⇉ the one where she starts looking suspicious.
part ten
Hell. Pure hell.
Juno had woken up in Chenle and Jisung's dorm, where they had ended up all falling asleep after a long evening of movie-binging; turns out Chenle's (incredibly wealthy) parents had pulled some strings to allow him a huge flat-screen in his (larger than normal) room - meaning most meet-ups between the friends happened there.
Juno is surprised by the ease with which their energies match her own; she had ended up thoroughly enjoying herself, while ignoring Jaemin and squabbling with Haechan, of course. Otherwise, she finds the others very likeable. That's probably why she'd been comfortable enough to fall asleep on the couch in the first place, with the rest of them knocked out in other areas of the room. According to Jeno, they were lucky a surprise dorm inspection hadn't happened - if none of them had been found in their rooms, there would've been severe consequences.
Breakfast is uneventful. Juno eats with the boys as per usual, doing her best to stay under the radar despite the poisonous glares Livi keeps throwing her way.
Anyway, Juno is sitting in math class that morning (intensely struggling to pay attention) when the guidance counselor enters the classroom. Juno's used to it by now - Mrs. Yu will come in to take yet another student in for questioning for the investigation, and the person would come back later looking more than a little shaken.
Juno rests her chin in her hands, curious as to who is being summoned this time. Her eyes blink sleepily. That's probably why, even when the name that comes forth from the woman's lips is her own, Juno doesn't realize.
"Baek Juno?" Mrs. Yu repeats once more, and the girl snaps to attention. The entire class in staring at her. She gulps. "I'm going to need you to come talk with us for a bit, sweetheart."
Juno blinks again. Why is she being called in? She wasn't connected to the dead girl in any way.
Weird.
Nevertheless, she rises and follows the woman out of the room. Juno is definitely feeling much more awake by now; posture straight and brisk steps. As they move past a hallway, she sees Mark sitting in a desk outside, presumably making up a test he missed. He shoots her a puzzled look, to which she responds with an equally confused shrug.
Once they've entered the room, Juno is directed to take a seat in a hard chair opposite the table from behind which another woman sits. Juno immediately recognizes her as the teacher Haechan called after they discovered the body, the one who shooed her off the fifth floor.
"You're here because we've found that you have a sort of connection to the recent death of one of our students," the teacher begins - Juno can't remember her name. The girl blinks at the abrupt introduction, wondering not for the first time why it is a teacher conducting this investigation and not a professional like a police or detective.
"How so?" Juno inquires. "I'm new here; I never knew the girl, much less spoke to her."
The stern teacher levels a steady gaze at her. "Yet you were the very first one on the scene, were you not?" She pauses for emphasis. "You discovered the body."
Juno's blood runs cold. How on earth did this woman even know that?
As if reading her mind, the teacher continues, "We received a testimony from another student who recalls seeing you - alone - in the passageway shortly before the corpse was reported. They didn't know what had happened at the time." At Juno's expression, she says, "Of course, we cannot disclose to you who that was."
How? As far as she'd known, Juno had been alone in that passage. Nobody had walked by; in fact, the quiet was what had made the entire ordeal so that much more disconcerting. And no one except the boys had known that she was the one who stumbled upon the dead body.
This person had seen her even before the boys arrived.
A few possibilities come straight to mind: Either this secret witness is one of the guys - which is highly unlikely - or, they are an incredibly stealthy random student who really just repeated what they saw, or...
The real killer mentioned Juno to make her look suspicious instead.
"Now, all students were told to immediately report anything of note to admin. Why did you say nothing when you know that you were the very first one on the murder scene?"
With a growing sense of dread, Juno realizes exactly how this makes her look. She runs a tongue over her suddenly chapped lips. "I was so shaken and surprised, so I didn't even think to mention it. And then when I did, I figured it didn't matter."
"And why not?"
The girl shrugs. "I didn't know... Jihyi. It was purely by chance that I got lost and entered that hallway." Juno pauses. "I was shocked, and then I called my friends. They reported it. But there was no one around, so perhaps you should do some further investigation into that student who said they saw me."
"We will do as we see fit." Ms. Yang - Juno finally remembers Jeno referring to her by that name before - raises a brow, voice chilly as she stares the girl down. "Is there anything else you would like to mention?"
Juno shakes her head.
"Then you are dismissed." The woman goes back to perusing the papers in front of her. But as Juno gets up to leave, Mrs. Yang speaks again. "Expect to be called in again soon."
Juno exits the room, brain whirling. She is still buried deep in her thoughts when she feels someone gently grab her wrist. Mark pulls her over to the corner of the hallway, concern flashing in his eyes. "What's up? Why did Yang have to see you?"
They shouldn't be out of class, but they don't really care. After a deep breath, Juno relates everything to him. By the time she's done, his brows are raised skyward, lips parted with surprise. "Let me get this straight. They think you killed Jihyi because you were the first one on the scene?"
The look on his face spurs an admission. "I didn't," Juno blurts. "I didn't kill her."
"Well, of course you didn't," he dismisses, and warmth spreads through her chest at how he doesn't even question it. "I haven't known you for that long, but I don't think you would murder someone. Hopefully."
She smacks his arm lightly at that addition, and he giggles. Suddenly she realizes how close together they're standing - she's able to see the little golden flecks in his otherwise dark irises, and her gaze lingers on a mole near his cheek. "Of course I would never murder anyone. Even though Jaemin is seriously making me consider it," she mutters, and immediately wants to take it back - fearing that it's too soon - but Mark giggles again, and she relaxes.
"Don't worry, he'll warm up to you soon," Mark says. "And how's Shawty doing?" He snorts. "I still can't believe you named her that."
"I think it's a wonderful name-"
"Aren't you two supposed to be in class?" A teacher's voice cuts into the conversation, and they turn to see Mr. Seok, the history teacher, poking his head out of his classroom. They quickly step apart.
"See you later," Mark whispers, nudging her as he passes by.
"See you."
▸
"Let's spar."
Juno is still lacing up her shoes when she hears the voice, and she looks up to see a face she wishes she didn't. Livi is standing above her, an unreadable expression on her face. Jeno, who was just approaching, shoots Juno an uneasy glance when he catches sight of the other girl.
Juno straightens and pulls her lavender locks into a high ponytail. "Pardon me?"
"The teacher said we should find a sparring partner for the diagnostic testing." Livi cocks her head to the side. "Do it with me."
"Um." Juno assumed she would partner up with Jeno, because at least he'll go easy on her. She doesn't think Livi will.
"That's a good idea." The teacher, Mr. Liu, walks by them then. "Juno, I think you would have much to learn from Livi. She's one of the best students in the class."
Which means she's high on the Flair Strength List, and she's definitely the type to pick on those who are lower, Juno thinks absently, mind switching back to the recent murder as it often seems to these days. And she was also best friends with Jihyi-
"Good. It's settled," Livi says, and the teacher passes by with a smile in their direction. Juno blinks, realizing that her momentary silence has been taken for agreement.
She's screwed.
Juno watches many sets of partners spar before it's her and Livi's turn. They're all incredibly strong; in control. Juno knows that she's not on their level - it takes intense focus for her to move just one measly object. She watches, transfixed, as Jeno and some other guy she doesn't know exchange sharp blows and jabs - her friend's super strength power comes in extremely handy, but the other boy's ability doesn't do so badly against him. They're still almost evenly matched when the whistle blows, signaling that their time is up.
And then it's her turn.
Livi's face is stone as they walk onto the wide platform. Juno extends her hand for the required handshake, and the other girl takes it. Her grip is hard until she finally lets go, and Juno steels herself, preparing for what is to come. She doesn't know what Livi's flair is, but she doesn't doubt that her own weak telekinetic ability won't stand a chance.
And she's right. Right from the beginning, Livi completely annihilates her.
Sharp, rock-hard crystals form from the girl's palms, whizzing in Juno's direction so quickly she barely has time to think. Instinctively she raises her hands, and she's able to ward off some of the piercing gems from hitting her directly. But it barely matters.
Seconds later, Juno is on the floor. Livi doesn't stop attacking, and although Juno waits for the teacher to tell her to, he doesn't. The time seems to stretch forever until the other girl finally relents, walking up to Juno's fallen form.
"I don't know why you were the one to discover my dead best friend," the girl whispers, close enough that no one else can hear, "but if I find out that you had anything whatsoever to do with her death, believe me, you aren't making it out of this place alive."
Finally, the whistle blows.
A/N:
hey y'all how's it going
i'm so goddamn tired