Slipping into her gray sweatshirt, light denim pants, and white sneakers, Yeoreum grabbed her backpack and stepped out of her room. She immediately spotted Yoonoh sitting at the dining table in his usual gray office suit, already halfway through his breakfast.
"It's your first daaaay~!"
Yeoreum rolled her eyes and dropped into the seat across from him. She stabbed a piece of bacon with her fork, took a bite, and immediately followed it with a spoonful of rice.
Yoonoh raised a brow.
"Bad sleep?"
"Soulmate things," she answered simply through her chewing.
Yoonoh's jaw tightened for a second as he mentally cursed the boy responsible.
Still, he forced himself to smile reassuringly before taking another sip of coffee.
"You'll get there."
"How?" Yeoreum grumbled. "He didn't even say hi. His first words to me were basically venom. What's his problem?"
She stabbed another piece of bacon harder than necessary and shoved it into her mouth.
"Um, Reum..."
She looked at him.
"Are you angry?"
"I don't know!" she snapped before immediately sighing. "I don't even know why I suddenly have such a bad mood."
Yoonoh leaned back in his chair. "Let me introduce you to some soulmate things, then."
Yeoreum raised a brow but waited for him to continue.
"You see, when your bond officially starts, you may begin to feel what your soulmate feels. It doesn't happen exactly the same for everyone, but since your bond activated recently, I think what you're experiencing is secondhand anger."
Yeoreum paused. "So... he might be angry?"
"Probably."
"Maybe he's just angry at the whole world. I don't know."
She shoved the last spoonful of rice into her mouth before standing and carrying her utensils toward the sink.
"Hurry up, Yoon. As much as I hate school, I still don't want to be late."
Yoonoh clicked his tongue and quickly finished his coffee.
"That's oppa for you."
"Yes, hyung," she replied mockingly before disappearing back into her room to brush her teeth.
Yoonoh shook his head with a quiet laugh.
───────
Yeoreum stood in front of the large school gates and took a deep breath.
Her first day.
After everything that had happened over the past few days, returning to school almost felt strange. It was supposed to be an ordinary morning, yet her mind still kept wandering back to the same person.
Lee Donghyuck.
She shook the thought away and walked through the gates.
A strong breeze swept past her, sending her short hair flowing behind her as she followed the familiar path toward the second-year college building.
Once she reached the hallway lined with lockers, she let out another quiet breath and began looking through the nameplates attached to the locker doors.
"Yo, Summer!"
Yeoreum immediately turned around.
A familiar face came rushing toward her.
"Hey, Yeji."
"Don't 'hey, Yeji' me." Yeji grabbed her by the shoulders and gave her a quick once-over. "Are you okay now? We haven't properly talked since that incident. I'm sorry I didn't reach out sooner."
Yeoreum gave her a small smile. "It's fine, Jiji. The whole event left everyone in shock. I understand."
"Yeoreum! Yeji!"
Both girls turned toward the familiar voice.
Their smiles instantly grew wider when they saw the youngest member of their little circle approaching them.
"Naih!"
The three girls immediately pulled each other into a tight hug.
"Hey, how was China?" Yeji asked as they separated.
"Perfectly good!" Naih answered brightly. "I even met this handsome boy one day, but he was so intimidating."
Yeji's eyes widened. "Wait, what? Who?"
"What's his name?" Yeoreum asked, equally interested.
"I heard it was something like Park Jisung. He was with his Chinese friend, Chenle. You know, that grandson of the conglomerate CEO?"
"The Zhongs?"
"Yeah! Them!"
The two girls immediately reacted, bombarding Naih with questions.
Naih tried her best to answer, but there wasn't much information to give. Apparently, Jisung was just that serious, while Chenle seemed to be the more approachable one.
Their conversation continued until the school bell rang across the campus, forcing them to stop.
Yeji sighed. "Okay, we'll continue this at lunch."
"Cafeteria?" Naih asked.
"Of course."
Yeoreum nodded. "We'll see you there."
Naih smiled brightly. "Good luck on your first day!"
"Thanks! You too!"
The three girls exchanged quick waves before heading toward their respective classrooms.
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