;

park siyeon didn’t think much of the girl who took it upon herself to sit at the table she had marked as her own at the far back corner of the library. they had never talked and siyeon definitely wouldn't be the first to initiate anything. usually the girl with the long black hair and orange dyed tips got there a little bit before she did - siyeon assumed that the girl’s school had an earlier release time than hers. when siyeon first saw her, the girl only glanced up once in acknowledgement of her before looking back down at her book. siyeon should've been mad that someone had taken 'her' spot, but she wasn't. one because the girl wasn't a bother, and, two, siyeon admitted, the girl was easy on the eyes.

siyeon walked there after school everyday and everyday she'd see the same girl. sometimes the pretty girl would be invested in a thick book and other times she would have her homework papers sprawled all over the table.

"oh. i’m sorry, it's a bit of a mess here." she said when siyeon appeared from behind the bookshelf. the girl placed the pen in her hand into and stood, reaching out and gathering the papers that were spread around the table into one pile. it was the first time siyeon heard the girl speak despite this being about the second month she’d been sitting with her.

siyeon watched as a piece of paper slid off the table and onto the carpet ground. she kneeled down and picked it up, catching the name 'jeon somi' written at the very top in curly handwriting. siyeon handed it to the other girl, who took it with a quick 'thanks'. somi huffed once she had gathered all the papers, removing the pen from . "there."

the shorter one sat at the seat across from somi. "i don't mind if you need to use the whole table for your papers," she said, feeling somi's eyes on her as she opened up her backpack. "i don't need much room."

"ah… a - are you sure?" the girl asked, the sound of crumpling papers could be heard as the girl fidgeted. siyeon looked up and their eyes connected. she nods with a hum, gesturing to the table.

"yeah, go ahead."

the girl was still hesitating, her eyes flickering between the library table and siyeon’s eyes. siyeon smiled, finding the girl’s consideration adorable. “it’s fine.” she assured her. somi slumped into her chair.

“but… i don’t want to be a hogger.” she said in a quiet whiny tone. a small laugh came from siyeon, which caught somi’s attention. siyeon’s lips curved upwards as she pulled out her homework folder, eyes glancing to the girl staring at her. “all i have to do today are chemistry revisions.” she said, holding up notes. “you can take up the whole table, i don’t mind.”

the girl exhaled deeply. “thank you so much.” she said as she began to spread out her papers in the format they were in before siyeon had arrived. “i have an essay due first thing in the morning tomorrow so…” she bit the end of her pencil and siyeon didn’t allow her eyes to linger longer than necessary.

“what school do you go to?” siyeon asked, placing her folder on the table. she never could tell the differences between different school uniforms. somi stopped focusing on her essay papers and looked up to talk to siyeon. “i go to jyp high school.” she answered.

siyeon’s eyes widened - that school was on the other side of town. why on earth did somi go to this library? somi snickered at siyeon’s reaction. “i used to go to a public school but i transferred recently… i take the bus to this library and this library is near the train station that i use to get home.” she explained. “but the train that i have to get on to get home doesn’t leave until six… so i just chill here” siyeon nodded. “ah, i see.”

“how about you?” somi didn’t seem to care that much about her essay anymore, seeing as she set down her blue gel pen and leaned closer to the table, her eyes seeming to sparkle. “what school do you go to?”

“pledis high school.” siyeon replied, setting her notes down. somi’s mouth formed an ‘o’ shape, “the one right across from here, right?”

“yeah, that one.” siyeon nodded. she was never one to keep a conversation going, but there was something about somi that urged siyeon to keep talking. “my… my mom doesn’t get out of work until seven, so i just stay here until then.”

“i always wondered why you’d still be here by the time i left.” somi admitted with a small smile. the girl leaned on the palm of her hand whilst her other hand tapped on the table. she sat up suddenly. “oh!” she said. “what’s your name and grade?”

siyeon blinked at the sudden question. “i’m park siyeon, grade 10.”

somi looked at her in surprise. “i thought you were in grade 11 or 12.”

siyeon reached up to touch her face. “do i look that old to you?” she asked jokingly.

somi laughed, shaking her head. “no, it’s just you don’t see that many pretty girls in grades 9 and 10 - everyone usually becomes pretty in grades 11 and 12.” she explained. somi had just called her pretty.

siyeon smiled at the compliment, her chest filling with warmth. “well, what grade are you in?”

“ah, i’m in grade 9.” somi beamed. “and my name’s jeon so. mi.” she said, pronouncing each syllable of her name with emphasis. siyeon quirked an eyebrow, not saying anything. somi blinked, confused at siyeon’s stare. “what?”

siyeon shrugged, lowering her eyes to her chemistry notes. “you said that everyone becomes pretty in grades 11 and 12…” she flipped her paper over, staring at the back. she could feel somi’s eyes on her. “but you’re only in grade 9, and you’re already so pretty.”

there was silence after siyeon’s comment.

the older girl looked up only to see somi smiling down at her lap, a shade of pink blooming on her cheeks. siyeon bit her lip to contain her smile. it was only the first day they had spoken and siyeon couldn’t remember the last time where she had felt that happy.

;

siyeon didn’t particularly like to see somi in distress. one day, she saw somi staring down at her worksheet, eyebrows furrowed and lips in a frown. siyeon set everything of her own things aside and pulled her chair next to somi. “what’s up?” she asked, shoulder to shoulder with the other girl.

that snapped somi out of her frustrated daze, her body retracting in surprise. “woah, when did you get over here?” the two of them had never been this close together before - it took siyeon a few seconds to fully take in somi’s beauty. siyeon gathered her composure. she shrugged, looking down at the papers somi had in front of her.

“it looked like you were having a hard time.” siyeon said, bringing her eyes back up to somi, who had never taken her eyes off of her yet. “so... i thought i could help.” it was hard to look directly into somi’s eyes, but siyeon wouldn’t allow her eyes to wander. if they wandered, siyeon was sure she’d end up looking at every single flawless feature of the younger girl.

somi smiled, finally looking away. “ah, it’s just… i hate geometry.” she laughed without much humor, eyes on her paper. “i don’t get it.” she reached up and tightened her ponytail with a sigh. siyeon scooted a bit closer, leaving almost no space between them. “okay, well, here,” she took the pencil out of somi’s hand, pointing to the problem with the tip of it. she began to explain the problem and paused to look at somi, who was just staring at her. “jeon somi, are you even listening to me?” siyeon asked with a smile.

somi blinked rapidly. “huh? oh, yeah!”

siyeon giggled quietly and gently slapped somi’s arm. “shhh!” she whisper-yelled, trying to contain her laughs. “we’re in the library, idiot.” she laughed. somi’s face began to burn up in embarrassment. siyeon bumped her knee with somi’s. “listen to me, i’m trying to help you.” she said, the smile still on her face.

somi nodded in understanding, sitting up straighter. “yes, ma’am. i’m listening, i’m listening very well now.”

siyeon shook her head and laughed before beginning to explain the problem again. once siyeon was done explaining, somi tried to figure out the problem once again. siyeon sat and watched. with a final sigh, somi’s head fell onto siyeon’s shoulder. “i still don’t get it, siyeon.” she complained.

“okay,” siyeon reached towards somi’s lap where her hand was, taking the pencil out of her hand. “watch me figure it out.” somi hummed, her head still resting on siyeon’s shoulder. siyeon explained everything that she did as somi watched intently.

“oh.” somi said in realization as siyeon finished the problem. “i get it now.”

“do you really?” siyeon asked, looking down at the girl. siyeon felt somi’s head move against her shoulder in a nod. “yeah, i do.”

siyeon bumped her knee against somi’s again. “any other problem you don’t understand?”

somi let out a scoff. “all of them?”

“really?” siyeon raised her eyebrows. somi lifted her head, showing siyeon a pout. “my geometry teacher isn’t that good at teaching.” siyeon’s eyes flickered towards somi’s lips before back up at her eyes.

“okay, show me the problems. i’ll help.”

in the midst of somi figuring out one of the problems, siyeon checked her phone. she tapped somi’s thigh as she read the time. “hey, it’s 5:30, you should leave before you’re late for the train.” she said to the girl whose head was still on her shoulder. somi groaned, closing her eyes.

“how can i do this at home by myself?”

siyeon patted the girl’s knee. “give me your phone number?”

somi opened her eyes. “eh?”

“so i can help you over text.” siyeon suggested. “and, i wanted to ask for your number a while ago.” she confessed with a small smile. somi sat up straight. “you could’ve asked earlier.”

“i had no reason to.” siyeon shrugged, sliding her phone in front of somi. “put your number in.”

“being friends isn’t enough reason to?” somi asked as she typed in her number. siyeon ignored the question as she gathered up somi’s things for her.

“there.” somi said. “i texted myself so i’ll know your number now.” she stood from her chair and put her bag on. siyeon waved goodbye to her. “text me when you get home.”

“will do.” somi said with a smile. “bye bye!” she whispered.

siyeon smiled and let out a small laugh as somi disappeared behind the bookshelves. siyeon looked at the library table that suddenly gave off a very lonely aura. she puffed up her cheeks and went back to her side of the table, realizing she hadn’t started any of her homework and that she probably wouldn’t be able to finish before tomorrow morning.

“crap.”

siyeon only just entered her mom’s car when she got a text. she checked her phone and saw that it was a text from someone with the contact name ‘the cutest girl in the world’. of course somi would set her name to that. siyeon smiled as she read the text.

“what are you smiling about?” her mom asked her, eyes fixated on the road. siyeon looked up from her phone after typing a reply. “hmm? nothing.” she said.

her phone buzzed almost instantaneously. somi was clearly a fast typer.

her mom shot a glance towards her. “is that your boyfriend?”

“what?!” siyeon’s eyebrows shot up. “no!”

“it better not be.” her mom warned her in the motherly tone that was half serious, half playful. siyeon’s smile widened as somi sent a picture of her and her dog.

her mother just shook her head at her.

;

somi watched as siyeon sat down at the table with a sigh. she frowned. “what’s wrong?”

siyeon laid her head on her arms that were folded on top of the table. “i totally failed my test.” she mumbled. somi furrowed her eyebrows. “didn’t you study? you usually -” she cut herself off with a gasp. “i distracted you from studying, didn’t i?”

siyeon lifted her head. “what? no.” she denied. “if anything, i distracted myself.”

somi shook her head. “you’re just saying that because you’re nice. i totally distracted you.” she jutted out her lower lip. “darn it. why didn’t you tell me you had to study?”

“because i didn’t wanna stop talking to you.” siyeon buried her face back into her arms.

“b - but - siyeon,” somi stuttered, caught off guard by the comment. “we…” her cheeks were starting to warm up. “we can talk any time!” she regained her composure. “you… you have to study for your tests.” she said. “next time, promise me you’ll tell me when you have to study for your tests so i can leave you alone?”

“i hate promises.” siyeon muttered, eyes peeking out from behind her arms.

“what? why?”

“i never keep them, no matter how hard i try.” she answered honestly. siyeon turned her head to the side, staring at somi. “but i’ll try.”

somi leaned back in her seat. “i feel guilty.”

“it’s not your fault. you didn’t know i had a test today.” siyeon said.

“still… i…” she trailed off. siyeon’s eyes scanned somi’s face - she seemed to be deep in thought. “let me make it up to you.” somi announced.

siyeon sat up. “eh?”

“today’s… today’s friday, isn’t it?” somi asked, not waiting for a response before continuing to talk. “are you free tomorrow?”

siyeon nodded. “yeah.”

“good.” somi smiled. “come over my house tomorrow. let’s order pizza and watch movies.”

siyeon’s lips began to curve upwards. “that’s your idea of making it up to me?” she asked playfully.

somi rolled her eyes.

“listen, i am a fifteen year old girl in her first year of high school. i don’t have much to give.”

siyeon giggled before nodding. “okay, sounds good.”

;

“welcome to my humble abode.” somi greeted siyeon as she opened the front door. siyeon laughed. it was weird being with somi outside of the library. it was even weirder seeing somi out of her uniform. she had become so accustomed to seeing somi in a skirt and a uniform vest that seeing somi with something as simple as jean shorts and a white shirt shocked her, causing her heart to race.

“my parents are almost never home so there’s no need to act all proper or anything.” somi smiled. siyeon heard the pitter-patter of small feet coming from another room before seeing a tiny pomeranian enter the living room. the little animal just glanced at siyeon before jumping up on somi’s legs. somi bent down and picked the fur ball up. “let’s go to my room.” she suggested. siyeon hummed and followed the younger girl to her room that was upstairs.

somi’s house was rather large, seeing as it was in a town known for being wealthy. when siyeon had first asked her mom about going to somi’s house, her mom was surprised that she knew someone from the town. truthfully, siyeon wouldn’t never guessed that somi lived in such a town, either.

“tadaa!” somi said as they entered her bedroom, which was larger than siyeon’s own. she set the dog down onto the floor and it scampered off elsewhere. she sat on the edge of her well-made bed and grabbed the remote that was on the side. “i was bored out of my mind waiting for you to come over but i didn’t want to watch anything good because then i wouldn’t want to watch it later with you.” she explained.

siyeon couldn’t help but grin at the girl’s innocence. “your room is really neat. you’re an organized person, aren’t you?” she asked, looking around the room that was neat in every aspect. even her desk, which was stacked full with notes, was neat.

“yeah, i am.” somi smiled. “but, anyways,” she moved her body into the middle of the bed. “what type of pizza do you like?” she asked, patting the spot next to her.

“cheese.” siyeon answered, sitting down next to somi. somi shot her a look. “just cheese?”

siyeon nodded.

“not even pepperoni?”

siyeon shook her head.

“tssk. how boring.” somi smiled, reaching over to grab her phone.

“what can i say? i’m a boring person.” siyeon replied.

somi made a face. “i don’t think you’re boring.”

before siyeon could ask what she meant by that, somi was already on the phone with the pizza place. siyeon decided to let her eyes wander while somi was busy ordering pizza and finding movies to watch. she let her eyes scan the girl’s profile, from the top of her eyelash to the bottom of her jawline. siyeon always knew somi was pretty - but she never fully realized she was this pretty.

when somi was done ordering their pizza, siyeon adverted her eyes to the tv. somi bumped siyeon’s knee with hers. “did you enjoy the view?” she snickered.

realizing she had been caught, siyeon rolled her eyes with burning cheeks. “shut up.”

somi moved into a laying position, laying on her stomach and placing her head down on her folded arms in front of her. she looked up at siyeon, who glanced at her once she felt somi staring. “what?”

“what’s your school like?”

siyeon raised an eyebrow. “my school?”

“yeah, like…” siyeon got into the same position somi was in, her head turned to look at somi. “like, how are the people there?”

siyeon hummed, thinking about it. “everyone’s pretty nice.” she thought about her friend group. “i really only hang out with a few people… i don’t really know a lot of people in my grade. i hang out with a bunch of older kids.”

somi nodded. no wonder siyeon seemed so mature.

“what about you? how are the people at your school?”

“i just transferred there so i don’t really know anybody.” somi’s eyes moved to the wall behind siyeon. “everyone seems nice but, i don’t know.”

“why did you transfer?”’

somi’s eyes shifted back to meet siyeon’s. “that’s a long story.” she laughed a little. “but, long story short, the people there didn’t like me and my parents didn’t want me to go there anymore.”

siyeon widened her eyes. “wha -  they didn’t like you? why?” she asked in surprise.

the younger girl smiled. “i’ll tell you some other time.”

“why not now?”

“patience, young grasshopper.” somi said playfully.

siyeon pouted. “you’re annoying.” she replied.

somi’s smile only widened.

;

this soon became a very ordinary thing for the girls. friday became their day to hang out after school at somi’s house. they always just ate pizza, had a movie run in the background, and talked. today was no different of a friday than it was any other day. or so it had seemed…

an empty box of pizza was set on somi’s desk whilst two very full girls were sprawled on somi’s bed.

“i’m so full.” somi groaned.

“you ate so much more than i did.” siyeon commented, looking over to the younger girl.

somi burped. “i haven’t eaten all day.”

“that’s not healthy.” siyeon said.

“you’re not healthy.” somi retorted, not making much sense. siyeon laughed. “if this is how you act when you’re full i’m curious as to how you’d act if you were drunk.”

“i’d probably be a mess when i’m drunk.” somi said, sitting up. “‘i’ll probably be a kisser.”

“a kisser.” siyeon said, raising an eyebrow.

“yeah, you know? those people who are so drunk they just go around kissing random people.”

“that doesn’t sound pleasant.” siyeon let out a laugh, turning her body to look up at somi. “what if you kiss a fat married dude?”

somi’s face twisted at the thought. “well, hopefully you’ll be near me the first time i get drunk.”

“what? so you can kiss me?” siyeon asked.

“well, i meant to control me from kissing people, but… i guess that works, too.” somi winked playfully, making kissy faces towards siyeon. siyeon threw a pillow at her. somi swatted the pillow away with a laugh. “speaking of kisses, have you ever had your first kiss?” she asked.

siyeon thought about the one sleepover she had with her friends, releasing a shudder. “yeah, but it doesn’t count.”

somi laughed at siyeon’s expression. “what happened?”

“truth or dare happened.” siyeon said monotonously. “i had to initiate a kiss to my friend and she had to initiate a kiss to me.” she explained. somi’s eyes widened.

“your first kiss was to a girl?”

“yeah.” siyeon smiled. “i mean - i’d prefer it being one of my friends who’s a girl than some guy who’d leave me.”

“makes sense.” somi nodded.

“how about you?”

“me?”

“your first kiss.”

somi took the pillow that siyeon had thrown at her earlier, hugging it against her chest. “ah, my first kiss was disastrous.”

“do explain.” siyeon sat up, facing somi. somi let out a laugh. “it’s… okay basically my friend and i were dating secretly and they were the one i gave my first kiss to and then when people found out, they were the one who turned away from me.”

“ouch.” siyeon stated. somi shrugged, eyes focused on the pillow she was hugging. “that’s why i transferred.”

“and… this friend…” siyeon started off. somi glanced at her. “that friend was a girl, wasn’t she?”

“bingo.” somi let out a broken smile. “well, now you know why i transferred.”

“that’s horrible.” siyeon frowned.

somi puffed her cheeks. “i’m just glad my parents didn’t disown me.”

siyeon shook her head in frustration. “i don’t get people. i mean, just because you like girls doesn’t mean it’s any of their business. why would they make you feel bad about it?”

somi blinked. “i didn’t expect you to be so accepting of this.”

a laugh escaped siyeon’s mouth.

“somi, i’m gay.”

somi’s heart skipped a beat.

“w - what?!” somi exclaimed, making siyeon laugh even harder. “you are?!”

siyeon nodded. “i wouldn’t lie about it.”

somi blinked rapidly and calmed down, absorbing the information.

“have you ever had a girlfriend?” somi’s eyes then widened. “do you have a girlfriend right now?” she leaned in close as she asked the question. siyeon backed up.

“slow down there, buddy.” siyeon giggled. “yes, i have. no, i do not.”

“okay. good.” somi mumbled.

“pardon?” siyeon said, though she heard somi perfectly well.

“what? nothing.” somi’s cheeks were bright red.

siyeon grinned. “huh, i swear i heard you say ‘okay. good’, but i’ll just pretend i didn’t hear anything.”

“maybe you ate too much pizza,” somi retorted. “you’re hearing things, siyeon.”

“am i?” siyeon teased. “huh, too bad…”

somi then threw the pillow at siyeon. “i hate you!” she laughed, the blush still on her face. siyeon grabbed the pillow and stuck her tongue out at the younger one.

“no you don’t.” she replied. “so, what’s your ideal type?”

“ideal type?” somi hummed as she thought about it. “i don’t really have an ideal type…” she murmured. “i just like whoever i like.”

siyeon nodded. “that makes sense.”

“how about you?” somi snatched the pillow back from siyeon, hugging it like she had been earlier. “what’s your ideal type?”

“i don’t know, either.” siyeon laughed. “thinking about it… my ex-girlfriend and my current crush are both so different. my ex was shy and super academic but my current crush is the total opposite.”

somi raised an eyebrow. “who’s your current crush?” she asked, tilting her head. siyeon scrunched up her nose.

“i’m not telling you.”

“aw, why not?” somi whined. “we’re supposed to be best-est friends! you have to tell me!”

siyeon went to grab the pillow, only for somi to hold on to it tighter. “no! i won’t give you the pillow until you tell me.”

siyeon narrowed her eyes, tugging at the pillow that stayed attached to somi’s chest. “tell me!”

“no!”

“tell me!”

“no!”

“tell me!”

“it’s you!”

“tell-- oh.” somi’s grip on the pillow went loose, successfully allowing siyeon to take it into her lap. siyeon studied somi’s facial expression. she would just pretend it was a joke if somi seemed like she would reject her, it was the only way to avoid awkwardness. somi blinked. “me? you like me?”

siyeon blinked back at her. “i’m only going to say ‘yes’ if i have a chance of dating you, otherwise it’s a no.” she said truthfully.

a few seconds went by as the two sat in silence, just looking at each other. somi narrowed her eyes.

“are you going to say ‘yes’ any time soon?”

siyeon widened her eyes. before she could say anything, somi butted in.

“i think it was pretty obvious that i liked you.” somi said. siyeon nodded and shrugged.

“it was, but i don’t like to assume anything.”

“that’s… expected from you.” somi responded, knowing how siyeon was humble.

“i mean you would blush at everything i did. if that didn’t show me that you liked me then i don’t know what di--”

“alright.” somi hushed her. siyeon giggled, her stomach fluttering at the sight of a blushing somi.

“so, jeon somi,” siyeon began to speak, “i like you,” oh god it made somi’s heart race hearing siyeon say it directly to her. she couldn’t look siyeon in the eyes, not when her cheeks were burning this much.

‘oh god. oh god. oh god. oh god. oh god.’ somi chanted in her head as the seconds passed. her breath hitched when she heard siyeon giggle before feeling the girl place a finger under her chin and tiling her head up. somi couldn’t take looking into siyeon’s eyes so she jumped up and was practically in siyeon’s lap as she hugged her, burying her face into the girl’s neck.

“yes, okay, i like you, park siyeon. i like you a lot. i’ve liked you since the beginning.” somi felt siyeon remove the pillow that was in between their bodies, making their hug that much more intimate. somi felt siyeon’s hands on her waist, reciprocating the hug.

“somi, be my girlfriend?”

“of course.” somi murmured.

“did you even bother trying to hide your feelings for me?” siyeon asked in an amused tone. somi still refused to look at her face to face.

“what?” she asked, confused.

siyeon laughed. “i mean, you always stared at m--”

“oh, shut up!”