SCHOOL 2013 [ Heung Soo X OC ]

013

t.w //  mention of fighting

-ˋˏ [ xiii. strangers] ˎˊ-

It's sad when best friends become ennemies. But what's even worse is when they become strangers.
- Hayley Williams

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Yujin was currently eating soggy noodles at the police station with Officer Park and Officer Oh. The two were playfully pickering on whether or not birds urinate.

"Of course they do! Why wouldn't they pee?" Officer Park argued.

"Have you ever seen a bird urinate? They don't!" Officer Oh grumpily replied tired with his partner's bullsh*t.

"Maybe, they're shy!" 

"As if! Are you an idiot? Birds only poop, it's that gooey white stuff!"

"Seong-ho hyung, don't be mean," Officer Park pouted, sad that he was called stupid.
"I didn't mean it, gosh. Don't be so sensitive.."

"Actually birds poop and pee at the same time," Yujin nonchalantly input in their debate.

"SEE! I told you birds peed!" Officer Park proudly rejoiced.

"She said they peed and pooped at the same time, that means they don't "pee"!" Officer Oh added.

Their truly palpitating debate soon came to an end, however, when the station's door flew open, a group of familiar bloodied teens entering. To Yujin's surprise, they were accompanied by their two homeroom teachers.

Officer Oh left to file the report while Yujin rolled over to the Team Leader's desk with her fancy wheeled chair and whispered over to him, "You see that lady leaving the station? That's Teacher Jung, the 'angel descended from heaven to free us from that old-man's grasp'."

He dramatically gasped, "Angel!"

Yujin giggled at the man's antics. He had loved hearing stories about her new homeroom teacher, especially since their old one was particularly distasteful.

"Wait- Does that mean those students are your classmates?" he scowled.

"Yeah?"

"Stay away from them, Yujin. They're a bad influence. You're such a good child, you can't start causing trouble now."

Yujin bit her tongue, trying to hold in her temper. Her gazed turned sharp as she stared at the man in front of her, particularly irked at his remark.

Without a word, she stood up and went to meet the troublesome four before she did anything she might regret.

"Wow, did you all come to visit me, I'm touched," Yujin joked. "Aw, I'm sad, Yikyung didn't come.."

"Yujin? Why are you here?" Jihoon asked, surprised.

The girl simply laughed and bopped his nose as an answer. She then proceeded to sit down next to her classmates, wanting to hear about what happened. Although, to be honest, she already had a good idea of what kind of event transpired.

"Okay..." Officer Oh said, trying to ignore what just happened. Then, while dragging his hand from Namsoon's direction to Jihoon, he added, "Call out you names from here to here."

"Go Namsoon."

"Social Security Number-"

"Come on, Officer Oh, is that really-" Yujin was cut short when she saw the man's glare and decided to hold her tongue.

"Social Security Number?"

There was a tense silent before Namsoon answered," 941213.."

Jungho's brow twitched at his birth year, which didn't go unnoticed by Yujin.

"94? You're older!" Jihoon exclaimed, shocked. "Were you held back for a year too? Both of you are the same..."

Go Namsoon looked uncomfortably around the station, his eyes finally settling on Yujin's figure. She gave him a reassuring smile, but it didn't seem to ease the tension. He was unconsciously licking his bloodied lip, anxious. 

Quickly stealing a glance in Heungsoo's direction, he noticed the deep scowl residing on his features, making his heart drop even more. He spaced out, and when he finally came to it, Yujin was poking his shoulder, motioning to the settlement laying on the table.

He coated his finger in the red paste-like substance and stamped his fingerprint on the agreement.

"So, are you saying Oh Jungho is the victim and Park Heungsoo is the assailant since he hit you first?" Officer Oh confirmed.

"Yes," the aggressor monotonously replied. 

"And you two were just somehow involved in their fight?"

There was a deep silence and the officer assumed it meant he was correct. "Alright, then. I'll get your guardian to sign this and you'll be able to leave."

***

"Why are you here again?" Jihoon asked Yujin as she was scarfing soup down.

"Who would say no to free food? Are you crazy?" she muttered, mouth full.

Only a few moments earlier, Yujin along with the 4 troublesome boys left the police station.

"You guys know that from today on, I'm your guardian, right?" Teacher Jung has scolded the guys. Taking a deep sigh, she continued, "From now on, you guys have to listen well. Should I call up the Student Violence Committee? Even though you guys were settled at the police station, if it's reported to the school, the committee will open it up and your parents will have to come. Starting today, I am in charge of you guys. Follow me. You too, Yujin."

The girl had reluctantly followed, wishing to head to her job as soon as possible. In the end, Yujin's homeroom teacher had led them to a small restaurant and she was glad she followed.

Once they sat down, a looming tension fell on the group. No one dared to speak, except Jihoon and Yujin who were bickering.

"You literally just ate food, for goodness' sake, Yujin!" Jihoon complained.

"Your point?" the girl replied, not even looking at him.

Instead, Yujin grabbed Namsoon's spoon and force-fed him soup. He choked. 

"Yujin!" he managed to bark between wheezes.

"Don't be a baby! Teacher Jung is paying, eat up," Yujin laughed.

He reluctantly started eating, trying to ignore Heungsoo's cold glare on him. 

Yujin then softly patted Heungsoo's back, making him snap out of his trance. "Eat up."

---

As Teacher Jung was paying for the meal, with the biggest smile, Jihoon rejoiced, "Ahh, it was so good! Jungho let's come here again, it says it will be on sale. Let's come with Yikyung."

Once the woman was finished, she said, "I am not sure who was the best out of you guys, but I believe the ranking is all cleared up as of today. From now on, let's not make any trouble so that we don't have to stamp our fingers on a report nor settlement document, okay?"

There was a tense silence, no one speaking.

"Sorry to tell you," she continued, "but I won't give up on you guys. So you guys should be the one to give up."

Yujin's heart clenched at the words. "I won't give up on you, so you should be the one to."

She hated it. Empty promises. Empty words. 

No matter how good your intentions, it's nothing but a lie. And when finally it isn't, it hurts more than it heals.

"Let's work hard. Properly. Now, disperse! Don't stray away to different places."

Although others did as told, Yujin stayed put. 

"Aren't you heading home, Yujin?" Teacher Jung asked, confused.

"I need to go in this direction," she simply replied, pointing to the street where Namsoon had just followed Heungsoo.

"And?"

"They need time to talk."

Teacher Jung's forehead wrinkled in confusion. Still, she let the matter go and left, not wanting to miss the last bus home.

When she deemed the two boys far away, she started heading their way. Once she was close enough, she heard the two argue. Well, more like Heungsoo argue by himself.

"Is it nice to live as if it's not you?" Heungsoo started, his anger clouding his mind.

"Now, this is who I am," Namsoon simply replied, feeling nauseous.

"Is that right?" Heungsoo bit his lip, emotions slowly but surely overwhelming him. It made him feel pitiful. Pitiful for having been so affected by that incident, for relentlessly holding on, while the culprit kept living as if nothing ever happened. The moment Namsoon broke his leg, his dreams, and left him, Heungsoo didn't consider him a brother anymore. Right now however, Namsoon was nothing more than a stranger, he couldn't recognize his old best friend. "Then it's a guy I don't know," he finally managed to croak out before walking away, Yujin hot on his trail. 

She walked by Namsoon, whispering while passing by, "Give it time."

When she was finally close to Heungsoo, she gripped his hand, avoiding to look at his face, acting as if she didn't notice his tear-streaked cheeks.

"What are you doing?" he snapped, anger slowly replacing his sadness.

"Do you really want to go home to your sister like that?" Yujin prodded.

He tensed slightly before his shoulders dropped, reluctantly following the girl.

"I'll show you my favorite place in this whole pitiful city," she beamed, excitement seeping through.

"Where?"

***

"We're here."

There was nothing there. 

They were in the middle of the city and all the shops' lights were out. 

She played him, didn't she? She simply wanted to fight him at his lowest, just like Jungho had a few hours earlier. She was The Sailor after all, how could he forget? She was ruthless and violent.
Besides, to any figure who wanted to regain their spotlight, fighting someone of his caliber was ideal. She probably wanted to regain her notoriety.

He wouldn't let her. 

He ripped his hand from her grip. The girl's smile dropped in an instant as she noticed his crestfallen mood. However, just as quickly as it disappeared, it reappeared, albeit slightly forced.

"Follow me," she advanced to the municipal's library front step and knocked thrice on the imposing doors. 

One of the two wooden doors creaked open, an old lady peeking her head out. Her eyes fell on Yujin's figure and a frown itched itself on her lips. Yujin scratched the back of her neck sheepishly, trying to avoid the woman's scrutinizing gaze.

"Grandma, sorry, I'm late-" Yujin's pitiful excuse was soon halted when the lady's dainty fingers found their way to the lobe of her ear and pulled her by force inside.

"Where were you young lady?!" her voice boomed, resonating throughout the deserted library. Heungsoo was frozen. What just happened? He could swear a minute ago Yujin was about to attack him, yet here she was, dragged by force into a shady establishment.

"I BROUGHT FREE LABOUR, OKAY?!" he heard Yujin reply back with a yell. "COME IN, MAN, DON'T ABANDON ME NOW, GOSH!"

"What-" he mumbled, confused, his feet leading him inside subconsciously.

"Oh." the old lady simply answered, her anger seemingly leaving her in one fell swoop. Then, slowly, a twinkle found it's way to her eyes, making them glow. "Then, please have fun." She turned around to face Yujin and finished, "You better not slack off. This library better be spotless before the sun goes up."

The girl simply nodded, waving the older woman good bye.

"Slack off?"

"Oh, didn't I tell you? We can't leave until this place is all cleaned up," Yujin replied, a mischievous smile gracing her lips. "This is where I work."