Some students are switching classes. Just two, actually: a boy from our class and a girl from a class down the hall. The teachers realized that if one boy from my class switched with a girl from the other, then all the rooms will have an equal number of boys and girls. I don’t know why it even matters. I’m just hoping it won’t be Jongin who leaves...

And it’s not!

Missus Lee asks for volunteers instead of choosing a victim. The boy who sits behind me raises his hand, and leaves as a girl enters.

And that girl is...Suji? So now my twin, my crush, my best friend, and I are all in the same class! Not only that, but Suji replaces the boy who switched to her former class, getting the seat right behind me.  Wow, I am really lucky, aren’t I?

Missus Lee tells us about a project that will be due next Monday. In the back of my mind, I add that to the list of things to do.

“For this project, you will need to pair up with a partner, but I must approve of the pairs. That way, I will make sure none of you lazy people will leech off of someone else,” Missus Lee says. I let my eyes shift to Jongin for a second, then back to our teacher.

“I’ll give you two minutes to decide who your partners will be, but know that I might change a few pairings. We have an even number of students in this class, so everyone should have a partner,” Missus Lee finishes talking and starts writing something on the board.

I turn around to face Suji. “So...”

Suji looks at me apologetically. “I kinda wanna go ask Jongin to work with me...”

My eyes widen a bit. “That’s what I was going to say.”

“...Rock, Paper, Scissors?” she suggests.

Rock, Paper, Scissors doesn’t work out too well. We keep on picking the same thing! See, Suji and I are so synchronized that we like the same boy and we have a habit of picking the same thing every single time.

That stupid game was a waste of time, because Missus Lee tells the class that time’s up for choosing partners. She starts writing down the pairs, but I don’t pay attention, until I hear my name being called.

“Sarang, I think everyone else is paired up, so it’s you and me left,” Suji whispers to me. I nod my head, even though she’s behind me, but I think she knows I agree.

Missus Lee gives a not-so-thorough explanation of the project. As it turns out, we won’t actually have to work together that much for this project. We have to write biographies of our partners. The biography has to be at least a page long, typed in Korean. Then, we have to translate the paper into English. We are also expected to help each other edit and revise, since the total grade for this assignment will be an average of the individual scores of our papers.

If only I was Jongin’s partner! I would get to know him better, and I would be able to talk to him, because I’d have to for the project. At least I already know a lot about Suji, so we won’t have to waste too much time trying to figure out facts about each other.

After school, Suji’s mom drives us to the library, so she can help me with some of my missing work. The library smells like dying flowers and old paper, but I like it, since it’s a perfect, quiet place to study, read, or sleep.

We find an empty table to sit at. I start on some math homework, while Suji goes to find some interesting books.

Parabolas, x equals this, y equals that... Double check, graph, next problem—

“Hello.”

“Hm?” I glance up from my work—and everything is put on pause as I instantly recognize the face before me. My voice sounds uncertain when I speak, but I know exactly who I’m talking to. “J-Jongin?”

He smiles. “Yeah. And you’re Sarang, right? Haengbok’s sister?”

I nod shyly. “Mhm. How did you know?” The butterflies in my stomach make it hard to talk with a steady voice.

“I’ve just heard a lot about you from people. I don’t think anyone doesn’t know you.” Jongin sits down in the chair next to me. I can feel a blush starting to heat up my cheeks. This is the first time we’ve ever talked to each other!

“Um...how do you like living in this town so far?” I try to get a conversation going. I put down my pencil and move a few papers aside. I don’t look Jongin right in the eye, because I think my heart would go from racing at full speed, like it is now, to a full stop if I did.

Jongin shrugs. “It’s fine. There’s some nice people, some not-so-nice people. It’s...safe here, I guess.”

“Yeah, this place isn’t that special. It’s not a big city, so yeah.”

“Yup...” There’s a few seconds of silence, but it feels like time has stopped. I twiddle my fingers in my lap. The world starts moving again when Jongin says, “You’re friends with Suji, right?”

“Best friends,” I emphasize.

Time pauses again. Am I actually hearing my pulse or am I imagining things? Can he hear my heart beat, too?

Jongin starts on a new topic. “You know...I was going to ask you to be my partner for the project thing—”

“Really?” I gasp almost inaudibly. He was going to ask me?

“Yeah,” Jongin confirms. “but then I saw you talking to Suji.”

Suji! It would have been better if one of us got to be his partner instead of neither. If only Suji and I weren’t trying to decide which one of us would ask him. If only Suji didn’t have to switch to our class. If only Suji didn’t like the exact same guy that I do!

Even though I’m thinking a million thoughts about Suji all at once, I only say, “Suji actually wanted to ask you work with her.” I don’t tell him I wanted the same thing.

“Oh,” he responds simply.

I’m suddenly curious about something. “Um, Jongin?”

“Yeah?”

“If you don’t mind me asking...who did you end up being paired up with?” I ask. I don’t know why I want to know so badly. It’s not like the answer to the question will help me in any way.

I look at Jongin's beautiful face and realize he's smiling. I mean, I can actually see his perfect teeth. I should be thinking that Suji was so right about his smile being gorgeous. However, I randomly think that his skin is dark in comparison to his teeth. He’s definitely tanner than I originally thought.

Anyway, his smile makes my heart beat faster than before, if that was even possible! It was only a second, but it felt like a thousand before he finally answered my question.

“I’m working with Haengbok.”

Oh my god! Too many things happen at once in my mind—yet nothing happens at all. My heart stops, and my mind goes blank, all of my thoughts disappearing. I can't breathe.

a/n: Oh, hey. Guess what? I figured out that Haengbok and Kai have the same birthday! Now, I'm going to have to re-do some bits. Guess what else? I’m sick again! >___< Now, I'm going to have to write with a terrible cough and tiredness.