ALTER. 彡 [ p.sh ]

[00]: charmer.

"I thought you quit smoking."

The man beside her gives her a rather offended look, taking a drag from his cigarette before blowing out puffs of smoke into the air. He exhales slowly, "Is this your way of bullying me?"

She shrugs, "Just saying. You told your little brother you quit."

"I had to lie to that kid, Sorin," his smile is angelic, cigarette between two of his fingers while one hand stayed put in the pocket of his signature white coat, "or else, he wouldn't shut his big mouth about it. Plus, it would be bad if people knew the school doctor was an addict."

"Would it?" Her question hangs in the air between them for a few fleeting seconds of silence. She steals a glance at him from the corner of her eye and sighs at the expression on his face. "San, for crying out loud, it's Hyeonju. I don't think anyone would care."

He lets out a little laugh.

"You're just saying that because you don't care. I know you don't, and I love you for it, but not everyone thinks the way you do."

She hums in response, drinking the remaining of her matcha cup. Thoughts gather and leave her mind as fast as the wind can comb through her hair. Up here, on the rooftop of Hyeonju High School so early in the morning, you could clearly see the point in the horizon where the sun slowly rises to grace the rest of the city with its light. It's the beginning of another long and dreadful school year, the strong January breeze greeting them by throwing open the gates that the unexpecting security guards barely caught with their nimble fingers.

Lowering her gaze, she sees some students already walking in and squints her eyes at them with a scrunch of her nose. "School doesn't start till an hour. How on earth can these kids be up and about at the ass crack of dawn like this?"

"You do the same thing everyday."

She groans, bringing a hand to her face to rub the weariness out of her eyes, but to no avail. "I didn't sleep at all last night. Why did I have to come to school? I could just go home."

San chuckles, "but, honey, you're the teacher."

At that, she slumps against the railing, and she swore she could literally feel the bags under her eyes. "Don't remind me, you moron."

"Well, at least one of us is going to have a good day," he releases more smoke into the air, tipping his head back with a pleased sigh escaping his pretty lips. Sorin can't help herself from admiring how effortlessly handsome he is, in his casual black turtleneck and grey pants, and the white doctor's coat he adorned for work almost everyday. San fixes his hair, and she glances over the single blonde streak in his dark tresses, highlighting the rest of his sharp features.

She smiles at the amount of effort he's putting in to make himself look more presentable before the day started. "Oh yeah?"

"Yep," he grins widely, dimples out and all; her favorite smile on him, "I got word from the principal himself; I'm getting a new assistant."

Sorin nods, biting absentmindedly on the straw as she'd completely emptied her drink. "Cool. You don't exactly need one, though," her brows furrow as she thought more about it, "Besides, this seems rather... sudden to me."

"It is," San stomps on the cigar he threw onto the ground until the flame went out, before kicking it over the edge, "I don't care, though, as long as I won't be the one doing all the work anymore."

At that, she outright laughs, earning a dry look from the taller man.

San used to work at a fancy hospital in Busan, one owned by his father. He'd moved to Seoul a few years ago upon request from a newly opened school, needing a doctor. San had told her that he accepted because he'd wanted a lighter work load, since working at his father's hospital would overly exhaust him to the point he barely got enough sleep.