when opposites fall.

and the rivalry starts

the classroom buzzed with excitement as the teacher announced the next group project—a two-week assignment, to be done in pairs. woonhak was already chatting with jaehyun about how he'd probably ace this one, eager to see who he'd get as a partner. 

riwoo, on the other hand, was quietly reviewing his notes, his face set in focused determination. if there was one thing he hated, it was being distracted from his work, especially by someone like woonhak, who seemed to exist in a perpetual state of chaos.

the teacher began calling out pairs, and as fate would have it, she finally got to the last names on the list.

"woonhak and... riwoo," she announced, her voice slicing through the chatter.

woonhak's eyes went wide as he whipped around to face riwoo, who looked equally unimpressed. riwoo's shoulders dropped almost imperceptibly, and he sighed, already sensing the headaches that would come with this partnership.

"lucky me," woonhak said, throwing his hands up in mock enthusiasm. "i get mr. intense as a partner."

riwoo shot him a glare, voice cool and steady. "believe me, i'm just as thrilled."

jaehyun snorted from his desk, nudging sungho, who sat quietly beside him, calmly watching the exchange. 

"this is gonna be hilarious. those two are like oil and water."

sungho just shook his head, a small smile playing at the corner of his lips. 

"yeah, it's like watching a train wreck... but in slow motion."

after class, woonhak caught up to riwoo as they walked down the hallway, trying to match his stride. "so, where should we meet up? library? your place? my place?"

riwoo gave him a sideways glance, unimpressed. "the library's fine. at least there, you'll be forced to stay quiet."

woonhak grinned, clearly unfazed by riwoo's tone. "what, you think i'm that loud?"

"it's a fact that you are so loud," riwoo replied flatly, not bothering to sugarcoat.

"ouch," woonhak laughed, placing a hand over his heart dramatically.