"Ridiculous."
Mirae complained for the umpteenth time as Donghyuck dragged her through the hallway, weaving in and out of the scattered circles of friends who indulged in conversations of their own.
Mirae let her eyes roam her surroundings as she skimmed through people in a blur, avoiding any encounter with vampires whom she most certainly could not detect amidst the crowd as they retained their human form when on college grounds.
After what had happened last night, she undoubtedly wanted to evade any sort of interaction with everyone except her friends simply because she was still somewhat shaken by the incident.
She believed that last night the vampire did not kill her purely out of dumb luck. Another encounter and the consequences could be unpredictable; more than fearsome, she grew rather wary.
"Listen, art is fun. Stop being a boring person." Donghyuck defended himself as his hand on the girl's wrist was secure, taking her against her will to the art room.
"Oh, please, you don't speak. Grow some personality, Hyuck." Mirae rolled her eyes at his statement, letting the boy take her wherever they were headed.
Donghyuck halted in front of the door that had 'arts' in bold, black letters before he spun to face her with an irritated sigh at her endless complaints.
"And you grow some talent. No one is looking at your ugly face anyway." He retorted, and she threw a punch to his chest quicker than he could dodge her fist, eliciting a raspy groan in pain from the male.
"You will be the death of me someday, I bet."
"Most definitely, if you don't fix that attitude of yours."
"Started right in the morning?" Jaemin spoke up from behind as he threw both his arms over the two and pulled them close with a warm smile on his face.
"C'mon kids, be more loving to one another." He stated it like a mother attempting to force two siblings who had just argued to make up, and both of them rolled their eyes, pushing themselves away from his hold.
"No, thank you." Mirae shot back.
"I would rather die." Donghyuck retorted quickly.
Ari, who neared them and happened to overhear Donghyuck's words, smacked his upper arm—though lightly, he jumped at her unanticipated touch.
"Be nice to my babygirl." Ari warned on a lighter note, knowing well about the banter between the two friends, while she hugged Mirae from the side, resting her head on the taller girl's shoulder.
"Be nice to my babygirl." Donghyuck mocked her under his breath, glaring at Mirae, who simply ignored him.
"Did this dimwit drag you two to join the art class as well?" Mirae asked, eying the title pinned on the door, and a sigh slipped her lips.
"No, Ari and I have enrolled for dance." Jaemin stated as he took his girl in his arms with a hand around her waist, and she nodded with a smile as bright as that which sat on her boyfriend's face.
"You two have fun with art." Ari giggled while pointing at the two, who somehow always slipped into arguments, the dynamics of their friendship being as such since the very beginning.
With that said, the couple soon walked away, leaving her in the company of the male, who got on her nerves for a laugh or two.
"You know I suck at drawing, right?" Mirae nonchalantly flailed her arms, and he nodded in agreement with a grin plastered on his lips.
"I can't wait to see you mess up and get in trouble." Donghyuck stifled a peal of laughter, and she parted her lips to counter-attack his statement but was interrupted by the loud, clamorous sound of a bell chiming through the walls, indicating the start of the classes.
"About time." Donghyuck pushed the door open and headed inside, occupying a bench somewhere in the middle, and the girl dragged her feet against her will, but the moment she saw white canvases positioned on easel stands in front of every bench sufficient for two people, paints and brushes stacked at the front of the room, she let out a deep exhale.
"It's going to be a long day, Rae." She muttered to herself as she occupied the seat at the very end of the hall so as not to attract any attention from the professor or her fellow classmates; she simply prayed for this semester to pass by quickly just so she could get rid of the art class.
Students began flooding in and taking seats beside their known companies, and she thanked the heavens that no one had taken a seat beside her, providing her the peace of mind she craved.
The professor soon walked in and shut the door to a close, commencing the start of the class, and she had already dreaded its ending.
"Alright! I welcome you all to a new semester. Fresh starts and new faces are so lovely and exciting, don't you think so?" Ms. Lim's high-pitched tone echoed throughout the room, and some nodded while most of them simply remained silent.
"So, let's begin by pairing you up—" She paused when she saw her students steal glances amongst themselves with smiles drawn onto their faces and shook her head.
"—and no, you don't get to decide your partner." Those words earned sighs and clicks of the tongue in disapproval, but she paid no heed.
"Now, the pairs are listed out on the soft board. Come and collect the materials necessary for this class." Ms. Lim gestured as she sat down on the chair, and students began approaching the board in curiosity; some united with those they wished for, while a few whined at the partners they were allotted.
Mirae, on the other hand, offered little to no attention to what was going on in the class as she blankly stared out of the window at the blooming flowers and creepers that crept off the concrete wall around the water fountain. The sound of water gushing out of the fountain in a low hush and birds chirping far away drowned out the voices in the class.
"Get your lazy ass up." A voice whispered in her ear, and she closed her eyes at the familiar, annoying voice ringing in her ear.
"Get off my face, Hyuck." Mirae breathed out, turning to look up at Donghyuck, who had a smile on his face, and she raised her eyebrows questioningly.
"Odd. Was art your secret passion or what? There is nothing to smile about this class." Mirae waved a hand in the air, staring at the white canvas in front of her and drooping her shoulders.
"Look, my partner is Sohee." Donghyuck raised a finger and pointed at the bench he had occupied, only for it to be taken by another girl, and it soon dawned on her mind, her jaw dropping at the realization.
"No fucking way you enrolled me in this hellhole just so you could hit on her. No fucking way." Mirae connected the dots, and he nodded, seemingly proud of his actions.
"Be my wingman—wingwomen? Is that even a word?" Donghyuck let out, smiling like an absolute idiot, and she scoffed at his actions.
"Whatever. Poor girl, she is." Mirae uttered, eying Sohee, who was now paired up with her annoying friend, and she stood up, walking past Donghyuck and towards the soft board that had a few sheets of paper pinned to it.
Her fingers raised to graze the paper that was printed with a list of names side by side as her eyes roamed to search for her own, and when she spotted her name, her hand stopped.
"Bae Mirae..." She mumbled as her fingers traced a line to reveal her partner's name, but she paused when she could not get the pronunciation right in her head, the name feeling so foreign in her mouth.
"Huang Renjun." The voice behind her said, and she looked over with curious eyes, only to come face-to-face with someone she had least expected to run into.
No fucking way.
Renjun in art class is such a concept ahhh 😩
I'm spamming updates atp 💀