✦ DEMOCRACY BUT MAKE IT MESSY ✦
004: student council meeting (written)
You knew this was a bad idea.
Not just the running part. Not just your name sitting there on that list like it belonged. But this, this whole situation. Sitting in a room you were never supposed to be in, surrounded by people who had probably planned this for months.
But your eyes wandered anyway just for a second and there he was. Sitting straight, hands folded neatly on the table, like he had done this a hundred times before. Like he belonged here.
Yang Jungwon had always been like that. The kind of person who made things look easy. Natural. Effortless in a way that didn’t feel forced.
The principal started talking.
Something about the election structure. Campaign week. Debates. Final voting.
You tried to listen. You really did.
But it all blurred together words stacking on top of each other, too formal, too serious for something you never signed up for in the first place.
Professionalism, as if any of this was normal. As if you weren’t sitting here because your friend thought it would be funny or “a good idea,” which, honestly, was worse.
You resisted the urge to sigh.
“We expect all candidates to represent the school appropriately.”
Not obvious. Not direct. But there.
Students had been talking all day. You heard it in the hallways, saw it in the way people glanced at you a second too long. Like you were something new. Something unexpected.
Something that didn’t fit.
His voice cut through your thoughts.
You hadn’t realized the room had gone quiet.
Quick. Certain. Like there was never any doubt.
Not long. Just enough to make it noticeable.
You said it a little later.
A little less convincing.
More rules. More expectations. Things you’d probably forget the second you walked out of the room.
Debate dates would be announced soon.
Campaign materials needed approval.
That one almost made you laugh again.
Chairs shifted. Papers moved. People stood.
Everything looked normal.
You stayed seated for a second longer.
He was already looking at you.
Jungwon noticed you the moment you walked in.
He told himself he wouldn’t just focus on the meeting, keep everything the same, don’t make it more complicated than it already was.
But then the door opened, and there you were.
You didn’t look like you wanted to be there.
Not nervous. Not excited. Just… out of place.
Like someone had put you in the wrong scene and expected you to play along anyway.
He frowned, just slightly.
He had seen your name on the list earlier.
He thought it was a mistake.
“i didn’t sign up for this btw”
He wasn’t sure what to make of that.
The meeting started, but it was harder than usual to focus.
Not because of the principal, he already knew most of what would be said. Campaign structure, expectations, rules. It was all familiar.
Not when the principal spoke. Not when the others nodded along. Not even when the room went quiet.
You just sat there, like you were waiting for it to end.
Jungwon tried not to look at you again.
You were listening. He could tell.
Even if you didn’t look like it.
There was something in the way you reacted small things. A slight shift when the word professionalism came up. The way your expression changed, just for a second, when rules about public behavior were mentioned.
You were paying attention.
Just not the way everyone else was.
He answered without thinking.
It came out steady. Natural.
Your voice came a second later.
Jungwon looked at you then.
that made him more aware of you than anyone else in the room.
The meeting continued, but it didn’t feel the same anymore.
Not as structured. Not as simple.
There was something different now.
When it finally ended, people started moving chairs, bags, quiet conversations.
Jungwon stayed where he was for a moment.
For a second, your eyes met his.
This wasn’t supposed to happen.
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a/n : posting chapter 5 in some minutes since this chapter is short !
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