high and low | s.c. + j.y. (jeongcheol)

1.

Seungcheol opened his eyes and groaned as sunlight blurred his vision. He stretched his arms out as he took in the unfamiliar sight of the sauna he and his family were currently staying in.

Yesterday evening, Seungcheol and his siblings came back from school only to find the top of their house in shambles. They lived in a small house with a wooden roof, and apparently, termites had eaten through the roof, leaving large gaps throughout the ceiling of the house. Seungcheol immediately called his mother and notified her of the situation, and by nightfall, the family had packed their things and called someone to fix the house.

The company they had hired said it would take a few months for the roof to be fixed, an amount of time Seungcheol found absurd, but couldn't argue with because it was the only business that his family could find. Fortunately for them, the owner of the public sauna sympathized with them and allowed them to stay there for the night so that they could make future arrangements.

"Ji-na-ya, Seungpo-ya, wake up. We have to go to school soon," Seungcheol commanded, shaking his younger siblings awake.

His younger sister, Ji-na, grumbled and slapped Seungcheol's hand away, while their younger brother, Seungpo, rubbed his bleary eyes and smiled at Seungcheol cutely.

The three of them took showers and put on their school uniforms. They grabbed their bags and walked over to their mom who was talking to someone on the phone. They patiently waited for her to finish. She hung up the phone and smiled at them.

"Good news, kids! I've found a place for us to stay!" Seungcheol's mother exclaimed, her face looking much more relaxed than it did the night before.

"That's a relief. We need to get going to school though now, so can you text me the address? When I pick these two up after school, we'll meet you there," Seungcheol said, kissing his mom on the cheek. His mother nodded and waved at them as they left the sauna.

☼

"Hey, where do you think we're staying?" Ji-na asked Seungcheol after they dropped Seungpo off at his school.

Seungcheol shrugged, and Ji-na let out an annoyed sigh at her brother's disinterested response. They approached the entrance of Ji-na's school, and Seungcheol gave his sister a one-armed hug.

"Don't make too many people cry today, okay?" Seungcheol instructed teasingly.

Ji-na waved her hand dismissively and ran through the entrance to catch up with her friends. Seungcheol watched her enter her school, then put in his headphones as he walked to his own school.

☼

As Seungcheol walked through the entrance of the school, he felt a light weight slam into his back. He turned around to see who had bumped into him, his face darkening when he realized who it was.

"I-I'm so sorry! I was pushed and accidentally fell into you! I didn't mean to do it on purpose, I promise!" Jeonghan rambled, his cheeks red with embarrassment. Seungcheol's face scrunched up with disgust, and he walked away from the other boy, not even bothering to spare him another glance. He couldn't let his day be ruined by something as trivial as this.

☼

The school day was finally over. Seungcheol's day at school was mainly uneventful, other than the little scuffle he had gotten into with Jeonghan earlier in the day. In his classes, Seungcheol quietly did his work, and at lunch, he hung out with his friends.

He had notified his friends about his family's living situation during lunch, to which they responded by telling him that they were sorry for him and that they would help him out in any way they could. Though Seungcheol refused so he wouldn't burden them, his friends' caring words warmed his heart and put a smile on his face.