I'm actually shaking when I prepare for school on the beginning of the week after I made that decision during shopping with Mom.

          I decide not to wear my contacts starting today, and I'm currently have a staring competition with myself in front of the mirror.

          I can do it. I’ve done this many times. It’s easy.

          I take a deep breath once I got out from my unit, and the security guard expectedly fixes his sight on me when I pass by his office. Before he can say anything, I say a quick greeting and leave.

          As I walk to the campus, almost everyone took a second glance at me. I keep looking straight, trying not to be bothered. I see the main gate of the campus from afar, and I swallow.

          I speedwalk to class, and I intentionally come right before class starts so I can avoid being asked. I come in from the back door, but of course I can’t completely avert my classmates’ attention. Dahye is the first one to see me, and her gasp fills the room. “Aria?!”

          Everyone is staring at me, but fortunately no noises. I sit on the very back, which is actually a mistake because it makes the others easier to see me. Dahye sits in front of me, her eyes are about to pop out.

          “Aria—you—what is this?” she sounds excited. “You finally decide to embrace your condition?”

          Even though she’s partially true, I don’t plan to say yes right away to such dramatic statement. “Um… I’m preventing conjunctivitis, so…” not a lie, my eye doctor actually warned me about that.

          A few more classmates approach my table and openly comments and praises my eyes, but thankfully it doesn’t last long as the professor comes in. While doing the rollcall, the professor even takes off his glasses to look at me, and my classmates explain on my behalf. Oh, thanks.

          During lunch, my classmates who are with me can’t stop fawning over my eyes, and I basically let them be since this could be a practice for the upcoming days.

          “…it looks nothing unnatural, it’s like I’ve gotten used to see you like this since forever!”

          “I know right? No offense but I thought you don’t look like yourself with those black contacts.”

          “That blue color is brilliant, Aria!”

          I just smile as I chew my food, and my mind slips to the bathroom scene. I wonder what they’d be talking behind my back next. Speaking of bathroom, I somehow want to go to one to be alone for awhile. “Excuse me for a sec.” I say to the others.

          I go through the lunchtime crowd in the cafeteria to reach the bathroom with head slightly down, and I stop when someone blocks my path. I look up, and Jongin looks at me with an unreadable face.

          “Um… I need to go to the bathroom.”

          Jongin still looks straight at me without blinking. “Why are you—?”

          “Well… I want to.”

          Jongin smiles, and it’s a first for me to see this, with his teeth showing and all. I blink to see the view, and a tiny part of my heart comments that it looks beautiful. I prompt my eyes to the floor, and continue going to the bathroom after saying an abrupt ‘sorry’.

          I actually plan to evaluate my decision for today, but what I just saw diverts everything. I smile to myself, and suddenly I feel like I can handle anything.

*

          The days pass by with similar occurrences as I experienced on the first day I went out without contacts, but with significantly less questions. However on Friday there’s a mass lecture and I walk slowly to the entrance, dragging the time.

          I come inside the hall and take a seat on the front line where I usually detest to sit on. There are not many people choosing to sit here, as expected.

          Someone puts a bag on the seat beside me and I turn around to see the person. Jongin smiles at me, and sits down. “Hi.”

          “Hi.” I greet him back, and realize I might smile too stiffly.

          The professor for lecture comes, and he’s the boring type who has long flat presentations and thankfully no care for the spectators. Jongin and I end up talking to each other every once in awhile during the lecture as I take notes, and our topics are just random or go around our school materials, but at least it helps making time go faster.

          After the lecture ends, someone comes up to the front and announces the birthday of someone from class C, and the birthday girl stands up as her friends bring her a birthday cake. The rest of us are just watching in fascination until the birthday girl goes to the front too and grabs the mic. “You guys are all invited! Come to Indigo Club tonight, I’m renting the place just for us all!”

          Everyone cheers, and Jongin and I look at each other. “Wow, fancy.” I shortly comment.

          “Are you coming?” Jongin asks.

          “…are you?”

          “Well, if my friends are coming, I probably will tag along.”

          “Oh.”

          The dialogue ends like that, and we say goodbye to each other. I find my classmates outside, and they all plan to go to the club. I won’t come home for the weekend and the last time I went to club was after high school graduation, so I think I’m going. I also think I need some nice drink.

          I’m getting ready for the night and I’m choosing my shoes just to find that there’s no pair that match the occasion. I remember that I bought a pair of heels on the previous shopping session with Mom, and decide to wear them as the time is nearing.

          I meet my other classmates near the club entrance, and I feel some pain on my ankle. I immediately regret wearing this pair. We walk into the club, and the small place is packed with familiar faces.

          I get down to the dance floor with the others, only to feel more uncomfortable because of my shoes and I decide to go sit on the nearest cocktail table. Dahye notices me and I see her approaching this way. "Aria, why are you just sitting? Let's go!"

          "My feet hurts. It’s the shoes." I cringe. "I'll join you later. I'll have some drink first."

          Dahye nods, and she goes back to dance. I look around, and feel strange to see the people I regularly meet in class or around school here in this noisy space with colorful gleaming lights. I also see unexpected combinations of boys and girls flirting around.

          I silently search for Jongin, but he's nowhere to be seen. I order a drink, and as I wait for it, someone touches my shoulder. I turn to see the person, and my eyes widen to see the person I was looking for on the seat beside me.

          Jongin smiles, and I return the gesture. "Why aren't you dancing?" he asks.

          "My shoes are new, and they're uncomfortable."

          Jongin laughs a little, and says something I can’t hear because of the loud music. I furrow my brows, and signals with my hand that I find difficulty hearing him. Jongin goes closer to whisper on my ear and repeat his words. "You can just dance barefoot."

          His chin touches my shoulder and hair as he does it, and I grit my teeth, trying not to shiver with his warm breath brushing my ear. I attempt to be composed and click my tongue. “I’m not in the mood anyway. So, I’m going to throw that question back at you.”

          “I saw you, so I want to talk to you.”

          “What? About what?”

          The music slows down, and Jongin sends me a rather astonished look.

          “No—I mean, just talk. I don’t necessarily have something urgent to tell you.”

          “Heh. You were doing that too often that I get my guard up at first.”

          Jongin laughs, and I smile. The barista hands me the drink, and Jongin has his eyes on the glass. "Drink responsibly." I say as I take a sip.

          He looks at me and lifts the side of his mouth. "As you said to me, at least the alcohol helped."

          I put the glass down, and rest my elbow on the table as I have my head on my palm. "I don't know if you've heard it, but there are rumors about us."

          "What rumors?"

          "Someone saw you going out from my apartment that morning. You know what kind of rumors that would spark from that.”

          Jongin’s face turns solemn, but after that he just tilts his head. “That was a compromising situation, yeah.”

          “I’ve even heard by my own ears that I used my eyes to get you as a boyfriend… I mean, they call them ‘power-bearing’ and ‘weapon’… I feel like a witch.”

          Jongin raises his eyebrows. “Now that you don’t wear contacts anymore, maybe they’ll get used to it.”

          I shrug. “Anyway, most people believe that we’re dating now.”

          Jongin reaches for my glass, and I follow his hand movements. He drinks a bit of my cocktail and puts it down again. “Well, a few of my friends actually got closer to or started dating their summer camp partners though.”

          I squint my eyes. “So what’s your point?”

          Jongin looks at my cocktail glass, touches its handle then looks back at me. “Why don’t we try to follow what they predict?”

          Before I can comprehend what he just said, Jongin leans his body forward and places his hand on my chin, softly directs me to meet his lips which soon presses against mine.