ˣ 001

@ᴅ ⁞ ryujin s 。 he's baffled into an ironic silence, staring at his best friend as the unexpected words seem to flow out of . on any other day, he'd be extremely flattered to hear her rare vulnerability but after catching a glimpse of the clip, hearing the familiar voice of her mom -- someone who treated him like one of hers -- he couldn't seem to accept any of it. all he could muster was a weak smile, unable to completely plaster on his usual cheerful grin as he felt the turmoil bubble inside of him again. he felt nauseous. he wanted to throw up. but he couldn't. not when ryujin was here. he had vowed to take the secret to the grave. his father had made him swear on it, said that it was his burden to bear and that ryujin's life depended on whether or not he was able to stay silent. he wasn't about to break now. gripping his backpack straps, he pushed open the door, wanting nothing more than to go to class to drown out the cancerous emotions that seemed to be rising up all around him.

@○ ⁞ hyunjin h 。 as she holds her phone in her palm, there's something over the tip of her tongue that she wishes to say, and yet, possibly she's too much of a coward to admit so. but, it's the moment that he urges her up for class that she's outstretching her arm for his hand, clasping her smaller one to his. "hyunjin," she starts, lips pursing in momentary thought. "you.. took the blame for me when i tp'ed our middle school principal's house because i would've been sent to juvie. when i sat in chocolate cake, you walked behind me until i got to gym to change my clothes because everyone would've thought i crapped myself. and that time my dad was giving me for having a quirk, you brought me to the lake so i could take out my frustration by throwing rocks, then let me cry in your arms after," she stifles a laugh, squeezing his hand. "i love and appreciate you for being my best friend. i don't know where i'd be without you." she allows a brief silence between the two before standing to retrieve her bag, slinging it atop of her shoulder. nudging him with her elbow, she cracks a playful simper his way and gestures to the door. "don't give me a sappy monologue back, you'll look like you're having a seizure with the amount of sign language you'll do. c'mon, let's go."

@ᴅ ⁞ ryujin s 。 staring down at the phone, he can't help but break out into a fond smile at the memory of their first meeting. it had been such a unique way to make a best friend but he would have still done it all the same again. all the memories and mischief they had gone through as they grew up together made up all of the happiness in hyunjin's life. without her, he sometimes wondered if he would have followed in his father's footsteps. with a little grin, he gently nudged her shoulder as he signed to her. 'well, it's not much different now, you bully.' grabbing his backpack, he motioned for her to get up and grab her stuff. it had become routine for the two of them to walk to class since they were young. hyunjin remembered waking up extra early just to wait in front of ryujin's house, juice box and cereal bar in hand for her so they could eat on the way to school. 'i don't wanna be late again-'

@○ ⁞ hyunjin h 。 "actually, i did run out of snacks. and with your generous offer, now i can save myself the trip of raiding the convenience store." she straightens up, piling the parade of snacks she had in her hold onto her table, shuffling beside him as he tears open a bag. her hand reaches in for a chip from his bag leisurely, until his last inquiry about what she'd been doing prior to his appearance. he must've caught glance over her phone as it lay limp over her desk. "uh," she hesitates for a moment, unsure if she wanted to indulge in such an emotional memory between the two. but, probably unbeknownst to him, today was.. a specific day for her. so, she retrieves her phone and replays the last few seconds of it for him to see, cracking a brief chuckle, almost bitter. "i was just looking through my gallery and saw this. this was the first day we met, do you remember? and i chased you to the playground after school because i didn't really know how to ask you to play with me."

@○ ⁞ ryujin s 。 he flashed his best friend a sheepish grin before taking her hand to rise to his feet -- though, he wonders if there is any point to being helped up as he finds himself being tugged back down to help her pick up the bags. whipping his head around with an overly obvious blush covering his cheeks, he shakes his head. 'don't beat him up! he didn't do anything!' he quickly signed before scooping up the snacks and marching over to drop them onto a nearby table. 'i bought these for you. i thought you might have run out of snacks by now. i'll take them for myself if you don't want them.' with a grin, he promptly opened up a bag for himself before his gaze fell to the phone she had been using. 'what were you doing?'

@○ ⁞ hyunjin h 。 if it wasn't for the slight creak of the door, it was definitely the body tumbling fall of her best friend that captures her attention, gasping briefly. in any other circumstance, she would've laughed and remained in her spot, but perhaps him catching her within a vulnerable state of nostalgia is what has her immediately coming to his aid, her lithe hands already lifting him by his arm. "hyun, i think you underestimate the power of velcro shoes. this is the third time you've stepped on your shoelaces," she musters a chuckle, albeit momentarily with the barrage of scattered convenience store snacks over her floorboard. kneeling to begin picking up the aforementioned junk food, she tugs on his hand for him to help her. "and did that gorilla sized grabber abandon you? is that why you're picking up a hefty amount of hot cheetos from the store we already raided last week? i'll beat him up if you want."

@○ ⁞ ryujin s 。 he hugged his backpack full of snacks as he made his way over to ryujin's dorm. after having been dragged around on one too many store raids, he had saved up some money to buy enough junk to last ryujin for a month. just as he was about to kick open her door and make his presence known, a familiar voice made him pause for just a moment.

"ryuuuujin! can you push me now?"

she was watching the video again. ever since he had stopped talking, she hadn't treated him any differently but there were times when he wondered if she'd ever prefer having the old hyunjin instead of the way he was now. he wanted more than anything to be able to talk again and converse normally but no matter how hard he tried, nothing seemed to come out. with a sad sigh, he leaned against the door -- only to crash to the ground as it creaked open.

@○ ⁞ hyunjin h 。 "and here we have ryujin and her new friend—honey, what was your name again?" her mother calls out.

a brunette haired, kindergarten ryujin can be heard laughing from the few feet she stood from her mother and the camera. beside her was a boy, head full of darkened tresses that nearly blocks his sight but not that blinding smile of his. "his name is hyunjin! he has a jin in his name just like me!" as if on cue, she nudges hyunjin as he shyly raises a peace sign to the camera, though this is brief as she tugs on his arm to drag him towards the swings off the screen.

the camera turns, ryujin's mom now smiling. "today was ryujin's first day at school. her father and i were a bit nervous at first because ryujin sort of plays rough with other kids, haha. but, we're just glad that she's made a friend," she laughs. "who knows? maybe hyunjin would be her friend for life... i hope so. he looks like a good kid."

once again, the camera pans over to a smaller ryujin mounted atop of the swing as hyunjin pushes her from behind. faintly, hyunjin voices out, "ryuuuujin! can you push me now?"

she pauses the video, rewinds three seconds, and presses play.

at the time, she'd taken it for granted; his little whine of her name, the encouragements heard from her mom—it's all palpable enough to bring those foreign, stinging tears to brim upon her eyes. a small rivulet tails down her cheek as she utters out a staggered chuckle.

"ryujin, give your friend a turn! ..h-hey, wait! that doesn't mean you—ah, shin ryujin! apologize for shoving hyunjin right no—" end of video.

@○ ⁞ ryujin s 。 she nods her head curtly, flashing a little smile at the other. "no thank you, i had kale chips earlier." she snaps to her senses quickly, flinching to reach for her phone snug in her back pocket. "mingyu, yes! we were supposed to meet in the bistro to eat."

@○ ⁞ jieqiong z 。 a hand of hers occupies itself with carrying the bottom of her chip bag as she then offers some towards jieqiong, munching. "oh right, i shouldn't get this shirt dirty. it's nene's," she reminds herself. "but what were you saying? you're meeting who?"

@○ ⁞ ryujin s 。 the girl's question shoots way past her and she looks at her with confusion written all over, and she wasn't very much capable of processing how pink shorts could've magically (well, superhero school, but yeah, still no) turned into black male slacks. "you were- why the- uhhh, nevermind."

@○ ⁞ jieqiong z 。 "jie, don't you think i can house a chinchilla? i think i can," she says, unfazed by the appearance of her roommate as she then pulls out a small bag of chips (bought with hyunjin's wallet left in his pants) from her backpack. she pauses, glancing down. "oh yeah, i'm wearing pants." nonchalantly, she shrugs, not having seen the point in her words whilst the memory of hyunjin in the bathroom becomes distant.

@○ ⁞ ryujin s 。 the muffled voice resonating from the living room that seemed to mumble something about animal trafficking and dora rip-offs was sign enough for jie to believe that her pink haired roommate is home, and so she stands up from her seat in the kitchen and walks to greet her. "hey ryujin, welcome home! there's food in the fridge, i'm about to head out and meet g- wait, you're wearing pants?"

@○ ⁞ jieqiong z 。 "stupid," she grumbles under her breath, shutting the front door right behind her. if it wasn't already obvious she was frustrated, the deepened frown over her visage was sure evidence. draping her bag over the couch, she mimics her teacher from the scene she'd been returning from. "'ryujin, you can't just take their chinchilla because you saw it on an episode of go, diego, go.' i'll take any damn chinchilla i see."

@○ ⁞ ryujin s 。 her soft features break into a beaming smile at the disappearing figure headed towards the kitchen, casting a wink to the girl once she's back, energy bar in tow. "good girl." she takes the girl's chewing cheeks between her palms and gives both sides a light, gentle squeeze. "i hope it doesn't, and if it does, i hope i'll be there to push you away. now go, you'll be late for class baoibei!"

@○ ⁞ jieqiong z 。 sporting a frown her way, she ultimately knows that she'll have to go one way or another, so with this, she reluctantly disappears into the kitchen to retrieve the energy bar. "fine," begrudgingly so, she tears open her snack, offering jieqiong another emphasized pout. "i'll be back after class. i hope a truck miraculously falls on me."

@○ ⁞ ryujin s 。 she shoots the other female a look of disbelief adorning her features, shaking her head twice before answering once again with another string of chuckles. "how about you eat an energy bar on the way to class to energize yourself and go ace that presentation like the amazing girl you are?"

@○ ⁞ jieqiong z 。 "alright, i have a plan," she starts, attempting to find any other solution than to attend class. "i'll pretend to faint before my turn and then you can burst in the classroom and 'take me to the nurse' but really, we go pick up mcdonalds and call it a day?"

@○ ⁞ ryujin s 。 she cranes over to peer at the pink haired female, the loud sigh she let out causing a bubble of laughter to erupt from jie's throat. "you got this, baobei, text me if you need anything yeah?" she replies, reaching out to fix the sleeves of ryujin's - or, well, nene's shirt.

@○ ⁞ jieqiong z 。 shuffles out of her room, noticeably donning nene's shirt and shorts. grasping onto her bag, she slings it over her shoulder and lets out an exaggerated sigh to call for any attention she can get. "i don't want to do my presentaaation."

"faster legs, faster," nene chants to herself, speeding through their dorm's hallways and towards her room. she's, once again, overstayed in the lab - but, if it weren't for the pizza night that she and her roommates' had decided on, she probably would've been there awhile longer. the girl immediately swings the door open once she's arrived, kicking off her shoes and sliding across the floorboards and towards her roommates. she smiles up at them despite her panting. "i'm home. pizza?"

"pizza, pizza, pizza," she repetitively utters to no one in particular, evidently (not to mention, hungrily) excited as she glides across the floorboards of their dorm in her socks. with her stomach hurling an unattractive growl, it nearly has her missing the fact that she'd been donning jinsoul's tee and nene's sweatpants in her own little game of, 'sticky fingers'. "oh, wait—" she pauses, momentarily weighing her two options; change out of their clothing in the predicament that she'd stain the fabric and keep herself starved for another two minutes, or risk the possibility of her roommates' wrath but relieve that of her hunger. only a few more moments after does she slump on the couch, having chosen the latter recourse, and reaches out towards the pizza box. "i'm here and i'm hungry."

strands of ebony settle over her hunched shoulders as she slumps on the carpeted floor, notebook clutched within one hand and buzzing phone on the other. jieqiong beckons the other three over with a bellowing shout, barely looking away from the bright screen as she answers the call. "girls, it's here!" she quickly exclaims, rushing up to her feet to answer the knocking. she takes the boxes within her arms and mouths a little "thank you" to the delivery guy, promptly handing over a sizable tip then making her way back to where she'd left off, homework and phone still scattered on the living room floor. stealing a glance from the glaring white screen, she repeats the time to herself in a hushed tone - 8:42. "hurry up, you guys, we're on lights out at 10:30!"

@ᴀ ⁞ seonghwa p 。 sweet, thank you so much!

@○ ⁞ ryujin s 。 @○ ⁞ nene 。 @○ ⁞ jieqiong z 。 @ʙ ⁞ jinsoul j 。 welcome to your dorm. take some time to get to know your roommates; keep in mind, the better you know each other, the better teamwork you will have for later events ԅ(‾⌣‾ԅ)