In this new age, mothers all take a drug to help their child to feel nothing, and to help them relieve the pain of labour. The nothingness of feelings helped to numb everybody's feelings and they could feel nothing. Nobody has ever smiled or cried. Ever since the government has realized the problem of a decline in birth rates, they decided to teach people how to love, finding evidences of romance in the old world. 

 

Attending the Academy of Feelings were these bunch of teenagers, who were supposed to learn the skill of loving. They are paired up with people of different genders and they would undergo lessons of how to love each other, and to unveil their masked or rather, hidden feelings within themselves by stimulating their body to release hormones to feel happiness and longing for their partner. 

 

In front of her was a man who was good-looking, with a deep and nice voice introducing himself, "Hi, I am Kyuhyun." She nodded her head and introduced herself too, "My name is Seo Joohyun."

 

"Class, I want you to smile to your partner for the next 5 minutes, without talking at all." 

 

The class was confused. "Oh, right, I forgot. Smile is this curve you would have on your mouth, like this," the lecturer taught. "It's easy, try it." 

 

The class was absolutely quiet as the girl smiled at her partner, and looking at him smile back. She got tired of looking at his face after 2 minutes and she let her eyes wander around the class. Landing on the sight of somebody looking at her, her eyes shot back to her partner, who tilted his head to his right in curiosity.

 

"Okay, time's up! You can stop smiling." 

 

"Now, class, jump 10 times and put your arms around your partner, and do not let go until I tell you to do so. Any questions?" 

 

She rubbed her cheeks, as her muscles were aching from the smile. "Oh, and close your eyes when you hug—which means to put your arms around your partner."

 

She nodded. After doing what she was asked to do, she leaned in to hug her partner. She could hear the beating of his heart and the increase, and she did not feel any increase for herself until her mind flashed the image of the boy that she had eye contact with a while ago. 

 

"Think of your partner, class," the lecturer said, breaking her train of thoughts. The face of her partner came into her mind, but she shook her head, to her, she felt that the first person who came to her mind was better. Her eyes opened on the cue of her lecturer. 

 

Her eyes wandered to the other boy again, as she saw the same pair of eyes giving a loving gaze towards herself.

 

The class ended, and the boy walked towards her, while she hid away from him. 

 

"Don't partner Kyuhyun anymore. Please," he pleaded when she was hiding behind the tall cream-colored pillar. "My heart beats faster, and I don't think I would ever want you to smile or hug someone else."

 

She kept quiet as she imagined how it would be like hugging him. A voice whispered into her ears, "I want to grow a flower, water it, block it from the wind. I want to love you. Love is a feeling of pleasure that makes you want to know the person more, see the person more. Making you crazy because that person makes your heart beat so fast and your mind flashes pictures of that person so often. That, is love."

 

"Can I hug you?"