Except You, Love

• Bonus Chapter: 1 •

A ficlet prequel to the main story . This is a deleted scene from Chapter 2-flashback to Chaeyoung and Lisa's first meeting.

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"Holy shit."

She exhales when she sees a lanky girl with a summer tan, brown eyes, and impressive hair, standing out among the sweaty masses.

If this is what high school is all about, Chaeyoung doesn't know why her parents had bothered with kindergarten and grade school.

The gym is overrun with freshmen, piling in to take their seats for the morning assembly to kick-off the school year. Amid the chaotic scene of hapless teachers trying to herd the strays into some semblance of order, she had stopped in her tracks when she caught a glimpse of the regal nose and bee-stung lips and impossibly cutting jawline.

Aside from the breath-stealing aesthetic though, she has never seen such carriage and presence for someone their age, so disarmingly self-assured despite her slight frame. The girl makes cutoff jean shorts and a racer back tank top look like the tailored garment sported by royals. She thinks a red sash across the proud chest wouldn't look out of place right now.

"Chaeyoung, what the fuck?!"

A body slams into her back as Jennie stumbles for balance at Chaeyoung's abrupt stop. She's about to apologise when her best friend whisper-squeaks her own disbelief.
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"Holy shit."

"I know, right?"

"Who's the blonde?"

"Who's the brunette?"

Chaeyoung asks at the same time, her curiosity immediately turning into confusion when she registers Jennie's question. "Wait, what?"

Jennie nudges her head, silently drawing attention towards the other girl standing next to the brunette that Chaeyoung hadn't even noticed.

The undoubtedly dyed blonde is slightly taller and looks maybe a few years older, but no less striking than her companion. High cheekbones and smokey eyes give off an attractive but intimidating don't-fuck-with-me attitude. Though there is only a minor resemblance between the two, they do however share twin unimpressed looks while standing with their arms crossed.

Before either she or Jennie could find out the identity of the pair, they're being ushered away by irritable adults for the commencement speeches to begin.

While turning to take her seat, Chaeyoung swears she saw eyes twinkling and a ghost of a smile directed her way, one that reaches her own lips and stays until the first bell rings.

As the rest of her day unfolds, Chaeyoung can't keep the girl out of her mind. Over the summer, she had experienced a sort of non-surprising epiphany when she realised that she paid just as much attention to the softness of girls skin as she did to boys rugged looks, sometimes more so. Seeing the brunette that morning only confirmed a universal truth she's recently come to embrace with verve:

God, girls are so pretty.

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She's never given fate or destiny a second thought, least of all the probabilities of a kismet meeting, but on entering her last period class she thinks maybe the universe might be looking out for her today.

Chaeyoung has to hide her pleased smile when she spots the familiar mass of curls sitting a few rows from the front. Their gazes meet as Chaeyoung stalls at the doorway, her breath catching in her throat at how arrestingly pretty the girl is up close. The slight freckles on her nose and sprinkled across exposed shoulders makes Chaeyoung think of sun lotion and white sandy beaches. She can almost smell the salt water.