↬ hallway.

@⁰³ dohyun l. the scent of dew filled the campus, the sun seemed like it was struggling to wake up behind the clouds of the early morning — it was just about seven in the morning, before most of the early classes started where students and faculty just barely started to populate the campus. yerim was tasked to do something before too many people were on campus, she was planning to do it earlier at around half after six, but she overslept and had to rush herself out of bed - her hair was tied in a quick ponytail and she was wearing her matching PINK loungewear: a matching grey between the sports bra she wore underneath her jacket and her sweatpants. yerim stuffed a piece of toast, made from homemade bread that a friend of hers baked recreationally with ethically resourced ingredients. in her arms was a stack of flyers - made from 100% compostable recycled paper and stamped on with naturally made ink - that called for climate change awareness. her little volunteer group had spent the last night stamping all of these flyers to put around campus with permission from the school and it was her responsibility to make sure everybody saw them. she was already behind on her job as early birds were already filling the school and she tried to rush herself to put up the flyers, running from bulletin board to bulletin board as she snacked on her single piece of toast in when — sMACK — all of a sudden at the corner of a turn, yerim ran into a handsome single parent sunbae o /// o o omona - oknoadfkghkj but y es she ran smack into him and her toast and flyers went flying in the hall as her nose bled after hitting her face on the other's shoulder. "MY FLYERS!" yerim shouted as her arms let go of the flyers into the vast emptiness of space and she desperately tried to catch them with no avail - paying no attention to the toast that dropped from her lips nor to the blood that was dripping from her nose. "i have to distribute all these as soon as possible," she muttered to herself as she dove to pick the pages up before even acknowledging her s s s sunbae.

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@⁰² changbin s. "я не знаю." [i don't know] youngjae replies to his professor in a soft voice as if begging for his teacher to simply move on from him. he could understand the material, but he couldn't withstand the pressure of pairs of eyes staring at him, waiting for him to crumble beneath the weight of their scrutiny. "speak with me after class, youngjae." the professor says with a sigh before allowing the rest of the class to be dismissed. despite shifting his gaze to the desk beneath him, he can't help but overhear the snickering from his classmates, belittling him in hopes he would hear for himself, but they never dared to face him directly. that was the job of another group of students.

he steps outside of the classroom alongside the professor, especially since the school prided itself upon pushing students to succeed by shaming them in the visible public. "i have no idea how you perform so poorly despite how i see you complete the homework." he says, and youngjae shifts his gaze to the toes of his worn leather shoes. he tries his best to prepare himself for another blow to his self-esteem, yet he never imagined his professor would say what he would next. "the students here are spoiled beyond any redeemable means, but at least they're able to succeed by how ruthless they are. you have nothing. i would rather work for charity and teach russian to the slums since they have a brighter mind than you." he says with the same conviction as if he were delivering a grammar lesson to his students. "youngjae, i want you to look at me." he demands, and youngjae is only able to oblige by his demand by plastering a smile across his face before he continues. "you have no backbone. it's a wonder you've managed to survive in our world. how weak." he says, slowly shaking his head. "now, in the face of your failures i see no reason for you to smile." he finishes with a disgusted shake of his head before he turns away, returning to his office.

by that time, a small crowd had gathered around youngjae, formed mostly of his classmates. he bows his head, holding his face in his hands as he fights back the urge to cry. finally unable to hide his weakness, that's when the insults from his supposed peers began. it usually starts with low blows, but one of youngjae's lead bullies was present--a previous childhood friend of his and lover of his deceased sister. "are you going to join your sister, youngjae?" she calls him, leading for both of those who were familiar or not with his sister's passing to snicker. he sways on his feet from the thought before he leans against the wall to support himself. however, the action caused her to come forward, seizing youngjae by the collar of his dress shirt. "i bet anyone related to you would do it like she did. what other reason do you think made your parents be divorced, huh?" she raised her fist at him as her anger threatens to boil over.

@⁰¹ chenle z. Of course, nothing he said was right. It never quite was, was it? Sometimes Seungcheol felt like an alien, so foreign and far removed from the rest of the world that his responses were nearly guaranteed to be incorrect at every turn. So when his hopeful words only made the other boy look more grim, his stomach dropped. "Oh, I..." He started, not at all prepared for such a situation. "You're still young...there's plenty of time to do what you want. Don't you want music?" There was a bit of a pause as he looked away from the smaller's eyes, feeling a bit nervous for his next request. "If you really quit...could I still hear you play it, just once? I know it's a bit bold of me to ask such a thing...but I haven't been able to stop thinking about it."

@⁰⁴ seungcheol c. why did every word the older speak manage to sting like putting salt on an open wound? the wound created by giving up is dream was already closed up, or so he thought. maybe it was just scabbed over and not completely healed but he kept it covered up so he never knew. "I gave up a long time ago." ten years ago to be exact. those words burned on his tongue not once had he ever spoke them, not since the day he told his parents that he would let go for the sake of his future as the heir of his father's business. "it doesn't matter how talented i am, it's not going to help me in the future."

@⁰² yeji h. "my voice in your head? yeah, without a ing doubt," jisung boasted without hesitation. he allowed the other, as he typically did, to wrap her arm with his even after having faked annoyance. man, he sure did miss her antics. "i'm finished for today, yes. er, wait—" his hand moved to his pockets to fish out his phone, eyes scanning the screen to see the current displayed time. "today's friday, right?" jisung questioned to nobody in particular, even though the date was displayed directly on the same screen he was staring at. he DID have a late volleyball practice today, but it had been so long since the two of them did anything together.

clicking the side of his phone to turn it off, it was shoved back into his pants as he turned to grin down widely at the girl. "yup! i'm free. are you hungry? of course you are." his feet started moving again, ever so gently pulling the younger with him towards the exit of the hallway. he'd think and pay for the reparations for skipping practice later. he needed a break anyways. "i heard our favorite cafe is having a special this week on strawberry cake!"

@⁰³ jisung h. the way the latter opted to comment on her matching shoes, which was admittedly the most boring part to her outfit, drew a snort from the sophomore. she tilts her foot up to tap the back of the shoe against the concrete floor, basking under his compliment with poor attempts to remain humble. "well, i'd like to think i have a little fashionista in me. but it's probably just your voice in my head, huh?"

his swatting hand doesn't fend yeji away and only brought her closer for an arm to curl around his own despite his playful struggling to be freed. "okay, i'll cut the dramatics for today. but listennn, i feel super cute today and you /know/ how that's kind of rare. so can we please, please, please go out somewhere? you're done for today right?" even if he wasn't, her mind was practically set on 'borrowing' his attendance from class so the two could finally catch up on, well, life. university was fun and all, but with the two of them being in separate majors with demanding deadlines and projects, they seldomly had the chance to meet eachother as often as they did before.

@⁰¹ chenle z. "Our arts are our secrets... I understand well," Seungcheol admitted, shyly avoiding the smaller's eyes as he tried to make things right.

He pursed his lips in silent contemplation of the other's words, giving it a simple nod. He'd never thought of it like that...and yet when the smaller spoke, it all made perfect sense. "I'm no musician...I could barely finish the violin lessons I had as a kid, so I don't know much..." Seungcheol tried to cut off his rambling, instead getting straight to the point. "I hope you don't give up on it because of my prying. It's awe inspiring...you're quite the talent, if you don't mind me saying."

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@⁰⁴ seungcheol c. "it's not a big deal." yes it was but only because chenle made it a big deal with his own deep-seated issues with music and creating it. he hated that he had made the male feel guilty, it not being his attention and not being the type of person he was but just as everything seemed to be out of hand for him anymore, this was just something else to add to the messy list.

he inwardly cringed at the compliment that somehow managed to cut like knives inside his head. "it wasn't meant to be perfect. it's supposed to be messy and loud. and the hope is dying out like an ember in a fire that's struggling to keep a flame." he breathed loud deeply before nodding his head. "yeah i did. it's been a never-ending project for me for months now. the music club hardly gets that deep into anything like that."

@⁰¹ chenle z. Dread. Seungcheol was terrible at reading others, yet the boy in front of him effortlessly shone through. He'd made a mistake, whether it be listening to the song in the first place, or repeating it in public. And worse than that, Seungcheol had no idea how to make it right. His music was for him...a feeling Seungcheol knew all too well. How would he feel if this stranger read through his poetry, exposing his heart bare so carelessly? "Apologies, I didn't know..." He trailed off, certain that a simple sorry wouldn't do him any favors. Despite how nonchalant the smaller acted, Seungcheol knew he needed a way to make it right.

"It's perfect," He blurted out before he could stop himself, infatuation with the music all too clear. "The progression, the mood, somber with the faintest bit of hope... you did that all by yourself? I thought there must have been a group or something..."

@⁰⁴ seungcheol c. he dreaded to hear those words fall from the male's words. his face unknowingly showed a look of discontent, his eyebrows coming together in slight frustration. of course, not to the lad in front of him, but to himself for being so careless, for even playing music in a public space if he didn't want anyone to hear it. lifing his hand up, he pinched the bridge of his nose for a second before the same had combed through his dark locks as he seemed to make an attempt to calm himself, not wanting to burst at the male in front of him for his own stupid mistakes.

"No, it's nothing like that." he said with a sigh mixed in with the words. "It's just, my music is just for me. but i guess it was bound to be heard eventually, i was stupid to think i could keep it to myself." his words slipped out in a much softer tone as he made an effort to show he wasn't upset at the male. his lips flattened into a thin line. he was far from ever believing that his work was even decent for a person's ear. he could circle every mistake, every wrong note but then the page would be full, drowning the music underneath it. "it's not. hasn't been and probably won't be." he uttered, already deciding that the sheets of paper would be stored in the back of a book, to not be touched again, not here at saebom.

@⁰² yeji h. "uh-huh," jisung hummed, signaling that he still didn't believe her but would save his almost-heart-attack for another time. he was once again grateful this was all she scared him for and was most definitely worth him running for. he was grateful to have people like her in his life, and he found himself saying that more and more to himself everyday.

"i'm very proud of you, actually," his eyes fell to the shoes she wore to match, almost confident that they wouldn't until he seen them, "you finally have matching shoes too." a snicker escaped his lips before he could even finish his sentence, hand laying flat across his stomach as he tried to calm down at his own comment. the grin was quickly replaced with a "grimace" at the girl's dramatic crying. "oh my god, please, i hate this." his hand lifted and he gently swatted at the hand reaching for his own.

@⁰¹ chenle z. The words rung out clearly in the empty bookstore, and yet it took all too long for Seungcheol to actually process them. The song. Was he singing out loud? His cheeks became an uncharacteristic shade of pink as he wondered whether or not to lie, whether to say anything at all... but eventually, he decided on the truth. "Passing the music hall." He conveniently managed to neglect the part about bumming outside the music hall nearly every day between classes. "They're working on something grand...I suppose it's hard to keep such an earworm out of my head."

His eyes glanced to the other boy, as if desperate to see any sort of understanding on his face...and yet, he was met with the same untrusting gaze. Had he done something wrong, he wondered, his mind running through all the different scenarios brought forth by such a confrontation. Had the kid before him written such a masterpiece? "Sorry, is it a secret project? I'll try to get it out of my mind, in that case..." His voice trailed off, seeming to look anywhere but the boy in front of him as he spoke again. "It's amazing. Though I'm sure you know that."

@⁰⁴ seungcheol c. the music chenle wrote was meant for only his ears, the process of writing music used as an outlet to let go of all his stress and worries, the reason he only chose to be inside the music room in the early morning or late in the afternoon when he knew the halls would be empty of students, or at least that's what he thought after taking note of the hallway's traffic the first week at school.

it wasn't that he was ashamed of his music but after giving up his dream of being a musician, he found himself lacking with his writing skills, his passion lacking to the point of feeling as if his music was mediocre, not fit for anyone's ears but his, hating how everything he wrote sounded like trash to him. on top of that, it wasn't what he wanted to be known for, not anymore. he wanted to make a name for himself as the future heir of his father's business, not a musical prodigy, a name that was left in the dust with the rest of his childhood.

he had been working on a piece for longer than he could remember, never being able to get it to sound exactly how he wanted it to, even a single note being held for too long or too short completely throwing him off. his attempts to fix his songs sometimes lead to him staying longer than he wanted to be, risking the chance of someone catching air of his failed efforts.

it was needless to say that he was beyond shocked at the sound of his song being hummed reaching his ears somewhere in the maze of books in the library as he searched for something for one of his classes. with almost hesitant steps, he followed the faint humming until he was standing behind a male who he honestly couldn't remember the name of, only knowing him from passing him on campus a couple of times as well as seeing him in the library often.

"uh- where did you...hear that?" he asked, his voice shaking with cautiousness.

@⁰¹ chenle z. It was an odd little melody, one that tickled the back of Seungcheol's brain and made him perk his eyes up from the floor.

Piano chords made quick progression and yet it wasn't hasty, so smooth and methodical were the gentle movements of the artist. Chords...or were they keys? Seungcheol was never especially gifted with the talents of music to match his rhythmic poetics, but he did think he could at the very least spot it in others. And whoever the person on the other side of the door was certainly had a gift.

Seungcheol didn't dare peek his head in to catch a glimpse of the prodigy, irrational mind swarming with all that would go wrong at such an encounter. Yet his feet stayed perfectly flat against the ground, a silent refusal to move as the music played on. And he soaked up every chord of it like a sponge, gentle hums soon able to match the sweet melody. Truly lovely, he thought to himself, being awarded this song as a small bit of peace between the buzzing of rowdy students around him. As if it was played just for him, soothing him in all the ways he so yearned to be soothed.

Pathetic as some may call it, such a soft little song soon became the highlight of his day, passing by the music room multiple times in the hopes of hearing it again. And when he did it was electrifying, hearing the artist adding new pieces in the hopes of one day finishing his masterpiece. It was Seungcheol's secret, and it was perfect.

"Hmm..." The song found its way into his head even during his time at work, happily humming along as he put stacks of returned books away, helping them find their homes once again in cramped cases. He couldn't help the way his hands danced around the shelves with his quiet singing, pretending that he harnessed even an inkling of ability to play the piano like such a musician. It was common for Seungcheol to be this lost in his own world, turning his life into a fantasy concerto. It was also quite common for that to be interrupted, this time by a surprised looking junior that seemed to be staring right at him. How long had he been there?

"Sorry, can I help you?" Seungcheol started with his usual routine, putting away one last book before turning his attention to the smaller.

@⁰³ jisung h. she was nervous, of course. both from the fact that she's been donning an attire so unlike her usual wear for the entire day, and second from the way she casually prompted her best friend to fall into a pit of distress from her faux emergency call. her fingers fidget with the hemming of her jean pockets as she continued to eye his features for the 'ok sign.' one, two, three. . . there it was. the smile that graces his lips drew a similar one upon her own tiers before she's tilting her head back in a loud guffaw. "i'm sorry, i didn't know how else to get you here asap!"

all too naturally, yeji begins to strike outrageously comical poses in front of him, probably making it a bit hard for the latter to take note of which area /fits/ and which may need a little trimming but at this point, they were both just used to the dynamic. "i DID! aren't you proud of me?" she pauses her frivolous act in response to his playful comment, smile pulled back into a contrasting thin line. "i don't love you . .. i just think i look good. . . haha kidding! of course, i love you?! and i'm so . . . proud of you." her words ensues a round of fake sniffling as she reaches forward to hold onto his hand. "look how far you've come, my boy. turning /me/ into this baddie, such a great feat."

@⁰² yeji h. "don't i always tell you to be careful?" he had scolded once more before her voice shook him from his examination. so, nothing was actually wrong? but she said— wait. the words she spoke finally registered inside his head and his eyes fell to now investigate what she wore. "i swear to god, yeji," jisung started, tone as if he were annoyed but the half smile on his face clearly showed otherwise. "i should kill you." he'd be lying if he didn't say he was relieved this was what the emergency was.

he stepped forward and grasped at the fabric in various places to adjust it on her form. "you wore this ALL day?" he asked, heart thumping with pride as one his creations (like many other times with his best friend) were revealed to the world around him. "you finally loved me enough to wear it? wow... kidding."

@⁰³ lalisa m. the school likes making renovations? a revelation to jungkook. he hasn’t noticed the shifts in decors and adjustments to different walls (he really paid no attention to his surroundings), but now it made sense that he got lost as often as he did— or at least, he tries to convince and comfort himself so. he gives the digital map a few more trial and errors to familiarise himself with it, toying with the legends and scales before he peels his eyes away from the device to look at the latter instead, mirroring her actions and shoving his phone into his pocket as well. the corners of his tiers naturally tugged up into a wide grin, one that was as bright as hers and in that moment, he realises that maybe lisa wasn’t as scary as he thought her to be; a smile like that couldn’t possibly come from someone , , , menacing.

eventually, he relaxes himself in her presence, apparent from the way his shoulders had slumped back into its natural state and he was no longer bouncing on his feet as if he needed to use the restroom urgently. a new friendship might be forged by the end of the night and that knowledge was enough to encourage the junior into behaving a little better. “the convenience store is fine! are you sure you don’t want to stop by a cafe or restaurant for a proper meal though?” while he spoke, he stretches an arm out with opened palm to gesture for her to lead the way before he continues to blabber away; a habit from the rather outgoing student. “i could drive us both if you’re craving for something else? which reminds me, i drove here so uhm . . . what if i walked you back? do you dorm or do live outside of campus? i think it’s pretty cool to live outside of campus although it does create an issue if you oversleep.”

he didn’t know if he should be embarrassed that a lady was offering to walk him back— shouldn’t it be the opposite where the male walks the lady home, to keep her safe; that was what he was taught by his father. on the other hand, he could take it as a sign that the shorter was comfortable with him and walking him home was an indication that she didn’t mind spending time with him. nonetheless, these thoughts were quickly erased by excitement over making a new companion. “i won’t get us lost, by the way, if me driving makes you uneasy.”

@⁰¹ jia m. Languages, I take Japanese, English, Korean and it involves translating and interpreting, history, literature, all that crap
I roll my eyes as I list the most prominent classes I have among others.
That sounds better. Sure, if you want to learn I can show you the ropes. But I think you'd better acquire some knee pads, helmet... you know, precautionary measures.
I sit inside the car, settling down as best as I can with the skateboard vertically between my legs.
I do actually. You're pretty cool.

@⁰³ jungkook j. // sorry broccoli im on mobile. deal with it. <_____________>

she felt bad, honestly. she wasn't sure whether or not she was coming off too strong. hopefully he didnt take it the wrong way. lisa wasn't very good with making friends. mainly because she was so used to just vibing with people, there was never a need to put labels. she kinda just concluded that if she knew your name then it must mean we're pals now.

"its fine, kook. you can have this file. that way you're not lost all the time but if you still need me or have questions about which way is which, you can always hit me up. i know the school likes to make renovations. we're constantly growing but i take it as a good sign. lots of people are seeing the potential of saebom." a bright smile plastered her lips. she was indeed proud of the school she was attending and to be part of it was just one of her achievements.

once the file was sent to the other, she shoved her phone into her back pocket and crossed her arms against her chest. he was as fidgety as ever but lisa was getting used to it. by now, she's already seen his clumsy, forgetful and timid side all in one night. not gonna lie this dude was a ride. "well- now that you mention it, how about we visit the convenience store? it's not far from the campus and i can walk you back home. how does that sound, hm?"

@⁰¹ jia m. Management? It is difficult, isn't it? Ah, I'm in foreign languages.
That's pretty cool, not gonna lie. And it is a sports car in a way. It's lightweight and picks up speed in no time. The break power is also adapted to higher speeds and it hangs curves nicely. So, congrats, you drive a secret sports car.
I laugh at that softly, making use of my knowledge at least in the more layman type of way, my information is gathered from research on cars and motorcycles throughout the years, ever since I became interested in racing and such. I stagger a little at the term of endearment, my eyes opening wide in shock.
No, not a cutie. I mean thanks, but I prefer 'cool' or handsome'.
I say with a sour smile, my awkwardness showing more prominently this time. I nod at the mention of improvisation.
Nothing to be scared of. I can show you if you want.
That's an impromptu idea, possibly after the coffee we will have. I follow you to your car, making an impressed 'not bad' expression while nodding. I take my spot by the passenger's door. I take my bag off my shoulders, ready to get into the car.

@⁰¹ jia m. That's good. What's your major?
I ask as I bite down on my lip, nipping on the skin. I look at you as to show that I pay attention to what you say, somehow more interested now than before.
You have a car? What type? I'm more of a motorcycle guy, but cars are cool too. I assume it's a smaller one right? But if you have an SUV or a truck, kudos to you for that. Although if you have a sports car, then I might beg you to let me drive it.
My rambling starts from the idea that I like talking about cars and motorcycles, yet I can't deny that I slightly doubt that you know much about these things. But it never hurts to try, maybe you'd know more than I expected and I could share my own opinions on that.
Sure. Do you know any fun places? Like, uh, I don't mind simple things, but uh, after a coffee I would have to exhaust the caffeine, you know? Since I've given up on today's classes.
I snickered at that unfortunate/fortunate idea, since I could really use a day of relax and leisure and not worry about the academics.
Have you ever tried this?
I ask, lifting up the skateboard that has been tucked under my arm at my hip, investigating whether you have ever ridden a skateboard before. It would be unlikely, but not completely. And to me, you seem cool enough, which consequently means that I wouldn't put it past you that you have tried. And my opinion of you makes me ease up a bit, which could make me more open and talkative in the long run.

@⁰³ jisung h. she heard it, soles of his shoes smacking against the floor as it echoes from the end of the hallway. guilt that nibbled along the edge of her heart was quickly brushed off by stifled laughter as yeji pressed her lips into a thin line and awaited his figure approaching at a rapid pace. "i-" her words were merely drowned out by the latter's concern, head craned back in an all too comical position as she stared ahead and waited for him to register her outfit over her health condition. but, when it seemed as if he was still all too caught up by the misleading use of emergency seen in her text, the orangehead places her hands over the other's and gave it a light shake.

"jisung! calm down, i'm okay!" she couldn't help the impish titter that slipped past her lips, guiding his hands back down to allow her to step aside, only to poise a leg out for a full twirl before him. "ta-da! look! i'm wearing you! aha.. . . surprise?"

@⁰² yeji h. jisung swore on his life that he never ran faster than he ever did in this moment. he wasn't doing anything special; his classes had ended 15 minutes ago and more than likely he was on his way back to his dorm. yet, even if he was, if it meant that his best friend was in trouble, he'd drop everything in a heartbeat. his footsteps echoed against the stairs and eventually he pushed himself through the double doors of the hallway entrance. "yeji!" jisung called out to her, enough to get her attention but not loud enough that it could cause a disturbance.

"what's wrong? are you hurt? did something happen?" he questioned, not even giving her any room to answer as he pressed his palms against her face, examining the girl's skin for any damage.

@⁰³ jisung h. maybe it wasn't as much of a crisis as yeji had made it out to be, but as she glanced down at the text conversation between her and her best friend she decided - sure, it was fitting enough. and she expects nothing less but for han jisung to be rushing over to their usual spot by the long hallway to make sure she's okay. it was slightly misleading. . . her emergency wasn't anything concerning. yeji woke up that day, and instead of opting to wear her usual random match of an outfit, she had drawn back all the hanging clothes in her closet to pick out the ones the latter had made himself. naturally, it was way cuter and suited her well as compared to the off-figure baggy wear she'd usually don. and that, in itself, was important enough for her emergency text to him.

@⁰¹ jia m. I nodded in acknowledgement as you stated what class you were going to today, a breathy exclamation leaves my lips at the realization that we would have had English together. At the mention of math, I screwed up a disgusted face since I do not like math at all.
I'm settling in alright, I guess. It's my first year only, so I suppose I should like it for now. How about you?
I follow you outside, letting the door close behind me while I look around.
Can you lead the way? I don't really know where that cafe is.

@⁰¹ jia m. Likewise.
I nodded my head upon hearing your name, a lopsided smile appearing on my face as we shake hands. I took my hand back after the pleasantries and shoved it back into the pocket of my pants. I listened to you as you explained about the cafe. The anonimity the place seemed to offer by your words at this hour sounded great to me.
Cool. Let's go.
With a hesitant step forward I start walking, going slow to give you time to catch up.
Uhh, what class are you missing?
I asked and looked to my side at you as we walk side by side through the hallway. I begun to wonder what major you were, since it would be too much of a coincidence if you were my classmate and we both are ditching the same lecture at the same time, for the same reason. It would be funny, hilarious even, but curious nonetheless.
I was - I was supposed to have uh English, I think. Not a big deal. I'll pay homage by getting an Americano.
With a lame attempt to ease my own stiffness around a stranger, I tried to make a joke, my face showing signs of discomfort and regret the moment those words leave my mouth.
The prof would be definitely proud of that.
I muttered to myself sarcastically, rolling my eyes painfully at my own idiocy, hoping internally that the whole outing wouldn't be this awkward on my side throughout the harmless ditching.

@⁰¹ jia m. Hm?
I turned around to look at you, slightly taken aback by the suggestion. But giving it a minute of thought, biting the inner side of my lip as I do out of habit, I nodded in response.
Sure. Let's do it. I could use a coffee and a day off.
With that said, I stepped off the skateboard and flip it up to take a hold of it, tucking it to my side so I can keep up with you better.
The name's Yibo.
I introduced myself promptly, extending my hand for a handshake if you accept, since I wasn't quite sure how meetings like these worked. With guys it was different. A handshake or a distant nod of acknowledgement would suffice. I wouldn't let it be known yet, but I felt really awkward on the inside, especially with the fact that you're a girl and I have little to almost no experience with meeting girls like this, on accident. That would result in me perpetually nipping on the flesh of the inside of my lip or cheek, in order to soothe myself. Keep it cool, is what I tell myself in my mind.
Do you uh do you know a place that serves coffee around here or-?

@⁰³ lalisa m. right after he stumbles over his words, carmine crept up to the shells of his ears and cheeks. his mind was in a whirl of embarrassment and regret— why did he have to speak before checking who or what had hit him? the only comfort that jungkook could get out from his rather awkward plight was the shorter’s similar reaction, the abrupt change of her pitch offering little humour in his plight, and he feels a small laughter bubble up his throat. he opted to remain silent (one of the few times he actually made a decent choice) and simply shook his head, a sheepish grin etched on his visage as he held a thumb up to indicate that he was alright.

‘at least she doesn’t think i’m weird’. if only he knew.

still unable to meet her eyes, he observes her movements with curious pools of hazels following her every action. the sight of her checking her phone reminded him of the purpose of their meetup, and he soon follows suit, holding the device out in line of both their sights. “i don’t think i have it, but having a copy on my phone would help a lot!” the male had probably tossed the map away, never been one to do regular checks of his items. he listens attentively to the latter, nodding every now and then but the confusion was visible in the wrinkles that had formed on his forehead with his lower lip jutted out as a force of habit when he was unsure of any situation. “that’s a fancy map! never knew the university has one of these . . .” although he wanted to sound confident, there was a waver in his voice, which cued him to recollect how much trouble he had caused her.

“ah, also! i’m sorry for bothering you,,,,,” mumbling under his breath, there was an apologetic tone to his words; how many times has he approached lisa for help? honestly, he wasn’t fully sure why he had always relied on her when faced with a problem. perhaps because she was the vice president of the student council, so there was an implication that she’d never turn him down. “,,,, again. but thanks a lot for coming here! maybe i could treat you to something to repay the favour? after this,,, or whenever you’re free.”