The afternoon sun was high in the sky, lighting up Daeryun High School’s large quadrangle. It was lunch time and almost no one was in the classrooms. The days were finally starting to get warm and no one wanted to miss a lazy few minutes in the sun.
Yoon Jeonghan especially never missed an opportunity to stretch himself out on the grass that students weren’t officially allowed to step on. Technically though, he wasn’t stepping on it.
With a languid smile, he listened to his friends talk.

“He’s been very weird lately,” Bae Yoojung fretted. “Every time we talk on the phone he complains about how I never have time for him when really I’m always available when he wants to talk. He’s the one who’s always busy with college but he makes it sound like I’m the one who doesn’t care.”

“Every time?” Oh Seunghee asked with furrowed eyebrows.

“Yeah,” Yoojung said, “Usually the conversations start off normally but something I say always sets him off. Yesterday I brought up Jeonghan and he got ma—”

“Whoa,” said boy sat up, “what did I do?”

“Nothing!” Yoojung exclaimed, exasperated. “He gets mad at anything and everything.”

For a moment, the group was silent.

“Um,” Eunmi started, making the other three look at her.
Having their undivided attention made her shrink back just a little. She shifted uncomfortably on the tiny metal bench she shared with Yoojung.
The bench was very uncomfortable.
She directed her gaze at the girl beside her, “You should directly talk to him about how unfair you feel he’s being.”

“I’ve tried. Those conversations turn into even bigger fights.”

They all collectively sighed, but Seunghee spoke.
“Of course he’ll get mad at that too but at least you guys argue about something relevant…sort of. Long distance relationships can be difficult. If he raises his voice you try and keep calm. When he comes back for the holidays, you guys should really talk it out.”
Seunghee’s voice was firm, and her expression serious.

“I’ll try and meet him sooner than that. We can’t go on like this forever,” Yoojung said with a sad smile. “We will probably fight again. If we are gonna argue, might as well argue about the right things though.”

“That’s pretty good advice coming from someone who’s been single since birth,” Jeonghan let out a snort.

Seunghee immediately ripped up a few blades of grass and tossed it at her best friend’s face, prompting him to stand up. She stood up after him, holding him in place as she kicked his shins.
Eunmi did not know if she was supposed to be amused or worried but when she heard someone at a distance cheering for Seunghee, she laughed.

“Come on! You can hit harder!” another familiar voice encouraged.

The violence came to a sudden halt as everyone turned to the newcomers.
Soonyoung and Seokmin were walking towards them, but Eunmi’s smile faltered when she saw that the boy who sat behind her in class was with them too.
Jeon Wonwoo.
He didn’t speak too much and with Eunmi, he had only exchanged a few words in the last three days they had been classmates. Sometimes, he smiled at her, which always made her oddly flustered.
She could tell he got along with Soonyoung, and with the rest of the class too.
He was nondescript, and his attitude almost apathetic.
And she had probably been paying too much attention to the boy.

“Kim Iseul is looking for the two of you,” Soonyoung pointed at the two older girls, “something about a club meeting.”

Yoojung immediately stood up, taking a frantic glance at her watch.
“We’re late,” she declared to Seunghee who also stood up.
Saying something about electing a new board, the two girls ran off.

Eunmi let out a sigh as she watched the two girls disappear round a corner.
Maybe she could join the club like Seunghee had suggested oh-so-many times.
She turned back to the little group again, realising she was the only girl there.
Maybe she could make friends with more girls from her class.

“So how are you liking it here?” Lee Seokmin asked as he took a seat on the grass beside Jeonghan, Soonyoung following suit.
Wonwoo on the other hand, did not sit on the grass. Instead, he took a seat beside Eunmi. It took all her willpower to not shift away from him. It would look silly.

“Eunmi?”

“Huh?”
She looked up from her lap into Soonyoung’s curious eyes.
Had she taken that long to answer?
She threw her classmate a blithe smile and turned to his younger friend.
“It’s really nice. Everyone in our class in pretty friendly and the teachers are nice too. Mr. Kang though…”

“He hates everyone,” Soonyoung nodded sympathetically before turning to Seokmin with narrowed eyes. “Haven’t you been in this school as long as Eunmi?”

The younger boy looked extremely defensive. “I just wanted to know how she was doing. I just started at a new school, Eunmi noona is starting over in a new city.”

Eunmi couldn’t help the warm smile that came on her lips at the boy’s words. She really had met the nicest people.
“I’m settling in well enough,” she told Seokmin. “It hasn’t even been a week though and I only know the way to and from school.”

“We can fix that,” the boy replied, his eyes shining, “we can go on a tour of the city and do touristy stuff.”

“We?” Wonwoo spoke up, making Eunmi look up at him. The playful smirk on his face surprised her just the tiniest bit.

“I meant ALL of us!” Seokmin’s eyes were the size of saucers.

Eunmi found herself pouting, “Don’t .”
The smile Wonwoo sent her way made her immediately turn to Seokmin for some reason.
“That’s a good idea.”

“Yeah,” Jeonghan nodded, “we can show you around. The other two will be excited.”

“But we better go this time,” Soonyoung whined, “we’re always planning and planning and planning.”

“This time,” Eunmi nodded, pumping a small fist in the air.

*

Some girl from 2-D had confessed to a senior from another school and had been rejected. The Photography Club and the Dance Club had gotten into a fight over a room that had mistakenly been assigned to both of them. Miss Ryu and Mr Im were a bit too friendly with each other.

All that information Eunmi got as she sat in class finishing an incomplete history assignment. They had a free period, the only one they had in the entire week. Her classmates had gathered into small groups, talking about one thing or the other. The girl who sat in front of her, Ayeon, had actually invited her to join her small group of friends but Eunmi had declined. She had an assignment to finish and Ayeon had been sympathetic.
But Eunmi picked up things –snippets of conversations– even when her attention was elsewhere. She was not nosy, she told herself, just observant.

A few unlucky boys had run into the gym teacher, who had instantly found something for them to do. Soonyoung and Wonwoo had been one of them, and they had been gone for almost half an hour. Eunmi was kind of glad. Soonyoung would never let her do her work alone with his undying chatter.

Letting out a deep breath, she flipped over a page.
How long had she been writing?
How much more would she have to write?

“Eunmi.”
The sound of her name made the girl look up.

Kim Iseul was smiling down at her, looking as perfect as ever.
“Hi,” she greeted, pulling out her chair so she could sit closer to Eunmi.

“Hey.”
Eunmi gave her a smile, but her eyes wandered back to her unfinished work. Probably a page or two left to finish.

“Why are you sitting all alone? Where are your buddies?”

The smile on Eunmi’s lips grew thin.
“The gym teacher…I don’t know his name. He asked them to carry some supplies or something.”

Iseul let out a small laugh, “Otherwise they don’t leave you alone, do they?”

“Soonyoung’s like a mother hen,” Eunmi said with a fond smile. She then turned towards her incomplete assignment and started writing.

“Jeon Wonwoo’s nice to you as well,” Iseul almost scoffed, “looks like he’s human after all.”

Abruptly, Eunmi stopped writing, her grip on her pen tightening. Her eyebrows furrowed, the tiniest pout on her lips.
“Why? He’s not not nice to others.”

“Of course he isn’t,” another dry laugh sounded from Iseul. “I like your hair.”

The sudden change in topic made Eunmi laugh nervously. “Thanks.”

“I mean it. I like girls with short hair.”

There was something about the way Iseul spoke that kept Eunmi from completely trusting her. She hardly knew the girl and she knew she had no right to judge her so early on but everything the other girl said felt rehearsed. Maybe it was the way she carried herself –like the whole world was watching. No matter what, she was always smiling the same smile.
Eunmi herself wasn’t exactly rash or impulsive, but Iseul seemed cautious at a whole new level.

“Short hair is convenient. Although I miss having long hair.”
Eunmi’s free hand combed through her short black locks.

“You’re pretty though, either way.”
Again, Eunmi didn’t quite know if the compliment was genuine. She let out another thanks before the other girl spoke again. “I’ll stop bothering you. You have work to do.”

Eunmi couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. Was it horrible of her to feel relieved?
Turning back to her work for what felt like the hundredth time, she finally started writing again.
Ayeon and the others were still talking about some good-looking senior from Gangbuk.
The class couple were writing each other’s names on the chalkboard.

Just as the girl was about to start on the conclusion to the long, long answer, the door opened and in poured her ‘buddies’ along with a few others.
Soonyoung looked sweaty and annoyed as he made his way to his place. He flung himself on the chair in his usual noisy fashion.

Jeon Wonwoo, on the other hand, didn’t look as annoyed. At least not more than he usually did.
Eunmi stole the tiniest of glances at the boy as he walked past her, but quickly went back to her work.

A gentle tap on her shoulder again kept her from finishing her work.
It almost felt like the universe did not want her to finish.

She turned to look at the boy who sat behind her. He gave the tiniest smile.

“Do you have water?”

“Y-yeah.”
She was almost ashamed at how oddly she behaved around him.

Quickly, she reached for her backpack and took out her panda water bottle. She handed it to Wonwoo with a polite smile.
When their fingers brushed against each other for a fleeting moment, she abruptly pulled back.
If the boy was offended by her actions, he did not show it.
And that made her feel a little guilty.

It was a bad idea to dwell on Iseul’s vague implications.

*

“I don’t think I’m allowed in here,” Kwon Soonyoung whispered, cowering away from the large wooden doors that led to the school’s library.

“That’s ridiculous. Why wouldn’t you be allowed?”

“The librarian hates me.”

Eunmi rolled her eyes. “I wonder why.”

The boy pouted, “You’re getting meaner and meaner.”

“I’m just teasing, Soonyoung. But if you want me to help you with your Calculus homework, we need to go inside.”

Soonyoung looked unsure. “Maybe we can find an empty classroom.”

“The janitors have already started cleaning.”

For a moment, the boy looked deep in thought, but in the end he sighed in defeat.
“Fine,” Soonyoung said, “but if Mrs. Bang throws us out the moment we enter, don’t blame me.”

“Fine,” Eunmi agreed, and then pushed the large door open.

Out of all the nice places she had been to in Daeryun, the library was definitely her favourite. She had been to the library only once before but she really liked the high ceiling and the equally large windows, the round wooden tables, and the squeaky clean floors. Eunmi couldn’t claim to be a book person, she wasn’t a compulsive reader, but she did enjoy the occasional novel and well-lit, airy spaces.

Soonyoung made for the table which was the most far away from the librarian’s main desk. Eunmi didn’t mind though, she’d enjoy being in any corner of the library.
Her friend looked strung up, stealing glances at the librarian who hadn’t even looked up from her work since the pair of them had walked in.

“Why are you acting like you murdered her cat or something?”
Eunmi couldn’t help but ask. The boy was acting extremely out of character.

Soonyoung let out a sigh. “It’s not just the fact that Mrs. Bang hates me. It’s the fact that I hate Calculus.”

Sighing, Eunmi sat down. She took out the big book that seemed to be the source of all her friend’s problems.
“These are just the basics.”

“What exactly are the basics?”

Eunmi flipped over the pages before landing on the very first one in the calculus. She pointed at what was probably gibberish to her friend. “These.”

“What is this?!”

“Shhhh!”
The girl pressed her finger against the boy’s lips, her eyes immediately landing on the librarian who seemed to be looking for the source of the noise. Relieved that the woman wasn’t looking their way, she turned back to Soonyoung. She almost laughed out loud when she saw the look on his face–his eyes wide and staring down at Eunmi’s finger that was on his lips, his cheeks a nice shade of pink. She retracted her hand right away.

Clearing his throat, Soonyoung took another long look at the book in front of him.
“So,” he cleared his throat again, “what is a limit of a function? What even is a function?”

Taking out a notebook and a pencil, Eunmi started writing. Slowly and carefully, she started explaining what she had understood in class.
She wasn’t exactly a mathematical genius but she didn’t exactly struggle with it either. However, she wasn’t sure if she was good enough to teach someone else, especially someone like Soonyoung.
But surprisingly, Soonyoung was a fast learner. When he wasn’t distracting himself, Eunmi guessed, he could get things done. Soon enough, Soonyoung was doing the sums Eunmi’s help.

Eunmi was the tiniest bit relieved that her student wasn’t too dense but relief soon turned to boredom as she found herself idly looking around the library. She thought of starting on her own homework but decided against it. She didn’t feel like it.
Maybe I should find something to read…
Suddenly, she remembered how Mr. Kang had scolded their entire history class about writing their reports straight out of Wikipedia. ‘Read a book sometimes,’ he had told them.
Now Eunmi wasn’t the kind of student who went by every word a teacher said, but she was bored and in a library.

When she got up, Soonyoung hardly seemed to notice. His eyebrows were furrowed and he was sticking his tongue out just the tiniest bit.
Eunmi tapped him on his shoulder, “I’ll be right back, okay?”
Soonyoung nodded and gave her a thumbs-up.

Quietly, Eunmi walked to the other end of the library where the bookshelves were. She had no idea where the History section was and the shelves took up two-thirds of the library. There was even another floor above the shelves with more shelves, more books. Luckily though, she spotted a board that told her exactly where she needed to be.
She walked into the History aisle but stopped immediately when she spotted someone else browsing the shelves. He didn’t seem to have heard her, his eyes never leaving the book he had just pulled out.

For some reason, Eunmi walked towards him. This time, he heard her footsteps. He turned, eyebrows slightly raised, eyes no longer uninterested.
“Oh,” Wonwoo blurted, “it’s you.”

“Hi.”
Eunmi couldn’t find anything else to say.

“Are you here because of Mr. Kang?” the boy asked, closing the book he had just been reading.
Eunmi nodded stupidly, eyeing the way he handled the book, gently and with so much care.
“This is the only book I could find on the subject. If you want it–”

“No!” Eunmi interrupted, “You found it, you should keep it.”

“I’ll give it to you after I’m done with it,” Wonwoo offered, a hint of a smile on his face.

You don’t have to, Eunmi thought.
The boy was nice enough to her, then why did she feel so tense and strung up around him?
It was all that stupid letter’s fault. That letter and Kim Iseul.
“Okay,” Eunmi found herself saying.

To that Wonwoo responded with an actual smile. A small one, but a real one.

To her surprise, Eunmi found herself wishing Jeon Wonwoo would smile more often.

Author's Note:
Hi! So, I guess you guys can expect weekly updates from now on! I'll hopefully be posting a chapter every Wednesday. An occasional update on Sundays may be a thing if I have a chapter written up and lying around.

Also, thanks to everyone who subscribed! Special shoutout to little_minniebunny because I couldn't access their wall.

ALSO, FUN FACT:
Oh Seunghee is not an OC.
She was supposed to be one, she had a different name and all. But every time I thought about the character, I could only picture Seunghee from CLC.
So, yeah.

Let's support Seunghee and CLC. AND SEVENTEEN!

xx Hoonie