untitled.

Rami couldn’t say anything but to stare at the stranger in shock. Her eyes widen as she stared at her with her large doe eyes. She was about to apologize for waking her up by creating such a commotion but the stranger in front of her didn’t give her a chance to. She shook her head and lowered her head a little in embarrassment, “n-no, you’ve mistaken. i-i’m not the new librarian!” she responded quickly while shaking her head aggressively. Never in her life would she thought someone would have mistaken her as a librarian. She always thought she had the look of an athlete but apparently, she thought wrong. She shook the thought out of her head and turned her attention back to the girl in front of her. What took her by surprise the most was the girl’s outspoken personality. The things she said threw her off guard and she let out an amused smile. “Yeah, you’re pretty good at that,” she chuckled. However, upon hearing that the stranger wanted a favour from her, she got curious. “What do you need me to do?” she leaned closer a little and asked.

“Will you take photos of me?” Sera asked, the smile on her face widening following the request. “Do you know what Instagram is? Do you have an account? Ah, of course you have one, you’re really so pretty! You probably post pictures all the time, right?” Brown eyes remained fixed on the other as she dug her phone out of her back pocket, using her thumb to routinely punch in the pass code. “Anyway, since I’m transferring to university, I’m going to finally open my own Instagram account--- technically I already have one, but I really never use it.... It’s so old now. I’m just going to create a new account, and this one is going to be very pretty! Have you seen any popular Instagram accounts?” She asked, opening the camera app on her phone, shoving the compact device into the others’ hands. “They’re really so pretty, right? Ah, they have so many followers too... I want an account with a beautiful feed and also lots of followers like them, so I have to take a lot of pictures and post only the prettiest ones! That’s why I need you to take pictures of me. You can do that, right?” Turning on her heels, Sera put a bit of distance between herself and the girl, posing against a nearby bookshelf. “Really, it’s so easy. Just take lots of pictures of me looking pretty, and I’ll help you clean the mess. Ah, I’ll even buy you lots of delicious foods! Have you eaten yet? Are you hungry? Please build up a nice appetite.”

It was late at night and the school was deserted. Since her tests were coming, they only perfect place in school to study was the library. And luckily, it was rarely in use and she only chose to go there when she was sure that there was no one there, which was late in the evening. She headed to her favourite quiet corner in the library and threw out all her materials. She looked around and besides the librarian and her, she didn’t see any other students. Just as she was about to start, she heard a soft snore coming from somewhere near her spot. Being the curious person she was, she followed where the snore was coming from and found a stranger lying against one of the bookshelves, far back into the library. She debated with herself whether to wake the person up or not, but in the end she chose to walk away. On her way back to her seat, she accidentally knocked into one of the book stands causing everything to topple over. “Oh crap,” she muttered, hoping she didn’t wake the stranger up with the commotion she caused.

Sera usually wasn’t the type of person to fall asleep in such a public place. Although she had dozed off in class maybe once or twice, the idea of sleeping in public made her uneasy --- mostly because she sometimes drooled, and she imagined the sight was less than appealing. Still, she couldn’t help herself today. She’d spent the last few weeks studying diligently for exams, and between that and her attempts to socialize with people around campus, she was left exhausted. Light reading in the library seemed like a good way to relax (and be productive at the same time), yet there she was, sitting with her back pressed against a bookshelf, head resting on a bulky slab of rigid material. Definitely asleep and paying no mind to the open book in her lap. It probably would’ve remained that way, had she not been waken up by the sound of things crashing to the ground. She jolted awake immediately, sitting upright and looking into her book as if she’d been reading all along. Once she realized someone was standing towards the end of the aisle, she glanced over at them, making a correlation between them and the books on the floor. “--- Are you okay?” She said in a quiet voice, lifting herself off of the floor and approaching the other with a curious expression written across her features. “Do you work here in the library? Is it your first day? Ah, you must be so nervous, right? You really made such a mess. You should be more careful, especially with making noise... It disrupts people’s study time. Did you see me studying? I’m really so good, right? I know.” She stated with a nod, inspecting all of the books on the floor. “Do you need help to clean this up? Ah, I’ll help you! But first, will you do me a favor?”

“probably. i wouldn’t blame them,” sage responds, laughter evident in her voice. after all, doesn’t everyone have their exclusive gatherings where they make fun of everyone else, whether they’re aware of it or not? “i think getting made fun of is just a part of life… you have to take it with stride, or something like that. well, their blood feasting parties are probably great bonding, just like humans have potlucks– we just think of it as bad since they’re feasting off us.” she snickers again. typical human nature, fear everything without knowing the real details behind it. “nah, i think vampires still need blood. that’s kind of their whole thing. but maybe twilight was onto something, and they can just feast off animal blood. i think that all the names are the right names– but maybe they have their own terms for it, so no one’s really wrong. like how a certain word has a different meaning in each language… but it’s still the same word at the end of the day. something like that, maybe.” sage shrugs as she speaks, glancing down to get a better look at the high schooler. “you could totally be a fairy! you’re all small and cute and adorable, i could see it. like tinkerbell… yeah. she was a smart little thing, i can see it. but i think all the actors are just actors. everything’s a little too normal in the world for them to secretly be mutants. can you imagine the government scandal if that gets found out?” she fakes a gasp, pressing her hands to her cheeks in a somewhat exaggerated manner. “at our school? i dunno…. they’ve been keeping themselves pretty well hidden, i think. but there’s this math professor… she might be a vampire. she won’t take a picture for the yearbook or the school paper. maybe because she won’t show up in them?”

“but isn’t it mean to make fun of people? i don’t like getting made fun of. do you like getting made fun of? ah, does anyone even make fun of you? you’re really so pretty, so probably not, right? plus, since you’re a mermaid, it doesn’t matter. you can just smack someone with your tail --- except that might really hurt, and you could get in trouble, so i don’t think you should do that.” she warned,  the solemn expression on her face reflecting her words of advice. when sage made a comment about vampires bonding over blood-feasting parties, sera shifted uncomfortably in her seat, lips pressed together as she thought about it. maybe the other had a point, though. the idea of vampires feeding off of humans seemed a bit horrendous, yet somehow, the idea of them feeding off of animals didn’t seem so bad. in fact, it seemed like the better option. “ah... this is really such a scary topic,” she shifted once more, “do you think vampires could be nice and not so scary? why would they steal blood from people who haven’t done wrong? why not just take it from bad people? what would you do if you were a vampire? you wouldn’t feed off of me, right? ah, blood doesn’t even taste good, anyway! it tastes really bad, like metal.” she fell silent, eyes widening at her own comment. “--- i only know that because sometimes i hurt myself while making stuff, i’m not a vampire. i don’t even look like a vampire, right? i’m only a human. but i should really be a fairy, so i’m going to buy a costume--- ah, what am i saying... i could make one! should i make you a mermaid costume? but you probably won’t need it, right? instead i’ll just make you the top!” she reached for her pencil, eyes focusing on the notebook in front of her as she begun drawing her own depiction of what a mermaid top should look like. “have you tried taking a picture of her yourself? what happens if she really is a vampire?” the girl asked, pausing the sketch as she looked back at sage with a worried look on her face. “isn’t it scary that we might go to school with vampires and we’ll probably never know?”

She shrugged. “I guess I could’ve been reckless and messed around if I wanted to, my parents wouldn’t have stopped me,  but I wasn’t really into that as a child.” Jisoo couldn’t help but laugh a little. “You can definitely ask how old I am. I’m pretty sure women only get pissy about that when they’re over thirty. Luckily for you, I’m only twenty, so I don’t have a problem with it.” She nodded. “I’m the oldest, but that isn’t doesn’t feel like much when it’s just me and my little sister. I like it. I mean, we’re close so that helps. If you want we can trade siblings, but just for a little bit. I’ve never had a brother before so I’d love to see what it’s like, but I’d need my sister back over a little bit.” Jisoo didn’t mention the stress that came with her sister. The stress that she would never be able to make enough money to support her, that she couldn’t be the older sister she needed. Still, she wouldn’t give up her sister for the world, no matter how many concerns came with her. Jisoo looked up, thinking for a moment, before giving a small nod. “I suppose it is pretty fun, but not because of the trip, and more because I like playing the sport. It would be fun whether for me whether we were playing here or at another school. So I guess it doesn’t really count as a field trip.” Jisoo grinned. “You don’t have to worry about that. I like art, but I’m not particularly good at design or anything, so you’re completely in charge of poster design. I can help by getting people together to help protest. The sports teams love having something to fight about, so I can get a bunch of them on board if we need them.” Jisoo held in her laugh when the high schooler leaned down, quietly inquiring her about whether or not she was a spy. Holding back the grin that was threatening to break out Jisoo put on a serious face, cautiously looking around the library dramatically, before bringing a finger to her lips to make sure the other kept her voice down. “I’m afraid I can’t really answer that, and it’ll be easier for me if you don’t bring up that idea in public areas like this.” The second the subject was changed Jisoo straightened herself, pretending she hadn’t said anything odd. “Aspects of it are difficult, but I don’t struggle too much with it. If anything it’s just a ton of work and I wouldn’t mind more free time.” Jisoo raised an eyebrow. “If your eyes are burning you definitely need to take like a ten minute break and drink some water. That tends to make the feeling go away.” Jisoo shrugged. It was weird talking about this. She was better at playing the dumb jock than being honest about the amount of work she did, and how good she was at subjects like math. Despite the honesty this didn’t feel natural to her. “Well, it is pretty scary, but there are ways to have options. I’m a double major for example, or you can have a major or a minor. But you should make a decision you’re comfortable with, that’s what’s the most important. You seem like you think a lot. As long as you don’t rush into a decision without thinking about it, you’ll be fine.”

"Ah, really? Isn’t that a bit... sad?” Sera inquired with raised eyebrows, genuinely curious about the others’ home life. “What were you like as a child? Did you change a lot since then? Have you always been this pretty, too? Did you get plastic surgery? Do you have baby pictures I can see? I'd show you mine, but I was really so ugly growing up. I’m a lot prettier now. It’s because I don’t wear pigtails and glasses anymore---” She paused the moment the words left her mouth, shifting her gaze towards the pair of girls she’d previously been working with. One was sporting effeminate eyeglasses, complete with a dual color frame, and svelte, rectangular lenses. “--- Ah, but yours are so cute!” She offered a warm smile, attempting to save herself, although it was too late. The surly expression on the others’ face made that obvious. Pursing her lips together, Sera continued observing for a few more seconds, then returned her attention to Jisoo, who (for some reason) didn’t seem to be getting tired of her. “It’s not that glasses are ugly,” She continued, still trying to redeem herself. If she wanted people to like her, she couldn’t have people thinking she was the insolent type. “But mine really were, they were so thick. It’s why I wear contacts now. Can you tell I’m wearing them? No, right? I’m really glad I traded, I don’t know why my mom let me wear those glasses outside. She must really not like, right? I wish she would burn all the pictures of me from that time period...” She sighed, voice trailing off while she made a mental note to actually ask later. It was unlikely that her mother would agree to it, but worth the try, anyway. “Does your little sister look up to you? Is she a mini-you? Do you boss her around?” She continued with her series of questions, seat turning, one leg folding over the other. “Ah, trust me, you don’t want my brother as a sibling. Not even for five minutes. Not even for five seconds! He’s just really so annoying, ah, he’s such a know it all, that one...” It was true that her brother was a show-off, but Sera acted similarly, whether she wanted to admit or not. The outcast possessed a genuine love for learning, and took great pride when it came to showing off what she knew to her schoolmates. “Do you really like art? When is your birthday? I promise to make you something that’s really artistic! Do you like candles? I can make cupcake-shaped candles--- ah, but if I make them for you, you have to be really careful you don’t forget that they’re candles. I forgot once, and it was really so horrible. They look so delicious, but they taste so bad...” When given an ambiguous response about whether or not she was a spy, Sera was left speechless, cluelessly looking around to see if anyone else had heard that. No one. “Uh...” She leaned forward again, the volume of her voice dropping. “--- Could we please talk about it later? I really have to know more.” She nodded, retreating back to her original position. “What’s a double major? Is that where you major in two things? At the same time? Is that allowed? What’s a minor? Ah, college terms are really so confusing. I bet it’s funner than high school though, right? Do you prefer university over high school? What are the classes like? Can you do whatever you want? Your teachers don’t tell you what to do, right?”

She had a wild imagination, he would give her that. She seemed to always have questions and be impressed easily; like a child. Maybe that’s why he had let his guard down so much around her. “Of course they don’t do that much.”, he started while laughing slightly. She just kept surprising him. “I tend to skip a lot but they ignore it since my grades are high and i’m the vice president. Even if I do something wrong, they’ll never think I was the one who did it.”, he explained. “They do mostly stuff like that. I would love to get candy though.” He honestly was satisfied with his school life; others wouldn’t have it as easy as him after all. Well, one way or another, he would find a way to make them shut up; his role as the vice president just made it easier for him. “No we don’t, normal since this is technically a club. We have to do something. I guess you could considerer anyone below me in the student government my staff though.”, he said with a bright smile. “Don’t tell them I said that.” They probably already knew but why would he try to aggravate them and say it in their faces? “Yes they can be anonymous, as long as everything else is filled. You won’t get in trouble but we may ask you to come to the meeting if we think it’s necessary. That never happened though, no worries.”, he nodded his head with a slight smile. “I won’t forget my loyal follower that’s for sure. My name’s Sehun.”

“Oh, really? You skip a lot? Why? What do you do when you skip? You must not like your classes if you skip them, right? Why not? Are they hard? Do you hate your classmates? Why would you hate them? Do you get bullied? That’s really so bad, you should have them expelled from---” She paused, carefully eyeing him from head to toe. Come to think of it, he certainly didn’t look like he got bullied. Upon first glance, he had an intimidating demeanor. And aside from that, even if she wasn’t sure of his name until now, Sera was well-aware of the high status he carried around Mokwon’s campus. It was likely that most of the student body looked up to him, not down. “--- Ah, wait, that was a stupid question, right? Of course you don’t get bullied.” She chuckled, simultaneously shaking her head. “They don’t give you candy either? First no feasts, and now no candy...” Perhaps having a staff team behind you was far better than a few sweets here and there, but Sera still felt like student government members at least deserved candy for their efforts. The news only furthered her assumption that they were mistreated. “What kind of candy do you like? I’ll purchase it in bulk! And ah, don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. I’m really good at keeping secrets. For example, when my brother was in middle school, he made a shrine for his crush, and every night, he would sit in front of it and pray that she would be his girlfriend. That’s really so embarrassing and creepy, right? But because I’m a good person, I’ve never told anyone---” She paused again, cheeks flushing with color once she realized what she had done. Again. “Except you.” It went without saying that she really needed to give more thought to her words before she spoke them. This wasn’t the first time she’d told of her brother’s former pastime - but at least she hadn’t directly named him, right? “Anyway,” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, eager to change the subject. “Will you really remember me? When you become president of student government, I think you should give a thank you speech and mention me - you know, to be nice. Are you going to university? If you do, are you transferring to Mokwon’s secondary education division? Are you going to join student government there, too? Do you like it that much?”

Jisoo did her best to play herself off as nonchalant. “Eh, you wouldn’t know it. It’s a small town a few hours out from here.” She quickly dropped the topic with a wave of her hand, moving to the girl’s next comment instead. “Well that’s good. Independence is definitely fun, although my parents had never been particularly strict to begin with so I haven’t gained much by leaving them. Not to mention it would be nice to see my family a little more. I miss my little sister after all.” Jisoo didn’t see a problem in admitting to missing some of her family, they were close after all and she didn’t plan on pretending that they weren’t. Jisoo laughed slightly. She was slightly overwhelmed by the girl. Even with her talkative nature this was a bit much for her, but still, she did her best to keep up with what was being said to her. “I mean, who doesn’t want more field trips? I thought that was a common goal of all students. Although, to be fair, I get to travel some for sports games, so I guess I see more than the average student, but it’s typically just other schools and fields that I visit so I don’t think that counts.” Jisoo frowned, given the way half the student council acted she highly doubted complaining to them would do much, nor did she believe they were being starved, but not wanting to bring negativity into the conversation Jisoo kept her mouth shut. “I’ll prepare for a protest just in case, so that we’re ready if it has to happen. And I mean hey, I don’t have much interest in the student council meeting room, but I’m always down for a top secret break in mission sort of thing, if you want to go snoop around, but if you don’t want to get in trouble you better be good at running and hiding. We can’t get in trouble if we don’t get caught after all.” Jisoo laughed, in an attempt to show that she was joking, despite the fact that if the girl legitimately asked Jisoo would definitely try to break into the student council room with her. Jisoo shook her head in disagreement. “Yeah but there’s a difference between pretending to, I don’t know, like someone’s dress, and be in love with some stranger who’s payed to be your romantic interest. And I haven’t tried modeling, but it’s probably not for me. I’m definitely not tall enough, and I’d rather wear sneakers than heels.” Jisoo laughed with a short nod. “It could include making robots, but there’s different kinds of engineering, like mechanical or chemical. It really depends on what I want to do. It can be a little overwhelming cause it’s a lot of math and science, but I enjoy it enough that it doesn’t matter.” She paused, before deciding she shouldn’t be the only one answering questions, and added, “Do you know what you want to major in?” 

“Really, you don’t have strict parents? What’s that like? I bet it’s so cool, right? Did you do whatever you wanted growing up? How old are you, anyway? Can I ask that? You’re not older than twenty-five, right? You don’t look twenty-five. You don’t even look twenty-four.” Sera noted, eyeing the other up and down as she made an attempt to guess her age. Eighteen? Nineteen? Early twenties? “Ah, you must be twenty or twenty-one, right? Are you the oldest? Do you only have one sister? What’s it like? That must be really cool also, right? I wish I had a younger sister. I would trade my brother for one, but my parents are probably too old to have another baby.” She paused briefly, wondering just what it would be like to have a second sibling. Fun, maybe. She would have someone that looked up to her, and more importantly, she would have a chance of having a ‘normal’ sibling relationship. Her brother was nice, there was no denying that. He made it clear he loved her and he always seemed to express concern for her well-being --- but Sera had grown far too resentful towards him for their relationship to ever be considered normal. And if they weren’t under the same roof, she made sure to avoid him at all costs. “Are visits to other schools fun?” Sera lifted her gaze, looking towards the other again. “If not, it doesn’t count, so we should definitely prepare to protest! But don’t make any posters, okay? I’ll do them. I’m really so good at design.” She nodded, prideful as ever about her crafting skills. “So how do you break into a room and not get caught? Have you ever broken into a room before?” She raised an eyebrow and leaned forward, the volume of her voice falling to that of a whisper. “Are you a spy? You don’t look like a spy - but you sound like one. You must be one, right?” She nodded again, correcting her posture, allowing her voice to return to regular volume. “Ah, that’s so much cooler than being an actress or a model. But I bet it’s hard, right? Why do you like hard stuff? I hate it. Especially math, I can never remember anything unless I study it until my eyes burn. Have you ever done that? It really hurts a lot.” When asked what she wanted to major in, she shrugged her shoulders lightly. It was a good question, but she hadn’t given that much thought. “I don’t know. Maybe acting, because I like it so much, right? But I don’t think my parents would want that. How do people choose what they want to study? Isn’t that scary? Picking one thing to do for the rest of your life - what if you get your degree, but get a job and realize you don’t like the field? Ah, that must really be so sad. I don’t want that to happen to me. I should choose carefully, right?”

sage can see how sera’s expression quickly falls due to her statement, and she pouts, mind racing for a way to make her feel better and keep the conversation from veering down depression lane.  “i think they would be a little happier to stick around their own people, and reveal themselves as they see fit. maybe they have really nice secret societies that we don’t even know about, and all it takes is earning their trust to be revealed to it!” she adds, enthusiasm present in her voice as she makes a mental note to keep these ideas in mind for her next short story. “they’re based off comic books. a group of mutated humans– it parallels a lot of discrimination that people face. they’re not really scary, just action packed. i like movies like that… lots of action. and the marvel movies, comedies too– i’m not too big on romance movies. sometimes they’re cute, but a lot of them are the same.” as she talks, she can’t help but peek at sera’s screen– maybe there is a supernatural doctor out there, right in front of her face, but her suspicions are only proven right in that she’s alone. “i don’t know– maybe something’ll happen and it’ll just pop out the blue like an epiphany. shrink, a psychiatrist? therapist or something? i dunno why they’re called that, actually. he’s just not good… his movie was all over the place and didn’t make much sense. i don’t think he’s cute. i think he looks kinda old.” she scrunches her nose as she pulls out her phone, looking up the name on google before turning the screen towards sera. “they are undead, yeah, so they probably aren’t all that cute. no, i don’t think so? zombies lose their brain, complete control of themselves… vampires are still themselves, just different?” even she knows that her statement makes little sense, she can’t move the words from her brain to out loud, so she simply laughs instead. “i’m glad too, i wouldn’t want to have to live off blood. sounds like a deal! i’ll watch all your movies and pay attention to them if you keep my secret.” 

sera raises her eyebrows at the others, lifting a free hand and scratching the side of her head as she contemplates what life as a supernatural being might be like. “do you think they have club meetings where they make fun of humans?” she asks, scrunching her nose slightly. “ah, that’s really so mean.. i don’t want to be made fun of. plus, what if they have really scary meetings, huh? what if vampires have blood feasting parties together? they probably---” she realizes she’s projecting stereotypes again, and her words come to a halt mid-sentence. there’s always the idea that supernatural beings are portrayed as evil in movies because the government wants the general public to shun them. of course, sera is above that. and the more she discusses them, the more eager she becomes to meet them. “what if vampires don’t really need blood? what if they don’t even call themselves vampires? who named them that in the first place? do you ever think about why mermaids are called mermaids? and witches? and werewolves? i really have to know, i have to speak to them - ah, but i don’t know where i would meet any. i think since you’re a mermaid, you should find out where they all hang out. you can do that, right? since you’re one of them? and then you come get me, and i’ll pretend to be one. i can be... a fairy. right? because i look like one?” she pauses again, lifting her hands and using them to frame her face for added effect. “i could be tinkerbell--- except i don’t have wings and stuff, but i could buy it at a halloween store. it’ll be like i’m acting in a movie, kind of like the xmen one. i bet that’s a really fun movie to be in. ah, what if they’re not even actors? what if they use real mutants?” she turns her head, eyes peering at the screen displayed in front of her. sage was right in her opinion that he wasn’t cute. at all. “hmm. do you think there’s real vampires at our school? do any of your teachers seem like a vampire to you? because really, i think some of mine are questionable - but also some of my classmates.”

Everybody knew that if were talking to Sera you were ready to get into a rollercoaster of stories and questions that would never end. When there was a slight stop on her speech Sunghoon actually looked up at the girl, just in time to catch some words of preoccupation. “I’m not sad, don’t worry about it.” The athlete fixed his sitting while running a hand on his hair - completely unsure of for how long he was sitting in that chair. “I guess I’m just a little tired.” And after that sentence his eyes locked on her food once again like it was made of something shiny. Maybe it was the lighting.

"Are you sure? You can talk to me if you’re sad, I’m really good with listening. One time I listened to a girl cry for three hours straight. Ah, that’s really so long, right? I didn’t know that people could cry so much, it was so surprising. It was also really tiring too, honestly, sitting on the floor for three hours really hurts your bottom. Are you going to cry? For three hours? Ah, you really shouldn’t... too much crying can deplete nutrients in your body. I know this, because I read about it once.” She paused, scrunching her nose in thought as she attempted to recall where she’d read such a fact. A textbook? The internet? A poster at the doctor’s office? “--- I can’t remember where, but I really read it, I’m not lying. You should search it online if you don’t believe me. Anyway, why are you tired? Did you stay up late? Do you always stay up late? Even on school nights?” She curiously inquired, raised brows quickly furrowing together when she discovered that he wasn’t even looking at her. “You know...” She began, eyes following his gaze until she realized what he was looking at: the food she hadn’t even bothered to touch since sitting down. “Do you want this?” She questioned, pushing the dish towards him and dropping her hands in her lap. "I can’t eat it. I was going to, but shrimp crackers taste really taste so good, I ate too many of them. But I usually don’t do that, because my mom says I shouldn’t have so many snacks in between meals, since it sabotages your diet. I try to listen to her even if she’s not here. Do you listen to your parents? Or do you disobey them? Ah, I don’t know how people get away with that... I think my parents are aliens, anyway. They know everything. It’s so weird.”

Jisoo just smiled and nodded as the girl thanked her, not really sure if she had meant to compliment her, but glad that the girl was happy. Jisoo couldn’t help but frown slightly at her questions about her high school. She didn’t want to tell the girl about how she had gone to a rundown high school and that she was really only making it to Mokwon on scholarship, but she had to say something. “Well, my family isn’t from around here, so I stayed close to home for high school. Don’t worry, we didn’t have enough field trips there either.” She paused, trying to figure out what to say. “I wound up coming here for university though because of the education opportunities. The academics are a lot better than a university near my home town.” It was basically the truth, it just left out some major details that Jisoo didn’t intend to share. She shook her head, trying to reassure the girl. “No no, most of the teachers are fine. This particular teacher is just a bit of a pain. He’s not particularly patient.” Jisoo laughed off the compliments. She wasn’t used to people commenting on her looks, but it probably partially had to do with the fact that she was most seen on the field, in gym clothes, covered in sweat. Jisoo shook her head again, a small smile on her face. “Oh no, I could never act, and the modeling industry isn’t for me. I’m actually double majoring in dance and engineering, so I can’t just escape university for fame I’m afraid.”

“Ah, really? Where are you from? How far away is your family now? Are they really far? My parents live two hours out. It’s not sad at all, I really like the distance. I feel like an adult. It’s really so cool.” Sera mused, a content expression flourishing on the features of her face as she spoke. She then crossed one leg over the other, comfortably propping an elbow on top of desk’s surface. It was cool to be independent and not miss your parents, right? Missing them made you a  big baby... or so, she figured. She never saw anyone crying for their parents. Even on her very first day at Mokwon, it seemed like everyone sent their families off with a hug and smile, so Sera followed suit, saving her tears for the private bathroom in her dorm. These days, thankfully, she didn’t think about them as much. Having this new-found freedom was nice - even if she didn’t utilize it.  “Do you want more field trips? I want more field trips. We should start an official protest--- oh, but we can’t do that yet because I made a complaint with student government and we have to give them a chance to fix it first. Don’t worry though, since I’ll be a first year student in university next year, I also made a complaint with your student government, so you don’t have to do it. I’m so cool, right?” The grin on her face grew in size, and she nodded in response to her own inquiry. “Ah, but maybe you should have attended a school that has good academics but also treats their students better... Do you know that Mokwon mistreats student government members? They starve them, it’s really so bad... I hear they don’t get the special treatment they deserve. Have you seen their conference room? It’s boring... but because I’m not a member, they probably hide the good stuff from me, right? They probably have a top secret, hidden room for members only... Ah, we should just sneak in and see for ourselves, but then we’d get in trouble, right? I don’t want to get in trouble.” She shook her head, waving it off. “Why can’t you act? Anyone can act, you’re just pretending. I don’t know about modeling, I’ve never done it. Have you ever tried it? How do models walk in heels? Doesn’t that hurt? It looks like it hurts. What about engineering, do you make robots? Why? Isn’t that difficult? Do you like it a lot?”

Jisoo grinned, doing her best to laugh into her hand, although she wasn’t too concerned about having the other high schoolers across the table yell at her, she was an upperclassman after all. “Well then, you’re already way more prepared than I was. I got lost so often I had to draw a map for myself. But then again I didn’t come here for high school, so you have an unfair advantage with that.” She frowned briefly, more to be dramatic than anything. “I’m a good student too you know. It’s not like I cheat on tests or anything, sometimes homework is just difficult and I need a little help. They’re two completely different situations.” Jisoo tried to put her hands up to calm the girl next to her but it was difficult when she was still giggling. “Don’t worry, no one’s gonna force you to do their work for them, that only happens when you come off as a complete and total nerd.” Jisoo was joking at this point but she wasn’t sure if the girl would pick up on that or believe her completely. Pretending to check Jisoo looked down at the page in front of her, still just as blank as it had been when she first arrived at the library. “I think it’s supposed to be chemistry but honestly it all looks like a foreign language to me. Maybe it’s actually a message from aliens and I’m not picking up on it. That would make more sense than if it was actually supposed to be chemistry.” Jisoo nodded quickly to show the girl she recognized what she was talking about. “Yeah Google. You can find a ton of information there, but I get super distracted on computers, so I might just be getting even less work done than I am now, which should be impossible since I’m doing literally no work at the moment.”

“Ah, you think so? Thank you, I worked really hard. Ah, this campus is so big!” Sera grinned, completely flattered by the other’s statement. When she mentioned that she hadn’t attended Mokwon High, the expression on Sera’s face shifted to that of curiosity. “--- Wow, really? Where did you go? Why didn’t you go here? Why did you decide to attend Mokwon for college? Do you think Mokwon is a good school? Ah, you really should have come here for high school, it’s really nice... except we don’t get enough field trips. But that’s my only complaint.” She nodded, continuing to ignore her study-mates. Really, what kind of study group was this, anyway? Everyone kept their nose pressed into their books. Aside from Sera, no one really spoke. It was boring, and it wasn’t really an effective method of studying, seeing as Sera hadn’t learned anything while sitting here. “If your homework is difficult, why don’t you tell your teacher? Don’t they help? If they don’t, ah, that’s so bad. University must be so horrible then, right? They assign difficult homework, and they don’t even help you... Wow, I should hurry up and become an actress so I don’t have to go to University. Can you act? You look like an actress. Ah, but you probably model, right? You’re really so pretty. You should quickly leave school, in that case. Popular pretty people don’t need it.”