With droopy eyes and mouth slightly hanging open, I sleepily dragged my feet to the bookstore I work at.
It was supposed to be a typical Saturday morning. When I will work for 8 hours, stacking and organizing books, and sometimes bagging customers' purchases, or darting knowingly glances at stubborn customers who doesn't know how to place back the books in order, and go home after my tiring shift. I gradually get used to it that it became an everyday routine for me, who was working there for two years. As I trudged through the street, a familiar lanky man, who was leaning against the hall of the building beside the bookstore, waved at me. "Yow! Good Morning!" Gongchan, my co-worker greeted enthusiastically.


I rolled my eyes at his upbeat mood. Usual Gongchan. It became a routine for him to wait for me in his usual spot with an overly cheerful smile plastered on his face every morning. And  nagging him about it was completely pointless, so I just let him be although it was getting annoying.


"What's with that expression?" he asked, placing his long arm around my shoulder. I assume that he noticed what expression that my face was trying to make.


"I just feel sick whenever I see your face." I deadpanned.


His lips pulled into a pout, pretending to look hurt even though I know he's not. He removed his long arm from my shoulder and sniffed dramatically. "You just hurt my feelings. So cruel."


A smile formed into my lips but I didn't let him see it, instead, I turned around and started walking. "Since when I got concerned about your feelings?"


"Arg. Meanie." he replied, walking a little bit fast to keep up with me. "That's why there is no single guy who wants to ask you out."


I stopped in front of the bookstore's closed door and waited for him to unlock it. Since we're the one who were always working in the opening hours, the manager entrusted the key to us and let us open the bookstore by ourselves. "What is the connection between opening a door and my lovelife?"


He pulled out a key from his pocket and inserted it into the door's keyhole, "No one likes to ask you out because you scare guys away."


"Who are you to say that?" gaping at him, I moved to the side and let him enter into the bookstore.


He shrugged indifferently and motioned me to go inside too. "Come on, we've been friends since we're in highschool. And when guys ask you to hang out with them, you either ignore them or reject them. Such a heartless creature."


I went behind the small counter (which was piled with hardbound books that we need to stack) and flung my jacket and bag on a small cabinet for employees' stuff.


When I turned around to face my co-worker, I saw him eyeing the pile of books dejectedly.


"Friends? If you're really a friend of mine, you will support me whether I'm single or something." I half-shouted, trying to call his attention. "Besides, I think those guys that you're talking about are those who don't even know how to get the sum of 1+1."


He threw a crumpled paper in my direction but I managed to catch it. "Not funny. You should try to be humble sometimes. Guys would line up to date you."


"I'm not forcing you to laugh! But seriously! I'm not into peeble-minded guys who don't even know how to do a simple Math!"


"Because you're an egg head." he shot back with a serious stare. "A guy doesn't need to be a genius in order to ask you out. You will understand it when you fall in love."


"Oh no. Are we really talking about love right now?"


We usually tease each other everyday but that was the first time that we talked about love or about me, dating or having a boyfriend or whatsoever. That was really unusual, because I think he doesn't really care about my unexciting love life.


"Because I hate it when you say that you will only date smart guys. Falling in love isn't about the physical appearance or the intellect of a person." he said, pointing to his chest. "It's all about the emotion. The feelings. You know?"


He had this funny and strange look on his face that made me burst out laughing. "Oh my gosh Gongchan! What's wrong with you? Why are you being dramatic all of a sudden?"


He heaved a sigh as he took some books and examined it. "I'm not being dramatic, okay?"


I leaned on the counter with a smile. "Then why are you suddenly dragging my love life here? Did you read another sappy novel and got too carried away? Or did you already break up with your girlfriend?"


"I don't even have a girlfriend." he spat the words icily.


"Then you're the one who needs a girlfriend and get laid." I teased.


"I can get girls whenever I want. I'm really good looking you know? Girls would beg on their knees to date me." he smiled smugly, then added : "I'm worried about you, you're getting old and you're still not having a boyfriend. Poor you."


"Old? Shut up. I'm not even in my thirties yet!"


Our bickering was put in a stop when the bell of the door rang, indicating the entrance of a customer into the bookstore.


Gongchan greeted him while I fixed some books on the counter.


I heard the customer asked Gongchan some few questions but after a few seconds, he told the customer to ask me instead.


"Oh ." There were some papers (from one of the books) that fell on the floor so I picked them up with a string of curses that I could think of.


"Um, excuse me." a new voice (that I'm sure that was belong to the customer) said.


"Yes?" I replied, still picking up the papers.


"I was looking for this book uh, by Kyung-Sook Shin and your co-worker said---"


"What's the title Sir?" When I made sure that I finally got all the papers, I stood up straighter and looked up to the customer for the first time.


"Please Look After Mom. That's the title." he answered. And then he smiled.


It was supposed to be a typical smile from a stranger and I don't really have a plan to entertain it but oh gosh.


His smile was...sparkling, dazzling, and captivating that made me stopped from breathing (for a few milliseconds that felt like eternity) and made me completely transfixed by the beautiful guy in front of me.


It was the most beautiful smile I'd ever seen in my life.


His lips started moving but I can't decipher what he was saying because I was just staring at him dumbly, thinking how beautiful his smile is and how could a normal person like him could be able to smile so marvellously?


"Hello? Earth to my co-worker who was spacing out for 3 years now." I heard Gongchan commented.


He waved his hand in front of me and that made me snap from reverie.


"Huh? W-what?" is all that I said. Oh crap. The red-headed customer was chuckling along with Gongchan and that was really embarrassing. His chuckle is like a music in my ears, I want to hear it again.


I felt my cheeks heat up when I realized that I was basically zoning out so I looked down to hide my red face.


"Our customer here is looking for Please Look After Mom by Kyung-Sook Shin. Do we have that?" Gongchan raised his voice this time and I'm sure that he just want to annoy me by doing that.


"Y-yeah. I guess s-so." I stammered. I turned my back at them and searched for the said book on a shelf behind me.


Focus. I need to focus.


I heard Gongchan murmuring some random things to the customer and it gave me a chance to recover myself.


"Uh, here." Regaining my composure, I cleared my throat and placed the book on the counter.


"Oh." the customer lifted the book and flipped the pages carefully. "Ok. I'm going to buy this."


"Um, uh. Okay." I managed to squeak out.


"And can you gift wrap this? I'm going to give this to my sister. I'll just pay extra fee for it." he flashed his smile again and instead of giving him a decent answer, I just gaped at him and made myself look like a complete idiot.


"I guess I will be the one to wrap it." Gongchan declared, taking the book from the customer and went to the corner of the counter.


I know that my co-worker noticed my strange action and I'm really thankful that he saved me from an upcoming humiliation  for doing or saying an embarrassing thing because I was so dazed.


I just kept silent as I watched Gongchan wrap the book while chatting with the customer.


After a few minutes, Gongchan took the payment from the customer and gave him the gift wrapped up book.


The customer bowed at him and smiled. Gongchan gave a nod in return. Then, he looked at me and waved little. My mind races for some decent reply, but my heart gets struck in my throat and my pulse pounds. So I just stood there, still frozen in place and feeling like I might hyperventilate. But before I could come up for a response, the customer swung open the door and stepped outside.


I felt my legs starting to wobble, so I sat down on the floor.


What is happening to me? I've never felt this way before... And it was really unusual. I mean, he was just a regular customer, a complete stranger. But he made me feel this strange things and his smile just couldn't get out of my mind.


I felt like... I wanted to see that smile again... It was beautiful... No. He is beautiful. His red hair, his small eyes that are twinkling when he smiles, his perfect nose, his voice---


"Hey, your face is all red, you okay?" Gongchan inquired, interrupting my train of thoughts.


"I think I already know what you're talking about earlier, Channie." I muttered without thinking.


"Huh? About what? About you being a cruel person?"


"No. Not that."


"Then what?"


"I think I'm in love." I declared.


"You're WHAT?"


"I said I'm in love."


I heard him laughed a little. "With whom? Don't tell me you're in love with that guy who just came in?"


Gazing up at him, I looked at him in a very serious manner that made him slapped his forehead. "Oh no."


-


"I couldn't quite believe what I was hearing right now." Gongchan announced after I told him about what I felt after meeting that guy for the first time.


 "What? You said that falling in love is all about the feelings right?" I replied while stacking some books on a shelf. "I can't explain why, but I've never felt this way before and I think that we should be together."


He made a fake gagging sound behind me and I can't help but to hit his arm in a not-so-lightly-way. "Excuse me but I think I need to throw up." he looked like he wanted to vomit in disgust  and it was really offending.


"As if you're not the guy who told me that I need a boyfriend." I pouted.


"But you just met him!" He exclaimed, flailing his arms everywhere. "You don't even know his name!"


"So what? I'll find a way to know his name."


"Just want to let you know that you sound like a stalker." He shook his head in disapproval.


"I'll tell him I love him."


I almost jumped in surprise when I heard a loud thud. When I took a look at my co-worker who was behind me, a couple of books were sprawled on the floor and he was staring at me like I was the craziest person in the world.


"No way. You're just kidding right?"


"Do I look like I'm joking? Of course I'm serious."


"You're a crazy person."


"You said that falling in love is all about feelings right? My heart skipped a bit when he smiled at me, I was captivated by his charm, Gongchan. And I want to be with him regardless whether I know him or not. That's love, right?"



"Oh God." he said a desperate tone. "Somebody save me." he added, "It's not [i]love[/i], okay? It's just a plain attraction. Don't make simple things complicated! You're really going nuts!"


"Hey, listen." I said impatiently. "I can still remember what you said earlier. That no one likes to ask me out because I scare guys away. But now, that I found someone that I like, and I'm willing to confess to him, you're going to tell me I'm crazy?"


"You. Just. Met. Him." He emphasized.


"So what?"


"You can date guys that you know. Not with a guy you just met not more than one hour ago! Can't you understand that?" he argued.


"But you seemed to know him. You're talking with him earlier right?"


He opened his mouth to say something but closed it again, like he wanted to say something. I know I caught him off guard. At least his expression said so.


"You know him right?" I taunted.


"I know his name but there's no way I should tell it to y-- ow! Ow!" he was not able to finish his sentence because I took a hold of his wrist and twisted it around.


"Ow! Ow! Let me go!" he yelled in pain.


"What's his name, huh?" I asked him in a serious tone, I know I'm being impatient but he was just so unfair. How dare him not to tell me his name? He knows that I'm interested to that guy! What kind of friend he is?


"I can't believe you're doing this! Ow! Ow!"


"You're not going to tell me, huh?" I threatened.


"Jung Jinyoung! Jung Jinyoung!" he blurted out.


"Jung Jinyoung." I repeated, memorizing every letters in my mind. "How do you know him, huh?"


"Will you please let me go!" he exclaimed, wiggling his arm to free from my gasp. "You're going to break my arm! Damn it!"


I let go of his arm immediately and a pang of guilt struck me when I realized that he was in pain. I shouldn't have hurt him.  Aish. What was I thinking? Heaving a sigh, I rubbed his arm in regret and apologized. "Sorry. Shouldn't have done that."


"I never thought that you could be so violent." he examined his hand with a sniff.


"I'm really sorry. I'm so impulsive."


"That really hurts you know?"


"I just did that because you won't tell me his name!" I reasoned out.


"It is because you're acting weird!"


"If you just told me his name immediately, I shouldn't have hurt you. Seriously, how do you know him?"


He removed my hand from his arm and moved a little far from me. "We go to the same university, he's a freshman too. He's pretty popular there. "


"Really?" I'm studying in a different university so I obviously don't know anything about him. "Do you know his phone number? How about his address? His favorite food? Color? How about the genre of music that he listen to? Or the name of his pet? Does he brush his teeth everyday? And he knows that 2 is the sum of 1+1 right?"


"Aish. Stop talking will you? Those questions are really dumb. What the hell?" he pinched the bridge of his nose irritatingly. "I don't know anything about him besides his name and the fact that he bought a book here."


Different kinds of ideas started to run through my mind. Jung Jinyoung. A freshman college student who was also studying at Gongchan's university. A guy with beautiful and captivating smile and a guy that sent butterflies to my stomach. As I think about the ways on how to see him again, an idea hit me like a tornado. An idea that might be an answer to my prayer.


"Gongchan!" I called out excitedly.


"What?" my co-worker asked in irritation. He was obviously avoiding me so he's busying himself by arranging some books on a small shelf.


"I just got an idea!"


"Idea about what?"


"On how will I see him again! And I need your help!"


Gongchan gulped down visibly. "I have a feeling that it will not be a good idea for me."

---

A/N:

Heeeellllllooooo~ Weeeee. I was so shock to see that I already have 14 subscribers even I still haven't posted the first chapter yet so thank you so much for subscribing! This is the first chapter. Hope you guys will like this

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