A light aqua-cerulean base for the white cluster of clouds that went along with the gleaming sunlight was all it took to bring that beach to life. In its white sands trampled children who built sand hills only to destroy them by force, parents who tanned themselves to an infinite extent, and, of course, teenagers living the peak of their youth by mingling.

Wading her feet by the sea shore wearing a thin short-sleeved cardigan beneath her pastel yellow one-piece bathing suit was Jieun. She had nothing to do in particular; she only focused on the waves that gently touched her toes. She looked up at the sky to bask in the scenery before her and gave a smile to compliment its beauty.

Suddenly, she felt warmth on her hand. It was Kris, captivating in every way possible as he held her. From his sun-kissed skin right down to the defined muscles in his lean physique. Nothing can top that—not even the models with the best hot bods could beat the majesty that beheld in Jieun’s eyes. To see Kris’ bare torso had been her long life dream since the day before.

I could die right now, she thought to herself, feeling a spark on the hand that felt his.

Heaving a husky sigh of romance, she leaned against his chest only to meet another’s.

“What—what are you doing!?” Yelled a low voice.

Daydream, out.

Jieun jolted up from what she felt was the most blunt and rock-like chest she’s ever (only) felt; Kyungsoo’s chest to be exact.

Hiding his bashfulness with big eye whites and an elevated voice, he loudly nagged, “What’s wrong with you? Stop daydreaming about Kristine, please.”

“I wasn’t!” Jieun croaked. “And his name is Kris, mind you.”

He scoffed. “You were definitely dreaming in the day. Your face is red and you had been smiling weirdly for the last ten minutes.”

“Well, that’s—“

“And what’s with the whole get up?” He asked. “Why do girls always doll themselves up whenever they have a crush?”

She innocently smiled. “It’s because we want to look prettier—“

“For someone who’ll never notice all that wasted effort?—,” He stopped as he realized the douchebaggery in what he just said. He instantly turned into a sincere softie. “I’m—I’m so sorry, I didn’t want it to come out that way.”

Jieun pondered for a few seconds, absorbing the hurt.

“You know, you’re annoying,” she said. “For some weird reason, your abrupt sincerity makes me want to forgive you, I’m not used to it.”

“And we’re not used to this,” said a loud and especially low voice accompanied by a band of claps.

Kyungsoo did a facepalm the moment he saw Chanyeol enter alongside his other friends into the library. He was definitely embarrassed of them seeing that they weren’t the best with good first impressions. They moved together like a cluster of ants; they walked as one, but messily. They were boisterous and played whatever whenever—even kids would bow down to their childishness.

“Kyungsoo, I can’t believe you got yourself a girl so fast!” shouted Kai. “Level up!”

“We’re so proud of you!” the others chimed in, giving each other celebratory high-fives.

“Guys.” He extended his arms out to calm them down. “We’re not together.”

“Yeah,” agreed Jieun timidly. “We’re definitely not.”

The five friends’ faces became glummer by a small notch. To them, they looked so perfect together, but a part of them felt that it was denial on their part.

“Are you sure?” teased Sehun, another friend, poking him. He then proceeded to pat Jieun’s head playfully. “If I do this, how would you feel—“

“Cut it off, man.” Kyungsoo suddenly pushed Sehun away from her and acted as a shield—a newfound instinct that even he couldn’t fathom at that moment. He questioned why he did that for Jieun, but ended up worrying about how he was gonna get it from his friends.

“Gotcha,” Sehun said with a shooting gun motion and a cocky expression.

“My point still stands,” claimed Kyungsoo. “Don’t misunderstand.”

“Okay,” said Suho sarcastically as he rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say.”

The friends decided to quit interrogating and went straight to the point to kidnap Kyungsoo. At first, he resisted but it was an unfair five against one situation that he couldn’t escape. In the end, he was dragged out of the library—literally—they had to forcibly pull him out. It was a hilarious sight and Jieun couldn’t help but laugh as a mere spectator while witnessing the entire scene unfold before her. Poor Kyungsoo didn’t have any aid.

While he was being pulled out, he yelled his final remarks to her, “Jieun, eat my lunch; I don’t want it to go to waste. You know where my bag is anyway. I’ll try to be back before Ms. Lee returns from wherever she went to. Please back me up if she does; I’ll owe you!”

With that, the doors slammed and the library was once again at peace.

---

During the three hours that Kyungsoo was out, a few developments have transpired. Kris entered at around an hour later and read the book he previously borrowed, sitting in the same spot. With every page he flipped, the many rings on his fingers flared with the sunlight, catching Jieun’s attention even more. At some point, he nodded his head at her with a cool small smile upon noticing her looking at him briefly. He didn’t suspect much; he only had one purpose and that was to read peacefully, away from the hyperactive youth that wandered on the sandy beaches. As peculiarly chic as he was, he still had the statute of a true gentleman. Jieun kept that one second memory in her head and let it go on replay in her brain for as long as she could remember. An hour and a half later, Kris decided to leave.

Before he was just about to reach the door, he faced right and spoke to Jieun, “Goodbye, girl whose name escapes me.”

“It’s…” She couldn’t believe that it was happening; her chest tightened and adrenaline engulfed her body as if she was being surprised a thousand times. “Jieun… Kim Jieun.”

He smiled wider this time and waved, “Well then, have a nice day, Jieun.”

He said my name, she thought happily whilst holding her chest to contain her exploding heart. Kris knows my name.

Having that thought in mind, her stomach ruined the moment grumbled. It was then that she remembered about Kyungsoo telling her to eat his lunch for him. Inside, she was very thankful; she knew a delicious meal awaited her—a meal that made her sandwich look like a piece of .

She got his bag from the empty shelf of the front desk and looked for nothing but the container filled with carbonara. watered at the sight of it—she felt so blessed. Sitting down at the same spot she ate lunch with him yesterday, she devoured the meal in exactly eight minutes. It was so good that as much as she tried to savor it, she just couldn’t.

Wherever he bought it from, it must be somewhere expensive, she thought as she took the last bite. Like a high-class hotel. So does that mean he’s rich? He doesn’t look like it though—too shabby and delinquent-ey.

Not long after, Kyungsoo returned exhausted, catching Jieun still on her seat with the empty container in front of her. He ran over to her, panting hard, but used the last of his energy to ask her a number of questions.

“Did Kristine come?”

“It’s Kris, and yeah, he did. Where have you been?”

“Karaoke…”

“Really?”

“I know right, the songs they chose… all tiring… sang ‘Bar Bar Bar’ six times… with full choreo…” he said, slathering his arms on the table and lowering his head. “Back to the main topic. Kristine… did he say anything to you?”

“It’s Kris.” She blushed and giggled. “In fact, he did—“

“What?!” His exhaustion disappeared just like that when he jammed his hands against the table and widened his eyes in disbelief. “What’d he say?”

“He smiled at me. Twice. And got my name… and waved at me too.” She was playing with her hair while she said all that. “Why do you care? You were the one that even said a certain offending remark this morning.”

Upon being reminded of his remark, he once again softened up. “It’s just… it’s just that you seem reckless.”

“Reckless?”

He sighed heavily in nervousness. “I don’t know why, but you look like the type to give your heart out easily. I am doing you a favor; I get weird vibes from your ‘Kris Charming’ over here.”

“Are you by any chance jealous?” she inquired.

He laughed so hard he almost fell off his chair. “Me? Jealous?” Deep down inside, he actually began to question this, but managed to pull off looking like he wasn’t. “No, not really.”

Dismissing that, she asked another question. “Do you think he noticed me because of the makeup? Do I really look that different compared to when I have my face bare?”

He looked at her face like a magnifying glass, observing her every feature. His focused eyes made her feel uncomfortable in a weird way, but bore with it as she was curious to hear his answer. He was a guy, after all.

“You don’t look all that different; just enhanced, really,” he commented. “I personally don’t care whether you enter here with or without makeup. Your face is your face anyway.”

“Thank you,” she sincerely said, grinning at him. “I don’t get a lot of compliments— especially from guys.”

“You consider that a compliment?” he replied, amused. “I was being objective.”

“All the more; your objectivity is honesty to me,” she replied. “The comment is genuine that way.”

“Then, you’re welcome.”

“By the way, you owe me for today. You’re lucky Ms. Lee didn’t come yet,” she said.

“Would you like me to repay you with a secret?” he asked. “It’s a secret in which you will be the very first to find out. Aside from my parents, that is. But you get the point.”

“Good enough,” she replied, somehow feeling satisfied with just that. When she looked back to it, she even benefitted from the food he left.

“Alright, then.” He got his bag from the front desk and returned. From a compartment where she didn’t look at, he got a cooking book and some cash and extended it toward her. On the cover was the carbonara that she had just eaten. “Here; it’s my overdue book and the fee for returning it late.”

She got the message immediately. “It was… so you didn’t buy it,” she said, shocked. “You make your lunches yourself?!”

He sheepishly nodded with his hand rubbing the back of his neck. “Technically, yes. Cooking is a passion of mine as much as I don’t look like it. How was today’s pasta, was it alright?”

“Alright?” she asked, looking disgusted at first. “It was the most delicious pasta I’ve ever tasted—no joke.”

Hand on his chest, he replied, “Damn, you gave me a panic attack just now. Well, I’m glad you like it. You’re also the first to taste my food.”

“How about your parents?”

“They’re both top chefs who cook for rich hotels; I’m shy,” he replied.

“But why keep it a secret? It’s a good skill you’ve got; I can’t even cook for my life.”

“Imagine if my friends found out; they’d make me cook for them A LOT. I don’t want to take that risk. Ever.”

She nodded in agreement. “Good point. Even I would do the same if I were them.”

“You want?”

“You serious?”

He casually said, “ Yeah. One person is fine, but five is a pain in the .”

“I await the next mouth-watering meal, Kyungsoo.”

Hearing her say his name this time around made him feel all mushy inside, but he dismissed it as ‘one of those feelings that you feel randomly’. In denial, yet somehow subconsciously admitting that he liked being called by his name.

Just then, Ms. Lee came back and automatically dismissed them, not even knowing that Kyungsoo had left. The two then went their separate ways, greeting each other goodbye in a lighter tone.

Jieun saw a different side of Kyungsoo that day. Why she let him go out with his friends so easily, she knew exactly why. For the first time, she saw him in a more genuine hue. First impressions never really do last. Whom she thought was a shallow-minded delinquent was turning out to be more mature than she thought. She went home juggling all of her accumulated memories that day, remembering the savory taste of carbonara and Kris’ voice calling her name.

Soo, more sparks this time around in this chapter and the two men are reeling closer hohoho~ I'm trying to keep the flow steadier in this story as I feel that it is something I need to watch out for. :)

Thank you for reading and I hope you guys enjoyed it~! :D