Jung Taekwoon might look like someone who will knock you down to the ground if you stood anywhere close to him. He was fully capable of it in fact with his tall and wide frame, powerful limbs, and piercing dark eyes. What most people didn’t know was the fact that he was soft as a kitten on the inside with a heart of gold which believed in love at first sight.

So when Kim Minah walked into the first class which the seniors and juniors had together, it was the blue streaks on the ends of her hair that caught his eye. She had the posture of an athlete, but the stack of books in her arms indicated otherwise and her attempts to get the dog that was following her into class out before the professor arrived was rather entertaining.

Kim Minah noticed the senior with the long hair, better known as Jung ‘Byakuya’ Taekwoon lead Freddy, the large dog who she adored, out of the class. She smiled at him, settling her books on the table before fixing her t-shirt and plonking down on her seat.

She spoke sufficiently in class, he noticed, she had a low voice which was clear and sounded like it could be piercing when it needed to be. What she said made sense, even sounded smart, she knew what she was talking about. He didn't speak at all; he silently took down notes and stood up to leave the classroom when the class was done.

Except he had the awkward moment of having her sit across him at the dining hall as Sanghyuk dragged her along to sit with them.

“I don't understand why you took that course Kim Minah, it's killing you.” Sanghyuk grumbled as Taekwoon looked up.

“I don't have a choice, Critical Theory is a compulsory course and Gayathri Spivak is no joke.”

“It's just a reading!” Sanghyuk whined as Taekwoon cleared his throat.

“Spivak is not an easy read Sanghyuk.” He said before returning to his food silencing Sanghyuk and eliciting a soft 'thanks’ from Minah. The two lapsed into silence as they ate their meal. Minah taking a mental note to ask Taekwoon about possible courses she could take in the following semester since he was in the same major as her and Taekwoon wondering how on earth he was to talk to her since he was so terribly awkward.

The awkwardness spilled over to their next few meetings. The two of them met frequently over dinners because their circle of friends had suddenly expanded to include more people. They spoke quite often to others but had no idea what to say to each other beyond polite greetings.

"Oh oh oh! Minah loves dogs too! Minah is a dog whisperer in fact" Sooyeon pointed out.

"Yeah!" Miya agreed. The sudden exclamations pulled Minah out of her thoughts.

"I'm not a dog whisperer. I just have a pet dog at home so I know how to handle them" Minah explained to an overexcited Jaehwan.

"You do?" Taekwoon asked. Minah almost missed the question because of his soft voice but she nodded enthusiastically in response.

"Do you want to see a picture of her?" Minah asked him. Taekwoon nodded, almost pulling her phone out of her hand when she handed it to him.

"What's her name?" he asked Minah.

"Kero" Minah replied and he smiled brightly at her. "I got her when she was just a small puppy and she is so big now! I can still remember the time she used to fall asleep after walking around for 5 minutes" Minah laughed. She pulled up a folder of recent pictures of Kero and Taekwoon spent the rest of their meal talking to her and grinning at the pictures. Wonshik on the other hand sighed.

“I wanted a black pug, still do. I’d name it .”

“What the hell Kim Wonshik?!” Haneul choked on her food.

“Is that your favourite part on Haneul?” Haru smirked as Haneul looked scandalized.

“Nope, Jaehwan’s trumps everyone.” Wonshik sighed dreamily.

“Do you agree with Wonshik?” Sanghyuk asked Sooyeon who shot him a dirty look in the brief absence of her boyfriend (he had gone to refill his tray with food) who would have been rather smug during this conversation. But Taekwoon’s focus was on Minah who was somewhere between amused and horrified before turning back to him.

“So, I’m not really a pet whisperer, I just own one.” she explained before her attention was diverted by Sanghyuk for something else. Kero was precious, Taekwoon decided, that’s what made Minah seem so nice.

But why did his eyes instantly move over to the third floor of C block of the girl’s housing, and fix themselves on the person standing on the top most floor?

It had rained that day and it was quite chilly he figured, as he tugged his sweater closer to him, as he stood on the balcony of his room on the first floor of J block. He liked standing there, it was oddly peaceful watching people walk by even if they didn’t interact with him or him with them. But that was the usual life of Jung Taekwoon.

But there she was, standing on the third floor of C block with the cold breeze running through her bizarrely curly hair with blue ends, her eyes turning into like crescents as she smiled at nobody in particular. The ginormous blue sweater she wore nearly camouflaged her hair, but she didn’t seem to care much as she held her notebook close to her chest and swung her colourful backpack over her shoulder.

He didn’t even know why his eyes were glued to her in such a manner, but he never knew why it always shifted to her every time he spotted her coming down those stairs, or simply sitting on the slab of stone on the topmost floor, chewed on her lower lip as she took down notes in class or even when she fluttered around campus somewhere in her own world.

Sometimes they would have lunch together because their timetables were similar. It was always comfortable silences interspersed with conversation about classes, the campus dogs and what not. Taekwoon could find himself getting comfortable with her.

His gaze was broken as a bright smile and wave was directed at him as she bounced down the stairs, her eyes still fixed on him and her smile not fading even if he didn’t respond. He raised his hand towards her and her grin widened.

Kim Minah was a strange child he decided.

He quite liked her.

-x-

Taekwoon groaned as he made his way up the stairs to the library. He was no stranger to the building, having spent the better part of his college years in here for assignments and readings. However, it was a beautiful day and he didn't want to stay in and work on his assignments.

He found the book he needed quite easily, before making his way to a silent corner to read. He thought he saw a familiar red converse and blue streaked hair. He double backed to check if it was Minah indeed, when he found her by the table near the window. More under it than by it, you could argue but he did find her sitting quite comfortably below the thick wooden table top.

“Don't ask” she told him.

 “I am not sure I can handle the answer” he replied.

“It's more comfortable this way” she told him simply.

 “Scoot over then” he told her, trying to figure out the best way to fit in. His long legs definitely posed a challenge.

“Get your own table” Minah laughed as he pouted at the lack of space.

Taekwoon blinked thoughtfully for a moment before pushing the table next to hers and placing them adjacent by the wall. He smugly sat down next to her under a table of his own, looking extremely proud of his achievement. Decidedly amused, Minah watched the short lived bliss fade away as he struggled to get into a comfortable position.

The movement caused a lot of noise bringing the librarian to their aisle. Except when she arrived, she was met by an empty set of tables with chairs pulled out at specific places. She blinked, a little confused by the sudden silence and lack of people before leaving the aisle. Below their respective tables, Taekwoon and Minah fought the urge to laugh, almost doubling over while holding onto their stomachs for support. Minah eyed the man who reminded her of over stretched taffy try to hold back his laughter and realized this was the first time she was seeing him laugh. She liked the look, however much he had tried to hide it over the time she had known him.

She thought it was very pleasant in fact.

He flicked through apps on his phone idly. He played five rounds of the game Influence before closing that followed by three intense rounds of flappy bird that were progressively shorter. He wanted to put his work off as long as he could. He looked up at Minah again who was completely absorbed in her work. Taekwoon attempted to uncurl from his position under the table only to stretch out a little too much and knock over Minah’s water bottle which fell with a clatter. Minah bit her lip to stop herself from laughing. She knew this was about to happen the moment he had sat down.

Taekwoon watched her set the bottle upright and shoot him a grin before setting her laptop aside “If it please your longness,” she shuffled over beside him “could you please scoot a little?” he shifted quickly as she squeezed herself beside him “so captain Byakuya, tell me to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?”

“Why? Can I not sit under a table either?” He asked as she chuckled.

“Stealing my ideas are we? I’ll need citation.”

“Kim, Minah, insert date here, italicized sitting under the table…” Taekwoon began reciting the MLA format making her Minah laugh even more. He felt her gently touch his arm for his attention only to reach for a book in his stack.

“Kierkegaard?”

“Don’t ask.” he sighed, cringing.

“Do you mind if I ask you why you took this major?” causing him to turn, his hair blocking most of his face, he fixed it and pursed his lips. They were ridiculously close to each other, and all he needed was to whisper and she could hear him.

“I want to teach.”

He could see her eyes widen, did she judge him for not wanting to get into academia after a major in Literary and Culture Studies.

“So do I!” she whispered excitedly making him whirl around and whack his head on the top of the table. He felt her hand smooth down over the spot, attempting to soothe the pain as she held back a giggle. He fixed his gaze on her shoulder as he mumbled.

“You want to teach too?”

“Yes, I feel like this major will allow me to teach a variety of age groups since it's so versatile. Plus what is the point of learning if you can't share what you know?”

Taekwoon nodded “there's a lot of injustice in education, I really want to bridge it. Plus, I love working with children.”

He watched her eyes soften as she met his gaze, hand shifting away from his head “that's really noble of you.”

“It's nice to know someone else wants to give back.” He smiled back at her.

It was after this that everything Taekwoon did was annoyingly distracting.

“He pouts while he speaks Haneul. I kid you not, I can barely make out what he's saying when he speaks because he mouth is so pouty all the time” she said, staring at the ceiling as she lay in her bed. Haneul smiled as an idea started to form in her head.

 “Pouty mouth huh? Tell me more” she egged Minah on, who was quite willing to talk her frustration out.

“Well… you know! He pouts!” she said, not knowing what more could be added.

 “So you've said. I gather it is very distracting” Haneul said amused.

“Yes it is. Especially when a person has candy coloured lips. It is very distracting” Minah ranted.

“Candy lips?” Haneul asked grinning.

“Yes! That weird nice pink red sweet candy colour” Minah huffed.

“Why are you thinking of his lips as sweet tasting candy? Do you want to taste them?” Haneul leaned in to ask conspiratorially. Minah almost choked in surprise.

 “No!” she protested, sitting up straight.

“You called them sweet candy. I am pretty sure you can only taste a person’s lips by kissing them” Haneul sang.

 “I do not want to kiss Taekwoon!” Minah cried indignantly.

 “Such a shame. You both have looked so cute together” Haneul said. She pouted dramatically at Minah who raised an eyebrow.

“What are you doing?” Minah asked.

 “Pouting at you to kiss Taekwoon but apparently it only works when he does it” Haneul said, her voice chiming with mischief.

“Go do that face to Wonshik if you really want to kiss someone.” Minah grumbled before turning away to the other side.

The teasing however continued beyond this conversation. Minah glared at Haneul as she stretched. Haneul had decided to accompany Bora to the sports grounds. Bora had gone over to the track to talk to Hakyeon and Haneul had decided to come over to the football ground, partly to talk to Wonshik and to keep Minah company since the tennis ground was conveniently next to the football ground. Except this had resulted in an irritated Minah because Haneul took every opportunity to hum or sing a kiss or lips related song whenever Taekwoon was nearby.

“Kiss kiss kiss baby, hush hush hush baby” Haneul sang innocently, smiling at Minah who wanted to frankly kill her friend. Haneul waved at Wonshik when he headed over with Taekwoon. Minah smiled despite herself when she saw Taekwoon frown and push his long hair out of his face.

“We're almost done with practice. I'll grab my bag and we can go” Wonshik told her.

“Okay” she said.

“Are you done with tennis practice too?” Taekwoon asked Minah.

“Yeah. Just waiting for Sanghyuk” Minah said. Haneul coughed innocently before humming the tune to ‘Kiss The Girl’ when she passed the two of them to go over to Wonshik.

 “Hey Wonshik! Take the hints and kiss Haneul already!” Minah yelled causing Haneul to stumble a little and Wonshik to be baffled. Minah smirked in revenge as Wonshik fumbled and Haneul pulled him away from the couple.

 “He always picks aggressive women” Taekwoon said, causing Minah to crack up in laughter.

He grinned as well before frowning and pushing his hair away again. “Need some help with that Captain Byakuya?” Minah asked knowingly.

“Yes please” he said, aggravated by the sweaty hair that refused to listen to him. Minah shook her head and pulled her hair tie. Her dark curly hair cascade down her back, the blue curls at the end mesmerising Taekwoon who didn't notice her holding the hair tie out. “Taekwoon?” she called out and he started, frowning again at his lack of concentration.

Minah shook her head and walked up to him. She had to tiptoe because of their height difference but she managed to stretch and reach his head. She tied the offending hair up to form a small coconut tree and grinned proudly at her work.

“Apple haired Captain Byakuya” she sang causing him to protest.

“I'm going to practice some more” he said, giving up when protesting didn't work.

“I'm off to meet Sanghyuk too. I'll see you later” she said. She picked her stuff up before turning and yelling across the field. “Bye apple haired captain!” she shouted causing Taekwoon to sort of flail in embarrassment before running further away. Minah grinned as she walked over to Sanghyuk and Haru. She didn't want to kiss Taekwoon and she wasn't in denial, quite unlike Haru and Sanghyuk.

-x-

“How much of the paper are you done with?” she peeked under the table as Taekwoon glared at his laptop.

“I’m not entirely sure of how much more I can write about this. I don’t understand this course anymore.” he grumbled as she squeezed into the space beside him almost like it was second nature now.

“No one understands this course, but you still need to finish this stupid paper and I need to get through this script and figure out how I’m tweaking this play.” she said, waving a roughly typed out script.

“Bora asked me to help out with the food for the play.” Taekwoon commented, his fingers gliding over the keyboard of his laptop as he squinted into the screen.

“Aw damn, I thought you’d be there to watch it. Ah well.” Minah grumbled, leaning against his shoulder as she looked over her script with a pencil in hand.

“Do you want to go get some coffee in half an hour?” Taekwoon whispered as he shifted to make her more comfortable.

“Sounds great, I’m paying this time.” Minah grinned as she comfortably settled beside him. Even when Sooyeon and Jaehwan spotted Taekwoon and Minah in the cafe in the library half an hour later, they sighed.

“I swear those two are always working. Now they’re even study buddies.” Sooyeon whined as Jaehwan nodded along.

“Seriously, both of them don’t have a single romantic bone in their bodies so now they’re hanging out and being sad together.”

Not that things changed even after that.

“Where is Minah?” Sanghyuk asked with a frown.

“Studying with Taekwoon” Haru replied.

“Those two are always studying” he complained.

“Yeah. Such a shame that they’re so awkward for the camera, they would have totally shown the studious side of our college for Hongbin and Miya’s campus brochure photoshoot” Haru said with a sad smile.

“Have you guys seen Taekwoon?” Hakyeon asked them.

“He's in the library I guess. Why?” Haru asked him.

“Well Bora stole Haneul and now I need Taekwoon to come with me to the play so that she can't transitively steal Wonshik and hence Jaehwan and consequently Sooyeon and Miya and you and Sanghyuk and then Minah too” Hakyeon explained. Haru and Sanghyuk blinked at him and he shook his head. “You're too young to understand!” he complained walking away.

“He does know that we are only a year or so younger than him right?” she asked Sanghyuk. “Sometimes he forgets” Sanghyuk said pitying him.

“Although I think he forgot that you and I are helping backstage and Minah is directing the play.” Haru shrugged as Sanghyuk groaned at the idea of lugging heavy things. Both of them missed out on Hakyeon yelling from the distance saying that he had finally found Taekwoon at the Foodaholics stall for burgers.

Taekwoon grumbled as Hakyeon bothered him.

Taekwoonie!” Hakyeon called out to him, making him cringe, watch fresh hell was he getting himself into? It was only because Bora promised him free burgers that he even signed up for this stall. Why couldn’t he just saute vegetables in peace? He watched Hakyeon lean against his counter with a grin “did you find yourself a date for prom or are you going to come with me?”

Taekwoon stared at the vegetables, he hadn’t particularly thought about prom. He never did, college events and dances weren’t really his thing. He ignored the babble around him only to hear Bora arrive.

“Leave this man alone, he’s in charge of sautéing the vegetables for the burgers. Aren’t you?” Bora turned towards him as Hakyeon and she looked at him expectantly. Taekwoon’s automatic response was to reach for his phone.

“Save me from the Momzillas they’re mommying me.”

“Jung Taekwoon, I’m directing a play, save yourself.”

“ But…”

“You’re a grown man, save yourself.”

“Stop texting and cook Taekwoon.” Bora grumbled at him as he pouted at his phone and ignored the two. It was only when Minah sent him animal pictures and stupid memes after that when he cracked a tiny smile, trying to hold back his laughter.  He could see Bora and Hakyeon were getting along.

“Minah! Come take a look. I think Hakyeon is trying to flirt with Bora” Sooyeon giggled as she and Haru looked out of the window.

 “Romance can wait. I have a paper to write” Minah grumbled as Miya and Haneul joined the other two.

 “He actually is!” Haneul gasped in surprise. “He gave all of us hell for being friends with her and now he is trying to be her boyfriend. Men!” she complained, causing everyone in the room to laugh.

“I guess that means Bora has a date to prom. If Hakyeon doesn't ask her then I am going to nag him for a change” Haru swore. There was a cackle of laughter at the wisecrack and even Minah giggled.

“We have too many reasons to nag at Hakyeon. But Bora and Hakyeon are perfect for each other” Miya said.

“Except when both of them are mommying you. I have it on good authority that it feels like hell” Minah put in.

“Already shuddering at the thought of it” Sooyeon said, shaking her head.

“Have the other guys asked you all to the prom yet?” Haneul asked the girls.

 “Jaehwan asked me officially yesterday. Apparently he had always assumed I would be going with him and forgotten to actually ask” Sooyeon sighed.

“Hongbin gave Miya flowers while asking. It was so romantic!” Haru exclaimed enviously.

“And when Sanghyuk saw them he swore and accidentally hit Haru on the shoulder before asking her” Miya giggled.

 “The lump of human is an idiot” Minah declared as she typed away. She had become scarily good at multitasking in such situations.

“What about Wonshik? Did he even ask or were you guys busy making out?” Miya asked knowingly. Haneul blushed as she protested but acknowledged that Wonshik hadn't asked her yet.

“What about you Minah?” Haru asked her.

“I'm not going” Minah told her. The sentence caused the entire room to go into silence.

“No! You have to go!” Haneul protested.

“Yes! It'll be lots of fun!” Sooyeon added.

“I know! But there is a lot to do. So I won't be going” Minah said.

 “You guys can have fun. Remember to use protection” she put in teasingly. However the joke fell flat because the girls frowned.

“You're going! And you can be my date since my boyfriend isn't asking at all” Haneul declared.

“Minah should be my date!” Miya protested. This led to a round of protests that left Minah dumbfounded.

Apparently she attracted more women than men.

Taekwoon nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt her head rest on his arm. She felt him freeze and grumbled about wanting the one sane person to please give her a few moments of sanity. Minah felt him run his hand over her head and looked up.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as she sighed and rested her forehead against his arm yet again.

“They’re setting me up for prom.” she mumbled as Taekwoon attempted to hear her clearly.

“What?” he asked, hoping for just a second he hadn’t heard wrong.

“Haneul and the lot are trying to set me up for prom, there is so much work for me to do and I don’t have a date. It’s not even that big a deal, they just call it prom it’s just a winter dance of sorts.” Minah grumbled.

“You do have a point there.” Taekwoon conceded as she shifted closer to him under the table.

“Hide me from those idiots. I don’t want to go with Taejun or Jiwon or whoever they named in their ‘List of boys Minah would be cute with’” she grumbled against his arm, now resting against him completely “jeez Jung Taekwoon, you’re really warm.”

“I’m always warm,” he said, blushing “Hakyeon has been bugging me about this dance thing too honestly.”

“Can we just ditch it together?” Minah said, her eyes closing when she felt his arm wind around her. Her phone flashed and the message preview showed a text message from Sooyeon.

“Jaehwan said that Taejun might be interested in going to the dance with you.”

Taekwoon frowned at the message, but a call on his phone distracted him. He looked at it to see it was Sanghyuk.

“What?” he said, as he picked up the phone.

“Find my best friend a date before Haru kills me.”

Taekwoon hung up the phone call even before Sanghyuk could continue. He didn’t even notice how comfortably his fingers were interlaced with Minah’s. He hadn’t even realized how gradually she had eased into his life and the steady calmness she made him feel.

“Hey Taekwoon,” he heard her say and looked down at her; she was oddly pretty and comfortable by his side “would you get awkward if I tell you that you have a piece of my heart in your hand?”

There was a silence as Taekwoon tried to process exactly what was going on. His hand was still in hers as she pressed her cheek against it. He couldn’t say he didn’t see it coming, but at the same time he wasn’t sure how it happened. Steady, yet all of the sudden, just the way he liked it.

She smiled when she felt his thumb caress her cheek as she was pitched closer to him.

“Well,” she heard him whisper “you can fill that space in your heart with a piece of mine then.”

He wasn’t entirely sure of what to make of the grin she had spreading across her lips “Oh, so you didn’t get awkward. Maybe I should say some more.” his eyes widened as she shot him a devious smile knowing that he would turn red due to his compliment allergy “where do I start Jung ‘Byakuya’ Taekwoon? Is it because you’re the college football captain? I’ve always liked guys who played football so well. Or is is because you’re as much of a coffee mania as me? Is it because you’re smart and caring? Is it because you’re annoyingly attractive that it’s distracting?”

Taekwoon turned red “that’s you…” he mumbled, momentarily stunning her as she gaped at him. But Minah was competitive and even if she had a moment of shock.

“Is it because you want to be a teacher like me?” she questioned further, trying to fight the blush creeping up her cheeks “or is it because you make my heart beat so fast but so calm at the same damn time? Maybe it’s something as frivolous as your lips reminding me of candy.” she went on, only to feel his forehead against hers, their bodies were so close in the tiny space that they had claimed as theirs under the table. She saw spots when his lips brushed against hers, not expecting him to be so forward. His lips were as soft as they looked; laced with the warm taste of bitter coffee, drawing her in, making her extremely aware of every movement he made and yet completely fried her nerves as his hand reached up to cup her cheek. Everything about it was chaste, yet when he drew away left her breathless and wanting another.

“Maybe it tastes more like coffee than candy.” she heard him breathe out a smile.

-x-

“I can’t believe you are not coming to this damn dance.” Haneul glared at Minah who sat in her room, her wet hair up in a t-shirt to keep it from frizzing. Minah simply grinned at her in response.

“This is what you get for trying to find me a date. I’ll drop by and see how it’s going. But seriously, go get ready, Wonshikkie won’t wait too long to get that dress off you.” she smirked.

“This sort of thing is uncalled for.” Haneul glared at her before leaving the room.

“Don’t forget to use protection!”

“Yo, loser roommate, I’m leaving because stupid lump of human wants to eat at the cafe before going to the dance.” Haru peeped into the room as Minah shot her a thumbs up.

“You sure you’re not coming?” Miya asked her as soon as Haru left. Minah simply shrugged in response. She and Bora had come in as a last attempt to get Minah to come for the prom, even if it was alone.

“I’ll drop by later, I promise.”

“Dry your hair before you catch a cold.” Bora scolded and Minah nodded.

“Yes mum.” she called out to the defeated Bora and Miya.

“Do you think I can borrow those gold earrings of yours?” Sooyeon announced as she entered Minah’s room.

“Kinda need those.”

“Huh, okay. that you’re not coming with a date, boys are stupid. I’m going to have words with Taejun for backing out last minute.” Sooyeon shrugged.

“That’s fine Sooyeon he had his reasons, I’ll be there, don’t worry.” Minah smiled, remembering how Taekwoon had simply placed his hand on hers when Taejun had come in to ask her if she didn’t have a date for the dance. Sooyeon shot her a look before leaving the room.

Taekwoon was waiting for her to come down from her apartment, they had planned on dropping by late anyway, since they had a reading for the next day’s class. While he had put together a suit which he had saved from his first year in college, he didn’t particularly expect Minah to pull out her best dress for him. He had to keep his jaw from hitting the ground when she stood in front of him looking down awkwardly. She wore a dark red dress cinched at the waist and flowed elegantly to the ground. Her hair fell in neat curls over her shoulders and her face was glowing as she blushed.

“You look wonderful.” he mumbled, as she looked back up at him with a huge smile and reached to hold onto his hand. It had become an act of comfort as she pressed against his side. He pressed a quick kiss to her knuckles as they walked to the location.

“I really wish Minah would be here” Haneul said, standing next to Wonshik.

“Taekwoon should have come along too. This was fun” Wonshik agreed.

“How are Miya and Hongbin slow dancing in the middle of an EXID song? How?” Haneul asked, making Wonshik laugh.

“Jaehwan and Sooyeon look cute too” he put in, looking at the couple trying out appetisers as if they were starring in a CF.

“Speaking of cute couples where are Haru and Sanghyuk?” Haneul asked craning her neck to look over the crowd.

“I saw them talking to Hakyeon and Bora a while back. Do you want to go back to the dance floor?” he asked her.

“I guess” Haneul said letting him take her hand and lead her to the floor. While they sang along to Hot Pink, Haneul kept looking at the door. Was Minah really not going to turn up tonight? She would miss out on a lot of fun!

“Oh my mothering god!” Haneul exclaimed when Minah did walk in. Wonshik started when he heard Haneul swear because that rarely happened. She hit his shoulder multiple times in rapid succession because she wanted to draw his attention to the couple that had just entered making him hold her by her shoulders and ask her to breathe. “oh my god Wonshik look!” she insisted pulling him along.

“Hi” Minah said waving at Wonshik just before Haneul screamed. “You look so pretty!” Haneul exclaimed before fanning herself. Minah shared a worried look with Taekwoon because Haneul really looked like she was going to cry from joy and that was making Wonshik panic.

“I'm okay really. I'm so happy you came! And you brought Taekwoon too! And he's all dressed up as well! And you both are holding hands! Life is whole again. I was so sad you were missing out…. Wait. Why are you both holding hands?” Haneul asked. She looked at Minah and then at Taekwoon who just sort of went red and wanted to bury himself under the earth.

“Holy mother of god? This is not okay. You both never said a thing!” she exclaimed hitting Wonshik yet again who contemplated just hugging her to not let her move her hands.

 “Why does it look like Taekwoon wants to kill Haneul?” Hakyeon asked joining the group. Haneul ended up hitting Hakyeon to point out the hand holding before he exclaimed in surprise and went to tell Bora who also happened to tell Miya who told Hongbin who told Sooyeon and Jaehwan and also Haru and Sanghyuk. As the hour progressed, Taekwoon’s hit list grew longer and patience reduced.

“Howwww? You guys were like boring study buddies.” Jaehwan exclaimed shaking Minah by the shoulders as Sooyeon squinted her eyes at Taekwoon.

“You sure you’re not doing this for the kicks of it?”

“Sooyeon.” Minah warned as she tightened her grip on Taekwoon’s hand.

“You’re dating my best friend?!” Sanghyuk barged into the conversation “why would you do that?” he asked, turning to Minah “why are you dating him?! What is the world coming to?”

“Han Sanghyuk, don’t make me kill you.” Taekwoon growled as Minah turned to him, trying to ignore Miya and Hongbin’s eyes boring into them. (“It was the photoshoot I tell you, I’m glad we paired them together.” Miya whispered to Hongbin while Bora proudly spoke of how her children had grown up and Haru pointed out it her that it’s weird that both of them are her children.)

“Do you want to go dance? Or do you want to eat first? I am kind of hungry” Minah said distracting Taekwoon. He frowned, (delighting Minah by his pout) and pointed to the food since it was a quiet spot away from the bunch.

“Why do we have such friends?” he asked her dramatically.

“Who knows? But college wouldn't be the same without all the crazy” Minah replied with a shrug.

“Look look they’re already hurrying away.” Sanghyuk grinned at the two of them as they weaved through the crowd. Taekwoon’s hand was now steady on Minah’s waist as he held her away from the crowd of dancing people only to find that the food area was nearly as crowded with a new surge of people coming there. They grabbed whatever food they could and headed out into the cool outdoors standing in the wet lawns outside the hall the dance was being held.

“I swear I will kill you if you steal my food Jung Taekwoon.” Minah grumbled as he stole a chip from her plate. She nicked one from his and it then there was war declared. She heard him chuckle as he sat down on a dewy bench they found outside, setting aside his empty plate only to have her settle down on his lap as revenge.

“Hmm?” he wondered out loud as his arms wrapped around her eyeing the deep back of her dress.

“This is for stealing my chips.” she grumbled, turning to the side so she could face him, before ruffling his hair and mock glaring at him. He pulled her closer into a hug and buried his head in her neck.

“Sorry?” he said, running his fingers up her side and grazing the skin of her back, knowing she was extremely ticklish only to have her sit up rigid and glare at him and all he could do was lean up and press his lips against her for another kiss, dragging his tongue over the seam of her lips tasting the juice she had sipped on earlier, her fingers which had previously ruffled his hair, tangle in them. Taekwoon knew this kiss held much promise as he smiled into it.

At least it wasn’t under the table this time.

And we're done with this series with a 6,000 word chapter! While we might do a few spin offs or something of the sort, we thank you for reading Liberal Education and giving us your valuable feedback :)