03 – Interval

(every time they came across each other, she always tried to measure the spaces between the two of them)

It was Saturday. Usually, other teenagers would scamper off with their friends to karaoke bars or their parents would force them into extra classes for better grades; but not Jieun.

She mostly spent her time in the library for peace and sanctuary. The mere idea of reading books for extra knowledge was her thing; but that wasn’t the only reason she would put up being lonely in such a place.

A boy; as silly as that might sound, another reason why her days were a lot brighter was because of one boy.

Her flats tapped against the tiled floor as she mindlessly walked along the aisles of endless shelves, feeling the tips of the books with her fingers. There was hardly anyone in the library, except for a few students from her school she managed to recognize.

The tinkling sound of the bell announced someone’s entrance. From where Jieun was, she could make out a lean figure bow at the librarian—an old widowed woman that was in her mid-fifties—who did the same in acknowledgement. Her breath hitched at the familiar face.

Although she has yet to figure out his name, she was sure that he was that boy; the one she constantly yearns to see; the reason why she would randomly squeal for nothing in particular; the one who made her heart accelerate a million times faster than normal—if that was even possible.

When she noticed that he started to come her way, she let out a yelp and hurriedly grabbed the book closest to her, hoping the he didn’t notice that she was practically gawking at him. When she heard his nearing footsteps, she immediately buried her face on a random page. She wasn’t even sure what she was reading. The whole page looked so foreign to her.

“She...would...be...very—” Jieun muttered in English, then stopped halfway once she realized she couldn’t read it further. It just made her frustrated, “—Ah, I don’t know.”

Shutting the book with a soft thud, she stuffed the novel back in its rightful place. Hearing a soft chuckle beside her, she looked up to see the boy who made her lose the sanity she once had.

“If you wanted a book that’s for beginners, it’s on the other side of the shelf,” he informed her, engrossed in searching for the book he wanted. Her cheeks turned crimson red with embarrassment. Strike one.

This wasn’t the first meeting she imagined. She always pictured their first encounter with him similar to the scenes in those sappy romantic movies she used to watch with her older sister: they would both accidently bump into each other, dropping the stack of  books they were both holding and of course, the guy being the gentleman he was, would start helping her pick the fallen objects. Their hands would accidently brush each others’—and voila! They would instantly fall in love.

She then thought hers was unfair—getting embarrassed like that shattered her romantic daydreams.

“Uh, if you would kindly move, you’re...” he trailed off, motioning for her to move aside and let him have the space he needed. Strike two.

“Oh my gosh,” she suddenly realized and bowed multiple times before rushing to the opposite shelf from where he stood. Jieun swore he heard him chuckle once again and muttered the word ‘cute’. She quickly dismissed the silly thought.  

To be quite frank, she wasn’t really looking for a certain book, so she just let her mind wander off. She suddenly thought of the first day she saw him, and ever since then, she would have the habit of counting the distance between the two of them. Today, so far, was the closest she stood next to him that she actually saw his deep brown orbs, staring right into her own. It made Jieun shudder. He was like the modern version of Medusa; one peek at his eyes would make you freeze and stutter your words out, completely bewildered.

She watched him as he strutted away, heading to the librarian to sign the books out. He immediately left after. She sighed dejectedly.

It was just like any other Saturday; another week of waiting, and maybe seven more days before she’ll figure his name out. But she knows that in the end, her efforts will be worth it. 

This was done in a rush, so it didn't go well as planned >o< Writing this while doing my pre-cal homework didn't help either.

My semestral exams are approximately three weeks from now, so updates will be slow. Studies are important too. But if I do have time on the weekends, I'll definitely update, since I have the next one shot drafted and all that. ^^ 

'Til the next update~! ^^ Oh, and I give a big thanks to the lovely new subcribers ♥ I hope you enjoyed this one ^^