Maeri’s POV

It’s Maths class and I can't be more nervous in my life. It’s the only subject I really have a hard time getting my head around especially when you mix numbers with letters.Why do people do that, anyway?

Mr. Jeong starts distributing the test results, accumulating both woos and ohs from my classmates. Studying each person’s face as they received their results: Kim Jaehwan’s smart so that’s an obvious pass. Hwang Jihye’s grimacing so it must have been bad for her. Damn. Even Kang Daniel’s smiling -- not sure if it’s a positive smile. That guy’s smile has no off button so it’s hard to tell.

And now, it’s my turn. Mr. Jeong pauses and looks at me. Shoot, he didn’t stop for anyone. Why just me?

“Yoon Maeri,” he glares down at my obviously terrified face, “I expect you to do better next time. See me after class.”

I think my heart dropped to the ground. It's a complete failure. Mr. Jeong wrote it big enough for all my classmates to see. A huge 41% rating. The lowest score he had ever given to the whole class. And I can’t even cry to save myself from the embarrassment.

Such is life, Yoon Maeri. Such is life.

 

--

 

While everybody starts packing their stuff, readying themselves to go home, I have to see Mr. Jeong before he leaves.

I enter the faculty room. Daniel is also there, sitting in front of Mr. Jeong. He must have failed like me, too.

“There you are,” Mr. Jeong mutters, “I was beginning to think you’ve completely ignored my advice.”

I could only smile. Daniel on the other hand does not even bother to look up and greet me. He keeps his face glued to Mr. Jeong with hands place flat on top of his thighs; beads of sweat trailing down his neck. Sometimes, Mr. Jeong has that effect on people. He's quite an intimidating man.

“You know Daniel, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“You and Daniel will be partners for an academic support program. Get yourselves acquainted. First session starts tomorrow.”

Daniel, for the first time, turns towards me and timidly raised his hand. “Hi…”

 

--

 

“I mean I get that I’m not that smart but what will happen if two people who’s not smart study together,” I begin ranting over the phone with my best friend, “I don’t see the point. Why Kang Daniel of all people? Is he a Math whiz or something”

“I’ve never heard of an academic support program before so I wouldn’t know.”

“Of course you wouldn’t know,” I say a matter-of-factly, “You’re Kim Jaehwan, the smartass of the class.”

“I’d like to take smartass as a compliment,” he mused, “I don’t know Daniel well enough to say anything about him. He came in late last year so I’m as dumbfounded as you are. We play football and that's it.”

“He looks...nice, I guess.”

“Hmmm, do you find him cute, then?”

 

“What?” She shot back, “I’m not going to have this cute or not conversation with you, Kim Jaehwan. Or I will begin to have ideas that you actually like men.”

 

“You sound crazy right now, Maeri. It was just a question. And besides, I have a crush.”

 

“Ooooh, who’s this crush? Do I know her?”

 

“You know it’s getting late,” he yawned, “I think we should sleep now.”

 

“You’re probably right,” Maeri nodded her head as if Jaehwan could see her, “Let’s talk tomorrow. Bye, J!”

 

“Bye, M. Goodnight…”

 

--

 

“I have a problem with question number 2, when I put this into my calculator -- 4  over cos(55), the answer is always 180. I got that wrong in the last quiz.”

So Daniel and I starts the support program today. God, it sounded like we’re cancer survivors or something.

“You have to change your calculator settings to degrees and not radians,” Daniel points out. “Here let me show you.”

Daniel leana in and took the calculator from my hand. “See, you just have to click this button right here.”

“Oh! So that’s how you do it!”

“Yeah. It messes up people sometimes so you have to be very careful.”

“Thanks,” I smile, “You’ve been a great help, Daniel.”

“Anytime,” he flashes a grin. We start packing away, noticing how only a few people were left inside the library.

“Hey,” I call, “Want to grab some bite or something?”

“Uhm, sure…”

 

--

 

We drop by a small shop near school that is famous for their Kimchijigae. Earllier, Daniel mentioned that he was craving for some recently.

“So spicy!” He face lights up, cherry red from the spiciness of the soup. “I love it. Now I know where to get good Kimchijigae next time.”

“Right? I love how the old lady makes it here,” Adding to the conversation as I tie my long hair into a messy bun.

“Hey,” I whisper, “Can I ask some advice from you?”

“Go ahead,” he nods, placing his spoon to hang off the bowl’s edge.

“I have this crush,” I start telling him, “You...you know him. And I don’t know how to make him like me back.”

Daniel tilta his head, eyebrows knitting together. “You want my help?”

“As stupid as it sounds, I think I do…”

 

--

 

“Still writing that letter?” I take a glimpse from my desk and see Daniel sitting in front of me.

“Yeah,” I answer, “I think I’ve trashed a dozen of letters already.”

“...ever since I met you. I--”

“Hey, no reading!” I playfully nudge him as we both laugh. “I promise I’ll let you read it when I finish it.”

“Hmm,” he slowly lifts my letter and squints his eyes, making him look like one cute curious beaver. “I can help you with this. If you haven’t heard it yet, I’m quite the romantic type.”

Seeing how his eyebrows wiggles, I can’t help but laugh -- a little too loud I think. Daniel and I have become quite close and he’s been my go-to person when it come to my crush -- an unfamiliar territory I was too scared to venture.

“Where are you taking that?”

“I will use my charm and improve this letter for you,” he boasts then ruffles my hair. “Nice hair cut by the way.”

I then run my fingers through the locks of my shoulder length hair. It's about time I cut my hair. It's getting a bit hot recently.

 “Thanks, Daniel. If only he’d say the same.”

“What? He hasn’t noticed it yet?  

“Nope,” I slump onto my seat, “We saw each other before going inside the school’s gate this morning. He didn’t even bother to look at me.”

“Don’t worry,” he tries to make me feel better, “When he reads this, he’ll fall head over heels for you. Trust me.”

Daniel then folds the yellow scented paper and squeezes inside his pocket. After lunch is PE class so we all have to change into our PE uniforms. Daniel gives me a thumbs up and then left to play football with his friends.

 

“So I guess the academic support program works,” Jaehwan sits next to me and smiles. “You guys look like you’re getting along."

“Oh, Daniel? He’s crazy, that one,” I try to shrug off the idea that Jaehwan was trying to imply.

“You guys look good together,” Jaehwan chirps, our shoulders light touching each other. “He seems to like you a lot.”

Oh no.

“I don’t think I’m his type.”

I could feel my heart pound so loud and could hardly hear what Jaehwan said after that. Damn it, heart. Stop being so ridiculously jumpy!

“How about you?”

“What about me?”

“Is he your type?”

No, Jaehwan. Please don’t ask me that. You don’t know how much that tears me apart.

“What do you think? Do you think he’s my type?”

I hope he doesn’t hear how heavy I have been breathing next to me. Body, please cooperate. I can’t mess this up. Not in front of him.

“Judging by the way you act when you’re with him,” he mumbles, “I actually think you like him.”

Kim Jaehwan, how can you say that? I look away trying to avoid his gaze. I try not to look to bothered by it but, god help me, it’s like he’s adding salt to the wound. Jaehwan slowly places his hand on top of my head and lightly tousles it. I jerked. Oh, God. I jerked away from him. My chest starts feeling like it's being crumpled. As I stand up abruptly, I excused myself and left him there. I can feel his eyes follow me as I walk away from him.

 

Kim Jaehwan, I like you. I wish I have the courage to shout it to the world. But the coward Maeri got the best of me.

 

--

Jaehwan's POV

They're talking again, looking like a real happy couple. Why does Daniel have to be that handsome? I really can't blame Maeri if she falls for him. I'm nothing compared to him. And that Math exam... I wish I got the highest score instead of Daniel. Mr. Jeong could have tapped me instead. But he picked Daniel just because he had the highest score that one time. 

If I topped that Math test, I could have been the one helping Maeri instead of him. I could have been the one talking to her right now, being all sweet and touchy. 

Maeri cut her hair today, too. I couldn't even look at her earlier, afraid that she might see through me; of how I looked at her. She looked beautiful before but now that she's cut her hair, she became even prettier. I wish I could tell her that. Maeri, short hair suits you. But I got scared. Too many opportunities passed me by and I haven't even tried making a move. Now that Daniel here, my I think I just lost my chance. 

“So I guess the academic support program works,” I sit next to her. Coach will kill me if he sees me wandering around like this during PE class. But it's the only time this week that I've actually had a chance to talk to her alone -- without Daniel, of course.

 “You guys look like you’re getting along."

“Oh, Daniel? He’s crazy, that one,” she says as if she's head over heels for him. Maeri, no. Please tell me you haven't fallen in love with him yet.

“You guys look good together,”

Kim Jaehwan, what the hell are you talking about. You blowing this up by yourself!

 “He seems to like you a lot.”

“I don’t think I’m his type,” she tries to defend herself.

I scoot a bit closer to her, letting our shoulder touch. She smells so sweet and delicate like vanilla. And I slowly shift my gaze towards her. 

“How about you?”

“What about me?”

“Is he your type?”

Say no. Please say no.

“What do you think? Do you think he’s my type?”

I want to believe that he's not. Please tell me he's not your type.

“Judging by the way you act when you’re with him,” I stupidly mumble, “I actually think you like him.”

I can feel her tensing up as she tries to look away. And before I can say anything to ease the tension, she stands up and said, "I don't feel well. I should go and ask Coach Shin to let me rest."

"Wait, Maeri," but before I could stand up and chase after her, a few of the boys comes running towards me, telling me they need me to play for their team. 

 

--

 

PE class, just ended. I have finished showering, wrapping the towel around my waist. 

"Hey, Jaehwan," I turn around and see Daniel shooting me a wide grin, "I never knew our lockers were next to each other."

I ignore him as I take out my uniform. 

"Nice game today, by the way," he adds, trying to make a meaningful conversation with me. 

"Yeah," I deadpanned, "You're not bad yourself."

"Listen," he trails off as he picked up a pair of pants, wiggling to get them up, "I know this shop near school. This old lady makes the best Kimchijigae."

"You mean HanaDulSet? The shop that's 2 blocks away from school?"

That's our place. Maeri and I always hangs out there. This prick.

"That one! Let me treat you later after school. This is me saying -- good game."

"Good game?"

"Yeah, you need to teach me the move that you did earlier in PE. You were so cool!"

"I suppose I can teach you next time..."

"So I will see you later?"

"I guess..."

"Cool!"

Daniel buttons his uniform and wears his vest over it before leaving the changing room. I look at myself in the mirror and try to fix my hair. Darn it, why wont you follow, I cursed under my breath. Good thing I always bring a small comb with me. Rummaging through my pockets, I have figured out that the pair of pants are not mine. 

I flip the folded yellow scented paper open -- I found it in one of the pockets. 

Dear Jaehwan,

Life has never been boring ever since I met you. Whenever I talk to you, my day just changes completely. I like how you carefreely play with your guitar and sing like you mean it. I could stare at you for a lifetime. Ever since we started going home together (since our houses are not that far apart), I've come to know you, the Jaehwan that only I have witnessed. The way you crinkle your nose when I share some of the grossest things I've seen on the internet, or how you always know what to say just to make me feel better. You're not even aware of the joy you’ve been giving me. If you knew, maybe you would be really creeped out or maybe you’d realize you felt the same way about me. I won’t know until I actually do something about it.

So this is me doing something about how I feel about you. I like you, Kim Jaehwan. I like you a lot. I love you, Kim Jaehwan. I love you a lot. 

 

M

 

Maeri's POV

"Daniel, I think I messed up. I think he knows."

"I've got it all planned."

"What do you mean?"

Daniel and I face each other as we wait for our Kimchijigae and Jajangmyeon. 

"That is what I mean," Daniel points behind me and I I turn around, I see Jaehwan standing near the entrance, his eyes only focus on me.

"Kang Daniel, what did you do?" 

Daniel just shrugs his shoulders, leaving me dumbfounded. "I'm leaving you two alone," he stands up and faces Jaehwan, "Good game, right?"

"Thanks, Daniel," Jaehwan places a hand over Daniel should before right before he leaves the shop. He then shifts his gaze back at me, more endearing than ever.

"Yoon Maeri," he speaks as he walk towards me, not breaking eye contact. I can't stop shivering; heart thumping right out of my chest; hands sweating like crazy. I could only stare back at him. 

"Hi, there," is also a could muster.

He bends -- close enough so his face is inches away from me. Feeling the warmth of his breath on my skin sends an unfamiliar feeling -- like electricity -- all over my body. 

"I..uh--" 

And just like in the movies, he leaned in and kisses me -- his soft lips touching mine. Just like that, all of my worries fade away as I close my eyes. The feelings I held all bursted out in that one single kiss. 

He cupped my face and whispered, "I love you, too, Maeri. So so much."