Steady flows of sunrays streams through the clear glass windows on a hot Thursday afternoon. Yves was having trouble focusing on whatever the teacher was spouting up front. She rests her chin on top of her right palm, elbow on the desk and tunes out her teacher’s voice, head in the clouds as she gets lost in her own thoughts. Her lips tug up into a full smile as memories of meeting Hana replays in her mind. Despite what the council members (mostly Jinsoul and Haseul) had said, Yves was doubtful because the Hana that they warned her about and the Hana that Yves has met were miles apart. Hana wasn't cold, annoyed or dismissive but rather warm, playful and had the most beautiful smile in the world. The silver haired girl was still a mystery to Yves – even after meeting her a few times – the last being a few days ago under the large shady tree in the school's backyard.  

“Ms Ha? MS HA!”

Yves breaks out of her daydream as she straightens up in her seat, glancing around nervously when she finally notices her Calculus teacher staring at her with a raised brow and the class’s attention was now centered upon her.

“Am I boring you, Ms Ha?” her teacher asks with a pointed glare.

Yves clears as she tries to think of a decent excuse. “I…I feel a little sick. I’m sorry, Ms Yun. Is it alright if I go to the restroom?”

“Very well. You are excused.”

Yves breathes a sigh of relief as she pushes her chair back and stands, exiting through the back exit of the class. Once outside, she decides to take the long route to the toilet, deciding that fresh air was better than a stuffy classroom. Just as she rounds the corner, she trips over her feet. She yelps, closing her eyes as she braces for the impact of the cold ground but it never came, instead, the smell of fresh flowers and a slight hint of fabric softener engulfs her and it was soft under her? That wasn’t right. 

“You alright?”

This voice? Yves peeks one eye open as she confirms her suspicions. Hana’s perfectly sculptured face greets her with a slight frown and worried eyes staring up at Yves. Yves finally realizes why she never felt the impact of the cold ground – Kang Hana had become her safety mattress, preventing her from smashing against the floor. 

“Are you hurt? You should really be more careful when you walk.”

Yves shakes her head, “No.”

She quickly scrambles off Hana once she realizes that she’s still literally laying on top of Hana, muttering a quick, “Sorry!”

Hana quirks a brow, pushing herself off the floor and brushing the dirt off her uniform. “For what?”

Yves blushes, remembering their close proximity a few seconds before, stammering out her answer. “F...For falling on top of you. I hope you’re not hurt.”

Hana shrugs, “No harm done.”

Yves didn’t know what else to say to the other girl in this situation - it was all too awkward. She wasn’t expecting to see Hana again – definitely not like this.

It was like Hana could hear Yves’s overthinking and decides to stop it by opening to ask, “You skipping class?”

Yves looks up, slacked jaw at Hana’s sudden question. “No, I was on my way to the restroom, then, well…” Yves averts her eyes, shyly turning away as Hana picks up from where Yves trails off. “You fell on top of me?”

Yves pouts and whines, “I didn’t do it on purpose.”

Hana lets out a soft chuckle which did a mountain of things to Yves’s heart - a music she wouldn't mind listening to on repeat forever. Yves takes the opportunity to study Hana's face and finds that there is a dimple on Hana’s right cheek, deepening each time Hana’s mouth stretches into a smile. Hana’s smile fades into a smirk as she slips her hand into Yves’s, clasping it tightly and pulling her away from the hallway. Yves went mute, enjoying the way their hands just fit and Hana’s hand was warm against her own.

“Since you’re already skipping, we might as well put the time to good use.” Yves hears Hana say.

Hana sneaks Yves to the greenhouse knowing that none of the Roses were present since they were in class. Yves marvels at the open space as Hana allows a content smile to slip past her lips at how adorable Yves looks.

“I see why you like spending time here. It’s beautiful” Yves says as she crouches by the koi pond, watching as the koi fishes swim about.

“It is. All former and future members of the Roses are entitled to this place – a privilege. This place is the only reason why I like being a member of the Roses – the other things...not so much” Hana notes.

Yves opens to speak when she heard the bell rang. She realizes that she’s spent the last 30 minutes of class – absent.

“I need to go. I just missed the last 20 minutes of class and I don’t think my next teacher would appreciate my absence without reason” Yves speaks up.

Hana nods, walking her out of the greenhouse and just as Yves is about to walk away, Hana stops her and presses a light peck to her forehead, shocking Yves who freezes and stares at Hana with wide eyes. Hana flashes Yves a toothy grin, pushing Yves lightly towards the other direction. “Bye, Yves. Try not to fall on your way back to class. I won’t be there to catch you the second time.”

The peck was brief but Yves could feel the blood rushing to her face as she turns on her heels, preparing to escape when Hana stops her again.

“Here,” Hana says, sliding a piece of paper into Yves’s hand. “It’s my number so you won’t be too shock when I text you. Remember to save it.”

Yves nods hurriedly to which Hana flashes Yves with her dimpled smile. “Great! You might want to go now unless you enjoy getting chewed out by a teacher.”

Just like that, Yves takes off in the direction of the school block, disappearing through the mahogany doors. Hana laughs when she sees how shy Yves got after a brief peck to the forehead. It was endearing to say the least. Hana could only imagine the shy girl’s reaction to a kiss to the lips. Shaking her head of any other thoughts, she heads back through the tinted glass doors into the greenhouse.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yells and excited chatters echoes throughout Eden Academy’s state-of-the-art cafeteria – resembling a high-end restaurant instead of a regular school cafeteria – then again, it was South Korea’s top private institution so where was the surprise?

In the middle of cafeteria sat Yves and the rest of the student council members. Despite not being one of them, Yves was always dragged to join them at their table - Yeojin mentioned something about not allowing anyone to corrupt her but Yves didn't really pay any heed to the younger girl's words.  Yves was grateful towards the council members because they made the effort to befriend her and they were slowly becoming really close friends which made her happy. 

 Yves stares intently at her IPhone’s screen. Her anticipation for a notification to pop out on the dark screen dissipates along with her appetite. A whole week. Seven days. 180 hours and counting. That was how long she’s been waiting for the text that never arrives. She hasn’t seen Hana since their impromptu hangout at the greenhouse. The silver haired girl wasn't showing up in classes or around school. While Yves wallows inside self-pity, her friends all exchanged worried glances with each other. They notice how quiet Yves had been for the past week and now, she barely touches her tray of food.

"Hey, Yves. Are you okay?" Jinsoul asks.

She looks up from her phone and nods weakly, offering a tight-lipped smile. None of them were convinced though.

"You’re quiet. I mean you usually are but this is far too quiet and you’ve barely touched your food. That’s not a good sign" Haseul chimes in.

"It's nothing really" Yves denies.

"It's clearly not nothing. She misses her lover" Chaewon pipes up, wiggling her eyebrows teasingly.

Yves’s eyes widen at Chaewon’s revelation as the student council members finally understands as they break out into teasing grins.

"Don't worry, your beloved lover will be back soon. The Roses have been sent out to compete in a national event by the school and it so happens that your lover is scheduled to be in two different ones in the same week but they should be back by this week, I suppose" Haseul says, addressing the group.

Just then, the cafeteria grew even rowdier than it was before drawing the group’s attention from their conversation. The students were cheering loudly as they turn their heads towards the source of the whole cafeteria’s excitement and sees the royals stepping through the doors. Kim Lip stands in the center and is flanked by Heejin and Hana with the other members of the Roses following behind them in one row. Yves takes note of Hana’s hair – now, a freshly dyed black, tied into a high ponytail. Yves feels her heart rate increasing by the minute and all her earlier frustrations were forgotten in that instant.

Hana was even more beautiful with dark hair and Yves wasn't the only one who recognized that - the whole school did.

On the other hand, Hana's eyes scan the room, her eyes stopping on her target – Yves. Hana notices the student council members sitting around her as her lips tugs up to form a mischievous smirk. Their eyes find one another amongst the crowd as everyone else fades into the background and suddenly, they were the only two people in the room. Hana sends a wink to Yves but Yves is quick to turn away. Hana frowns, wondering if she's done something wrong as she follows the other Roses to grab food before making a swift exit. 

After receiving the wink from Hana, Yves turns away - hiding her increasingly heated face and finding her tray of food interesting all of a sudden. Her heart leaping for joy as she cups her face, feeling the heat radiating off her face as she attempts to cool it down by fanning her face with one hand. She stops her hand midway - it was like a bubble bursting inside her brain as she realizes that she was so screwed. She's fallen in love!?! She’s falling for a girl that she’s known – what? Two weeks? But the pull was undeniable and there was no other explanation for how she felt but, there was one thing that plagued her mind – did Hana feel the same or was it just her own wishful thinking?

“Yves? Yves?”

“She’s positively dead, guys!”

“I wonder why!”

Yves finally looks up from the tray of food and returns her attention to her friends who sported sly, -eating grins on their faces. Yves groans because she could just sense the weird vibes radiating off her friends - waiting to . Yves takes a peek around and sees that the Roses were gone as she lets out a huff.

“Aww, is someone bummed that her lover is gone?”

Yves recognizes Chaewon’s crunchy voice as she shoots the younger girl a glare – though the blonde girl was quick to avert her eyes.

“Stop it, Chaewon. Leave Yves alone” Haseul says as Yves breathes a sigh of relief but her relief was short-lived. “She can’t help that she’s helplessly in love with our resident ice princess.”

Yves groans once more as her friends burst out into fits of laughter. She rests her head on the table when she hears her phone’s ringtone beeping – a notification. She quickly straightens her back, grabbing her phone off the table as she checks her phone.

[Hana 12.43 pm]: Hello, stranger

Her eyes widen as she silently screams, freaking out at the text. What should she say? Was Hey rude? Was hello too formal?

[Sooyoung 12.44 pm]: Hi!

The second she clicks send; she unwittingly bites her lips to hold in her squeals. She patiently waits for Hana’s response and holds her breath when she sees Hana typing.

[Hana 12.45 pm]: Are you free right now?

Yves checks the time on her phone and sees that they still had about 15 minutes left for lunch.

[Yves 12.45 pm]: Yes, why?

[Hana 12.45 pm]: I’ll be waiting for you under the shady tree

Yves quickly grabs her tray, standing up from the bench as her friends’ peers up towards her.

“I need to, ah, go to the restroom – stomach issues. I’ll see you guys later!”

After muttering those words, she speeds away – depositing the tray onto the metal racks before making her way out of the cafeteria with an anxious heart.

“She’s totally not going to the restroom” Yeojin snickers as the rest of the table shakes their head at the brunette’s obvious lies. Yves wasn't as slick as she thought. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yves makes her way towards the shady trees in the school’s backyard and from afar, she spots Hana leaning against the trunk with her arms crossed over her chest and her head laid back - eyes shut. She takes several deep breaths to calm her anxious heart before continuing her path across the grassy fields to meet her crush. She approaches Hana and halfway through, she comes up with a plan to surprise the black-haired girl. Instead of heading straight towards Hana, she makes a detour and comes around the back of the tree.

Just as Yves is about to scare Hana, the black-haired girl turns first shocking Yves who releases a loud, high-pitch scream – retreating backwards as she trips and falls back. Yves shuts her eyes in fear as she prays to God that the fall won’t cause her any broken bones. Hana is quick to react as she catches Yves by the waist, pulling Yves towards her, successfully preventing the fall.

“Is falling your habit when you’re around me?”

Yves cracks open her eyes and cautiously looks up to check Hana’s reaction. The other girl doesn’t look angry but rather amused. Yves could feel Hana’s arms around her waist, their faces literally centimeters apart – Yves averts her eyes, looking down at the well-groomed grass instead of staring straight at Hana. Was this how she was going to be each time she sees Hana? Looking away? Yves sighs, cursing Hana for being so goddamn gorgeous and making her nervous. Yves realizes that she's still trap in Hana’s arms - being in her arms feels so right and Yves shudders at how comfortable it was. 

“Thank you for saving me again” Yves mutters under her breath.

“I personally don’t mind. Saving you has become a norm every time we meet” Hana jokes playfully, flashing Yves a charming smile.

“Uhm, you can let go now” Yves mumbles reluctantly. Personally, she didn’t want Hana to let go but she fears the other girl was uncomfortable with holding her.

Hana finally releases Yves, retracting her hands from Yves’s waist and taking a few steps back – putting some distance between them.

“So, how have you been this past week?” Hana asks breaking the silence. 

“Fine” Yves answers shortly but the truth was far from that. She couldn’t possibly tell Hana that she had been waiting anxiously for a text from Hana and that she was bummed when she didn’t receive one.

“I’m sorry I didn’t get the chance to text you. The past week has been a bit hectic for me.” Hana rubs her neck awkwardly, looking at Yves apologetically but Yves had already long forgotten about it.

Yves shakes her head. “It’s alright. I understand you must have been busy. Did you win?”

Hana chuckles, “I wouldn’t be walking around with my head held high if I didn’t.”

Yves could feel the confidence oozing from Hana’s words and it brought a smile to her face.

“I plan to make it up to you though. What are you doing after school?”

Yves didn’t understand how or why but she suddenly feels a wave of confidence as she answers, “Hanging out with you.”

Hana is visibly impressed at Yves’s answer as she stares at Yves with an enamored glint in her eyes. “Perfect. I’ll be waiting for you at the parking lot after school then.”

Just like that, the bell rings as Hana and Yves separates with the promise of meeting after school.

Hehe, hi! It's me, H. I'm sorry that the progress for this story is so slow. I've been busy with school especially with the whole online learning thing. I hope you'll be patient with me. I'll try my best to write a satisfactory scene. I hope their progress isn't too fast for you. Also, heads up, it isn't gonna be all fluffy for much long. Please comment more so I know what you think. Thank you for reading! P.S I rarely proof read so I'm sorry if they are any mistakes. From, H :))