Beside You (Law School)

A not B

Notes: Sol A assuming Joonhwi liked Sol B was the best. I think it's the first time we've seen her show any reaction to him, apart from the burrowing fondness and friendship that she acknowledged. This one-shot happens some time after the trial where Joonhwi took the stand, and that night when Yebeom teased Sol A that she was jealous. 

***

She knew it was him from the sound of his footsteps.

"She's not here," Kang Sol said loudly as Han Joonhwi stepped into the copy room.

"You're here," he said, dumping his backpack on the table next to her strewn-about things, taking the seat in front of her.

Sol had wanted to study in peace, burrowing into this little hole in the copy room the great Gollum of Hankuk Law School had allowed their study group to use. She had cases to read and criminal codes to memorize, and she didn't want to be disturbed.

Trust only Han Joonhwi to find her.

"My roomie isn't here today," she said, eyes fixed on her highlighted pages. "She went home."

"Oh? Too bad then."

The unmistakable sound that accompanied the well-known smirk on his face made her look up. True enough there he was, looking at her with those infuriating half-moon eyes that knew it all.

"She'll be fine," Sol lectured. "She's as smart as you. Maybe even smarter. You don't need to worry too much about her. Or, you know. Go ahead. Be concerned. Whatever."

Sol was in a mood. Not that this bickering exchange wasn't normal. It had been this way with Joonhwi since even before they became friends. He teased her and riled her up and she met him spar for spar.

But today and the past few days since he had virtually said in a sacred court of law that he liked Kang Sol B, that he looked out for her...

It wasn't that it bothered Sol. Not really, of course not. Why would it?

It was just that it surprised her.

Which made her feel silly a dozen times over, because of course Second Round Judicial Exam Passer law genius Han Joonhwi would fall for Kang Sol B and her impressive legal mind.

Her roomie should have been Kang Sol A, really. It made more sense that way.

"You know for someone studying law you've made assumptions without examining the evidence," Joonhwi said, eyes serious yet sparkling.

"Are you telling me there's reasonable doubt?" she shot back. "You said it yourself."

"What did I say?"

Sol chewed on her bottom lip. If she recalled it clearly—and to be sure she had replayed the scene in her head multiple times; it was Yeseul's trial after all and she was sick with worry and was giving her all to fight for her friend—Joonhwi had taken the stand and had said the words.

There is someone in the study group that I look out for, and it's not Jeon Yeseul.

Who is it, then? Prosecutor Jin had pressed.

Joonhwi leaning forward, joined fists thumping on the table, called her back. "Are you sure of your judgment, Kang Sol?"

She glared at him. He was challenging her, as he liked to do. As she appreciated. She was realizing how no one took her seriously and believed in her the way Han Joonhwi did.

These days though, she was annoyed at him.

"It's just." Sol puffed out a breath, lining up her thoughts and forcing them to a semblance of order. "She likes you as I'm sure you've figured out. Kang Sol B, I mean. At least she did before. I'm not sure now, my roomie is hard to read. But she's so competitive and serious about studying she may not be thinking about dating at all."

"Are you?" Joonhwi asked. "Thinking about it? Dating, I mean."

"How could I even?" Sol rolled her eyes. "My pitiful, special acceptance, scholarship-dependent self is barely scraping by as it is."

Joonhwi paused, studying her face, then his hands.

"I thought so," he said, in a voice too quiet than Sol thought was necessary for the topic. "You want to focus on studying."

"It's a need. I need to do it or I die." Sol almost laughed at the painful truth of it. "You, though." She pointed at him in accusation. "You have space in your life for dating, since you barely have to study."

She hadn't thought about it at all. It surprised her how those words said out loud conjured images of Han Joonhwi with someone, not studying, not researching for precedents, not attending a professor's murder trial.

Sol hadn't imagined this at all even after his reveal at the stand. Hadn't connected him looking after a study group friend and actually dating.

Touching. Holding. Kissing.

Her thoughts were spiraling and she had to shake her whole body to put a stop to it. She could be slow on the uptake but she could also rush into her own conclusions.

"I'm busy with you kids," Joonhwi said, staring at her like it was her fault. "And you keep getting yourself in trouble at the Legal Clinic. You're too nosy."

"When did I ever—?' Sol halted because of course she got herself in trouble. Of course he knew everything. "Who asked you to help?" she swerved.

"You did."

"That's right. Fine," Sol conceded. "You can't date, Han Joonhwi. Stay single and help me survive."

"Okay."

He grinned, surprising her by how pleased he looked. He picked up his chair and dropped it beside her, sitting close and taking her book so he could see where she was struggling.

"I'll help you and you'll see, things will get better soon," he said, eyes on the sticky notes she'd plastered all over the pages, and she knew his big brain was processing fast. "By our 2L year, you'd have gotten the hang of everything and you will have so much free time you'll ask me out."

"Don't hold your breath," Sol said with a smirk, ignoring the unknown skip in her chest. She grabbed her book back from him but leaned close, so she wouldn't miss a thing he said.

Joonhwi scoffed, pulling the book right between them. His fingers folded over hers as he took over her highlighter. "You can't tell me what to do."