Jimin and Sooyeon was walking side by side, towards the main gate of the school. The first day of exam was over, and there was still four days to go. The exam on the first day was language and literature, which was a piece of cake for Sooyeon. But it was atotal opposite for Jimin. He could barely remembered anything from what he had learn and memorize, and he just guessed most of the answers. So he was extremely worried. He knew he wouldn’t get a good grades for the earlier papers. But h just hope he didn’t fail. Sooyeon noticed his silence, and troubled expression.

“How was it? The exam?”

She finally voiced, uneasy with his silence.

Jimin turned to her, before letting out a deep sigh.

“I don’t know..”

Sooyeon studied his bothered expression, hoping she could do something to comfort him.

“Don’t worry about it too much. Just do your best in the upcoming papers.”

Her soothing voice uttering those encouraging words managed to ease him. He looked at her, eyes beaming, and his lips carving a smile, thankful.

“Okay.”

Just then, a distance voice calling for Sooyeon was scarcely heard. The both of them turned around at the voice, only to find it was Hyojin. She was trotting towards the both of them.

“You left this.”

She handed bundle of papers, which was Sooyeon’s literature notes. Sooyeon gaped in disbelief.

“Thank you so much.. How come I could forget this..”

She stated regretly as she took the notes.

“Aigoo~ You’re so careless..”

Jimin casually ruffled her hair. At at that time, Sooyeon could clearly saw the abrupt change on Hyojin’s face, even though she was trying hard to hide it. Sooyeon pulled her head away, avoiding his touch.

“You’re going home?”

Sooyeon asked Hyojin, who had her head hung low.

“No, I’m going to study at the library. Want to join?”

“No, it’s okay. We’re going home.”

Jimin replied without even giving Sooyeon the chance to think. Sooyeon was actually thinking of accepting Hyojin’s offer. He even swiftly put his arm over her shoulder. Sooyeon started to felt extremely  uneasy. She didn’t know what was on Hyojin’s mind at that time. Perhaps she was cursing at her, calling her a traitor, whatsoever. Perhaps she was really hurt, and was just holding back her tears. Thinking of that grew her uneasiness at its limit.

“Study well, Hyojin.”

Jimin smiled brightly at Hyojin after uttering those words. Those words might be short and insignificant, but it meant a lot for Hyojin that her eyes unknowingly beamed with joy. And Sooyeon noticed that. A painful sting pricked through her chest, and Sooyeon couldn’t really figure out what was the reason. Whether it was because the fact that Hyojin really liked Jimin, or it was because the guilt as she was literally betraying Hyojin.

“We’ll get going.”

Jimin said as he gently pulling Sooyeon twards the exit of the school, leaving Hyojin alone. Hyojin just stood still on her spot, staring their back figures. She couldn’t help but to envy Sooyeon for being able to be close with Jimin.

***

Jimin walked into her room, with a bundle of model question paper in his hand. He wanted to asked Sooyeon about a math problem that he failed to solve. The door was widely opened, and she was not inside. He paced down the stairs as his eyes scanned the living room and dining hall for her presence. But she was nowhere to be found, even in the kitchen. He then went outside to the lawn, and he spotted her from afar. She was in her hoodie and sweatpants, standing motionlessly at the center of the poorly lit lawn, staring into the sky.He couldn’t see her face as she had her back facing him.

Sooyeon was so engrossed into staring the black sky that she almost screamed in surprise when she was suddenly hugged from behind.

“What are you doing?”

His lulling voice gently penetrated her eardrums, magically calming her every single nerves.

“Taking some fresh air. Studying suffocated me.”

He chuckled at her remark and held her tighter.

“The sky is pretty, right?”

Jimin immeadiately looked up at the sky as soon as she said that. Well, it was indeed really beautiful. Sequin-silver stars like the scattered embers of a dying fire winked down at them, illuminating the atramentous curtain of sky. With the chilling night wind lightly caressing their cheeks, the both of them were lost in their own world. She could feel his heartbeat against her back, and could hear the soft breath of his by her side. She swore she wouldn’t mind staying like that forever.

“You know what else is beautiful?”

She giggled at his words. She actually knew how was it supposed to went really well. But stil, she replied.

“What?”

“You.”

In the end, she couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing. Instead of letting her go, he hugged her tighter to stop her from laughing.

“Why are you laughing?”

“That was such a cliché flirt words.”

He pouted, even though he was sure she couldn’t see his face.

“At least I tried.”

Sooyeon’s laugh halted.

“Nice one, though. You made my heart fluttered.”

He pulled his chin away from her shoulder and tilted his head, facing the side of her face.

“For real?”

She turned to him, and nodded convincingly. But just then she realised how close their faces were. She gulped, as her heart started to flutter uncontrollably. And Jimin wasn’t helping her either. With his glistened and lucid eyes, he peered right into her eyes.

Then, a teasing smile appeared on his face.

“You’re fluttering now?”

She instantly hitched herself, escaping his arms.

“What the..”

She mumbled to herself as she set her gaze on the starry sky, trying to avoid his stare. Jimin studied her, as he tried his best to contain his laughter.

“I’m going back inside.”

She stated without looking at him, and swiftly walk through the lawn, into the house. Jimin tailed him, with a smile.

***

She walked, passing by his room, but he was still following her. She turned drastically, stopping his steps.

“Why aren’t you going to your room?”

He help up the papers he had been holding the entire time.

“I can’t solve this.”

Sooyeon’s lips quivered, before a barely audible ‘ah’ escaped her lips.

She then hastily walked into her room, trailed by him. She sat down before leaning back.

“What is it that you can’t solve?”

Jimin approached her and placed the papers on her table, before pointing out the question that had him struggling for the past hours.

Sooyeon leaned forward, examining the question. At the same time, Jimin’s hand made its way over to the back of the chair, leaning closer to her. She moved away a little, stunned at their close distance. She stole a glance at Jimin, but he had his gaze fixed on the paper, focused. She gulped hardand started teaching him. The particular math problem was indeed problematic and complicated. It took some time for Sooyeon to figure it out. And it took ages to make Jimin understand the solving method. It took almost one hour for one question. After a numerous amount of explaining and teaching, Jimin finally managed to re-do the calculation and got the right answer.

Jimin cheered for himself when he finally did so while Sooyeon dramatically leaned back on her chair while letting out a breath of relieve.

Jimin took the paper and straightened his back that ached from leaning forward for a long time.

“Thank you.”

Without a warning, he bowed slightly, landing a gentle peck on her cheek. She froze, utterly dumfounded by his sudden action. The peck was short, and didn’t last even for a second.

“Good night~”

He then left. And she just sat there, staring into nowhere, her sanity lost from her mind.

After several moments, her hand slowly reached for her left cheek, the spot where his tender lips landed earlier.

And her lips slowly stretched out, forming a smile. She was happy. She really was.