"Sorry, ssaem." Sana apologized, bowing 90°. It wasn't a surprise that she was late yet again. This wasn't the first time she went to class 15 minutes late. 

  "This isn't high school, Sana-ssi." The teacher said sternly. He glared at her as he spat the next words. "Just because college can't give detentions doesn't mean you can slack off. You're always late, Sana-ssi. I must say, I am impressed at your academic records and all—but being punctual is part of being a student. I might not be able to give you detention, but I can make those shiny A's into C's, better yet an F for tardiness." Sana gasped at the teacher's words.

  "I'm so sorry, ssaem. I am so sorry." She said, bowing again. She bowed multiple times that it looked quite ridiculous. 

  "Sana-ssi. I am expecting you to not be late tomorrow. I will seriously turn those A's into F's." The teacher warned. Sana's eyes widened as she quickly nodded.

  "That goes as a lesson for all of you." The teacher said to the class. He turned to look back at Sana in an odd manner before scoffing. "Go to your seat. You're lucky that I haven’t started the class yet." Sana bowed again before going to her seat.

  Sana slowed down her pace. She didn't want to reach her seat. She didn't want to sit next to him. But she reached her seat. She was trembling as she sat down. She breathed in and out—I can do this, I can definitely do this, she told herself.

  The moment she looked at her seatmate, a wave of pain washed over her. He looked calm as ever, his earphones in his ear—shutting the world out. She turned her attention back to the teacher. 

  From time to time, she would glance at him. She would secretly steal a glimpse just to see his peaceful facade—wishing that everything was the way it was before. But it wasn't anything like before. But still she looked at him from time to time, and inside her heart was a wish—a hope—that maybe, he's secretly looking at her too. 

Before anything—college, paperworks and resumes—Minatozaki Sana was everything a girl wants to be. She's prim and proper. She's pretty, she's smart. She just seems so perfect! She's the school president, she was every teacher's favorite student, she was every junior's role model, and she was the person her fellow seniors want to befriend. She was a star—she was shining so high that it seems like no one can reach her. Well, until one faithful day when he barged in suddenly.

  Jeon Jungkook was the complete opposite of Minatozaki Sana. He's a delinquent, he's feared—sure he has the looks, but his reputation is shielding himself from getting any love or admiration from the entire school. Save for astronomy and music, his grades were all Fs. He would always be late for class. Everyday, rumors about him would spread. Those rumors weren't anything good. 

  They were polar opposites. But Sana did not expect her heart to beat for him.

  It was one day when it happened. Sana happened to have been assigned a special project. As she felt responsible to finish the project quickly, she went to the library to get some files. The moment she entered the library, she saw it completely empty. She immediately concluded that the librarian, Ms Chou, was having lunch. She figured that students don’t really like the library. She's not gonna lie, she doesn't like it either. But something about the scent of books and textures of papers makes her feel at home. For a moment, it made her feel sane. The throbbing pain in her heart was no more. She smiled before delicately tracing the books by her fingers, dusts sticking to her skin. She did not care. She felt at home.

  "I am home..." She whispered gently with a smile on her face. Suddenly, she heard a sound. Crash! She looked around and her gaze landed on a young man. He was clutching on his stomach. The moment he looked up, she gasped. His face was bruised pretty badly, but it didn't really affect his 'handsome' factor. Despite of the cuts here and there, he still looked... handsome. Sana was about to approach him when the young man grabbed a hold of her hand.

  "What are you-" her sentence was cut short when the young man landed his hand on . The young man looked around as Sana's eyes widened. Quietly, she was dragged to another corner of the library. 

  Sana's eyes widened more and more as she heard the man breathing. It was rapidly fast, as if he ran a mile. Suddenly, she heard footsteps getting closer. Slowly, the young man turned to look at her.

  They were inside one of the cubicles. A cubicle in the library is spacious enough for five people or less. It's the place you go when you need isolation or when you want to study in groups or read alone without anyone disturbing you. 

  "Don't ever tell everyone that I'm here." The young man said. He was scary yet captivating. She didn't know what to do at that moment. She figured that he had done something bad, and Sana believes that whenever people do something bad, they deserve to be punished. It was her belief, and she chose to stand by it.

  "Why wouldn’t I?" She dared ask. The young man raised a questioning brow as he smirked. Slowly, he leaned in. Sana flushed at the sudden proximity. They were so close, so close that she could feel his soft breath against her cheeks. 

  "Because..." He whispered lowly, so lowly that Sana wanted to catch up on every single word. "You rather die than not help a helpless person, won't you, Minatozaki?" He whispered in her ear, addressing her by her surname. The smirk on his face never left, and Sana felt absolutely flabbergasted, not to mention, lost for words.

  "You don't look helpless to me." She finally said. "Are you trying to mock me?" She dared to step forward, increasing the proximity between them. Their noses were slightly touching, and it surprised the boy how she wasn't afraid of him.

  "Of course not, Minatozaki. Don't want the school's little princess to start crying." The guy teased. "You know what, I'll just bail." He said before going to the window. Sana gasped as she immediately came into a conclusion on what the young man is trying to do. He was opening the latch- the seal no longer there to close the window. With a jump, the boy's legs were outside the window.

  "What do they say in Japanese? Oh yeah! Ciao, Minatozaki!" He chuckled heartily before jumping off. Sana immediately ran to the window and watched as the young man landed rather painfully on the ground. What surprised her, however, is that he got back on his own two feet rather quickly as if he did not jump off from the window. 

  "It's jaa ne, you idiot. Ciao is Italian." She scoffed, watching his retreating figure. Yet, she can't help but smile as she watched him slowly disappear from the school grounds.

 "Sana-ssi. You look flustered. Is there anything wrong?" Her good friend, Dahyun, asked. Dahyun wasn't anything like Sana. In fact, you can very say that she is the opposite of Sana. Kim Dahyun is a loud and funky girl. Her grades were average (but hey, at least she doesn't have an F on her report card), she's not considered prim- and most of all, she often talks in class. It had always been a wonder why the prim and proper Minatozaki Sana is friends with the loud and funky Kim Dahyun.

  Sana snapped back to reality as she slowly shook her head. "No, no, no, no, no." She repeated all over again. Dayun couldn't help but chuckle. 

  "I guess this is the time I leave you alone." Dahyun said coolly. She patted Sana's back before leaving the classroom.

  It was already 6:00 and most students had chosen to either go to the arcade or mall. Sana stayed in the classroom to finish her homework. In all honesty, she has no intention to do her homework. But she knows she needs to finish it all so her grades won't drop. Some would call her the goddess in academics, a nickname Sana had grown to despise. At first, it was alright since it was like a joke to her, but now? It felt like someone was mocking her. 

  She kept staring at her table. Slowly, she looked around the classroom, checking for any suspecting beings that could judge her of what she's doing. It's ridiculous, really. For so long, she had that thought in her mind.

  "What if?" She asked nobody in particular, trailing off. Her eyes darted far from here to there, observing the classroom. However, when her eyes landed on the thick and old book that lay on her table, she suddenly felt sure.

  "It wouldn't hurt to try, right?" She yet asked nobody again in particular. She was sure that she was losing her sanity. She herself knew that it wasn't normal to talk to one's self.

  She grabbed her fountain pen. She looked at it and the table, her eyes going back and forth. "Sorry," she said to her pen as if it could hear her.

  She slowly carved something on the table, making a bit of noise. Her eyes were focused entirely on the table, her fingers were gripping hard on the fountain pen. Beads of sweat had formed themselves on her forehead, slowly dripping to her jaws. After a while, she had stopped carving on the table. She wiped the sweat on her face by her sleeves. She looked at her work, and was completely satisfied. Smiling, she packed her notebooks in her backpack and went home, leaving the old and thick book behind.

Jungkook had went to class late. The teacher didn't even bother to reprimand him as he already sat down on his chair without a care. He pulled out his phone and earphones, putting the earbuds gently on his ears, completely shutting the world out. He was about to sleep when he saw something on the table. His brows furrowed as he tried to understand what was written on the table:

気をつけて

  One thing was for sure: it wasn't Korean. He couldn't understand it. Slowly, he put his hands on the table, letting his skinny fingers trace the characters. He observed the table and his mind got into thinking. Jungkook immediately rummaged his hands under the table, his hands slowly in contact with something tough, dusty and-

  "Bookish?" He mumbled lowly. Jungkook knew what he's touching, despite of not seeing it. He was pretty certain that he is holding a book.

  He looked around the classroom. The teacher was sputtering nonsense as he wrote something on the board, and the students are nonetheless sleeping or gossiping—only a few students dared enough to listen to the boring lecture. He pulled out the book in slow motion as if he's in a movie and he's sneaking in. He opened it and saw that the page was as clean as the clouds, only two words written on it:

See you.

  A smile slowly made its way to his lips as he read the words mentally, repeating it all over his mind. Slowly, he grabbed his pen and started carving on the table...

Fais-le

  He chuckled before writing something in the book. 

  Sana, who was currently venturing around the corridors due to school president duties, had managed to witness this on time. She smiled as she watched the boy write in the thick and old book.

  "I guessed his seat right after all." She chuckled before walking away to inspect suspicious things.

  Sana entered the classroom where they always held science. She smiled as she sat down on her usual seat. Science was the last class of the day. She was happy anticipating to read it. Unfortunately, before she can take the book out, a hand landed firmly on her shoulder.

  "Hello, Sana." Kim Nayeon, a fellow classmate, greeted. Nayeon and Sana weren't anything close, they can't be labeled as friends or close acquaintances either. If anything, they were just classmates. However, the two girls are one of the three most popular girls in the school who were known for their lady-like manner. Sana would chuckle every time Dahyun would reason why she should befriend goody two-shoes Im Nayeon. It wasn't like Sana was against her, it's just, she felt neutral seeing her.

  When she first met Dahyun, Sana felt like she wanted to be her friend. That's why she's friends with Dahyun, She didn't regret befriending her one bit. Nayeon, however, was a different story. Despite of the set ups (yes, she knew that the teachers were setting them up) the teachers had made for them to get closer (and maybe even collaborate for a project for the school), Sana had never thought of befriending the girl with bunny teeth. It had never crossed her mind either.

  "Greetings, Nayeon-ssi." The brunette smiled. Finally getting a grip on reality. She had long been in a trance of scribbling in the book, her hands were quivering as she thought of writing in it. Nayeon nodded at her greeting before walking to her seat. 

  Sana looked around before grabbing the old and thick book underneath the wooden and sturdy (not to mention, full of scribbles) table. She smiled upon seeing the book's cover—it was pure black, but the dusts were making it look faded. Smiling, she blew the dusts off. Coughing and sneezing a little, she opened the book. She smiled when she saw what was written.

French: Make it.

  She smiled before scribbling something back, not forgetting to carve a new Japanese phrase on the table. She knew what she was doing was illegal—it was partially destroying a school property, but she couldn’t care less as she uncapped her fountain pen and started carving.

 The two had ended up exchanging words by using two things: the old, thick book and the table. It was a bit of inconvenience to use the table since it was against the school rules to scribble on the table. But they couldn’t care less. Sana did not know how this went like this. Soon, she found herself smiling at every French word Jungkook had written on the table. It was certainly a treat as she herself wanted to learn French but was unable to do so. 

  They kept exchanging words, Sana writing in Japanese and Jungkook writing in French. Their only means of understanding each other was by the old and thick book. Whenever they finished writing on it, they would always leave it on the table. Everything was going well. Sana did not expect her plan to work, but it did. She got to communicate with Jeon Jungkook.

  It was that one night when she was lying on her bed. In her arms was a huge teddy bear. It was the teddy bear that her dad sent her when she was twelve years old. 

  Ever since she was eleven, Sana had lived in Korea alone. She was originally from Japan, but due a few health problems, she lived in Korea. Her parents got a promotion in Japan, and at that time, her parents could only check up on her. The short checks on her slowly wavered faltered. One day, she woke up with no calls from her parents, no video message—nothing. At first, she was disappointed and lonely. But then she started to cope up on her own. She got used to being alone that on her 12TH birthday, she was surprised by a sudden box delivered to her home. The mailman had said that it was a package from her parents. Delighted and completely lost for words, Sana opened the box. Inside the box was a huge, white and fluffy polar bear wearing a top hat and black-rimmed glasses. The bear had sported a green and white polka dot bow and its eyes seem to glimmer against the light. Sana smiled when she saw the bear. She then looked at it again and noticed that its arms (or hands, you can never tell where the bear's arms or hands are- are they even hands?) was hugging something. Smiling, she took it out and saw-

  "Isn't this the galaxy tab Dahyun was talking about?" She asked herself. She opened the device and explored it. After a while, she had found herself searching the gallery. The gallery was empty—save for two albums. One was labeled camera and the other was labeled videos. Sana smiled and opened the camera album first. Inside was a single picture. She clicked it to view the image clearer. Once she made out what's in the picture, she smiled. It was a picture of her parents, the bear in the middle of them. Sana smiled, imagining the bear as her. That's what she should look like. That's where she should be. She then went to the video album and saw a video. Curiously, she opened it. 

  "Sana-chan (I would use the honorific, -chan because her parents are Japanese and Parents will probably always call their daughters -chan.)" They looked so clear as if they're close. Sana looked at her parents, who seemed to be right there that she can almost touch them. "Happy 12TH birthday. "Papa and mama are so sorry that we couldn't attend your birthday. Do you like the bear, Sana? That's a special bear. The vendor selling that said that the bear is one of the epitome of love. Although I don't know what that means." She could see her mother chuckle as her father scratched his nape. "Anyways, do you like it? When my hana grows up and finds someone, introduce the bear, alright?" Even though Sana knew they couldn't see her, tears in her eyes, she nodded. "Happy birthday our hana, Sana. Get well soon." Sana burst in tears when the video finished. 

  Now, she lied in her bed with the teddy bear in her arms. 

  "What do you think, Cookie?" Sana said, looking at the bear as if it could understand her. "No, no, no! I'm not- aish! Stupid heart!" Sana said, punching her left side slowly. 

  "Aish- he's making me crazy!" She said as she hugged the bear tightly. Upon realizing her actions, she immediately looked at the bear, her eyes wide. "Oh no! I did not say that. I never did!" Sana was in denial that night. That was the same night when she recalled what he had carved in the table and wrote on the notebook, the only phrase that had got stuck in her mind for so long that she could not focus on anything else.

Mon cœur bat si vite sans raison

French: My heart started beating fast for no reason at all

 She was in denial. She didn't want to recall her reply. To her, it sounded stupid.

私があなたに恋してるって気付いてませんか?

 Jungkook stared at the calligraphy in confusion. He noticed how long it was and how deep the carving is. "She definitely spent her entire hour on this than doing her homework." Jungkook scoffed lowly. It's a miracle that his voice is almost quiet—almost a whisper that you could barely hear it. 

  He sat down on his chair and immediately took something underneath the table. With a small smile, he opened it to see what the calligraphy means. 

I don't think I should translate this one... Sorry...

  He smiled despite of being curious about the characters. It had been a month since Ms. Perfect—Minatozaki Sana and him were exchanging notes. Jungkook had found himself craving to sit in his chair in math class despite of hating the atmosphere there. He found himself excited whenever he held his pen—when he's carving on the table. He never felt thrilled for a long time.

  In all honesty, he did not expect it to happen. He did not expect to reply to Ms. Perfect's messages and cute translations, he did not expect to wait for math class every single day. 

Ce n'est pas juste

  He had carved those words as deep as his curiosity. He smirked before writing something in the book. 

French: Error 404- get it? 

   Sana had her brows furrowed when she read the translation. 

  "Seriously, Jungkook?" She mumbled lowly before smirking. She took her fountain pen out and looked at it. Its tip is slightly shorter than usual because of the everyday carving. She uncapped it and started carving on the table. 

  "Sana-ssi. What are you doing?" The color from her face had drained as Sana slowly looked up. The teacher was looking at her in surprise. Sana finally noticed the entire class looking at her. 

  "I- um, I'm- I'm taking- I'm taking notes, ssaem." Sana lied. Truth be told, she wasn't the most skilled liar. The teacher has probably seen through her lie and looked at her table. 

  "Sana-ssi. Go to the principal’s office after class. I assume this is your last class?" Sana hesitated before nodding. 

  Jungkook was stopped by the teacher the moment he was about to walk out of the door. His last class, which is English, had long ended.

  "What?" Jungkook snapped rudely. The teacher wasn't surprised by the informality of Jungkook's words.

  "Go to the principal's office right now." The teacher said grimly. Jungkook shrugged as he went to the principal office.

  As he walked, he couldn't help but recall what he did today. It seems absurd for him to get detention. As far as he knows, he was innocent. He hadn't even visited the group for a solid week and three days.

  The moment he walked in the boring and sophisticated principal’s office, he finally understood why he was there. It only took a certain girl to know what he was called for.

  "Minatozaki..." Jungkook said in an odd manner. Sana, who was looking at her lap and fiddling her fingers looked up.

  "Jungkook and Sana. I assume you have a guess on why you're here?" The principal asked in a calm state. The two were seated/sitting next to each other, side by side, their shoulders almost touching. Jungkook looked at Sana and saw her lips quivering. She isn't used to this, Jungkook thought. 

  "I understand why I'm here, dude. But I don't know why Ms. Prim is here with me." Jungkook chuckled, making Sana look at him.

  "And why are you here, Jungkook?" The principal asked. Jungkook grinned slyly before answering.

  "Um, let's see what I did today..." Jungkook said teasingly. "I... slept in class, skipped science, made a ruckus in the cafeteria- um, did I go to the girl's bathroom accidentally today or not?" Jungkook lied. Indeed, he did nothing wrong today.

  "Jeon Jungkook!" The principal stood up and raised his fist. Sana naïvely raised her hands to shield herself. Upon seeing her actions, the principal stopped. He calmed himself down as he sat back down on his seat.

  "We'll talk about that later, Jungkook." Something about his voice was cold. "Anyways, I heard a little violation against rule no. 37, and you two are culprits in these case." The principal composed himself in a dignified manner, addressing the news to the two students.

  "I'm sorry, what's rule no. 37 again?" Jungkook asked, sounding confused. When in fact, he knew what rule no. 37 is. He was just stalling time.

  "Rule no. 37, according to the law- school property should not be vandalized in any forms. Such vandalizations will not be taken nicely." Sana recited. The principal grinned as Jungkook groaned.

  "Well, thank you for swallowing the entire book, Minatozaki." Jungkook scoffed. Sana realized what he was doing and mumbled a quick sorry.

  "Good job, Sana-ssi. At least someone bothers with the school guide." The principal smiled formally. "Yes, unfortunately, we had a little mishap with the seat in class 5 - 6. One of the seats there has rather odd characters carved on the table." Sana's heart palpitated as Jungkook's mind went into thinking on how he can get her out of this mess.

  "Of course, I would never speculate that it was you, Sana-ssi. I don't dare believe that you would do that." The principal, Mr. Kim, said kindly to Sana. Sana hesitated on nodding. "Which leaves us to one culprit." The principal turned to Jungkook and glared. 

  "You got to admit, those odd characters made a great aesthetics to the table, eh?" Jungkook joked. Sana was shocked that he was coping up the mistake she started in the first place.

  "Very well, Jungkook. Detention for-"

  "Ssaem!" Sana's sudden shriek made Mr. Kim and Jungkook turn towards her direction. When she realized what she had done, she immediately covered , her face going red.

  "Yes, Sana-ssi?" The principal asked calmly. It is true that every staff in the school likes the hardworking and smart Minatozaki Sana.

  "I was the one who carved those characters in the table." Sana confessed. Her sudden confession had shocked the principal and Jungkook.

  "Sana-ssi! What are you saying? Jungkook-"

  "Jungkook didn't do anything, ssaem." Sana affirmed. "It was me who carved those characters on the table. Those were Japanese calligraphies. As far as I know, between us two, I am the one who is fluent at it." Sana reasoned. She didn't know why, but the mere idea of Jungkook being in detention because of her plan made her feel guilty.

  "Sana-ssi." The principal said. "Are you sure?" He was still hesitant if he should believe Sana or not.

  "I am-"

  "Minatozaki is lying." Jungkook chimed, making the two look at him. "The characters carved on the table were French. It is quite evident that I am the better speaker. Besides, Miss Perfect carving on tables? You got to be kidding me." The way he said it, Sana didn't like it.

  "It was me. I planned the entire thing from the very start. I carved those Japanese calligraphies, those characters you won't understand on the table because I want to-" she immediately stopped when she realized what she was about to say.

  The principal arched a brow at her sudden response to the allegation.

  "You want to what?" Jungkook asked with a smirk. Sana stayed flustered, beet red throughout the meeting.

  The meeting had finished and had ended in a rather cliché way: both of them would get detention for only two hours (courtesy of Sana, because the principal had originally planned it to end in five hours). Jungkook had found himself going back to his math classroom. Upon going to his table, he looked around to make sure there weren't any living or prying souls to catch his act.

  With a smile, he looked at the table full of characters.

～ちゃん

  Written were a lot of Japanese and French characters. Jungkook had found it fantastic on how many forms arts can take. Yes, he considers the table an art. Grinning, he took out the black book from underneath the table. It was a good thing that the teacher didn't see it.

You...

  That one word was all Jungkook was thinking the moment he walked home.