“How on earth is your handwriting so immaculate?”

You stare in wonder as your classmate’s pen swiftly glides over the lined paper of his notebook, taking down notes in just the right speed but somehow, his penmanship was consistently perfect.

The deft left by his ballpoint pen were worlds away from the unintelligible scratches on your own book. “It doesn’t make any sense,” you huff softly so as to not be noticed by your lecturer up front, folding your arms as you lean back into your chair.

Your friend turns his head to spare you a glance, but otherwise does nothing but bite his bottom lip to hold back a grin when he sees the genuinely annoyed look you have on your face. A few slides later, you glance at his notes and once again sigh at the stark contrast between your chirography.

Wonpil sets his pen down and turns to you upon hearing your sigh. Before you can ask why he’s looking at you like that, you feel a warmth spread from your hand right up to your cheeks as his fingers encapsulate your own. You freeze, mind racing with a million and two thoughts but the only one that stands front and centre is “damn, why is his hand so soft-”

(You see, you’ve had this little crush on him since last semester when you paired up for an assignment. But you figured he probably didn’t feel the same way - it’s not like he treated you any differently. Wonpil was nice to everyone, angel that he is. Assuming it was futile, you gave up on your feelings. But you’d be lying if you said you never wondered what his hands would feel like. And now that you’re actually touching…)

You blink, and you’re glad when Wonpil speaks because you aren’t sure your tongue would’ve worked. “Here, I’ll show you,” he leans closer, left arm draped on the back of your chair to support his weight as he moves your hands together, inking down the last point being projected on the screen.

After he’s written the full stop, though, he doesn’t immediately release your hand. You stare at it until he pulls away a few moments later, but the tingle you felt from where his skin had touched yours still lingers.

Somehow, you regain your ability to speak so you fake an amused laugh (that sounds way too much like a nervous one in your head), shaking your head at the extent he went to just to ‘teach’ you how to write nicely.

“Did you really have to literally ghostwrite for me, Kim Wonpil? Besides, that won’t help much unless you cut off your hand and donate it to me.”

Your pink haired companion’s pearly whites come on full display as he laughs, and the wrinkles that form by his eyes as he tries to keep his volume down make you internally clutch at your chest. If he keeps smiling at you like that, you aren’t so sure how much longer you can last before your heart bursts.

You get back to listening to your professor drone on about DNA replication while Wonpil recovers from his fit of giggles. Once he’s fully calmed down, he props his elbow on the small writing desk and rests his head on his palm, turning to face you.

“Actually, I just wanted an excuse,” he confesses, and you tilt your head in question.

“An excuse for?”

“An excuse to hold your hand,” he states matter of factly, as though it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

You’re caught like a deer in the headlights and it must be apparent from your face (which also looks akin to a tomato right now), because the smirk that creeps onto Wonpil’s lips is undeniable. Where on earth is this confidence coming from, you wonder.

He always seemed like the shy type. This poised, confident, flirtatious demeanor is a new side to him and you don’t think you’re equipped with the mental nor physical tenacity to deal with it (was there such a thing as cardiac armour? Because you sure as hell needed it right now). It seems like one more little action of his will just tip you over the edge and have you fallen, unable to get back up.

Just as you think that, he causes your breath to hitch as he takes your hand, just as he did before. “I think I can come up with a better excuse for myself, though…” he says by way of explanation, guiding your hand to the parchment on your table and writing a short question which leaves you absolutely befuddled.

Written there in his impeccable handwriting is a sentence you never thought you’d read. Much less from Kim Wonpil himself.

Would you go out with me?

Soon enough, you’re able to make sense of the situation and you hold back a laugh, turning to Wonpil with a genuine smile, trying your best not to grin too wide. You pull his notebook over to your table, writing as neatly as you can in the most inconspicuous corner before returning the booklet to its original owner.

The triumphant whoop that comes makes you jump, gaze ricocheting between your teacher up front and your elated neighbour. Your professor stops, setting his pointer down on the podium as he folds his arms in a business-like manner.

“Any good news you’d like to share with us, Mr Kim?” he challenges, and you really really wish he hadn’t. Because the next thing to come is just inevitable.

“She said yes!” Wonpil grabs your hand, holding it up like you just won a wrestling match. You face-palm, hiding your face from your peers that are now cheering and applauding. Even your professor has to hide that he’s tickled by the answer he received.

“Alright, alright. Settle down,” the lecturer calls for order, the excitement dwindling down as he picks up from where he left off, droning on about the function of helicase.

But you aren’t paying attention by now because the only thing you can think about is how Wonpil still hasn’t let go of your hand, and instead has intertwined his fingers with yours, rubbing the back of your palm with his thumb.

“Wonpil. How am I gonna take my notes now,” you grumble. He shrugs. “I can just give you mine, we both know your handwriting is unsalvageable anyway.”

“Excuse me? Are you looking for a fight?”

He smirks again, catching you off guard. “If it gives me an excuse to throw a fake punch so I can hug you instead, then yeah I am.”

hey everyone! i've been on quite a good writing spree lately lol so I'll be posting another update soon! hope yall enjoyed this and as always, do leave a comment and show some love <3 I'm also accepting requests at the moment so feel free to do so!