My feeling about this new boy was right. Immediately, he stepped into the classroom, he was welcomed with opened arms by all students. He was funny, charming, smart and last but not least good-looking. Girls were talking about him in the corners, fangirling, squealing about the way he smiled, the way he talked. Boys were nudging him in the side, encouraging him to join their whereabouts like sports, fashion etc. Some were just praising him, telling him how great he was in everything. He was great, flawless in every single aspect.

And what was I doing? I was observing this from afar, from my own little bubble. It was something I was good at, watching people’s  behavior and conduct, therefore it was easy to tell who was genuine about their interest. Obviously, there was some who wanted to take advantage of this new guy for their own benefit. I could read them like an open book. Hopefully, Park Jimin could do the same. Why not? He was perfect.

“I don’t want to disturb you but have you solved question number three?” Disturbed from my busy mind, I looked up with curiosity as the exact same guy flashed me a concerned smile with the pencil in his unblemished hand. Ever since the first day at school, he didn’t change his seat up front, not even when others were asking him to join them in the back. He always refused in a polite manner, explaining that he wasn’t able to read the teacher’s handwriting otherwise.

It made me confused. Deep down I knew his explanation was true, but something inside of me denied to believe it. I wanted to believe it was because he honestly enjoyed having me as his seat mate.

Dumbfounded, I didn’t know how to respond. Why was he asking me when he could seek help from the guys and girls he tagged along with. Odd.

I looked at the sheet in front me, even though I knew it was solved beforehand. Guess I just wanted an excuse for not glancing at him.  I gulped.

“Yeah, I have.” Never in my life had I fiddled so much with my pencil, like it was my life string, ready to be cutted in half. Avoiding eye contact, I stared blankly down, feeling my palms getting more sweaty for each second passing by.

“Oh, really?! How did you solve it? I’m kind of stuck.” He scratched the back of his neck, pointing at the sheet in front of him on the desk. His lips were tugged up into a bugged smile.

How could I say no?

With people’s  judging stares in my back I hesitantly prepared myself for the things I might be accused for later on.

“Y-yeah, sure.” Per instinct, I got up from my seat and headed towards him. He didn’t look up.

Breathing heavily, I made sure there was distance between us. Narrowing my eyes, I read the question through carefully even though I remembered perfectly what it was about. The sudden nervousness and doubt within myself erupted, disturbing my normal confidence with these kind of questions. I didn’t want to make a mistake and make a fool out of myself in front of him.

Jimin was focused, staring straightly into the sheet.

“Firstly, you have to figure out whether it’s a quadratic equation or not. If it is, you find the discriminant and the number of x-intercepts. There shouldn’t be more problems after you’ve figured it out.” Fiddling with the edge of my shirt, I nodded slightly and went back to my respective seat without looking back.

As I plopped myself back into the chair, a finger poked my arm gently. It was Jimin.

“It makes sense now, thank you. I appreciate it.” He smiled widely, his eyes disappearing shortly, before he turned back to his seat. I swore my heart was skipping several beats but I kept my steadiness and didn’t flinch one time. Nodding slowly, I mouthed that he was welcome before turning my glance to the last equations on my paper I'd left unanswered.

Being one of the rare moments, the equations remained unsolved for the rest of the day.

~~

Break.

Either the definition of pure hell or pure peace. If I stayed put in my seat nothing really happened, since the rest of the students always ran from classroom to classroom, wanting to speak and chat with their friends from across.

As usual I was alone in the quiet peace until voices and screams from outside the door caught my attention.

“Kim Taehyung, I warn you. One step closer, and you’re a dead man. Oh, wait a dead boy.” I couldn’t help but to smile by the teasing voice I knew belonged to Jimin.

Standing deviant, on his toes, with a big grin on his face he waited for the attack to come.

He backed away, Taehyung, a guy from another class, approaching him slowly.

“Is that fear I hear in your voice, Jimin?” Laughing, they were both about to crack down onto the floor when Taehyung tackled Jimin.

Watching hesitantly, I laughed from time to time. Dorks.

Then, the unthinkable happened, Jimin caught me off guard, looking into my direction from the floor. And worst of all, he was smiling.

“Minjae!! Help me from this beast. I can’t breath, I’m going to die.” Lying on the floor, with Taehyung on top, Jimin was reaching out a hand for me to help him. He was smiling from ear to ear.

I stiffened. I never