“Sorry, Kyungsoo. I think trying not to fail might be a good plan. Rain check?” Kyungsoo shrugged before grabbing his bag and heading out.

You turned to Jongdae. “Alright, teacher-nim. What’s the plan for making me not fail?”

***

Two and a half hours later you were beginning to regret your decision to stay. The math class itself hadn’t been too horrible, despite being a double class it had somehow been a lot easier than normally when Jongdae helped you understand the problems. However, when he dragged you to the library after class because “you need to understand the basics better,” you weren’t so sure this was a good idea any more.

“But how do you get this from that?” You asked, thoroughly confused. “Jongdaaaeee, I don’t understand.”

“Look, _____, it’s not as hard as it looks. Just break it into steps. Here, you start by…” Jongdae, seemingly infinitely patient in spite of your whining, leaned closer, taking you through the problem step by step for the second time.

Suddenly you found yourself focusing on his voice rather than his words, staring at his hands rather than what they were writing. You became aware of how close you were sitting, Jongdae’s shoulder almost touched yours and a strand of his hair brushed your cheek as he leaned over your paper.

“...and then you have the answer.” Jongdae’s words finally penetrated your stupor. “Do you get it now?” His brown eyes looked directly into yours, his face closer than was normal, although not uncomfortably close.

Sigh and say; “Not really. I spaced out during some of that, sorry.” (4)

Tell him without thinking; “Your eyes are really pretty.” (5)