It took a while to get Doyoung to finally leave - apparently he wasn’t good at taking hints. Jaehyun moved from being next to the girl to Doyoung’s row and put his bags on the empty seat next to him. Doyoung sat on the one across from it. Jaehyun had told him that his roommate was probably wondering where he was since it was a school day. Doyoung said his roommate was probably out of the house, too. Jaehyun ‘reminded’ Doyoung of a Communications presentation he had to prepare for. Doyoung said he already took Communications last semester. Jaehyun asked him, ‘Isn’t it getting late?’ Doyoung just scoffed.

All it took for Doyoung to get out was some free drinks on their next Saturday night out. In which Doyoung finally got the message, and left with an, ‘Oh, I see. Yes. See you soon.’

Knowing Doyoung, Jaehyun didn’t want him anywhere near his new friend in the library. Lord knows what he could say that would drive his potential friend away. His big mouth was evidently too much to handle.

“He’s… chatty, huh?” the girl sitting across from Jaehyun says with a smile.

“Yeah, sorry about that.”

“No, I think it’s cool! Cool that you’re such good friends,” she says as her hands continue to roam the book in front of her. She has her hair tied up in a bun this time - it was a bit messy, and Jaehyun wonders if she knows she has a few loose strands framing the sides of her neck. He doesn’t mention it. (It probably looks kind of endearing.)

“Hmm? Cool in what way?” Jaehyun absently looks to the book she is currently reading as he talks. Othello, Shakespeare.

“I mean, since he’s so talkative. He’s really loud, expressive,” she giggles a little bit. “I could feel the table moving from his hand gestures.”

“I don’t think being loud is supposed to be a compliment when we’re inside the library,” Jaehyun laughs back.

“But you know, since you’re so quiet and reserved, it like, balances you guys out,” she replies as she flips the page. She’s more than halfway through - Jaehyun guesses she’s already in Act III of the play. He wonders what her reaction will be once Emilia finds the handkerchief.

Speaking of.

“Hey, you dropped something from last time. Sorry, I just remembered.” Jaehyun ruffles through his bag to retrieve the handkerchief. He places his hand in front of her, but she just stares off into the space beside Jaehyun’s head.

“Hm? What is it?”

Jaehyun, on instinct, takes the girl’s hand in his, and places the handkerchief in place. Once said item is in her palm, he holds her by the fingers and moves them to close so that she could wrap her hand around it.

“Oh, this is my handkerchief. Right?” she says. “Thank you so much.”

Jaehyun is glad she can’t see him blush. ‘What the heck, Jaehyun?’ he feels a bit embarrassed, thinking to himself that that was a bit too much. Too much skin contact for a person he just met. He hopes she doesn’t feel violated in a way, but the smile on her face says she probably didn’t mind.

“N-no problem,” Jaehyun picks up his textbook, glad to have something to do with his hands. The places where her hand had touched Jaehyun’s left his hands feeling a bit tingly. Her hands were warm, although her fingers were a bit rough. Probably from using her hands to feel for things. Changing the topic, “Oh, and Doyoung… Yeah. We have the same interests, that’s why we get along. I don’t think I’m that quiet and reserved,” Jaehyun says with fake hurt, trying to lift up the mood from the awkwardness (on his part) from a while ago.

“Oh!” she says a bit in surprise and sits up. “Sorry, I just assumed…” She was in a hurry to apologize, afraid of probably having offended Jaehyun. She must have missed the joking tone in his voice.

“No, no, I was just kidding,” Jaehyun laughs a bit as he sees her deflate on her seat with a smile. “We’ve only met in a library after all. Of course I’d be quiet - Doyoung just has no care about rules and etiquette.”

She just laughs in response, and they fall into silence. Something about the quietness tells Jaehyun she might have something on her mind. He waits for her to say something instead of asking, not wanting to push her in case she wasn’t comfortable sharing.

“Hey,” after a long while she says. “You… you don’t mind sitting here with me?”

Jaehyun hums in question. “Why?” Jaehyun is confused.

“You don’t have anything better to do? Instead of you know…” she says as she gestures to the books in front of her, to herself. “Hanging  out with some… blind girl you met just a few days ago. I’m sure you have friends who are way cooler, doing cool things…” She trails off. Her eyes are downcast, and her fingers are playing with the sleeves of her sweater.

“What? No,” Jaehyun is quick to refute. “I like… I like your company.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I don’t really get to talk about my interests to a lot of people. You know, being a business major and all… I don’t get to talk to people much about art or music or whatever,” Jaehyun reassures her. “And, like you said, I am quiet and reserved,” he says jokingly. “I like just… talking about little things.” (With you.)

“Your friends won’t make fun of you for hanging out with a blind girl?”

“They’re not friends if they do.”

She sighs and places her hands on the table, relaxing. Jaehyun smiles at her even if she doesn’t see it. She smiles as well, picking her head up and her eyes travel to the wall behind Jaehyun, missing his face by just a few inches, but he knows the look is directed at him. She holds her gaze, determined, telling Jaehyun just how grateful she is.

“Thanks.”

“No, don’t mention it.”

Picking up from their conversation from a while ago, “So your friend Doyoung. You share the same interests as him?”

“Yeah, he reads, too. Occasionally.”

“But you said you don’t have much to talk to.”

“He’s serious about his studies. He’s really into his family business. I know he plays drums, but it’s just a hobby for him. He’s into music; he sings sometimes, even,” Jaehyun continues. “But it’s just a hobby. For me,” Jaehyun braces himself for how cheesy he’s going to sound, “art and music… It’s a passion.”

The cringe Jaehyun was expecting to show on the girl’s face never comes, instead a small smile comes over her lips. “Oh, so you sing?”

Jaehyun lets a shy giggle escape, “You could say that. A little. Used to,” Jaehyun coughs as he corrects himself. “I haven’t gotten much practice over the years.”

“Oh, must have been busy with school. I heard university gets pretty tough,” the girl replies, brushing her hair behind her ears. “I… If ever we get to meet outside of this library, maybe you should play me a song.”

“Oh-”

“Just for proof!” she quickly tacks on, as if realizing late that she had said something embarrassing. “Since you know… You say you are a master of the arts, after all…” She turns her head to the side and Jaehyun gets a glimpse of silver studs on her earlobes.

“Hey, when did I? I did not,” Jaehyun teases her. He has fun as she gets flustered.

Clearing , she faces him and builds a front of faux confidence, teasing him back, “Oh yeah? Mr. Music-and-art-is-my-passion?”

And like that, they fall back into easy chatter, but something feels different between the two. They can bicker and joke around now, as if they’ve gotten closer. As if they’ve opened up a bit more to each other.

Jaehyun just laughs, “Sure. I’ll play you a song someday,” he says as he picks up from where he left off in his textbook. “But just so you know, I don’t do this often.”

“Oh?”

“Only my friends have heard me play.”

“Oh,” she says as she goes back to reading her book. “Then I’m glad to be your friend.”