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(Y/n) vaguely remembered her alarm going off, waking its sleeping owner up to a new not very pleasant morning. Then she must've gotten ready at the speed of a sloth as her phone chimed with a reminder of her schedule for the day: getting art supplies with Jaehyun.
A few hours passed in the time frame between when she left her apartment to when she arrived in front of Fortuna Institute. The blond had arrived first and was waiting in front of the gates for her.
"Did you wait long?" She asked worriedly. The weather was mild like usual, and he didn't look drained. He gave him a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry, I also just arrived. Let's go!"
They took a car to the art shop. (Y/n) had suggested they went to the local store, but the artist in the crimson-eyed boy refused, insisting they went to the same one he normally ordered his supplies. She agreed and they got onto the ride abiding by his directions. Jaehyun had called his driver beforehand and wanted to pick her up at her dorm until she explained she didn't live there.
"It's okay," she had said. "I'm already here anyway."
The crafts store was pretty small and humble, contrary to her expectations. It was a lovely little corner store with a single door that had an "open" sign hanging on the front. With a step inside, the (h/c)-haired girl was met with an onslaught of colors, scents, and bizarre displays. Against the walls were shelves and stands filled to the brim with all sorts of organized art supplies, from paintbrushes and canvas to oil pastels and watercolors.
Rows upon rows of fluorescent lighting shone down upon the wood and pots of flowers that occupied the windows. In one corner of the store, she saw a shelf with neat machines on them emitting gas. No, not that kind of gas. They were scent diffusers, each with a different kind of floral or herbal aroma that somehow all fit together.
And then there was the bizarre part. The store owner had an unusual taste in decorative art; there were paintings and sculptures of faceless and limbless figures staring at any poor customer that came their way. There were sculptures of abstract humanoids and animal-like figures. Images of people with faces within faces and broken, distorted expressions.
'Creepy,' (Y/n) thought. 'But also kinda cool.'
"Let's get the paint first," Jaehyun suggested a little impatiently. He took her hand and tugged her towards the designated area for paints. "I think we should use latex paint if we're going to paint the mural inside the old school. Otherwise, we'll need acrylics, which I ran out of."
"I did not understand a thing you said but that all sounded good to me," she gave him a thumbs-up. 'Sorry, Ms. Florence. You're great and everything, but art just isn't my thing.'
The blond laughed softly and picked up a large can of paint from the floor. "This is latex paint," he explained. "It's not as durable as oil-based paint but it dries faster. Acrylics are one of the most durable paints, so it's better to use that for outside work."
"Acrylics it is then. If we paint it inside, no one's going to see it. Not like anyone is going to go to the old building anyway though."
She picked up a few cans of each color, her arms straining with the effort, and began walking towards the next stop. "Alright, time for brushes!" To an onlooker, she might've looked like an overgrown penguin waddling from side-to-side as she attempted to carry the heavy cans over.
'Geh, this is heavy,' she winced. 'But if I don't do it, who will? Sunflower? Hell, he looks scrawnier than my fat a**.'
Even Jaehyun looked concerned for her wellbeing. "Um, (Y/n)?" He asked tentatively.
Her head snapped over her shoulder, her (e/c) eyes blazing furiously. "I can carry these perfectly fine, Jay!" She gave him a thumbs-up to the best of her ability. "No need to offer to help!"
"Um...actually," the blond began awkwardly. "I was going to say that there are carts over there."
"Oh."
He nodded. "Yeah."
"Well, why didn't you say so?" (Y/n) got a cart and gently threw the cans inside. "Okay, genius. What kinds of brushes do we get?"
Jaehyun stopped before the cabinets and walls that hung countless brushes of all sizes and colors. "We'll need a roller and paint tray," he informed her. "I think this size is fine. Let's get two, and a few three-inch brushes. I'll bring the rest from what I have at home." He picked the brushes out with expertise and threw them into the cart before (Y/n) could whip out her trusty ruler.
'Yep, I'm just going to let him handle this. That was three inches? It looks like five to me.'
"And smaller brushes," he continued. There was a passionate glint in his crimson eyes, his expression softer than usual as he gazed down on the art supplies. "The brushes here are the best, you know. You can almost feel the care and delicacy gone into their creation. All of these are handmade too."
"That sounds..." 'Like a pain to make.' "Really cool...! What's next?"
"A primer, but I should have one at home. The wall needs to be primed so it's smooth for the acrylic paint. Also some painters' tape."
The (h/c)-haired girl spotted a box filled with countless rolls of blue tape. She picked one up. "These? How many do we need?"
"Let's get three for now," Jaehyun said. "I got a palette and three smocks. We can find some old newspaper later along the way. It'll save us some money too."
"And we can use old t-shirts inside of new smocks," she added. "'Cuz I don't know about you, but I'll probably never use that smock again. And weren't we supposed to buy smocks for art class at the beginning of the year?'
He blinked rapidly before turning pink. "A-ah, yes! I forgot about that. S-sorry, I was too caught up in my pace..."
"Don't worry about it," she waved it off. "Oh yeah, we'll probably need a stepladder, right? None of us are super tall. I don't think I have one at home."
"I do! I'll bring it with me tomorrow."
"Okay, then we're good as done." (Y/n) peered inside the cart. 'My wallet's going to cry later,' she thought half-heartedly. "Let's go pay." She pushed the cart towards the front of the store where the cashier was.
"Wait a second!" The blond caught the handlebars before she could go any further and stopped the cart. His eyes were flickering from the ground to the cart nervously. "I-I kind of forgot to mention I still have red and blue acrylic paint at home, so we don't need to buy it again."
"Oh, okay." She transferred the paint cans out of the cart and back to where they belonged. "Should we take some brushes out too?"
He nodded sheepishly. "Yes..."
The cashier was a quiet-looking man with rounded spectacles and a mop of hazel hair. There was a little stubble on his chin that he stroked as he flipped through his newspaper. His blue eyes snapped up at the two's arrival. Recognition flashed in those dark orbs as his gaze landed on the blond.
"Mr. Kim," the man said, rising to his feet from his stool and extending a wiry hand. "It's good to see you drop by."
Jaehyun took his hand without hesitation. Gone was his soft awkwardness and gone was his embarrassed grin. In its place was a polite, business-like smile with little to show in his normally expressive eyes.
"The pleasure's all mine, Mr. Adam," he greeted him. They shook hands and then took a step back.
The man laughed nervously and cleared his throat. "W-well, you can just call me Adam, sir. Who might this lovely young lady be?"
'Lovely?' (Y/n) nearly snorted. 'Of all the words used to describe me, lovely's a new one.'
"A friend," Jaehyun said coldly. "Adam. The purchase, if you may."
"O-oh, yes!" The poor man quickly rang up their items. Their purchase had a grand total of 112.43 pounds.
'Hooray.'
(Y/n) bit back a sorrowful sigh and reached inside her pockets for her wallet. 'Good thing I didn't waste all my money this week. For once I did something smart.' But before she could pull it out, her companion extended a hand to stop her.
"Did you really think I'd make you pay?" Jaehyun said. "I couldn't do something like that to you." As if just hearing his words, he turned pink. He opened his mouth to apologize before realizing they weren't alone. His features rearranged themselves to the expressionless mask he usually used in school.
"And I can say that back to you," she retorted and whipped out her wallet. "Let's split it, okay?"
"N-no, I'll pay!" The blond insisted. "I have too much money on my hands anyway—ah! That wasn't supposed to sound degrading or anything! I'm—" He cut himself off, his expression visibly torn as he struggled to keep himself from arguing with the (h/c)-haired girl in the presence of the brown-haired man. (Y/n) couldn't say she didn't understand. He probably had his fair share of troubles with keeping up airs and acting a certain way all his life.
"Here you go." She slapped down a few banknotes onto the counter before Jaehyun could protest. "That should be exact. Thank you and bye!" She waved at the bewildered cashier before snatching the bags off the table and pulling the blond out the door. The door closed with a jingling of bells behind them.
"Do you want to split these up?" (Y/n) said, nodding at the bags in her hands. "I'll take half of these home with me and I'll bring them tomorrow."
He blinked out of his troubled daze and smiled. "I was thinking we could store them in the old building," Jaehyun said. "It would save us the trouble of lugging them back and forth. No one goes there anyway."
"Oh yeah," she sweatdropped. "That's smart."
There was an awkward silence as the two stood around the store, scuffing their feet and unsure of what to say. "I-I'll hold those for you," the blond broke the silence, reaching for the bags.
She moved them away. "No, it's fine! I can manage."
"Please, you paid for it. It's the least I can do," he insisted, discretely swiping the bags from her. It took her a while to realize they were gone.
"H-hey!" (Y/n) tried reaching for them, but he kept stepping out of her reach. "I can carry them!"
"You can, but you won't."
'This kid,' the (h/c)-haired girl sighed, giving up. "Okay then, where to now? We should get the foundation or whatever you call it down today, right?"
"Y-yeah, let's do that..."
They took the car back to Fortuna Institute and started searching for the former school building. They couldn't use the car to find the building since motor vehicles weren't allowed anywhere near campus grounds. Air pollution, or some other fake news like that. (Y/n) resorted to walking the unknown distance to a building she imagined to be the epitome of an architectural disaster.
She ducked under a stray tree branch before it could come in contact with her face. "Are you sure this is the right way?" She asked. "We've been walking for like, ten minutes now." All she could see around her were trees, trees, and more trees. Oh, and the occasional stalk of grass. The two had decided to cut through the trees that encircled the school, a place (Y/n) never normally went.
She assumed it was just a thin patch placed there for aesthetic purposes. But no, they just had to make it a freaking jungle! (Y/n) swore she heard a lion in the distance.
'This is Fortuna Institute,' the (h/c)-haired girl sighed. 'That's normal. If it was any other school, I'd be concerned.'
"It should be around that way..." Jaehyun pointed in a seemingly random direction. "It's between my dorm and the new building. I didn't think it would be this far."
"Do you usually walk this much just to go home?"
"Huh?" He gave her a confused look. "Of course not. I take the car."
'Of freaking course.'
"Anyway, let's take a break." He set down the bags against a tree and massaged his arms. "Sorry for making you walk this much, (Y/n). I misjudged the distance."
She was more than happy to throw her bags to the ground and sit down on the very comfortable-looking boulder. "No problem, it's better we know how to get there for tomorrow!"
"I'll see if any of the guys are at home right now." The blond pulled his phone out of his pocket and began tapping on it. "Oh, Leon's out and Kieran said he's going on a date today. Maybe Tristan's free."
(Y/n) froze. 'He did not just say the name of He Who Shall Not Be Named.'
"Hello?" Jaehyun said into the phone. "Tristan, I have a favor to ask you." Crap he did. He's gone and done it now. 'Better stop him before World War III erupts.'
"Uh, you don't need to bother him," (Y/n) interrupted. "We can manage on our own. I'm suddenly feeling super energetic now!" 'Wow, never thought I'd hear myself say that.'
"Huh? Are you sure?"
"Yep! Totally!"
"Oh, okay then. I'll tell Trist—ah." There was a beep from his phone as the person on the other side of the call hung up on him. "I-I think he's coming..."
'...Darn it.'
Barely ten minutes passed before a helicopter appeared over their heads. The door slid open and a ladder fell out, nearly hitting her in the head. 'What's with everything and hitting me?' (Y/n) scowled as she backed away. 'First it was my jaw and now it's my face. So fun.'
"Come on, he's going to leave us behind," Jaehyun held the ladder steady with his hands. "You go up first."
'Do I have to?' "Why me?"
"I mean, have you taken a helicopter before?"
"..."
"I-I'm not trying to be patronizing or anything! I just thought it would be safer if you went first!"
"I get it..."
The first thing she was greeted with as she strained her nonexistent arm muscles to pull herself onto the flying death machine was Tristan's annoyed face. His cold features were even colder at that moment, his eyebrows dipped down into a glare. His icy eyes pierced through her like daggers before he sighed and looked away.
"Of course it's you," the blue-haired male growled, readjusting his glasses. "I can only count on you to be so bothersome."
'If it's such a bother, why'd you come?' "Thank you, sir," she drawled, plopping into the seat behind him. 'Woah, helicopters can hold more than two people now?!'
"That wasn't a compliment," he growled just as Jaehyun pulled himself into the vehicle. "Kim, I didn't take you as one for trouble. What are you doing here?"
'I could ask you the same thing.'
"We're trying to get to the old building," the blond explained. "You know, the one that was shut down a long time ago?"
"Oh? Why would you go to such a place?"
"Um, we have an art project to do and we decided it was easier to do it on school grounds. I-Is it a problem?"
"Not in particular," Tristan said. "Though I must comment on your poor taste." 'Please don't,' (Y/n) sighed. "Must it be that one?"
"T-the school doesn't allow us to paint our theme anywhere else..."
"Well then, that's fine." The blue-haired male snapped his fingers. "We can go now." The pilot nodded and the helicopter began to take off. "Put on your headsets. They should be in the compartment above you."
'Headset?' (Y/n) reached up and her fingers snagged on a groove in the ceiling. 'Woah, but why here?' She pulled out a pair of headphones and slipped them over her head. She glanced at the boy beside her; Jaehyun didn't look fazed as he adjusted the sound and size of his headsets. 'Don't tell me they take a helicopter just to get to their dorm every day...'
The ride dragged on in complete silence. "How long does this take?" She whispered to Jaehyun, unable to take the visible tension in the air anymore. She tried to remedy that by falling asleep, but Tristan was emitting some seriously pissed-off aura. Combine that was the uncomfortable silence plaguing the three, even she with a black belt in the art of sleep couldn't fall asleep.
"Maybe another two minutes?" Jaehyun whispered back. "It depends on the weather and who's piloting."
"What does the pilot have anything to do with this? And our weather never changes anyway."
"The guy who usually flies us flies like his life depends on it"—'Usually flies us?' She thought incredulously. 'So they do take a helicopter to school every day'—"But some other ones are more cautious and fly by the rules no matter what we say."
'Ah, so it's a matter of intimidation,' (Y/n) nodded to herself. 'Yup, perfectly normal, having a group of high schoolers scare grown men to get to school every day.'
"We're here," Tristan's voice pierced through her headset, making her wince. "Do what you want before curfew."
"Oh, thanks, p—Tristan," she thanked him with genuine gratefulness. She watched out the window curiously as the helicopter began to lower. Soon, she could make out a large, gothic-style building that rivaled even the current school building, with tall, spiraling towers that speared through the fog and forgotten fountains with intricate Romanesque statues.
(Y/n) only had one word to describe it all. 'Damn.' She always wondered why Fortuna Institute never bothered to make their facilities more modern in appearance. Now she understood why; why follow the trend when it could be all...this?
"One more thing," the blue-haired male said as the two began to get off. "I believe it's common sense, (Y/n), that all plane and helicopter rides depend on the pilot's skill. Or did you believe it was flying itself?"
'Oh right...he could hear us through the headset.' "I assumed you had the same person fly you every time," she simply shrugged. "Isn't that common sense?"
"If we had the same person fly us every day from middle school through college, it would break several workers' rights laws."
He wasn't wrong. Flying the four back and forth to school and then taking them to wherever they needed to be in the rest of the time took up a large portion of the day. (Y/n) suddenly felt bad for the pilot. 'I'm crossing that job off my future plans list.'
It gave her a great idea. 'Wait, if I apply to be a teacher here, wouldn't they give me special treatment because I'm an alumnus?' She gasped internally. 'I could teach computer science! Damn, I'm so smart.'
Then again, who likes kids?
She heard an annoyed sigh. "If you don't move," Tristan said. "Don't blame me if your head goes flying off." The helicopter blades began to spin back to life and start taking off. The (h/c)-haired girl felt Jaehyun pull her back sharply before she could get thrown into the air or worse.
"Is he trying to kill me?" She glared up at the retreating vehicle. "He's so going to regret it later." 'I still have the tutoring thingamajiggy later. So gross...'
Upon seeing the dark look on her face, the blond blanched. "Tristan doesn't mean anything bad by it!" Jaehyun stammered. "He wouldn't kill someone for no reason either because he doesn't have any benefit in doing so!"
'It's nice you try to stick up for him, but you're kinda making him sound worse.' "Eh, enough about p—him. Let's start legally vandalizing this place!"
Making a mural wasn't easy work. There was a bunch of gimmicks and whatnot that (Y/n) didn't understand. Why couldn't she just slap paint onto the wall like usual and call it a day? They chose the flattest side of the building to work on, which happened to be the right wing. She doubted anyone would ever see their creation ever again, but who cares? It was all for a project grade.
She gave up halfway and let Jaehyun handle all the mechanics of it. He was the only one out of the two who knew remotely anything about making murals. She bet he was the one who painted the recreation of The Last Supper in the school cafeteria.
Yes, that was what the school decided to decorate their lunchroom with. Isn't it such a good idea?
"What do you mean I can't start painting?" (Y/n) frowned. "Isn't it easier to start now?"
"N-no, you have to wait for the primer to dry," Jaehyun tried to explain. "We can't touch this wall for three hours."
"Three hours? So we can leave now?"
"No, we need to come up with a design—"
"So we can leave?"
"I guess—"
The humidity combined with the dreariness of the weather was making her very irritable, especially after her encounter with a certain blue-haired male. "Okay, let's go!"
"Wait, let me cover it first," the blond stopped her. "It might rain tonight." He pulled a large white sheet (Y/n) didn't remember buying from the bag and unfolded it. She took the corners in her hands as he retrieved a few nails.
He froze. "I d-didn't bring a stepladder," he tugged at his sleeve sheepishly. "Do you mind if we go back to the dorm first?"
"Do I mind? Yes, please!"
She despised UK weather.