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You sat under a tree outside the school, headphones pulled over your hair.
You loved your girls, forever grateful for their friendship, but you needed time to yourself. You would spend the early morning hours sitting in a quiet spot, and when you needed to match their energy during the day, you would.
Your mind started to wander. You loved your friends more than words could explain, and you would never stop expressing it to them. You would rather die than return to middle school.
You were never physically bullied, but people would talk about you behind your back. You never figured out why they would never work up the courage to say anything to your face.
You were only ever the loser.
The freak.
You always told yourself that they were only ever just words. They didn’t actually mean anything.
But they did to you. They meant everything.
You didn’t even think you’d make it past the ripe age of 14. So when Zoey found you sitting on the school steps alone, you were quickly taken in by their little friend group. You were their caretaker. The motherly figure.
You first gained the honorary title when you found Rumi alone in a classroom, crying to herself. You were quick to comfort her, pulling her into your arms, and she didn’t resist the affection. Patting her back, letting her cry on her shoulder and all. Rumi explained that after both of her parents passed away in an accident, her adoptive mother told her to push away all her negative emotions, so she’d never usually cry in front of anybody. You reassured her that she didn’t need to be like that infront of you, and she continued to blubber out apologies through tears. From then on, she would go to you to talk about her problems and her past. She could confidently say you knew more about her than she knew about herself. You kept track of her little habits, like how she’d tug at her braid softly when she was nervous, or how she’d flinch slightly each time lightning hit during a thunderstorm.
The second time was when Mira got into a fight. Somebody from Zoey’s old school transferred to theirs, and soon got all in her face with a bunch of shit talk. Zoey tried awkwardly laugh it off, but Mira quickly got to work by connecting her fist to their nose, and a full on fight broke out. You, Zoey and Rumi all flocked around her, grabbing her in an attempt to pull her off of the guy, who, by the looks of it had already given up fighting the pink haired girl. By the time you three had managed to Mira off the guy, he was already bloody, battered and bruised up. The only injuries she got out of that fight was a split lip and a black eye. You pulled her aside to patch up her injuries, lecturing her playfully underneath your breath. The moment she saw the hint of worry in your eyes, she swore to make it her life mission to keep you around.
Third and final time that really hit the nail on the head was with Zoey. You had begged her not to go outside during lunch on a rainy day without an umbrella, she shrugged you off cause she wanted pictures for the “aesthetic”. She immediately got sick the day after, and you skipped school every day just to spend time taking care of her until she got better. When she got back to school, she spotted you getting yelled at by your homeroom teacher in the hallway. You had a stupid, smug on your face while you gave her a small wave, jumping when your teacher started yelling at you for giggling during your “serious” conversation. When you finally got out of that situation, you told her that she was worth getting yelled at for. (She almost cried)
You’d felt like you finally found your place in life outside of being a loner. You weren’t in a…mentally healthy headspace back in middle school. But here, with them—they would reassure you that you would never be in that place ever again.
You were pulled out of your thoughts when a high pitched squeak rang through the school grounds, the sound of someone calling your name. You dragged your headphones down to hang around your neck.
You threw her head back against the tree, shifting your gaze towards to source of the screaming. You watched as Zoey zipped past several crowds of people, ignoring the stares she received, Mira and Rumi following close behind. You got up, preparing for impact.
Zoey threw herself into your arms, enticing a sharp yelp from you. Your arms instinctively hooked around Zoey’s legs, her legs swaying slightly.
“How do you get up any earlier than six?” Mira remarked, stifling a yawn.
“I don’t sleep.” You joked, starting to walk towards the entrance. “You guys are early today.”
Rumi speed-walked to catch up with you, resting her chin against your shoulder. “I may or may not have heard through the grapevine that there are gonna be new students coming in today.”
You raised a brow, smirking. “Okay, student council president.”
“In the middle of the school year?” Mira queried, as she finally reached her locker.
Zoey shrugged. “Transfer students?”
You put Zoey down, helping her straighten out her slightly crumpled school cardigan. “Several? Like, as in plural?”
Rumi nodded. “I guess so. That’s pretty much all I know.”
“Well, I couldn’t care less.” Mira said, as she struggled and wrestled with the lock on her locker. “This is our final year of school, and I don’t need any distractions- woah.”
“Oh my god.” Zoey awed, jaw falling open slightly.
You and Rumi shared a look, before reluctantly turning around to see four guys, who they both assumed to be the new students.
You placed a hand on Mira’s shoulder, trying to snap her out of trance. “Guys. This is so cliche, don’t fall for the hot new students on their first d…”
You trailed off, your hand falling off Mira’s shoulder. Your eyes landed on the one on the far left.
You studied him quietly. He stood a few inches taller than you, his dusty teal hair somehow messy and perfect at the same time, not bothering to fix his crumpled up uniform. But what grabbed at your attention was his pair of winter blue eyes darting around, with not a care in the world. You tried telling yourself he wasn’t at all your type, but what slipped out of your mouth was quite the opposite.
“Oh, he’s pretty…” You whispered, only loud enough for your three friends to hear.
Rumi’s head snapped towards you in shock. “What-“
You didn’t even notice Zoey latching onto your left arm for support, or Rumi shaking your other, yelling in your ear.
Your gaze softened as the four attractive- uh- new students walked past. Not cause he was pretty (in which he was). But because when he got up close enough to brush his hand against yours, there was a sense of familiarity to his face. You were 100% sure you’d never seen him before.
Suddenly, the blue haired boy shot you a wink. You turned away, holding up yours hands to hide your flushed face.
You blinked at the sound of a fifth figure’s voice (which you didn’t even know showed up).
“Aish… watch yourself.”
“Watch my- Watch yourself!” Rumi snapped, gasping in offense.
You immediately reached out both of your hands to help her up from the floor, and she took them, getting back to her feet. You helped brush her off.
“They’re not even that cute!” Zoey groaned, as if she wasn’t drooling over them mere seconds ago.
You stood there, still stuck in your confused daze, only hearing a muffled conversation about how they were gross (or something along those lines)
“Hey, you okay?” Mira grabbed your hand.
You nodded absentmindedly, chest rising and falling slowly.
“Does our dear mother finally have a crush?” Zoey quipped, bouncing around you excitedly.
“You were eyeing the blue one there pretty hard.” Rumi said, nudging your shoulder.
You rolled your eyes, lip twitching into a smile. “I…don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’re smiling.” Zoey teased.
“Shut up!” You hollered, face turning bright red.
…
“I hate this fucking vending machine.” You slammed a fist against the glass, your drink not falling to the dispenser door like you hoped it would.
You clicked your teeth. “I can’t believe I’m arguing with a decade old vending machine.”
Before you could slam your fist onto the vending machine glass once again, someone grabbed you by the wrist.
“What the f-“ Your breath hitched. It was the blue haired boy again.
He crushed his lollipop between his teeth, before plopping another coin into the coin slot. The drink behind yours fell, knocking and pushing your drink to the bottom.
You couldn’t look away.
He grabbed both of your drinks, placing your drink in your hands, wrist still in his.
He didn’t let go. He looked at you like he knew her. A look of confusion. It was… emotional. You both stood there petrified for a moment. You could feel the heat that rose to his cheeks radiating off of him. He cleared his throat, letting go of your wrist.
You muttered a soft “Thanks…”
“What’s your name?” He spoke up, twisting the cap of his drink open with a loud pop that echoed through the empty hallway.
“It’s…” you hesitated, but for some reason, you still told the stranger your name. “You gonna tell me yours?”
He took a long sip. “Byeongseok. Lee Byeongseok.”
You hummed. You two stood there in an oddly comfortable silence, just enjoying each other’s company as you two stared into the vending machine.
You exhaled, breaking the silence. “I’m sorry. But have we… met before?”
He bit his tongue, tilting his head. He knew the answer was there, just out of reach, like a forgotten word on the tip of his tongue.
“No…I don’t think so. He shook his head, smiling to himself. For a second you thought you heard a hint of disappointment laced in his voice.
“You have a nice face, though.” He added.
You snorted in disbelief at the comment, her lips curling into a tender smile. “Are you seriously flirting with me right now?”
“Would it be okay if I was?”
You both shared a laugh, walking down the empty hallway together.
You two walked side by side. As you looked out onto the field, you spotted your three friends, and you gave them a wave.
“Hey, look! Is that…?” Zoey pointed out, quick to wave back.
“It is…” Mira said, struggling to hide her grin.
Rumi raised a hand to shield her eyes from the gleaming sun, smirking. “And she’s with that guy she was making googly eyes at.”
“Yes!” Zoey cheered, running off. “Finally! She’s never looked at anybody that way! It’s time!”
You chuckled at Zoey scrambling around the large grass field, before shifting your attention back to… him.
He crossed his arms. “So… you’re friends with the girls who were gawking at all my friends?”
“You’re saying that like not everyone in the entire school campus is staring at you and your friends.” You snickered. “Especially the one with the abs.”
He groaned. “Don’t get me started on Eunwon. He’s always trying to force me into going to the gym with him. People have hobbies too, y’know?”
He went on a whole ramble about how annoying all his friends were, but he loved them nonetheless (he promised he’d kill you if you told any of them that) From what you could gather, you could tell they had a healthy relationship. You didn’t notice until now, but the whole time he was talking, he was staring at you. You cut him off. “Enjoying the view?”
“You’re certain we’ve never crossed paths? Not even once?” He uttered, gaze still lingering on you like he was memorizing your features.
“Maybe in another life, Saja.” You replied instinctively.
He froze.
He raised a brow in amusement. “What did you just call me?”
You paused. “I- genuinely don’t know why I said that. Uhm-“
“I don’t mind. I actually like kinda like it. Saja.” He repeated.
“It just… sounded right, I guess.” You giggled. Suddenly, you yanked his yellow newsboy cap off his head, throwing it over your own before running away from him down the hall. He stood there stunned for half a second, the result of you throwing him off guard.
“Hey- asshole!” He ran after you, laughing.
You two ran past a boy with jet-black hair. You dashed past him without a thought, but Byeongseok paused for a moment to greet him. “Hi Jinu!” He yelped, continuing to chase after you.
Jinu smiled, whispering to himself as he watched you two run off like small children. “You’ve suffered enough, Baby. It’s about time you got your happy ending with her. Our souls are finally free…”
It was a novel concept, really. Two lovers dying, being reincarnated, and falling for each other once more. It left Jinu stumped when he found out he was the only one who remembered your past lives, but what could he do? He’d look crazy if he started yammering about demons and demon hunters. How could he tell Baby that they used to be demons and that you were a hunter? How could he tell him that he’d died protecting you? How his soul was set free. How in his final moments you told him you loved him, contradicting all your life morals you had learnt as a hunter. And how about all your lives before that?
Nah.
Jinu could wait. Why pass on an opportunity to watch a love story you know will happen unfold? He would tell you guys. Eventually.
Watching and waiting for you two to fall in love was way more fun anyways.