***

I rubbed my eyes just in case I was dreaming and then, to be sure, I pinched myself so brutally it almost made me cry.

But the reality was undeniable; my one-night stand was in the front of the assembly hall, dressed in a chequered navy shirt and simple black jeans which made him look much taller than he really was.

I wasn’t sure if those round glasses comfortably sitting on his nose were a necessity or a mere fashion statement, but they worked. His hair was thoughtfully combed and styled, complementing his neat and sophisticated look.

My cheeks started burning and I had to slide down in my chair to be sure I was in the perfect cover of the tall guy in front of me. I never thought I’d be so glad that these ominously tall people even exist, and that their existence was overshadowing mine.

“Isn’t he a little young to be a professor?” I whispered to Jongin as quietly as I could, as casually as I could.

“He’s not,” Jongin explained while leaning closer to me. His cologne tickled my nose and I unknowingly deeply inhaled his scent.

“He is just an assistant from the department of psychology at SNU. There is some cooperative program between our schools. Maybe your department is taking a part in it, too?”

I shook my head: “I don’t think so.”

“Yeah, well, Baek is a doctorate candidate and he sometimes helps the old professor with his classes.”

“Baek? So, you know him?” I was playing a dangerous game; I did not want Jongin to realize that I have this peculiarly personal interest in our young not-a-professor-yet and I certainly did not wish for said not-a-professor-yet to realize someone is not paying attention to his teaching.

“A little,” apparently, Nini also didn’t feel like getting scolded for chattering during a class like a high schooler, so he just cut off our conversation a little too roughly, “Seoul is basically a bigger village.”

Baekhyun was explaining some graph on the screen and I sighed: “Yeah, agreed.”

In the middle of the lecture, I was finally able to focus on the true meaning of Baekhyun’s words and, surprisingly, even learned something interesting. It was challenging to admit to myself, or even embrace the idea, that the man I ate pizza with while wearing nothing but his boxer shorts, was capable of giving a complex lecture on behaviourism.

His spoken words were easy to comprehend, and the tone of his voice was pleasant to listen to; he went straight to the point, highlighting the important so that he won’t lose the focus of the classroom.

The hour and a half went by as quickly as a running water, and when he dismissed us, I was convinced he deserved an applause.

Sadly, there was no time to do that, not for me.

With the agility of a hurt doe, I began to push my way to the door in a desperate attempt to disappear before he could notice me. The possibility he would, was low as there were over a hundred people in the room, however, the gods have already proven themselves as nothing, but a club of vicious es and a knows well she cannot trust other es.

The doorframe was way too narrow to fit a hundred people all at once and while the wiser of them decided to stay back and wait for the biggest crowd to be let off to the hallway, I was right in the eye of the tornado, thankfully shielded by dozens of bodies.

This was a goddamned war and I was a ing veteran, with the will to survive made of steel.

I was almost there, I saw the light at the end of the tunnel (meaning hallway) reaching for it with all of my tainted soul when I was betrayed by the architect of the building himself.

A smart guy, truly.

A smart guy that figured that the wings of the door he chose for the classroom should both open. Unfortunately, the only one to realize their ability to do so, was our lecturer, Mr Byun, who just made his way through the crowd while completely non-professionally swearing and insulting our intelligence as he grabbed some girl that was tightly crushed against the door by the horde of bodies.

Even more unfortunately, that girl was me.

“Excuse me, Miss, would you mind…” what I was supposed to not mind, I did not learn. A part of me was glad that he seemed as dazed by my presence as I was by his and he just kept staring at me for a solid 10 seconds.

“I wouldn’t mind,” I tried to bring him back to reality. Him and honestly, myself as well. Having him this close again brought back all those sensations and memories that were crushing me harder than all these people.

It was strange, considering that we spend less than 24 hours together, however, if I learned something during that time then it was not to question Baekhyun’s ability to mess with my head.

“I know you wouldn’t,” he mumbled so only I could hear him, and a grin flashed on his face.

I rolled my eyes and pushed myself off to create him some space, so he could release the door latch. Wherever that bravery and foolishness came from, I couldn’t help myself but lightly yet decisively squeeze his when he bent over, which made his body jerk in surprise and he hit his head on the door.

“Careful, Mr Byun,” I was poorly hiding my self-assured grin, accompanied with a few other students who didn’t notice me pinching his bottom, but they certainly heard the hollow thump of his head meeting the wood.

I swear to gods, he silently growled and then covered it with a bubbly laugh: “Thanks.”

Before anything else could happen, the door gave in and the crowd separated us. When I finally stood in the hallway, a smug smirk plastered all over my face, I couldn’t help but wonder what I should do next.

Maybe I should wait for him? We can talk a little, share some news… but considering I know nothing of him and his life, pretty much everything he could tell me would be a news.

As pointless as it was, I was still standing in front of the door, unable to move. Something was keeping me in a place like there was a magnet in that door pulling me closer and making it impossible to lift my eyes up.

What a nice pair of shoes I have, really.

Then I felt a hand on my shoulder and a familiar voice saying: “Oh, you’re still here.”

My body tensed and for a split second, I lost my breath, finally averting my eyes from the ground as I