The hallway was filled with people as it always was on a Monday. People walking around with their heads bowed and their eyes half shut while slogging down coffee as though it was a lifeline, feet stomping against the stone floors as the sun filtered through the ancient archways that were teeming with history and knowledge. She hunched her shoulders and pushed past the people who paid her no attention, some even checking her on the shoulder as she went through the crowd.

 

Irene clutched her sketchbooks to her chest tightly and tried to make herself as small as possible, her art lecturer’s words replaying at the back of her mind like a tape.

 

She groaned to herself and made her way to an empty space at the archways, ignoring the looks the other girls were giving her when she sat down, her brown hair falling into her eyes when she bent over to tie her shoelaces, purple Keds standing out in the midst of the heels and flats. The frayed bottoms of her jeans brushed past her ankles when she crossed them, her sketchbook laying on her lap as she twisted her hair into a messy bun, her eyes scanning the crowd.

 

Irene thumbed the edges of her sketchbook and heaved out a loud sigh, dreamy and weary at the same time as she managed to find the shade of blonde that has been filling her dreams, haunting her consciousness and bleeding into her paintings.

 

You have one more piece! Find something that wows me, Irene!

 

She did have something that would wow her mentor. Something bold and exciting that would throw everyone else’s game off because no one has ever successfully pulled one off before.

 

Something bold and exciting! Something different! Out of your comfort zone!

 

But the only problem was that she had no subject.

 

Scratch that.

 

She didn’t have anyone else other than one person in mind that she wanted as a subject.

 

Her eyes were still trained on golden hair, curling into a smile when the owner of the brightly coloured hair laughed, head thrown back and eyes squeezing shut. She tilted her head to one side, envying the friend sitting next to the blonde for being able to witness such a beautiful smile up close.

 

Irene imagined it would be like witnessing a sunrise meant for one person.

 

She sighed and lowered her gaze, not wanting to linger on for too long, lest the girl noticed. She flipped through her pages of her rapidly filling sketchbook, each page depicting a smile similar to the one she had just seen, drawn in a different place, context, even hair colour. Irene stopped at a blank page and dug her bag for her pencil case, the red and yellow larvae character looking at her mockingly as she took out a sketch pencil. Her hands moved on their own and soon the page was filled with a rough sketch.

 

The page was soon decorated (again) with the smile of Wendy Son.

 

*

 

(All it took was a smile.

 

One smile and Irene had fallen.)

 

It was a morning like every other. Irene had gone to her part time job like she always did, bright and early because she wanted to get in some reading before her shift officially started, her large tome of art history weighing down her book bag as the bag strap cut into her shoulder. The head librarian gave her a cordial smile when she entered before speaking up shakily, Irene rushing over to the counter to stop the lady from standing up. She gave the brunette a smile and sat down gratefully, the other library helper shooting Irene a dirty glare.

 

(It wasn’t a secret that out of all the helpers, the head favoured Irene, often sneaking the girl a drink or a snack just before her shift.

 

Even though it was not allowed in the library.)

 

“Irene, dear, is it alright if you start your shift earlier today? I have to settle some family issues so I need someone to man the main table.”

 

Irene placed her bag on the counter and she nodded, smiling easily as she patted the old lady’s arm.

 

“No worries. You go on ahead, Miss.”

 

The woman smiled and laid a hand on Irene’s, her voice croaky as the sides of her eyes crinkled into a smile.

 

“You’re such a good child.”

 

They exchanged some more small talk before the head librarian made her way slowly, not before directing the other helper towards the shelves to put the books back. Another dirty look was aimed towards Irene before she was left alone at the main counter, Irene pulling her book out of her bag and placing it in front of her, preparing for an easy shift today.  

 

(The duties of the main table were simple; mainly checking out the books students wanted to borrow and logging books when it was brought back.

 

But these days, with the improvement of technologies, hardly anyone checked books out anymore, preferring to take pictures of the pages they needed instead of lugging the entire book out.)

 

For the most part, Irene was undisturbed, looking up from her notes every once in awhile to greet the students entering, but she managed to make a good headway through her book, her head bopping to an unheard beat as she scribbled yet another fact that she would need later on in the quiz. Flipping to another page, she snuck a glance at the table clock, mentally calculating just how many more chapters she could review before her classes started when a voice cut through her mind babble.

 

“Excuse me?”

 

She lifted her head at the sound, her brows furrowing together in confusion (because no one spoke to the librarians unless they were desperate) and was promptly blown away by the sight.

 

Irene blinked rapidly, the lead in her mechanical pencil snapping loudly as she pressed down on it a little too hard. Dazed, she fumbled with her papers and stood up quickly, her cheeks staining red when the blonde raised an eyebrow at her flustered state but thankfully saying nothing of it.

 

“A-ah, yes! How can I help you?”

 

The blonde smiled, Irene inhaling sharply and held her breath, hoping that her heart wouldn’t explode because in front of her had to be a work of art come to life.

 

(Her mind raced to all the powerpoint presentations her mentor had shown in class and Irene was sure none of the masterpieces matched up to the girl in front of her.)

 

“I was wondering if you had these books on hand? I would like to check them out.”

 

The blonde handed over a list, waving the piece of paper slightly when Irene made no move to take it. Jumping slightly, Irene took the note from the clearly amused blonde and took a seat, swiping at the mouse to wake the computer sitting idly at the table. While she was tapping away at the keyboard to look for the books the girl wanted, the blonde struck up a conversation, her smile loud in her words and her fingers drumming the table top served as the beat behind the music that was her voice.

 

“So I’ve never seen you around here before. New volunteer?”

 

Irene cleared , cursing at herself when her voice came out a pitch higher.

 

“N-no. I’m part timing here. I’m usually at the back shelving.”

 

The blonde chuckled.

 

“That makes more sense. I was about to conclude the old lady found the fountain of youth or something.”

 

Irene laughed along nervously and pressed the printer icon by the left side of the screen, the printer jolting to life as it spat out a piece of paper containing the sections the books were in. She pulled the sheet out of the tray and handed it over to the blonde, the breath she was holding exhaled out in a sigh as the brunette stood up, Irene managing a small smile.

 

“Here. These are the sections where the books are at. I’ll check them out for you after you’ve found them.”

 

The girl smiled at her brightly and turned away from the counter, barely walking three steps away from Irene before she turned back around, a sheepish look on her face.

 

“Could...could you maybe show me? I’m not too familiar with the system.”

 

Biting her lip, Irene glanced around to the near empty library, her sense of responsibility (She technically wasn’t supposed to leave the table) warring against her want to help the girl. Her choice was made for her when the girl’s smile shifted slightly, the left corner of her lips curling up higher than her right and it had Irene exiting from the counter, her fingers pulling the paper away from the blonde.

 

“Follow me please.”

 

Hoping that the other girl was not as aware as she was of the blush tainting her cheeks, Irene walked to the specific bookshelves quickly, pulling out worn books in a practiced manner and depositing them into the blonde’s arms. She ignored the amused grin the girl was shooting at her, the blonde tilting her head to one side as Irene hastened her steps, the brunette eager to finish this chore as quickly as possible.

 

(It was bad for her rapidly beating heart to remain in this person’s presence for too long.)

 

“I think that’s all the books? We can check them out now if you want?”

 

The blonde nodded, only speaking up once the books were deposited at the counter, a cheeky smile plastered on her face as she leant forward, elbows on the tabletop and chin resting on her hands.

 

“Do you not like me? You seem to be in an awful hurry to get rid of me.”

 

Her elbow knocked against the edge of the table, Irene once again flustered by the smile and question, the blonde’s smirk dropping immediately as she tried to clamber over the counter to check on Irene’s arm.

 

“Oh my god! Are you okay?”

 

Irene waved a hand.

 

“Y-ye-Yes! I’m okay!”

 

She lowered her gaze and concentrated on scanning the books, aware that the girl was looking at her worriedly but she ignored it, still avoiding the look the blonde was giving her as she stammered out her question.

 

“C-could I have some ID, please?”

 

Fingers brushed past hers, Irene barely managing to stop herself from flinching and she nodded in thanks, her heart echoing in her ears as she scanned the ID.

 

(Wendy Son. First Year. Music Therapy Major.

 

Smart and pretty.)

 

Gathering the books, she placed the ID on the