[ It's a good thing that Sinjoon is fully content with sticking in the average ranks at school - it means that while he does have to work for it, it's not like he has to go crazy studying all night to maintain his grades. And that means there's more time left for the stuff he actually does like doing a lot more, even if it's stuff that won't be as profitable for him in the long run. Unfortunately.
And so this afternoon, rather than studying in the school library like most students, he finds himself inviting Minji over to the art room to continue working on the painting he started on during their last session. Sure, the midterms crunch is coming up and all, but he finds this more relaxing than anything else. No use getting worked up, it'd only be worse for his grades in the low run.
Most people, however, would rank being stuck in the same room (or classroom, same difference) as Minji the kind of thing that would exactly get someone worked up. Thankfully it's one problem that Sinjoon doesn't suffer from. Even though she's already rambling about something, he's just calmly getting his things out of the storage, preparing himself to continue working on the piece.
.. this, however, means that he's not paying attention to what the girl is saying at all for a few moments though, and if she just asked him a question, he definitely just entirely missed that and isn't answering. ]
[ She isn't really asking him questions at the moment, she's mostly going on and on about the news, the word, the buzz on the street! Or maybe something she made up because she was bored and wanted to start something interesting. With the amount of time Minhwan and Jaejin have been spending with their new boy toy has left her with a lot of time on her hands. Even her best friend is busy working to make sure she doesn't fail, while Minji has long since given up on the idea of studying.
Even her oppa has seemed to go missing on her lately. It's boring. Nothing happening, everyone too busy with their nose in books. So when Sinjoon asks her to model for him? She's all over it. It's actually pretty boring too, she's never liked sitting still for long, and modeling involves a lot of sitting still for long periods of time. Still, she started with this this might as well finish this!
Or maybe right now she just doesn't want to be alone, and even though Sinjoon doesn't pay a lot of attention to what she has to say, he's still company.
Annoying company right now though.
She lets out a small huff of air as Sinjoon rummages around his paints, and decides to change up the conversation a little. ]
So anyway that's how my brother got pregnant.
[ A beat. ]
You're probably the father.
[ Head tilt to get a better look at his face and make sure he's not paying attention to her. ]
I'm really excited to be able to call you brother-in-law soon. Please take good care of me and buy me lots of things. Yeah?
[ Maybe it's for the best that he's kind of tuning her out, no one wants to think about the mental image of a pregnant Minhwan..
But he genuinely has no idea what she's going on about. He just keeps rummaging through his stuff, having put up his canvas, trying to pick out which paint he needs to use to continue it-- except then Minji yells. And when she takes a deep breath and yells, it's very much noticable. Despite Sinjoon's usual fairly zen attitude outwardly, it's not like that doesn't startle him. Hell, that "yah" could probably have made some dead rise from their graves.
So one of the tubes of paint slips out of his hands, straight onto the floor, forming a sad little black spot like a miniature oil spill. It's not like he minds cleaning that up, but he does pay for these stupidly expensive kinds of paint himself to be able to paint better than with cheap school paint, and there just went at least a week's worth of part-time work..
Anyone with half a sane mind would just give up by now on Minji, probably, but after a moment of staring at the sad spill, he finally glances towards the girl. (Half a sane mind is debatable here. Maybe.) ]
You're ruining ecosystems. [ Yes, the very delicate ecosystem of their.. school's floor...
Grabbing a paper towel to get the worst of it off the floor, Minji seems to at least have accomplished her goal - she has his attention, although it's slightly dry as ever. And calm. As in, no one should ever be that calm after someone ruined something they paid money for. ]
What was so important that you needed my attention so badly?
[ Even if she's making him waste a bunch of money and "ruining the ecosystem" she still looks pleased with herself. Not only did she get his attention, but she managed to make him start, and considering how obnoxiously unfazed Sinjoon seems by most things there's a sort of pride she takes in making him react in some very big, obvious way. It doesn't even matter that he recovers fast, what matters is she got him in the first place.
She might feel a little worse if she knew how much he paid for those, but not that bad. While she's not actually her brother in all his self-centeredness, she's still pretty self-centered. After a little twinge of guilt she'd be busy questioning him why he even needed paint that expensive anyway! He can just get cheaper stuff, it all works the same.
But not knowing this, she doesn't think to hassle him about it. Instead she'll be skipping over and tugging at the paper towel in his hand. ]
Everything I say is important. If you were paying any attention you would have known that.
[ Tugging on it a little harder. ]
Let me do it.
[ It's not an apology as much as a reward for actually giving her the attention she was looking for in the first place. Good boy, you gave her what she wants, she won't make you clean up after her. ]
[ There's a moment where he doesn't give her it just yet. Sinjoon just glances over to Minji and then continues to stare like that for a moment, almost like he needs a bit to consider this. Even though it's actually more that he's just thinking of how.. odd Minji is. Not since she doesn't seem to show much remorse, honestly, but that she'd still offer to clean it up..
.. Oh, well. Isn't that why he sticks around her? She's interesting and not annoying. (Not too annoying, anyway, considering Sinjoon's deadpan ups his tolerance for a lot of bullshit quite a bit.)
So he releases his grip on the paper towel, practically giving her it that way as he stands up, dusting off his pants by patting down his legs. ]
I can't wait for the next amazing story then. [ Dry.. ly....
Not like it's entirely sarcastic though, sometimes Minji's stories are oddly amusing, even if he assumes most of them are wildly exaggerated. The processes in her head, man. If he'll fully understand them one day, he'll be surprised.
Walking over to his canvas, he stares at the paint he did manage to get out here safely before that incident just now. ]
.. I'm out of dark colors now. [ Thanks to a certain person!! But he doesn't nearly sound that bitter about it, Sinjoon can shrug off smaller things. He doesn't even feel the need to hold how expensive that paint was over her head. Not really. ] Guess you'll have to be a blonde in this now.
[ It's hard to feel remorse when you don't realize the real damage you did. Paint is paint, it can't possibly be that expensive! Except for the part where some paint is a lot more expensive than others, but as someone with next to no artistic aspirations she hasn't really looked into the price of paints, and doesn't really understand the difference in quality.
If anything she'd be surprised anyone was bothering to waste that much money to paint her face in the first place. She likes her face well enough, but she's not under some sort of delusion that her face is ever going to becoming a famous masterpiece. She's got an ego, but she's not her brother, she's at least got a somewhat realistic understanding of her own importance.
Humming to herself as she kneels on the floor mopping up the paint, she wrinkles her nose when she realizes she'll need more paper towels than the one that Sinjoon gave her. She was hoping this would be easy and fast. Boo that it isn't. Boo even more that she can't back out of it without looking more flippant than she actually wants to come across as.
Scrubbing at the floor more aggressively she responds as genuine sounding as she can manage, despite Sinjoon's dry answer. ]
You should, all my stories are great.
[ Finally giving up on this paper town she stands up and straightens out her skirt, looking around for the sink so she can wet the next paper towel. Maybe that'll help get the stain up faster.
She sounds a little distracted as she responds to the other comment. ]
I always thought I'd look cute as a blonde.
[ And suddenly Minji wheels around to face Sinjoon, giving him what's meant to be a coy wink, but just looks like a cartoonish exaggeration. ]
[ Although he's checking out his paint at first, he's definitely looking back over his shoulder after a little bit to see Minji scrubbing the stain on the floor. Pretty intensely so - although that description fits a lot of things the girl does, doesn't it.
But even so, this is exactly why he started these painting sessions with her to begin with. Because despite Minji probably being on the list of official school terrors by now, she's interesting. She goes from having a weird kind of satisfaction over the fact she managed to make him drop his paint to actually putting effort into cleaning it. Sure, sometimes her reactions to things are entirely predictable, but there's also a lot of times she actually throws him off more than Sinjoon is letting on to. It makes him want to get to know more about her, even if some people might call him a moron (or even a masochist) for hanging out with her like this.
He only properly turns to look at her when she's making her way over to the sink. Thankfully in time for when she looks at him again, considering he's not too sure yet if he wants to be caught staring at her. Not just yet, anyway. It's Minji, so a huge interrogation as to why he was staring would probably follow, and she'd make up at least five rumors about that which are wild exaggerations of whatever answers he might give. ]
You normally already look cute.
[ .. then again, he doesn't really help himself when he gives answers like those.. it sounds just as dry as the things he usually says, but this one is actually genuine. Minji does look cute, okay. He might not be chasing girls all over the place, but there's nothing wrong with his eyes.
Picking up a thin brush, he idly taps the end of it against the hand that's not holding it. ]
Part of that is ruined when you open your mouth though. [ Also.. kind of genuine, but this is definitely meant to be more dry. Because he has to balance out nice statements with dry ones so he can keep up a status as the lonely broody artist guy instead of a guy who thinks the worst gossip queen in the school is actually kind of cute in her own way. ]
[ The answer is simple as far as Minji is concerned! Her motivations for what she does is... because she wants to do these things! She wanted his attention, so she got it even though it made him drop his paint. She wanted to clean it up to show how great and magnanimous she actually was, so she did! Simple!
Except it's not actually simple at all. She has a sizable enough ego, but she's also full of tons of self doubt. It's a pretty normal human trait, but the way Minji expresses it is a little different. She swings so wildly into the loud, self-aggrandizing side of things that it's hard to tell she ever had doubts in the first place, which is really the whole point of it to begin with. That doesn't mean she's a terrible person though. Or... well, she's not a completely terrible person.
She's still an obnoxious little shithead, and does a lot of things for her own amusement, but she's capable of caring about other people. She's not as self centered as her twin brother (but she is pretty self centered), and she's capable of realizing her own actions were shitty and feeling bad enough to do something small to make up for them.
The coy look drops into a tight lipped pout as Sinjoon makes his first comment. It's a compliment, and an honest statement, but the way he says things always makes her feel like he's probably making fun of her. The fact that his tone is so dry has to mean that he's bullshitting her, right? ... Probably.
The second comment actually relaxes her though, making her snort in agitation as she shoves the paper towels in her hand under the sink. ]
Talking is part of my charm. It's not my fault you have no tastes.
[ Wringing out the paper towels a bit and prancing back over to the paint stain. [
[ The first thought that instinctively comes at that comment is "A lot of people would say the same thing about me if they knew I spent this much time hanging out with you," but despite that being very much the truth, Sinjoon thinks that's a little too mean to say. Even by his standards.
Don't get him wrong, being dry and deadpan is kind of his thing. He's usually that guy around who points out the painful things no one else wants to say without even doing so much as batting an eyelash. But there's something about being around Minji that makes him at least draw a line in the sand for him somewhere - to there it's fine, and not further than that. Maybe it's that he figures Minji already gets that kind of stuff slung at her head often enough, why does he need to add to it when it honestly doesn't even really bother him to be around her?
.. well, not a lot, anyway. He's no masochist.
For a moment he watches the girl go back to her self-imposed floor scrubbing task, but even with new towels there seems to be only so much she can do.. which is true, since paint just is like that when it gets into stuff, but at least Sinjoon is a little more used to accidents like these and having to clean them up.
So he saunters back to her, kneeling down on the ground as well and grabbing her hand - not too hard, but enough so his hand is on top of hers, guiding the scrubbing. ]
Here, it's easier if you do it like this.
[ It'd be a moment straight out of a sappy shoujo manga if it wasn't for the fact that Sinjoon's tone is just about the flattest in the entire world. It's hard for shoujo bubbles to pop up when half of the people involved in the situation seem to outwardly have the emotional depth of a pet rock. At least he doesn't seem embarrassed in the slightest to be sort of holding her hand. ]
[ Minji would bluster her way through exaggerated indignation at a remark like that, but it'd hurt a lot. Minhwan has always been good at letting people's comments slide off his back, but Minji isn't Minhwan and when someone says something hurtful it sticks her badly. Kind of ironic for a girl who spends so much time spreading things about other people that can be hurtful as well.
She's human and can be hurt, but no one said that Minji wasn't selfish.
It's also true that she's a little terror and brings a lot of the hurtful comments made towards her on herself. If she wasn't so ready to spread rumors at the drop of a hate then maybe people wouldn't insult her so often. And if she wasn't so ready to insult other people? Maybe that'd save her some hurt as well.
This is all a preface to the fact that Sinjoon's flat tone isn't the only thing that ruins the shoujo moment. Minji has a hand in it too as she looks up at him, eyes wide as she says-- ]
Wow, Sinjoon. I never knew you were such a modern day Cinderella. One day you're going to make a lucky man very happy.
[ It's hard to tell if she's being serious or not. Her tone doesn't sound sarcastic, so... maybe. Though that may actually make it worse. ]
[ It's said.. well, not defensively quickly after what she's saying, but it still comes out as a pretty natural reaction to that, his tone as flat as ever and his gaze turned down at the scrubbing they're doing rather than looking back at Minji. Because it's true, he isn't gay. And he knows Minji will probably try to spread that as a rumor anyway because of what she is, but Sinjoon has already figured at this point that the only thing you even can try to do when it comes to Minji is deny it in a way that doesn't make it seem like you'd be overly embarrassed if it were spread all over.
Not to say that it wouldn't be annoying all the same if the whole school thought he was gay.. but well, he'd brush it off. It's not like he has a whole lot of friends here anyway, so what does he have to lose?
Once the stain has been mostly removed, he lifts his hand again, although he doesn't fully stand up back to beanpole heights just yet. Pretending he's studying the slight remains of the stain is probably enough of an excuse to keep squatting here on her level, because there's something he finds much more interesting to talk with her about than hearing about his fairytale princess equivalent.
Not that he expects to hear much from Minji, but if he tries wriggling things out of her enough, maybe one day he actually will. ]
Is it that weird to you to have someone help you for once?
[ Not that Minji has no one who helps her.. he's noticed her trying to make some boys into her lackeys. Him being one of them, technically, but at least he's aware of the stuff she does. He's seen that one particularly airheaded boy who asked him about French painters before trot after Minji like some sort of puppy, chatting with her or carrying her books.
But people voluntarily helping out Minji that aren't.. well, less than averagely intelligent? He hasn't seen that happen much. Everyone in the school knows her reputation, after all, and Sinjoon is pretty sure most people (with common sense, he'd say, if it wouldn't mean that he'd be insulting himself) would steer far away from being anywhere near someone who spreads semi- and just plain malicious gossip at the speed of light. ]
[ The best way of getting Minji to stop is to let her think that what she's saying doesn't bother you. Most of the fun of rumors is to get a rise out of the person the rumors are about. She doesn't spread them because she's got some burning need to ruin the lives of her classmates, but she does like watching people get worked up over silly things. She's not as attention needy as her brother is, but she still likes having some focus on her. Even if that focus is negative.
Some is a little more negative than others, and while Sinjoon probably didn't mean anything hurtful with his question it digs at Minji in a way that insults hurled her way never do. She doesn't mind people directly calling her awful. She's been called a bitch, a brat, a horrible two-faced shrew, and all sorts of other things. She's even had people tell her directly that everyone in school hates her. But they said it in such a shrill, screeching voice, and it came from such a place of anger all it did was make Minji laugh at them.
... At the time. She let it hurt her later when she was home and safe in her room. She'd pressed her face into her pillow to muffle any sniffling sounds that came from her.
This one sort of stings immediately, but Minji does her best to ward it off. Literally holding her head up as high as she can as she snatches her hand back to her side, and stands up abruptly. ]
No, because people help me all the time. Just because you don't know how to help people out doesn't mean everyone is like that.
[ Her tone is more clipped and agitated than she wanted it to be. It's obvious that she's annoyed with him for his question, and now she's even more annoyed. How dare Lee Sinjoon make her show a sign of weakness! Who the hell does he think he is?!
She spins on her heel so she doesn't have to look at him anymore, and stomps over to the trashcan to throw the paper towel away. ]
[ Honestly, he should be used to getting these kind of reactions from Minji at times - she can be prickly when it comes to certain things, after all. But he didn't expect a reaction this stinged to what he was saying, and he surpresses a sigh before it would have slipped out.
Are all girls this prickly or is Minji just a special case? Even though Sinjoon sure asks himself that a lot, it's more likely that the answer is in the middle - his less-than-subtle way of talking about things is a little too good at bringing it out, after all, but there's no doubt that Minji isn't exactly like most girls in the school here. If she was, then he wouldn't have invited her over multiple times to this art room already to hang out with her, after all. ]
Right.
[ After dropping a small pauze with that internal sigh, he just answers plainly - almost as if Minji's agitation doesn't bother him. Because it doesn't.. or, well, it doesn't bother him as much as it might with other people. Sinjoon's a little better at taking these sort of things and even letting insults fly over his head like they can't even reach him. It sure makes all of this a lot easier.
He finally gets onto his feet again, rising back to full height. ]
I'm just that kind of particularly unhelpful person. [ He says, as he still would let her regularly boss him around.. but everything Sinjoon says is dry anyway, this included. He doesn't know if this will soothe or make it worse, but he's not sure what being upfront would do either out of those two, so it's easier to fall back on what he's usually like. ]
Are you going to say I have to make it up to you now?
[ The funny thing is that Minji likes to think of herself as less prickly than most people. It's true sometimes, but only because Minji presses down a lot of her bad feelings and opts to act like an obnoxious asshole instead of showing that things bother her most of the time. Never let them see you sweat! Because if you show how much something hurts you then people can use that against you...
It's bad enough she let Sinjoon's comment get under her skin enough that she made a snippy remark like that without smiling. If she'd just grinned and acted like she was making fun of him then he wouldn't even know that she'd been upset at all about the comment.
Too late for that regret now, though Minji does try to recover by pursing her lips, and turning back around slowly, trying her best to look completely disinterested in him and this conversation. ]
You just admitted how unhelpful you are.
[ She walks over and reaches up to roughly (read: aggressively) pat him on the shoulder. ]
You admitted it yourself. Is there any reason to expect anything from an unhelpful person in the first place?
[ She shakes her head, exaggerating the movement. ]
I won't ever get my tasks done that way. I need reliable lackeys.
[ Sinjoon can't help but think of how some people might have blown up at the situation already - or at Minji in general and the way she's so easily obnoxious, especially when it comes to easily insulting people. Then again, to say Sinjoon's patience is a blessing per se might be going a little too far, considering just about anyone who would see him interacting with the girl on a regular basis might just determine he's a doormat.
He can't really fully deny that claim anyway, even if he might try.
After all, he's still standing there even as she's patting (read: slapping, basically) him on the shoulder in a way that, if she were a guy, might have just knocked him over. Rather than, you know, backing away or something. Stuff a sane person might do in a situation like this one, instead of standing there and enduring it for no good reason. ]
Am I being discarded this easily?
[ He's being dry as usually, yes, but it's also since the idea doesn't bother him as much yet as it might later on.. not that he'd be perfectly happy about it either. As much as Sinjoon might dryly poke fun at Minji for not having a whole lot of friends, it's not as if he doesn't know the same doesn't count for him.. and for better or worse, he does like spending time with Minji.
(Maybe he's just a masochist. It would explain a whole lot of things, he can't help but think.) ]
[ In Minji's very important (in fact the most important!) opinion she's the one that's been insulted here! Sinjoon just said that no one wants to help her, he implied lots of things with that comment too! Or maybe that's just Minji's own insecurities reading between the lines, even though there's no text there to read in the first place.
But when you're a vicious little terror you've got to be on the defensive all the time, because most of the time when people make sharp remarks like that they mean to actually wound her. Considering the number of remarks she tosses out at other people though she probably deserves the taste of her own medicine.
But it tastes bitter, and she kind of hates it.
She sniffs lightly, and gives Sinjoon one last pat before sharply spinning away from him and pacing a few feet to the side, looking for something to study in the art room for awhile so she can pretend she's nonchalantly fascinated with that and continues to be bored with Sinjoon. ]
I'll forgive you this one time, but you'd better watch yourself, Sinjoon-ah. Even my generous patience has an end!
[ She glances over her shoulder at him, and tries to look haughty, but mostly she just looks like she's pouting. ]
[ No matter the fact that Minji might really deserve that with the kind of stuff she says, Sinjoon can't help but feel a little bad all the same as he watches her walking around the art room and pouting now. It feels a little like kicking a puppy - a particularly rude puppy, but a puppy all the same. It's not like he ever really means or meant to hurt Minji, it's just that being deadpan is a way of living for him and usually people he comes in contact with (... okay, just his best friend) kind of gloss over it. So seeing someone he actually is decently okay with having this reaction to it feels bad.
.. but directly saying anything about it feels weird too. He can't just.. stop deadpanning like that, you know? It's not how it works. So while Minji is trying to walk off the awkward and slight hurt, Sinjoon decides to do the same by staring at his canvas. Not that it makes him look like he isn't an idiot, considering he's staring at something that's entirely blank, but he figures he could probably pass it off as some artistic thing. Only real artists would understand it. Yeah. Obviously.
Except it only works for so long, and after a moment or two he lets out a breath, glancing in the direction Minji is wandering off in into the big room. ]
Minji... I'm sorry, alright? [ He figures that maybe she might have caught something like that already through what he said before, since she is saying she'll forgive him - even if it's in an exaggerated half-haughty, half-pouty sort of way. But he figures it's better to say it directly since not everyone can read between his deadpan lines so easily. ] I mean it.
[ When a puppy purposely pisses all over your things in revenge it's a little hard for most people to feel that bad about kicking it. The fact that Sinjoon can still feel bad about hurting her feelings really goes to show the kind of person he is. For as deadpan as he can be he's not a bad guy.
It doesn't mean that Minji is ready to fully forgive him for the slight. She's a prideful little creature, and easily offended. Part of that includes having her hurt pride pointed out. She's not being subtle about it, and she knows she's not being subtle either, but this feels weirdly uncomfortable for her.
She's used to people who will steamroll over her feelings when she is genuinely upset. As much as she loves her brother he's an emotional brick, and he never takes her pouting seriously. The same goes for his best friend. ... Actually, most of the people in Minji's life don't seem to care much about when they hurt her feelings. The exception is Areum who backs off it immediately.
She turns away from Sinjoon now as she picks up someone's half finished lump of clay that it looks like they gave up on. It's ugly, and she wants to break it a little bit, but instead Minji places in gently back down on the table. ]
You're going to hit the end of it soon if you keep talking like that.
[ She forces a singsong quality into the tone of her voice, and it only works because her face is hidden, so Sinjoon can't see her brows knitted together, and the small frown on her face. ]
[ Seriously... If he doesn't apologize he's a jerk, but even if he does apologize, she's still going to act like this? Often it feels like there's no winning when it comes to Minji - she likes pushing for what she wants way too much, huh? And it's not exactly like Sinjoon likes giving into it, but in some situations there's just no other choice. Even if he'd push something here, he doubts she would give in, and it'd just end up wasting more of his energy for nothing.
... Not to mention there are just way too many things in this room that she could throw at his head. And Sinjoon really doesn't feel like sitting at home with a concussion for two weeks just over this. And even if he'd dodge he would have to explain to some poor first year student as to why their sculpture was the victim of a horrific incident overnight.
So he just shuts up like an obedient puppy (not a very content one, though) and sits down near his canvas, letting out a small sigh as he stares at it. All he wanted today was to just get a little bit of painting done, but apparently the world won't even let him have that.
He glances back over to Minji - only slightly and cautiously - trying to figure out what she's thinking. Is it just that she doesn't want to talk about this? Or will she get mad if he starts about something else? Or will she get mad if he just keeps quiet and ignores her altogether?!
What is it about girls that makes them so completely not understandable? Even his best friend makes more sense than girls' emotions, and that's saying a lot considering he's a professional burglar in the making.
He has to decide on something though, and after a moment or two he speaks up again. ]
Let's just get to painting then.
[ At least it's the option where he doesn't feel like this whole afternoon was a waste of his time. And where he feels like she won't be mad at him in a way that's justified, at least. He's doing what she asked, right? ]
[ There's no winning in this case, not when the damage is already done. People can apologize, but apologies don't make the hurt go away in the first place! Then again, what Minji is upset about right now is small enough that she should be able to put it past her easily. She's a surprisingly sensitive girl despite how she acts and carries herself.
She's not all that hard to figure out, really. Minji probably likes to think of herself as a more mysterious creature than she actually is, and some small part of her would be pleased that Sinjoon is struggling to figure her thoughts out right now. Most of Minji would still be angry that Sinjoon managed to make her feel bad though.
She'll get over her grudge eventually, but she doesn't let go of things super easily, so he better settle into the idea of her being a little bitter for the rest of this painting session. Though Minji does manage a skip as she goes to drag a stool into a more central position in the room. ]
Fine!
[ But she does still try to sound terse when she replies to him, holding her chin up high for a brief moment, before she has to crawl onto the stool, and ruins the haughty image in seconds.
No one looks graceful and above it all when they're trying to get up on a stool that's just a little too tall for them. ]
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mysteries2015-12-19 11:47 pm
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And so this afternoon, rather than studying in the school library like most students, he finds himself inviting Minji over to the art room to continue working on the painting he started on during their last session. Sure, the midterms crunch is coming up and all, but he finds this more relaxing than anything else. No use getting worked up, it'd only be worse for his grades in the low run.
Most people, however, would rank being stuck in the same room (or classroom, same difference) as Minji the kind of thing that would exactly get someone worked up. Thankfully it's one problem that Sinjoon doesn't suffer from. Even though she's already rambling about something, he's just calmly getting his things out of the storage, preparing himself to continue working on the piece.
.. this, however, means that he's not paying attention to what the girl is saying at all for a few moments though, and if she just asked him a question, he definitely just entirely missed that and isn't answering. ]
no subject
Even her oppa has seemed to go missing on her lately. It's boring. Nothing happening, everyone too busy with their nose in books. So when Sinjoon asks her to model for him? She's all over it. It's actually pretty boring too, she's never liked sitting still for long, and modeling involves a lot of sitting still for long periods of time. Still, she started with this this might as well finish this!
Or maybe right now she just doesn't want to be alone, and even though Sinjoon doesn't pay a lot of attention to what she has to say, he's still company.
Annoying company right now though.
She lets out a small huff of air as Sinjoon rummages around his paints, and decides to change up the conversation a little. ]
So anyway that's how my brother got pregnant.
[ A beat. ]
You're probably the father.
[ Head tilt to get a better look at his face and make sure he's not paying attention to her. ]
I'm really excited to be able to call you brother-in-law soon. Please take good care of me and buy me lots of things. Yeah?
[ Frustrating. ]
Yah! Lee Sinjoon!
[ ... A deep breath... ]
YAH!
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But he genuinely has no idea what she's going on about. He just keeps rummaging through his stuff, having put up his canvas, trying to pick out which paint he needs to use to continue it-- except then Minji yells. And when she takes a deep breath and yells, it's very much noticable. Despite Sinjoon's usual fairly zen attitude outwardly, it's not like that doesn't startle him. Hell, that "yah" could probably have made some dead rise from their graves.
So one of the tubes of paint slips out of his hands, straight onto the floor, forming a sad little black spot like a miniature oil spill. It's not like he minds cleaning that up, but he does pay for these stupidly expensive kinds of paint himself to be able to paint better than with cheap school paint, and there just went at least a week's worth of part-time work..
Anyone with half a sane mind would just give up by now on Minji, probably, but after a moment of staring at the sad spill, he finally glances towards the girl. (Half a sane mind is debatable here. Maybe.) ]
You're ruining ecosystems. [ Yes, the very delicate ecosystem of their.. school's floor...
Grabbing a paper towel to get the worst of it off the floor, Minji seems to at least have accomplished her goal - she has his attention, although it's slightly dry as ever. And calm. As in, no one should ever be that calm after someone ruined something they paid money for. ]
What was so important that you needed my attention so badly?
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She might feel a little worse if she knew how much he paid for those, but not that bad. While she's not actually her brother in all his self-centeredness, she's still pretty self-centered. After a little twinge of guilt she'd be busy questioning him why he even needed paint that expensive anyway! He can just get cheaper stuff, it all works the same.
But not knowing this, she doesn't think to hassle him about it. Instead she'll be skipping over and tugging at the paper towel in his hand. ]
Everything I say is important. If you were paying any attention you would have known that.
[ Tugging on it a little harder. ]
Let me do it.
[ It's not an apology as much as a reward for actually giving her the attention she was looking for in the first place. Good boy, you gave her what she wants, she won't make you clean up after her. ]
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.. Oh, well. Isn't that why he sticks around her? She's interesting and not annoying. (Not too annoying, anyway, considering Sinjoon's deadpan ups his tolerance for a lot of bullshit quite a bit.)
So he releases his grip on the paper towel, practically giving her it that way as he stands up, dusting off his pants by patting down his legs. ]
I can't wait for the next amazing story then. [ Dry.. ly....
Not like it's entirely sarcastic though, sometimes Minji's stories are oddly amusing, even if he assumes most of them are wildly exaggerated. The processes in her head, man. If he'll fully understand them one day, he'll be surprised.
Walking over to his canvas, he stares at the paint he did manage to get out here safely before that incident just now. ]
.. I'm out of dark colors now. [ Thanks to a certain person!! But he doesn't nearly sound that bitter about it, Sinjoon can shrug off smaller things. He doesn't even feel the need to hold how expensive that paint was over her head. Not really. ] Guess you'll have to be a blonde in this now.
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If anything she'd be surprised anyone was bothering to waste that much money to paint her face in the first place. She likes her face well enough, but she's not under some sort of delusion that her face is ever going to becoming a famous masterpiece. She's got an ego, but she's not her brother, she's at least got a somewhat realistic understanding of her own importance.
Humming to herself as she kneels on the floor mopping up the paint, she wrinkles her nose when she realizes she'll need more paper towels than the one that Sinjoon gave her. She was hoping this would be easy and fast. Boo that it isn't. Boo even more that she can't back out of it without looking more flippant than she actually wants to come across as.
Scrubbing at the floor more aggressively she responds as genuine sounding as she can manage, despite Sinjoon's dry answer. ]
You should, all my stories are great.
[ Finally giving up on this paper town she stands up and straightens out her skirt, looking around for the sink so she can wet the next paper towel. Maybe that'll help get the stain up faster.
She sounds a little distracted as she responds to the other comment. ]
I always thought I'd look cute as a blonde.
[ And suddenly Minji wheels around to face Sinjoon, giving him what's meant to be a coy wink, but just looks like a cartoonish exaggeration. ]
Right?
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But even so, this is exactly why he started these painting sessions with her to begin with. Because despite Minji probably being on the list of official school terrors by now, she's interesting. She goes from having a weird kind of satisfaction over the fact she managed to make him drop his paint to actually putting effort into cleaning it. Sure, sometimes her reactions to things are entirely predictable, but there's also a lot of times she actually throws him off more than Sinjoon is letting on to. It makes him want to get to know more about her, even if some people might call him a moron (or even a masochist) for hanging out with her like this.
He only properly turns to look at her when she's making her way over to the sink. Thankfully in time for when she looks at him again, considering he's not too sure yet if he wants to be caught staring at her. Not just yet, anyway. It's Minji, so a huge interrogation as to why he was staring would probably follow, and she'd make up at least five rumors about that which are wild exaggerations of whatever answers he might give. ]
You normally already look cute.
[ .. then again, he doesn't really help himself when he gives answers like those.. it sounds just as dry as the things he usually says, but this one is actually genuine. Minji does look cute, okay. He might not be chasing girls all over the place, but there's nothing wrong with his eyes.
Picking up a thin brush, he idly taps the end of it against the hand that's not holding it. ]
Part of that is ruined when you open your mouth though. [ Also.. kind of genuine, but this is definitely meant to be more dry. Because he has to balance out nice statements with dry ones so he can keep up a status as the lonely broody artist guy instead of a guy who thinks the worst gossip queen in the school is actually kind of cute in her own way. ]
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Except it's not actually simple at all. She has a sizable enough ego, but she's also full of tons of self doubt. It's a pretty normal human trait, but the way Minji expresses it is a little different. She swings so wildly into the loud, self-aggrandizing side of things that it's hard to tell she ever had doubts in the first place, which is really the whole point of it to begin with. That doesn't mean she's a terrible person though. Or... well, she's not a completely terrible person.
She's still an obnoxious little shithead, and does a lot of things for her own amusement, but she's capable of caring about other people. She's not as self centered as her twin brother (but she is pretty self centered), and she's capable of realizing her own actions were shitty and feeling bad enough to do something small to make up for them.
The coy look drops into a tight lipped pout as Sinjoon makes his first comment. It's a compliment, and an honest statement, but the way he says things always makes her feel like he's probably making fun of her. The fact that his tone is so dry has to mean that he's bullshitting her, right? ... Probably.
The second comment actually relaxes her though, making her snort in agitation as she shoves the paper towels in her hand under the sink. ]
Talking is part of my charm. It's not my fault you have no tastes.
[ Wringing out the paper towels a bit and prancing back over to the paint stain. [
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Don't get him wrong, being dry and deadpan is kind of his thing. He's usually that guy around who points out the painful things no one else wants to say without even doing so much as batting an eyelash. But there's something about being around Minji that makes him at least draw a line in the sand for him somewhere - to there it's fine, and not further than that. Maybe it's that he figures Minji already gets that kind of stuff slung at her head often enough, why does he need to add to it when it honestly doesn't even really bother him to be around her?
.. well, not a lot, anyway. He's no masochist.
For a moment he watches the girl go back to her self-imposed floor scrubbing task, but even with new towels there seems to be only so much she can do.. which is true, since paint just is like that when it gets into stuff, but at least Sinjoon is a little more used to accidents like these and having to clean them up.
So he saunters back to her, kneeling down on the ground as well and grabbing her hand - not too hard, but enough so his hand is on top of hers, guiding the scrubbing. ]
Here, it's easier if you do it like this.
[ It'd be a moment straight out of a sappy shoujo manga if it wasn't for the fact that Sinjoon's tone is just about the flattest in the entire world. It's hard for shoujo bubbles to pop up when half of the people involved in the situation seem to outwardly have the emotional depth of a pet rock. At least he doesn't seem embarrassed in the slightest to be sort of holding her hand. ]
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She's human and can be hurt, but no one said that Minji wasn't selfish.
It's also true that she's a little terror and brings a lot of the hurtful comments made towards her on herself. If she wasn't so ready to spread rumors at the drop of a hate then maybe people wouldn't insult her so often. And if she wasn't so ready to insult other people? Maybe that'd save her some hurt as well.
This is all a preface to the fact that Sinjoon's flat tone isn't the only thing that ruins the shoujo moment. Minji has a hand in it too as she looks up at him, eyes wide as she says-- ]
Wow, Sinjoon. I never knew you were such a modern day Cinderella. One day you're going to make a lucky man very happy.
[ It's hard to tell if she's being serious or not. Her tone doesn't sound sarcastic, so... maybe. Though that may actually make it worse. ]
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[ It's said.. well, not defensively quickly after what she's saying, but it still comes out as a pretty natural reaction to that, his tone as flat as ever and his gaze turned down at the scrubbing they're doing rather than looking back at Minji. Because it's true, he isn't gay. And he knows Minji will probably try to spread that as a rumor anyway because of what she is, but Sinjoon has already figured at this point that the only thing you even can try to do when it comes to Minji is deny it in a way that doesn't make it seem like you'd be overly embarrassed if it were spread all over.
Not to say that it wouldn't be annoying all the same if the whole school thought he was gay.. but well, he'd brush it off. It's not like he has a whole lot of friends here anyway, so what does he have to lose?
Once the stain has been mostly removed, he lifts his hand again, although he doesn't fully stand up back to beanpole heights just yet. Pretending he's studying the slight remains of the stain is probably enough of an excuse to keep squatting here on her level, because there's something he finds much more interesting to talk with her about than hearing about his fairytale princess equivalent.
Not that he expects to hear much from Minji, but if he tries wriggling things out of her enough, maybe one day he actually will. ]
Is it that weird to you to have someone help you for once?
[ Not that Minji has no one who helps her.. he's noticed her trying to make some boys into her lackeys. Him being one of them, technically, but at least he's aware of the stuff she does. He's seen that one particularly airheaded boy who asked him about French painters before trot after Minji like some sort of puppy, chatting with her or carrying her books.
But people voluntarily helping out Minji that aren't.. well, less than averagely intelligent? He hasn't seen that happen much. Everyone in the school knows her reputation, after all, and Sinjoon is pretty sure most people (with common sense, he'd say, if it wouldn't mean that he'd be insulting himself) would steer far away from being anywhere near someone who spreads semi- and just plain malicious gossip at the speed of light. ]
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Some is a little more negative than others, and while Sinjoon probably didn't mean anything hurtful with his question it digs at Minji in a way that insults hurled her way never do. She doesn't mind people directly calling her awful. She's been called a bitch, a brat, a horrible two-faced shrew, and all sorts of other things. She's even had people tell her directly that everyone in school hates her. But they said it in such a shrill, screeching voice, and it came from such a place of anger all it did was make Minji laugh at them.
... At the time. She let it hurt her later when she was home and safe in her room. She'd pressed her face into her pillow to muffle any sniffling sounds that came from her.
This one sort of stings immediately, but Minji does her best to ward it off. Literally holding her head up as high as she can as she snatches her hand back to her side, and stands up abruptly. ]
No, because people help me all the time. Just because you don't know how to help people out doesn't mean everyone is like that.
[ Her tone is more clipped and agitated than she wanted it to be. It's obvious that she's annoyed with him for his question, and now she's even more annoyed. How dare Lee Sinjoon make her show a sign of weakness! Who the hell does he think he is?!
She spins on her heel so she doesn't have to look at him anymore, and stomps over to the trashcan to throw the paper towel away. ]
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Are all girls this prickly or is Minji just a special case? Even though Sinjoon sure asks himself that a lot, it's more likely that the answer is in the middle - his less-than-subtle way of talking about things is a little too good at bringing it out, after all, but there's no doubt that Minji isn't exactly like most girls in the school here. If she was, then he wouldn't have invited her over multiple times to this art room already to hang out with her, after all. ]
Right.
[ After dropping a small pauze with that internal sigh, he just answers plainly - almost as if Minji's agitation doesn't bother him. Because it doesn't.. or, well, it doesn't bother him as much as it might with other people. Sinjoon's a little better at taking these sort of things and even letting insults fly over his head like they can't even reach him. It sure makes all of this a lot easier.
He finally gets onto his feet again, rising back to full height. ]
I'm just that kind of particularly unhelpful person. [ He says, as he still would let her regularly boss him around.. but everything Sinjoon says is dry anyway, this included. He doesn't know if this will soothe or make it worse, but he's not sure what being upfront would do either out of those two, so it's easier to fall back on what he's usually like. ]
Are you going to say I have to make it up to you now?
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It's bad enough she let Sinjoon's comment get under her skin enough that she made a snippy remark like that without smiling. If she'd just grinned and acted like she was making fun of him then he wouldn't even know that she'd been upset at all about the comment.
Too late for that regret now, though Minji does try to recover by pursing her lips, and turning back around slowly, trying her best to look completely disinterested in him and this conversation. ]
You just admitted how unhelpful you are.
[ She walks over and reaches up to roughly (read: aggressively) pat him on the shoulder. ]
You admitted it yourself. Is there any reason to expect anything from an unhelpful person in the first place?
[ She shakes her head, exaggerating the movement. ]
I won't ever get my tasks done that way. I need reliable lackeys.
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He can't really fully deny that claim anyway, even if he might try.
After all, he's still standing there even as she's patting (read: slapping, basically) him on the shoulder in a way that, if she were a guy, might have just knocked him over. Rather than, you know, backing away or something. Stuff a sane person might do in a situation like this one, instead of standing there and enduring it for no good reason. ]
Am I being discarded this easily?
[ He's being dry as usually, yes, but it's also since the idea doesn't bother him as much yet as it might later on.. not that he'd be perfectly happy about it either. As much as Sinjoon might dryly poke fun at Minji for not having a whole lot of friends, it's not as if he doesn't know the same doesn't count for him.. and for better or worse, he does like spending time with Minji.
(Maybe he's just a masochist. It would explain a whole lot of things, he can't help but think.) ]
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But when you're a vicious little terror you've got to be on the defensive all the time, because most of the time when people make sharp remarks like that they mean to actually wound her. Considering the number of remarks she tosses out at other people though she probably deserves the taste of her own medicine.
But it tastes bitter, and she kind of hates it.
She sniffs lightly, and gives Sinjoon one last pat before sharply spinning away from him and pacing a few feet to the side, looking for something to study in the art room for awhile so she can pretend she's nonchalantly fascinated with that and continues to be bored with Sinjoon. ]
I'll forgive you this one time, but you'd better watch yourself, Sinjoon-ah. Even my generous patience has an end!
[ She glances over her shoulder at him, and tries to look haughty, but mostly she just looks like she's pouting. ]
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.. but directly saying anything about it feels weird too. He can't just.. stop deadpanning like that, you know? It's not how it works. So while Minji is trying to walk off the awkward and slight hurt, Sinjoon decides to do the same by staring at his canvas. Not that it makes him look like he isn't an idiot, considering he's staring at something that's entirely blank, but he figures he could probably pass it off as some artistic thing. Only real artists would understand it. Yeah. Obviously.
Except it only works for so long, and after a moment or two he lets out a breath, glancing in the direction Minji is wandering off in into the big room. ]
Minji... I'm sorry, alright? [ He figures that maybe she might have caught something like that already through what he said before, since she is saying she'll forgive him - even if it's in an exaggerated half-haughty, half-pouty sort of way. But he figures it's better to say it directly since not everyone can read between his deadpan lines so easily. ] I mean it.
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It doesn't mean that Minji is ready to fully forgive him for the slight. She's a prideful little creature, and easily offended. Part of that includes having her hurt pride pointed out. She's not being subtle about it, and she knows she's not being subtle either, but this feels weirdly uncomfortable for her.
She's used to people who will steamroll over her feelings when she is genuinely upset. As much as she loves her brother he's an emotional brick, and he never takes her pouting seriously. The same goes for his best friend. ... Actually, most of the people in Minji's life don't seem to care much about when they hurt her feelings. The exception is Areum who backs off it immediately.
She turns away from Sinjoon now as she picks up someone's half finished lump of clay that it looks like they gave up on. It's ugly, and she wants to break it a little bit, but instead Minji places in gently back down on the table. ]
You're going to hit the end of it soon if you keep talking like that.
[ She forces a singsong quality into the tone of her voice, and it only works because her face is hidden, so Sinjoon can't see her brows knitted together, and the small frown on her face. ]
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... Not to mention there are just way too many things in this room that she could throw at his head. And Sinjoon really doesn't feel like sitting at home with a concussion for two weeks just over this. And even if he'd dodge he would have to explain to some poor first year student as to why their sculpture was the victim of a horrific incident overnight.
So he just shuts up like an obedient puppy (not a very content one, though) and sits down near his canvas, letting out a small sigh as he stares at it. All he wanted today was to just get a little bit of painting done, but apparently the world won't even let him have that.
He glances back over to Minji - only slightly and cautiously - trying to figure out what she's thinking. Is it just that she doesn't want to talk about this? Or will she get mad if he starts about something else? Or will she get mad if he just keeps quiet and ignores her altogether?!
What is it about girls that makes them so completely not understandable? Even his best friend makes more sense than girls' emotions, and that's saying a lot considering he's a professional burglar in the making.
He has to decide on something though, and after a moment or two he speaks up again. ]
Let's just get to painting then.
[ At least it's the option where he doesn't feel like this whole afternoon was a waste of his time. And where he feels like she won't be mad at him in a way that's justified, at least. He's doing what she asked, right? ]
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She's not all that hard to figure out, really. Minji probably likes to think of herself as a more mysterious creature than she actually is, and some small part of her would be pleased that Sinjoon is struggling to figure her thoughts out right now. Most of Minji would still be angry that Sinjoon managed to make her feel bad though.
She'll get over her grudge eventually, but she doesn't let go of things super easily, so he better settle into the idea of her being a little bitter for the rest of this painting session. Though Minji does manage a skip as she goes to drag a stool into a more central position in the room. ]
Fine!
[ But she does still try to sound terse when she replies to him, holding her chin up high for a brief moment, before she has to crawl onto the stool, and ruins the haughty image in seconds.
No one looks graceful and above it all when they're trying to get up on a stool that's just a little too tall for them. ]