(at first i was like: it's been too long—it's too late to post a part two!
but then i realized...
who's gonna stop me?!! lmaoo
so here it is❤️)
<<<
nine months ago
kai's first reaction when he found out that their school was accepting students on scholarships went like this:
ew! poor person!
he had planned to bully them and drive them away...but that went to nothing—kind of.
can you blame him? cuz seriously. one of the new students was kind of cute...
"class, this our new student, shin yuna."
shalalalalalalaaa
she looked so delicate and gentle--like a flower. her curled black hair fell over her shoulders and was tucked behind her ears. her hobbies were singing, dancing, and painting—strange that he actually listened. he watched her walk over to the empty seat. and next to him!
his heart did a weird flip.
"hi!"
she smiled and he was sold—superficially, at least. he saw her through rose lenses until they got on the wrong foot.
kai brutally rejected one of her good friends—another scholarship student in a way that was cruel and unnecessary (which included some insulting remarks in front of a good sized audience). yuna hated him ever since. he didn't know they were friends!?
the next day, his locker was superglued shut. he didn't notice until he tried to open it, yanking the door to the point of making loud creaky metal noises resound in the hallways. they had to get the janitor to fix it.
if he didn't know any better, he would suspect the girl he rejected recently. but no, she was too afraid to even get the words out to confess to him.
nor did yuna even cross his mind in the slightest. life is full of surprises.
it was only a week later when he caught her red handed, putting cocoa powder in his gym bag. it's random, but it does the trick—it's annoying as hell. he had his shoes in there!
"what are you doing?!" he exclaimed. they were in the classroom—he had brought it with him because he had to make up a test after school and he felt no need to walk back to get it.
she froze, the tin of hershey cocoa powder in her hand.
"...nothing."
and so he found out that she was abrasive and annoying and not a gentle flower. she was more like a cactus.
<<<
"you lose" the game said, flashing the words across his screen.
yuna cheered while he wanted to tear his hair out. he was sure he would beat her—this was supposed to be his game!
"you thought!" she laughed, circling him like a bird and prey where he sat on the floor, his back leaning against the couch, "l o s e r!!!"
while she paraded her victory, he cued his sulking—which only served as encouragement .
"wanna play again?" she asked, "i'll let you win this time."
holding in a bout of 'rubbing it in", she watched him frown.
"no," he deadpanned, his arms crossed. she smiled.
"you're a sore loser." sighing in pity, she couldn't help but enjoy the sense of winning. zero to one, she thought. "fine—wanna just go to the cafe?"
he was done speaking to her, it seemed, as he gave no response and turned away from her.
stifling a laugh, she composed herself to at least look serious.
"i'll treat you," she said, wondering if he forgot that today was their one month anniversary. her mind went to the homemade chocolate cookies in her backpack--she'll just eat them herself.
he hadn't, actually. there was something in his bag wrapped in light yellow wrapping paper and he was just waiting for the right moment to give it to her.
"with what?" he replied, incredulously. she scowled.
"you idiot—it's not like i'm broke!" of which she had been continuously repeating ever since they started dating—and since he had been insisting on paying for every date. they have made a good amount of scenes at registers and counters at this point.
losing patience, she took the sleeve of his pale cream sweater and tried to haul him up—failing, unfortunately. he made no move to help, slouching back against the couch behind him.
"come on!" she gritted, taking both of his arms and proceeding her attempt to get him up.
when he refused to move, she took one of the cushions on the couch and threw at his face. it bounced right off his head and back onto the couch. once again, no response.
"if you're going to be like that, i'm going home!"
turning on her heels, she started on her way out—which would be longer if she hadn't memorized it by now.
"hey!" he exclaimed, watching her walk through the door.
she paused, victorious once again. a smile spread across her face. begrudgingly, he got up and slung his backpack over his shoulder, the frown still on his face.
"fine, but i'm paying."
"no you're not."
they side eyed one another as they walked through the hallway.
"i won't stand there waiting for you to count your pennies," he replied, causing her to roll her eyes.
<<<
two months ago
"don't touch me," she hissed.
they were in class and cursed with each other's too close company—the three feet of space between their desks.
mr. min definitely could hear them at this point, but he kept his sighing internal and continued to ignore it in hopes their dispute would go away on its own.
for the whole class till then, kai had been poking the side of her arm. there was no reason—she saw nothing of the sort besides to torment her for his own fun.
yuna shook it off and refocused her attention back onto the board when he decided to reach over, poking her in her arm again. the touch wasn't hard by any means—it was actually very light and fast.
but it was her last straw. everyone has it, y'know.
the next thing they knew, they were standing outside the classroom with books balancing on their heads for causing trouble—meaning yuna tackled him for poking her, causing him to fall out of his chair.
she wasn't going for murder. only to lightly strangle him.
"i hate you," she gritted out through clenched teeth.
"i hate you too," he replied, sickly sweet and mocking and kind of okay with all of this because at least they were right next to each other.
after school was over, he went to the big water fountain in the middle of the courtyard after dance practice—everyone was gone and he sat alone on the ledge. reaching into his bag, he pulled out a penny.
his cheeks burned as he surveyed the area. somehow, it was extremely embarrassing.
so he was going to be quick. he clutched the penny in both of his hands.
i wish she would notice me more, he wished, and i wish she would be my girlfriend someday.
the penny floated to the bottom of the fountain. adjusting his bag on his shoulders, he walked away as fast as he could.
<<<
she ended up paying, and okay, maybe she wasn't that broke.
they sat at a window seat where the sunlight seeped in, facing each other in the warmth of the cafe. winter was full blown outside but the sky was still clear.
yuna took a sip of her hot chocolate.
chill out, she thought as she felt some irritation quell in her. one month anniversaries aren't that important. this is an overreaction—there was no need to get angry. plus, she should have known that kai was the type to forget these sort of things.
still, she couldn't help but feel a little bit hurt. it still held importance to her and that wasn't something she could shake off so easily.
but she was too busy thinking about how he forgot to notice that he was getting fidgety--or to notice that he was sweating and averting his gaze anywhere but in front of him. the latte he had ordered was forgotten and lukewarm.
all he could think about was the little present in his bag. he had definitely thought it over already—there was nothing new to even worry about because really, he nailed every single one.
it was cheap—too cheap and unlike what he thought would be worthy of someone he liked so much. but she was more likely to appreciate it instead, he thought. although it didn't squash the possibility that she wouldn't.
and it was also too... meaningful. full of heartfelt feelings and sappiness... gross! he wanted to barf but he had a hard time considering anything else once he thought of it. he would tear his hair out if it wasn't so luscious.
not to mention that he wrote a whole speech and it was folded on a piece of paper in a smaller zipper in his backpack.
well, if she laughs at his face, he is done for. deceased. unalived. he will jump out of this one story building.
reaching into his bag, he felt his hand close around the present and he pulled it out, holding it in his hands under the table. they were sweating.
not long passed before yuna noticed his silence and sudden nervousness. she was both confused and concerned at the same time.
"what's wrong with you?" she asked, genuinely but with the perfect balance of accusation.
he sighed and focused his eyes on the table.
"so..." he began awkwardly. clearing his throat: "today marks the end of the month that we've been... dating."
ew? why did it feel weird to say that. his cheeks felt hot.
yuna's eyes lit up but he wasn't paying attention, staring holes at everywhere except for who was in front of him.
"it's cheap, just like you. but i thought you might like it better," he continued, anticipating her reaction while still holding it in his hand.
since it was too late to back out now, he internally cringed as he handed it over across the table.
excited, she opened it quickly, lifting the lid off of the small white box underneath. inside was—
"a penny?" she asked in confusion, taking it from the tissue paper that kept it from bouncing around and holding it to the light for closer inspection.
because he forgot every word he memorized, he let his heart do the talking.
"it isn't the exact one, but—" he began with every ounce of his being to keep his voice from shaking, "i used a penny to make a wish at the fountain—the one in the courtyard."
she listened intently, leaning slightly forward as she did so.
"i wished that i—you—would." he sighed. "i wished that you would—you know..."
there was a silence.
"that i would?" she started back for him.
he sighed. again.
"that you would like me, i guess," he finally said, face feeling impossible redder, "that's why i got you the penny."
he mumbled that last part but she still heard it.
"if you don't like it, i can get you something else if you—"
looking at her for the first time since talking, he noticed the way her tears welled up in her eyes.
"what's wrong?"
he scrambled to do something—what, he didn't know and it was obvious. all nervousness was lost and replaced with panic. using the back of her hand, she wiped her eyes.
"nothing," she choked out, "i don't know, i just..."
the truth was that his present was overwhelming—in that it was unexpected. it hit her hard, she guessed. how to explain in a way that made real sense, she had no idea.
"is it that bad?" he asked, heart sinking right in front of her before he could rememeber to be cool about it.
"no! no, it isn't," she quickly rejected at seeing his expression fall completely, "it's perfect—too perfect. i didn't expect you to give me something as sweet as this. i thought you were too stupid for that."
offended, he felt the need to defend himself.
"i'm not stupid!"
for once, she didn't argue with him, cradling the shiny penny in her hands. her cookies have nothing on him.
"i guess."
<<<
eight years later
"nothing's changed, huh," yuna commented as they strolled through the hallways of their old school, her arm linked with his.
"everything's the same," he sighed, reminiscing what it was like to be a student again.
the nostalgia filled them with memories, and when they got to the courtyard and the fountain, it hit twice as hard.
they got to the fountain, taking a seat at the ledge. the two were facing each other, their knees touching as they looked into the water. the sun reflected its light and it seemed to sparkle. at the bottom were various coins. wishes made, fulfilled, forgotten.
"i wonder what would have happened if i didn't pull you in," she said, her mind running with possibilities.
"it wouldn't have mattered," he replied with a sly smile, "i would have made you mine either way."
she scoffed in disbelief as her face heated up. he never failed to notice these things, and laughed in her face.
"it's true though," he continued, genuinely and with a lot of confidence, "we would've gotten together eventually."
"sure—whatever you say." she rolled her eyes, her heart lighter in her chest as he had always made it. "i believe you."
although she sounded like she didn't, she kind of did—and after all this time together, he was able to tell. he smiled.
"let's make a wish then," she said, fishing in her pockets for a coin, "to stay together forever."
"that's going to come true—you'll have to be pried from my dead arms."
okay, that image made her very sad. and the certain way he said it made it seem like his declaration was carved into stone.
"no one's dying yet," she snapped with a glare—and sudden irritation that confused him—grabbing his hand and placing the penny inside. her fingers closed around his.
"let's throw in the count of three. one-"
"two," he continued. their eyes focused on each other.
"three."
the coin sunk to the end of the fountain, and their wish came true.