Chae Rin's POV
"So, how do we start a fire?" Wu Jin asks curiously as I collect other wood pieces that weren't used to write the big SOS sign on the ground.
"Uh, you just need a lot of wood pieces so that it can burn for long, a pointy wood stick and a lot of stamina" I explained looking back at his face.
"Stamina?" He asks confused, I nod with a smile.
"You have to rub the pointy piece against a flat part of the wood, strong and fast enough to make a hole in it and when it starts fuming, you blow, so it creates a flame" I continued.
"So, you mean that you need people that can rub their hands fast?" He asks, I snicker.
"Yes"Looking back at him, I notice the proximity of our faces and almost immediately turn back to stare at the wood, my face heating up.
"So, who will start?" He asks, I could feel him getting closer to me as his breath now hit my neck giving me shivers.
"Uh... I think On Jo will start" I stuttered slightly, clearing my throat.
"Ya, On Jo!" I hurriedly call onto her as I stride to her side, she looks at me confused, her eyes going behind me as she laughs at my face.
"Why? Got you flustered?" She teased.
"What do you mean? Stop teasing me" The taller one scolded, a blush on her cheeks making the shorter one laugh.
"Let's start the fire, I got you wood" I said pushing the wood into her arms, clearing my throat as I look around for more, my eyes stop though, as I see Cheong San besides Su Hyeok already staring at me.
"What are you looking at, punk?" I mouth at him, a shocked expression on his face.
"Who said I was looking at you?!" He mouths back with a scold, my eyes turn to the side, On Jo still besides me...
Right... he likes On Jo.
He was likely staring at her instead...
I gulp with a nod, looking at the ground as a train wreck of thoughts crossed over my head. I bit the inner side of my lip preventing me from thinking too much before I looked up, Cheong San's eyes were a mix of confusion, maybe because he didn't understand my feelings... Ignoring the feeling, I headed for Nam Ra who was a little to the side, as everyone sat on the floor gathered around the wood as Nam Ra tried her best to rub the sticks.
"Next" Nam Ra says, hands tired from all the rubbing, Joon Yeong takes over.
"You'll get tired. Slow down" Dae Su advices.
"The fire won't start if he does it slowly" Wu Jin scolded him hitting his arm.
"Do it faster. Come on. Faster. Twist it faster!" Dae Su encouraged instead.
But the pressure to go stronger and faster gave Joon Yeong a cramp.
"Did it cramp?" Dae Su asks him surprised.
"My palms. I can't do it" He sighed
"I'll do it. Step back" Dae Su told them, but the way he was rubbing the stick was way too slow and would never make a fire.
"Should we kill him?" Wu Jin suggests to Joon Yeong who was now besides him.
"Dae Su... Fast!" I complained.
"Are you praying?" Joon Yeong asks annoyed.
"Don't pray... Rub... - Move away" Wu Jin huffed as he took Dae Su's spot.
"It's hard. It won't work" Dae Su shrugs.
"Let me show you how it's done" Wu Jin confidently said, lifting his head up and looking at me.
"I told you, I was good with rubbing" He smirks, my face heating up once more, everyone stared in both shock and confusion.
As Wu Jin rubbed the stick fast, smoke finally started to appear shocking everyone.
"Hey. Smoke!" The boys cheered.
"Su Hyeok!" Wu Jin calls out, for the boy to blow on it.
"Blow. Blow on it already!" Dae Su yells excited.
"Did it catch fire? Su hyeok?" Wu Jin asks, a hand on his back, but he sighs cussing as a fire can't seem to start.
"I'll do it" Su hyeok offered, stepping in.
"Ya" Nam Ra says quietly, I look at her, having heard her since I stood beside her.
"Do it faster"
"I have a lighter" She says, I deadpan at her comment.
"Ya!" she calls louder this time, everyone turning to look at her.
"Use this" She says taking the lighter out of her skirt pocket, a hand on my mouth as I turn to the side not being able to contain my laugh.
"I smoke, to be honest" She states.
"You had it, this whole time" Wu Jin says, deflated, I lose it, holding my nose as I turn my back to them trying to hold my laughter.
"You don't want it?2 She asks, Su hyeok gets up, finally fighting up the fire.
I smile, a fire finally lit and ready to be used, I go around the rooftop collecting more wood, so it doesn't burn out, a presence behind me makes me turn and lift a piece of wood, expecting the worst.
"Ya, Shit! It's me, you idiot!" Cheong San's voice sounds, I open an eye peeking, and sure enough it was Cheong San.
But I still threw a piece of wood at him, although he caught it.
"Don't creep up on people, asshole. I could've killed you" I scowl.
"You did try to" He grumbles as he holds up the piece of wood I threw at him.
"What did you want?" I ask him curiously turning back to find more wood pieces.
"Can't I simply come to you like I normally would?" He murmured, I look at him, his eyes on the wood.
"Why do you sound so... not you?" I queried.
"What do you mean?" He raised a questioning eyebrow.
"You just sound, i don't know, different. I guess" I sighed, he continued to follow me for a few minutes before I went to the side of the roof, where nobody could see us and put the wood on the floor, turning to him and crossing my arms.
"Spill it. I know you have something to ask, or say. So, just say it" I snapped.
"When did you and Wu Jin get this close?" He blurts out, my face contorts as I think of an answer.
"When he paid for my lunch after hitting me with a water bottle" I explained.
"No, that's not true. I was with you during lunch. You weren't that close" He points out.
"How do you know? Maybe it was because he took care of me during this crazy shit" I shrug.
"And I didn't?!" He scoffs in disbelief.
"I didn't say that" I said assertively.
"You implied it"
"No, I didn't. This is stupid. Why are we even fighting over my friendships?! I never questioned you about yours!" I fumed
"The only friends I have who are girls are you and On Jo, what is there to question?!" He seethed.
"So? It's not like everyone doesn't know how much you like On Jo! So much that you forget I even exist!" I laugh dryly.
"I apologized for that! Why are you even so mad that I liked On Jo?! It's not like I can just turn it off or anything!" he ranted.
"I never asked you to! So why are you asking that of me?!" I yelled at him... If the other's hadn't heard the two fighting before, they definitely could now...
"Oh, so you do like someone!" He sneered.
"Why do you want to know so badly?" I asked him annoyed.
"So is that where it came from?" He scoffs.
"What are you even talking about?" I sigh.
"The rubbing! 'I told you I could rub well'" He mocked.
"Are you serious? He was making a joke because we talked about how we needed to rub the wood fast to make a fire" I told him enraged.
"I don't get it" I laughed dryly. "I can't even say that like On Jo, but you just get pissed off whenever I get close to any other guy that is not you" I scoff turning my back to him, picking up the wood.
"Where are you going? I'm not done talking" He nagged once more.
"Well, I am. Talk to me, when you have something reasonable to say, instead of 'I like her. But you can't like anybody'" I spat out as I walk back to the group.
"Ya!" I heard his shout, but I ignored it as I turn to the side of the roof.
All of them immediately turned their eyes to the fire and I hang my head low, too embarrassed to look at anyone.
"Chae Rin, sit here" Nam Ra softly smiled as she looked at me, I nodded stiffing a smile of my own, licking my lips as I sat between her and On Jo, setting the wood aside to use later as night set in, the cold starting, but the fire keeping us warmer.
Cheong San had come out from the side of the building, an angry expression on his face as he sat down beside On Jo.
3rd Person's POV
The circle was completed as everyone took their seats around the fire.
Once Cheong San sat down, Chae Rin had moved seats to be between Wu Jin and Nam Ra, maybe it was because she wanted to anger him even more, waiting to see smoke coming out of his ears and nose like a bull in a comic, or maybe it was because Wu Jin was able to comfort the girl in this situation.
Next to Wu Jin, sat Su Hyeok, and to his side was Dae Su. Hyo Ryeong, Joon Yeong, Ji Min and then Cheong San respectively, as On Jo sat on the other side of Nam Ra, between the prez and Cheong San.
The silence was thick, and it seemed impossible to cut it as nobody dared to say a word, afraid to say something bad, or to bring up something that could make the mood even more sour, so they all kept their silence until it was fully dark.
"Dae Su" Su Hyeok's voice sounds through the silence.
"Yes?" Dae Su asks, eyes closed as he leaned his face on his fist, using it as a resting place.
"How did the audition go?" he asks.
"They told me to lose weight" He said annoyed, eyes still closed as he sighed, Su hyeok lets out a small chuckle.
"You're a good singer though. Sing for us. I want to hear it" The latter asks of him.
"Forget it. I don't want to sing" He grumbles, opening his eyes to stare at the fire with a sad expression.
"I really like that song" Joon Yeong comments, Dae Su's head lifts from his fist as he stares at his friend.
"You like it?" He questions, he hums in response, nodding.
"It's a really nice song" Chae Rin softly says.
"You sing well" Su Hyeok reassures the boy, spirits lifting as he clears his throat, a small smile on his lips.
"It'll cheer us up" Wu Jin comments.
"Oh, he's going to sing" the girl cheers quietly, placing her hands behind her back on the cold floor leaning back to listen.
"Let's go once It's over, let's go anywhere. Once we're done studying 12 hours a day, once the annoying sounds are gone. Let's go hand in hand. Let's not run" he began singing, more and more people joining in.
Chae Rin's eyes open, a smile tugging on her lips as she sits back straight watching the group, a sparkle on her eye.
"Let's try walking slowly. Is that drool or sweat pooled on the book?" Su hyeok pulls Wu Jin by the shoulder, he stares at Chae Rin for a brief second, smiling as he watches the girl lean her head on Nam Ra's shoulder, eyes closed apreciating the song singing alond.
"No one notices the plop, plop, the plop, plop. The falling rain drops. What is boiling? Simmer, simmer. It's mom's doenjang stew. Hum. A bowl of instant noodles in front of the tv which plays nothing but static. Let0s go anywhere together" he finishes singing.
"Are you asleep?" Nam Ra softly asks the girl who hums.
"Almost" I yawns.
"Am I heavy?" She questions the friend, who shakes her head, laying her own head on top of hers.
"What a nice song" Hyo Ryeing smiles.
"You said it sucked" He argued.
"Now that I actually listened to it, I think it's nice" she countered back.
"That was encouraging, Dae Su" Su Hyeok smiled.
"When did you start smoking?" On Jo's voice asked quietly to the girl on her side.
Nam Ra lifts her head off of Chae Rin looking at the girl with the low ponytail, Chae Rin lifting her head up to look at the two.
"Since the eight grade. I had no friends and no outlet to relieve stress" she told her.
"Did you ever need a friend?
"I'm not sure. I can't really tell. The only one I knew was Chae Rin" she says staring off into distance.
"You also put up a wall. You always wore earphones and never said a word. Wasn't it because you didn't like any of us?" On Jo asked her, catching everyone's attention who turned to the trio.
Nam Ra stared back at On Jo a little confused.
"I never disliked you guys. I just... didn't know how to make friends" she explained.
"That's true. I did all the work" Chae Rin butted in with a smile.
"To be honest, I didn't like you. Because I thought you didn't talk to us because we were beneath you" Hyo Ryeong said inputting her own opinion.
"To be honest, there were times when I wished you weren't around" Joon Yeong confessed, Nam Ra's heart tightned, she was sad, she could've been friends with these people all along, if only she had tried to communicate.
"Aren't you two close? You're the two top students of the school" Ji Min asked confused.
"That's why I hated her. No matter how much I tried, i always came in second. But It's okay now. I think I was able to come in second thanks to Nam Ra" Joon Yeong continued.
"Ya. Second place is good too. I can't even come in 20th of our class, right?" Dae Su pouts, fist bumping Su Hyeok as On Jo nods in agreement.
"Ya. Don't compare yourself to Joon Yeong" Hyo Ryeong sassed.
"I was just saying. Why do you always jump down my throat when I say something? Do you like me?" Dae Su asks, turning serious... but it didn't well well as the girl slaps him hard in the arm.
"Screw you" the others smile at the interaction, we can't miss how Nam Ra smiled, Su hyeok too as he looked at the girl he liked in adoration.
"Love makes me sick" Chae Rin whispered in Nam Ra's ear as she stared right at Su Hyeok, the prez smiles, covering her mouth, Su Hyeok looking at the two in curiosity, Nam Ra bumping her shoulder on friend's.
"I'll put it out there so you don't get hurt. I like someone else. So don't like me" Dae Su's sudden confession startles Hyo Ryeong who hit him twice more.
"I don't like you. I'm not interested at all" she argues annoyed.
"Dae Su. Who do you like?" Joon Yeong asks the boy, who starts smiling all loved up as Wu Jin cusses.
"He's a total freak" he points his finger.
Su Hyeok's hand lifts from Wu jin's shoulder as he points at the boy from above.
"His sister" he says.
"Ha Ri?!" Chae Rin exclaims in shock, Su Hyeok nods still with a smile.
"Wow, I thought I had a chance with her" Chae Rin says dramatically laying her head on Wu Jin's shoulder, a hand on her forehead.
"Ya... don't say that" Wu jin groaned pushing the girl off as she laughed.
"You're insane" Ji Min said, directed at Dae Su, who continued to smile, fully simping for the older woman.
"I go crazy when I'm in love. She's like Cupid in my eyes" he smiles whipped.
"Cupid was a boy... Eros" Chae Rin mumbles with a confused expression staring at Dae Su who looks at the girl in shock, just now finding out that the baby with the bow was a man.
"If we get out of here alive, I'll tell my sister" Wu Jin tells Dae Su, a smile on his face.
"Will you really?" he hums in agreement.
"What will you say?" He questions the other grabbing onto his arm.
"To shoot and kill you. I said not to like my sister" Wu Jin tells him in all seriousness.
"Ah! Brother-in-law! You can't do that me!" Dae Su complains as he pulls Wu Jin to him, completely forgetting the fact that Su Hyeok was in between them and smothering him to death.
"You hog!" Wu Jin grumbles as he tries to set himself free.
"Will you tell her?"
"To kill you!"
"Don't do that. Seriously. I love her"
"Stop it!"
The others laugh watching the interaction,Chae Rin full on smiling at the two, but mostly as she watched Su Hyeok lean as back as he could so that they wouldn't kill him, instead they just made his legs jelly as Wu jin was basically on top of him pressing on the poor boy's legs.
"Ya. Ya! You're killing Su Hyeok" Chae Rin laughed.
Oblivious to it all, Cheong San's eyes didn't leave the girl, admiring her from besides On Jo who had a smirk on her face when she noticed.
"They're killing your future boyfriend, aren't you going to say anything?" Chae Rin quietly asked Nam Ra who silenced her with a scowl.
"Not future" she mumbled, the other gasped as she pulled away from her.
"Did you? Did he?" She gasps, Nam Ra pulled the girl's ear close to her.
"He confessed in the music room. And I kissed him" she said, catching the girl up.
"Oh! You little vixen" Chae Rin smirked, using her finger to poke the prez.
"Oh! I forgot to tell you. I got this, from the lab room when we went up to get the drone. I thought you might want it. To keep you company" The girl smiled, as she handed the post it note that the prez had left in the lab room's wall, back to it's original owner.
"You grabbed it?" she nodded.
"It was the beginning of something" she smiled at the prez who stared at the note as if it was the most precious thing.
"You should talk to him... before it's too late" Nam Ra told the girl turning back to serious.
"Who?" she asked confused, the prez's head nodding at Cheong San who stared down, Chae Rin's eyes followed Nam Ra's head, and she couldn't help but feel bad as the boy seemed excluded from his own group of friends.
"You're best friends... will you really stay mad? It's clear that whatever he feels for you, is not a friendship. No matter how much he tries to deny it" She continues.
"I don't know... I'm not even sure of how I feel anymore" she whispers back.
"Come here" pulling at the girl's head she lays it back on her shoulder, pulling the blanket over the two.
"Prioritize what you feel. You'll know it when you look at your options. But don't just follow your head or your heart. You'll figure it out at the end" She tells the girl who nods against the other's neck.
Conflicted by her own emotions.
~~~~~~