The bathroom at Zeus, much like the rest of the hotel, is all chrome and glass. Everything reflects off of everything, and Tae Yeon's never seen her face from so many different angles, and the urge to check for mascara smudges and rub concealer on spots is stronger than ever. The white, pristineness of it all reminds Tae Yeon of a hospital – only with the harsh lighting replaced by soft candles, clinical smell replaced with rose scented soap.
Bathrooms have always been something of a comfort to Tae Yeon. They're pristine (at least the ones she visits), people don't stay for too long, and apart from in school where it's a hub for social chit chat – it's relatively quiet. It makes it the perfect place to distance yourself from everything, and makes it the perfect vehicle for Tae Yeon to gather her thoughts.
It's empty at present – everyone else too busy kissing up to waste precious time in the bathroom. Tae Yeon most definitely can't afford to do so; but she's too out of it to care. Besides, she'll probably be reaping the rewards from the kissing up she's already done for a long time coming.
Hopefully long enough to distract her mother from her fruitless search for a suitable husband.
If I never see a handsome chaebol again it will be too soon.
Just the thought of seeing Choi Young Do makes me want to claw my eyes out.
"And yet you actively sought him out just now,"Tae Yeon reminds herself bitterly.
Playing Young Do like a puppet in front of his father had seemed like a good idea at the time. It was a plan birthed whilst Tae Yeon had been fuelled by anger from her crushed pride, making her stubborn enough to push herself out the door in an expensive dress and tall shoes. Now, however, that she was out of the spotlight and adrenaline was no longer coursing through her veins – everything seemed to suddenly crash back into her; a sudden weight appearing on her shoulders.
A weight that Tae Yeon had slipped back on effortlessly, familiar like an old, worn pair of shoes.
When the door swings open silently, Tae Yeon snaps herself out of her self-pity party and takes this as an opportune time to retouch her makeup, strengthen her weakening defensive measures (namely her pretty face).
She has to converse with more people anyway, even if Young Do kneeling to her is a guarantee for popularity for the meantime; it's in Tae Yeon's nature to mess things up where boys are concerned.
The manner in which her hands were shaking didn't register to her until she attempted to undo the clasp of her clutch.
Tae Yeon swore under her breath.
Who invented clutches anyway? Who thought having a bag this small was logical?
Finally popping open, still trembling fingers retrieve her lipstick. The lean forwards into the mirror so she can apply it comes across a lot smoother than she feels.
The girl that had entered the bathroom moments ago does the same, popping open the cap of her own lipstick tube with the infamous interlocking Cs on it.
They make for an odd pair, standing side by side, both looking at their reflections in the mirror.
Tae Yeon had picked out one of the simplest dresses she owned, wanting to come across as modest. Even if her family's old money back in China, they're still relatively new in South Korea; and she'd wanted the show she put on with Young Do to look as genuine as possible. And that would be hard to do unless she looked more like a princess than a wicked queen.
It's white for simplicity, purity: because despite the fact that her generation are already weary of the world, adults often consider them to be young and naïve, and she chooses to use it to her advantage.
Her lipstick's a classic red, making her look as young as she is, making rich women coo at her and call her pretty – all the while thinking that she looks far too dumb to get anywhere without spreading her legs. As for the men, well, there's nothing they like more than seeing dumb, young girls who they think they can easily persuade into entering their hotel rooms.
Particularly convenient when you're already in a hotel.
On the other hand, the girl beside her is dressed in pink. Unlike Tae Yeon's simple design, hers is intricate and detailed, patterns sculpted out of lace. Probably to show her family's prestige and great financial standing, boasting their success with a dress incredibly expensive. Her hair falls straight with a blunt fringe, neon pink lipstick somehow making her look like someone in charge rather than someone sweet.
Tae Yeon uncaps her lipstick, brushing her hair behind her ear. She contorts her face into the age old expression, pouting her lips; glad for the expensive lip liner she put on at home making it glide on with incredible ease so she doesn't embarrass herself in front of someone who seems so put together.
"Nice lipstick," the girl comments. "Ruby woo?"
Her voice is even and smooth and emanates everything Tae Yeon's mother wishes Tae Yeon had. In fact, the girl is a pretty good summary of the ideal daughter her mother so eagerly desires. Tae Yeon tilts her head and smiles.
"It's a classic," she comments, eyeing the lipstick in the girl's hand. "Chanel?"
The girl's lips twist upwards. "An old one, I'm not a fan of some of the newer colours."
"I'm more of a MAC girl," Tae Yeon says, checking her teeth for colour before recapping the lipstick. The clasp on her purse opens far easier now so she can put her tube back.
Conversations about makeup are good. Safe. The sort of territory that Tae Yeon doesn't mind wandering into.
"You should give them a try, their latest range would suite your complexion."
Their eyes catch in the mirror and Tae Yeon smiles. It comes easy to her, which is something new because usually it's all false pretenses and having to fake interest – but makeup is something she likes to think she knows, and the girl talking about it with her makes Tae Yeon warm instantly. Not to mention there's some sort of mutual respect as they appraise each other in the bathroom.
"Your dress is exquisite," she continues and Tae Yeon glances at herself in the mirror. It's a nice fabric and design, hardly anything ugly – but it's glaringly bland in comparison to the one next to her.
"Yours even moreso. I'm not sure I have the charms to pull off something so intricate."
"You underestimate yourself."
Just as Tae Yeon feels collected after her confrontation with Young Do, she's struck by the girl's next comment.
"I saw how well you orchestrated Young Do."
Tae Yeon freezes and her eyes harden. "And you're here to reprimand me for it? Because then I'd prefer you don't give me false compliments."
The girl smiles wryly again, as if it's the expression she was born with. "More like congratulate you. It's not everyday someone executes a move like that successfully, especially not on him."
"It's surprising someone so unpleasant has so many friends," Tae Yeon says, not missing the hint of fondness in the girl's words. "However I have no idea what you're talking about."
Tae Yeon accompanies this with the batting of her eyelashes and is rewarded with a snort.
"Modesty suits you fairly well. Although it doesn't quite work when I've heard a lot about your endeavors at Jeguk."
"I don't suppose you're here to warn me off from Young Do, are you? Because I've had a sufficient amount of warnings. Not to mention it would be a stupid thing to do when I'm so blatantly winning."
"Actually, I'm here to cheer you on," finally pleased with her appearance, the girl caps her own lipstick closed and adjusts her hair in the mirror before stepping back. "The last person who had a fighting chance with Young Do was Kim Tan, and he was so witless he had to resort to violence in order to wage war with him. You, on the other hand, seem to have ten times more intelligence than him."
Tae Yeon's glad she's found someone else who doesn't seem to be enamored with Tan.
"I like to think it's closer to one thousand times, but it's nice to hear," Tae Yeon says and when they smile this time it's genuine. Surprisingly. The girl's exterior is cold, but the interior seems strikingly similar to her own.
"I hope to see more of you in the future. It's not often you meet an heiress that's not convinced marrying another chaebol is the only way to get power. Especially not one who's actually smart. Or one that isn't just bitter because she's not pretty enough to actually get a husband," the girl pauses. "I mean there's Bo Na, but there's only so much prep you can take at one time."
Tae Yeon scoffs at the marriage comment. "Perhaps you should tell my mother that."
They exit the bathroom together, the quiet dim of conversation reaching them the minute they leave.
"This party's surprisingly boring for Zeus, they're presumably trying to draw attention away from the negative press of last year. If you hadn't decided to make your debut, it probably would have lacked any entertainment."
"Speak for yourself," Tae Yeon mocks. "You may have exhausted the fun out of being in a room full of boys who are willing to do anything for a girl with a pretty dress, but I haven't."
Before the girl can reply, another voice chimes in.
"It really is lucky you transferred schools, sister. Imagine the chaos that could be caused to Jeguk by the two of you together. Blood on the floor. Broken nails," a dry voice calls the minute they round the corner.
Young Do's there, leaning against the wall. His suit jacket's thrown over one shoulder as if he's already had enough of the evening, but his tie's still knotted tight around his neck.
You seem a little strung up, Young Do-ah.
The observation strokes Tae Yeon's pride. Just a little.
"On the contrary, unlike you I prefer to try making friends first rather than engaging in an all out war," the girl replies, voice just as dry.
Young Do scoffs. "You? Make friends? Keeping friends? Has the world gone insane?"
"She's a lot more capable than you," Tae Yeon offers.
Young Do kicks off from the wall, looping an arm around the girl that doesn't particularly look like she wants it to be there.
"You wouldn't want to be friends with her anyway. Everyone's scared of my little sister, right?" Young Do asks, grinning widely at Tae Yeon.
Even if there's at least a meter's distance between them, after spending a considerable amount of time around older boys she can tell when someone's drunk. Young Do's definitely at least slightly buzzed.
It's nice, seeing him unhinged because of her.
His arm's shoved off and drops to his side, but Young Do still continues to speak. "Once you know who she is you won't - "
"Yoo Rachel. Daughter of Lee Esther and heiress to RS International," Tae Yeon cuts him off and Rachel looks pleased.
Her hesitance at putting a name to the face seems to have been in vain, considering Rachel's now positively beaming whilst Young Do looks affronted.
At least I got it right. That could have been embarrassing.
The mixture of shock and anger on Young Do's face is very aesthetically pleasing.
"Just because I didn't know who you were, doesn't mean I can't recognize people of actual importance."
Then she walks away to reenter the ballroom, because she doesn't need Young Do monopolizing her time. Not when she's all dressed up and actually willing to put up with snobby people.
Rachel's pretty laugh echoes off the walls and Tae Yeon smirks.
A perfect evening.
Jeguk high rears its ugly head again far too soon. Despite the fact that the sky's blue and clear of clouds, the sun shining irritatingly bright above Tae Yeon, she doesn't feel at all happy. The short break from being bombarded by looks from fellow students had been over far too quickly; having to return as if she hadn't entirely changed the way things were progressing.
She feels absolutely exhausted after having come to terms with exactly what she'd done – outing herself as a potential threat and thus subjecting herself to a whole lot of bullshit in the future. It had gotten to the point she was contemplating what it would take to convince her mother to let her transfer back to her old school, finger hovering above the call button on the phone until Min Kyung had slapped it out of her hand.
He'd then proceeded to shake her, hard.
Tae Yeon had appreciated it at the time, only now, shoulders hurting, she wanted to slap him.
That morning she'd insisted she didn't need Min Kyung to drive her, instead choosing to take the bus. Breathing in tale air that came along with public transport, finding solace in the way people jostled her as they got on and off the bus, paying her no attention.
Despite the fact that the presence of the sun after spending a considerable amount of time inside with only artificial light as company is disorienting – it's not disorienting enough for her to be shocked by the gathering of students outside who immediately halt their previous conversations and swivel towards her. Almost like she's the sun, and they're all flowers depending on her for their daily energy.
She's even less surprised when Young Do manifests out of thin air slinging his arm around her forcefully and pulling her into the building.
I think you're misunderstanding our current situation Young Do.
He guides her through the labyrinth of corridors, passing students who appraise them with eagle eyes. She barely even blinks, ignoring their stares just like always.
Tae Yeon looks up at Young Do as they continue to walk, his mouth contorted into a twist that looks like an attempted smile – but resembles more of a pained look than anything else. His eye twitches in what she presumes is irritation.
Tae Yeon's back straightens and she walks with her head a little higher.
If you want a show, I'll give you one.
He proceeds to jostle her forwards until they reach her locker.
The lock opens with a click as Tae Yeon begins to sift through its contents, Young Do still hovering besides her and watching her movements over the open locker door. She begins to discern what books are necessary for the day, ignoring the heat of Young Do's glare on the side of her face; Min Kyung's incessant hanging around actually coming in handy because now she barely Young Do's presence.
Tae Yeon takes her leisurely time, completely at ease.
It's obvious the way he's watching her is meant to be interpreted as a leer – but Tae Yeon's anger had dissipated after she'd gained closure at Zeus' function, and instead she's bored of the entire ordeal and finds Young Do's look more pitiful than anything.
Which is a shame because everyone else seemed to have just renewed their interest in the topic.
Jeguk was simply buzzing with excitement, some of the students from outside having entered the building just to follow them – now hanging a safe distance away from the two of them at her locker.
Just like flies, eager to investigate the possible stench of dead meat.
Their whispers are harsh, hardly secretive. All about her.
Tae Yeon had seen the pictures plastered over the news websites that morning.
Not out of choice.
She'd finally let Min Kyung into her apartment after slamming it shut in his laughing face. He'd found the whole situation incredibly amusing, shoving the pictures in her face and going as far as to set one as his phone background.
Tae Yeon had taken one glance at her phone, all the messages from various people she hadn't spoken to for practically ever. She'd caught sight of the text from her mother and immediately turned it off.
Did you have fun?
Tae Yeon very pointedly left her phone at the bottom of her desk drawer.
The whispers increase in intensity, becoming more furious when Young Do grows impatient with her slow pace and slings his arm low around her waist – the action causing sharp intakes of breath all around. The angle that Young Do is trying to play is clear – that he's in charge and calling the shots.
It's so horribly done that it's laughable.
So much so that Tae Yeon doesn't bother muffling her short of amusement; even when his fingers tighten where they're grasping at her blazer.
Once her locker is shut, Young Do relieves her from her books. Rather forcefully. They're tucked under his arm before she can say anything and then they're moving again.
And I thought chivalry was dead.
Digging her heels into the ground manages to slow their pace, and rather than smiling coyly at him like she might have a couple of weeks ago when she was still charading as an innocent lamb: she instead smirks wickedly for the passerby's benefit.
Young Do hurries her along even more.
He pushes her down a corridor she's never ventured into before. She tries to pause to take in her surroundings, but he's pulling a door open to her left, pushing her inside.
Two students stare wide-eyed at her, completely frozen.
Tae Yeon waves like a celebrity.
"Get out," Young Do snarls at them.
The two boys look between them for a while, before jumping to their feet and rushing out.
"See you later," Tae Yeon calls, and it's an adequate test for her new abilities when the boys hasten their walking. Then Young Do is backing her against the wall, hands caging her in on either side of her head.
Her smile is easy. Lax. Calm.
The same vein in his temple from before twitches.
"You have no idea what you've started," Young Do growls, and although his voice is low and cold; all Tae Yeon can see is him on his knees. The surge of power that had filled her at that sight fills her once again, like a weak echo – and now when she looks at Young Do all she can see is a lost boy.
With a tilt of her head, Tae Yeon lets the smug act from before dissipate. "Funny. I considered my actions to be finishing ones."
His breath fans hot against her face when he snarls again, lip curling up in a feral manner to expose his teeth. Her nails are cutting into her palm hard enough to draw blood as she wills the voice in her head (the one telling her to back down, to succumb to him) to shut up.
Not again. Not this time.
I've backed down and knelt before, isn't it someone else's turn now?
"Listen - "
"No, you listen," Tae Yeon said, and even though the fatigue of having to act strong in front of everyone was getting to her she still found enough strength to jab a finger at his chest and push him backwards so she had a little more breathing room. "Choi Young Do, do you honestly think I'm scared of you?"
I've gambled and lost it all before, and you think I'm worried about you?
This was obviously not what he had been expecting as she took her other hand and shoved him backwards so he almost toppled over a chair. She found that he was a metaphor for everything she had grown to despised – those who were self-entitled, those who put themselves above everyone else; and all of the self-contained fury at how much she was scrutinized and how much she had to constantly worry about how she appeared released itself as she spoke.
"Big and tall, with your furrowed eyebrows and your father's rich company. Brought to your knees by a girl with big eyes in a pretty dress. You honestly think anyone's scared of you anymore?"
Young Do actually managed to trip over a chair as he stumbled back slightly, and the action barely registered in Tae Yeon's mind as she kicked the fallen chair out of the way.
"And even if they are scared of you – they're more scared of me. The new girl who brought you to your knees. The new girl who everyone bitched about with worrying about the consequences; the new girl who turns out is actually in a decent position to get them all in a lot of trouble for their snarky comments. In a time where every business is trying to expand to other countries: they can't afford to offend an international business' daughter."
By this time Young Do's mouth had flattened out into a line as he leaned back against the table, leaning away from her and considered her as she continued to rant – angry at everything and having to continue to pretend. Pretend for possibly the rest of her life.
"Those boys, you think they left because of you? As far as they're concerned you're scared of me. You may be the big bad wolf but I'm the one who's got you on a leash," with that she felt herself immediately begin to cool, moving her hair so that it hung over her right shoulder.
"You've lost, Young Do," voice quieter now, coming out as more of a sigh. "Run along now and try to salvage what reputation you can. It was fun playing with you whilst you still presented a challenge."
"You no longer think I'm challenging?" Tae Yeon couldn't discern if he was offended or disbelieving. She didn't really care.
"And if I comply with your suggestions; does that imply you've definitely won?"
Tae Yeon approached the door, fingers running along the doorframe as she chewed on her lip thoughtfully. "Didn't you want this? In the beginning? You said I would be a good replacement queen, that I could fill her shoes. Let's see if you were right."
When she left she ignored the way her hands trembled and the tears threatening to well in her eyes.
You've won. Suck it up Tae Yeon.
You're not letting someone else get under your skin – not this time.
It takes almost the entire school day for Young Do to recollect himself.
His outward performance is as usual, sarcastic comments and the typical scaremongering. Only now Tae Yeon is back to paying him no attention – and Young Do would accept the challenge gratefully if it weren't for the fact that everyone interpreted her ignorance as her choosing not to humor him, and thus considered it acceptable for them to do the same.
Even Eun Sang was overcompensating her replies, filling the silence left when Tae Yeon sat at their table and failed to engage with him like she had previously: and the fact that even Eun Sang had realized that something was amiss and was trying to make him feel better grated on his nerves.
The girl who a couple of months ago could barely stand to be in the same room as him, let alone look at him, making meek attempts to soothe his ego.
His eye had switched incessantly throughout the whole of lunch.
Although Tae Yeon (Young Do wondered if he'd ever start calling her Te Mei, and whether or not acknowledging her rich alter ego would be acknowledging his supposed defeat) had seemed resigned when he'd cornered her: now that she was back in front of an eager audience she'd returned to nonchalance.
When Tae Yeon had glanced at him for the second time that day since she'd left him to stew in the classroom (Young Do knew exactly how many times it had been because he'd been staring at her since then, wondering if she would crack) and noticed his twitch she'd grinned widely and popped an apple slice into her mouth.
It caused a new ripple in the ocean of gossip and Young Do could already feel the beginning of a headache coming on – accompanied by the buzzing in his ears and the pain in his temples.
By some sort of miracle, his temper's managed to diffuse itself by their last class of the day. It's timetabled as a 'study' period: which Young Do always thought made it open to interpretation. His interpretation just happened to involve leaving school early and going home – but today's an exception.
He takes a deep inhale before entering the library. It's practically empty. Whilst he took free study to mean home time, the rest of their year usually considered it time to gossip about the events of the day on the benches outside.
No doubt they have plenty to discuss right now.
Yet despite its deserted state, Young Do's banking on one person being there.
Preferably alone.
God must be rewarding him for his patience throughout the day – as when he rounds a corner, praying she's there, she appears when he opens his eyes as if by magic.
Notebooks and textbooks are strewn across the table she's sat at, partially hidden by a stack of bookshelves so that she's obscured form the onslaught of people entering the library. There are pens dumped in a pile to her right as she alternates between colours and highlights relevant things.
Everything's very methodical, copying things down neatly in her even handwriting and flicking the pages – stacking and restacking books in order of importance.
Everything's methodical up until Young Do dumps himself down on the chair opposite her. He's not even spared a glance before she's ordering him to "Go away."
Young Do tuts. "You might be right in thinking people are scared of you, but that doesn't mean you're free to kick people out of the library when you please."
"I'm not kicking you out of the library, I'm kicking you off my table." Now that they're alone her voice has resorted back to being exhausted, and it comforts Young Do to know that at least someone else is suffering like he is.
"Your table, hm?" Young Do asks, leaning forward on cross arms so that he manages to cover the textbook she's copying from and thus finally catches her attention. "I'm afraid not. You see, my father's bribe money to Jeguk to prevent my expulsion probably bought this table," he accentuates his point by flicking the plastic surface. "Besides, I'm but one of your loyal followers. And what kind of loyal follower would I be if I left you all by yourself, with no one to fend off incoming pests?"
Tae Yeon snorts rather unattractively. "Please, the only pest here is you. Plus, I'm not alone. Myung Soo's here."
His eyebrows furrow. "Myung Soo?"
The textbook is quite abruptly yanked from underneath his arms, causing him to almost hit his head on the table. She then smiles sweetly before continuing with her meticulous notes. "Over there." Young Do follows her finger, and sure enough, Myung Soo is slumped over the next table; snoring softly.
His hand's slapped away when he attempts to reach for her notebook.
"Aish, always so secretive."
"A girl has to keep some mystery," she murmurs as she taps her pen on her chin.
"Is that what you write in that notebook of yours? All your secrets?"
"What?" she says, and Young Do's somehow managed to lose her again; caught in between the plethora of acts in her head. There's bitchy and tired and sweet and humble, so many that Young Do wonders how she hasn't completely lost it yet.
He repeats his sentence, and judging by the way her hand has stopped moving across her page suddenly and her shoulders stiffen: Young Do knows it was a good card to play.
"You don't write it in Korean, as if you don't want anyone to know. Must be pretty special. Then again, what bigger secret could you have than being rich?"
"What did you see?" When Young Do has no answer she rolls her eyes and continues writing – once again Young Do's somehow managed to lose the upper hand. "It wasn't a secret. You're simply so used to making assumptions that you never considered you could be wrong."
Just then Tae Yeon's phone begins to buzz from where it lies on the table, alerting her of an incoming call. She doesn't bother looking at it and simply lets it ring, switching pens before continuing to write her passage.
His eyebrow raises of its own accord. "Haven't you heard it's rude to not answer the phone?"
"Haven't you heard it's rude to butt into other people's business?" she counters.
"We're bonded forever now. Your business is my business: my business is your business."
Her nose wrinkles in distaste. "No thank you."
The phone stops its ringing, lying still on the table. When the screen lights up, flashing a message to inform her of the missed call – Young Do notices it's the sixth one that she's ignored.
Seconds later it begins again, and Tae Yeon quite pointedly pretends she can't hear it.
In that moment, his manners and good breeding choose to kick in and he chooses to answer it for her. Tae Yeon doesn't say anything; perhaps assuming whoever it was had finally given up and that was the reason for the absence of buzzing.
It's an unknown number, Young Do notes, before holding it to his ear. "Hello?" Silence. "Ah, I don't think Tae Yeonie wants to talk to you: you see she's been ignoring you this whole time and I thought I'd be polite and tell you that perhaps you should give up."
He pauses and notices that Tae Yeon's head had snapped up the minute he began speaking.
She looked deliciously furious.
"What?" The voice on the other end of the phone asks. It's male, probably belonging to someone around their age. Based on clever assumptions, Young Do guesses that it's not Min Kyung, even if he's never heard the boy's voice.
Merely because she appears to be on very good terms with him; and would have no reason to ignore his calls.
I should be a private detective, I have incredible intuition.
"It's kind of hurtful, really. You see I thought I was the last person on Earth that our Tae Yeonie wanted to speak to – but turns out that title belongs to you."
The words are spouting out of his ass now, and he knows it, but Tae Yeon's still raging and it's too late to stop.
"Choi Young Do," her voice is dark and Young Do doesn't think he's ever had the privilege of seeing so much of what lies behind her mask. "Unless you want those to be your last words – hand me the phone. Now."
He relinquishes his hold on it easily, although Tae Yeon appraises her phone as if Young Do's offering her a venomous snake instead.
Then it's grabbed from him and pushed up to her ear, all whilst she continues to glare at Young Do (who only shrugs). Her mouth forms words sharply when she finally speaks. "Ni yao shen me?"
"That's no fun," Young Do pouts as his brain fumbles to translate for him – coming up short. Tae Yeon doesn't address his complaint, continuing to exchange rapid Mandarin with whoever's listening on the other side. Young Do leans his chin on the table in order to watch her.
Even without her ignoring the phone calls, it doesn't take a lot to deduce that she's not on good terms with this boy. Young Do might not speak Mandarin, but he can still tell that the contents of their conversation aren't friendly by the way her nostrils are flaring. Or the way she's spitting out the syllables, or how her hands are slowly balling up into fists.
By the time the phone call comes to an end they're clenched tightly and she hangs up by smacking the screen aggressively.
Tae Yeon's next actions come to her almost automatically, slamming her books shut and then slamming them on the table; loudly enough for Myung Soo to jolt upright in his seat and mumble blearily.
All of her things are packed in record time, and then Tae Yeon's storming out the library before Young Do even has time to process what's happening: door slamming behind her, waking up the rest of the library's inhabitants from their daily nap.
"What did you do now?" Myung Soo mumbles, rubbing at his eyes.
"Nothing."
Myung Soo shoots him a look.
"You're just as surprised as I am."
But nowhere near as curious.
Finally catching up with her, Young Do finds her slouching against a pillar outside, eyes closed and bag tossed on the floor.
A glance at the watch on his wrist tells him that the bell is set to ring in exactly thirteen minutes, and even though the rest of the school witnessing her in her current state of distress might finally get rid of the idea that Tae Yeon's completely invincible; it won't help his reputation for him to be standing nearby when they find her in the midst of a rage.
"And here I thought I was the only annoying person in your life," he whispers in her ear, positioned so that he's also obscured by the pillar.
A hand shoots out and grabs onto the collar of his shirt even before her eyes open, and once she sees his face she sighs resignedly and loosens her grip; but doesn't let go completely.
"Unfortunately I've had to deal with stupidity like yours all my life."
"That's the curse of being a princess, I'm afraid," his hands are held in a surrendering motion which causes Tae Yeon to exhale and let go of his shirt. Young Do doesn't even care about the rumples enough to smooth them out.
"You know, when I asked you who you were hiding from on your first day – I never expected to actually find you hiding from someone," he muses.
Tae Yeon closes her eyes again and tugs down her skirt. It's a habit that he's noticed over the short time he's known her – putting everything back in order so that she can calm herself. Smoothing out wrinkles, arranging hair, and now her hands pull at her blazer so it lights absolutely straight.
"You're trying to be smart. Stop. It doesn't suit you."
"Sounds like what the current number one student would say to her biggest competition."
The comment's wasted as Tae Yeon is still barely listening to him, instead sidestepping to the left in order to look behind the pillar. Whatever catches her eye, Young Do doesn't know, but whatever it is causes her to look frantic when she turns back.
When he tries to catch his own look, she sticks a hand out to stop him.
"How'd you get to school?"
"What?"
Her distraction techniques grow increasingly basic when she's frustrated, it seems.
"A rebellious chaebol like you, I can't imagine you in a company car. Doesn't seem your style," she comments, fingers now tracing up her thigh and Young Do has a flashback to the club, when he'd found her intoxicated. When he'd wanted to trace over the skin that Tae Yeon was tracing over right now.
"I ride a motorcycle."
"A motorcycle?" Tae Yeon giggles uncharacteristically. Young Do puts it down to nerves as well.
"What's wrong with a motorcycle?"
"Nothing. It's cool. Really cool. So cool, you should give me a ride on it sometime. Like now, for instance."
And not only are you nervous, you're completely helpless. You have to be to ask for my assistance.
"You want me to give you a lift? Have you really deluded yourself into thinking I'm here to do your bidding? Or is it because now you've revealed you're not poor you no longer want to suffer through public transport."
Let's see just how desperate you are.
Tae Yeon continues to glance behind her anxiously.
"Your father's very keen on expanding to China, if what Woo Hyun told me was true. Which means that Zeus remaining in an established Chinese company's favour – like my parent's one for example – is vital. Vital enough for you to sacrifice your dignity. Certainly vital enough for you to do me a favour."
"You may have never had to ask a favour before, but I can tell you this is not the way to do so successfully," Young Do replies, even though he knows he'd agree to do anything that puts him back in a position of power (however meager).
"So cement our budding friendship by giving me a ride," Tae Yeon pretends he hadn't made his comment, which seems to be becoming a common occurrence. "People will see us together, assume we're best friends. Surely that would please your father?"
"Fine," Young Do agrees, as if he'd just made up his mind.
One step closer to making you lose your footing. One step closer to tripping you off that high horse of yours.
Later, when Tae Yeon wraps her arms around Young Do's waist, straddling the bike behind him, Young Do decides that he quite likes the feel of her body holding his. As he fastens his helmet and revs the engine, her fingers grasp his blazer, twitching as he stays still.
"Where to my lady?"
Tae Yeon hesitates, and Young Do can feel her stiff posture behind him on top of the warmth radiating from her through the thin material of his blazer.
"Where are you headed my knight?" Tae Yeon replies just as mockingly.
"Back to Zeus. However, I'm not sure how pleased your mother would be if she got wind that you got a lift from a 'tall boy with scary eyebrows' to said scary boy's hotel."
The laughter that shakes Tae Yeon's body makes Young Do move as well. It's half-hearted at best, clearly still shaken by whatever it was she saw – whatever it was she was told.
If Young Do wasn't so eager to execute this favour to close the leading distance he had on her, he'd probably attempt to investigate more to see if whatever it is, he could use it to his advantage.
"As long as you're rich, I doubt she'd mind."
The engine revs again and her arms tighten their hold on him – the roaring of the engine blasting loudly over the last bell of the school day.
"Zeus then?" he offers.
"If you'll have me."
The grin that Young Do shoots at her is wicked, he's sure the meaning isn't lost on her.
This action puts her in debt to him, and Young Do won't be willing to let her forget it. Not after the embarrassment he's faced. It's something that he can cash in later – dangle over her head and use to bait her to get answers, or a favour in return: whatever would be most beneficial to him.
Then again, don't you know what this feels like? To want to run away but not having the means to do so yourself?
Young Do shakes his head to clear the thought.
This isn't the time to get sentimental.
"It would be our pleasure."
Surprise - an actual update. (Three months later.)
Slightly smaller surprise - it's not on a Sunday.
This story sort of took a hibernation in my head, as in it never really died but more it sort of took a...vacation? It was a productive vacation, as I've got it planned out to about halfway through (and it's looking incredibly long right now) and I've started to form ideas about the second half. I'll probably need to take a major break halfway through and sort out my thoughts as well as edit all this blabble I've got so far but I don't plan on abandoning this anytime soon.
Not when it's the most I've written for like anything - ever.
The hibernation ended up pretty good anyway, I got a lot of writing done (even if it was for EXO instead of this whoops) and developed my writing style a bit better.
Only it made the urge for me to edit everything so it flows better a lot stronger.
One step at a time, Tea, one step at a time.
If you read all that/skimmed it the point is: I'm back (hopefully for good)! Thank you guys for sticking around and being patient, and as always I'm always on here/ao3/foolishloves on tumblr if you want to message me about anything uwu