Heejin was at the library now, looking for some fictional books to read for fun. Because she had a hard time making up her mind, she ended up taking the books with beautiful and interesting covers. By the time she returned to the desk she occupied, a stack of twelve books awaited her.   She removed the topmost book, and to her greatest surprise, found the familiar looking pink post it note. The note was as sweet as it was odd.   Dear Heejin,   There is something about you
Of which, I shall never tire.   Strange. The note was specifically placed between her books, meaning that whoever did this knew where she sat. Heejin was alerted at once, turning her head around to look for a suspicious activity. There were too many students present, making it harder to single a person out. Maybe the mysterious writer disappeared anyway.   By the time she turned her head around, she accidentally bumped against someone’s chest. The fresh smell of lavender greeted her, and she immediately knew who it was.   “You should watch where you’re going. Luckily it was me. What if you bumped against someone else?” Minseok asked her with a chuckle, grabbing her by her shoulder to prevent her from tripping.   “Sorry, it’s just that,” Heejin secretly glanced around her, making sure no one eavesdropped when she lowered her voice to a whisper. “I got another note.”   “What?” The playfulness immediately disappeared from his voice, and a sinister look clouded his face.   “I found it in between my books, meaning that this person knows where I sit and all,” Heejin tried her best explaining, still looking around as if the mysterious person could be lurking somewhere near.   Minseok took the pink note from her table and read over the words. Again, it was a two line poem that started off addressing her. He did not like this, not a single bit. Secret admirer or not, it was starting to get creepy.   “Maybe we should leave the library first,” he suggested.   “Oh! But I haven’t decided which book to read. I kinda wanna read them all, but I won’t have enough time for it.” Heejin pouted, mentally trying to eliminate some choices from her towering stack of books.   Minseok chuckled at her in his usual bright and charming way. “Take your time. I’ll wait for you.”   Heejin couldn’t help but blush a little. She spent more and more time alone with Minseok lately, and somehow they clicked as if they had been lifelong friends. There was no single awkwardness whatsoever. The fact he wanted to wait, despite knowing how long it could take her to make up her mind, was a sweet gesture itself.   “You know what, I can read the rest when I’m done with this one.” Heejin picked up the top most book and smiled. She then looked at the pile of books on the desk, remembering she had to return them to the shelf. Of course, Minseok became her pair of arms when he carried everything in her stead. She guided the way, walking beside him as they passed other tables. But suddenly, her movements halted, and her eyes widened.   “The pink note.”   Minseok halted along, turning to find her attention fixed on a particular table. There was indeed a stack of pink post it notes, matching the size of the ones Heejin always received. The owner was a small framed boy, perhaps an inch smaller than Minseok himself was. He had dark hair, shaved like he returned from the army two months ago. For a brief second the guy looked up, staring at them with big doe eyes.   “You know him?” Minseok asked, a tone of curiosity embedded within. Rather than wanting to know his identity, he was more interested in knowing his relationship with Heejin.   “I saw a guy last week whose handwriting resembled the ones on the note, but I didn’t get a good glimpse of him,” Heejin explained. “But I think it might be him.”   Minseok couldn’t believe it, wondering where he had been when all of this happened. Something triggered him, though he didn’t understand what, and before he knew it he was already beside the mysterious guy’s table.   “Hey,” he casually greeted at first.   The boy looked up in surprise. From upclose, his big eyes seemed even rounder than they imagined. He studied Minseok for several seconds, but when Heejin came sprinting beside him, his cheeks turned pink.   It prompted Heejin to ask out of a sudden boldness. “By any chance, were you the one who wrote this?” She asked, showing him the latest pink note.   The boy pressed his lips together, his eyes panicked as he assessed his options. He had a look of fear on his face that strangely enough retaliated the other two with equal fear.   “D-do you like them?” He spoke for the first time, and a pleasant tune filled their ears.   “Oh my gosh, so it is you!” Heejin squealed, excited to see her assumptions had been correct. “I think these notes were a really sweet gesture. Thank you for writing them.”   “I am glad you liked them,” the guy spoke, a brief smile crossing his awkward lips.   Minseok frowned his eyebrow, not knowing why he felt a bad vibe from this guy. He did not like the way his eyes seemed to brighten whenever he talked to Heejin, although it was a reaction hard to argue against. Then again, maybe the bad vibe was formed through his emotional and personal prejudice.   “You probably already know my name, but it would be nicer for a proper introduction. My name is Song Heejin.” She extended her hand out, waiting to be greeted.   The boy looked between her hand and face several times, dismissing Minseok’s presence. Finally, he accepted the handshake, forming his lips into a genuine smile for once.   “I am Do Kyungsoo.”     Hyunmi took a deep breath to calm herself before stress settled in her heart like a regular visitor. They were only a few weeks away from the competition, and she wanted to avoid another Moonbucks fiasco. Only one particular person was capable of helping out, so she had texted him to come by the practice room after class.   “What’s the emergency?” Woohyun asked in a rush, barging into the classroom like an undercover cop about to bust a criminal. He was slightly panting, his eyes wide with worries. But when he saw Hyunmi calmly sitting there with her iPad in her hand, knew he didn’t have to worry.   “The emergency is not having a Christmas song to perform with,” she said, wondering why his hair was so disheveled. It didn’t occur to her he might have run through the entire campus because of her panicked message.   Woohyun took a moment to rearrange his thoughts. He should’ve known. Of course it was choir related. “What did Maerin and Kibum say?”   “Oh, right. I forgot to ask them!” Hyunmi gasped, fetching her phone to send them a message.   And yet she remembered Woohyun. Be it the guitar lessons, his motive for joining choir, or even a visual of his charming grin, they had become daily thoughts unconsciously crossing her mind.   “This isn’t an excuse to be alone with me, is it?” Woohyun suddenly asked, his eyes teasing as he took the seat next to her.   Hyunmi blinked, wondering if he was extending another challenge. “What if it was?” She played along.   “I wouldn’t be against it.” Woohyun propped his head against his hand, his body positioned to face her. The same playful grin etched his lips. “I can use this private time to ask you a question.”   Hyunmi looked up. Confused. Anticipating.   “How did you end up directing others to play that particular arrangement during the Caffe Latte performance?”   She should’ve known. Of course it was choir related. “I just went with my feelings and imagined what would sound well with the changes you’ve made.”   Woohyun pressed his lips together, pondering about her words. It would’ve been more logical if she had dissected his ideas through his earlier instructions, or read his body movements beforehand, but to correctly assess his feelings like that? Not even professional band players could do it among each other.   “Would you believe me if I said that the way you directed others to play was exactly how I imagined the arrangement would be?” He asked.   Hyunmi widened her eyes, completely amazed. “Does that mean I’m that good?” She joked.   “No,” Woohyun corrected with a grin, leaning closer toward her. “It means our chemistry is that good.”   The sudden closeness made her flinch, her heart racing in response. It took her a second to realize he meant musical chemistry, not the romantic kind. How did her mind wander there anyway?   The door flung open shortly after, revealing Maerin and Kibum. They weren’t sure whether they’d find the other two bickering or being civil, but they certainly did not expect an unusual coy atmosphere.   “Sorry to interrupt you, lovebirds, but this is a place to study, not to flirt,” Kibum reminded them.   Maerin jolted her head to Kibum, grinning at his response. The delusional part of her that shipped Hyunmi and Kibum together would like to believe Kibum was jealous. But on the other hand, she also loved Woohyun and Hyunmi together. For those reasons, she loved and hated these meetings.   “We were studying chemistry,” Woohyun attempted a lame joke. And as Kibum and Maerin stared in confusion, Hyunmi was the only one who stifled a laugh.   “So anyway, the Christmas performance,” Kibum decided to ignore them and took a seat as Maerin followed. “What are we going to sing?”   “Aw, look at you being all worried as a leader,” Hyunmi teased, patting his cheek like a toned down version of slapping, a simple move which attacked Maerin’s heart with happiness.   “Since I am forced into this position, I might as well do my part and get it over with,” Kibum said lazily, though it was clear he was unintentionally showing interest.   “Because he doesn't want to give you more stress,” Maerin chimed delusionally, so quiet and absurd it went unnoticed by others.   “Seulyi said you offered to be in charge of the drama club’s costume just so that Chiyeon could help with our sound system.”   “Yeah, well, I didn’t want you to end up crying again,” Kibum said, making an ugly face to mimic her tear filled expression.   “Nope, don’t want you blackmailing more people. What if the cops take you away from us?” Woohyun added with a pretentious shock, having been a victim of her fake tears.   “Then my ship would sink,” Maerin answered quietly, not wanting that to happen.   “How thoughtful of you,” Hyunmi muttered with a fake smile, not hearing what the younger girl whispered.   Maerin sighed dreamily, the main discussion soon forgotten. Watching the three of them was like watching a sitcom, and she would religiously anticipate the next episode. Who needed Taemin when she had them? But despite all the teasings, they knew when to get serious and were soon discussing the song list again.   “I did a research, and Bs only has about ten people. If there is one thing we can win at, it’s our number of people,” Woohyun said, in his temporary serious mode. “Courtesy to someone’s bribery, of course.”   Hyunmi smiled, taking the compliment in stride since he seemed to be nicer lately—too nice, actually. “I made the exact same observation. We should go with an upbeat song since we have more people.”   “See? Chemistry right here,” Woohyun proudly pointed out, holding his hand for a high five.   Hyunmi didn’t think an innocent high five could lead to anything, and simply reciprocated it. How wrong she was. The faint brush of his skin was enough to made her heart jump, especially when he briefly folded his fingers around hers.   “An upbeat song would fit us,” Maerin agreed, trying not to be distracted by the sudden change in her friend’s expression. She wished to point it out, to start hoping something romantic would blossom. But no, she had to stay focused. “Is everyone gonna sing?”   “Not Eun. We can’t let her sing,” Kibum immediately commented.   “What? But she’s so excited about it. What will I tell her if she is the only one who can’t join?” Maerin asked, worried about her roommate. Why did Eun have to put up such a bold introductory performance anyway? It left a lasting impression in everyone’s brain.   “Tell her she’s horrible and can’t sing in public unless she improves,” Kibum said as blunt as always.   “I suppose we can give her a small part,” Hyunmi suggested, pinching her fingers together to emphasize her point.   “Or give her a lot of extra training,” Woohyun said, the opposite solution to Kibum’s idea.   “Right!” Maerin preferred the last two ideas, anything that doesn’t involve breaking Eun’s heart. “What about Jineul? Do you think she’d want to sing this time?”   “What’s her deal anyway? Why is she even in a choir group if she doesn’t want to sing?” Kibum asked, scrutinizing his eyes into his signature judgemental glare.   “Her boyfriend signed her up without her knowledge,” Maerin said. She wondered whether Sungjong would be able to convince her to sing along. “I’ll try to talk to them.”   “Okay, and while we’re at the topic of boyfriends, how’s it going between you and Taemin?” Kibum suddenly shot at her, swiftly changing the topic. He crossed his arms and leaned back on his chair. The same judgemental look was directed to her now.   “W-what?”   “It has gotten worse right?” Kibum continued his accusations, and Maerin hated how correct they were.   “Don’t we have to talk about the song choice?” She tried, avoiding the topic.   “No, no. Woohyun will take care of it. He’s