Chapter Text
Jun-ho woefully glared at the gum covered concrete below him before getting shoved by his older brother into entering the school grounds. Jun-ho groaned, already resenting the tacky uniform he was forced to wear as In-ho peacefully walked beside him.
“It’s your first year of high school Jun-ho—it’s seriously not that bad,” In-ho sighed practically dragging Jun-ho by his shirt, “At least you’re not a senior.”
Jun-ho’s mouth slightly pouted as he spoke, “Right. You’re leaving after this year.”
The two of them found a way through the busy outdoor area before In-ho replied, “Yeah. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.”
Most of Jun-ho’s friends didn’t end up in Seoin High School other than In-ho. He gulped at the thought of no brother beside him as they paced through the lengthy hallways brimming with students. His head ached trying to memorise each room they rushed past.
He knew In-ho leaving was for the better since he would definitely thrive in the police academy. Jun-ho was eager to follow his footsteps even if it meant having to experience this hell.
Eventually they took a sharp turn into a corridor where a few seniors were huddled amongst one another. Jun-ho recognised one of the students fluffy hair being Gi-hun’s, In-ho’s boyfriend. Usually the guy would give him miscellaneous trinkets whenever he’d visit In-ho or frantically wave as he walked past his room. He wasn’t too bad.
“Wow, In-ho’s got a brother?” Someone with messy tied up hair exclaimed. In-ho grinned and nodded his head before dragging Jun-ho in front of him, hands patting his stiff shoulders. Jun-ho awkwardly puffed his cheeks embarrassed by his brother’s actions.
The bell tolled and pierced Jun-ho’s ears as it echoed throughout the hallway. The others quickly complained about their classes before parting ways and leaving Jun-ho, In-ho and Gi-hun behind. In-ho gave Gi-hun a little peck on the cheek before looking back at the innocent 1st year.
“What’s your first class after homeroom?” In-ho softly questioned, though Jun-ho’s sudden frown was a clear indicator it wasn’t the best.
“Math,” Jun-ho sighed and begun to sluggishly make way to his class.
Jun-ho felt the tip of his pencil begin to wobble as if it was ready to break off. His fingers turned grey from the granite shavings scattered all throughout his desk. Algebra wasn’t too hard in middle school, especially with the help from his older brother.
“No-eul, may you come up here and answer this question?” The teacher asked as she pointed towards an equation on the board with her chalk. Jun-ho turned his head to the black-haired girl who stood up from her chair and slowly sauntered to the front of the class, brushing past him.
Jun-ho rested his chin on his palm as he stared at the messy chopped ends of her hair that bounced each time she scribbled against the board. She hastily stepped away before turning back and glancing at madam seeking for validation. Jun-ho noticed the freckles that scattered nicely across her face.
“That is correct, well done,” The teacher replied kindly. No-eul awkwardly smirked at the class and then to Jun-ho who pretended to look away. He acted like he was struggling with the work when the girl began to approach him once again.
“It’s not as hard as you think,” She quietly chuckled and slid her hand against Jun-ho’s cluttered table as she walked back to her desk.
Her words taunted him to do better. He scribbled countless answers on his papers to get rid of this weird feeling of butterflies in his stomach. He assumed No-eul’s movements were meant to be taken as insults that pushed him to get better, but perhaps there may have been another motive…
Was she seriously bullying him on the first day of high school?
He tried getting a better glimpse of the girl but was met with a firm knocking on his desk to pay attention. Jun-ho dug his fingers into his skull in vain attempt to erase her words that stained his mind.
“That was horrible. I sounded so mean,” No-eul slammed her hand on her face as she shut her eyes. Flirting wasn’t really a thing of hers—if you were going to call what she did flirting. Though this one boy from her math class enthralled her, enough to try doing so, horrendously. The four who surrounded her tried to calm her down.
“Seriously, it can’t be that bad,” Gyeong-seok mumbled as he chowed down on his lunch, “Last year when I was a first year like you, I struggled asking Hyun-ju out. I mean she indirectly rejected me at least 3 times before—“
“Oh shut up,” Hyun-ju whacked him in the head making Young-mi and Yong-sik giggle before reassuring the worried No-eul, “It’ll all work out with time. Don’t worry about it, I doubt he’ll think any less of you.”
“Hopefully,” No-eul sighed before rising from her slouched position on one of the schools benches, “I’m heading off to the council meeting, apparently they’re letting first years in.”
“No-eul, you’re so busy already,” Young-mi whined with her mouth full of bread as if begging her to stay, “At least tell Ms. Jang I said hi if she’s there. She’s teaching me Korean.”
Young-mi grinned as Yong-sik complained, “Stop bringing my ma into this.”
“So, how was your first few classes?” In-ho questioned Jun-ho as the two of them headed towards the lecture theatre where a council meeting was to be held. He didn’t want to go, though considering how he lacked any friends, he resorted to trusting and following his brother around like a dog.
“It was okay,” Jun-ho murmured before someone greeted In-ho as they passed one another in the hallway. Guess being the student council president had its perks in knowing practically everyone.
“That’s good,” In-ho said as he waved the person goodbye, “Made any friends?”
“Not really,” Jun-ho answered, though he remembered the obnoxious girl in math, “Well, I don’t know.”
He was still confused at what her gestures meant. It seemed like she was bragging her intellect—maybe even making fun of Jun-ho’s faked stupidity—yet deep down he hoped for some indication she liked him, which was weird. He barely knew anything about her other than how she was quieter than a snail before called on by the teacher.
“You’ll make some eventually,” In-ho told him before they entered the lecture theatre, “I certainly didn’t meet mine in a day.”
Jun-ho choked on his breath when looking around at all the people attending the meeting. He quickly hid behind In-ho who welcomed the new attendees, taking a few small steps back towards the entrance. He hadn’t noticed how far he went backwards before—
Jun-ho bumped into a woman who was just entering, stumbling on her shoes and bringing her down with him. He wrapped his arm around her back to prevent her from getting hurt as she hit the ground.
The girl—who Jun-ho realised was the same girl in his math class—stared deeply at his eyes as he landed atop of her. Her mouth trembled as she pushed him to the side after gasping.
Oh.
Jun-ho planted his head into the ground preparing for the backlash he was about the receive. He laid as still as a statue before he heard a feminine voice break out into subtle laughter. He hesitantly looked to the noise, realising it came from No-eul herself.
“I’m so sorry,” she said as she turned her head to look into Jun-ho’s eyes, “I should’ve watched where I was going.”
Jun-ho’s cheeks begun to flush red as warmth tickled his skin. The two of them admired each other for a few moments—though it didn’t take long until In-ho noticed his little brother lying on the floor.
In-ho helped him up however it didn’t stop Jun-ho from glancing at the girl who slightly struggled to get up.
“Uh, here,” Jun-ho lent her a shaky hand. No-eul smiled at him and tugged on his wrist to get up.
“Thanks,” No-eul said to him after fixing up her wrinkled uniform. She nodded her head to In-ho (who glanced at the both of them suspiciously) before walking away to find a place to sit.
What just happened. No-eul thought to herself, scrunching her face up to mask her embarrassment.
Jun-ho stood still completely flustered. His couldn’t take his eyes off of No-eul other than when In-ho asked if he was okay. He definitely was after seeing her.
“Weird day?” In-ho laughed as Jun-ho trailed quietly behind him, hands in his pockets. They were walking home from school.
“Obviously,” Jun-ho mumbled as he placed his foot on the sidewalk watching cars drive past.
“So,” In-ho breathed as if bracing for what he was about to say, “You and that girl a thing?”
What?
“No? Actually, I thought she was trying to bully me at first,” Jun-ho retorted and started to trod faster trying to catch up to In-ho, “She like, slid her hand across my desk and told me the work wasn’t that hard.”
“Wait—slid her hand across your desk?” In-ho suddenly stopped and glanced at Jun-ho who looked around confused.
“Yes? What are you talking about hyung?”
“She’s into you!” In-ho exclaimed, thrusting his arms into the sky as if it was some revelation. Jun-ho tilted his head as they begun to walk once again.
“I didn’t think of it like that,” Jun-ho mumbled. He didn’t really mind it though, No-eul seemed nice and not too over the top like other people. His heart raced just thinking about her, though he tried to drown those feelings out.
“Well, now that you know,” In-ho added, “I’m going to give you a cheat sheet—like, that movie ’How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,’ but the opposite. Like intended.”
“Cheat sheet?” Jun-ho snorted, “I’m not ten.”
“You’re still my little brother!” In-ho argued, “Think of it as guidance. You’re blessed with an experienced older brother. I didn’t have one of those when I fell in love with Gi-hun.”
“Wow. Whatever,” Jun-ho replied, rolling his eyes before they reached their street, “Go ahead and show me this cheat sheet. We’ll see if No-eul is actually interested in me in 10 days.”
“Will do.”