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haseul hates high school. besides the overwhelming workload and her time consuming extracurricular activities, she’s the class president which means she has to arrive at school the earliest before everyone and make sure the whole class is set up so the daily lessons can begin smoothly. this is a responsibility she wasn’t ready for, nor did she want it, but her class all unanimously voted for her and haseul is too much of a pushover to say no.
so, yeah, haseul hates high school. haseul hates waking up an hour before her classmates usually wake up. haseul hates the ten different alarms she has to set up every night and wake up to every morning. haseul hates never having enough time to eat breakfast. haseul hates being reliant on coffee. haseul hates her strange uniform for school with the full sleeved jacket and the shorts that always end up making her a combination of too hot and too cold.
but what haseul doesn’t hate is her commute. why? does haseul have something that helps make the commute easier? maybe a rather captivating playlist that keeps her entertained throughout her bus ride? maybe haseul likes reading books, something to refresh her mind in the morning? oh, maybe the bus ride is enough time for haseul to finish her unfinished homework? well, no. it’s nothing like that.
haseul has a crush. although she likes to deny it.
this summer, someone had finally moved into the vacant house next to haseul’s, making them her new neighbors. haseul wasn’t particularly interested, she didn’t even find out until two days later when she was on her balcony and saw someone on the balcony opposite to her. did it nearly give her a heart attack? yes. did it make her yelp resulting in the stranger looking straight at her? yes. did it make haseul’s cheeks flush bright pink and rush to her mother? yes.
haseul was very convinced that she had just seen a ghost, okay? she needed motherly affection. through her mother, she found out that a family had moved in next door, with a daughter the same age as haseul.
‘’will she be going to the same school as me?’’ haseul muttered, face squished into her mother’s lap.
‘’i don’t think so. i think they’re a bit,’’ her mother whispers conspiratorially, ‘’rich.’’
haseul hadn’t understood what her mother meant until the first day of school and haseul found herself walking alongside her neighbour to the bus station. both of them had left their houses at the same time, awkwardly making eye contact, and when haseul had started walking, her neighbour had just matched her pace.
through the corner of her eye, haseul noticed that her neighbour’s uniform truly looked a bit too preppy for public school. she wore a navy blue skirt that flowed with the early morning breeze and a white t-shirt tucked into the skirt finished with a cute, blue bow. at least they were both wearing the same white tennis shoes with white socks although her’s had pale blue bows on the socks as well.
it seemed like there was no restriction against hair styles anyway because if it weren’t for her dark roots, haseul would have probably thought she was a natural blonde. not that there was anything wrong with that, haseul shook her head, she looks cute as a blonde, it’s truly a colour that suits her.
it’s quite interesting how throughout her walk with her neighbour, they haven’t spoken a single word to each other, haseul doesn’t even know her name and regrets not asking her mom beforehand. they sit on the bench together to wait and her neighbour leaves no opportunity to make conversation as she plugs in earphones.
they end up sitting on the bus together as well and haseul has no idea how these events are unfolding. her mother’s theory of her neighbour being rich was only solidified when haseul was dropped off at her school alone and the bus was now continuing its journey to the more upstate area of the town.
and that had somehow become haseul’s morning routine.
/
over the months of commuting together, haseul learns more about her neighbour. for starters, her name is jung jinsoul, she’s in her last year of high school like haseul, hoping to become a marine biologist. unlike haseul, her backpack isn’t filled with granola bars or unfinished homework. she prefers to chew bubble gum everyday and listen to her music. from her earphones, sometimes, haseul hears piano tunes or soft ballads.
sometimes jinsoul takes selfies in the bus to send to her friends on kakao and the way she poses is so cute to haseul that haseul has to hide her face in a book so her pink cheeks aren’t obvious. other times haseul can’t help but marvel over how does someone just look like that, a side profile so perfect that even models can’t compare.
haseul would find her own staring creepy if jinsoul didn’t reciprocate from time to time. there was this one day haseul hadn’t found enough time in the morning to dry her hair properly or put on makeup. so she pulled her bob in a tiny half bun and wore circle rimmed glasses to hide most of her face. she thought that would make her less obvious but it only made jinsoul stare more. when haseul was going to exit the bus for school, jinsoul wrapped her hand around her wrist and went, ‘’glasses look pretty on you.’’
haseul blinked once.
then twice.
‘’thanks,’’ she finally replied.
both of them flushed red.
/
since then, both of them gained the courage to talk to each other more. haseul would grab extra granola bars for jinsoul in the morning or an extra baked good that her mother might have made the day before. haseul’s mother is quite fond of baking and when she found out that jinsoul likes her baking as well, she only became more passionate, always asking haseul if she gave jinsoul the extra cookies or brownies or cupcakes.
jinsoul, in turn, always had new song recommendations to share. she would listen to them with haseul together on the bus, sharing earphones. sometimes haseul would point out a particular part she liked, sometimes they would sing a verse they liked together, giggling quietly after as to not disturb anyone else on the bus.
haseul had also come to realize that some things didn’t effect jinsoul like they affected her. when haseul had dropped her pencil case on the bus, both of them had reached for it at the same time causing their hands to brush together. haseul had retracted her hand immediately, ears burning red, but jinsoul had calmly picked up the pencil case and placed it in haseul’s lap. it was also quite common for their knees to knock together as they sat together but whenever that happened, it was always haseul who got flustered and moved away, further into her seat.
jinsoul's ears would turn pink every time they touched but maybe haseul never noticed.
/
it’s very uncommon for haseul to have jinsoul waiting for her outside her house. mostly because they always leave their house at the same time so they’re always walking to the bus stop together. if haseul is late, jinsoul will probably already be at the bus stop, maybe sitting on the bench listen to her music or leaning against a pole, blowing bubbles with her bubblegum.
but when haseul exits her house today, jinsoul is right outside, supporting herself against the mailbox. she’s blowing her same bubblegum, swinging her bag back and forth just to kill time.
‘’oh! jinnie,’’ haseul says in a way of greeting. jinsoul looks back at her and smiles, glowing in the sunlight, her blonde hair luminescent around her like a halo. ‘’how long have you been waiting?’’
jinsoul blows her bubble, ‘’not long. a few minutes.’’ and begins to walk ahead.
that seems like a lie, haseul thinks as she watches jinsoul walk away but she grins anyway, skipping after jinsoul. something inside her feels giddy. giddy at the fact that jinsoul waited for her outside her house. waited for her, waited for haseul so they could walk together.
haseul locks her arm with jinsoul’s, grins at her surprised expression as she looks at haseul. ‘’you don’t mind, right?’’
‘’not at all,’’ jinsoul shyly smiles, pulling haseul closer to her.
haseul has never felt happier.
/
it’s when both of them are fully settled into their seats, jinsoul turns towards haseul, offering an earbud but also wanting to talk. ‘’my parents’ are going to be out of town for the weekend.’’
‘’oh? any special occasion?’’
‘’not really,’’ jinsoul mutters as she scrolls through her playlist, ‘’they’re just visiting my grandparents.’’
‘’okay,’’ haseul replies, turning towards the unfinished homework on her lap.
‘’do you want to,’’ jinsoul says quickly, volume increasing with each word, and it’s as if she notices what she has done, her mouth clamps shut and she flushes red. haseul looks at her curiously as jinsoul clears her throat, tucks her hair behind her ears, and looks haseul right in the eyes.
‘’do you want to come over? to my house? my brother’s having a party kind of thing.’’
it’s not the first time, but haseul is struck again as to how beautiful jinsoul is. the way her brown eyes glow and sparkle in the morning sunlight, her clear skin without a single blemish, her lips that are always the perfect honeysuckle colour. it takes haseul a few seconds for her to realize that she has to reply to jinsoul’s offer. she hums, wrings her hands in her lap.
‘’i don’t know, jinsoul,’’ haseul begins, ‘’i’m not really into parties.’’
‘’well, it’s not necessarily a party,’’ jinsoul shrugs, ‘’more like a chill hangout. we could just stay in my room if you’d like? watch a movie or something?’’
haseul tucks her hair behind one ear as she smiles towards jinsoul. ‘’perfect. what time?’’
jinsoul grins, pearly whites on display, ‘’tonight. seven pm?’’
haseul nods in agreement and they both go to their respective tasks, huge dumb grins adorning their faces.
/
everything in haseul’s closet is trash, according to her. nothing is pretty enough for her to wear to jinsoul’s and if she doesn’t make a decision quickly, she’s going to be super late for the party which is not called a party. she checks the time and she only has twenty minutes left. cursing she pulls on a dressy striped button down shirt with black ripped skinny jeans and her combat boots. haseul is not very well versed in makeup so she goes for the easy route which is a simple red lipstick and eyeliner.
she wears a silver band on her thumb and a dainty necklace rests among her collarbones. hoping this is good enough for a party, she leaves her house, and the next thing she knows she’s knocking on jinsoul’s door. her house has always looked grand from the outside, painted a pristine white with columns and huge windows, and overall roman inspired architecture.
jinsoul opens the front door, looking as ethereal as always in her leather jacket and spikey boots, her hair pulled to the side. she smiles and opens the door so haseul can enter. low bass thrums through the house, haseul notes young adults of all kinds sprawled over couches, tables, chairs, red solo cups in their hands, quiet, electric chatter coursing between them all. haseul is entranced until she feels a grip on her wrist and suddenly she’s being tugged towards jinsoul’s room.
‘’all of my brother’s friends are pretentious film majors,’’ jinsoul chuckles, ‘’trust me. you do not want to have a conversation with them.’’
haseul grins as she looks around jinsoul’s room, a pretty combination of deep blues and purples. ‘’i’ll take your word for it.’’
in one corner, there’s a keyboard sitting pretty, a cushioned seat set in front of it. jinsoul’s bed is huge and right next to it is her study table with her pc, her laptop, and some nintendo consoles, it seems like. haseul gasps when she notices it.
‘’blue! he’s so pretty!’’
there’s a fish tank in one corner of jinsoul’s bed room, right next to her dresser. and it holds blue, jinsoul’s pet blue male veiltail betta fish. haseul has heard about blue on various bus rides but to see him in front of him is another thing. haseul notices that he’s alone in his tank.
‘’ah, you did say that he does not like other fish?’’
‘’yeah,’’ jinsoul grimaces, ‘’he’s an anti social fella. it’s better to keep him away.’’
haseul notices multiple machines attached to the fish tank. ‘’what are these for?’’
jinsoul points at each one as she explains, ‘’bettas actually prefer slightly acidic water, very slight like pH 6.5 to 7. so this boy helps maintain the acidity, ‘’ she motions with her hands as she explains other stuff, ‘’cold water can suppress the immunity and cause illnesses for bettas, so this machine helps regulate the temperature.’’
‘’woah,’’ haseul breathes out, ‘’that’s a lot of things to keep track of.’’
jinsoul tucks a lock of hair behind her hair as she mutters, ‘’well, we should probably start treating fish as friends who we take care of rather than decorations.’’
haseul grins as she straightens up from where she was gazing at the fish tank, ‘’you’re absolutely right! i’m sure you’ll be a great marine biologist, you’re so smart and meticulous!’’
jinsoul whines at the compliments, her cheeks reddening despite her best efforts. ‘’you’re really smart as well, haseul!’’
haseul giggles, ‘’you don’t have to compliment me just because i did it.’’
jinsoul pouts even harder, ‘’no, it’s true! you’re really responsible and work hard on making sure that everyone around you is comfortable. that’s one of the reasons i like you!’’
jinsoul’s eyes widen and she slaps a hand over her mouth. haseul gasps.
‘’jinsoul,’’ haseul begins as she nears jinsoul but the blonde is looking anywhere but at haseul, ‘’did you say you like me?’’
‘’i wasn’t supposed to confess like this tonight.’’
‘’you had a plan?’’ haseul laughs.
‘’shut up! i was going to serenade you with my piano under the moonlight and it was going to be super romantic!’’ jinsoul’s ears are fire truck red right now. she meets haseul’s eyes and the look in haseul’s eyes is fond, fond, fond.
‘’you can still do that, baby,’’ haseul whispers, ‘’i like you, too.’’
jinsoul blinks once.
then twice.
and haseul doesn’t know who leaned in first but now they’re kissing. rosey lips pressed against honeysuckle lips. haseul’s hands instinctively rest at jinsoul’s waist, grabbing at her shirt’s fabric, as jinsoul’s fingers run through haseul’s hair. the kiss is short but sweet. they grin as they part and not a second later, they’re kissing again.
and again.
and again.
when they’re done, jinsoul holds haseul’s hand and leads her to sit down next to her on the piano seat. she places haseul’s hands on the piano and her hands on haseul’s as to guide her through the notes.
‘’any suggestions?’’
‘’do you know crush’s beautiful?’’
jinsoul grins, ‘’that’s a bit sappy but yeah, i know it.’’
so they play the piano underneath the moonlight, honey vocals suspended and filtering in jinsoul’s bedroom, gentle like a flower coming back to life in new spring, proclaiming a love that has soon to begin.
haseul and jinsoul look at each other. and they smile.
/
fin.