fully understand him. She knew how much the competition meant to him, and it pained her to not be able to watch.
"I actually have training during the time of your competition. I'm sorry. I wanted to skip but—"
"It's okay. I understand," Sunghoon interrupted her and consoled her. He already knew that Jangmi felt bad, but he couldn't do anything else. Out of all people, he knew perfectly well how hard it was for a student athlete to make plans outside of training; and he completely understood what she was going through.
But still, he was a little sad to hear that she wouldn't be able to make it. Whenever they talked, the first thing she would ask was how his training went. And when he finished rambling, she would proceed to ask him if she could watch his next competition. It was the little sparkle in her eyes she held whenever he was talking to her—which is why he really wanted her to go to this competition.
Was it just too much to ask?
Hello! The fourteenth chapter's up!
Honestly, I was so stressed and panicky that I wouldn't be able to upload, BUT I FOUND THE TIME TO DO SO!
Also in connection to the first part of this chapter 😉 DID ANY OF YOU WATCH PLAYGROUND?? Even if I watched it very early in the morning (7 am) and watched the live episodes without subs, IT WAS STILL SO ENTERTAINING! My moaengene heart was so happy 💖 to see them interact even if it was pre-debut ENHYPEN because it means they're just becoming closer YAAAY! ALSO STAN TXT 🥰
The music teacher bit is actually a true story HAHA! My music teacher in high school would meow whenever she dropped something. It was dead silent in the classroom so I heard it clearly. To this day, I still don't know why she does it 🤣
AND THANK YOU FOR THE 4K READS AND 300 VOTES!!!! I have said this once and I will say it again: I'm so happy that you guys enjoy reading a story that I enjoy writing! Eternally grateful for all of you. I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO SAY BUT THANK YOU TO THE INFINTE POWER! 🥰😘
Hope you guys like the chapter! Don't forget to vote and comment if you're enjoying so far! 💛
See you in the next chapter!
- Lia
(Belated) Happy valentines day!! Enjoy this gif of pre-debut Heeseung giving a paper heart!