✎ rooftop

@✧ n. jaemin It was one of his favorite places to be when he needed to get a social recharge from the rest of society. Sure there were still a few people up here but there was no expectations or standards held against him and he could be just himself, Wonjin. No nicknames, tricks or anything else included.

The rooftop had a certain vibe to it, so when someone showed up who didn’t match the vibe it was obvious. Wonjin had lifted an eyebrow in confusion, but payed no mind to it despite his slightly curious state. He’d probably hear about why the male was on the rooftop later from any word. That was, however, until said male was taking a seat right next to him. “All yours.” He tried his best to hide the confusion in his tone.

Na Jaemin. He was one of the popular kids, of course Wonjin knew who he was, he knows just about everyone in school. Even if just by name and association, however, the male never cared to get to know the man sitting next to him. Thought he was too arrogant. Twiddling his apple pencil in his hand as he tapped it on the screen for a moment before looking back up the male, can’t help but to ask. “What are you doing here?”

@✧ c. yeonjun the sun continues to cast a warm glow on the university as chaeyoung makes her way to the rooftop to meet up with yeonjun. his last message to her doesn't get a response as she already told him that she is on her way, anyway. it would be a lie to say that she isn't excited in the slightest to practice the lines for their play. they rarely get paired since one of them would only receive the lead role while the other would have the supporting role. others are already excited for them to act on one stage as the leads for once; after all, their rivalry is a popular topic amongst the theater people.

chaeyoung climbs the stairs to the rooftop, her footsteps echoing inside the quiet building. after reaching the top, she scans for yeonjun, taking in the familiar surroundings all the while. she spots him soon enough; her eyes take in the figure standing on the opposite end of the rooftop. this prompts her to walk closer for him to notice her.

"hey, I hope you didn't wait that long," she speaks, the distance between them decreasing before she stops in place, giving him a friendly smile.

@✧ h. wonjin "Eugh," Jaemin makes a face as he feels something sticky on the handle of the door to the roof as he pushes it open. "Why up here?" He grumbles to himself, quickly wiping his hand on the varsity jacket of a football player as he brushes past them. This isn't a place he normally goes. The rooftop is for smokers and outcasts and losers that don't feel like showing their faces to the rest of the university populace: i.e. the kinds of people that Jaemin doesn't associate with on principle.

But here he is, wearing his tightest black jeans with a sparking silken top tucked in, clearly dressed to impress, on the rooftop.

He's looking for someone; another student that he didn't know the name of until two days ago, and only saw his face yesterday when Jaemin's "friends" pointed him out. 'That one,' they had said. 'You think you're such hot ? Try and make him fall for you in a month. You can't.' At first Jaemin didn't rise to the obvious bait, but they continued to question his pull, and what was he supposed to do? Let them think he couldn't do it? Jaemin could have his pick of any guy in this university and have them eating out of his hand if he wanted, and this one would be no different.

Finally he spots them, a bit away from the other people mingling on the rooftop. Jaemin makes his way over, steps confident and expression morphing into something pleasant, maybe even a bit shy. "Hi," he says, sliding into the seat next to them. Jaemin smiles and leans his elbow on the table. "Is this seat taken?" he asks, even though he's already sat down.

@✧ k. junhoe Maybe Aria is so invested in her own problems dealing with the likes of Vernon that she cannot help but ignore everything else around her, fixated on the anger she has bubbling up within her at the older guy. All she sees is sharp tinges of crimson flooding her irises at the thought of the stupid male, his dorky smile when speaking to his friends, his friends who actually act like they're worshippers of some idiotic cult. It's annoying to say the least, knowing how respected the jock is around the campus - it doesn't amuse Aria one bit and surely it doesn't make her like him or empathize with his ty behavior. Thinking that she's all alone, the young female decides to unwrap the chicken sandwich she brought from the cafeteria up to the rooftop, hoping to have a somewhat peaceful lunch, away from all the popular kids flocking around the campus.

With her eyes and clearly all senses succumbed by the desperate hunger clawing at her entire being, she quickly took a bite from the sandwich with a soft hum of approval, only to choke a little on the bite upon finally hearing a scurry of feet moving against dried leaves, withering away on the floorboards of the rooftop, just where the patch of green starts. Eyes wide and scanning wildly as she finally zooms in on a familiar face and figure that doesn't bring as much peace as she was hoping for - after all, who wouldn't know Junhoe? Another jock - another one of Vernon's stupid friends, this causes the taste of bile to rise in , spreading across her tastebuds. Mustard, mayonnaise, and chicken are long gone, only the stench of disgust plummets through her entire being as she rolls her eyes away briefly and breathes in deeply before elongating a soft sigh.

"You're asking as if you care," she spats out softly, unsure where the wave of confidence and sassy behavior comes from - realizing that the girl was never this off edge, but since she has been attending the campus, being picked on the popular 'good looking' jock around school, maybe she has become a bit more feisty than usual. Something about her snapping at the male, taking the time to even check in - which he surely didn't owe her that much brings a sense of guilt, it chokes her and she coughs softly, blocking as her onyx orbs flicker to eye the crinkled pack that's being offered. Her brows shoot up and her lips pull into a thin line, the voice of her mother lingering in the back of her mind, "Don't start vices Aria, you're better than that," yet deep down, the girl feels stressed out and oddly tempted, even if the scent of smoke coming from the other has her nose scrunching up in disgust.

"I'm sorry," she finally whispers, eyes downcast and cheeks still stained with some drying tears, her hand quickly moving up to wipe across her smeared cheek, possibly adding some bit of condiments onto her face in the process which she sure looks rather amusing. Finally, her lashes flutter to gaze at the male, her eyes taking in his features as the sunlight glistens off of his skin and she notices that yes, it is indeed Junhoe who's taking the time out of his day to speak to someone as pathetic as her. "I've never uh smoked before, but I think I wouldn't mind trying... I just don't know how to," her confession causes her to flush in embarrassment as she casts her glance away and then nudges her sandwich in the older's direction. "Would you like a bite?" She offers, not having anything as exciting as cigarette or booze which she's sure he may prefer, but the chicken sandwich being the only thing she has on her right now.

"Also, you know that I'm not okay and why I'm not okay... You see it for yourself, and I don't know however long you've been there, so pretty sure you've heard my embarrassing tyrant." Grunting out, the girl slumps down against the bench, clearly feeling lost, confused, and utterly pathetic, feeling weak isn't something Aria can ever be proud of. Even though, she grew up quite sheltered thanks to her father, doesn't mean her mother never taught her how to be tough.

@✧ aria He'd seen her around occasionally. In fact, he'd seen her around somewhat often since the start of the year, especially considering Vernon seemed to have a thing for picking on this girl in particular, which meant he ended up noticing her a little more than he usually would notice most of the general crowd students who filled the hallways at breaks or the cafeteria during lunch time. Unless they were popular, chaebols, or in his usual social circle, mostly consisting of long-time friends, other jocks, and fraternity or sorority members, he was unlikely to remember their faces. He had always been terrible with faces anyway. But this one girl? He did recognize.

He watches as she strides through the door, allowing it to close behind her and not looking all too pleased. She doesn't notice him right away, getting a little more comfortable as she believes herself to be alone. He'd been sitting a bit to the side of the building, using one of the walls to shield himself from the sun, but also from any other intruders, as his usual goal coming up here was to be alone anyway. He ignores her at first, giving them both their own space and just bringing the smoke stick to his lips and inhaling slowly as he keeps his eyes down on the slowly growing crowd that occupied the benches and spread onto the garden through the main area just down below. Once he hears the girl's voice though, his gaze snaps right back to her in curiosity.

For a moment he is confused about whether there's someone else there and he peeks back a little towards the door only to find it closed. He locks back on the girl who is still facing, forward just down from the beaming sun. The girl's frustration is obvious, not only in her tone but also in the irritated gestures and he considers leaving her to be alone with her own issues. It is only as he attempts to quietly push himself up as to not alert her to his presence, surely it would make it a little awkward, that he finally notices the slight glistening streaks over the girl's cheek. She was crying? He dabs the dust of off his black pants as he exhales slowly, considering what to do next, before letting out a small sigh. He was not great at dealing with feelings, and he had never been a terribly empathic person either, but it felt a little ty to just leave her there without checking. Especially after being present for the multiple times the girl got made fun of, or tripped, or had other similar teasing tactics used against her by Vernon while he just watched. With a small roll of his eyes at his own decision, he finally approaches the girl, quietly taking a seat a couple of steps from her.

He isn't sure the girl would even enjoy knowing he was here to witness the moment that was probably intended to be private, but he turns to face her, trying to analyze the girl's expression, in case there was a cue in there for him to leave. She doesn't look much like a smoker, in fact, she doesn't look like it at all, but he still extends the crumpled cigarette pack towards her in offer, in case his guess is wrong. "You good?"

@✧ k. junhoe 'Where there's anger, there's always pain hidden underneath...'

Aria knows this without a doubt, that something about everything ongoing between Vernon and her, it's confusing and a long line of trepidations keeps springing into her mind in the tone of her mother's voice, warning her about men like him. This is exactly what her mother kept preaching to her before shipping her off to live on the university's campus, a big stretch and sacrifice, but knowing that it would make sense to have her stay rather than travel back and forth home every single day - plus, Aria was a bit too sheltered, her father wanted to spoil her rotten, but her mother while still having the young, Indian girl standing by her roots - she wanted Aria to at least grow out of her shell and become independent for herself. Learn new things, try different things (healthy things), clearly, not planning on following the wrong crowd, wanting to fit in and not be picked on, eager to be attending the big frat party this upcoming weekend.

The last snide remark from Vernon additionally to his foot kicking out and tripping her, causing the tiny girl to fall on her knees, books splayed across the floor, that didn't even hurt, only further edge her on - causing her to be angry beyond words, eyes seeing crimson as she shoves the older male against the wall, even whacking his chest in aggression as she glares at him. Her words echo hollowly in her mind as she stalks up to the rooftop. She's been here long enough to know that the rooftop opens up only three days of the week, students come up sometimes to eat in privacy, away from the stares in the cafeteria or out in the quad. Aria didn't even care for her lunch due to being highly nauseous after the instances of seeing how Vernon was getting close to Sohee, a senior who's cliqued in the outcasts. Something about it pissed her off even more than him tripping her, all that rage fueling deep within her tiny body causing her to shudder with anguish.

Something about everything combined brings forth a lot of negative emotions, she's sad and if there's a tear trekking down her cheek, she dare not acknowledge it. As she walks over to settle down between the lush of grass surrounding the rooftop, the sun glaring down at her, she takes it in with a deep breath, tipping her head up and allowing the vitamin D to soak into her cells. It feels good, missing some of the heat from back in India, eyes carefully opening but the glare is a tad bit too bright so she has to look down - a bit relieved that she's the only person up here, at least for now. With hopes of gathering her emotions and sorting through them, she tries to ignore the dull ache that constantly thuds in her chest, anytime she sees Vernon approaching Sohee, leaving her like she's simply a waste of space - is it crazy to miss the bickering and fighting sometimes? His attention was solely on her, but then the stupid senior passed by and she's long forgotten.

"I'm even calling my senior stupid and hating on her, I don't even know her... Who the hell are you, Aria?" Running a hand through her disheveled, onyx locks, the girl's fingers trap a couple of strands in between, giving an ample tug in annoyance and frustration, breath shuddering as she tries with utmost strength and her best to calm her nerves so she doesn't snap and reach that breaking point of no return. She cannot smear her mascara and worse yet, what if someone else joins her up here on the rooftop - not being a friend per-se but someone, anyone, and spots a first-year girl crying her eyes out... What a way to stick out like a sore thumb, like her accent doesn't do that enough as it is.

Breathing out deeply, she ran her hands over her thighs, patting them and muttering under her breath, still not aware if anyone was around her or not. Maybe it's better to have people think she's a weird girl, talking to herself rather than someone who's being a big crybaby over some harmless 'jokes and remarks.' "Chin up Aria, don't let it get to you, don't let him... get to you, he's nothing, a waste of space... yes... waste of space," breathing out the words quietly, her eyes slip shut, as her stomach coil in hunger and she gives her clothed tummy a little pat.

her vibe & look: https://i.imgur.com/0iQJVyr.jpeg