Lissa$

he dug in his pocket to take out a cigarette and put it in his mouth when the sound of hurried footsteps stepping on puddles distracted him. he turned his head towards the noise, immediately setting eyes on the figure sprinting towards him: a girl in winter clothes held a bag above her head as a shield from the rain while she ran in his direction. she stopped right next to him, breathing heavily and drenched in water.

kyung jun turned his attention back to his tobacco. he paid her no mind. why would he? he had enough to deal with seeing as he also fell victim to the pouring rain.

he felt the weight of the stranger sitting at the other end of the bench as he took out his lighter. however, rolling the flint wheel was useless as only a spark came out. he tried again. and again. and again, but still no flame. kyung jun's breath rose erratically and his pent-up frustration with it.

"fucking piece of shit", he sent the thing flying with as much force he could manage, making it break into pieces. was nothing supposed to work in his favor? he can't stop misbehaving like he promised his mother, he can't be the top of his class like he promised his father, he can't stop himself from lashing out right in their faces; for fucks sake he can't even light a cigarette. maybe they were right: he was worthless.

out of the corner of his eye, he saw something being handed to him. the stranger had reached her arm out with a lighter in hand. kyung jun's eyes varied from it to the face he'd been ignoring: drops of water were falling from her hair to her cheeks, she wore headphones around her neck and a lit cigarette between her parted lips, with eyes that stared at him through wet lashes, waiting for him to accept the offer.

he reached for the lighter, brought it close to him, and finally took a puff of his cigarette.

"you okay?", asked the pretty girl.

he looked back at her, seemingly taken aback by her interest but nodding nonetheless.

their interaction was cut short with a quick smile from her as she put her headphones on.

in his mind, kyung jun caught himself juggling feelings from shame to disappointment, realizing maybe he wanted somebody to ask if he was alright. he wouldn't have minded an opening to more conversation, even if it was to forget his troubles for just a few minutes. but he understood. i mean, who would care about a stranger on the streets anyway? who would care about him anyway?

the time passed as quickly as did his pack of cigarettes and now, with an empty box in his pocket, kyung jun's anger was rising once again. not because of the distress of his mind though but because of the loud music disturbing his peace.

after what felt like hours of trying to ignore the noise, he decided he had enough and aggressively waved his hand to catch the girl's attention.

"mmh?", she looked at him and removed one of the speakers.

"turn that shit off."

"excuse me?" she scoffed raising her brows.

"i said," kyung jun pointed at the headphones that were now around her neck, "turn it off. it's fucking annoying me."

she let out a teasing chuckle. was she... laughing at him right now? "fuck off. i'll listen to my music however i want."

...the fuck? his mouth opened in disbelief. this was a first. nobody, and i mean nobody, would even think of talking back to him like that.

"who do you think you're talking to?" he turned his body to her with a scowl intimidating enough to make anyone at his school go running with their tail between their legs.

"someone with no taste in music, apparently."

damn, she really was laughing at him.

kyung jun's mouth opened to fight back but no words came out. he couldn't believe it. he was stunned. did the rain wash out every threatening aspect of him?

it could be the cold, the shock, the contagious smirk of the pretty girl, or maybe the exhaustion finally catching on to him, but for whatever reason, he couldn't find it in him to say anything back. so he laughed. just slightly. some probably would consider it more of a defeated sigh. but he did.

"what?"

her smile was taunting him, provoking him to keep talking.

"nothing", yet he didn't have the energy for it, not right now. so today, he'd let it slide.

her smile shifted from cheeky to genuine when he brushed her off. as much as she enjoyed the banter, she had enough awareness not to tease any further.

"you know what," instead, she disconnected her headphones before handing her phone to the guy. "if my music is so annoying to you, show me something better."

kyung jun frowned, but a small smile graced his face, betraying his attempt at indifference.

and so he accepted her offer, for the second time that day.

minutes went by with surface-level conversation and recommended songs. it was a pleasant distraction for him, at least enough to make him miss the way his pulse merged with the beats of the tunes. they enjoyed their time together until the faint sound of wheels appeared in the distance. turning off the music, the pretty girl stood up in front of him.

oh right, the bus.

for a second, he forgot where they were.

"well, that's my ride" she announced, just seconds before said ride stopped before them.

for a second, time seemed to freeze.

the girl said something else, but whatever it was fell on deaf ears. it felt like his senses were failing him all of a sudden.kyung jun sat there, helpless and paralyzed, as he watched her walk away. a chill ran down his spine, causing goosebumps to break out all over his body. his mind was screaming at him to do something, anything, to make her stay just a little bit longer. he wanted to ask for her name, to strike up more conversation, to find out who she was and where she was going. but he couldn't bring himself to move. all he could do was see her disappear, without time to wonder what might have been.

when he came to his senses the bus was out of sight, and the empty spot on the bench felt heavier than ever.

kyung jun looked at the sky. there was not a single ray of sun to be seen, but at least the rain had finally stopped. he leaned back and just as his hands came to rest in his pockets he touched something cold. he took it out, eyes falling on a lighter. her lighter.

he could feel the beat of his heart against his ribcage. why? where did all this adrenaline come from? since when has he become so soft as to let such a flimsy little thing make his head spin and his face fire up?

"fuck", he cursed to the skies.

as the days went by, his intense but short-lived experience with that stranger remained fresh in the back of his mind. no matter how many times he tried to blur her face she was like a ghost that reappeared every time he looked away, a fading memory he couldn't fully forget. 

at the back of the school's building kyung jun took the last puff of his cigarette just when the bell announced the start of classes. he dropped what was left of it on the floor at the same time his two companions dropped the innocent student they had been tormenting. they walked together to their classroom with the same enthusiasm as a kid who received a pair of socks for christmas and sat in the back row. 

"good morning, class", the teacher greeted as she stood in front of the students, who immediately saluted back.

kyung jun rolled his eyes and laid down on his desk with no thought other than finding the perfect position for the three-hour nap he was about to take until his next break, wondering if his dreams would finally be undisturbed by images of the one he couldn't fail to recall again and again. 

"alright," the teacher clasped her hands to get the class' attention. "before starting our lesson, i'm pleased to inform you that we have a new student coming in today and i hope you'll help them accommodate to the school."

already starting to doze off, kyung jun's eyes remained closed even after someone knocked on the door and the tutor welcomed them in. "welcome, please come in and introduce yourself."

"hello everyone, my name is yoon yn. i hope we get along well."

what the...?

his eyes shot open. 

there's no way. no fucking way.

he saw the new student politely bowing at the front of the room like she wasn't the same that had been living in his mind rent free day, night, and day again. 

"thank you. please, take a sit."

she walked like in slow motion towards the back of the room and, for a split second, their eyes met. the idea that he must've already fallen into a deep slumber invaded him when she sent him a subtle smile before sitting just a few sits away from him.

the teacher regathered the attention of the room and started her lesson. needless to say, his plan of breezing through the school day with a nap got ruined.

hours passed insanely slow until the bell rang through the speakers and announced a much-needed break. 

having pulled up two chairs by his side, jin-ha was cracking up at something on seung-bin's phone. whatever it was, kyung jun couldn't care less. his eyes were set on the crowd surrounding the new girl as his classmates smothered her with questions and compliments.

"are you new in town, yn?"

"what school did you use to go to?"

"were you in any clubs?"

"well–", yn tries to answer in between the frenzy.

"O-M-G, you should join our cheerleading group!" interrupted mi-na.

"im not interested in any clubs, thank you" yn declined with a smile.

"oh, of course." said so-mi, "someone like you was probably on the student council, right? you can always help me and jun-hee with-"

"i'll pass. thank you, so-mi."

"woaah, the class president got rejected!" heo yool pointed out and the small crowd joined in the teasing.

in the chaos of it all, she managed to find him staring. the moment was brief, yet enough for kyung jun's heart to skip a beat. 

"you know her?" 

"huh?"

"do you know her?", jin ha repeated. "the new girl."

kyung jun hesitated but shook his head, "no, i don't."

"could it be?", seung bin dramatised. "does ko kyung jun have a crush?" 

his friends patted his back, mocking him, and giggled in unison. 

"shut up," kyung jun sighed and leaned back on his chair closing his eyes with his arms crossed, trusting they'd get the hint that his temper was better off not tested.

"he didn't say no," seung bin whispered, gaining a repressed chuckle from jin ha.

boring lessons and occasional glances between the delinquent and the new student continued throughout the day until finally the moment to get out that hellhole arrived. 

by the time kyung jun had his bag over one shoulder and ready to go the class was almost empty. yoon yn was putting away her stuff without any rush as if she wasn't the only one left in the classroom.

"hey, kyung jun!" seung bin shouted from the door. "you coming or not?"

"nah," he answered without turning his eyes away from the girl. "i'll see you tomorrow."

with a shrug, seung bin left the room with jin ha following after him, not before exchanging a knowing look.

"move, nerd!" was the last thing heard from the two vandals out on the hall before they left. 

kyung jun approached yn with the same caution you do a stray cat in fear it'll run away and with each step, his pulse accelerated. as the girl cleaned up her belongings, he leaned on the desk next to hers wth his hands inside his trousers' pockets.

"the uniform doesn't suit you, you know?"

she turned to him–smirking–their eyes met and, for the first time today, neither looked away.

"i could say the same for you", yn crossed her arms.

"i'd say it's better than wet clothes.", he shrugged.

"please," the girl rolled her eyes, "it was just a little rain."

"a little rain?", kyung jun repeated. "you were literally running with your bag on your head."

"you were watching me?", yn put a hand over her chest and furrowed her brows, yet her smug smile remained. "you weirdo."

"look who's talking, you fucking stalker."

"excuse me? why the fuck would i stalk you?", she pointed at him.

"you tell me," he teased, lifting his hands. "you're the one in my school."

kyung jun kept staring at yn waiting for another one of her snarky comments but instead she tightly closed her lips together.

"what?" he provoked.

unable to hold back any longer, she let out a peal of laughter which made kyung jun's eyes widen as much as his own smile. he couldn't help it, her laugh was contagious and the situation was amusing. randomly meeting someone and obsessing over them to later find out they just enrolled in the same school as you is something you would only see in movies; or fanfiction.

yet here they were.

"nothing", yn smiled, finally gathering her stuff and putting her backpack over her shoulder, ready to leave.

leave?

flashes of the day he thought he'd never see her again flooded kyung jun's mind. he couldn't bear it. to someone else, this might seem extreme; desperate. now that they were classmates he'd most likely see her every day, so why even panic in the first place? but maybe, just maybe, he was desperate. to him, seeing her leave felt devastating. like a reminder of the day his whole body failed to even ask her name. but if the universe saw it necessary for them to meet again, that meant he wasn't supposed to let her go, right?

kyung jun clumsily opened his backpack and took out the trinket he'd been carrying around since that rainy day, handing it to her.

yn stared at him with her eyebrows wrinkled.

"here", the guy insisted, slightly shoving the lighter toward her.

"why?"

"'fuck you mean why? it's yours."

"i told you to keep it. you didn't hear me?"

"oh," he felt what seemed like a heatwave run through his neck and ears. "i guess not."

"all that shit you gave me about my loud music and look at you." she mocked.

the guy lowered his head. he would have run away right then and there to avoid any more embarrassment if it wasn't for the little pride he still had.

"hey, uh..." she paused. "sorry, what's your name?"

all this time and he still hadn't introduced himself? fuck, he really couldn't do anything right, huh? 

"ko kyung jun."

"right. so, kyung jun, since it's such a nice day out i was wondering if you'd be free to show me around?" 

like on queue, sunshine started squeezing through the window’s blinds.

he wasn't sure if it really was the world roaring at him to see the signs or if she just happened to take pity on him, but whatever it was he felt relieved, and his anxiety washed away the moment he lifted his head to look at the girl with her arm extended.

this was it, wasn't it? the opportunity he keept missing? 

how many times will she have to reach out until you take the chance, dumbass?, screamed the universe.

"sure", kyung jun uttered. "i can do that."

she offered her hand, and for the final time, he accepted.

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