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Jihye had only just managed to set up the broadcast system — set to, yet again, blast the Melon Top 100 — when Bori barged in.
Her signature grin creeped its way up her face as What is Love, a song she knew very well courtesy of Jihye, began blaring from the PA System. "Of course, what did I expect from you?"
Jihye smirked, "so, why are you here?"
"Thinking of heading to Han River to relax, do you want to join?"
Given that the trip there itself would take the rest of lunch, it was safe to assume they would be skipping the rest of the school day. Good, Jihye didn't really fancy sitting through ethics or maths. Not like either of those teachers cared if she actually was there, sometimes half the class could be 'absent' and they'd be none the wiser.
"Yeah, let's do it."
Bori reached over to grab her wrist, swiftly pulling her out of the club room. The two girls sprinted down the familiar hallways, heading to their classroom. They messily tossed whatever stationary was on their table into their bags before high tailing it out, not risking letting any teacher spotting them make their great escape.
It was far from their first escapade, and would be far from their last. Jihye could still vividly remember the one from two weeks ago where they crashed at Bori's place to rewatch The Admiral: Roaring Currents for the nth time. She wasn't complaining though, Bori was obsessed with that movie. If Bori liked something, then she liked it too.
—
The train ride to the Han River was peaceful, Jihye and Bori spent that time planning out exactly what they wanted to do upon arrival, playful jabs at each other scattered throughout. A few of the adults gave them the stink eye, no doubt because they were clearly in uniform. It didn't matter, their iconic navy blue blazars were buried deep inside their bags, making it impossible to tell which high school they were actually from.
"Yeouinaru." Hearing the announcement of their stop, the two girls got up from their seats and positioned themselves right in front.
"Last one to the gates has to pay for the mat." Bori whispered to her as the train came to a stop with a jerk.
Jihye did not have the chance to agree or disagree before the doors opened and her friend was blazing towards the stairs.
"HEY!" Not wanting to lose, Jihye gave chase.
Unfortunately for her, their speeds were evenly matched. That meant that Bori was proudly standing at the fare gates — albeit a panting mess — by the time she arrived.
"I win."
She pouted. "You cheated."
"Whatever you say crybaby."
Jihye faked rolling her eyes, she'll get her victory another day.
The remainder of the walk to the river was silent, both of them still catching their breaths from the spontaneous race. The food stalls nearby were already bustling with life, other park-goers queuing up to buy food.
Of course, as it was her punishment, Jihye first headed over to one of the mat vendors while Bori scouted for the perfect picnic spot; one that was ideally devoid of insects to spare her some sanity. She fished out a 10000 won note and her power bank, which was flat after she amazingly forgot to charge it the night before, passing it to the vendor in exchange for a mat that was far too big for them.
She got a message from Bori moments later. A single picture showing Bori's view from her chosen spot. It took her a bit of time, but she nonetheless found Bori standing under the shade of one of the many trees scattered about. The air was filled with the unmistakable smell of her insect repellent.
"I thought you said there wouldn't be any insects?" Jihye couldn't pass up the opportunity to tease her best friend. Especially after her earlier loss.
Bori huffed, "it's a just in case! I really don't want to have any insects flying at me today."
"If you say so, princess."
The much sweeter nickname was enough to get a small blush to form on her face, making Jihye laugh in response.
"Shut up. Let's get food."
As Jihye was still relatively full from lunch, she only ordered a single roll of gimbap before meeting back up with Bori, who had ordered a medium-sized tornado potato. She held back the urge to just grab the skewer and take a bite of the crunchy snack, though she knew very well that she'd end up eating half of it by the end of the day. That was just how most food ended up when the two of them hung out.
"-out again?" Bori's voice snapped Jihye back to reality, "or are you planning on how you're going to get back at me?"
Jihye scoffed, "as if I'm telling you that."
"Figured." She said before taking a bite of her potatoes.
The rest of the afternoon blitzed by. Jihye and Bori spent most of the time admiring the scenery, scrolling social media and sharing funny posts they stumbled upon, occasionally wondering what their teachers were talking about at that exact moment.
Bori's impressions in particular never failed to make Jihye laugh her heart out. Seriously, how was she nailing that old man impression so well?
"I love doing this." Bori said, now laying flat on the mat. Their food had long since been devoured, skewer and container confined to the furthest edge of the mat if an insect managed to get through the copious amounts of repellent.
"Don't you mean you love ditching classes?"
"Well that doesn't necessarily mean I'm doing it with you," she shrugged.
"You always do it with me though."
"How do you know for sure?"
"We're literally classmates dummy. Plus, I have the best friend privileges."
"More like crybaby privileges." Bori shot back.
Jihye elbowed her in the side, earning a clearly fake and dramatised gasp of betrayal from the other girl.
As the sun began to make its descent, though not far enough to turn the sky golden, Jihye wondered how much longer they could do this for.