Student council president Choi Hansol stood in the centre of the school gymnasium, clipboard in hand, eyes scanning the whole room as he watched everyone decorating the place. He was surrounded by his fellow council members of the logistics department, discussing where things should be, how things should be going, what food and drinks should be served, and most importantly, the program of the whole event.

Prom was the most hectic time of the year. Although there was a handful of students who thought it was pointless to go, there were still a good number who were planning to attend prom. Hansol was looking to give this year his all, considering it was his last, and he needed to do a good job. Everything had to be perfect and go according to plan on the big day. The mayor could be visiting and he could be getting a look at some promising, full-paid scholarships. At this point, his future was looking pretty bright. Almost blinding.

“Hansol?” Seungcheol’s voice rang through the receiver. “Where are you?”

“No, not like that! Turn it around!” Hansol yelled for a moment at one of the student council members. He then returned his attention to his phone. “What is it, Seungcheol? I’m at the gym, kind of busy right now.”

A noncommittal sigh. “I know, but do you think you could come to the office for a little bit? There’s a guy here who wants to see you. I told him you’re helping out with prom stuff but he said he’d wait for you.”

Glancing at his wristwatch, Hansol bit his lip. He contemplated for a second. “Can he wait for a while? I’m in the middle of a crisis.” He glared at a girl across the hall who was putting up white ribbons on the wall with silver linings. The theme was supposed to be classic traditionalism and trendy infusion, not elegant minimalism with romantic textures. That’s just cliché.

Seungcheol was stumbling over his words before he could form an articulate reply. “I don’t think waiting’s a big problem for him. I just feel bad is all.”

“What do you mean?” Hansol quirked an eyebrow. He handed his clipboard to an acquaintance.

“The guy’s been sitting here since lunch break, man. He’s not even doing anything, just…” Seungcheol lowered his voice. “Staring at the wall. Not moving. I don’t know why he’s here, he’s pretty…adamant about meeting you.”

It was almost three p.m. now. “Did you ask him why he’s there?” Hansol asked.

“Of course I did, he kept saying he wanted to speak to you. Look, are you coming here or not?”

Hansol looked around. His eyes landed on the same girl with the white ribbons, and this time, she was standing beside another girl who convinced her to use the golden and silver lined ribbons. Well, kudos to whoever was fixing that crude design. Hansol signaled to one of his supervisors and received a nod. “I’m coming. Five minutes,” he replied. He hung up and tucked his phone into his pocket. Without another warning, he made his way out the gym and down the hall. Whoever this guy was, he better be worth it.

By the time he reached his office Seungcheol shared with him a wide-eyed glance, eyes flickering to the person sitting languidly over the couch near to the door of his office. Hansol followed his gaze.

Kim Mingyu. Quiet guy. Stoic, not in the very least unfriendly, but approachable only in the direst of situations. They were in the same Mathematics class with Mr Kang. Modest marks. Could achieve good grades if he wanted to, but mostly apathetic about his studies. More active in cocurricular exercises. Hansol’s heart sank in his stomach. Oh, beans…

Seungcheol cleared his throat. “Mingyu?” He called. The guy looked up from whatever spot on the wall he was focusing on, then realising that Hansol was in the room. Mingyu stood up from his seat in what was considered record time, shocked but quick to regain his composure. He stood tall, and gave Hansol a curt nod of acknowledgment and appreciation for sparing time to see him.

Hansol nodded back, struck with nausea in all of a sudden, and they both entered his office. He switched on the lights and directed Mingyu to close the door behind him. He consulted his watch once more, hoping for their meeting to be brief. He had a lot of things to do at the gym. “Sorry to keep you waiting, I was really busy with prom preparations, you know how it is. How can I help?” Hansol didn’t sit down, just stood by his table and gesturing for the taller male to take a seat, he must’ve been tired from all that…sitting down.

But Mingyu didn’t sit down, which was understandable. His muscles maybe tired after sitting there for like a decade waiting for Hansol. Instead, he stepped closer, almost looming over the student council president, stopping himself once he was a respective distance before him. He looked at Hansol with a piercing gaze. “Come to prom with me.”

“What?” It wasn’t even a request, it was a command. Taken aback, Hansol retreated out of astonishment, leaning against the edge of his table. He felt a bead of sweat trickling down his back. Since when was it so hot in here? “U-uh, I’m not sure I—”

“I want you to be my date for prom,” Mingyu repeated.

Words that were usually supposed to be full of emotion were empty, yet meaningful. What hit Hansol over the head more than Mingyu’s demand was his bluntness and soul-penetrating gaze, the blatant nature of his invitation. He was looking at him with a blank expression, eyes unassuming and unblinking, lips pressed into a thin line. He wasn’t fidgeting, not even crossing his arms. He just stood still, hands by his side, bag slung over one of his shoulders.

Like a loser, Hansol choked on his saliva. He coughed in a violent fit, face turning red, though from blushing or coughing, he couldn’t tell. When at long last he can breathe, there was one response that seemed appropriate for the situation he found himself landed on. “Is this a joke?”

“No,” Mingyu said. How can he be so expressionless and domineering at the same time? The fact that he wasn’t blinking over the past minute was unnerving and it put Hansol in a disconcerting position. “I don’t do jokes. I want you to come with me to prom.”

When the taller male took one step closer Hansol reared back again, though he found himself pushing his table back one bit by accident. But Mingyu stopped there, feet planted firmly on where he stood, as he waited for the president’s answer. Hansol was not always as unprepared as this, he didn’t expect anyone to ask him out on a date. He was always cautious, ready, and yet Kim Mingyu of all people managed to catch him off guard, just like he always did. So in a fit of uneasiness, Hansol blurted out, “okay.”

Mingyu stood there for a moment. He was seemingly registering the other male’s agreement. And then finally he blinked, his tense posture softening up a bit. “O-okay,” he nodded. After a few seconds of silence and awkward eye-contact, Mingyu spun round at his heels, leaving.

Hansol was still in the same position as before when Seungcheol popped his head in his office five minutes later, curious. “Mind telling me what that was about? He waited for like, two hours but whatever your discussion was about was barely two minutes,” he joked.

“He asked me out for prom,” Hansol answered in a daze. “He asked me out for prom… Seungcheol, I have a date!” He flushed beet red.

Seungcheol was just as surprised as he was. “You’re telling me this guy waited for you forever just so he could ask you out for prom?”

“Yes.” The way Seungcheol phrased it made the gravity of the situation dawn upon him. Granted, if he spent all day twisting words around he could make anything sound odd, but the information was sinking in, subsiding, and fiddlesticks; Kim Mingyu – asocial, quiet, and lonely at times – had asked Choi Hansol – outgoing, friendly, and popular – out for prom, and Hansol agreed. He agreed.

This was happening. Holy cow.