Here goes another night. Of solitude and darkness. Partially dark, I mean. The light is on. It's not even flickering to eventually blow out. 

I want to unscrew the light bulb and then complain that the lights are out and then I can leave this place. I wish I didn’t have to stay back.

I could kill Himchan for ditching me. I can’t believe he would leave me like this! What happened to ‘I got your back, bro’ and ‘I’ll be there whenever. Just call’? What happened to the meaning of friendship? What happened to bros over hoes? Huh? Huh?

OK, no I take that back. I take back the term hoes. Ladies, I apologise. Please don’t hate me.

But seriously though. Wouldn’t you be a bit pissed off if your friend ditched you last minute so he could go clubbing with some girl, who might not even be interested in him?

Oh, who am I kidding? She is into him. Jeon Hyosung is definitely into Himchan. They’d make the perfect couple. The good looking traditional Korean music major and the y glamorous dance major. So where does that leave me?

In a recording studio. And not a single soul left in this damned university. Wow, does it feel lonely.

Snap fingers, turn the lights on and cue music. Lonely I’m Mr. Lonely, I have nobaaah-dy, for my owwwww-owwwwwwwwwnn.

I am singing. In my head. And I’m singing Akon, for crying out loud. Not cool for my street cred. This needs an antidote. I can’t be doing this. Screw this, I’m going to go out for some fresh air, grab something to drink and come back to write some fresh lyrics.

I walk along the corridor. Once again, can I emphasise how lonely this corridor looks. It’s so lonely, like how I-

There is a shadow. I see a shadow moving and it’s creeping like an animal. There’s another living being in this desolate place. Whoa, what. I want to break out into a little jig to celebrate but I shall not. Gotta be cool, people, cool. I continue to follow the moving shadow. Who in their right mind walks around in the dark?

It’s stopped moving. And it is frozen in place. Who the hell is this?

 “Are you lost?” I ask.

The living shadow turns around and though it’s dark, the light from my phone is enough to let her face shine through. And wow, is she stunning. I know this girl. I’ve seen her a lot. She walks past my studio all the time.

“I can take you back to the library if you’d like.” Oh . Yongguk. You just basically let her know you’ve been watching her. Crabby crabsticks. What have I done.

She is still looking at me cluelessly. I feel you, sister. I too am feeling delighted at finding someone at this hour. Wait, what? I am rambling nonsense.

 “Ah… I’m not lost,” she says. Man, is her voice beautiful. It’s not amazing nor is it pretty. It’s beautiful. I can hear birds chirping along to it like a chorus. “I… lost my phone.”

“Did you drop it around here?” It’s still dark, but my eyes search the floor. It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack. I can’t even see my shoes. Alright, next step.

 “Do you want me to call it?” Oh yes. High five, people. I might just get her number, in a non-flirty way. She stares at me. This is the first time I’m looking straight into her eyes and I’m in. It’s like a black hole.

No, a black hole everything and anything. Not a good comparison. But you get what I mean. Her eyes are like the ones Puss in Boots has in Shrek. She’s not even asking me for anything. Snap out of it, Yongguk. “Don’t tell me your battery is dying?”

She shakes her head, her brown tendrils swaying from side to side. “I think I remember where I dropped it.” Damn it, I won’t get a number.

That’s kinda good though. Maybe I can get to know her in the normal way. I don’t know why I’m suddenly pursuing this buried interest of mine. I was quite satisfied with just watching her. The way she crinkles her nose when she’s deep in thought. The way she smiles at everyone and anyone that passes by. The way she-

Yongguk, focus. Fo-cus. “Should we go get it?” I say.

We’re walking. And even though it’s silent, it’s a comfortable silence. You know one where it’s just appropriate.

I clear my throat. “You’re Jieun right?” Of course she is. Song Jieun. Jeon Hyosung’s best friend. That’s as far as my stalker skills go. “Yeah, I remember Himchan mentioning you.” No, that’s not true. I saw your name in the school pamphlet and then I saw you with Hyosung. And yeah, you’re cute. “He’s out with Hyosung right now.”

I am failing miserably at this conversation. I suddenly want to go back to the dark corridor.

 “Oh?”

She responds. With a vowel. But a response, nonetheless. I am not failing. OK, let’s keep it going.

 “I just got a text message saying he got her phone number. About time too.” And could I please get yours too, Jieun? Pretty please with sprinkles on top. Our conversation comes to a halt. “Do you remember where you left your phone?”

 “Uhh, why don’t you check the audio section and I’ll… search around?” I nod. Alright, so she hasn’t blown me off. I know I should be looking for her phone but my mind is thinking of another alternative to get talking to her. We are after all the only two left in this building and so we need to get familiar with one another.

In case of emergencies.

There could be a blackout. Or a fire could break out. Or aliens might appear and abduct us to their planet and we would be the only Homo sapiens species to keep one another company. It happened in War of the Worlds. And I ain’t no Tom Cruise to go against those aliens.

She suddenly appears before me. Now that there is a fair amount of brightness, I can see how absolutely breath-taking she is. The closest I’ve ever been to her was walking by her really fast and I guess, you could count the time she was three people ahead of me at the school canteen.

 “I found it! I left it by the shelves over there. Thanks for helping me.”

 “Not a problem,” I reply. Yes, problem. I want to keep talking to you. I want to hear your voice. I want to hear you say my name. I want to hear you laugh. Think, Yongguk, think. “Hey, I’m heading down to grab some coffee. Do you want one?”

Don’t say no. Please, don’t say no.

She shakes her head.

Damn it, I’m losing her. Should I ask again? No. But should I? No. Should-

 “Are you sure?” Oh my God, my mouth. What have you done, mouth?! How despearate do I sound?

Jieun is still silent. She’s got this weird expression like I can’t describe but it’s super adorable. And yes, I just used the word adorable, because that is what she is. It’s been less than half an hour but she has made me into a soppy mess.

 “Two sugars, no milk.”

Hallelujah, the love Gods are helping! Cupid, thank you!

 “OK, I’ll be right back.” I might have said that a little too excited.

Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah yeah yeah. Alright, now I just need to make sure these coffees don’t spill and that I enter looking as suave as I can. Gotta be cool.

I manage to sit down and I hand her the coffee. In good condition. 

 “So, what do you think about Hyosung and Himchan?” Seeing as how that is the only thing in common right now. A man has gotta start somewhere.

 “I guess they’d be a good pair,” she replies. She smiles as she takes a sip of her coffee. Once again, I am warped into her aura.

 “What are you working on?” I ask. She answers and she continues by telling a story about her voice cracking during musical rehearsals and she covers as she giggles.

I am in my dream bubble. The one where she and I are together. There are fireworks and rainbows and bubble baths. And there could be little minions that look just like us, a few Jieuns and Yongguks.

My dream bubble drifts away as her sweet, delicate voice asks me something. I want to sit here and just listen to her speak all night. And that’s what we do until the janitor comes around to hurry us out. She complains that she has to pull an all-nighter and she blames me for distracting her.

I would feel bad if it weren’t for the twinkle in her dark eyes as she bids me goodbye and says she'll see me around. I feel a little buzz as we shake hands and her pink lips tug at a small, shy smile.

It’s no phone number and it’s no official date, but it was definitely worth staying back.  

So this was a bit of a failure. It's so hard to write from a guy's perspective! I totally at it. But I tried. And this is good practice right? Haha.