Jennie is the confident, untouchable student council president—straight A's, well-respected, and always composed. But behind that perfect image, she's under a lot of pressure to maintain her reputation. She never lets anyone get too close, keeping her emotions in check.
Jisoo, on the other hand, is the chaotic, carefree troublemaker. She's smart but doesn't care much about grades, always skipping class to play basketball or nap on the rooftop. She's the kind of person who doesn't follow rules but somehow gets away with everything because everyone—including the teachers—adores her.
They've known each other forever but never got along. Jennie can't stand how unserious Jisoo is, while Jisoo loves pushing Jennie's buttons just to see her lose her cool. But when they both get forced into working together for the school's cultural festival—Jennie as the head organizer and Jisoo as the reluctant performer in the main event—things start to shift.
At first, they clash, like always. Jisoo purposely shows up late to meetings just to get a rise out of Jennie, while Jennie scolds her like a teacher. But then, one night, while setting up decorations after hours, they end up alone in the classroom. Jennie is stressed, Jisoo is unusually quiet. Then, out of nowhere, Jisoo asks, "Why do you hate me so much?"
Jennie is caught off guard. Because the truth is... she doesn't. She never did.
Jennie froze, the pen she was holding slipping from her fingers. Jisoo's voice was soft, almost hesitant, and it was the first time she had ever sounded so serious. Usually, she was teasing, laughing, pushing Jennie's buttons like it was her favorite pastime. But now, under the dim classroom lights, she was just looking at her—really looking.
"I don't hate you," Jennie finally answered, though her voice lacked its usual sharp edge.
Jisoo tilted her head, a small smirk playing on her lips, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Then why do you always act like you do?"
Jennie exhaled sharply, brushing a hand through her hair. "Because you're frustrating."
A chuckle escaped Jisoo. "And you're predictable."
Jennie shot her a glare, but it wasn't as cold as before. "I'm not predictable."
Jisoo leaned in, resting her chin on her palm. "You are. I knew you'd stay late to finish everything by yourself instead of asking for help."
Jennie opened her mouth to argue but quickly shut it. Because Jisoo was right. She always did things alone. She didn't trust people to handle things the way she would. But somehow, Jisoo had noticed. And that made Jennie's heart do something weird.
They sat in silence for a moment, the tension between them shifting from confrontational to something else entirely. The hum of the air conditioner was the only sound in the room.
Jisoo was the first to break it. "You work too hard."
Jennie rolled her eyes. "Someone has to."
"Yeah, but maybe if you let yourself have fun sometimes, you wouldn't be so stressed."
"And maybe if you took things seriously sometimes, you wouldn't be in danger of failing."
Jisoo grinned. "Touché."
Another silence. But this time, it wasn't uncomfortable. It was... easy. Jennie realized she had never really talked to Jisoo like this before. Without arguing. Without pretending.
"You don't have to do everything alone, you know," Jisoo said after a while, her voice softer now.
Jennie looked at her, and for once, she didn't feel the need to have a comeback. Maybe Jisoo was right. Maybe she didn't have to carry everything on her own.
