There was a series of soft knocks on his door while he was busy reading about the History of Film Making. He wasn't expecting any visitors and was a bit confused who will visit him at this time of the night. It was already almost ten in the evening afterall.

He opened his door and was quickly pushed inside by a familiar figure.

"Hayeon... Why are you here?" he asked, closing his door gently.

"Can I stay here? For tonight?" she asked timidly, already climbing Taekwoon's bed.

It wasn't something new to them, afterall, they have had countless sleepovers in each other's house, but this is different. The dorms are off limits for overnight stay for the opposite gender, for obvious reasons. It would be curfew in a few minutes, too.

"You know you're not allowed here overnight." he said, sitting himself on the seat he just vacated.

"Please?" she asked again. "The guard didn't see me come in so they don't know I'm here." she added.

Taekwoon took a long look at her before sighing, "Well, since you're already here, help me read through my script." he conceded. 

He knows Hayeon won't be troubling him like this, or sneaking to his dorm, just out of a whim. He had a strong sense that she wanted to talk about something. She had always been comfortable with confiding in him, knowing that Taekwoon would never laugh or use it against her. They usually talk about this under the blankets, or over cookies and milk.

Hayeon smiled then, arranging herself more comfortably on Taekwoon's bed. Taekwoon, on the otherhand, pulled out the foldable mattress he bought after a month in university. Hayeon often liked staying over breaks and taking afternoon naps when possible, and there was more than one ocassion when Taekwoon got the urge to nap too but his bed wasn't designed for two people.

Taekwoon took out his new script, too. The piece given to them just this morning. He had only looked at the pages, not really reading through it yet as he already planned to ask Hayeon to read it with him.

Taekwoon had gotten so used to reading his scripts with Hayeon and practicing it with her. She had improved so much, too, proving to be a worthy partner for their practices. 

They had gotten over the first scene when Taekwoon finally drops the piece between them, settling his head on the bed, looking up at Hayeon while he's on the floor with the foldable mattress.

"So... Ready to tell me what's bothering you?" he asked, playing with his blankets, trying to give Hayeon time to construct her words. Hayeon may have been the one who talks enough for the two of them, but it's always harder for her to open up things like this; things that have bothered her enough to seek out Taekwoon.

Taekwoon felt her move and found her rearranging herself on the bed. She lied down, with her head facing Taekwoon's. She also played with the same end of the blanket he was playing with.

"Taek?"

"Hm?"

"You've never told me how you got together with your first girlfriend."

He tried to think about it for a moment. They have shared a lot of stories with each other that he can't even think about things about himself that Hayeon doesn't know yet.

"I haven't?" he asked. He also pulled his other arm on the bed so he can settle his head more comfortably. It seems like this will be how they will talk for the rest of the night afterall.

"Yeah. I already know about the jealous little that pushed me down last year. And... Well... We've never actually talked about this." she said then, still playing with the blanket even as Taekwoon's hands have stopped.

"Her name was Joohyun." he started.

"Was she pretty?"

"Very."

Hayeon gave a little laugh, "I expected that much." After that, she moved her hand from the blanket to Taekwoon's motionless hand then started tracing patterns at the back of it. "How did you guys got together?"

He hummed before answering. "It was a mutual crush. We've been classmates in first year."

"Who confessed first?" she asked again, playing with his fingers now. He had noticed that, too. Whenever Hayeon's nervous, she takes to making her hands busy and if it comes while they're talking, she usually plays with his hands. He honestly don't mind and he doesn't know if Hayeon is even aware of it.

"It was me." he said at last. "I gave her something back on White Day even though she gave chocolates for everyone in class."

"She seems like a nice person. So... Why did you break up?" 

"If I answer this, will you finally tell me what's bothering you?" he asked back, holding Hayeon's fingers in his hand.

"...yeah. I will." she answered, squeezing Taekwoon's hand back.

"Well, we got together in March. We dated until summer break but I guess, that's just what it was, a crush. We drifted apart during the break and formally broke up a week after second year started. We ended up in different classes, afterall." he explained patiently.

Hayeon seems to be thinking about what he said, then she was sighing, looking directly at Taekwoon.

"Someone... confessed to me this afternoon..." she started.

"You've had confessions back in high school though." he said back. He noticed Hayeon had resumed playing with his hand.

"Yeah... I can handle those if it's about rejecting them..." she had shifted her gaze from Taekwoon's eyes to their joined hands.

"And you don't want to reject this person now?" he asked gently. He knows Hayeon had never been in a relationship and now it makes sense why she would be asking about his first one.

Hayeon just nodded.

"Do you like him?"

She nodded again. "But Taek... I'm scared... What if I'm making a mistake and this isn't... this isn't..."

"If you aren't ready yet, you can reject him. It's your decision to make. If you do accept him, I'll support you on that, too."

"I don't know... This will be my first and... What if I do something wrong?" she asked in a small voice, looking helplessly at Taekwoon.

"Then you can learn from this and never do it again." he answered. He couldn't help much but answer her questions and try to comfort her.

"Then what if... What if he hurts me? Or maybe cheat on me? Or... Or...." Unconsciously, she was gripping Taekwoon's hand so tight it was starting to hurt but he didn't comment on it.

"Then you can bet on it that I will be the first person to punch him in the face for hurting my best friend." 

"You'll do that?"

"Of course. I need to know the face I might potentially punch first though."

She finally smiled again, loosening her tight grip. "His name is Kang Dongho, second year from the Vocal Department."

Taekwoon smiled, too. "It's good that he isn't from the Drama Department."

"Why?"

"Well, I don't have to feel guilty about punching him on the face if ever."

She laughed then, "I hope it doesn't come to that." She gave a relieved sigh afterwards, "Thanks, Taek. You helped a lot."

He finally moved his arm, bringing it to Hayeon's head to ruffle her hair. "It was nothing. Now let's go back to reading? My counseling fee needs to be paid."

Hayeon propped herself up again, grabbing the discarded script and bringing it between them. "Don't worry, I plan to pay. Need a practice partner for this?"

"Yeah. You need to memorize lines again."

"What's new?" she asked amused, obviously feeling much lighter than when she came in.

"And I miss your cookies." he added.

"I'll be sure to bake an extra batch when we go home." she agreed. "Now, let's continue."