𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 | 𝐚 𝐭𝐱𝐭 × 𝐢𝐭𝐳𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

seventeen - stranger

stranger...

"taehyun, I need your help. my grades are down."

kang taehyun looked up from his square glasses. "when were they ever up?"

"hey! i was at the top of my class not once but twice; i'm just lazy these days which is why the homeroom teacher sent me to you with a permission slip."

taehyun took the paper that beomgyu proudly presented. "a permission slip or an order letter?" he squinted his eyes.

"hey! don't be like this, taehyun. help a poor friend out, hm?"

"not if the said friend can't sit down his ass for more than five minutes. i refuse to help if you aren't gonna listen."

hearing this, beomgyu sprinted upright. "who said i wouldn't. thank you, taehyun-ah. i'll be in your care."

"yeah, yeah."

true to his word, beomgyu sat attentively throughout the entire session. taehyun would glance at him with a hesitant look every now and then. it was just beomgyu who hadn't realised. the spectacled boy was itching to ask but hesitant at the same time.

"so, uh... how'd you hurt your leg again?"

"hm? oh, my leg? i fell down the stairs."

taehyun was disappointed. "i'm giving you a chance here, dude. you can tell me the truth."

"the truth?" beomgyu travelled his eyes. "what truth?"

taehyun subtly nodded. "i guess beating around the bush isn't helping. hey. what are you, soobin, and yeonjun up to?"

"um... taking photos of some... things."

"you know you can't fool me. i know it isn't just taking photos, so you better tell me before i slip some words to your mother. or better yet, your father."

"are you threatening me?"

"yes. now spit it out."

beomgyu hates how taehyun can be intimidating just by crossing his arms and giving a pointed look. if beomgyu did that...he would be taken for a clown.

"no," beomgyu firmly stated.

"fine. then I'll help myself to explain to your father how you've been ignoring your studies and running off in meaningless interests these days." taehyun narrowed his eyes.

goddamn. beomgyu was speechless. "you're not a nice man, kang taehyun."

"you only knew? so now, tell me."

"it's complicated but apparently our school is haunted by murderous ghosts. they've already taken some lives and are now set on taking more. and, soobin-hyung and yeonjun-hyung have known this for quite some time so they're tasked with protecting this school from this haunting by keeping the entire situation a secret and working behind the shadows to stop the ghosts from taking another life."

beomgyu finished in one breath, begrudgingly telling taehyun about the whole ordeal. well, the information was forced out of him unkindly so he had no reason to be nice to the latter.

taehyun hummed inclusively for a while then asked, "how long has this been going on?"

"like I said! some time now!"

"hmm, not an affirmative response, i see."

beomgyu cannot be bothered with what the big brained taehyun could be brewing up in that complicated head of his. only one thing mattered to him at the moment and that was- "so are you going to help me study or not?" he asked, to which he received a most mysterious smile.

on the other hand, lia's investigation had begun to bear fruit. after countless attempts of prying, sneaking up on total strangers to ask off-putting questions and countless attempts of eavesdropping, she's found that in the entirety of Ace there was one girl who had begun to act strange.

"sihyeon, do you need help?"

kim sihyeon jumped at the intrusive voice that suddenly sneaked up on her. it was the hour of cleanliness, compulsory for every students to take part in tidying up their beloved school.

lia raised an unassuming brow at the girl crouched on the ground at the very most corner of the classroom. she craned her neck to see what had sihyeon all bothered.
"oh," her face fell with a loud sigh, "boys. there's no changing their theatrics is there?"

lia bemused herself for her awkward laugh. even sihyeon found her acting weird as she looked confusedly at the class president who had become a bit too sociable these days, much to some people's discomfort.

"she's grown guts after hanging out with hwang yeji and the chois." they would say to themselves accompanied by snide laughters.

lia paid them no heed.

"i'm fine," sihyeon sordidly brushed her off.

lia expected the attitude. but how sihyeon was crept up over this messy corner had aroused suspicion within her. "alright," she shrugged.

"but find me if you need help with anything alright? i'll be supervising the corridors. it can be about anything, everything, some things."

sihyeon stilled as lia tore her eyes away from the crouched girl.

i hope she got the hint. lia walked away, unsure.