Yoonah's lips are still tingling when they make it to Principal Kim's office.

She swipes at the messy gloss and attempts to tidy herself up before facing the head of the school. Walking through the halls hand in hand, with her lips a plump and (imaginary) kiss-drunken mess had it's intended effect. Students stared with wide mouths and blinking eyes in shock. It filled her with anxiety and adrenaline, an interesting pair. Perhaps that reveals enough about how little she knows what she's doing.

Jaemin's hand shook the entire walk to the principal's office, but he seemed to appreciate her presence.

Yoonah didn't ask about his anxieties, at least not now. She's learned that any time Yoonah tries to dig deeper, Jaemin pulls away. So her plan is just to wait. Simple as that. If they are truly partners, he will eventually snap and come to her.

And she will be waiting with open arms.

"After you." Jaemin opens the door and she ducks, slipping underneath his arm.

The office looks same as always. Void of personality, of emotion. Principal Kim is sitting at his desk centered in the room, nothing but a computer and a few stacks of paper in front of him. At the sound of the door opening, he glances up from his screen and puts on a soft smile.

"Well, what a surprise. I wouldn't have expected the two you to be in cahoots."

Yoonah blushes and struggles to find an answer because--well, what kind of phrase is that? Her struggle is short lived though, because once Jaemin closes the door he swoops in like a white knight, charming smile and all.

That goddamned smile.

He walks in front of the desk and pulls out one of the chairs and gestures for Yoonah to sit before taking a seat himself.

Principal Kim raises a brow, seeming to sense the tension. "Is something the matter?"

Yoonah opens her mouth to speak, but Jaemin beats her too it.

"Students have been targeting Yoonah."

How odd. Jaemin is not usually this forward, nor open. Perhaps enthusiastic would be applicable as well.

The headmaster stretches his hands against the desk. "Well, you know the students can get antsy around this time of the year."

Her brows furrow. "That excuses their behavior? I was attacked and my room-"

Jaemin interrupts her, that smile still grazing his lips. As if he were a robot, acting simply on what needs to be said and done. He leans forward, arms resting on the principal's desk. His fingers fiddle with something that Yoonah cannot make out, but it seems to catch the headmaster's attention.

"What Yoonah means is that, perhaps a little encouragement from you would help ease the problems."

"What are you suggesting?"

"The other students were offered extra credit for the first one who spills blood, correct?"

Principal Kim frowns, and suddenly he looks much more intimidating than Yoonah initially thought. "An unauthorized decision made by one of our staff but, yes. You're correct."

Jaemin nods his head, as if this was all falling into one big puzzle piece. "Right, so don't you think that would prod a little compensation towards the student who was attacked?"

The man straightens. "Are you implying that Yoonah should receive extra credit?"

The ash-haired leans back, shrugging his shoulders as he sinks into his seat.

"A wrong should always be righted."

Principal Kim sits flabbergasted, seeming to consider the other's words carefully. His eyes flit to Jaemin's hands for a split second before landing on Yoonah. "Is this true?"

The girl found herself at a lack of words now. Her eyes travel to Jaemin's composed form and frowns. His arms are crossed against his chest and his face is carved with a care-free expression, but she doesn't miss his canine tooth digging into his bottom lip. The skin is beginning to tear from his incessant gnawing. He refuses to look into her eye, keeping his gaze solely on the desk in front of him.

She narrows her eyes, racking her brain for any reason Jaemin would be anxious. It does little to put her at ease, because normally Jaemin has reason for everything he does (if you don't count his cowardice towards vulnerability and openness).

Does he know his mask is cracking?

She glances back up towards Mr. Kim. "Yes." She answers quietly. Suddenly, she misses Jaemin's enthusiasm, and wishes he would answer for her again.

Principal Kim folds his hands together and nods. "I see. I'll begin conducting an investigation once the weekend passes."

Just as Yoonah is about to express her gratitude, the chair besides her scrapes against the floor abruptly as Jaemin stands. "That won't be necessary, Headmaster. I've already searched her room and nothing was left behind."

"And what exactly were you doing in the girls dormitories?"

Jaemin ignores the accusation smoothly, and instead extends his hand for a handshake. Yoonah finds herself standing too. "Extra credit on Yoonah's behalf and we'll be on our way." He says, hand waiting.

The principal stares at his hand for a second before sighing and accepting his offer. They shake hands three times, then pause, and shake one more time before letting go. Mr. Kim pats his hand against the right side of his chest, right above his chest pocket before taking a seat.

"Well, if that's all." He nods.

"Thank you, sir." Jaemin bows his head slightly before turning and facing Yoonah. His hand rests on her mid-back, eliciting a surprised shutter to crawl down her spine before leading her out the room. When the door closes behind them, the boy lets out a sigh of relief.

Yoonah furrows her brows. "What the hell was that?"

Jaemin sighs again, but this one looks much less tense. His hand drops from his back, falling on his side as he looks at her with sudden, tired eyes. Perhaps his mask wasn't as close to breaking as she thought.

"I just made it disappear."

"You hardly let me speak." She places a hand at her hip.

"You spoke." He shrugs.

The girl scoffs. "I said less than ten words."

"Eleven, actually."

Yoonah's eyes widen almost comically. "Insufferable!"

That draws out weary chuckle out of the boy. "I told you, I got it all handled. You got extra credit, what else do you want?"

There were plenty of things Yoonah wants, namely things that she can't have. She'd like her parents back and to get out of this hellhole. But, if there's one thing that Yoonah has learned is that life is not kind. If you expect anything from it, it will surely diminish your hopes to nothing.

She tugs on her lips, glancing at her thin arms and legs. It's not like she's incredibly tiny and frail; no, not at all. But certainly is not in the shape to even stand a chance in this blood-stained school. Glancing up again and Jaemin's eyes are already on her, waiting patiently. Perhaps he pays more attention to her than she thought.

"I want to be able to protect myself." She mumbles, yet Jaemin still hears.

He nods firmly. "Tonight. Midnight. The Snake Pit. See you there."

He turns to walk until Yoonah yells, "You have to walk me to class, dumbass!"

Another damned smile thrown her way. Damn, she could get used to that.

"Oh, right."

━

Yoonah found herself alone for the majority of the night. After Jaemin had dropped her off to her dorm (purely to keep up looks. Not because he cared whether or not she made it back safely. Especially after the attack and break in--no. No. She'd never fool herself into believing that), she rinsed off and changed into a pair of leggings and baby tee.

In her tiny kitchenette, she made a steaming cup of green tea before sitting down at her desk. Homework assignments, books, and scattered gel pens and mechanical pencils made up most of it. It was chaos and mayhem, a result of weeks on end of neglect; a perfect representation of her mind.

The Picture of Dorian Gray still rest on her desk, the bookmark where Jaemin last left off still sitting tightly between the pages. Reaching for it, she skims through the pages gently.

A man so caught up in his own self image and lies until the point of breakage; so far that he can never come back.

Interesting.

━

Sneaking out of the dormitories proves to be harder than Yoonah thought.

Jaemin makes it seem so easy. Sneaky bastard.

By the time she (somehow) manages to lock her dorm room with no suspicious creaks and, as Jaemin would put it 'ungraceful' key jabbing and jangling, she sneaks down the halls. All of the lights are off, and the moonlight shines brightly through the large paned windows, casting ominous shadows against objects. Her feet patter softly against the floor as she makes it past the quiet dormitories and through the halls, until she travels downstairs to the front doors.

Pushing them open, she's greeted with a crisp breeze and glistening stars. They shine on her pale skin, looking at her with the softest of smiles.

The night sky has always been a comfort to her.

Her skin is littered in goosebumps as she sneaks out of the gate (not like the security guard was trying that hard; he had fallen asleep in his chair) and escapes into the ghost-like town. She passes the soda shoppe and the stationary store, past the café that Jaemin had taken her to and the library. Everything was dead as night, only the soft coos of locust and the rustling of wind against the leaves and her shadow casted against the yellow street light.

The alleyway seemed more menacing in caliginosity. Wilted vines wrapped around the wall that peered out from the darkness, and one lone lamp flickered ominously.

With cautious steps, Yoonah took the first step into darkness. Down the alleyway, she saw that familiar neon light and sprinted to the front doors, swinging them open. Rock music blared through the walls, and only one light lit up the space; a dangling light bulb above the fighting ring.

She glanced around the empty space, brows furrowing. "You know, it's not safe for a pretty girl like me to walk the streets alone," she teased, allowing the doors to close behind her. Her eyes continued searching. "The least you could have done is walk with me."

Suddenly, a door from the side slammed and Jaemin sauntered to the center. Yoonah felt her breath catch in her throat at the sight of him. Grey sweatpants rest dangerously low on his hips, and a tiny, tight black shirt covered his abdomen and chest--though it left little for imagination. A smirk adorned his lips. "Aren't you a little conceited?"

Finally catching her breath and composure (she lost it because she was scared. That entrance was sudden and dramatic for what? Of course it wasn't because Jaemin looked incredibly attractive, don't be stupid), she tilts her head. "Are you saying I'm not pretty enough to get kidnapped and trafficked?"

Jaemin paused. "You are,"

The girl blinked, feeling that stupid heat grow in her stomach. An odd way to compliment, but he called her pretty.

"I'll be sure to take care of you next time."

Yoonah blushes before shaking her head. "I can take care of myself." It was a joke, meant to bring laughter, but the fact that Jaemin would take care of her and confirmed it meant something--something she didn't feel like looking into right now. Perhaps he just has high morals.

Though, in a school like this, how high can your morals really be?

"You can't yet," he turns around and waves his hand, signaling for the other to follow. "But once I'm done with you, you will be."

They reach the fighting ring. Jaemin lifts up the bands that surround it and lifts himself up smoothly before crouching and reaching a hand out towards the other who takes it swiftly. He guides her to the center and Yoonah takes a step back, taking in her surroundings. It's so different when it's empty; lacking any life other than the man right in front of her.

Suddenly, an arm swipes at her face and narrowly misses. A surprised shriek escapes her lips as she flinches, staring wide-eyed at a stoic Jaemin.

"First lesson," he stretches the same arm that just swiped at her across his chest. "Never take your eyes off your opponent."

"I wasn't ready." Yoonah rolls her eyes.

"Do you think they will care whether you're ready or not? If you give them an opening, they will strike." He cracks his knuckles before tilting his head. "Ready now, princess?"

Yoonah nods and without a moment's hesitation, Jaemin is coming at her. He feigns hits and blows, but never actually hits her. He easily dodges her attempts of hits; if they could be called that. He moves with such precision and grace, and barely breaks a damn sweat. He has been trained for this his entire life.

The entire time, he has a mocking smile on his lips, as if this is fun and no matter how impressive or pretty he looks while effortlessly dodging her attacks, the girl still doesn't appreciate the mockery. Yoonah huffs, attempting to charge at him when he steps back and leaves his abdomen open. She forms a fist and pushes it forward with all the strength she could muster and aims for his stomach.

Except, it never makes contact. Instead, Yoonah is stopped mid-hit with a palm to her forehead. Her hand falls limp in defeat as she stares down at the man's feet.

"You did that on purpose," she mumbles, falling limp and letting some of her body weight lean against his palm. He takes it easily enough, if the lack of a response signifies anything.

She's fucking tired. Dodging attacks while simultaneously throwing horribly-aimed hits surprisingly takes a lot of energy.

"Did what?" He asks in an equally quiet voice, his tone soft yet deep at the same time.

She raises a meek hand and jabs her index finger into his chest. "You're making fun of me." She whines.

He moves his palm only to hold her by her shoulders, looking into her eyes. He squeezes her shoulders gently, massaging into the skin to ease her. "Let's take a break."

Yoonah nods, sighing in relief. She slumps down on the mat, sitting cross legged and staring up at the ceiling; contemplating all of her life decisions.

A cold water bottle is held in front of her, which she takes before Jaemin sits beside her. She gulps down her water before wiping her lips with the back of her hand.

Jaemin nudges her shoulder with hers, gaining her attention. "You didn't do bad for your first session."

The girl nearly cackles. "I did horribly," she sends a smile his way. "But thanks." She says warmly.

The two sit in silence, side by side for however long. There wasn't a need to speak right now, Just sitting in the dead of the night, with nothing but that measly ceiling light and the white noise of the heater, in each other's presence seemed enough to feel whatever void plagued this town, or them.

Jaemin was comfortable; dependable. Yoonah was starting to realize that she relied on the boy much more than she ever intended to, but was that really a bad thing?

Perhaps it was time for Yoonah to begin proving herself too.

"Jaemin?" She asked.

He hums, deep within his chest. It sends butterflies down her stomach.

"Why hasn't Jeno said anything about our relationship?"

"You mean our fake relationship?"

"Yeah, but he doesn't know that," she takes in her bottom lip and turns to look at the boy. "Right?"

Jaemin slowly turns over as well. His skin glistens against the light, casting a warm glow and making him look tanner than normal. "Right."

Yoonah nods in approval before leaning back, her back meeting the cushioned mat. "Wouldn't he be mad?"

The ash-haired remains sitting up. He pauses, and tension seems to fill the stale air for a split second before dispersing. "Jeno has no say over who I date." He answers sternly.

"Oh," Yoonah purses her lips. "You seem close."

"We are."

"He must be important to you."

"He is."

Yoonah turns around, bending her elbow and allowing her head to rest in her hand. "Then I'd like to meet him. Officially, as your girlfriend."

Jaemin seems to contemplate the idea for a moment before slowly sinking down onto the mat, mirroring her same position.

"If that's what you want."

Plus, it wouldn't hurt to get to know her biggest threat.

ANOTHER EARLY UPDATE,
WOW. IM ON A ROLE.

just a fair warning; this
most likely means there will
be no update this tuesday
seeing as i already updated
2x this week lol

hope u enjoy! leave a vote &
comment! <3