It’s the middle of third period, so the drafty corridors of the castle are deserted. Sunggyu doesn’t mind; in fact, he sort of prefers it that way. He’s not exactly a social butterfly, and he’d much rather be on his own than in a crowd.

He hopes the library will be as deserted as the hallways are. He’s in the only third period study hall, and he doubts any of the others in his class will be in the library on a Monday, so he’ll most likely have it to himself. Well, it’ll be him and the crotchety old librarian. But she rather likes him – probably because he’s so quiet – and so he doesn’t mind.

She looks up with a scowl on her face when he opens the door but, when she sees that it’s him, her frown fades into a smile and she gestures for him to go ahead. He returns her smile and takes his bag, loaded down with textbooks, to the study room at the back of the library.

He pushes open the door and then hesitates, seeing that, despite his calculations that no one else should be there, it is indeed already occupied.

He turns to go but the other person stops him. “It’s okay, you can stay,” he says with a shy sort of smile. “There’s plenty of room for both of us.”

Sunggyu forces a small smile and steps all the way into the study room, letting the glass door shut behind him. He settles down at the table in the corner, the one furthest away from the other occupied table. He quickly unloads all of his books from his bag, setting them around himself like a sort of barricade. His heart is pounding so loud he’s sure the other guy in the room can hear it.

Because the other guy in the room isn’t just any other guy. It’s just Sunggyu’s luck to be stuck in the study room with the one guy in the entire school that he might actually like.

Kim Minseok is, in Sunggyu’s eyes, everything that he is not. He’s handsome, intelligent, and well-liked enough to be voted onto the student council, which is no mean feat for a first year. He’s in a few of Sunggyu’s classes, and that’s enough for Sunggyu to know that he doesn’t just admire Minseok; he’s got the hots for him and he’s got it bad.

“Are you building a fort over there?” Minseok asks, but his voice is friendly and Sunggyu doesn’t exactly get the impression that Minseok is making fun of him.

Sunggyu blushes and peers over the top of his makeshift barricade. Minseok is smiling at him from across the room, halfway turned in his chair so he can see Sunggyu better. “Ah, I just don’t like to be distracted when I’m studying.”

“Oh, sorry,” Minseok says quickly, the smile fading from his face. “I didn’t mean to distract you. I’ll let you get back to studying.”

And of course Sunggyu feels like the biggest idiot in the world. “N-no, that’s not what I meant,” he mutters, and then Minseok turns to look at him again and he’s got no idea what to say. “I-I mean…” he stammers.

Minseok saves him from the stuttering mess he’s become by interrupting. “You’re Kim Sunggyu, right? We’re in a few classes together.”

Sunggyu looks up in surprise. “You know who I am?”

Minseok chuckles, and he turns completely around in his seat now so he’s properly facing Sunggyu. “Why wouldn’t I know who you are? You’re sort of a legend around Peritia, you know.”

“Me?” Sunggyu repeats incredulously. “I’m a legend?”

Minseok chuckles again, and Sunggyu is fairly certain he’s currently the color of a ripe tomato. “You got the highest score on the final exam of anyone in Peritia’s history last year,” Minseok points out. “That’s the stuff of legends. Plus, I think technically you’re my shepherd.”

Sunggyu blushes again. “Ah, yeah, originally I was supposed to be,” he agrees. “But when you were elected to the student council, you were assigned a new shepherd, one that’s also in the student council.”

Minseok gives Sunggyu a wry grimace. “Yeah, I ended up getting stuck with Donghae. He’s a nice guy, don’t get me wrong, but he’s pretty busy since he’s the council historian and plus he likes to party more than mentor. I think I would’ve been better off with you at my shepherd.”

Sunggyu blushes again; it’s a good thing he’s made his barricade of books because now he can duck down behind it to hide his reddening cheeks. “I’ve never gotten to be a shepherd before,” he admits. “I was sort of looking forward to it, so I was disappointed when they said you had to be mentored by someone in the student council.”

“Well, since you want to be a shepherd and I still need one, how about we pretend like we’re still paired up?” Minseok suggests with another shy little smile.

Sunggyu knocks his books over in alarm at that. “R-really?” he demands, feeling panicked at once.

Minseok chuckles and strides over to help Sunggyu collect his fallen books. “I mean, if that’s okay with you. Donghae has shown me around the school of course, but not in great detail. I’d really appreciate it if you could show me.” He hesitates as he hands the books back. “I mean, I understand if you’re too busy…”

“No, I’m not too busy!” Sunggyu assures him quickly, a little too quickly. “I mean, I wouldn’t mind. I…That would be…cool.”

Minseok’s smile is genuine. “Great.” 

Kim Sunggyu: Infinite

Sorry it's so short OTL