Seulgi has never liked the library.

Of course, she enjoys the quiet that comes with it, the air of bookshelves and rustling paper a calming contrast to the audio plaque of bustling students crowded outside its doors.

But despite the soothing noise of pages being flipped and scratching whisks of pencils on paper, Seulgi never bothers to study there.

(“It'll be a nice change of pace, Seulgi.”)

Until now.

(“But Joohyun unnie...”)

She remembers the older girl clicking her tongue, shaking her head, giving her a look that screamed command that Seulgi had shriveled back.

(“Maybe a little less noise will help you study.”)

Keyword was 'maybe'.

So here she was, shuffling into the library, textbooks in hand, eyes bouncing around to take scopes of the room; she can’t help but feel a little wary. It’s not like she goes here often.

Seulgi spots two boys settled at the furthest left side of the room, opposite a group of girls who couldn't muffle their giggles enough to avoid a quick “Shush!” from the librarian.

Her feet trek the lines of red square-patterned carpet, bleeding into solid hues of creamy-beige circling a spot just beside a window with a dusty lamp for extra light.

Seulgi settles into the red chair, placing textbooks that she's managed to not drop on the way next to her backpack. Flicking through the flaps for her laptop, Seulgi flicks it open, resting her bag beside her legs in the safe crook of her desk.

Her eyes make another sweep, tracing contours of burnished wood and brown curtains draping over windows that currently carry today's blue sky.

She could smell crisp pages of books stacked in shelves closest to her, feel specks of dust paint her fingertips across her desk (don't they clean?) and hear whispered chatter from clusters of students attempting to make group studying work – to no avail if cellphones in their hands were any indication.

Oh well. She won't be one of them; not when art distracts her better than any phone.

But maybe – just maybe, she spoke too soon; her eyes falling towards a stranger at the corner of the room instead of her laptop.

A woman keeled over a table, scattered notebooks and textbooks littering against the wooden surface; a messy fortress surrounding her arms. It’s kind of cute. And a little careless – anyone could come up and take her things, Seulgi’s sure; especially when she looks like the lights went out and she’s in the comfort of her own bedroom.

Before she knew it, curiosity drives her legs to sneak over, chance a closer look to see auburn hair play curtains to the stranger's face.

She glances back at her things to make sure they're still there, before swiping a hand at an empty spot of the stranger's table to feel dust. Again. Doesn’t anyone clean?

Seulgi scurries quietly back to her desk, grabs a small pack of tissues she never forgets to bring and returns to wipe off patches of dust off the table because this girl is silly enough to settle for sleeping on it.

Avoiding the chaos of books and paper, Seulgi scoops up the remaining specks, clearing away as much as she could near the stranger's face, before leaving.

But not without scribbling a little note on a piece of clean tissue, patting it gently on the surface of the stranger's desk.

(“It’s not good to breathe in dust, so I’ve cleaned it up for you. I hope you slept well!”

• :D)

Seulgi reads it over again, before drawing in a quick doodle of a bear’s head next to the smiley face; her personal touch that carries her name with an image instead of letters. Hopefully this shows she’s not being anything but friendly.

She leaves it beside her, embedding the image of sleeping peace into her brain one more time before she returns to her desk – and attempts to study.

But when she arrives home two hours later, all Seulgi can recall is the girl in the library and not the notes she’s bothered to open up to read for the exam next week.

-

The girl is asleep again: same place, same table, same chair.

Seulgi finds herself staring more times than she should, eyes drifting again and again towards a stranger instead of sifting through her notebooks. Studying has never been her forte. Unless it's something she loves to learn about - like dancing, singing, and the woman who doesn't seem to do anything else in the library but sleep.

Seulgi rubs her eyes; her gaze keeps settling for someone else instead of the words on her books.

She's getting distracted again.

Nothing comes to mind when she shifts her focus back on her textbook, the lines of black and white forming nothing but clouds in her head, as if none of the letters register through, looking only more foreign the longer she stares. She glances up to find the woman shifting to turn her head in her arms before snuggling deeper, still lost in sleep.

Envy crawls in Seulgi’s stomach, spilling across her limbs, leaning over to sprawl herself over the desk because geez, she'd like to be just like her.

Not studying.

When she finds that it's already been two hours since she's arrived, notebooks empty of scribbles and eyes eager to droop to a close, Seulgi figures it's time to go home. She hasn't done anything remotely productive - but then again, watching the stranger sleep is easier on the eyes than the lines of black and white text.

Seulgi smiles, passing her by – oh well. It’s not the stranger’s fault that she’s a better subject.

-

The third time Seulgi finds her sleeping, she wonders if she ever wakes up.

She's never seen someone sleep as much as she has. It's a little terrifying. Is she not getting enough shut-eye at home?

Whatever it is, Seulgi decides to not indulge in the contents of her textbook. Yesterday was already a lesson learned; she's better off doing anything else but study when the stranger is present. Nothing's distracted her better than the peace that comes from watching someone - who's quite pretty, sleep the world away.

She wants to take a picture.

Plucking her scrapbook out of her bag, wrenching her supply of pencils and trusty eraser, Seulgi sketches the woman and ignores the warning signs popping up in her head, telling her that yes, it's indeed a creepy thing to do. But she's so pretty, it’d be a shame to not mark a memory of her on paper.

When two hours pass and Seulgi is satisfied with a rough sketch of the pretty stranger, she decides it'd be a nice thing to do to show the woman just how ethereal she is.

Gathering her things, signing her signature little doodle of a bear on the corner of the portrait, Seulgi drops it next to the sleeping beauty before leaving the library, proud of her latest work and impromptu bravery.

She can't wait to tell Joohyun all about it, later.

-

“You did what?”

Seulgi winces at the venom embedded on Joohyun's tongue, plugging her ears as if to keep it from corroding the rationale she had conjured up herself (she drew people all the time - this wasn't any different), but it does nothing when her best friend is still puncturing her with sound logic.

“Do you know just how creepy that is?”

Seulgi musters up a shrug. “...No?”

Joohyun's pinching the bridge of her nose, eyes shut as if frustration coiled along her expression; a sigh spilling from her lips, defeated.

“Imagine: she wakes up, sees a drawing of herself, and maybe - just maybe, she happens to find it cute.” Seulgi perks up at the lighter tone until Joohyun's glare pierces her lungs better than any knife could. “Until she realizes that someone would have to be watching her for quite a while—”

“Just two hours, Unnie.”

“—which is a while,” Joohyun continues, leaning back in her chair. “To sketch a picture of her.”

Seulgi pretends the scenario isn't as heavy as Joohyun makes it out to be, fiddling with the end of her sleeves.

“But what if she finds it cute?”

Joohyun scoffs, crossing her arms.

“Then you're lucky.” She starts, pausing when Sooyoung walks by, leaving a chaste kiss on Joohyun's lips before whispering something about a dinner date scheduled for tomorrow and disappearing around the corner. “But if not, don't be surprised if she doesn't show up at the library ever again.”

Seulgi ignores the creeping rise of envy churning in her stomach. It'd be nice to have a comfortable and steady relationship like Joohyun and Sooyoung. Oh well. Maybe one day.

Seulgi considers the brighter side of things. If she manages to scare her off, then it'd be easier to study.

But as Joohyun gets up for her next class, waving her goodbye, Seulgi hopes that she didn’t terrify the stranger enough to leave.

-

Seulgi finds her asleep again. Same place, same chair, same table.

She considers what Joohyun said; that it could come off more ominous than intended, a misunderstanding Seulgi wouldn’t mind fixing up. But despite what she did, the stranger clearly didn't care about being drawn – not when she was still here; asleep like always. Or maybe she hadn't seen it at all?

But Seulgi knows she had left it on her table; it would’ve been hard to miss.

Or maybe she liked the drawing and wanted another one?

Seulgi stares at her assortments of pens and pencils, her sketchbook taking her attention better than any textbook. Her hand itches to draw again; eyes wandering back up to memorize the hunched lines of a woman who doesn't seem to do anything else in the library but sleep.

A smile curls up her lips, flicking over to a new page of her sketchpad and decides that this'll be an opportunity to practice for art class instead; it's about time she experimented different styles of shading, anyway.

Hours fly by – a new portrait in hand, an image Seulgi takes pride in. It's too bad she's never seen the woman's entire face; not when she’s buried into her arms like that - as if to hide herself away. Seulgi pretends there isn't a little bit of concern prodding at her chest; sleep must come scarce if the stranger has to resort to resting in school.

Seulgi stares at the new image; considers changing it up a little - maybe leave a letter behind to go with the new sketch; make it more personal and hopefully, it doesn't come off as too creepy like Joohyun said.

Scribbling a few sets of words, Seulgi compiles a small letter at the bottom corner before standing to slip it beside her again, spotting a name on one of the woman’s notebook – Wendy, and adds it in, making sure not to disturb the beauty's peaceful slumber.

What a pretty name.

-

“You did what?” Joohyun's responses shouldn't be much of a surprise, anymore. “Again?”

Seulgi covers her ears, attempts to stop the ringing in them. No luck.

“Unnie, you're really loud.”

Joohyun's scowling, running her hand through her hair. Her voice quiets, though the sharpness in her tone is as cutting as ever.

“I just don't know what to do with you anymore.”

Seulgi frowns, nudging Joohyun's elbow. “What do you mean?”

“I told you to study in the library,” Joohyun's readjusting the straps of her backpack, “not draw a stranger while they sleep.”

“But I am studying.”

Her spine shrivels up from Joohyun's stare, as if the cold embedded itself across her eyes, taking winter along with it, frost leaving her lips.

“What, her side profile?”

Seulgi pretends she isn't terrified – and that her ears aren’t turning a little too warm for comfort. “...Yes?”

Joohyun's shaking her head, a sigh escaping . Her cellphone rests in her hand, no doubt waiting for Sooyoung's text or call to let her know that her class is over.

“Next thing you know it, you'll be drawing the rest of her anatomy.”

Seulgi hates how pink warms her skin faster than any heater, the implication sinking further into her brain, going even redder at the smirk curling along Joohyun's lips.

“U-Unnie!”

Joohyun's slapping Seulgi's back, her phone ringing to go along with her laughter. She always did enjoy teasing her.

“I'm kidding. But seriously,” Joohyun clicks 'answer', greeting Sooyoung with an I'm on my way babe, before sending Seulgi a small smile. “Don't forget to actually study, too.”

Seulgi sighs, but smiles in return, understanding coloring her lips. More than anything, Joohyun's just looking out for her. Her good grades won’t stay for long if she keeps this up.

“Okay,” she bumps their shoulders together, waving the two goodbye when Sooyoung comes along and takes Joohyun’s hand.  

She can do this.

-

This time, Seulgi tries to study.

She's sifting through shelves for additional source material. It helps that the woman isn't here today either, though Seulgi hopes it isn't because she's actually frightened her off. It’s not like her letter said anything scary – she could’ve sworn she’d made it friendly enough. It even had a happy face and her signature bear drawing at the end.

(“Hope you’ve been sleeping well! Here’s another drawing I’ve made of you today; I wanted to try something new with the shading. Hope you like it.

By the way, your name’s really pretty, Wendy.”

• :D)

What if she really did come off as creepy? Should she have not added in the name? Oh no. Was it the name? Did she really scare her away? Crap, she shouldn’t have added in the name.

Seulgi deflates, the book feeling heavy between her fingers. She wouldn’t mind leaving the library if it meant the stranger coming back.

Seulgi yelps at a poke to her side, fumbling with the book in her hands, juggling her stumbling feet and racing heart, relief leaving her lips as soon as she manages to have it balanced between her arms.

She turns her head and nearly topples over the shelf behind her.

Oh.

Oh.

...She really is pretty.

Auburn hair frames a small face and bright brown eyes and – oh, they kind of have an amber glow. “Hello, um, this will sound kind of weird, but...” Wendy’s gesturing to a piece of paper, almost shy – and a bit unsure. “You don't happen to know who sketches, do you?”

Seulgi freezes up, dodging curious cute eyes and that little smile that manages to tug at her heart like it weighs nothing. Seulgi's terrified at the fact that she feels herself being yanked in – pulled like there was an invisible string attached and the anchor is already too deep in her chest to get out.

She takes it back; she was better off not seeing Wendy’s face - better yet, she should’ve just stayed asleep. Forever, especially if it meant regaining the air in her lungs, again.

She stammers like the genius she isn't.

“Er, no. Sorry, um, I don't know. I just...” Seulgi wracks through her brain for an excuse, grabs anything that sounds like the truth - even when it's far from it. “...I just study.”

She almost chokes on the lie. Seulgi wishes she actually did; at least then she wouldn’t feel so bad lying to her face.

Wendy tucks her hair back, a small grateful smile curving across her lips.

“Oh, okay. Well, sorry to bother you.”

And just like that, she leaves, taking Seulgi's voice along with her. The need to call her back, tell her it was her, pounds in her chest, throat dried up as if scraped clean without water - no words come out. But her head is filled with letters too many to count and too chaotic to organize that she can’t focus even when she’s back in her seat, her notebooks sprawled across the desk; not when the stranger – Wendy, is still walking around, her sketch in her hand, asking for the name Seulgi’s been too nervous to give.

Next time, Seulgi promises herself, watching Wendy settle back at her respective table – awake and dejected and a little too eye-catching that it makes her heart jump and neglect her notes all over again.

She’ll tell her next time.

-

Long overdue, I know, and I’m sorry. I’m trying to get back into the swing of things, and so far it’s been pretty nice. Slow, but nice.

Hope you all have enjoyed this update. Until next time. Again, Happy Birthday @seulwans!