★ | #23 | strawberry milk
"you realize you two are like— indirectly kissing?"

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calla • wave to earth
"wherever you are, i'll be there for you."

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IT wasn't long before they caught sight of Heeseung amidst conversation, a child-like smile spreading across Haewon's lips as she skipped ahead of Sunghoon, her footsteps catching the attention of the boy sitting alone at the bench.

“Hey, Hee.” Haewon greeted happily, skipping ahead to sit across from the boy as she slipped her backpack off.

“Oh, there you are. I was just about to—” Heeseung paused as he felt another presence around him, head turning as his eyes widened in surprise, a laugh falling past his lips at the person sitting beside him.

“Sunghoon? Didn't expect to see you here.” Heeseung let out, a smile gracing his lips as he nudged the younger boy, who chuckled and hummed in response as he shrugged his backpack off.

“I didn't either.” Sunghoon joked, leaning forward against the table.

“What took you guys so long?” Heeseung questioned, tilting his head off to the side as his gaze shifted between the two he sat with, brows raised curiously.

Sunghoon made eye contact with the girl from across the table, giving her a beckoning nod as it wasn't his situation to explain.

Haewon narrowed her eyes, pressing her lips together in a thin line before peering back at Heeseung, who waited quietly for an explanation.

“Miyoung stopped me in the hallway on the way here claiming that I had intentionally bumped into her. Then, she started yelling about how I had laid my hands on her. Sunghoon here, saw it all and stepped in to help. Now we're here.” The girl explained briefly, trailing off for a moment.

“You seriously need to report her to the principal. This is getting ridiculous.” Heeseung scoffed, a frown tugging at the corners of his lips as Sunghoon nodded in agreement.

“As much as I'd love to, it wouldn't be of any use. They'd believe her over me without a single doubt in mind. She's nice to everyone but me.” Haewon grumbled, resting her chin in the palm of her hand.

“That’s so unfair, though.” Sunghoon chimed in, furrowing his brows. “It's your senior year, and it's being ruined by her.”

“Mhm.” Haewon hummed, nibbling down at her bottom lip.

“Did I ever tell you guys that if I get one more violation, I could be suspended? Or worse, expelled.” Haewon said, raising her hand to brush through her hair.

The two boys fell silent, listening intently to the girl as she spoke.

Heeseung blinked slowly, discomfort settling in at the unfairness of it all. Feeling so out of touch with what was truly going on in her life, he felt guilty for not knowing sooner. Even if he was her doing not to inform him of the happening.

“All it takes is one more lie from Kim Miyoung— or really anyone for that matter— to the staff.” She concluded, a gentle hum sounding from her lips.

“Why am I just now hearing of this?” Heeseung sighed out, furrowing his brows as his gaze fixed on the small packaged pastry roll he got from the small lunch shop in the cafeteria.

“It never came up.” She muttered out a reply with a shrug, fingertips drumming rhythmically against the wooden tabletop.

“Things like that aren't usually expected to even be a subject of conversation, let alone a possibility. Of course it's not gonna come up.” Sunghoon added on, sipping from the water bottle he had brought with him to school earlier on in the morning.

Heeseung nodded in agreement, as Haewon pressed her lips together in a thin line, silence falling between the three of them before she broke it.

“I guess so. But please, enough with the somber mood. Today is supposed to be a good day for me.” Haewon snickered, attempting to lift the mood.

“Alright, fine, but we're having a conversation about this soon, okay?” Heeseung furrowed his brows, shaking his head as he attempted to sweep it from his mind for the rest of the day.

The girl hummed, scrunching her nose up as she waved it off, taking a deep breath.

“Did you even bring or get anything to eat, Haewon?” Sunghoon asked, watching as she shook her head, playing with the ends of her hair.

“That's ridiculous.” Heeseung snickered, narrowing his eyes as he split the pastry he had in half. “Here.” He uttered, extending it towards the girl.

Haewon blinked, accepting the pastry into her hand. “Thank you.” She let out, earning a simple nod from the boy.

“I also have strawberry milk. We can share that.” He offered, gesturing to the small, pink colored liquid packet set out on the table beside him, as he moved it to rest in the middle of them.

Haewon nodded, acknowledging his offer as she took a bite out of the pastry.

“Here, wait.” Sunghoon began, digging through his backpack for a moment before pulling out a tin lunch box. “My mom let me take leftovers from last night's dinner for lunch today. We all can share, I have plenty.”

“We're all obviously generous today.” Heeseung commented with a small laugh, as Haewon hummed, a smile settled onto her pink lips.

“Thanks, Sunghoon.” She let out, expressing her gratitude towards the younger boy who hummed quietly in response, pushing the lunch box to the center of the table.

“We need to get everyone out here next time. For lunch, I mean. All of us are scattered across the school during lunch break.” Sunghoon said, clicking his tongue.

“We can talk to everyone about it tomorrow after the game.” Heeseung suggested, taking a sip from the strawberry milk before setting it back down.

“Yeah. Which, by the way, are you going to that?” Sunghoon raised a brow, gesturing towards Haewon with a nod.

“Huh? Oh, I have no idea. I'm not sure if I'll be working tomorrow or not. But, if I can, I'll be there.” She answered, giving him a small smile.

“Ah, I see.” Sunghoon hummed in understanding, before the conversation topic was changed by Heeseung, the three immersing themselves into a playful subject.

It wasn't until a few minutes later, did a quiet yet bubbly laugh abruptly sound from the youngests' throat, Park Sunghoon catching sight of something as Heeseung raised his brows, tilting his head in confusion.

“What? What's so funny?” The eldest questioned, breathing out a short-lived laugh of his own.

“You realize you two are like— indirectly kissing?” Sunghoon teased, quirking a brow as he gestured towards the now almost empty strawberry milk.

Haewon's eyes averted towards the drink, the tips of her ears going red, but were luckily covered from their view by her long hair.

“What? No. He wishes.” Haewon snickered, scrunching her nose up as she shook her head.

Heeseung rolled his eyes at her response, a grin spread across his features before he turned to meet Sunghoon's gaze once again.

“Sometimes, I forget you're a child.” Heeseung opined, as Sunghoon scoffed lightly.

“I'm only a year younger than both of you.” Sunghoon let out in defense, taking a sip from his water bottle.

“One year and two months.” Haewon corrected cheekily, as Heeseung gave her a look.

“Oh, so now you want to do math?” Heeseung teased, as the girl grumbled softly under her breath.

“Oh, shut up.” She replied, pausing for a moment before reaching for the strawberry milk. “I'm finishing this.”

“Go for it.” Heeseung shrugged, unbothered by her action before turning towards Sunghoon once more, finding himself in yet another conversation with the boy.

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School ended a few hours ago, and immediately after, Seong Haewon headed to the café nearby, getting started on her job training as she was being mentored by the same woman who hired her.

“So, we want to greet customers cheerfully, like so. You know, sometimes, people come in already not having a great day. A cheerful attitude can lift their spirits— even by a little bit.” Mrs. Jeon, rather known as Haewon's new manager, explained to her.

Haewon nodded quietly in response, keeping note of everything taught to her. So far, she had learned how to make plenty of things— from pastries to coffee. And now, how to take orders.

Things seemed to be going well, as she copied the women's actions, studying intently as to not mess up nor embarrass herself.

It wasn't long before she was sent home with a small package of cinnamon rolls— a reward for her work that day.

After eating dinner, showering and relaxing her tensed muscles from a day's worth of tiresome studies and training, she drifted off into a dreamless sleep, alarm clock set for the following morning.

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★﹐authors corner ．﹗﹑ 1.4k words
guys i am on the biggest writing streak ever because i have no life yayyy

can't wait for soccer season to start oml. i miss going out late with all my teammates and the late night practices ughhhh 🫠‼️

also, we're entering mid-story, so more things are going to start happening now !! so excited yayyay

hoping i can finish this before my soccer season starts and stuff because i lowk fall off during it and don't write as often but yeah ☺️🤞

maybe this year will be different in terms of motivation and inspo but idk ?? last year wasn't too bad, but definitely not the best it could be

okk yapping session is over !!

byeee i love you all so much <3
april 29th, 2024 — 6:38pm.
not proofread.