two years ago

"i don't get it!" sooyoung rakes her hair with her fingers in frustration.

"did you finish?" wooyoung peeks his head from the kitchen. "my mom made brownies."

"i'm not yet done." as she breathes in, the aroma from the baked goods filled her nose. "that smells so good."

"oh, honey. if you think that's good, you should try wooyoung's cooking." ms. jung announces whilst taking off her mittens in a rush. "i'll be off now. take care, you two."

both teens bid her goodbye, thanking her for the food.

the boy smiled, placing down the tray. "careful, they're hot."

she almost drooled from the snack but put her focus back on the book in front of her.

wooyoung saw her have a hard time. "do you want to go through it one more time?"

"no!" the girl almost instantly said as she covered her work, only to mumble afterwards, "you said you'll let me taste your cooking if i answer this by myself."

in order to not look like he was making fun of her, he had to suppress a grin. "you're doing all this, but you're not even sure if you're gonna like it."

"that's why i wanna taste it, dork."

"what if you let me help you now for insurance?" the boy offered.

the girl squinted her eyes at him. she really wanted to try his food, hearing how many times his mom talked about it and how many time he declined to cook for her only kept feeding her curiosity. "deal."

***

"why did they decide to have exam days after the field trip?"

minjee patted her friend on the head. "you can join me and jongho in studying! he's good at teaching and is patient with me."

"i don't think he'll be the same to me." sooyoung's pout deepens. "i really need to get my grades up."

the reason why sooyoung needed to get high marks was because of an all expense trip to jeju her parents promised her if she did well in the exams. this was something she and her "friends" from her previous school did quite often, but she never really enjoyed it with them. it was more of bragging who's got more money or who can provide better, rather than sharing funny stories and simply just hanging out.

this time around, she wanted to bring minjee, san, yunho, mingi, and jongho with her and have fun. it's what's making her so eager.

"mingi tutors yunho and san!" the other throws ideas. "we can ask them."

"yeah, i think that's a great idea."

-

this is a horrible idea.

"then, why is the fucking x here? i thought it was below the line thingy?" yunho made an irritated face while circling something on the textbook.

"idiot, that's already the answer!" san answered aggressively.

"don't call me an idiot!" the taller yelled. "we're still solving and you would know that if you were listening!"

mingi tries to stop them, "guys, it's not that-"

but fails. "shut up, mingi!" both hushed him and continued to prove their points.

"i'm sorry, sooyoung." mingi pouted apologetically which the girl found adorable.

she shook her head. "no, don't be. i'm guessing you have a lot on your plate so i'll just find another tutor!"

"are you sure? i can ask some classmates for you." he offered, feeling the guilt of not being able to help a friend.

"i'll be fine!" sooyoung reassured. "plus, handling yunho and san at the same time? you're doing too much."

the comment made mingi chuckle, the sound of his laugh soon buried by a grunt coming from san who was now being choked by yunho.

-

it's already wednesday and the tests start next monday. she has yet to find a tutor. she could always pay for one but that was her father's idea and she wanted to prove she could do it on her own.

not.

she impatiently tapped her pointer on the desk, waiting for an idea to pop in her head.

just then, wooyoung lazily hung his backpack on the back of his chair, grabbing sooyoung's attention.

something clicked inside her mind, causing a mischievous smile to form on her lips.

"wooyoung~" she tapped him on the arm.

the boy turned around, stopping a gag from her tone. "please, don't tell me you killed someone."

"stop thinking the worst of me!" sooyoung smacks him. "but i do need help with something."

"sorry, too busy."

"wooyoung!" she whisper shouted, groaning when she saw him not getting bothered by her whining. "tutor me."

the request made wooyoung tent his brows and scoff. he looked back at the girl. "since when did you care about your grades?"

"since my mom promised me a free trip to jeju." she blurted out delightfully.

"no." the boy almost immediately replied.

"but you used to-"

"no. ask someone else." he faced to the front again.

"come on~" she whined once more. "i don't wanna go to jongho 'cause he's so serious. i tried going to mingi but yunho and san are too aggressive, and mingi can only handle so much."

"i don't see how any of that's my problem." he dismissed her explanations, earning another sound of complaint.

"wooyoung!" she slammed her hands on the table.

the lilac inhaled sharply before giving her a side glare. "don't push it."

sooyoung gulped at that but kept pestering him nonetheless . she leaned forward, placing her chin on his shoulder. "please~"

a half hearted snicker came out of the boy. "how did the word please taste in your mouth?"

"like fucking vinegar." she replied without missing a beat.

they both chuckled as wooyoung glanced at her before giving a response. "fine."

sooyoung made a noise of excitement and gave him a small embrace, feeling accomplished. however, her happiness didn't last long as wooyoung uttered his next words.

"just pay me."

"what?!" her eyes widened in disbelief.

"15,000 won per hour." the girl wanted to protest but was cut off with wooyoung's conditions. "take it or leave it."

she thought about it, rolled her eyes, and scoffed. "deal. so, when do we start?"

"why are you so excited to spend time with me?" wooyoung's smirk could be felt.

sooyoung hit his back, making him jolt. "i'm not joking, jung."

the purple haired sighed, turning around to face her. "i'm not laughing, im."

some kind of tension was growing in the atmosphere that made sooyoung's heart beat faster. the boy's stare, voice, and all in all demeanor was enticing.

"whatever. j-just tell me the time and place."

"cafe across the campus at friday, five p.m." he briefed as the teacher walked inside the classroom. "you can do a bit of advanced reading beforehand but knowing how lazy you are-"

"i get it!"

-

and that's exactly where and when sooyoung was planning to go after school today.

yep, it's friday. the bell just rang, indicating that classes were dismissed and she's currently lying to herself, saying that she wasn't elated to be alone with the lilac.

"sooyoung, this is for that jeju trip." she told her reflection on the bathroom mirror. "not to spend time with your ex."

once finished with giving a pep talk, she made her way to the said cafe. if you're wondering why she didn't tag along with wooyoung when they're headed the same way, it's because he wasn't in school anymore. he skipped.

she only assumed he was already at the venue.

when she reached the place, she breathed in and out before pushing the glass door, hearing chimes ring at her entrance. she scanned the room, searching for a the familiar purple hair.

just then, she caught sight of a hand waving seemingly to her.

"snowflake, over here!"

a/n: i know it's been so long, but we finally got a break after a long time:')

also, any tips for a oral thesis defense?? help im not good at public speaking and im so gonna die

well, i mean the earth only has 4-5 years left if we don't do anything about it:'))))) little things matters!! do whatever you can to help save the planet!! huhu pls im not studying for the future im not gonna have:')))

how about you?? huhu are you okay?? has life been treating u well?

ilysm and stay safe<33