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Taeyeon wasn’t a big fan of going to school. It wasn't so much because it was boring because she actually enjoyed learning; it was because of people.

There were a lot of people in school and a lot of noisy people. Taeyeon preferred when it was quiet around her and she could actually think.

She had a few close friends she stuck to but even those could not reduce the noise level in their lectures.

Maybe Taeyeon should have studied something different but she hadn't know that going to a women's university could be this noisy.


On most days she hid away in the library, farthest away from the study section with her headphones in and a book in her lap. She would study or read for hours until she school quieted down enough for her to go to her dorm.

Her first year had been a disaster and her dropping out was only barely avoided when the school allowed her to be paired up with her best friend Kim Junghwa.

Junghwa was in many ways different from Taeyeon but she respected Taeyeon's fear of people. Throughout their second year Junghwa had asked Taeyeon to see a therapist and Taeyeon had declined, said nothing was wrong. People were just very loud and also too loud on most days.


She sat in the library on a day that had been far louder than usual and she had only barely avoided the panic attack, when she met Kim Junghee.

Junghee wasn't loud like the rest of the school when she stumbled into the far off corner looking for an archaeology book she needed for her study as Taeyeon had her head buried in the same book Junghee had needed.

Taeyeon didn't know anyone who studied archaeology, it didn't seem to be a popular choice and Junghee had smiled and nodded. It wasn't.

Taeyeon was studying Chinese for reasons she wasn't fully aware of herself. Junghee hadn't wanted to take the book from Taeyeon so she had asked Taeyeon to go to the chapter she needed so they could read together.

That was the first time Taeyeon had met Kim Junghee.

Junghee knew where to find Taeyeon after that and she was always quiet, always gentle when she sat down and requested they read what she needed to read together.

Taeyeon soon grew tired of reading and started studying Junghee instead. The way the soft, brown hair fell over her ears when she got closer to the book and the way she frowned when there was something she didn't understand.

Her notes were illegible and Taeyeon didn't understand how Junghee could ever reread them but it seemed to work for the other girl who studied diligently.

Junghwa found the two of them one day and Taeyeon found herself wishing the other gone. She didn't want the time she spent with Junghee to stop already but Junghee just sent her a smile and excused herself before she disappeared.

The disappointment when Junghee rounded the corner surprised Taeyeon but she brushed it off. She couldn't possibly be feeling anything for a girl she didn't know. Junghwa questioned her about it later on and Taeyeon didn't say anything.


Taeyeon started to look forward to meeting Junghee in the far off corner and her affection grew to the point that she could no longer deny that she had a small crush on the soft girl who read archaeology books with her after lectures.

Taeyeon fell behind in her own studies, her fascination with Junghee overtaking what had been a fascination with the Chinese language.

That was until Junghee came with an old, dusty book and handed it to Taeyeon. It consisted of old Chinese poems, a book Junghee apparently had gotten from her mother. The poems fascinated Taeyeon so much that she didn't notice the way Junghee looked at her.

Junghwa watched them from behind a book shelf and sighed when she noticed the fondness both girls had towards the other.

When Junghwa later that evening asked Taeyeon whether or not she had actually spoken to Junghee, Taeyeon realized she hadn't had a long conversation with Junghee. She regretted that.


It was Junghee who first initiated a real conversation. Taeyeon was surprised with how soft her laughter was or how silent she was even when she was talking animatedly about the thing she had just learnt or told classic college stories about her best friends.

Junghee was everything Taeyeon wasn't but she was never intimidating or annoyed when Taeyeon had had enough noise and just needed silence. She never made fun of her when she complained about how loud people were and as the two girls grew comfortable in each other's presence, Taeyeon realized that she actually had a huge crush on the other girl. She couldn't deny it.

She wanted to but even Junghwa rolled her eyes when she tried to deny it one evening. So she hid it from Junghee and tried not to let it show that she was more interested in the way her lips moved when she spoke or the way her eyes roamed over the pages or how her fingers pressed around the pencil to write her illegible notes.


Asking Junghee out had not been Taeyeon's plan at all. It had been an accident, a thought that should have never left . A thought that had Junghee looking at her and asking whether or not she heard correctly in a whisper. Taeyeon wanted to deny. She hadn't been asking Junghee out, she hadn't said anything but she couldn't.

But the only thing she could do was looking expectantly at Junghee, waiting for the rejection. Taeyeon hadn't expected Junghee to nod and say yes.


Make her dinner, suggested Sookyung, one of Junghwa’s friends. You should make it together, said Krystal – another friend of Taeyeon's. Junghwa told her to take Junghee to the cinema. Taeyeon found all of their suggestions ridiculous.

But she had nothing else when Friday rolled around and Junghee knocked on her dorm room door and asked to be let in. Junghwa had promised to stay with her boyfriend in the weekend so she wouldn't disturb Taeyeon's big date.

Taeyeon hated it when they referred to this as something out of the ordinary except it was very much out of the ordinary. Junghee had warned her when she stepped into the small kitchen.

I cannot cook, she had said and smiled and Taeyeon had felt her knees wobble under her and giggled a little. She couldn't cook either but Junghwa had tried her best to teach her how to make spaghetti.


The laughter that rang out of the window together with the smoke was uncommon for the girl who disliked noise but Junghee's laughter was beautiful and Taeyeon hadn't been able to hold in her own laughter.

The pot was smoking and the food in it inedible but Taeyeon didn't even care when Junghee sent her a big grin and turned to look through their cabinets. Taeyeon reached up to find the cereal in a suggestion and Junghee had laughed but accepted nonetheless.

It hadn't been a romantic dinner but at least, as they sat cuddled together with the tv on, it hadn't been a disaster either. Junghee leaned her head on Taeyeon's shoulder and reached towards her hand.

Taeyeon had laced their fingers in a silent reply to a silent question.

aUTHOR'S NOTE

Thanks for reading.