It was his second day of second year in university and Jinyoung was already sick of waking up early. Don’t get him wrong. He loves to study but waking up early and cramping himself in the subway so early in the morning wasn’t exactly his number one to-do list. Sure he decided before the year started that he wanted to fully experience his university life by opting out to live outside his nicely built dorm and chose to live in an apartment complex around 30 minutes from his university with his best friend, Jackson.

Okay, who was he kidding? Other than the so-called full university experience of staying outside with your best friend, he also detested the idea of being placed in a room with a total stranger when he in fact was not the best social butterfly around. Sure enough his last roommate was the cause of his hatred. That guy despite being among the messiest person Jinyoung ever met, he still found it in himself to tolerate his roommate’s . However, he had the last straw when his good for nothing roommate puked on his only pair of shoes the day Jinyoung was supposed to sit for a test which caused him a few additional quizzes to make up for the lost marks.

The only think he was thankful for was that his stop was among the earliest which meant higher possibility that by the time he got on the subway, it might be less crowded than later. Sitting in the subway with around 25 minutes to spare, Jinyoung jotted something on his notebook. Being a literature student majoring in English, Jinyoung found the biggest satisfaction in himself when he managed to write something of his own which explains the constant scribbling of words whenever he had the time to do so.

It was after the third stop that Jinyoung noticed a certain redhead walking in and took the empty seat opposite where he was sitting. That guy had a very calming demeanor despite his fiery bright head and Jinyoung can’t help but to stare at the stranger’s handsome face.

“God dammit, Park Jinyoung. Stop staring, will you? Any minute now this guy might melt from your stares or even worse he might notice you which will further embarrass your sorry ”, Jinyoung mumbling to himself while focusing back on his notebook trying to continue back from where he had stopped.

It was less than 30 seconds later that his gaze found their way back to the redhead. To his surprise, that handsome stranger was now sitting with a book on his lap, so focused into reading while ignoring random gestures from other passengers on the subway. It was when he moved back slightly that Jinyoung noticed the book that he was so engrossed into. To Kill A Mockingbird.

Jinyoung can’t help but smiled to himself. It was not every day he found someone so engrossed into reading one of his favorite books, especially someone as gorgeous as that. Jinyoung remembered back then during high school, his favorite teacher recommended that book to him.

“You’re gonna find this book interesting, Jinyoung-ah. Unlike most of my students, you definitely have a different way of thinking with that brilliant mind of yours. Try reading this and maybe we can talk about it over a cup of coffee” Mr. Jang said to him one evening after the school had ended. That was when Jinyoung found himself spending three days of his life finishing that book so that he can go to his teacher and tell him how much he loves the story.

Sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whisky bottle in the hand of another. There are just some kinds of men who – who’re so busy worrying about the next world they’ve never learned to live in this one…

His favorite quote from the book flashed in Jinyoung’s mind and he smiled to himself. That quote really gave an impact to a 15-year old Jinyoung back then and it still does until now. When he heard the background noise signaling that his stop was next, Jinyoung scuffled around and put his notebook inside his bag. It was when he was about to exit that he noticed the redhead guy was following behind with the novel held firm in his left hand. Jinyoung immediately found his way to his university while wondering whether he could meet the stranger again.

xxxxx

It was 20 minutes before lunch break that Jinyoung noticed he had an incoming message from his best friend. Making sure that his professor will not notice, Jinyoung unlocked his phone and smirked reading Jackson’s text message.

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