fanfiction | x1

vi.

OMNISCIENT.

It only took a few hours time for Yeoreum to become a little paranoid and go 'detective mode' about who the anonymous X1 member was. Her first hunch was that it could be someone from her class, because obviously, they saw her the most within a day.

"Hey." Eunsang called out from her left. "Do you have an extra pen?" He asked hesitantly, rubbing his nape that of course, Yeoreum found adorable. Yeoreum quickly rummaged her pencil case, working through so many pens and markers to find a black pen. "Here you go." She lended, a shy smile seeped through her face.

Eunsang bowed lightly, returning the smile. "Thanks."

"Yeoreum noona, you dropped this." Minhee tapped her from her right, his hand holding a marker. She got startled, covering her mouth with her hand. "Oh sorry. Thanks Minhee." Her awkward laugh made Minhee smile too. She and the boys had already dropped formalities yesterday, when they were assigned together in a together in a groupwork.

I guess you could infer as to why she was becoming conscious of herself. Yeoreum was literally surrounded by X1. The same people who outside the school, were the people she needed to work with. The unsettling thought would come into her mind so often, how her idols were now her classmates, schoolmates, and her bosses.

You need to get used to this now, Yeoreum. She thought as she warmed up to the nook of her chair.

"Okay class, so who could tell me their definition of aesthetics?" Philosophy was always one of her favorite subjects, as she had always read about it in alot of books. But on the other hand, there was complete silence in the room. No one raised their hand, and some even avoided eye contact with the teacher.

Meanwhile, the answer was being formed in her head before Yeoreum raised her hand,

"Yes, Ms. Lee?" The teacher recognized, "I think aesthetics can be simply defined as an individual's perception to what he or she thinks is beautiful." Yeoreum stood up, answering the question. "Well said. That's exactly it. Aesthetics is just..." The teacher trailed on.

A few reacted to her answer. Dongpyo's eyes sparkled, seeing a new side to Yeoreum. Hyeongjun was nodding slowly, her answer processing in his mind. While Junho just smiled, knowing what her capabilities were. They had gotten to know her a little bit more and so to say, they were surprised that Yeoreum managed to be a straight A student while working a job for them.

"Ey, you read about that didn't you?" Minhee discreetly teased Yeoreum. "Maybe." She answered mischievously, the both of them sharing a laugh.

Yeoreum felt warm inside, giving herself a mental pat in the back.

Their class discussions went on for a few more hours, and the waiting for dismissal was over. Yeoreum shouted a loud "Yes!", her fist in the air when she heard the final bell. "What are you so excited for?" Dongpyo asked, clearly amused. Yeoreum immediately embarassed, clearing her throat.

"N- nothing. I'm uh, excited to work with you guys!" She brightly cheered. "Really? Hm, just admit that you want to go home already, noona." Eunsang jokingly said. "No, I don't." She defended, crossing her arms.

"Cute." Junho stated, patting her head, his figure noticeably taller than hers. "Yah, I'm cuter though." Dongpyo tapped Junho's shoulder, doing his signature aegyo. Hyeongjun raised a brow, about to say something when Yeoreum already beat him to it.
"I think Hyeongjun disagrees." She says, and they all laugh.

"Aren't you going to go to Page Project after this? We're going there too." Minhee mentioned, the bunch starting to walk. "Uh yeah, but I have to go to the library to return a book I borrow first." She answered, Minhee nodding in understanding.

"Do you guys need to leave already? I'll just see you guys there, it's okay." Yeoreum insisted. "I don't want to- I mean we don't want to leave you here without anyone to go with, especially since your friend's absent." Eunsang was right, Hyejoo wasn't around to accompany her.

"Guys!" Hangyul called to the group from a distance. Some of the students along the corridor turning to their direction. Yohan and Hangyul were together again, probably coming from their last class.

"Oh, Yeoreum's here again." Yohan noticed, holding his bag on one strap. "Yep, hey." She waved, smiling. "What are you guys doing here though, Seungwoo hyung texted that he's already at the gate." Hangyul said that made them all look at him. "Looks like something's gotten into Seungwoo hyung these days. He never goes out of his way to fetch us, until recently." Dongpyo noticed, the comment making them wonder.

"True. Weird." Yohan commented. "Anyway, we need to go now, Yeoreum. Please be safe, okay?" Yohan muttered, a small smile on his face. Junho scoffed, finding his friend weird. Yeoreum nodded, "Of course, see you later."

She waved to them goodbye, their figures disappearing. She then headed to the library by herself, approaching the return desk. Right after, she then proceeded to pick out a new book to read. She went to the fiction aisle per usual, and picked out another book from Toni Morrison. The author was really one of her faves, and so her hand naturally gravitated to that one in particular.

She scanned through the pages, noticing something. It was strange how it didn't have a borrow form pasted at the back page. Instead there was a "S.W." written in neat cursive handwriting. She didn't mind it though, and borrowed it anyways.

"Must be one of those books confiscated by the maintenance. Sometimes students leave things in the facilities, and when they don't get them in lost and found, the school just collects them. So obviously, lost books get turned in here." The librarian told her, after a few failed attempts to scan the book. "I'll just record it in a separate inventory. You can borrow it for now."

"Thank you." Yeoreum said, bowing to the elder. She placed the book inside her bag and left.