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Language:
English
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Published:
2021-02-18
Updated:
2021-06-20
Words:
59,577
Chapters:
31/?
Comments:
4
Kudos:
61
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6
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2,914

Taking a Break? Don't Know Them! [DISCONTINUED]

Chapter 31: Home... and Finals

Notes:

no TWs! this is mostly fluff and a tiny lil bit of starting to make out!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Mingi moves in right after he records a demo for us, four days after my knee problem. I’ve been limping through practices, but we’ve at least all gotten the dance down. It’s gone slower than I would’ve liked, since we have just about two weeks to perfect this, but Yeosang and Wooyoung are still hurt and I’m not willing to have a repeat of districts.

We’re all sitting in the living room watching The Secret World of Arrietty when I get a ping on my phone. I check it quickly, paling as the words “Finals Information” flash across my phone.

“Guys, the exam schedule came,” I say quietly, and everyone groans, collectively stretching and rolling off the couch as we prepare to disappear into our rooms for the next two weeks. I pull up an empty spreadsheet and stare at the blank rows and columns, beginning to type in a schedule for myself. I should have made this a lot earlier, but I got distracted with dance and the boys coming home. We’ve done small study groups together, and we ask each other for help constantly, but at the end of the day, I’m not going to have my friends in my exam room with me, so I need to stop relying on them.

I grab my math textbook, lugging the large book onto my desk. I never really needed to study in middle school, so now that I’m a high schooler, I’ve been struggling. Last year, I did fine without studying, but my tests are going to be much harder this year, so I’m just going to do all the practice problems and hope that’s good enough to get me through precalculus.

The sky lightens as I’m halfway through a sip of coffee, the unfinished pages of problems taunting me. I had to reteach myself half the curriculum, after all; it took a bit longer than it should’ve taken.

My knee protests as I stand up for the first time in a while, and I go stumbling into my bed. I grip the frame for support while I will strength back into my leg, throwing on a pair of sweatpants and a tank top.

Someone begins clattering around in the kitchen, and I slip into the dance studio for my morning workout. It’s still wet from last night’s rain, so I forego my run and decide to focus on my arms. I haven’t done straight-up workouts in a while because of how much I’ve been dancing, but the familiar and repetitive moments of weight lifting clear my exhausted mind of derivatives, and I feel like I’m a little more prepared for the grueling day ahead of me.

I run through my schedule while I hold a plank. I have school, obviously, until 3:30 PM, and then dance with Ateez from 4 PM to 8 PM. The junior pointe class is 8 to 9, and then junior contemporary is 9 to 10. And then, of course, my private class with Eunbi-noona goes until 11 PM. I’ll be studying until the sun’s up tomorrow morning as well, it would seem.

Jongho wordlessly joins me at around 6 AM, and while I stretch in preparation for some technique work, he works out aggressively.

“Did you sleep well, Jjong?” I ask, and he nods. I’m not surprised; Jongho never wants to talk in the morning.

Half an hour later, I’m working on my extensions when Hongjoong yells, “Boys, wake up! Time for school!”

I suppress a fond smile at his motherly tone, wiping the sweat off my forehead with the bottom of my shirt.

We both go to shower, and I change into skinny jeans and my favorite tattered denim jacket. Seonghwa hyung airbrushed colorful designs over the back and sleeves, and I have my various pins and patches scattered across the whole jacket. I grab one of my cool snake earrings that wraps around the outer shell of my ear, slipping a couple of studs into the rest of my piercings. A chain clipped onto my pants and some clunky combat boots complete the look. I add subtle winged eyeliner as an afterthought, reminding myself to ask Yeosang for tips one of these days. He tends to decorate his eyes with intricate eyeliner designs and interesting color palettes for his eyeshadow.

Today, he’s done glittering black eyeliner and left it at that, too tired from studying to risk a shaky hand. I kiss Seonghwa’s head gently, murmuring soft nothings to him while he nurses an americano.

“Sannie, if you have time tonight, can you help me with derivatives?” Wooyoung asks as he strides into the kitchen, snatching a bagel and slathering cream cheese on top of it.

I nod, and raise an eyebrow at his food. “Wooyoung. Why the absolute fuck would you put the cream cheese on top of the whole thing like that?” He shrugs, taking a bite out of the whole thing while maintaining eye contact.

“You absolute heathen-”

--------------------------------------------------

It’s midnight when I finally slump into my desk chair, pulling my chemistry books out of my bag. Eunbi-noona was especially detail-oriented today, so while I made huge improvements on my solo, my toes are aching, feet stinging with new floor burns and small cuts. Not to mention, I’m tired, and this sweatshirt combined with my chair is far too comfortable to ignore the urge to curl up and take a small catnap. It wouldn’t hurt, I suppose, if it weren’t for finals.

Wooyoung attacked me the moment I walked in the door earlier, asking for help with math, and I stumbled through an explanation. Then, Seonghwa hyung called me to his room, and I was expecting for him to ask my opinion on his portfolio or something equally important, but instead we spent precious minutes against the wall savouring each others’ touches, kissing frantically. Not that I necessarily objected, but now my schedule’s gotten pushed back an hour. And, quite frankly, I hate stoichiometry, so I need all the time I can get to refresh my memory on the formulas. I dim my fairy lights and play a random playlist of relaxing songs by NCT, cracking open my books.

It must be five or six in the morning when I finally finish, shaking out my hand and stretching my legs as I grab an iced coffee out of the minifridge I bought a couple weeks ago. I decided it was more efficient to just get one and save myself time while I’m busy, and it’s been pretty great so far. I lean against the window, snapping a selfie to catch the hour when the city is just beginning to wake up, and the colors of the sky burst against my darkened silhouette in the photo.

It’s beautiful, the city behind me. I grew up in the fancy districts along the Han River, with perfectly pruned landscaping and elegant neighbors. The air was dripping with careful manners and posturing, every word and action and everything down to our choice of shoelace speculated upon and judged. I think I prefer this side of the city, though. Being in the heart of it, with spray painted color common across the buildings just a few blocks away, it’s refreshing. I get to live freer here, with my friends, and yeah, we live in a pretty affluent apartment building, but I never have to wear itchy dress pants and stupid loafers every day like when we used to go out for lunch with snobby Mrs. Oh from across the street.

But this, at 5 AM, when the streets are bustling with people on their morning commute and workers rushing to jobs they’re already late for, this is my city. The sunrise bursting across the sky, the building across us lighting up in a rainbow every night, the quaint cafes and mystical bookstores in sleepy corner streets, the bars and dance studios bursting with thrumming bass that you can hear from down the street, I love all of it. I watch my city from the safety of my bedroom, my home.

--------------------------------------------------

Seonghwa hyung and I don’t have private time until a week later, when it’s a Saturday night and the boys are watching Harry Potter again. We had a good practice earlier, and I’m really proud of our improvement this year and with this dance.

Halfway through the movie, Seonghwa hyung begins tracing his hands over my shoulders, which is a bit weird, but I don’t question it given that hyung himself has always been a bit quirky. He starts moving his hands lower, though, and I have to suppress a small gasp when they rest at my hips, digging in with just enough force that I feel it. He goes further, keeping one hand at my hip while the other traces over the front of my thigh. I try to wiggle away from his hands, distracted by the screen, but his hand at my hip keeps me in place, and I lean back further into hyung’s chest.

“Hyung, what’re you doing?” I whisper, and he shushes me, focused on the movie. His hands have stopped moving, and while they’re both in rather compromising positions, I don’t particularly mind.

Or at least, I don’t particularly mind until I also feel lips on my neck. I jerk, flinching away from the motion, and then melting into it a few moments later.

“Hwa, want to go to your room?” He nods, and I flip myself over the back of the couch. I know our friends are well aware of what we’re doing, but at this point, I can’t bring myself to care.

The door shuts, and Seonghwa reattaches himself to my neck, straddling me on the bed. I guide his mouth up to mine, and it’s a languid thing this time instead of the passionate and fiery kisses we’ve shared lately. He bits my lip almost lazily, and I pant when he draws away. Sometimes I forget hyung is two years older than me and far more experienced, even for a high schooler. “Hyung, ar-” I’m cut off by him slotting our lips together once again, and I wrap my legs around his hips subconsciously.

Seonghwa tugs at my shirt, and I go to slip it off, but he pins my hands, fixing me with a dark stare that has me shivering. “Don’t move,” he tells me, sitting back on my legs to pull his shirt off. I can’t resist staring at his chest, because we haven’t done this in a while and holy fuck he’s been working out.

“Hwa hyung, can we-” I break off, staring to the side. No, I should just go with it, it’s been a long time since we’ve done this.

“Sannie, babe, what do you need?” Hwa hyung’s eyebrows furrow, and he kisses the side of my mouth gently, tilting my face back towards his concerned eyes.

“Nothing, I’m just, can we not go any further tonight? I’m really tired, is all, sorry,” I explain, looking away. I feel bad, Seonghwa probably wants to do something, but for whatever reason, I’m just not in the mood.

“Don’t apologize, of course, Sannie,” he assures me, retrieving his shirt.

“N-no, you don’t have to put that back on, hyung, can we just cuddle for a bit?” I ask, and he smirks at me, throwing the shirt back wherever it was. He takes his sweatpants off, too, and gets under the covers, patting the space next to him expectantly. I move to get in, but he stops me.

“There’s no way you’re comfy in jeans, Sannie, c’mon,” he coaxes, and I wiggle out of my jeans, sliding onto the bed. Both of us have grown lately, and we spread out across the cozy bed, my foot sticking out from under the covers.

“Hyung, I haven’t streamed lately.” He hums as I begin talking about the new Minecraft update, making me promise to show him the goats. He slings an arm over my back, pulling me closer, and we kiss lazily for a while longer before snuggling even closer and sleeping.

The sun rises and falls, and life goes on.

Notes:

finals are finally over! it took a bit longer than i wanted to post this, but my summer class and internship just started, so it's been a lot of work!

anyway, I'll post more this summer! the book is almost done! comments and kudos really help motivate me!

thanks everyone!