Himchan stared up at her pink ceiling blearily and then turned her head to glance at the blinking digits of her alarm clock. She had woken up even before the first alarm, as always. Untangling herself from her blanket, she dragged herself to the toilet to freshen up before putting on her uniform with her eyes still half-lidded. Her brain felt sluggish and heavy, weighing her down as she absently slung her bag over her shoulder and left her room.

The hall was in darkness (which was odd since Himchan’s parents always woke up earlier than her). She shrugged it off and made her way to the door. Pulling on her usual socks, she one-handedly opened the door before shoving her feet into her shoes. The corridor lights were still lit, even though the sky had already lightened from purplish hues to a pleasant bright azure blue. Himchan felt as if something was off as she locked the door and then hastily made her way towards the elevator. She rounded the corner and frowned when she didn’t see Yongguk already waiting for her. Her finger jabbed at the lift button as she reached into her pocket to whip out her phone.

No new messages.

Himchan bit the inside of her cheek and kicked herself inwardly for feeling terribly disappointed. After all, it wasn’t as if he was always there waiting for her every morning…

He was always there, a small voice at the back of her head reminded snidely.

She stood there for a good five minutes before deciding that she would head to school alone and then maybe interrogate Yongguk about his absence later on. Stepping into the lift, she checked her reflection against the mirror panel and grimaced at how much of a mess she looked like. Her hair lacked shine, her face was almost bare (except for the BB cream she insisted she had to put on, regardless of skin irritation or not) and terribly pale. She decided not to look at her horrifying reflection and concentrated on picking at her nails instead. When the doors opened, and she snapped back to attention and marched out—only to crash into someone and flop backwards on her .

Himchan was furious. She quickly checked if her bag was still unscratched before checking herself over and glaring up at the intruder from the floor. “The is your pro—“

“Where are you even going?” Yongguk looked very amused, his lips curved up in a smile. Himchan faltered immediately, shrinking back.

“…I’m going to s-school, of course!” she stuttered mid-sentence, disorientated by how good he looked in his body-hugging tank top and running shorts with that light sheen of sweat over his slightly-tanned skin and how good those biceps looked.

Yongguk barked out a laugh, and then took a look at her offended expression before laughing even harder. “It’s a Saturday, you idiot.”

Oh.

Himchan immediately stood up from the ground, brushed the dirt off her skirt and then turned abruptly to march back into the lift. She could feel her whole face burning and hear his boisterous laughter behind her. Disgruntled, she jabbed her finger repeatedly to close the elevator doors before Yongguk could reach the lift lobby. Needless to say, he did reach before the doors closed and smugly beamed at a very flustered Himchan.

“Good morning to you too, Himchan.” He reached over to ruffle her hair and faltered when she shot him a very potent evil eye. “Shut up, Bbang.” She snapped. “I feel like , so don’t talk to me.”

A chuckle. “You mean you don’t want your Americano?”

Himchan’s head immediately swivelled to face him, her expression doubtful as she eyed him over and her gaze fell on the plastic bag that he held. His absurdly handsome face broke into another breath-taking grin as he held the door open for her to walk out first before he did. Himchan instantly snatched the bag from his grasp and peeked into it.

“I’m touched,” she announced before clutching it tightly to her chest. “You’re forgiven. Goodbye.” She her heels and then marched back towards her door.

“You’re welcome!” Yongguk called from behind and Himchan instantly felt bad for even thanking him for the coffee—but when she turned back, he was already gone. Shrugging it off, she unlocked the door and then stepped into her house. She made a beeline towards her room and shut the door as quietly as she could before changing back into her pajamas.

Her laptop was left at the side of her bed, still open with its power button blinking. She flopped down onto the bed before heaving it off the table and resting it on top of her blankets. There was nothing online to entertain her, so she sighed heavily and then reached for her cup of coffee. No sugar, just the way she liked it. Yongguk always knew her the best; she snuggled deeper into her sheets in bliss and stared up at the ceiling.

‘Just one peep couldn’t hurt, right?’ she thought to herself, biting on her lower lip nervously. Slowly advancing to her window, she grasped on to the curtains and then pulled them aside the slightest bit. The room opposite hers was dimly lit—as usual. She squinted a little and managed to make out Yongguk standing before his closet, his hands resting on his hips. Himchan subconsciously her lips at the sight of his back (she had always thought that even though he had narrow shoulders, his slight muscles made them look way too appealing to her). He took out a white tank top and then before her very eyes, began to strip off his wifebeater.

Himchan let out a very high-pitched squeak as she dropped the curtains and then scurried back into the comfort of her bed. Her face felt hot as she grabbed a pillow and hurled it across the room. ‘Kim Himchan, get yourself together,’ she chided herself. ‘He’s the same Bang Yongguk who laughed at your thighs back in middle school.’

Yongguk was just an annoying childhood friend. And she was just very impressed by his body. That was all.