Chapter Text
If there was one thing Ryujin was absolutely certain of, it was that Sayeon Lee was going to be the death of her.
At first, she assumed it was her behaviour.
The cold rigidness paired with a slap of frigid disinterest which radiated off of her every move was enough to cause the weakwilled to shudder.
Or maybe it was the attitude.
The way she seemed to percieve her peers as unworthy to start a conversation with unless, by some impossibly elaborate plan of hers, she deemed it useful. Always bearing the same unfazed, conniving expression as if she was pondering over a game of chess, looking down on the poor pieces while considering which move would be the most beneficial. Even if it had to be a sacrifice.
Perhaps it could've been her appearance.
How, no matter the season or weather, Sayeon's uniform was always in a perfect condition. Dark fabric kept smooth and neat as though it had been ironed a mere minute ago which clung to her slender frame as if she'd had it tailored. Each part sparkly clean without a whisp of a lint to be spotted with an embellished tie outstandingly straight, unfurling from a meticulously folded collar, snaking down a pristine white shirt before disappearing behind the folds of a precisely buttoned suit jacket.
But it sure as hell had to be the disgruntled look of pure despisal Ryujin was greeted by when her feet skidded to a rough halt at the threshold.
With an arm planted at the doorframe, shoulders rising and falling in an exerted pace as her chest heaved with deep breaths, she was mercilessly confronted with nothing but utter disapproval brimming in the cold stare.
Despite the stabbing intensity, not even a stray trace of shock could be found in Sayeon's judging stare. And Ryujin tried, put as much effort as the glare which creased her face allowed.
There was just something about the girl that never failed to stir the smouldering coals of hatred nestled deep inside her gut.
For example, after her palm flaccidly slipped from the door and she trudged across the room, all the while feeling the piercing stare glued to her and right as her body all but slumped into the seat, Ryujin found herself gripped with the desire to snatch the glasses from her face and crush their vile red frame beneath her curled fingers.
She couldn't exactly pinpoint the cause, what exactly it was about the obtuse girl, whose mere presence was somehow enough to push her buttons.
Still, she could already feel a voletile level of simmering ire rise within. However, she did her best to supress it, and instead focused on attempting to regain control of her breathing again, because her lungs still hadn't recovered from the break-neck sprint they were forced to endure. Even then, she barely made it before the lesson officially began.
Now, she was made more than aware of the prickling itch sprawling across the back of neck, a result of one excrutiangly annoying gaze.
"Don't say anything," Ryujin warned, not bothering to conceal the undertone of a threat dripping into the low hiss of her voice.
Then, she risked a fleeting glance at the person beside her. Just in time to catch Sayeon's eyes drift away, taking with them the unpleasant demand for an explanation.
Yet, she couldn't help but notice a whisp of curiosity linger in the way her head remained tilted the slightest bit to the side.
Somehow, Ryujin's mind didn't allow her to consider it as anything else besides a mocking taut, the bitternes of the thought increasing the tension tugging at her muscles. Jaw clenched tight, the glance morphed into a hostile glare which stabbed metaphorical daggers through her temple.
Each second Sayeon remained in her view only fueled the scorching flames of sour hatred flaring in her chest.
So why couldn't she pull her gaze off of Sayeon?
Of the flawless posture. Of the slight curve running along her back. The relaxed bent of her elbow which unfolded into a slender arm. The gentle curl of her lithe fingers as they effortlessly worked their way with the pen yielding in her dexterious graps.
The confident rise of her steady shoulders. The smooth slope of her neck before trailing along the seamless edge of her jaw. Noting the subtle angle of her chin as she held it up in regal pride.
Combing through the lush curtain of hair falling over her ears, perfectly straight and meticulously styled so not even a single lock was displaced, avoiding the nuisance of it getting in her eyes altogether, never experiecing the struggle of obstructed vision.
Ryujin had long since traced every detail her eyes would let her, wander along the contours of Sayeon's face, following the path of her smooth skin. Yet, there was still a part of her that always managed to trip her up.
Fortified behind the lenses of her glasses, only highlighted by the thin red rim, a pair of deep, brooding eyes, bearing the ever-present calculative stare, concealing something brittle and fragile dwelling in the infinite pools of the irises.
Something she-
"Do you have to keep staring at me like that?"
The sudden question ripped Ryujin out of the weird trance when the apprehesive annoyance colouring Sayeon's voice wormed its way into her ears.
In an instant, she was met with the bespectacled girl's unreleting gaze, the searing intensity greatly surpassing her own.
A second later, Ryujin started to feel etching needles prodding at the back of her neck, the skulking sensation burning an uncomfortable rash across it while a coarsing heat kindled a folley of fire underneath her skin.
In the blink of an eye, she turned her head away, body hastily shifting in her seat, arms firmly folded across her chest.
"Nothing," the word melted into a dismissive hiss as it pushed through her gritted teeth while her eyes refused to glimpse back at Sayeon.
A tide of thick silence passed by and dragged with it the impaling stare ruthlessly drilling into Ryujin in hopes of uncovering the buried secrets of her avoidance. Strangling a relieved sigh into an aggravated huff, she felt herself cool down as the unpleasant warmth slowly dissipated from her skin.
Finally free from such a binding stare that it made her hair bristle, Ryujin diverted her attention to the motionless lump next to her, the backpack she had heedlessly dropped to the floor in her rushing haste.
Lazily propped up by the leg of the desk, her arm reached down before her upper body followed as she had to bend her back, head lowering and facing away from her very own bane of existence. Gripping the fabric in one hand, she fumbled with the zipper, which, much to her chagrin, decided to test her already frayed patience.
With a stifled grunt and a muffled rip, she yanked the thing open before plunging both her hands inside. As she blindly searched through the bag's contents, Ryujin heard a monotone drone resound from the front of the classroom, which only served to quicken the pace of her perusing fingers, waiting for the familiar feel of her notebook until...
Nothing.
She tried again, leaning further down, arms diving deeper as she groped through the items stuffed inside. Meanwhile, she shoved the surge of panicked urgency as far from her mind as currently possible.
Back and forth, side to side and top to bottom.
Oh.
"Shit," Ryujin cursed under her breath.
She must had forgotten in amidst her hurry to get here, completely abandoning it the moment the door slammed shut behind her.
Hands empty and hollow grasp tightening into a weak fist of hopeless defeat, her arms left the discarded bag before she straightened up again. She felt the backrest harshly scrape against her skin as her body slumped into it. Spurred by the blow of irritation, Ryujin threw her head back and let it lay limp in the air, hands languidly falling to her sides.
Suddenly, there was a groan pushing against the tight line of her pursed lips and she would've allowed it to escape, accompanying the deep sigh waltzing across her tongue, if it wasn't for a subtle movement grazing the corner of her eye as she caught something sliding in her direction.
Immediately, Ryujin's head snapped towards it, gaze brushing against a cautious hand lifting itself slowly from a stark dark surface.
Seazed by surprise, she was left tracing the invisible trail the surreptitious fingers marked across the item, a sliding palm uncovering a white sticky note in its wake. Almost unwillingly, her attention was pulled further, following the beckon of the retreating hand until her gaze landed on its owner.
Ryujin honestly didn't know what exactly she expected when she met Sayeon's eyes but it certainly wasn't the odd expression settled on her face.
Odd simply because she'd never seen it before, even less on such stoic features as the one she always put forth. In that moment, however, Ryujin was confronted with something that suspiciously resembled empathy streaking across her eyes, an uncharacteristic softness veiling her expression.
However, it disappeared in the snap of a finger when Sayeon turned her head away, ultimately severing the brief eye contact with it.
Still shackled by the remnants of the vanishing memory of the sight, which left her in a confounded daze, Ryujin's gaze shifted abruptly, jumping back and forth between the averted girl and the article she left behind.
When her eyes showed no signs of ceasing their laps of confusion, they were forcefully halted by another motion. Now, Ryujin watched Sayeon's index finger slash through the air, swiftly bending at the joint before it was sent plummeting down, the tip rasping at the desk. Then again and again and once more, it traversed the same path until the signal finally registered in her mind.
In a blinding instant, Ryujin's head swiveled down, gaze falling to the void fit into the shape of a rectangle waiting on her desk.
Before her, a set of blank pages bound in a black firm cover lay, the seemless texture only disrupted by a slap of white glued on the front. It took her a few seconds to realise the thin lines etched onto the square formed a message as her mind deciphered the text.
In a succinctly clear, orderly stern letters it read:
Keep it
What the-!
The mild stir of confusion which might've had crossed her mind before proved to be an infinitesimal speck compared to the rippling bold of bewilderment that struck her entire system.
Once again, she whirled towards Sayeon, almost snapping her neck in the proccess. After several long seconds of oppresive staring on Ryujin's part, she saw Sayeon finally turn to her.
There it was, as clear as day, as unbudging as a mountain. The impassive, emotioneless mask completely encasing her contours, not even a hint of feeling peeking from the depth of her focused eyes.
Studying, scrutinizing, evaluating.
The utter lack of any display of emotion merely made the frown crudely molding Ryujin's own expression even worse. She was painfully aware of the way her brows knitted together, scrunching up the skin coating the bridge of her nose as her mouth tangled in an unspoken question.
Right before she had the chance to properly voice it, though, she noticed Sayeon's hand quickly set into motion again. The enquiry still clinging to the tip of Ryujin's tongue, she silently watched the same finger raise again, although now it begam drawing an invisible circle in the air, her eyes bound by the repeating circular motion.
In a flash, Ryujin's attention dropped to the sticky note, the same words unceasingly glaring its order at her.
Carefully, as if guided by an inexplicable caution, her hand inched towards the paper square before her fingers lightly pinched the corner. Without so much as a flinch of hesitation, she flipped it over.
Sure enough, before her disbelieving eyes, another line of text was unearthed, written in the same strict concise handwriting.
As Ryujin skimmed over the words, she felt the wave of spiteful anger return in full force, albeit garnished by a sprinkle of incredulous denial.
Don't say anything