Chapter Text
The classroom heater was broken.
Horrible timing if you think about it, because winter had just begun. Everyone complained about it the moment homeroom started, but the school office apparently decided it wasn’t “cold enough” to fix urgently. Which, obviously, was a lie because the classroom felt like a freezer.
“It’s so freaking cold”, Ian shivered from her desk, curling into a little ball on her seat. A-na was sitting next to her on the right wearing a thick pink fluffy jacket that would definitely earn her a uniform detention later. She had her fingers dug into the sides of Ian’s winter puffer as she scooted closer to cuddle against her.
“I want to go home,” she mumbled defeatedly.
The classroom door slid open. Carmen, Ye-on, and Yuha walked in carrying hot chocolates in green coffee paper cups, hot steam drifting out from the open lids.
“No way”, Ian and A-na stared at them in disbelief, their heads slowly turning as the girls walked toward their seats.
“YAH! Why didn’t you tell us you guys were getting drinks?!”
“We literally offered to buy you one”, Carmen replied, dropping her bag onto the desk beside Ian.
Ye-on sat down next to Carmen happily, taking another sip of her hot chocolate, before making a satisfied smile, “Unnie, I tried texting you while we were downstairs, but you didn’t reply”.
Ian pulled her phone out from beneath her desk.
“Oh”.
A-na leaned over to look at the screen before shooting Ian a death glare. “We could’ve had tasty hot drinks right now”.
Yuha giggled, brushing her blonde locks back as she removed her black scarf, carefully hanging it over the back of her chair. “A-na do you want a sip?”
Before she could even finish the question, A-na already had both hands out, fingers making an aggressive grabby motion.
“You’re the best”, A-na sighed happily as she grabbed and drank from the green cup, the warm liquid travelling down her throat and into her chest.
Before the conversation could continue, the classroom door slid open once again. A cold wind entered through the room as Stella stepped inside.
“Close the door!” Carmen shrieked.
“I’m trying!” Stella whined, struggling to shove it shut behind her while balancing her bag on one shoulder. The moment the door clicked closed, she shivered, crossing her arms, “Why is it colder in here than outside?”
“Because our school hates us,” Ian replied, arms folded grumpily.
Stella sighed before sitting in her seat by the window next to Yuha’s desk, rubbing her hands together beneath the sleeves of her blazer. Her cheeks and nose were pink from the cold, while half her face was buried in a fluffy baby blue scarf, probably getting her a uniform detention too.
A few seconds later, Jiwoo walked in beside Juun who was practically drowning in layers. Her frame looked much bigger thanks to her thick black puffer jacket and her hoodie pulled up over her head. Unlike the rest who had brought their winter jackets, Jiwoo walked in wearing her standard uniform and a thin school blazer, which wasn't even buttoned all the way.
Carmen looked between the two of them. “What a great contrast”.
Juun sighed exhaustedly as she lowered her hood. “I told her to wear a thicker jacket”.
“I’m fine”, Jiwoo replied calmly.
Stella stared at her in disbelief, “No, because how are you not cold?”
Jiwoo glanced toward her while setting her bag down beside the desk. “Should I be?”
“Yes?!”
“It’s two days into June”, Ian added, “and you’re wearing the thinnest jacket when it’s like eight degrees”.
A-na jumped in, wiping chocolate froth from her lips with her sleeve before pointing out, “It’s the mysterious emo anime side character hands-in-your-pockets combo for me”.
Jiwoo ignored all of them and slid into the empty seat next to Stella. The moment she sat down, Stella leaned in closer.
Jiwoo looked at her, confused. “Yes?”
“There’s no way”.
Before Jiwoo could react, Stella suddenly grabbed her wrist, trying to lace their fingers together.
“What are you doing?”
Stella’s eyes widened at how warm Jiwoo’s hands were. “Oh my god,” she gasped. “How are you so warm?”
Jiwoo pulled back with a huff, though the tips of her ears had faintly turned pink.
Juun took a sip of her coffee from the seat on the right of Jiwoo before commenting, “She’s always like that. A walking, talking, annoying, human heater”.
Jiwoo briefly glanced at Juun before looking back at Stella, who was staring at her with what Jiwoo could’ve sworn were anime sparkles in her eyes accompanied with a cute, sulky pout.
“Can I please borrow your hands for the rest of winter?”
“No”.
Stella slumped forward onto her desk, her face buried in her arms. Jiwoo rolled her eyes at the sight before reaching into her blazer pocket. A second later, she placed a small white packet onto Stella’s desk, the sound making the younger girl slightly perk up from her slumped position.
“Oh my god, hand warmers!”
“I’ll make sure to buy a whole pack next time”, Jiwoo shrugged, already pulling her notebook out ready for class.
Stella clutched the packet against her chest.
“You’re actually my lifesaver”.
~
The next morning was somehow even colder. A thick layer of grey clouds covered the sky as the morning winter wind blew against Stella’s cheeks, making her stop and shiver on the way to the train platform. She declared then how much she hated winter mornings, and how much she wished she could just be at home buried under her thick Hello Kitty blankets, instead of standing outside at seven in the morning feeling like her face was about to fall off.
As she sleepily dragged her feet across the concrete platform, Stella buried the lower half of her face deeper into her scarf while trying not to fall asleep standing up.
Then she spotted Jiwoo near the edge of the platform, one hand rested in her blazer pocket while the other held onto the strap of her bag loosely. Unlike everyone else shivering around them in oversized winter jackets, Jiwoo somehow still looked perfectly fine in just her school uniform.
Stella walked over to her.
“G’mornin…”, Stella mumbled groggily.
Jiwoo glanced at the sight of a sleepy Stella before smiling slightly, “Good morning to you too”.
“It’s freezing”, Stella complained, subtly scooting closer beside her. “I think my hands are gonna fall off”.
“They won’t”, Jiwoo replied, her hand reaching into the side of her backpack, pulling out a pack of hand warmers before giving one to Stella.
“Oh my god, you actually bought a pack?” she asked, slightly shocked at the older girl’s attentiveness.
“Figured you and the girls might need it”, Jiwoo added, “so you guys won’t spend like a thousand dollars on hot coffee or cocoa”.
“Aww, you’re actually so sweet”.
Before Jiwoo could reply, the sound of the train breaks echoed through the station. The two stepped onboard together with a crowd of sleepy students and overworked adults, trying to find a seat in the bottom carriage. Luckily, they managed to grab seats near the train stairs, Stella took the window seat, while Jiwoo sat next to her in the aisle.
The train ride was quiet outside of occasional station announcements and the soft hum of music leaking from someone’s headphones nearby.
Stella yawned tiredly, struggling to open the hand warmer packet with freezing fingers.
After a few seconds of watching her fail miserably, Jiwoo sighed softly before taking the packet from her hands.
“You’re hopeless”.
“I literally can’t feel my fingers”, Stella defended weakly.
Jiwoo tore the packet open easily before handing it back, their fingers brushed for barely a second before Jiwoo pulled away again.
Warm.
Stella flinched at their touch, but Jiwoo didn’t seem to notice. The hand warmer slowly heated in Stella’s palms as the train continued moving through the city.
Outside the windows, early morning fog frosted the glass as the train passed multiple stations. Luckily, the carriage felt warmer since the trains actually had functioning heaters, or maybe that was just because Jiwoo was sitting right beside her.
“You know”, Stella spoke up sleepily, leaning back against her seat, “I think in another life, you’d be a fire bender”.
Jiwoo looked up from her phone, brows slightly raised like a concerned ferret. “What are you saying?”
“I don’t really know...”
Jiwoo sighed, though Stella noticed the corners of her mouth twitch upward slightly. “We still have like seven more stops. Go back to sleep”.
“Whateverrr”, Stella hmphed, leaning her head against the fog tinted window, letting her eyes rest to prepare for another long day at school.
~
When the cherry-head and blonde girl arrived to class, they were greeted with the gloomy sight of their friends huddled together, sitting by Ye-on’s desk like penguins.
“Are you guys…okay?” Jiwoo asked.
Stella bolted right past her, grabbing a nearby chair and squeezing herself into the tiny gap between Yuha and Juun, immediately linking arms with them..
“Good morning”, Yuha laughed softly as Stella buried her face into her shoulder.
“I hate this school”, Ian mumbled from across the desks, currently clinging onto both Ye-on and Carmen’s arms.
Juun looked up the moment Jiwoo walked closer. “Please tell me you brought them today.”
“Yeah”, Jiwoo replied, slowly slipping her bag off her shoulder.
The entire group abruptly sat up.
“Oh thank god”.
“Jiwoo gimme two”, A-na said eagerly.
“Say please”, Jiwoo eyed the tall raven, though she still unzipped the front pocket of her bag anyway.
“Please unnieee”, A-na pleaded, holding her hands near her face, trying to look cute.
Jiwoo made a stanky disgusted expression before pulling out multiple hand warmers, handing them out one by one.
“I regret being nice to you people”, Jiwoo muttered under her breath.
“You love us”.
“No I don’t”.
Despite her words, Jiwoo still handed A-na another hand warmer after she asked for a second one.
Stella grinned at the sight before happily pressing the heated packet against her freezing cheeks.
“Unnie”, she added, “you’re actually my favourite person during Winter”.
Jiwoo glanced toward her with a tiny pout, “Only during Winter?”
“Hmm…I don’t know”, Stella teased, snuggling deeper into Yuha’s shoulder.
Yuha looked suspiciously at the two girls, her instincts ringing alarm bells in her head… hmm interesting.
Suddenly, it became a routine. Every morning, the girls would rush toward Jiwoo the second she walked into class, asking for one or two more hand warmers. And every morning on the train, Stella would watch a noticeably distressed Jiwoo count how many packets she had left inside her bag, mentally calculating how soon she’d need to restock again. Stella couldn’t help but feel bad for her despite her literally being Jiwoo’s biggest client.
Poor unnie, this has gotta be leaving a dent on her wallet.
Then one particularly freezing Friday morning, Jiwoo opened her bag while the train rattled softly along the tracks.
“Oh no”.
Stella looked up from where she was half asleep against the window, “What?”
Jiwoo frowned slightly, moving things around inside her bag before checking the front pocket again.
“There’s only one left”.
“One more what?”, Stella leaned over to look inside. Sure enough, one lonely hand warmer packet sat at the bottom of the pack.
“I thought I bought more”, Jiwoo muttered to herself.
Stella stared at the final packet, “Damn. We really used all of them.”
“Well, mostly you”.
“Fine, mainly me”, Stella admitted sheepishly. “Do you maybe wanna just share it?”
Jiwoo glanced at her, clearly surprised by the suggestion, “Share a hand warmer?”
“Yeah”, Stella shrugged sleepily. “It’s cold and I feel bad”.
“Fine”, Jiwoo reluctantly replied, hesitantly handing it over. “But if you somehow lose this one too, I’m never buying them again”.
“I’ve literally never lost one”.
“You almost dropped one onto the train tracks on Wednesday”.
“Whoops.. that only happened one time”.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever”. Jiwoo already reached out to grasp Stella’s hand, the warmer placed centred in between their palms. Stella unconsciously held her breath at the touch, her heart beating out of her chest as their fingers interlocked.
Unnie’s hand is so soft. I wonder what hand cream she uses…
She glanced at Jiwoo, expecting an equally flustered reaction, or anything really, but Jiwoo was already back on her phone, doomscrolling on instagram hyperfixated on some cat video.
Yep, welp, I guess I’m screwed.
Their hands were still interlocked by the time they arrived at school. Carmen noticed it first, but she didn’t say anything, instead she playfully nudged Ian with a look. Ian turned around, confused at first, until Carmen subtly pointed toward the two making their way to their seats. Once Ian got the memo, she smacked A-na’s shoulder, who was busy shamelessly flirting with Yuha to look. Eventually, the whole group got the idea, rushing to make a private group chat without them.
By the time class ended, someone may or may not have taken a photo of Stella asleep on her desk, still holding onto the red-head’s hand who was quietly reading through her class notes.
destroyer of dubai chewy chocolates 🍪
are you guys seeing this?
(img)
baby hammie 🐹
aww they’re so cute!
yuhahaha🧚♀️
i literally called it.
yuha’s future wife🙈
do you think Jiwoo unnie still has any hand warmers?
i eat ramen 🍜
Replying to “I literally called it.”
omg girl how?!? This is like new news :o
JamkuromiOppa 👾
Replying to “Do you think Jiwoo unnie still has any hand warmers?”
not the time bro… she told me she was broke
yuha’s future wife🙈
Replying to “Not the time bro… she told me she was broke”
aww
destroyer of dubai chewy chocolates 🍪
Replying to “aww”
get a job and get your OWN hand warmers
yuha’s future wife🙈
Replying to “get a job and get your OWN hand warmers”
STOP SLURRING AT MEEEEEE
~
After that day, something definitely shifted.
Stella started testing the waters, figuring out where Jiwoo drew the line with all their physical contact. At first, it only happened outside during their morning train rides whenever Stella complained her hands were freezing, and eventually, with enough internal pep talks, she started sliding her hand into Jiwoo’s whenever she got cold. And Jiwoo would just let her, well, only after a few weirded out glances, and a lot of mini complaints.
One time on the school playground, Stella ran up beside Jiwoo while she was lining up at the canteen, wrapping her arms around her from behind.
“Can I have backsies?” she asked shamelessly.
Jiwoo flinched at the sudden contact before turning her head slightly to look at the younger blonde, “You scared the hell out of me”.
“Surprise?” Stella grinned.
Jiwoo exhaled, rolling her eyes, but she didn’t move away, instead, shifting a bit so Stella could stand next to her. Taking that as a win, Stella casually slipped her hand into hers.
“You’re kinda clingy”, Jiwoo said.
“And you’re kinda warm”.
“I am not your personal heater”, Jiwoo replied, but she still didn’t pull away.
Days blurred together after that. From cold mornings and half asleep conversations on train rides, to sharing earbuds whenever Stella forgot hers at school, somewhere in the middle of it, the hand holding stopped feeling unusual.
At least to Jiwoo, because unfortunately, Stella was suffering ever since Jiwoo started doing things that drove her crazy. Like brushing her thumb against Stella’s knuckles while scrolling on her phone, or pulling her closer whenever the station got crowded, even reaching out for her first without even realising it.
But their friends definitely noticed the dynamic change between them.
Juun paused mid sentence, staring at them from across the table. “Wait”.
Stella looked up. “What?”
“Are you guys like holding hands right now?”
Stella nearly choked on her drink, while Jiwoo slowly stopped chewing, because they in fact were holding hands under the table.
“N-no we aren’t”, Stella said, banging her chest, trying to recollect herself.
Yuha stared at them both for another long second before grinning slowly. “Uh huh”.
The topic got dropped eventually, thanks to Ian and A-na dragging Ye-on into a debate about who her favourite older sister figure was, which ended up pissing Yuha off when she found she wasn't even in the options. Jiwoo didn’t talk for the rest of lunch, which honestly wasn’t unusual considering she normally just sat there listening to everyone else argue about nonsense anyway. What was unusual though, was how hard she focused on her food, barely looking up once.
A sudden laugh from across the table made her glance up instinctively. Stella was falling onto Ian’s shoulder now, clutching her stomach while laughing at something the raven had said, which she unfortunately didn’t hear. Jiwoo looked away, unconsciously tightening her grip on her chopsticks.
By the time lunch ended and everyone started getting up, Jiwoo reached into her blazer pocket only to pause for a second at the cold emptiness inside.
Did I forget something?
Her brows furrowed slightly before she shoved both hands deeper into her pockets, trying to figure out why her pockets had felt strangely empty.
~
Winter break was approaching, which meant exam season was getting closer. Unfortunately, that also meant everyone’s will to live had basically disappeared.
Most afternoons ended with the entire friend group spread across the library trying to study, but failing miserably because Ian and A-na physically couldn’t sit still for more than five minutes. At some point, Ye-on eventually got fed up and sent the two off on a journey to the nearest Woolies for snacks so the rest of the group could actually get some work done.
The two came back three hours later with a giant teddy bear plush from the arcade and absolutely no snacks whatsoever, which earned them collective looks of disappointment and a series of very tired disapproving head shakes.
After that, people slowly started leaving. Carmen and Juun first, then Ye-on and Yuha not long after, followed by Ian and A-na still arguing loudly about something completely unrelated to exams as they disappeared down the hallway. And just like that, it was only Stella and Jiwoo left.
Eventually, Jiwoo closed her book after noticing Stella half-slumped over her notes, pencil still in hand despite barely writing anything anymore.
“Let’s go?” she asked softly, already starting to pack up her things.
Stella nodded tiredly.
The two packed up without much conversation after that before heading out into the hallway where the lights had already been dimmed for the evening.
The streets near the library were almost empty now, the air much colder at night. Most of the nearby stores had already shut their lights off for the night, leaving only convenience stores and the occasional restaurant still glowing underneath the street lamps.
Stella walked beside Jiwoo quietly, shoulders slightly hunched from hours of studying.
Usually Stella would be ranting right now, complaining about maths being a compulsory subject in the curriculum or how horrible her advanced teacher is at explaining.
But tonight, she barely had the energy.
“Tired?” she asked, softer than usual, maybe trying to cheer the blonde up.
Stella nodded, before aggressively rubbing her face with both hands like she was trying to recover energy through friction, “I hate exams”, she groaned.
Jiwoo couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of another student becoming an academic victim.
Streetlights illuminated across their faces as they walked under a starry night blue sky. Jiwoo’s hands stayed buried in her blazer pockets like always, posture relaxed despite the freezing temperature. Stella genuinely didn’t understand how she did that.
“You’re really not cold?” she asked again, like she always did.
Jiwoo glanced at her. “Not really”.
“How?”
“You ask me that like every day”.
“Because every day I think maybe this time you’ll finally become a normal person instead of some Elsa-wannabe.”
If it was anyone else at this moment, Jiwoo would be rolling her eyes and giving the person a death stare, but instead, she couldn't help but chuckle at what the girl said.
The Gods must’ve decided they were getting a little too comfortable, because something cold suddenly dropped onto Stella’s forehead.
Both of them looked up, the night blue sky suddenly being covered by dark clouds before the rain came crashing down, soaking their uniforms.
Jiwoo grabbed her wrist before Stella could even react, pulling her down the street through the pouring rain. Water splashed beneath their shoes as they ran past flickering streetlights, Stella laughing breathlessly while Jiwoo adjusted her grip, fingers slipping between hers.
“Jiwoo— wait—!”
“Hurry!” Jiwoo called back.
By the time they ducked beneath the narrow roof of a dark alleyway, both of them were completely drenched. Stella pushed her wet blonde locks out of her face, still breathing hard from the run. Water dripped from the ends of Jiwoo’s thin red hair onto her white blazer, her cheeks flushed pink.
“You’re soaked”, Jiwoo pointed out with a smile, clearly enjoying the thrill of running through the rain.
Stella giggled, “Well, so are you”.
Both girls finally took the chance to properly look at each other. Jiwoo’s short hair looked much darker now, thin red strands parted, sticking to her face and neck, making her look like a wet strawberry. Stella somehow looked even more drenched, with her blonde hair plastered to her cheeks in messy golden strands, droplets sliding down her jaw while the sleeves of both their uniforms dripped everywhere onto the concrete below.
A sudden cold gust of wind swept into the alleyway, making Stella visibly shiver.
Jiwoo stepped closer without thinking, wrapping one arm around the younger girl’s waist while the other settled carefully against her back, pulling her against her chest to cover her from the wind.
"Is this okay?", the older girl said breathlessly.
The air suddenly carried a faint scent of fresh strawberries.
Stella inhaled sharply, feeling dizzy and overstimulated, her hands landed awkwardly against Jiwoo’s chest, fingers curling slightly into the soaked fabric.
Slowly, she lifted her gaze. Jiwoo was already looking at her, her fingers tightened at Stella’s waist, just barely.
Stella noticed Jiwoo’s eyes flick downward, her grip tightening slightly as her lips parted faintly, neither of them looking away. Stella leaned forward just a little, rising onto her toes, her eyes closing as their noses brushed just lightly against each other. And just for a moment, it felt like the world had gone quiet.
RING. RING. RING.
Jiwoo pulled back first.
Stella blinked twice, dumbfounded, before awkwardly rummaging through her bag, her heart still pounding in her chest.
“Answer it”, Jiwoo said, backing up away from the girl.
Stella fumbled for her phone. “Sorry—”
She turned away slightly, pressing the phone to her ear, her mum’s voice came through faintly.
“Yeah, I just finished studying… Mhm, it started raining… No, I’m okay… Yeah, I’m heading home now”.
Behind her, Jiwoo shoved both hands into her pockets, watching her breath fog in the cold air as she tried to ignore the loud thumping in her chest and the pink creeping from her neck to her ears.
What was that..
When the call ended, the two girls stood there awkwardly for a moment, avoiding eye contact, before Jiwoo suddenly turned toward the nearby convenience store.
“Wait”, Stella frowned. “Where are you going?”
“Stay there”, Jiwoo said over her shoulder before jogging across the street toward the open 7/11.
Stella watched through the glass windows as Jiwoo disappeared between the aisles before eventually returning five minutes later holding a black umbrella.
Click.
The sound of the heavy rain softened against the black fabric.
“You bought one?” Stella asked softly.
Jiwoo shrugged, “We need to get you home somehow”.
“What about you?”
Jiwoo looked at her again, eyes lingering on her with a softer dazed expression that she couldn’t really decipher, but it made her heart flutter.
“I’ll be fine, let’s get you home first”.