Kim Doyeon and Choi Yewon are never meant to be together. Arin and Doyeon have been in the same school, same class every single year of middle school, and yet, through all the seat changes that happens every two months or every semester or even every year, Arin has never sat next to Doyeon. She has never even entered the peripherals of Doyeon's line of sight. And yet- Arin gulps as she looks down at the seating chart. "Choi Yewon" the chart says in neat, black writing, and in the seat right next to it is "Kim Doyeon".

.

"Hi, Choi Yewon?" Doyeon asks as she sits down next to Arin for the first time.

"Y-yeah, and you're Kim Doyeon?" Arin asks even though she knows Doyeon's name. Doyeon beams a grin in reply and Arin can't help but think that Doyeon has the prettiest smile she has ever seen. It looks even prettier up close.

"So which middle school did you come from?" Doyeon converses casually, leaning her head down into her arms.

"Dongduk Girls' Middle School."

"Oh really?!" Doyeon shoots up, suddenly excited. "Me too! What class were you in year?"

"3-2," Arin says hesitantly.

"Oh?" Doyeon looks at her confused. "But that was my class? How come I never saw you?"

"I always sat in the back," Arin explains, a bit nervously. "And I was a lot shorter back then than I am now so don't worry about it."

"Well, for the record," Doyeon starts, grin firmly back on her face. "I'm really glad I finally got to meet you."

Arin doesn't want to be dramatic but she's pretty sure she could feel her heart skip a beat in that moment. "Me too."
 

.

Arin tries to pay attention to the teacher but it’s kind of hard because Kim Doyeon is very distracting whether she wants to be or not. “Is something wrong?” Arin asks in a voice that’s barely above a whisper as she continues to take notes and pretend to listen to the teacher.

“I forgot to wear my contacts today,” Doyeon whispers back as she leans as far forward as she can without toppling the desk over or falling out of her seat. She squints to get a clearer look at the chalkboard and the scene itself is incredibly silly, but Arin can’t help but find it a bit charming. She guesses that in her case, love is blind on both sides.

“Just copy my notes later,” Arin suggests and immediately, Doyeon beams a bright grin at her.

“Thanks,” Doyeon says, reaching across the space between them to give Arin’s hand a quick squeeze. Arin’s pretty sure her heart sped up an extra 30 beats per minute.

(Doyeon continues to write stuff in her notebook anyways, and later, when Arin curiously sneaks a look at it, she finds a giant doodle that says “Choi Yewon is the best”. Doyeon catches her peeking at the doodle and laughs when Arin’s face explodes into different shades of red.)

.

"Good job, guys," the captain of Arin's dance team, Kim Mihyun, calls out to the rest of the team. "Let's go home early today."

"We still have half an hour before Jiho gets out from cheerleading practice," YooA says as she looks at the clock. "Do you want to wait for her on the bleachers?" Arin just nods, too tired to say anything. Apparently, she was also too tired to remember that the person she has had a crush on since the first year of middle school was also on the cheerleading team.

Despite being one of the tallest people on the team, Kim Doyeon is a flyer, and an exceptional one at that. "Her lines when she dances are pretty," YooA comments as she points to Doyeon.

Arin makes a noncommittal noise, as if trying to hide the fact that she is very very much in love with Kim Doyeon. "Yeah, she's really pretty," she blurts out and immediately freezes. So much for being low-key.

YooA sends her a smirk but doesn't say anything. Arin wonders if she should be relieved or even more worried.

"Yewon-ah," Doyeon calls out from the field, waving an arm enthusiastically. "Hi!"

Arin shyly waves back before ducking her head. YooA's smirk grows more smug. "She's my seat mate," Arin explains, smoothing down her bangs. A nervous habit.

"I don't think she's just a seat mate if your ears turn red from just her saying hi to you," YooA says.

Arin immediately cups her ears with her hands to try and hide them. "Please don't tell Jiho-unni," Arin finally says in a resigned voice. "You know she's going to try and meddle into this." Jiho's meddling can be... disastrous. Arin thinks back to the last time Jiho had a great plan: it ended with the power going out in the entire neighborhood and the police being called. Arin shudders.

"You know I don't make promises when there isn't cake involved," YooA says, eyes trained on Doyeon and a smirk still on her face. (Later, Arin buys YooA a slice of strawberry shortcake, much to Jiho's chagrin.)

"ARIN!" Jiho shouts out after practice as she throws an arm around the younger girl. "Let's go home, yeah?"

In the corner of her eye, Arin can see Doyeon turn to look at her with a curious glint in her eyes. Before Arin can look back, however, Jiho whisks her off, ranting about mean coaches and her craving for bingsoo right now. She wonders what Doyeon was thinking.

.

"So," Doyeon starts as she sits down next to Arin right before class begins. "Arin, huh?"

Arin blushes a bit and rubs at her ear, feeling it heat up. So this was what Doyeon was curious about. "Y-yeah, Jiho-unni randomly started calling me that back when we were kids and she's so stubborn that she kept on calling me that until everyone else began calling me that as well."

"Sounds like a fun story," Doyeon laughs. "Do you like the name?"

Arin takes a moment to contemplate before giving an affirmative nod. "Yeah, it's pretty."

"Then, can I call you that?"

Arin blushes as she smooths down her bangs. She gives a quick nod.

"Arin," Doyeon says to herself, experimenting with the sound of it on her tongue. She smiles. "I think it's pretty, too."

A/N: I have no idea where this ship came from but they seem cute enough, right? Anyways, I hope you enjoy and please comment!