It was a calm afternoon with clear skies that seemed like it was letting everyone know that autumn was slowly creeping over.  But instead of enjoying the view, you sat in the corner of the library and was held hostage by all of your school work that piled up in front of you.  “I can’t do this anymore” you laid your exhausted body on to the table and shouted “피곤해 (tired!)” as you pushed all the Korean homework aside. Then suddenly you heard chuckling from somewhere near you, nearly stopping your breathing.  Mortified, you slowly raised your head out of your cubical to locate the source of chucking but all you saw was a deserted library with books as your only company.  You looked around for one last time before hiding your head below the short walls of your desk. “no one  should be here” you whispered to yourself as you collected your things and got up to leave.

That’s when you saw him

The tall figure was sitting at the cubical across from you, his head phone in his ear while he tapped his pen with the beat, creating his own rhythm.  You could also hear his rather high voice humming along to the song that played through his headphones. You gasped at the sight of the stranger then ran passed him so fast that you failed to catch him glance up with a tiny smile across his face.

From that day on, the stranger sat in the same cubical from time to time, tapping to a different song with his pen. At first you were mortified when you saw him sitting there again but the comfortable silence calmed you as the days passed without any exchange of words.

You began to observe him little by little though, curious by his existence. But all you could see from your cubical was his brown curly hair top that gave out a shade of orange when the sun hit.  As the days went by, your wish to see what he looks like began to grow. But never summing up enough courage to act, you passed him each time without a word with your head down.

So just like any other afternoon, you sat in the same desk again and drowned yourself with school work trying to forget the other.  Few hours passed by without a warning and when you finally raised you head from the cubical, the clear autumn sky was starting to turn dark by the minute. You looked up at the other cubical then smiled to see his curly hair still poking out from the walls. Strangely relaxed by his presence, you began to collect your things then got up slowly and headed towards the stairs.

“Wait” startled, the sudden voice caused you to drop all of your belongings on the floor with loud clatter. Seeing the mess, the stranger hurried over to you and began to help pick up your belongings. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you” his voice was apologetic but the smile on his face told you otherwise.  “I just wanted to tell you your bag was open” he stated pointing at your blue backpack. “But I’m sorry about scaring you really” he gave you a tiny smile before handing you the rest of your things. All you could do was nod and quickly take back your things before you turned away from the tall stranger. “wait” he called for you again but this time more quietly. You turned and looked at him with wide eyes. “I notice you are her often, are you learning Korean?” the stranger spoke with a little Korean accent. Numbed by his voice, you just gave him a silent nod. “I see… well I’m from Korea, if you ever need help, let me know… it’s the least I can do for scaring you to death” then his mouth parted into a laugh as he extended his long arms. “My name is Shim Changmin” You placed your small palms into his “my name is Bea” You spoke then gave him a shy smile. “Bea huh? That’s a cute name” he shook your hand in return. “Will I better let you go, It was very nice meeting Bea” the tall stranger gave you a quick smile before returning to his cubical.

“bea huh? that’s a cute name” replayed over and over in your head as you headed out the door, the cool autumn breeze brushing over your flushed cheeks.

From that day forward, you and Changmin began to exchange simple greetings every time you saw each other. And sometimes, he even came up to you and helped you with your Korean Homework when you needed it.

He was about as close to perfection as man could get.

The tall sleek body over towered you easily and his broad shoulders were laid across in a perfect dimension. His long legs made anything he wore look amazing as the men always dressed casual, never seen without his deck sneakers, glasses and a backpack. He had dark brown eyes that you often got lost in, and a smile that mischievously swept across his face whenever you pronounced the words funny. You also noticed that his eyes were mismatched when he smiled genuinely, making you feel like you were melting right underneath him.

Slowly but surely, you were falling for this stranger in the library more then you could ever imagine.

******

“Ya! how can you not say this??” Changmin nudged you on the side chuckling. “It’s easy!” he roared in laughter as he watched you squeeze Korean out of you. “Okay, you SPEAK Korean remember??” you shot him a glare. “And last time I remembered, you still pronounce things funny in English” you say sticking your tongue at him.  “Aish I could totally pull that out of your mouth” “I dare you”

Playful banters like this with Changmin was how you spent every Friday afternoon now, sometimes talking till the library closed at midnight.  You learned many things about him over the past month during your study time with Changmin. You learned that he was here for a year learning music which was his absolute passion. He even showed you couple of the lyrics he wrote, smiling proudly as you gave him words of approvable.

The time you spent with him became something you looked forward to in a week, giggling as you wait for Changmin to walk up the stairs at the same time in the early afternoon.

“hey bea?” he suddenly interrupted your thoughts with a simple tap on your shoulders. “hmmm?” you answered turning to him now, smiling as you met his eyes. “I want you to read this for me” Changmin then passed a paper with lyrics in front of you. “Another song?” you cheerfully hummed as you picked up the paper as you began to read the words on the pages.

“Seeing your smile towards me was an unfamiliar scenery
I finally lifted my head to calling of your lips
It was blidingly bright
I finally saw you”

Then he began to softly hum to himself

“I’m falling for your love

I’m falling woo~

I will protect you”

For unknown reason tears began to well up in your eyes but you kept in reading,  letting his soft voice fill your heart little by little.

“Even after a long time
I won’t be able to say “I Love You”
Because I was shy”

tears rolled down your cheeks now, but you did nothing to stop as his voice echoed in the deserted room.

“Love U baby I love U
Thank U thank U

Baby I swear forever”

“Changmin….” Before you could say anything else, he spoke softly “I wrote it for someone”

Hearing his last words, your heart dropped instantly. “oh.. she is a lucky girl then Changmin..” feeling stupid for crying you began to wipe your tears when his hands gripped yours, making you stunned. “Did you not read it all the way?” he raised his eye brows at you and pointed to the bottom of the paper.

For and only for bea

You blinked many times to see if you were dreaming because for some odd reason, your name was written at the bottom, staring right back at you like bright neon lights.

“what….what?” you looked up at Changmin who just chuckled at your hopelessness. “bea, sometimes I wonder about you” he said wiping your tears that somehow kept flowing out. “but I guess that’s why I fell for you” he whispered before he drew you closer, then placing his lips on to yours, gently nibbling on it from time to time. “Did I scare you?” he mocked while his lips still grazing upon yours, smiling as he felt your arms wrap around his body.

“You are an idiot”

“I am your idiot” Changmin smiled before stealing your lips again.