To smack or not to smack. That was the question.

I almost left the table, angered for glancing up at the entrance pathway each time someone entered and hoping that it was Namjoon. I was beginning to think that he was a no show after waiting thirty minutes for his slow .

I started shoving my belongings into my backpack when he came rushing in and plopped himself into the beige metal seat across from me. He winced under the scrutiny of my glare and remarked on how it was much more deadly than the professor’s.

"Do you know how late you are?" I retorted.

He cringed. "Sorry. I..uh..overslept."

I raised one quivering brow, debating whether to smack him upside the head or not.

"Wait, what year are you?"

Namjoon startled at the random question but answered anyway, hoping to placate me. "Fourth year. English major in case you were wondering."

"Two years older than me yet I act more professional than you." I scoffed. "And you look more like a fourth year in high school even with that stubble on your chin."

Namjoon squirmed uncomfortably but profusely apologized for his tardiness again and whipped out his essay.

To my surprise, as I flipped and skimmed through the pages, he had fulfilled the prompt requirements despite sleeping through almost every lecture. He could have skipped class, but I guess he did not want to miss out on participation points by attendance either. A majority of his ten pages consisted of the love goddess, Aphrodite, which ranged from her birth and powers to her many paramours.

I pulled out my paper again and handed it to him, stating that we should read each other’s essay first before offering comments and such.

"Did you seriously write all of this?" Namjoon gawked at the smudges my left hand made on the edges of the sheets.

"Why is that so hard to believe?" I asked exasperatedly.

Namjoon threw his hands up in a conciliatory gesture at my rebuttal.

Ten minutes into the silence, I noticed a peculiar pattern throughout the pages and decided to break the solitude.

I cleared my throat. "Hey, Namjoon."

"Yeah?" He murmured, his eyes still glued to my paper.

"Why do you keep writing about Aphrodite in the first person point of view? This is a research paper, remember? We have to be objective or Professor Min will dock you points for using narrative form."

He stared at me.

I thought I was mistaken, but I could've sworn that panic flit past his eyes before a facade of calm settled in.

"Oops, my mistake. I guess I just got caught up with all these facts about her."

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