University

@Hyuna /No, you're just like everyone else, a chore to reply to. Something I don't want to do, but have to do./

It was definitely true that the annoying custodian was less annoying than any other school interactions she had to face, but they were still strangers to one another. In this vicious school's environment, it was hard not to be vigilant and inwardly cautious about free kindness and good intentions—this coming from the hurt side of Jessica Jung.

/Yes, I'm starting to feel guilty./

Whether it was out of guilt or just simple thankfulness towards the custodian that always picked up after her, Jessica hoped Hyuna would like her thought out and debated upon small trinket. But what if she didn't? Jessica stared blankly at the gift of her choice just sitting atop of her desk before her. She pouted—having no idea what to think if the certain female janitor would find her gift to be just plain childish and to her distaste. Whatever, too bad for the latter. Jessica was already going way past her usual boundaries of interaction with other people by doing this feat—especially for someone who was a part of this toxic university's community.

Ripping out a post-it note from a pad of it that was at the corner of her desk, Jessica then grabbed a pen and started scribbling a message on the post-it—a short and crude note for Moon Hyuna at her best.

'You missed a cup...Not. Enjoy. From, JJ.'

She then stuck the post-it onto the middle of the chocolate box, finalizing the gift for the custodian. Yes, her gift was nothing more than a mere box of Belgian milk chocolates that were shaped into seashells. In all seriousness however, she had no idea what Hyuna liked and by general principal, most human beings liked food and liked to eat. Therefore, Jessica had gone by that theory and had chosen chocolates. She brought boxes of the chocolates and kept them in a lower drawer in her office, because she often enjoyed eating a piece or two when she was feeling stressed or drained of energy. And so, why not give a box to Hyuna? The latter looked like she could do with some more sweetness in her life anyways.

She looked at her watch. Time to go. She was hardly done with her stacks of essays, but she had done her planned amount of work for today. It would be okay for her to leave a bit earlier and leave the box of chocolates for Hyuna at the Humanities department receptionist's desk. Packing up her belongings, putting her coat and gloves on, Jessica then zipped up her smooth leather tote bag and slung its handles onto her left shoulder, while gently tucking the box of chocolates for the female custodian with her note under her right arm. She then pulled open her office's door to leave, but only to be shocked and utterly surprised with the one and only annoying janitor Moon Hyuna herself.

"What are you doing here?" She asked blinking rapidly, absolutely frozen in place.

@Jessica It was hard to discern whether Jessica decided to ignore her or simply forgot they were holding a conversation entirely, but it didn’t come as much of a surprise when the former did not reply. With a small shake of her head, Hyuna stowed the phone back in her pocket and resumed her chore. It had been a nice distraction but the floor wasn’t about to mop itself. There was still a variety of tasks that still needed her attention and unfortunately, not all of them involved Jessica Jung. If the custodian had any say in the matter, she certainly would have chosen the cantankerous professor’s company over garbage and filth any day. She was however, paid to work with one and not the other so her opinion was hardly relevant. Hell, even on the job it /still/ wasn’t very significant—a fact made clear as an oblivious group of students tracked flecks of mud and dirt on Hyuna’s clean floor. Heaving a sigh, she braced herself for what seemed to be the makings of a /very/ long day.

Jessica’s text came like a breath of fresh air, something that Hyuna greatly appreciated seeing as how she just finished taking out the trash. Hours had passed since her last message, but the English teacher didn’t seem the least bit concerned—as expected. The fact that she replied at all however, was the opposite.

/Remind me not to text you during emergencies. If I am annoying, is it safe to assume at least it’s less than everyone else? You replied after all./

Hyuna had a difficult time picturing Jessica going out of her way to respond if the latter truly didn’t want to speak to someone. While this hardly qualified as a heart-warming message, it likely came pretty close for someone dubbed the ‘ice queen of the Literature Department.’ Regardless, Hyuna didn’t mind in the slightest, as she preferred the young professor’s straightforwardness over false pleasantries. It meant she could prod her a bit and receive something equally dry and witty in return.

/And if you knew I’d mention the cups, does that mean you’re starting to feel guilty?/

Clearly not. Hyuna suppressed a chuckle as she read the other woman’s response, her mind already picturing the little beige cup bearing a faded rose-colored lipstick stain and a butchered version of ‘Jessica’ waiting for her. What was more amusing was finding the blasted cups in the strangest places, as if they had minds of their own. Bookshelves, the copy machine, a bench—sometimes they were even /next/ to a trash can—those were only a few of the most popular locations. Maybe Jessica was doing it on purpose just to screw with her, and was currently devising more novel ways of leaving them behind now that Hyuna had brought it up. It was like a sadistic, coffee-scented Easter egg hunt.

Perhaps if she headed towards the Humanities department now she would be able to catch the evil professor in the act. It was the second to last stop before the end of her shift anyway, the final being the science area. Catching a glimpse of Jessica would also tell Hyuna the younger woman was safe and well, a nice precaution to take given recent events. She noticed students and faculty alike leaving for home, some chatting excitedly as they walked, while others were just glad the day had concluded. The weight of the cart creaking along the pavement reminded Hyuna that her work was still unfinished. As she entered the building, she was greeted by the receptionist, who was in the midst of gathering up her belongings.
“You’re here early today! Nothing’s wrong, I hope?”

Hyuna shook her head, eyes resting on the smiley old woman for a second before scanning the lobby for any sign of the blunt English teacher. “Not yet. Have you seen Miss Jung?”

The receptionist appeared to be confused, borderline surprised that the janitor would ask about Jessica. “No, I don’t think so. . . still inside the office maybe?”

“Perfect. Let’s see if I can surprise her.” Hyuna tipped her head politely and left for the faculty office before the elder could burden her with questions. No doubt that exchange just gave the woman another reason to gossip. Not quite the surprise Hyuna had reserved but thankfully Jessica seemed immune to rumors and the like.

@Hyuna Astonishingly, to her surprise, she had somehow managed to fall back into the depths of her work, actually being able to get through reading and marking essays. Maybe it was due to the fact that this time, the essays from her students were improving and were actually decent pieces of work to read. Being in intense work mode, Jessica had temporarily forgotten that she had texted the custodian, being oblivious and unaware that her phone had vibrated twice a couple of minutes she had sent the first text. It was only a couple of hours later when she had finished all of her markings for one course she taught that her brain got the chance to have Hyuna enter her mind's trains of thoughts again. Picking up her phone, Jessica turned it upright, clicking on the most recent message that had came from 'Annoying Custodian' on her contact list.

She rolled her eyes after reading Hyuna's teasing messages—of course the latter would send her such texts that didn't fail to nag at her flaws—annoying, once again, but Jessica found her lips strangely curving into an unstoppable smile.

/I'm alive, which makes me unfortunately having to receive your text messages. Didn't want to. Because you're so annoying, Moon Hyuna. Knew you would say something about my coffee cups./

She was being brutally honest, but at the same time stretching the truth just a little bit, because although the custodian texting her was somewhat bothersome; it was bothersome in a good way, like a continuous reminder that was making sure for the better of her. As much as she hated to admit it, she kind of liked texting Hyuna—the other girl didn't really take her blatant words to heart.

/Oh did I? I'll make sure one cup will be there for you to pick up before I leave school./

She hit the send button again. Of course she wasn't really going to purposely leave a cup behind so that Hyuna could toss it in the trash for her, but it was fun to troll the other girl. However, maybe she could leave something else behind instead for Hyuna.. She knew the custodian made afternoon rounds in the Humanities department as well as morning ones, cleaning up the actual office spaces and classrooms in the late afternoon once the professors and students had gone home. It would work out perfectly; she would leave the office last, and then leave a little something for Hyuna at the humanities department reception desk. That way, when the latter would unlock the doors to the department office to enter it and start cleaning up, she would for sure notice Jessica's small gift. It really wasn't going to be anything big, in fact, Jessica felt her item of choice was so meager and plain she could hardly even call it a proper gift, but hopefully, Hyuna would enjoy it nonetheless.

@Jessica It hadn’t been easy. Since her fall from grace, life had been anything /but/ for Hyuna. Giving up or giving in however, had never been a viable option. Her friend (in the loosest sense of the term) saw to it, claiming she was more beneficial to him alive than dead. It was nothing short of a miracle, a shot in the dark, when she contacted Soohyuk seeking a favor she didn’t deserve. Pleading wasn’t her usual style but Hyuna shed some pride (along with a few crocodile tears but he definitely didn’t buy into that) and managed to convince him to agree, promising to repay her debt at a later date. It seemed to be accumulating more and more with each passing day. At this rate, she’d be spending the dismal remainder of her life trying to pay off her dues—and that was /if/ her assailants didn’t get to her first. Yet this was a matter that she simply could not ignore, if not for Jessica Jung’s sake than at least for her own. Having Mr. Kim roam free with impunity would only mean trouble later down the road.

When she left the moody English professor yesterday evening, Hyuna had little faith that Jessica was going to comply, just to prove some ridiculous point. Fortunately, Mr. Kim chose not to act—not yet anyway—and the both of them carried on the rest of the night without incident. It gave Hyuna time to set her plan in motion. Once she secured Soohyuk’s cooperation, she had to handle her leg of the work, which lasted /well/ into the night. Calling old contacts, sending information and bribes to the right hands, it almost felt like she was living her past life again, if only for a fleeting moment. While her efforts weren’t going to yield results in one day, Hyuna was glad to say that most of the pieces had fallen into place without a hitch. Now it was a matter of playing the waiting game. In the meantime, she would keep her head down and do her custodial work quietly, just as Jessica intended.

The plan was actually fairly straightforward. Sure, Mr. Kim had connections, good standing, and tenure; there was also a flipside. He had his share of enemies, people who would gladly see him fall; no matter how high he was on the social ladder, there was always someone who was perched even higher. It was really a matter of asking the right questions to the right people, giving them each an incentive to wish the ed teacher misfortune. What he depended on to save him, influence, associates, could all be turned against him if presented with the right opportunity. Hyuna had dealt with far deadlier characters than one arrogant biochem professor and a handful of them also met their untimely ends in similar ways.

All that remained was that video, the one Jessica refused to give up. It was the key portion to Hyuna’s scheme. Without it, there was no real foundation for a case. It might’ve been easier with Jessica’s cooperation, but she didn’t need the former’s permission to obtain the video—not after that text. The dummy phone in her pocket rumbled as Hyuna was mopping the cafeteria floor. When she examined it, a faint smile crept to her lips; not only because she’d be able to hack into Jessica’s phone this way, no, but namely because of the latter’s apology. It was a pleasant surprise, if a bit amusing. Hyuna could imagine the literature professor rolling her eyes and grumbling as if she had just gone out of her way to perform tedious labor.

/Forgot or didn’t want to? That was just to make sure you were alive./

She had requested that of Jessica to establish a connection to her mobile, so that Soohyuk could get his people to work on retrieving the video, but it also served the purpose of letting her know the younger woman returned home safely. In the event that Mr. Kim tried anything funny—and if Jessica /didn’t/ message her—Hyuna even stayed on campus, hidden near his office until he left. Just for that, she wanted to tease the other a little, even if she was almost /certain/ Jessica would take it the wrong way.

/I see you picked up after yourself today. Your usual cup wasn't where I usually find it./

@Hyuna Another morning, another day. Jessica had just finished teaching her morning lectures and was back in her office again, already on her third cup of coffee. She definitely needed the caffeine surge; it was going to be a long day today, since the past week had basically been midterm exams on a general basis for the whole university. This meant that she had to finish any kind of marking for all of her courses, to input a midterm mark for all of her students, so that they had some kind of grade to know their progress and to decide before the course dropping deadline whether or not they wanted to continue on with the course. Although she did have various teaching assistants that did take a load off her marking piles, there was still so much to do in so little time for her. An endless list of things to do, yet Jessica's focus and concentration levels weren't at their maximum function, because of one name; Moon Hyuna.

Sipping her coffee, Jessica leaned back in her chair, staring hard at the particular wrinkled slip of paper with the certain custodian's number scribbled on it that was pinned up on her mini bulletin board on the wall before her. Hyuna had asked her yesterday to text her when she got home, but of course Jessica's pride hadn't let her send a message to the school janitor. All night she had debated; whether to just send the other girl the incriminating video of Mr. Kim assaulting her and whether to text Hyuna or not. It was absurd as to why she was spending so much time thinking about the custodian, when even just the day before yesterday, she really had cared less about who Hyuna was. Moon Hyuna in her world before didn't even have a name and was just the familiar custodian that cleaned the English department often. Now, as much as she so desperately didn't want to care about the latter, Jessica did, and it was driving her crazy.

Before she knew it, her thumbs were skating across the screen of her phone, typing out a message to the memorized phone number in her head.
/ Forgot to text you last night. Sorry. /
Jessica impulsively hit the send button—oh my goodness, what had she just done? She didn't like this girl—Hyuna was annoying; trying to get to know her, being understanding with her abrasive attitude, picking up her garbage and mess after her.. Yeah, she really disliked that custodian completely. Putting her phone face down, Jessica picked up the first essay on top of one of the piles of paper on her desk. It was time to drown out everything with work.

@Jessica Truthfully, she had expected another verbal lashing. When Jessica’s features softened—just barely—the custodian had to look twice just to make sure it wasn’t a figment of her imagination. If Hyuna had to give it a name however, ‘pitiful’ was probably a more accurate word to describe the look the other was wearing. It was an expression she saw more often than she liked to admit. She heard the whispers, the inquiries posed behind her hunched back as she bent to pick up litter, scrub the floors. All of them wondered the same thing: how could someone ‘like her’ work a position like this? Almost as if the prerequisites of the career consisted of being old and unattractive. Many people thought it was an awful waste, but most of them settled on devising their own theories as to why Hyuna was playing school janitor. She supposed she had that in common with Jessica. Unlike the English professor however, she was more readily forgotten.

“It comes with the job description,” she answered with a flippant wave, meaning to make light of the situation. “I wouldn’t lose any sleep over a few misplaced cups and paper balls if I were you.” Hyuna could see /why/ the brunette would feel guilty, but she certainly didn’t see that lasting. Jessica had better, more pressing matters to tend to than fuss over where her garbage ended up. She wasn’t alone in that and it was already a notion Hyuna had long grown accustomed to. “But I wouldn’t say no to you being a little more conscious,” she added with tiny scoff. “That’s not the point I was trying to make anyway. I wouldn’t even be able to keep this job if you didn’t come in when you did.”

Jessica would probably never be aware of the whole truth behind that statement. She’d likely dismiss her action as something any decent human being would do, as rare as it was in reality. She wouldn’t have the slightest idea that she had just saved Hyuna a lot of trouble—and potentially her very life. And Hyuna couldn’t say anything past that vague promise to make it up to her. From what she could tell, Jessica was a good person (if only a bit surly), someone who deserved more than the ill treatment she received from her colleagues. Talking to the this woman was akin to reading a novel; the more time she spent with it, the further engrossed she became, coming closer to the truth with every sentence and each passing word. Jessica wasn’t nearly as frigid as people made her out to be, but she was definitely capable of it. Those who failed to see beyond that however, clearly didn’t read beyond the first page.

She held the young teacher’s gaze for a moment with tired eyes. Hyuna couldn’t be certain of what she saw on the other side, but she was positive the feeling was mutual. And just like that Jessica was all business again, the frostiness returning stronger than ever, making miles out of the few feet that separated them. “I have no doubt about that. You’re a capable person.” Hyuna drew in a breath; a good indication that she was growing weary. “But in this you’re outmatched. I will tell you that now.” She didn’t care how patronizing that might have sounded or how much it would irritate the other; it was the truth in this case. “If he isn’t above assault, what do you think he’s willing to do you? Someone he considers his enemy?” It wasn’t a matter of ‘if’ but really a matter of ‘when.’ Hyuna had no doubt the old slime ball was devising a plan to get revenge even as they spoke. “I don’t know about you, but I’m not waiting until he gets creative. He can be stopped now and you hold the key to making it possible.”

It was a difficult task, trying to convince someone this was a wise plan when it lacked so many details but Hyuna had to try. She easily pictured the chemistry professor cornering Jessica one evening in an attempt to coerce her into giving him the video. He already proved himself to be a physically violent man. She hated to think what he could do to his co-worker out of anger and desperation. For all of her abrasiveness, Jessica had a frailty to her that came with being a thin, bony-wristed woman of five four. Unless she had a black belt that Hyuna wasn’t aware of, she had every reason to be concerned. And while Jessica might believe that the janitor should choose her battles wisely, the same could also be said of her.

“Alright,” she spoke finally, pushing off the wall with a soft grunt. “I know the end of an argument when I see one, Ms. Jung.” Hyuna stopped in front of the shorter female before rummaging through her uniform pockets and taking out a pen and a wrinkled slip of paper. She scrawled a few digits on it before holding it out to her reluctant companion. “Do me a favor and message me when you get back home at least. I’ll be out of your hair if you do that.” That said, Hyuna gave Jessica one last look and a thin smile before making her departure. This might have been the end of their debate, but she wasn’t the loser.

@Hyuna It was rare that Jessica felt any kind of empathy for anyone, but guilt got the best of her, making her feel just a tad bit bad for acting so haughty towards the custodian. After all, she was sure Hyuna's life as a custodian was already pretty crummy as it was and she probably didn't need more from her, on top of all the other garbage she got and picked up from the ground due to hundreds of lazy and rude professors and students. If anyone needed a break, it was definitely the custodian.

"You've already paid your debts. More than enough. Cleaning up all of my empty coffee cups, my crumpled up pieces of paper.." She trailed her sentence off, letting her eyes falter from the taller girl's for a split second. "It's settled, okay. You don't need to do anything." Jessica said softly, raising her eyes back up to meet Hyuna's pair of gorgeous brown orbs. She knew what a slob she could be—she was just like one of those hundreds that made Hyuna's job more tiring and exhausting than it should be. No different from the rest of the herd.

Standing back, her hands shoved aimlessly into the trousers of her janitorial uniform, Hyuna looked far from her actual job, looking more like she was on some candid photoshoot. Jessica just couldn't get her head wrapped around it; the other girl was so beautiful—looks that definitely had more than potential. Not just that, but she had seen Hyuna's work ethics; the female custodian was always busting her back and working, even when there were times she could do a half- job or take it easy. The girl was such a hard-worker—had all the key ingredients in traits and physical looks to really excel in life, but only to merely be and stay a custodian. The equation of Hyuna didn't make sense. If the girl was having a money problem, she still wouldn't understand it because there were still plenty of other part-time jobs—less physically exerting and more respected ones too with better pay that the other girl could definitely get. Yet, the latter was here. Why? She stared at the other girl for a short moment without saying anything, as if looking on would let her see the full and entire picture of Hyuna, but nope, she still wasn't understanding it.

"I can handle myself." Jessica told the custodian in response to making a target out of herself, her voice returning to its usual cold tone and manner. "I know what I'm doing, so stay out of this and just keep doing your job." The worst Mr. Kim could probably do is badmouth her to the other professors or say something to the university council to try and get her fired, but it all really wouldn't matter. Rumors and gossip were already something she was used to and the university would be going against their own employment policies if they fired her, since they had contracted her for 3 years. The point was, that she was in a position where the losses wouldn't be so devastating, where for Hyuna; it most certainly likely would be more detrimental. This was why she couldn't agree on the latter's plan to work together. The other girl's vulnerability was too great and having Hyuna involved in this incident any further would just be asking for a whole storm of trouble. Jessica knew the custodian wanted justice—who wouldn't, after being victim to such a disgusting crime, but unfortunately society had made laws and with it the judicial system, which wasn't about getting justice but more about awarding the side who made the better, convincing story.

"I'm not fighting you." She said with a sigh. She really wasn't trying to go against the other girl—didn't really want to go against her, but she knew it was a very bad idea waging a war on an army of powerhouses. "Look Hyuna, I know you want justice, but that's just going to be a losing feat unfortunately." Jessica knew Hyuna wanted Mr. Kim to pay for his crimes, and who wouldn't, if they had been in the traumatizing position like her as victim. However, at times, in Jessica's opinion; sometimes things that would have a bigger loss than a bigger gain or win wasn't worth fighting for. In this case, she felt like her specific thought applied heavily.

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@Jessica The sudden flash of danger in the shorter woman’s eyes drew a look of curiosity from Hyuna. She had meant the words in jest but clearly Jessica took it as a threat, a provocation. It certainly said something unfortunate about the young professor who was more accustomed to veiled jabs and backhanded compliments than harmless prodding. Knowing what was said about her however, Hyuna couldn’t quite blame Jessica. She lifted up her hands in surrender, deflecting the steel in the latter’s gaze with a relaxed shrug. “Hey, save it for the people who actually deserve it.” She paused. Maybe Jessica thought she /was/ deserving of it. “. . . Well, the point is: I’m not your enemy, nor am I trying to be.” Another pause. And maybe she was failing at that. Quite miserably.

It was definitely a trial speaking to someone whose walls were built so high, but Hyuna liked to think she was good at scaling heights. Perhaps it was time to reconsider that claim. “Like it or not, you did help me out,” she spoke again, tone even. “And I pay my debts.” In spite of the frosty edge in Jessica’s voice, Hyuna stood her ground. That resolve only intensified as the former continued her argument; while Jessica raised valid points, they did nothing but fuel Hyuna’s desire to see her attacker put behind bars. It was depressing knowing that all of those reasons held true in their broken system, but if there was one thing she was good at, it was working outside of the law. “I never intended to go to the police,” Hyuna began nonchalantly. “You’re preaching to the choir, Professor. I’m as familiar with the flaws in that plan as you are—which is why I prefer a more hands on approach.”

If Jessica refused to give her access to the video willingly, Hyuna had no qualms against retrieving it by other means. All she knew was that someone like Mr. Kim shouldn’t be allowed to roam free; not in a campus full of vulnerable students and staff—Jessica included amongst them. “You can say that, but all you’ve done is made yourself another target.” She exhaled, stowing her hands in her pockets before leaning her back against the wall of the building. Jessica’s shift in attitude was surprising, but welcome. “Using that same logic, you really think he’ll sit quietly knowing you have blackmail?” Hyuna canted her head a fraction, eyeing the other’s face, noting the slight chip in her icy demeanor. “He’ll likely find a way to deal with you first, so it's your problem as much as mine now.”

Hyuna could make her presence scarce if she really wanted to. It would take some work but within a few months or so, no one here would know of her existence. She had a feeling however, that it wasn’t going to be as easy for Jessica, so on principle she wanted to extend her help to the English professor should Mr. Kim choose to retaliate. That of course, was largely dependent on Jessica’s willingness to cooperate. “So instead of fighting me, Ms. Jung, I propose we work together. I just need concrete evidence. You’ve already done your part so you don’t have to lift a finger.”

@Hyuna She knew exactly what the custodian was prodding at by using the word 'popular'. Of course this damned prestigious school with its ego-inflated profs would yak away loud enough so that every dirty little secret they spoke among themselves could be heard by unnoticed bystanders in the vicinity, like none other than Hyuna. Seriously, even Jessica herself often found out stuff not because she wanted to know and was nosy, but because she just happened to be in the area.

Jessica stopped walking and narrowed her eyes up at the other girl. Hyuna was treading on very thin ice with her. She didn't need another countless third-person perspective to be aware of the rumors and gossip that was associated with her. Jessica very well knew what her co-workers said about; it really wasn't hard to miss. If the girl was trying to provoke her in some verbal, catty way that girls usually did to one another, then she definitely was going to take a defensive stance against Hyuna.

"Why yes, I'm secretly Superwoman in disguise." She mockingly said to the other girl, giving Hyuna a wry smile to go along with her exaggerated statement, just to reflect the custodian's poor taste in humor. Jessica crossed her arms. Hyuna wasn't dead yet, but maybe that was going to change soon by her hands, if the latter didn't stop talking.

The video; the materialistic evidence she had filmed on her phone—she should have known. No wonder this girl was still talking to her. "Make it up to me for what? You don't owe me anything, and I for sure as hell don't owe you something either." Jessica said, her voice coming out frigid and steely. She wasn't going to give Hyuna the video, for the very reason that the latter would use it to file a case with Mr. Kim. "You think submitting this to the police is going to get you justice? Keep dreaming. These people are powerhouses; they know the best lawyers, have the best connections—they'll claim this footage was something made up and edited—that you didn't resist him; that you gave him consent. You'll be lucky if he even gets a sentence at all. He'll walk out of the courthouse a free man with a paid bail. Especially someone like Mr. Kim, since he has such a respected educational background." Jessica sternly told the custodian, staring right up and into Hyuna's eyes; her voice hushed and unwavering of strictness.

"If we really want to make him suffer, we keep this as blackmail." She explained, softening her demeanor towards the other girl from what she had just exhibited a second ago. "He'll know that his perfect life and reputation is in our hands now, and the minute he does something wrong again, he's smart enough to figure out what's going to follow."

@Jessica There was certainly no room for doubt. Jessica made it crystal clear that she wanted nothing more to do with Hyuna. For that precise reason however, the custodian was determined to stay where she was. “I do. You’re kind of popular.” She had a feeling Jessica already knew that; which meant the brunette was also well aware of the whispers aimed at her back. Chances were it explained why she preferred to keep to herself. One’s own company was usually preferred over that of backstabbers and gossipmongers.

“I can see why if you’re always saving people,” Hyuna spoke again, this time with amusement lining her words. In spite of the frosty comment she received in return, she was undeterred. “I’m not dead because you were there. Shouldn’t you let me make it up to you?” The answer to that was already quite obvious, but it had to be said nonetheless. Hyuna did mean it after all. “And perhaps it doesn’t need to be that way," she continued, regarding the professor’s dismissive remark with a hard stare. “I saw the phone in your hand.”

Hyuna noticed the device as she pulled Jessica outside. If the shorter woman did what she hoped then maybe they had potential for a case. The thought of old codgers like Mr. Kim lurking around campus thinking he was immune to the law irked her greatly. Despite Jessica’s show of indifference, she did intervene for a reason. Surely she recognized the importance behind stopping him and preventing more incidents. “We might not be able to change the world, but putting one away is better than nothing, isn’t it?” She tilted her head up, watching the darkening sky. “And correct me if I’m wrong, but getting rid of him frees up one more classroom.” Hyuna cracked a half-smile in Jessica’s direction. “The science buildings have AC and heating, you know. Pretty nice.”

@Hyuna Seriously, this janitor was going to follow her all over campus now? Didn't the latter get the obvious hint by her departure that their conversation was clearly over? Well evidently not, since the custodian female was stepping alongside her; Jessica having to take two big strides to get a bit of distance away, but only to have that gap closed instantaneously, since the other girl's legs were longer than hers. What was it with this girl; she was like a pesky mosquito that just wouldn't keep buzzing around her, and gosh, the nerve of this janitor to mock her classroom-less status.

She had to bite back her tongue. She was so tempted to tell the other girl that she wanted to maintain their 'haven't spoken' criteria, but of course a more respectful answer came out of . "Seems like you already know who I am." Jessica answered Hyuna back sarcastically. The girl had seen her around campus; what a creeper. "You're fine, you're not dead." She bluntly told the girl next, finishing to answer that last of the janitor's inquiries with a final statement of; "Sadly, that's how this world works. Men objectify women, therefore it's always the woman's fault."

Jessica didn't know what the girl was trying to get at with her by continuing their meaningless and pointless current conversation. Besides, didn't Hyuna have some other building to clean or some other trophy case to be wiping down? If the custodian's ulterior motive was trying to drive her to insanity, then as much as she hated to admit it; Hyuna was succeeding well. She had done her part being the savior to the other girl, now all she wanted as her reward was silence, because in her world, silence was golden. Especially for an introverted person like her that didn't like to socialize much at all.

@Jessica Perhaps it had been inappropriate to compare this scenario to an action flick. For starters, who ever heard of the hero becoming so winded after such a short run? The sight of Jessica clutching her chest drew an amused smile from Hyuna, who was suddenly reminded of her pet cats. Her brow arched as the other woman held up a finger to bid for silence. Jessica seemed to be quite the character. Hyuna still couldn’t decide that was either a positive or a negative. Her feelings wavered between the two as she watched the young professor school her expression back into the familiar haughty arrangement she was so used to seeing. It was a well-worn feature that could put royalty to shame. As much as Hyuna wanted to laugh, she chose to settle on a mild look of fascination instead.

“Then your misfortune is my blessing,” she commented with an upward quirk of her lips. Some divine power upstairs must have liked Hyuna enough to intervene at such a crucial moment. If Jessica felt proud of her accomplishment however, it definitely didn’t show on her face. The brunette seemed only capable of cycling through various shades of disgust and/or indifference. Again, Hyuna’s cats came to mind. “I’ve seen you around campus,” she answered simply. “We haven’t actually spoken. You can call me Hyuna though. Jung, right?”

Jessica Jung Sooyeon, the ice queen of the literature department, infamous for having gone the longest without a single student attending her office hours. She was also the hidden love interest of several of her coworkers, along with a few members of the student body if Hyuna recalled correctly, but she found the first rumor much more entertaining. Cleaning the school had its perks. She usually caught wind of the best gossip. Most of the comments about Jessica weren’t very kind, but whether they were good or bad, they all followed a similar vein: the woman was hard to approach. Seeing her now, Hyuna did admit that there was an inkling of truth behind the statements, especially as Jessica spun on her heel and left her after exchanging a few curt words.

Her gaze fell to her parted shirt. Fortunately, Hyuna had enough modesty to wear a tank top underneath so much of her dignity was still preserved. Nevertheless, she re-buttoned the uniform before falling into step beside the prickly teacher. “Hm. . . that’s it? You’re not going to ask me if I’m okay?” She inquired casually, borderline teasing. Hyuna wanted to test the waters a bit. “And that’s blaming the victim, isn’t it, Miss Jung?" Besides, if it was her appearance that warranted the attack, she couldn't imagine /why/ it even occurred. Hyuna had all but given up on make up and hair styling ages ago after she went into hiding. While she didn't consider herself unattractive, she was quite plain compared to the dolled up woman next her.

@Hyuna Wow, was she so unfit. A minute or two of running with the custodian girl dragging her by the hand, and Jessica felt like something was lodged in her chest and preventing her from breathing. Bent over, she stumbled to lean herself against the wall of the building they were outside of, still in the process of catching her breath. She hated running, or anything of the sort. She held up her index finger, silently gesturing to the girl to give her a second or two to get her huffing and puffing self back together. After a few slow, deep breaths inhaled in, Jessica then straightened herself up to stand in her usual rigid, strictly stiff and impassive stance; shoulders back, neck straight and back, head tilted just slightly up so that the tip of her nose was angled upwards. She then crossed her arms.

"You're welcome. I needed to secure a classroom for one of my courses. Humanities building is all full." Jessica indifferently spoke, looking up at the taller girl. It was almost absurdly funny that such a female was only working as a custodian, when Jessica thought the latter could easily land a modeling job or two, especially with her slim, lengthy stature and pretty face. No wonder Mr. Kim had tried to get his filthy, grubby hands on her. Speaking of the disgusting old man, Jessica still realized that she still had yet to have a classroom for her course—just great.

"How do you know me? Don't think we've ever met before." She said with a raised eyebrow. In truth be told, she did recognize the other woman's face as the one whom was always cleaning up after her haphazard messes around the humanities offices, but like she was about to openly admit that fact to the janitor. Plus, she didn't like how she had just been laughed at by the other right now. To be fair, Jessica did try more these days to pick up after herself, but sometimes—okay, often times, work got the best of her and made her so stressed out and forgetful. However, she was drilling the other professors that were in the same office space as her to be tidy, so that all janitors like this girl would have less work. "Yeah well, a girl's gotta protect herself somehow." Jessica mumbled with a shrug, when the janitor lightly poked some humor at the way she had stopped Mr. Kim.

She dropped her crossed arms, anxious to make her way to another department building on the search for an available classroom. "Anyways, I have to go." Jessica abruptly said, not even bothering to say a word of farewell or even gesture her exit to the other woman. "You should go cover that up. Change into a new uniform before you attract someone else's unwanted attention." She pointed out to the girl's slightly exposed chest, before turning on heel to walk away.

@Jessica The events that unfolded next seemed like they were stolen straight out of an action film. Before the sleazy chemistry professor could advance beyond her chest, the door burst open. Hyuna was just as surprised as he was. Neither of them expected the interruption, but there she was, standing no taller than five feet four, features contorted with anger. Before anyone could anticipate her next action, the other woman balled into Mr. Kim in a whirlwind of fury, sending the elder gentleman stumbling over his own feet in confusion and indignation. Hyuna took the opportunity to seize her savior urgently by the wrist and pull her out of the classroom; the more distance they put between themselves and this man, the better. She could hear his voice ringing out wrathfully behind them as they made their escape, but luckily he chose not to pursue the duo.

Hyuna didn’t stop until they were outside of the building, fingers still wrapped around the other woman’s bony limb. In spite of the situation, she found it necessary to inspect the latter for any signs of injury or distress. “Are you okay?” The custodian steadied her breathing before continuing. “. . . Thanks for what you did back there. That could’ve ended badly.” It was likely the understatement of the century. A minute longer and Hyuna would surely have injured the man grievously, even if it meant losing her job. Whoever this was did her more than just a favor. She saved Hyuna's life in more ways than one. Upon closer inspection however, her rescuer seemed awfully familiar. A cutting jawline, sharp eyes, and cold features—she recognized this face. “Aren’t you. . . ?” Now she remembered. Jessica Jung. It was the name printed over the coffee cups she kept finding around the Humanities building. And that was the face that eyed her with a deadly level of disinterest when it witnessed her gathering said cups. From where she stood now however, Jessica’s was quite possibly the best face Hyuna had seen in a good month.

She laughed openly after her realization. “Wow.” Hyuna shook her head, thoroughly amused at the turn of events. “What were you even doing there? It’s the science department. You teach English, don’t you?” The question was posed out of curiosity, not for lack of gratitude. “I’m not complaining by the way. You have a pretty mean tackle.” Hyuna was willing to bet that Mr. Kim was going to feel that impact the next morning. Unfortunately, that was probably the worst that he was going to suffer. People like him were annoyingly difficult to get rid of, like roaches and visiting relatives. The way things were run made sure of that. No one looked twice at those on the lower rungs of the social ladder.

@Hyuna Jessica got out of the elevator on the second floor of the chemistry department of the university. She was dreadful and weary of the errand that she had come here to accomplish; talk to the old geezer Mr. Kim so she could get permission in using an empty, available classroom in the chemistry building for another newly opened section of one of the courses. The administration people in the Humanities department had failed her and had scheduled her in the same classroom as some other English course. Obviously that was a conflict and of course it just had to be her luck that no other classrooms were open in the Humanities building, so here she was in the chemistry building, which was the closest; being right in front of the Humanities one. She disliked the chemists in general; they were always putting down the humanities program, claiming that they were superior and greater since they were all scientists and researchers. Especially Mr. Kim. He had quite the reputation for being stern, cocky and just an overall jerk.

Room 210, 212.. She was about to reached the organic chemistry lab that apparently she could find Mr. Kim in, but just before reaching the doorway of it, she stopped, observing and hearing the old bastard forcing himself on a young female of some kind. Probably a student—no, judging by the cleaning trolley, mop and bucket, and the familiar pale blue uniform shirt that the woman was wearing, Jessica realized that it was a janitor. Reaching into her pocket, she took out her phone and started recording the lewd and disgusting scene taking before her for a few seconds. With Mr. Kim's back towards her, she remained hidden and unnoticed. She knew if she really was going to make the old douchebag suffer, she had to have some kind of leverage; evidence and blackmail in case he tried to wheedle his way out by abuse of power. Even though the university had ual assault and harassment policies for all female workers in the institution, nothing was really seriously taken into prosecution without evidence, and in a power-hungry society, the word of someone superior with power and money was always weighed heavier than someone on the bottom of the social pyramid.

Catching him aggressively ripping open the female victim's shirt and then inappropriately start to touch at the girl's chest all on film, Jessica barged in, not being able to let anything proceed any further.
"You ing bastard, get the hell away from her!" She screamed on the top of her lungs, walking speedily into the room and shoving the old man hard and away from the janitor.

@Jessica It seemed like any other day at first, dull and gray, the kind that made Hyuna wonder why she was stuck her mopping up spills and picking up garbage. The answer to that was obvious, but it certainly didn’t mean she liked it. There wasn’t a day that passed where she didn’t miss her old lifestyle, with the glitz and glamor, the thrills and the danger. Here on campus, the worst she had to deal with was the aftermath of school events and the occasional hungover student who rushed to the toilet a bit too late.
Or so she had thought.

Mr. Kim was an older gentleman who taught organic chemistry, automatically giving him an unwarranted sense of self importance. They’ve spoken once or twice, but Hyuna had never really spared him much thought until recently. Somehow the chem lab always needed new fixtures or a mess cleaned; while plausible, asking her to come in every day of the week, several times a day, was a bit of a stretch. Hyuna didn’t need to be a detective to realize his intentions. She had resolved to set things straight with the man today before she left, but Mr. Kim beat her to the punch—by pushing her roughly against the wall.

She winced at the sudden impact, but otherwise appeared unfazed. It wasn’t the first time she had been in this position, and the person before this sorry excuse for a teacher had ended up with a dislocated shoulder and a broken nose. “. . . What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Shut up—I’ve seen the way you’ve been looking at me the entire week.”

“Stole the words from my mouth.”

His grip on her shoulder tightened enough to hurt. “Listen , I have tenure at this school and you? You’re nothing. One word from me and you can lose your job, got it?”

He was right about one thing: Hyuna couldn’t afford to lose the work. It had taken her some time to secure this one with her leftover connections. If she retaliated, snapped this man’s arm and sent him to the hospital, unneeded questions were sure to be raised and that was something she couldn’t risk given her predicament. He took her silence as a personal victory, the green light to proceed by tearing open the topmost buttons of her uniform.

(v-card! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧)