If Yeona had to pick a place on Earth to avoid for the rest of her life, this would be it.
Actually, scratch that—she’d rather personally pop down to Hell, shake Hades’ hand, and compliment Cerberus on his fur than be here.
She chewed on her sandwich, watching people around her break “love stones” with all the fake sincerity of a bad drama scene. Seriously—how the hell was smashing a rock supposed to determine whether two people loved each other?
“You’re sitting here eating like a pig instead of finding someone to break that rock wi—oh wait!” Saemi’s voice cut through her thoughts like nails on a chalkboard. “No one’s going to do that with you, right?”
“Well, if you weren’t doing your job, someone had to,” Yeona replied coolly, taking another massive bite.
“Ugh, so annoying.”
“Not more than you, babe.”
“Shut up, you bitch.”
“You know,” Yeona smiled sweetly, “I wish you were on TV because of your voice.”
“I know—it’s sweet, right?” Saemi preened.
“No, not that. At least then I could change the channel or turn the TV off.”
With that, Yeona flipped her hair, leaving Saemi fuming in her wake.
---
Sagak
“So what,” Yeona hummed under her breath, happily vibing to the holy masterpiece that was BTS. Yes, that BTS—the sun, moon, and stars of her existence.
But the universe clearly hated her peace because someone had to ruin it.
“Why aren’t you enjoying this romantic place with someone, kid?” asked… Jincha? Jinichae? Jin-something.
“You again? What was your name? Jincha? Jinichae?”
“It’s Jinmichae, pabo.”
“Shut it. Your name’s boring.”
“This is exactly why high schoolers infuriate me. Either no respect for their elders, or just plain stupid.”
“Hey, I respect people,” she said defensively. “I just don’t like… vintage items.”
“Vint—wait, what—?”
“Okay! It was nice speaking to you, bye-bye!” she chirped, fake-waving before sprinting off to find somewhere blissfully people-free.
She thought she’d found it. She was wrong.
Dwarfie and Coconut Tree were there. Correction—Coconut Tree didn’t talk, so Pluto (aka Dwarfie) asked all the questions.
---
Sagak
“Ah! Finally. Busting an eardrum never sounded good to me.”
“…So why are you trying to bust mine?”
“Eeeek! Don’t do that! What are you, Annabelle?”
“Ugh, just shut up and go away,” Baek Kyung grumbled.
“Whatever,” she scoffed, turning to leave—only to blink and realize she was still next to him.
One glance at the chit in her hand explained everything: Partner—Baek Kyung.
The gods were cruel.
“I have really bad luck being partnered with you,” he sneered.
“Bitch, my luck’s no better,” she sneered back, hair-flipping dramatically before walking off.
Her hair smacked him in the face on the way out. The glare he shot her could’ve melted steel. Still, he followed her into the forest.
Five minutes passed, but it felt like five hours thanks to the amount of death glares exchanged. If looks could kill, both would’ve been buried 15 feet underground already.
“EEEKKK!” Yeona suddenly shrieked.
“What the—” Baek Kyung started, but she cut him off with another scream.
“There’s a bug on your shoulder!”
“WHAT!? Where!?”
“On your right, you idiot!”
“No—don’t you dare—no! Don’t shoo it toward me, you wacko!”
“But it’s your family.”
“Shut up! Oh my god—it’s back!”
“Why the frick won’t it go?!”
“Just kidding.”
"You bi—"
Baek Kyung cut himself off mid-sentence, realizing how close he’d come to losing his cool. He shot Yeona a warning glare, but she was already smirking, eyes glinting with mischief. “What? You know I’m just messing with you,” she teased, folding her arms like she was the queen of this little forest drama.
He sighed, running a hand through his dark hair, his usually composed mask slipping for a second. “You’re impossible.”
Yeona shrugged, the faintest hint of a smile softening her sharp edges. “And you’re boring. Honestly, if I had to spend every day with someone as stiff as you, I’d probably lose my mind.”
Baek Kyung rolled his eyes but didn’t deny it. “Well, lucky for you, you don’t have to.”
They walked in an awkward silence for a few moments, the only sound the crunch of leaves beneath their feet. Yeona’s mind was buzzing, but her face stayed calm, almost too calm. She thought about the way Baek Kyung had stared at her earlier — like she was some alien or a walking disaster. Maybe she was. Maybe that was why she liked him. Wait what? Oh no no hell no, she couldn't like him. The silence was probably getting to her, she needed to just break it.
“So,” Yeona finally said, breaking the silence, “why do you even care about me? You know, beyond the obvious of having me as your partner for this stupid project.”
Baek Kyung glanced at her, surprised. He wasn’t used to people asking questions that weren’t laced with sarcasm or snark. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “Maybe because you’re not like the others. You don’t just go with the flow. You make noise. And sometimes, that noise is better to listen to than other nonsense, i could use some relaxing i guess"
Yeona blinked. That was new. And kind of nice.
“Don’t get used to it,” he muttered, pushing his hands into his pockets. “I’m not exactly a fan of loud noises.”
A laugh escaped Yeona before she could stop it. “Yeah, I bet.”
They reached the edge of the forest, where the trees gave way to the schoolyard. The afternoon sun filtered through the leaves, casting golden light on everything it touched. For a moment, the world felt quieter, softer — like a breath held between chaos.
“Look,” Baek Kyung said, stopping suddenly and turning to face her. “I know life’s been… complicated. For both of us, i know because well we've known eachother for a few years now even though we don't talk much"
Yeona frowned, unsure where he was going with this.
“I’m not good at this stuff — talking about feelings, or whatever,” he admitted, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. “But if you ever need someone who’s not gonna tell you to ‘just get over it,’ I’m here. Even if I don’t say it enough.”
Yeona’s heart skipped. This was the most real she’d seen him. No walls, no cool detachment — just a boy who was maybe, just maybe, tired of pretending too. Sure she wasn't too fond of him but didn't mean she didn't care, especially with his family background. She felt much sorry for him than she let on
“Thanks,” she whispered, with a small smile
Baek Kyung nodded, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Don’t mention it.”
As they walked back toward the school, side by side, Yeona felt something she hadn’t in a long time — a tiny flicker of hope. Maybe this messed-up story wasn’t so hopeless after all.
Sagak.
YOU ARE READING
|| Philophobia || Baek Kyung
FanfictionPhilophobia - the fear of falling in love " You know you're like the street cats near my house" "I'm sorry wha-" " I mean you have eaten my food and yet you are ungrateful as heck" "Hwang Yeona how dare you"
