Not really inspired by anything
Gender-neutral
Fluff
___
High school is a mess.
There's drama every other day, there are fights breaking out over the smallest of things, a social hierarchy is built among students, and popularity becomes the main currency.
Based on that, I guess I fall under the richer side of students. I'm pretty popular in school, though I have no idea why. Maybe it was because a video of me singing got a fair amount of views. Ever since that one video started racking up views, people have been looking up to me. Other students asking me for vocal lessons or to be in a duet with me became a common occurrence.
Though honestly, dealing with popularity and maintaining an image is tough, so I've pretty much thrown all that stuff out the window.
Asking to sing with me is one thing, but, not to sound egotistical or narcissistic, at least be half decent. Too many people have asked me to sing with them for talent shows or something along those lines, but have been downright terrible. That's why I've been doing solo gigs for those events or working with a select few friends who are also aspiring singers.
JB, Wheein, Kei, and I. The four of us were aspiring musicians and had a pretty solid following. We'd perform acapella covers in random events together and I'd say we were well-liked among students in the school.
Today was like any other day. I shared mathematics with JB, so he and I headed off to our class as Kei and Wheein headed to their respective classes.
One thing I noticed in class was the missing students. Usually, we'd have a solid twenty students, but today, we had just over ten. Was everyone sick or something?
Our teacher, Mr. Min, walked into class and laid out his papers. With only half of the class present, attendance was quick.
"I guess everyone's si-" Mr. Min was about to finish his statement, but the door slowly opened.
A little head popped through the small crack in the door.
"Ms. Lee. Glad you could join us today."
Lee Ji-eun. I'd say she's on the nerdier end of the school stereotype spectrum. She doesn't hang around school often, but when she does, she's often seen in the library. She usually has her nose in a book and doesn't seem to be bothered by the commotion school life can bring.
I admire her for that, though. It can get pretty hectic with friends and strangers around you constantly. She's also super cute, so there's another thing about her that catches my interest. With visuals like her, I'm surprised she's not popular in our school. Maybe it's the nerdiness or something.
"Sorry, sir. I slept in a little today." She quickly bowed before rushing to her seat, which was two ahead of mine.
Even though I sat behind her, I could tell she was lying about sleeping in. Her hair was done impeccably and her makeup, which I could catch a glimpse of if she turned her head slightly, was also neatly applied. I didn't want to call her out on it, but it was stuck on my mind. What was she doing if she was already awake and ready for class? A bunch of questions swirled around in my head.
"(y/n)?" I felt a tap on the shoulder. JB looked at me, rather concerned. "You feeling alright?"
"Ah. Yeah, I'm fine." I looked up to see Mr. Min looking at me as well. Even he looked a little concerned.
I gave him a smile and waved it off.
I turned my attention back to my studies, hoping I could force those thoughts away by filling it with equations and numbers. And it worked for a while. My brain focused completely on the task at hand.
At least it was working until a small piece of lined paper probably ripped out of a notebook was neatly folded on the corner of my desk.
I glanced over to JB, but he pointed at Ji-eun. My eyes moved over to the girl. She gave me a small wave before turning her attention back to her work.
I unfolded the small piece of paper. It was a note what read "are you ok?" neatly.
Ji-eun looked up as I folded the paper back. I gave her a quick thumbs-up, but she looked a tad worried. I mouthed "I promise" and after a moment, she turned back to her math work.
God, she's so cute.
The rest of that class went by pretty smoothly. JB and I passed a few notes amongst each other, saying things like "Ji-eun's cute, isn't she?" which JB responded with "Is she your type? I thought you were into Kei."
After mathematics class was language, which I had with both Ji-eun and Kei. I sat in front of Ji-eun in that class and Kei sat in front of me. Too bad, since I couldn't get a glimpse of Ji-eun this way without looking weird.
Just like with JB, Kei and I traded notes throughout the class and just like JB, I talked about Ji-eun.
"Don't you think she's cute?" I quickly scribbled onto the piece of paper before handing it to Kei.
"Didn't you like Wheein?" Why does everyone think I like someone else? Is this how shipping works?
"I mean, she's cute too, but Ji-eun is different." I gave the note to Kei. She read it and looked at me with a quizzical look.
"We'll talk about this at lunch." She had a smug look on her face as I read the note. Interrogation time was coming up and I was often on the chopping block because of Kei.
I let out a sigh and crumpled up the piece of paper, telling Kei this conversation was over.
Of course, the conversation wasn't over. It was just on pause until lunch came around.
I met up with the other three and together we took a seat in the quiet part of the school, away from all the noise. Unsurprisingly, a few people came by and said their hellos, but other than them, it was quiet.
"So." Kei started off the conversation and based on JB and Wheein's response, they knew what was about to happen. "What's so special about Ji-eun?"
I'm really put on the spot, aren't I? "Well, she's hardworking, smart, and cute." Hopefully, that would satisfy the information-hungry Kei.
"Hm~" was the only response I got from her, but the others decided to join in on the teasing.
"So you like Ji-eun?" Wheein asked. "I thought you liked Kei."
"I thought so too!" JB jumped in, only making things worse.
"I'm not saying Kei isn't girlfriend material, but she's just not my type, I guess." I shrugged and took a bite out of my sandwich. "No offence."
"None taken." Kei chuckled. "In fact, I already have my sights set on someone else."
"10,000 won it's Jisoo." JB guessed. Well, not really guessed, since almost everyone in the school knew this as a fact.
"You're no fun." Kei pouted, but quickly switched the subject. "But going back to Ji-eun. I'm still surprised you're interested in her out of all people."
"Why?"
"I mean, she's pretty quiet and soft-spoken. She doesn't really stand out much and she's pretty... plain? Normal?" Kei scratched her head, still trying to wrap her head around the concept. "I'm not saying plain is bad, but I'm surprised she stood out to you."
"Plain is best. Overly popular people are too much for me."
My three friends stared at me.
"What?"
"You're 'overly popular,' you know that?" Wheein pointed out.
"I'm not 'overly popular.' I'm just sort of popular."
"When what's this?" JB pulled out his phone and searched for something. He turned his phone to me and my YouTube channel came up. "You have over two million subs on YouTube. If that's not popular, I don't know what is."
"Yeah, and our acapella YouTube channel only has 300,000 subs, so you aren't helping us at all!" Wheein whined, but Kei punched her in the shoulder.
"That's not the point, Wheepup. The point is that our (y/n) has a crush on Ji-eun!" Kei was way too excited about this.
"It's just a bit of an infatuation, Kei. It's nothing major." I pointed out, but she wasn't having any of it.
"That is something major!" JB shouted, trying to let the whole world know.
"Shut it, one-bite boy."
After enduring their teasing for another half an hour, lunch was over and classes resumed.
Next up was geography, which I shared with no one from my friend group.
I reluctantly sat down at my desk and pulled out my notebook. Though instead of doing schoolwork or studying, I started jotting down potential lyrics for songs. Should I be doing work? Sure. Will I? Probably not.
It was twenty minutes into class when I received a text.
I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, so I pulled it out to see a text from an unknown number. I opened the text to see a short hello text and a YouTube link.
The text itself read "Hey (y/n). I hope this is you. I just got your number from your friend. I was wondering if you could listen to this." No name or any indication of who it was from. Also, who's giving away my number?
Like the responsible student I am, I decided to put my phone away and continue working on my music. Half responsible, at least.
It was after school I found out who was giving my phone number away.
Like usual, JB, Kei, Wheein, and I headed over to a small cafe near our school to talk about anything. It's usually about music and whatnot, but sometimes it devolves to weird rumours and gossip that make its way around the school.
"So I this weird text today," I announced and showed the three the message I had received during geography class. "Which one of you gave away my phone number?"
Luckily, I know for a fact that one of them is a terrible liar. If it was them, I'd know instantly.
My eyes went straight to JB and for a second, he looked very believable. But unfortunately for him, it only lasted a second.
He maintained eye contact with me for a second, but immediately looked down at the ground, unable to look at me any longer.
His shoulders slumped as he admitted to his deeds. "Fine. It was me."
All eyes shifted to the boy, but his eyes went to the table.
"Who did you give it to?" I asked. I'd rather know who has my phone number than just having someone mysteriously text me.
"I can't tell you that," JB stated.
"Why not? It's my phone number."
"Can't." He zipped his mouth with an invisible zipper and dramatically tossed the end away. As much as he's a nice guy, he can be so stubborn sometimes. If he wasn't JB, I would've whooped him across the table until he told me. Knowing him though, he'd definitely be able to overpower me.
"Can you at least tell me why you gave them my phone number?" Please don't be that stubborn this time.
"She wants you to judge her singing." Her? Who is this?
"And that's what this link is?" I hesitantly tapped the YouTube link and opened up the video.
The video itself was titled "'Lullaby' by me." The channel it was uploaded to was called IU, so no hints as to who it really was. Was IU their initials? Was it a stage name? No profile picture and the description to the video only said "I wrote this" so it was pretty bare bones. This video was also the only video on that channel.
"I'm assuming you think it's good?" I looked up at JB, who nodded. There's no way he'd direct someone to me if he didn't think they were good. I know he doesn't like to be asked for these things either, so there must be a good reason.
"Yeah, she's good."
I reluctantly put my headphones on and played the video. The video itself was one where the girl played the piano, though all it showed was her hands dancing across the keys.
The audio, on the other hand.
Her vocals were heavenly. Elegant and soft. It was perfect. For a self-composed song, it was amazing. It could easily be a hit anywhere. Her ability to write lyrics were fantastic, too.
I felt my body being lifted by the music. Her voice resonated through my head as she sang. She was everything that an ideal vocalist and musician would be.
The song eventually came to a close and I removed my headphones.
The three of them smugly watched as I folded up my headphones and put them away. I guess it was obvious I liked it. Out of them, JB looked the most eager to speak.
"What is it, JB." I'll let him talk before he explodes.
"She's good, right?" He excitedly shouted, alerting everyone in the cafe.
"Yes, she was good." I sighed. I'll give him the credit he deserves. He found someone who's genuinely good at singing and even songwriting, which is pretty rare.
"Send the link to me! I wanna listen to it too!"
"Same!"
I quickly sent the two girls the YouTube link and threw my phone back into my pocket. Hopefully, they'll stop buggin-
"She's so good!" Kei screamed. If they keep on screaming, I'm pretty sure we're going to be kicked out of the cafe. These three need to learn how to keep their emotions in check.
"She's good but other than JB, we don't know who it is..." Wheein eyed JB, but he refused to make eye contact with the girl. "Why can't you tell us who it is?"
JB's eyes darted between the three of us. "I can tell you two, just not (y/n)."
"Wait, why not me!?" I dramatically recoiled back, feigning betrayal. "I thought we were friends!"
JB simply shrugged. "Sorry."
He then proceeded to whisper the name of whoever has my phone number to the other two, leaving me out of the loop. Is this what it feels like to not be on top of trending memes? I wouldn't know though since I, of course, am at peak meme knowledge. I could write a book on its history if I wanted to.
Anyway, with their little insiders' club giggling away, we headed in our separate ways to go home. I threw myself onto my comfy bed and pulled out my phone.
Another listen through the unknown singer's beautiful song later, I decided to respond to their initial text.
"I think that song was great! Your vocals are beautiful and the song itself was written brilliantly!"
I hit the send button and threw my phone off to the side while I cracked open my notebook to write a few more of my musings. Was it Yunji? Or maybe Yein? I've heard both of them are decent singers, but I've never actually heard them sing before.
I racked my brain a bit for answers until I got a reply from the mysterious IU.
"Thanks! I'm glad you liked it."
And no name?
Damn it, I didn't even ask.
"Who is this, by the way?" I quickly shot a text back, hoping they'd reply soon.
The bubble went from sent to seen to a "typing" pop-up. I anxiously waited for an answer, but when I got one, I felt a little let down.
"I'll tell you tomorrow."
Really? Whatever.
I didn't have enough energy to respond, so I put my phone away and quickly got changed to go to sleep. Dealing with Kei, Wheein, and JB is already tough. I don't need to be chasing another person around hoping to get their name. I can do that after a nice sleep.
And that's what I did.
The next day, I showed up to school early. I didn't wait for the other three bums to get here since I knew one of them would end up dragging all of us down, causing us to arrive late. Determination fueled my will to show up early.
I reached the front gate of the school nearly an hour early, but I noticed one thing that would get in the way between me and the mysterious texter.
I had no description of what they look like. I had their voice in my head, but most people would sound different from their singing to their everyday talking. The other thing I saw was their hands. They were small and cute, though that's not really a good descriptor when it comes to this. I'm not running around and looking at peoples' hands, hoping I could come across the right one.
Defeated by the impossible nature of my mission to find this girl, I trudged over to my first-period classroom, which for some reason, was open.
Sliding the door open, the class itself was completely empty. At least I'll get some peace and quiet here. I took a seat at my usual spot and put my head down on the desk, deciding to take a nap to catch that extra thirty minutes of sleep I skipped to come here early.
But that was when I heard her voice.
At first, I thought it was my imagination, but seconds later, realized it was coming from, strangely enough, the window that was slightly open. I rushed over to the window and pulled it completely open, hoping I could see who was singing. I followed my ears and the voice was coming from the rooftop. Why the rooftop?
I shut the window and quickly made my way to the staircase and pulled open the door to the roof.
I spotted a bag lying at the top of the stairs and when I got onto the roof, she was standing there, pretty much waiting for me.
"You came." Her eyes watched me as I caught my breath after running up flights of stairs at full speed. "I didn't think you'd be here so early."
"Ji-eun... You're IU?"
"That's me." Her voice was soft. "I'm glad you liked my singing."
She gave me an adorable smile and, with the clear blue skies as her backdrop, looked jawdroppingly beautiful. Her black hair swayed elegantly in the wind as she twirled on her heel.
"Y-Yeah. It was great a-and you wrote that song too, right?" I felt a heat rushing onto my face as I managed to stutter my way through my speaking.
"Yup. I've enjoyed writing songs since I was fourteen." Her beautiful smile was filled with genuine happiness and it looked great on her.
"That's cool. Did you just want my opinion or..."
"Your opinion mostly," Ji-eun stated rather plainly. "I wrote something else and I wanted you to listen to it."
"Ah. Sure." I felt a little disappointed, not going to lie. Though life isn't some drama where someone would confess to me on the school's rooftop.
"I call it 'Between Lips.'"
Ji-eun took a seat against the fence that lined the roof and waved me over. I sat down next to her, not getting too close so she doesn't feel uncomfortable or anything. She scootched over closer to me and I could feel the heat radiating from her against my arm. It was a nice feeling.
She pulled out her phone, plugged in a pair of earbuds, and handed me one side. I popped the earbud in and leaned back onto the fence. She did the same and pressed play.
The music started and I immediately caught onto the jazzy, slow rhythm. A brilliant mix of instruments played as the song begged my body to sway to the smooth instrumentals.
"Can you play all of these instruments?" I asked.
Ji-eun simply nodded as if it was nothing special. She must be a musical savant or something if she can play all these instruments.
The girl leaned onto my shoulder as the vocals came around. I closed my eyes to take in the beautiful voice of Ji-eun.
Oh darling, don't cross it.
The distance between our lips is still 50cm.
Stop trying to tempt the innocent me
with sweet and obvious words.
Ji-eun hummed happily as the song continued. I couldn't help but hum along to the rhythm of the music as well.
Love, this love will be perfect.
Largo, adagio, don't rush.
Slowly, baby slowly, very slow,
with a slow tempo.
Incorporation of musical lingo, I like it.
Our love, this love will be electrifying.
Love ya, baby love ya.
When my red lower lip touches your top lip.
I felt Ji-eun's head lift from my shoulder, but I paid no mind to it.
Hush hush baby, push me oh baby.
Please listen to this small request.
Hush hush baby, cherish me baby.
The song came to a close gracefully with the final verse.
"That was fantastic, Ji-eun." I opened my eyes to see the girl's face close to mine. Maybe a little too close. "Ji-eun?"
I felt another blush creeping up onto my face as her eyes looked deeply into mine. Nerves getting the better of me, I quickly moved my eyes away from her piercing orbs.
"What's wrong, (y/n)?"
"Y-You're a little close, don't you think?" The blush on my face burned hotter as Ji-eun's face inches closer.
"JB and Kei told me everything."
Everything? Wait, Kei's a part of this too?
I thought about what two could've told Ji-eun when giving her my phone number, but I eventually realized exactly what he could expose. The conversations we had over class and lunch.
"What did they tell you exactly?" I hesitantly asked. I'm not sure if I even want to know what those two said behind my back.
A smug grin grew on Ji-eun's face which, honestly, I didn't even know she could do since she always seems so reserved. I guess everyone has that playful side to them. "Hardworking, smart, cute, all of the words you described me as. Even how you said I was different from the other girls."
"They're really out here exposing me, huh?" I nervously chuckled. "I guess the truth is out now."
"It is..." Ji-eun's eyes wavered between mine and my lips. "and I think this love will be electrifying."
"Like your lyrics?"
Ji-eun chuckled and nodded. "Yeah. Just like that."
"So I guess I have to do it slow, right?" I smirked and really slowly leaned towards her.
I could feel her warm breath against my face as I got closer and closer to her. I bet she could feel the heat radiating from my cheeks at this distance. It felt like forever, but our lips eventually grazed each other. My upper lip against her red lower one.
It didn't last long, but the kiss we shared was like no other feeling in the world.
The two of us pulled away after a few seconds and I couldn't really say anything. All of the words I wanted to say got stuck in my throat as Ji-eun smiled at me.
"This love will be perfect, (y/n)." She smiled and pecked my lips one last time before standing up.
"You think so?"
Ji-eun grabbed our bags and handed me mine. "I know so."
One more peck on the lips as the bell signalling the beginning of our first class rung.
"You know, I was going to give you this song yesterday, but JB told me to wait. He said something about a perfect time to do so. I guess this was it." Ji-eun let out a cute laugh.
So it was JB who set all of this up? That sneaky man.
Ji-eun ran to the rooftop door and pulled it open. "What are you waiting for? Class is starting!" And she ran down, leaving me on the roof to think to myself.
You know what, I think this will be a perfect love.
___
A/N
I don't know what took me so long to write this. I think it became pretty badly written at the end, so I'm sorry about that.
I ended up using IU's "Between Lips" in the story since I couldn't really think of anything else.
If there are any requests for idols you want written about, let me know and I'll consider them. I have plenty of time since I have nothing to do every day. I'll consider males idol too tbh.
Stay safe, people <3 beware the corona man!