paper rings (park jeonseong)✓

"Was that a joke?"
"What if it was?"
"I don't like jokes."
"I don't like you."
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Kazuha was everything you'd expect when you heard the word rebel.
Not the kind who went around breaking rules just for the sake of it. She simply refused to let people walk all over her. She stood up for herself, stood up for her friends, and-if necessary-stood up for complete strangers.
Unapologetically herself.
So lively, in fact, that her friends had secretly dubbed her their sunshine.
They'd never actually say it to her face, of course. Kazuha would never let them live it down. It was simply one part of herself she had learned to keep switched on.
Because if she stopped smiling, people might start asking questions.
And if they started asking questions, they might see what she was hiding.
Don't let them see how broken you are.
Because sometimes, you just have to fake it until you make it.
----------
Jay was everything you'd expect Kazuha to run away from.
Not because he was a bad person.
Quite the opposite.
Jay was kind.
Just...quietly.
He wasn't the type to let people in easily. He was reserved, careful with his words, and perfectly content keeping to himself.
He spoke when spoken to.
Kept out of unnecessary trouble.
Had his own close-knit group of friends.
And, unlike Kazuha, actually had a plan for his future.
He wasn't cold.
He simply didn't trust everyone with the parts of himself that mattered.
He was the kind of person who would quietly do something good and never tell anyone about it.
But he didn't open up to just anybody.
He had his friends.
The people he trusted.
And, as far as Jay was concerned, that was enough.
Until it wasn't.

Because Jay and Kazuha met in the most inconvenient way possible. Then life kept putting them in each other's path.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Until avoiding each other became impossible.

❗#2 in the 'on the next radio' series❗

What to Expect:

LOUD EXTROVERT × QUIET INTROVERT
Unequivocal Chemistry

(Completed)