Not-So-Loving Couple

Prologue

When you were younger, you used to wish that you could fly. If I could fly, I would be able to get out of here, you'd always think to yourself whenever you found yourself in an uncomfortable situation. As the years passed, you learned how to actually talk to people and avoid awkward situations, gradually turning your halfhearted desires into a distant memory.

Unfortunately, in your now third year of high school, you found yourself wishing for the otherworldly power to be blessed upon you once again. Memories of your past, cringey self flitted through your mind, somehow making the situation even worse.

"...[Surname] [Name]."

If I could fly, I'd fly straight into the sun.

You looked down in shame-or at least tried to. It felt weird to look down but actually look up. "Yes?" The blood slowly pooling in your face brought a dull tingling sensation, which told you your face was getting redder by the second.

"..." Ms. Lim shook her head, seemingly in disappointment. "And here I thought you were a good student who followed the rules."

You tried to laugh awkwardly, succeeding in releasing a chorus of breathy huffs instead. Oh how you wondered what your homeroom teacher was thinking at the moment. Would you get punished? Maybe you'd be suspended for a couple of days-it was the least the school could do after you flashed a good half of the school.

Fortunately, you had decided to wear dark underwear today. It blended in with whatever shadow your skirt probably cast on your upper thighs, according to your peer's reactions. However, it didn't protect your pride from the giggles and camera clicks that came from the sidewalk below you.

Kim Miyeong, just wait until I get my hands on you... you sent mental daggers to your friend, who was in the middle of a group of freshmen that were taking pictures of your trapped frame.

Miyeong gave you a sly smile in return.

Your attention was brought back to your homeroom teacher when she asked, exasperated, "How did you even get up there?"

Now that was a really good question, and you told her that. How did you manage to get stuck in a tree, bent over on a low enough hanging branch that a fall wouldn't kill you, but high enough to freeze you in place and have a deep consideration of the point in life.

"Help me down and I'll tell you, Ms. Lim." You tried to bargain.

Ms. Lim folded her arms and gave you a smoldering look. "The second you get down from that tree, [Surname] [Name], you're going straight to the principal's office and explaining it to her, not me. So I advise that you tell me first so that I can vouch for you if the principal doesn't believe you."

Shivers went down your spine when the principal was mentioned. You suddenly had flashbacks to your first and second years at Shinan High School, which were filled with the principal's disappointed face. That old hag believed firmly in the word 'discipline', which included a good ten slaps on the tenderest part of your wrist with a ruler infused with what felt like metal rods and kneeling on the floor in the back of the office for the next class with your bruised wrists in the air.

The fact that you could describe the punishment so detailed showed your past experiences with the woman. At this point, you were nearly a regular at her office. The troublemakers who's fate had been decided the second they stepped into the school often gawked at you whenever you sat beside them, wrists raised and head bowed in shame.

Since when did small, goody-two-shoes ever get sent to the principal's office to get disciplined?

Since you existed, apparently.