Requested by Mila.
Ha Yi-chan didn’t know when exactly you became his rival---only that every time you walked into the courtyard of the High school, something in him snapped to attention.
Maybe it was the way you always rolled your eyes when he bragged about his band. Maybe it was how you always seemed one step ahead of him in class. Maybe it was because your voice got more annoying, day by day. Or maybe it was because every time he tried to look cool, you somehow appeared at the worst possible moment.
From your side, Yi-chan just seemed… annoying. Loud. Dramatic. Too much. Always misunderstanding everything you said and then starting another petty argument. You’d walk past him, and he’d bump into you because he'd never look where he went.
And suddenly, you were bickering for ten minutes straight.
Again, again... and again.
And then there was Lee Eun-gyeol---the mysterious new kid who somehow became stuck between the two of you.
What neither of you knew was that Eun-gyeol was fighting for his life. Because your endless, stubborn rivalry? It was messing up the timeline.
A timeline where you and Yi-chan were supposed to fall in love.
A timeline where you two eventually became his parents.
So Eun-gyeol went to work like a desperate cupid.
He took your umbrellas, left one in common as an attempt to make you walk home together.
A very much failed attempt.
You stared at the umbrella like it had personally offended you both, then, in unison: "I'm not walking back with you."
The sky thundered, and eventually, you simply parted ways, both getting drenched, too stubborn, too proud.
Later, the two of you sneezed in perfect harmony. And Eun-gyeol considered screaming.
He dragged you to the band practice room, where Yi-chan was.
"He needs help with the song's words" Eun-gyeol announced.
"Could see that coming, last time he wrote a song the chorus repeated the word 'baby' seven times, real original" You scoffed.
"That's called emphasis!" He frowned from the other side of the room, barely raising his gaze to the two of you still standing in front of the door.
"That's called lack of vocabulary."
"I don't need help" Yi-chan said, looking back down at the guitar. "From you, especially."
You nodded, almost in agreement. "Good, I wasn't going to help you." You confirmed, turning around.
This time, Eun-gyeol genuinely wondered how bad it would hurt to rip his hair out.
It was almost as bad as the time you and Yi-chan's friends thought him and Eun-gyeol were gay.
The school held its talent-night, and Eun-gyeol asked the teacher to assign you and Yi-chan to setup the place.
Yi-chan kept grumbling under his breath words you couldn't catch, currently lifting a pile of plastic chairs he was going to bring outside. Maybe about the fact they were too heavy, maybe about the fact he had to be with you even when it was supposed to be a fun night.
He always had something to complain about, anyway. At least, that's what you thought.
You were into the same room, trying to get out the instruments, when suddently, a quiet crack, and some drums fell. Who even piles up things like that so badly?
Before you could widen your eyes, Yi-chan's head snapped to the side, he sprinted and wrapped an arm around you, shoving you to the side, getting hit on the back to cover you, but he'd say that was just on instinct, because he's a good person.
Nothing that had to do with you, anyway.
"Can't even do something as simple?" He murmured with a tone that would've usually made your blood boil, staring at the fallen drums on the floor like you had already caused worse trouble in the past and it wasn't a surprise.
But his arm was still around you.