17th Quiz - I...

Hakyeon nervously paced back and forth, waiting for Yong Haneul to finally appear in the alleyway. He checked his wrist watch every after five minutes in hopes of making the time pass.

Isn't she supposed to be on her way home now? He blew a puff of air as he jogged on his place in hopes of lessening his nervousness.

Not long, he noticed the presence he was looking for approaching. Quickly hiding at the corner, he kept a close watch at her appearing figure, her head hung low. He smiled seeing that she was in deep thought. At this, he finally decided to show his self to her.

He saw her eyes widening when she caught sight of his shoes. His smile turned even wider which he quickly wiped off when she looked up at him, surprised.

"You're here..."

"This is for you," Hakyeon slid three piles of notebook near her. She looked down and reached for what he was giving her.

"What's this?" She opened one and turned the pages, her eyes widening in the process. "You did this?"

He answered with a slight nod, before reaching for his coffee to take a sip, looking outside to escape the stares she was giving him. Haneul reached for another set, opening it as well to check the contents.

He stole a glance her way and forced his self not to smile when her expression showed awe. "Thank you," she squeaked. This time, Cha Hakyeon turned all attention to her.

"Why though?" She looked at him innocently. The guy quickly avoided her eyes, looking out the glass walls.

What's wrong with me? Why can't I look at her straight?

Something kept on stirring inside him whenever he looks at those eyes.

He cleared his throat before looking down at the notebooks. "Well, I just thought that you might find difficulty mingling with your classmates because... You know..." He faltered.

"I'm a delinquent?" Haneul raised her left brow. Hakyeon quickly looked at her before looking back down. "I'm just being realistic." He told her.

He heard her sigh before nodding. Did I offend her?

He whipped his head towards her. Unfortunately, she was looking out the glass walls.

"Cha Seonsaeng-nim!" She called suddenly. He answered with a raise of his brows, waiting for her to continue. She shook her head before looking down on her coffee, reaching for it only to twirl it around. "It's nothing, let ho home." She dismissed.

He tilted his head. What's this?

"I'm going back to Seoul," Hakyeon spoke when they reached the splitting road that signals their separation. He did it fast as to not stare at her eyes for long when she looked up at him. He studied her in his peripheral vision. He can feel his cheek burning up. She nodded, then looked down. He looked at her fully when he felt a tug on his shirt.

"Thank you," she raised the paper bag slightly. "For these." Hakyeon smiled finally, feeling the heavy tension slightly lessen.

"You're welcome." He answered with much happiness in his voice.

Thank goodness she liked it.

When he started walking away, heading for the bus stop, he heard her ringing voice again. "Cha Seonsaeng-nim!"

He looked at her inquiringly before she raised her free hand and fisted her knuckles.

"Do well on your exams, and come back immediately, okay?"

He didn't plan to, but warmth bloomed in his chest at what she said. He smiled, beaming at her.

I'll come back immediately.

Hakyeon looked behind him when he heatdchis name being called. "Grandma!" He exclaimed immediately standing up form his seat to open his bedroom door wider.

"Come in." He told her.

Grandma Cha smiled sincerely, finding his gesture endearing when he pulled his chair closer to her, in front of his bed wherein he slumped down.

"Why did you visit me at this hour?" He queried. Yet again, the old woman smiled at her grandson. The guy tried his best not to frown.

"Did you curse?" She asked. His eyes widened.

"Sorry?"

"Mr. Jang and Mrs. Kim heard you cursing while you climbed up the stairs earlier."

He raked his brain, trying to remember when he did that. And then it hit her.

"Ah, I'm sorry!" He waved his hands frantically. "I'm not in the right mind lately, I'm sorry! Its won't happen again!" He frowned when his grandmother let out a rich laughter.

"Are you... Not mad at me?" He asked, eyes wide.

It took some time before the head of the family died down her laughter, and Hakyeon waited patiently for her, at the Sam time feeling scared.

"Why would I get mad at you, my child? I'm actually happy that you're finally loosening up. Daegu did good to your character." She laughed again.

He looked down this time relived that she wouldn't get mad at his lack of manners. He thought if it was actually okay to ask her about it.

The old woman noticed the distress at her beloved's face so she leaned towards him to ask. "What is it dear? Are you in pain?"

He answered with a quick nod, still looking down. "Grandma..." She hummed.

"How do you find the idea of liking someone?"

"What's this? Is my grandson having a love interest already?" She teased, loving the way his face reddened.

"W-well..." He started. "Not actually, but recently..." He sighed. "There is this girl whom I kept on wanting to see, and hear. Not only that, I find it boring not having her beside me."

Grandma Cha's mouth formed an 'O'. "So I went to see her earlier." She nodded. "I was so happy to see her. But then, I can't even look at her properly. I always end up averting her gaze. I can't stand to look at her for more than 3 seconds. And then, there was this girl who confessed to me, saying that she likes me, and I felt like I was betraying the other girl. I felt disgusted at myself."

The old woman chuckled again. Hakyeon finally looked up after hearing her laughter. He immediately regretted what he told her when he realized that he sounded like some kid who was madly in love.

She reached for both his cheeks so he would be able to focus only on her. "Hakyeon-ah, you denied having a love interest, but based on your narration, I think my baby has already found someone he likes, after 18 years of existing." He blinked in confusion. "You see, you can't look at her because you don't admit in yourself that you like her." She smiled. "Why don't you try to look deep in your heart and think of how you really feel. When you finally found the answer then you'll finally be at ease being around her presence."

An hour has passed since Grandma Cha left for her room, and yet here he was, staring at the ceiling as he placed his right hand atop his beating heart, deep in thoughts.

Does he?

Does he really?

He tried recalling when he started feeling weird emotions around her. He was sure it wasn't when he agreed to her proposal. Heck, he only did that so she wouldn't stop attending school. Come to think of it, it was he guess, that time on the hospital?

That was when he actually started feeling different around her, and then the incident in the cafeteria. The staring contest as well. And the university experience. Now, does he...

He shut his eyes tightly, feeling inside his heart as if he was searching for his 'chi'.

He opened them again when he felt his eyes starting to sting from shutting too much, indeed he closed it for too long because surrounding turned blue.

"I..."

Days after midterms, Cha Hakyeon was back to Daegu once again. As he hopped off the bus, he only have one destination in mind, the middle school.

The auditorium was unusually packed today, he thought. Well, he couldn't blame them though, everybody was busy checking out the results of the midterm examination.

He searched for that familiar tall figure in the crowd, to no avail.

Is she not attending classes again? He frowned. He checked his wristwatch.

8:35

Realizing that he will never see her anytime soon, he decided to go look for her exam results himself and break the news when she go see him at the faculty room.

He squeezed his self at the sea of students crowding in front of the bulletin board, his eyes focused on searching for her name.

Not long after, he sensed another presence beside him.

"Yong Haneul..."

Hakyeon looked on his right. His throat felt dry after seeing her after several days of being in the university. He observed her focused face, before looking back at the bulletin board when she exclaimed, "Aha!"

"85, 76, 84, 87, 82." the girl beamed at him when he finally turned to her. She was raising both hands while she looked at him, grinning.

"I did it, didn't I?" She asked him. He smiled a little at her before nodding.

"Yes. You did great." He answered. Looking at her as if she was the only thing he needed in the world.

Yes, he likes this girl who was looking up at him. There was no use denying it anymore. After finally admitting to his feelings, he can finally look at those eyes that always mirrored an intense emotion he couldn't quite pinpoint before. But this time, he finally realised why he can't looked at her straight. It was because her eyes was mirroring great admiration towards him, one thing that made him scared because he might not reciprocate and might not be able to satisfy her.

But starting today, he was willing to make her smile more often, and make sure that she wouldn't regret asking him to marry her.

-📗-

A/N: AAAAAANND ITS A WRAP!!!

Cha Hakyeon's POV ends here, haha. So, the main reason why he can't look at her straight was because he can't accept the fact that he likes her, so when he finally did, he gained the courage to finally looked at her without cowering away. Come to think of it, it must also be the reason why Haneul can't stare at him for too long, before. But, oh well...

Special thanks to Grandma Cha's appearance in this chapter, and her words of wisdom to our Hakyeonie.

Anyways, uri Cha Seonsaeng-nim is back, so how will the story continue from here, especially now that he has admitted his feelings, already? Also, is this story nearing its end? I don't know.

Also, I'm suffering from writer's block, must be because I'm hungry. Kkkkk~ Let's see if I get to update immediately.

Read on to know, thank you lovelies 😘