The rest of the lunch break was uneventful.
Just like that, the clock continuously ticked and the final bell rang, signifying the end of school.
Gwen, MJ, Peter and Seol Hwa walked together to the school's exit.
Peter had his hands pocketed, a thoughtful look on his face as he quietly walked beside MJ.
Gwen was talking with MJ like she had become her personal therapist.
As for Seol Hwa… well, she was just being Seol Hwa.
She looked like the odd one out in the group due to her unique disposition.
The group had already decided they were going to Seol Hwa's house.
Seol Hwa didn't refuse. After all, she felt more comfortable in her home.
Just as the group was about to hit the streets, another group of three seemed to be waiting at the entrance.
It was Kitty, Scott and Jean.
Scott had an impatient look hidden fairly by his glasses.
His jaw had been tightening with each passing second.
He didn't like the idea of Jean waiting on anyone when she already had him and Kitty.
Who could be that important to warrant her attention?
The first person Scott had thought of could only be that transfer student.
'What's so special about her, Jean?' Scott thought in distress.
Even if the other party was a girl, Scott Summers felt his competitive spirit had been roused.
The transfer student, whatever her name was, had been hogging all of the moments he was supposed to be having with Jean.
He felt that there was simply no space for anyone in their lives as mutants.
Seol Hwa had the possibility of jeopardizing that.
While Scott was anti-Seol Hwa, Kitty was the complete opposite.
Kitty looked at the approaching group of four and then glanced at Jean whose body was like a statue.
Jean's eyes held this slightly intense gaze in addition to the anticipation.
'This isn't like her unless…' Kitty pondered as she tried to remember how Jean had been during the past few days ever since Seol Hwa arrived at Midtown High.
Jean had subtly changed. She had seemed more distracted. More emotional.
Kitty wasn't stupid. She had pretended to be oblivious to one occurrence when Jean had talked back to Professor Xavier.
But if enough occurrences were stacked together, it was quite easy to reach a rudimentary conclusion.
'I totally get it, Jean. But I didn't expect it,' Kitty thought, her eyes subtly sparkling with enlightenment.
'Even if you're suddenly into girls, I'll still support you.'
She looked to her side, pity baked into her expression. 'Poor Scott. You dilly-dallied a lot and now…'
Kitty sighed. She was going to ask Jean later.
Jean suddenly stepped toward the four, her eyes fixed on one particular woman. All the others didn't matter.
MJ, Gwen and Peter had surprised looks as they slowly halted.
They hadn't expected one of the school flowers, Jean Grey, to walk towards them.
Each one of them hadn't shared more than a word or two with her.
Since they barely knew her, they wondered what business Jean Grey had with them.
"Hello," Jean Grey casually greeted them, briefly looking at Gwen, MJ and Peter.
They replied except for Seol Hwa who was closely observing Jean.
"Hi," Jean said, beautifully smiling at Seol Hwa.
She could feel her heart thumping furiously against her chest.
She didn't overthink where she got the false bravado from.
"Hi," Seol Hwa calmly replied.
Jean then stared at the trio, her eyes communicating that she needed some space. "Can you give me a sec, please?"
"O-Oh, a sec. Yeah, totally. She's all yours," Peter quickly said, earning a glare from Gwen.
Gwen sneakily pinched Peter's back as they began walking ahead.
"Gwen! Ouch! Ouch! What did I do?!" Peter cried out, distancing himself from Gwen.
MJ lightly chuckled at the antics between the two.
Of course, she knew why Gwen pinched poor Peter Parker.
"Gwen, stop the domestic violence. You're acting like a jealous wife," MJ mediated while suppressing a smile.
"Hmph." Gwen stopped her actions, leaving Peter with a wronged expression.
Gwen then looked at her fingers.
They were slightly reddened from just a bit of pinching.
A visible frown formed on her face.
"You really have a thick skin, Pete," she muttered, momentarily looking behind at the two gorgeous women.
Peter helplessly shrugged.
'I was bitten by a spider, duh,' he scoffed inwardly.
MJ laughed, feeling slight respite from her heartache.
"How do Jean and Seol Hwa know each other anyway?" Peter asked rhetorically.
"You'll have to ask her yourself. Do you dare?" MJ countered with a foxy grin.
Peter awkwardly smiled. Of course, he wouldn't dare.
Gwen crossed her arms, an imperceptible frown on her face as she stole another glance at Jean and Seol Hwa.
'How do they know each other? Damn!' she thought in irritation.
Meanwhile, Jean was contemplating what to say now that she was alone with Seol Hwa.
"Um, I… how was your weekend?" Jean stuttered a bit.
"It was nice." Seol Hwa faintly smiled.
"Oh, good. Um…" Jean bit her lip, anxiously wrapping her arms around herself.
"Did you stop me to ask about my weekend?" Seol Hwa questioned in a humorous tone.
"N-No, no, yes… actually it was just one of the things I wanted to talk to you about," Jean replied before letting her arms drop to her sides.
"I… I wanted to thank you for your advice. It was really helpful even though it was very difficult," she continued, her cheeks colored with embarrassment.
"That's just the first step. Meditation isn't as simple as you think," Seol Hwa said.
"First step?" Jean asked, a skeptical look on her face.
"You don't have to know. Just concentrate on what you do," Seol Hwa answered dismissively.
"O-Okay. So… how do you usually meditate? Any tips?" Jean inquired, hoping to get some guidance.
Seeing the curiosity in Jean's eyes, Seol Hwa sighed.
'Why does it feel like we're having a master-disciple conversation?' she amusedly thought.
"Focus on what makes you calm. The thing that blurs out the chaos in oneself. When you find the object or… subject of your focus, you'll know how to meditate properly," Seol Hwa mildly advised, thinking it wasn't bad to guide the younger generation.
"Focus," Jean murmured with an absentminded expression.
"Alright, if you don't have further questions, then I'll go," Seol Hwa said with finality as she started walking.
Before Jean could reason with herself, she shot out her hand and grasped Seol Hwa's wrist. "Wait!"
Seol Hwa's skin was so soft that Jean didn't want to let go. She was surprisingly warm unlike the cold indifference that sometimes oozes from her exquisite eyes.
It felt like she was holding not a mortal hand but a divine vessel.
Seol Hwa arched her brows.
"What do you think you're doing?" she calmly asked, her dark amber eyes staring deeply into Jean's soul.
"I-I am sorry! I just acted without thinking. I'm sorry!" Jean hurriedly apologized, quickly retracting her hand.
"Can we, um, meet on the weekend?" she asked in a tentative voice, fiddling with her fingers.
'Jeaann! Why did you ask her out?!' she furiously scolded herself.
"No," Seol Hwa replied tersely and continued walking.
Jean froze, her face as white as paper.
That was the quickest and first rejection she had ever gotten in her entire life.
And it hurt like hell as if countless needles were piercing her heart simultaneously.
It was then that Seol Hwa's soft voice sounded in Jean's mind.
'Concentrate on your meditation first. When you master it, I'll think about it.'
Telepathy and hope. In one sentence.
That was all she needed for color to return to her face.
A small, genuine smile curved her lips.
'Don't go back on your word,' Jean said telepathically.
'The Heavenly Demon always keeps her word,' Seol Hwa replied.
"Heavenly demon?" Jean murmured but didn't linger on it.
What mattered was Seol Hwa's promise.
"Hehe." Jean let out a short, dark chuckle, tints of gold twinkling deep in her irises.
Seol Hwa secretly smiled to herself as she returned to her group.
~~~<>~~~
Yu_ner's Corner:
OOh-ooh... someone's going a little psycho.
You can read 20+ chapters on my p a treon: https://www.p a t r e o n.com/Yu_ner (remove the spaces)
Buy me coffee ko-fi/yunerr21.
Am also on tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/yunerr21