“And tomorrow, you will all close this chapter in your lives...Congratulations all on graduating.”

Lee Hayi should be paying attention to the professor, but she’s too distracted at the perfection just off to the side in the distance.

There’s a storm of roars from her peers at the proclamation of the class’ final exit from this hell hole torture of a school, but Hayi can’t seem to reciprocate such happiness. Sure, being rid of the endless assignments and gruelling several hour long lectures was a great thing to look forward to, but graduating also meant departing. Now the idea of departing from the cramped hallways and mediocre cafeteria food wasn’t something to mourn over, but it was the sad reality of departing from him that left an unsettling feeling in her stomach.

Hayi’s crush on Zelo hit her like a ton of bricks.

It was only in her final year at school that she realized what the whole commotion of Zelo was about. Over that summer, he grew inches beyond what anyone could have imagined. His jawline was chiselling out of his face like the works of Michelangelo and his skin was clearing up from the adolescent pimples that the young ones always fell victim to. Hayi wouldn’t have really noticed the changes in him if it wasn’t for her new seating arrangement that fell through in the last days at school. Hayi being amongst the shortest of the short had usually been given the clear vision of being right at front, first row, first seat. But when her popularity exploded and her schedules of being a kpop phenomenon went through the roof, her tendency to walk into class tardy was a common thing. Despite being so tiny, it was starting to be troublesome for her and her peers to be tippy toeing her way to the front day in and day out. Eventually, her spot moved to the very back where the taller kids were...Zelo being one of them. Because the transformation of Zelo from being average to ridiculously handsome had caused a stir with the female classmates, it was only natural for the professor to have Hayi sit beside him. For she was always either late, or never shown any interest in the guys.

Maybe that was why many of Hayi’s teachers thought highly of the girl. In a school with many distractions in the form of pretty flower boys, the little soulful singer never batted her lashes differently. Sure there were many moments where similarly to any teenager, her eyes would drift off to the side windows, her attention to the lesson going away. But it was still better than the other peers who scribbled little love letters confessing their feelings and trying so desperately to send them across the room via a trail of busy hands from one student to another.

~

Hayi would always remember the first day with her seat buddy. She stepped into class half an hour late and plopped herself tirelessly into her seat. Resting her head atop the table she stared at the new figure to her side. Surprisingly the idol kept himself attentive to the lecture, such a difference to her assumptions she had made about the fellow idol in the past. Minutes passed by effortlessly with her kept so still in that same position.

“Are you going to keep staring at me like that?” The figure of her attention finally spoke out.

She flinched at the sudden question thrown her way. Awkwardly, she pushed herself up, twisting her body around. It really must have been quite some time considering that she was starting to feel cramps along her sore body.

“Sorry..” She whispered, “But I wasn’t staring.”

She was adamant about keeping her stance. It’s not her fault that he was so abnormally big and therefore in her line of vision…

“Alright,” Zelo simply answered back. He still kept his attention on the lecture, not once sparing her a glance.

She eyed him suspiciously. His hands busied themselves with the task of taking notes down. He spared not one second to take a look at what he was writing. But to her surprise, everything he jotted down was eligible to read.

“Interesting..” Hayi mumbled as she reached into her desk to grab out her set of stationary.

“You do realize that the class is finished in 10 seconds.”

“What are you talking about--”

Hayi folded herself upright after successfully retrieving her belongings deep within her desk.

“3, 2, 1” the boy counted.

“~!@#$$%” The bell alarmed.

Dumbfounded, Hayi could only stare at her freshly opened notebook, her fingers still performing the motion of uncapping her pen. Where did the time go?

“You do realize that our last test before graduation is tomorrow and it’s on this stuff...”

Zelo stated in a matter of fact tone. He finally adjusted his head to stare at his fellow singer.

“I know that,” she scoffed, “Chapters 20-25. Focus on the charts on page 145. There’ll be a diagram we need to label which will likely be either A or B on section 4.5 of page 152.”

One by one, students fled out of the classroom.

It was Zelo’s turn to stare.

Hayi stayed seated, flipping through her textbook and accurately applying sticky notes on various pages here and there.

The petite girl to his side was really a mystery. He was almost certain that she wasn’t paying attention. Heck he had sworn that if it wasn’t for the heel of her shoe tapping to a soft rhythm  for the past 30 minutes, he would have pronounced her dead. Yet, there she was stating things that he wouldn’t be able to remember despite the fact that he had written it down.

“Well, uhh...the stuff on the board.” He coughed delicately, almost afraid to disrupt her session of whatever the heck one would call it.

“Yeah, I’ll take a picture of it when I’m done with this--”

“Someone just erased it,” Zelo cut in.

Her head popped up almost immediately. It was true. The only thing that remained on the board up ahead was just small flecks of evidence that showcased that some time ago there indeed were printings of important notes that Hayi only wished to somehow reappear.

She was done for. She knew it and was basically willing to accept that she’d be doing poorly on the upcoming test. Giving up, she threw her pen up in the air.

Zelo swooped in and caught the object in a second. Smirking at the deflated girl before him he pushed his notes towards her.

“Here.” He simply said.

She could feel the loose leaflets poking her forearm. With a cocked brow she looked at him then down at his offer. Was it really okay for her to just accept it?

“Here,” he repeated.

She was still uncertain, a string of guilt still lingered and prevented her from gladly grabbing the thing right then and there.

Zelo could tell by the way she kept her eyes glued, that she wanted them but was being stubborn. What was it about girls being so complicated?

He sighed playfully, “Okay, well if you realllly don’t want it then…”

“Wait!” She called out.

He waited anxiously to hear her give in, eyes sparkling.

“...nevermind,” she mumbled.

“Bwoh?” He scrunched his face and cupped his ear.

“Nevermind,” she stated loudly. She wasn’t going to win in this situation if she took them. She’d blame herself forever if she ended up doing well and him poorly by taking the notes.

She wasn’t going to do that to him. She couldn’t.

The boy tilted his head, almost in disbelief with what he just heard.

“Well I’m just gonna leave them right there then.” He announced, getting up from his seat after packing up.

“What?” He was giving her a headache. Why would he just leave it there?

“If you just so happen to want to use the notes to study, then go ahead and take them before you go~” Zelo was so nonchalant about the whole ordeal.

He was on his way out when he stopped in his track, standing directly underneath the doorway, “You can read my writing right?” He needed to confirm this.

“U-Umm. Yeah…” She whispered, her eyes locked on the vision of his tall frame.

It was there that she noticed just how blessed he was in the vertical department, his head only a mere inches from touching the door frame.

“Okay, good,” he softly laughed before strolling out.  

His smile was delicate, just barely lifting at the corners of his lips, and yet Hayi could only think that the angle of it was just stunning. Absolutely stunning.

~

Lee Hayi could barely look him in the eye the next day.

The truth was that she took his notes. Of course she did. What kind of human bein