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━━━  " 📂 " ‍..⃗. ༉

𝘾 𝙍 𝙔 𝘽 𝘼 𝘽 𝙔

! chapter twelve ─── ʚĭɞ

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She had seemingly failed in her quest to ease Jugyeong's mind about Suho's curious, standoffish nature, as somehow she was acting even stranger that day. Yeori was already waiting the classroom as the two entered, one behind the other, and she watched, almost amused, as Jugyeong noticed the sun in Suho's eyes and rushed to close the curtain beside him.

"Hey." Yeori leaned forward in her desk; it was evident her friend had not yet noticed her. She glanced towards Suho quickly, before back at Jugyeong. "Don't be scared of him. There's nothing to worry about, seriously. He can be just like a faithful puppy dog."

"Kwon Yeori." Suho's voice was not loud, but there wasn't enough people in the room to stop it from cutting through the quiet casual conversation shared between students. "Mind your business."

"A faithful little puppy dog." Yeori sat back in her desk, shaking her head. "But he can sting like a hornet when he's angry. Just don't make him angry," she glanced towards the boy, lowering her voice to a conspiring whisper, "although I'm sure Seojun doesn't that enough."

Jugyeong nodded, before the pair of them were quickly distracted by the arrival of Sooa, who was showing off a bright mustard sweater.

History was the first lesson of the day, to which Yeori was thoroughly entertained by one of her favourite teachers; Mr Song. He was teaching them about the Joseon Dynasty, which was interesting enough, and as it came to the end of their lesson his sense of humour shone through as Jugyeong ran out of class claiming she needed the bathroom. She returned, minutes later, with a drink for Suho and Yeori, carefully examining his behaviour, shook her head disapprovingly.

A mental note was beginning to form in her head. She was no stranger to confrontation, and quite often than she cared to admit she revelled in it. And whilst Jugyeong might be afraid of Suho, she was certainly not, and should the rather demanding behaviour continued from him, she had no qualms to squashing him under her thumb like he was nothing but a mosquito.

There was no note this time, but another peach drink found it's way onto her desk as she came back from lunch, and a familiar feeling settled in her stomach.

She knew Seojun was bribing her with them, but it reminded her of his behaviour in the months leading up to his confession. Somehow, he would procure her favourite snacks and drinks out of nowhere, with little notes attached to them with a comment. Now, though, there was insult added to the overall injury, and there was a bitter feeling settling in her stomach as she finished the drinks each time.

Her ability to so easily ignore his presence and the hissed comments about wanting his gloves back were easy to dismiss. His bribes too. But Yeori couldn't ignore him forever, which became evident in the hours last school that evening.

"Kwon Yeori." His voice cut through the sound of one of her current favourite idol songs as she walked home that evening. It was somehow a miracle that he hadn't made her jump and lash out; he had forced Suho to teach her self-defence after a particularly sour run in with some of his enemies. Still, she stopped in her tracks.

"Han Seojun." She said, before she turned around. "What is it this time?"

"What do you think?" He asked, crossing the remaining distance between them across the street. Around them, students from other schools in their ventures out into shops and cafes continued, and the nearby blue tinted light of the convenience store shone over her face. "How many drinks do I have to buy you for my gloves back?"

"You've known me long enough, Seojun." Dismayed at the interruption, Yeori pulled the earphones from her ear. "You should know I don't tend to fall for bribery."

"I know you don't." Seojun replied. "But that didn't mean I wouldn't attempt it. Where are my gloves, Yeori?"

"You'll get them back, eventually." She informed him, quite easily glossing over the words and making them sound far more hopeful than they truly were. "When I think you should get them back."

"So that will be never then." Seojun's tongue darted out across his bottom lip and his glanced at, a sure sign of his annoyance. "You know, Keon Yeori, stealing is a crime."

"I'm pretty sure somewhere along the line being a huge dick is a crime too." She crossed her arms, head tilting. "But hey, you're not locked up yet so they must be pretty lenient around her."

"You think you're so smart." Seojun shook his head, and took another step towards her, fingers fluffing up his bangs. "You know what I think?"

"I really don't care, Seojun."

"Oh no, I think you do care. I think that's why you haven't given me the gloves back yet." He stared down at her. She didn't reply. "Huh, is that why?"

Yeori remained silent for a beat longer. Four seconds of silence and the brain perceives at as rejection. "That's low of you, but what can I expect at this point?" She shook her head. "Now, I'm going to put my earphones back in and continue to walk home. You better not follow me."

"And why would I do that?" Seojun asked. "Because you think I care?"

"No. I know you care." Yeori chose her words carefully. "Because why else would go through all this bother for a pair of gloves when I am well aware you own another pair. Now do yourself a favour and fuck off."

And just as she turned away, arms uncrossing, she felt him reach forward and pull up the slipping strap of her backpack, settling it back on her shoulder with an oh-so familiar gentleness.

When she looked back to thank her, despite their shared conversation, Seojun had already walked away.