Gunwoo peeked from behind the white stone wall. There she is. She was walking whilst holding a book at her eye level, reading intently. Her simple white dress sashayed over her legs beautifully. Her ebony hair fell to her shoulders. Her hand went up to her nose and she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. The sight looked picturesque to Gunwoo’s eyes. He looked at her longingly.

                She was so engrossed in her book that she didn’t pay attention to the path that she had taken unknowingly. About five feet in front of her was a tall white pillar, and at the rate she was walking, she would’ve run into it at any moment. Gunwoo immediately dashed out from his hiding spot and ran in her direction. He managed to reach in front of her but he skidded and run into the pillar instead. His back hit the side of the pillar, and his hit the base of the pillar. Ouch.

                She looked up from her book, her expression of sheer surprise. She had missed her would-be-encounter thanks to him. She would have been in his place if he had not run over to stop her. But of course, she did not realize it. He rubbed the nape of his neck and smiled at her sheepishly, not caring if his hips felt like a thousand needles were poking them or his legs felt like he’d just hit solid asphalt, which he did.

                He scrambled up, almost slipping back clumsily. She peeked from behind her book and said, “Are you okay?” Her voice sounded like bells tinkling to Gunwoo. He just smiled, his voice stuck at the back of his throat. She pointed behind him “Your glasses”. Gunwoo turned back rapidly, only to have his head hitting the pillar again. He winced at the pain but he tried to keep his cool. He heard her gasp but she didn’t say anything. He bent down gingerly and picked up his glasses before putting them back on.

                Gunwoo zoned out the sound of his friends chattering and craned his neck to look for her. It wasn’t hard; she’d always be sitting alone in a corner reading a book. Gunwoo found her in a matter of minutes. As usual, she was sitting alone at a table beside a large willow tree. She was dressed in simple jeans and her ebony hair was braided over her left shoulder. Stray strands of her hair fell around her face in the most perfect way. Her glasses were falling of the bridge of her nose, and she kept pushing them back whilst concentrating on her book. She might be a wallflower, but he noticed her as easily as noticing the sky was blue.

                He didn’t feel like joining his friends with their chat, as usually their chat/brag/complaint was on a subject that he was alien to; girlfriends. He didn’t know what to say when Insoo complained that Eunjung never laughed at his jokes (Seriously, that Kim Eunjung NEVER laughs at anything), or when Seyong moaned that Haera’s brother increased her curfew hours (Tch, what 19 year-old has curfews? Answer: A super hot 19 year-old-with an overprotective older brother and a boyfriend who loves to take her out on long, long date nights), or when Chaejin whined that he didn’t know what to do with Hyejung (Come on, Chaejin doesn’t know how to do ANYTHING when it comes to girls), nor when JunQ groaned that Na-yeon was treating him like a kid (Serves him right for dating a nuna). He hated it.

                But what he hated most was the bragging. At least the complaining meant that their girlfriends weren’t picture perfect and they had flaws, like every being in creation. But the bragging meant that his friend’s girlfriends were perfect; in a way. Today Insoo was telling them that Eunjung smiled at him (Mind you, Kim Eunjung smiling is an absolutely RARE occasion), then Seyong bragged about having to go on business studies at his parents company; with Haera (Isn’t it great when your parents set you up with someone for business or corporate reasons and that someone turns out to be your girlfriend?),Chaejin bragged about Hyejung helping him with his Calculus then he’d help her with her History (Yes Chaejin, we are all aware of the fact that you and your girlfriend are straight A students who got into the top 10 rankings during the school exams. WE GET IT), and lastly, JunQ showed off his lunch that Na-Yeon made for him (Na-Yeon is an AWESOME cook).  

 Nonetheless, he felt left out. If they talked about studies or football or even the weather, Gunwoo would be glad to join in. Instead they chose a subject that he was unfamiliar with. Some friends they are. Gunwoo never told anyone regarding his crush, as they’d pester him even more to make a move and scold him for just being the admirer. As such, his friends too failed to notice. At least that’s what he taught.

Insoo followed Gunwoo’s gaze. From the first moment they got there, he’d notice his friend lost in his thoughts, his gaze focused some where else. He thought maybe because it was the topic of their conversation, or maybe the guy has too many thoughts lingering in his head. Chaejin nudged him. Apparently he wasn’t the only one following Gunwoo’s thoughts. The other three had traced Gunwoo’s stare, and had found the source. Insoo followed their gaze and finally landed upon the subject. He smiled to himself, and then tackled Gunwoo into a massive bear hug.

“Oomph. Dude what the-“his sentence was cut short by the other three joining in the hug, literally suffocating him in their arms. “Aww hyung I’m so happy for you!!!” Seyong squealed. “For what?!!” he screamed. “For finally crushing on someone!!!” Chaejin exclaimed. “What?! I’m not-“his sentence was cut off yet again, this time by an overexcited Insoo. “You’re not crushing on her? Oh stop denying Gunwoo. We’ve known you for a long time already. I’ve been an admirer too. I know pretty much how one would look like,” He raised his eyebrows, as if daring Gunwoo to say otherwise.

Gunwoo was at a lost for words. Not because his friends had found out his secret, but because it took them this long to finally figure it out? Dude, he’d been crushing on her for two consecutive years already! They’d just realized it now?!! Some friends. Maybe he should sulk or something. Nah, he’s too mature for that. His friends aren’t apparently.

“Actually, hyung, I’ve noticed for a long time. You are one big pabo” as if reading his thoughts, the second youngest smirked at him. Okay, his friends aren’t as ignorant as he thought they were. They are quite thoughtful; in a way. “Well then, why didn’t you say anything?” he glared pointedly at JunQ. “Because, then you’d continue being a big pabo. Maybe I should’ve mentioned this earlier. You’re still a pabo nonetheless” JunQ stated, his smirk still evident.

                Gunwoo glanced up from the book in his hands, his eyes drifting over to a figure huddled in a corner with a fairly thick book on her lap. He settled restlessly against the wooden library chair and winced when she lifted her head up. She was truly mesmerizing, doing nothing but simply sitting cross-legged with her back against the tall library shelf, merely concentrating on the book on her lap. Gunwoo had caught a glance of the book title, which happens to be some sort of military history biography. He glanced down the book on his lap. Ben Hur. Hmm, he’d read this book once, in the exact situation he was in right now. He’d memorized the whole story without meaning too, though English classics weren’t his favorite. He preferred crime and mystery novels.

                He glanced up again, his attention totally diverted towards her huddled figure. The way she brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear, the way she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, the way her small fingers flip the pages of the biography slowly, everything seemed mesmerizing to him.  Unconsciously Gunwoo’s own hand went up to the rims of his own glasses, and he pushed them up the same way she did. His sub-conscious mind mimicked all her actions, even the way she fidgeted with the hems of her t-shirt.

                Stop, he told himself. He should just gather his courage and ask her out. Stop being a coward. Not that he didn’t have her phone number – he did (he has his own methods) – it’s just that he’d rather face her and ask her out himself, face to face. Still, he’s such a cowardly fool. Besides, wouldn’t she question where did he got her number if he’d just texted her or something? Wouldn’t she call him a stalker? Not that he isn’t, at the rate he’s going.

                He contemplated his decision for a while. Would she accept him? He belonged to one of the more popular cliques whilst she, a mere wallflower. Although he was rarely ever noticed thanks to his quiet appearance. So what made him, basically a jock, crush (and basically stalk) a girl he had never even had a chance to utter a word to? Probably it’s the fact that as the observer he is, she was the first person he ever noticed, literally. He didn’t even notice his professor standing right in front of him but instead noticed her, walking alone, lugging her huge government textbook in her arms. He wanted to help her, of course, but instead his professor flicked his forehead for not paying attention. She can’t seem to fade into the background in his view.  

                A flicker of movement caught his attention. He snapped his head back upwards and noticed that she had gotten up from her sitting position and was browsing through another library shelf. She then went to another section of the library that was hidden from his vantage point. He quickly got up and started to follow her quietly to wherever she was headed. He hid behind a shelf and watched as she studied each book keenly. Her facial expression brightened as she seemed to found what she was looking for.

*********************************************

                Mira stretched her arms and stood on the tip of her toes as she struggled to reach the book conveniently placed on the top of the already tall library shelf. She tried jumping a little but she only managed to brush the cover with the tips of her fingers. She jumped again, this time more vigor but her efforts were to no avail. She took in a deep breath as she stretched again, ignoring her already aching arms.

                She suddenly felt a tall and lean figure behind her as a pair of long arms reached for the book easily. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she caught a whiff of the person’s cologne and immediately recognized it. Her heart started to palpitate at and incredible rate and her breathing hitched. Could it be..?

*******************************************

                Gunwoo’s ears turned cherry red as she turned around to face him. His throat tightened and his heart rate seemed to increase rapidly. She looked up at him with those gloriously beautiful eyes as he shifted his weight nervously. He handed the book over to her, both his hands clutching the binding so firmly his knuckles turned white. He shut his eyes tightly as he blurted out “Ilikeyouwouldyougooutwithme?” all in one breath.

                She blinked as she tried to process what he just said. Silence engulfed them for a few minutes. Gunwoo was just about to give up and leave when she did something he had never even dreamed of, much less expected.

She nodded.