Crush.

A five-letter word that is usually unattainable, temporary, and admired from a distance.

Most people end up not approaching their crushes at all due to the fact that their crushes are somehow the perfect being for them, except for Hitomi.

Hitomi wanted to be noticed, even for a bit by the object of her affections. Especially now that the subject of her attention is just a year away from graduating.

She is currently spending her time in class, looking at the window beside the corridor to see if that person was there. Sometimes, she'd ask herself what other things she could do to make her day productive instead of looking outside the window, at the corridor, searching for a person that would only come once to thrice a day but she'd arrive at zero results. The class was boring, and she was love-struck. Her waiting continued until a certain outside stimulus invaded the silent halls. It was a senior named Kim Chaewon.

The senior was on her way to the toilet, not rushing to get in. Hitomi bit her lip, tilting her head to see if the person entered their expected destination. Upon confirmation, she immediately looked back in class as if preparing to depart. Her seatmate, Yabuki Nako, noticed her actions and thus, glanced at her and sighed.

"If you have time to look outside like that, you better use that on studying instead, you indecent thing," Nako whispered and rolled her eyes.

Hitomi grimaced upon hearing Nako's remark but she won't let a small brat get in her way. She raised her hand, calling the teacher's attention.

"Yes, Honda-ssi?" The teacher looked at her.

Hitomi immediately stood, excited to go outside. "I have to go to the toilet."

"You idiot! Are you seriously going to prioritize your crush over grades?" Nako gritted her teeth. The action did nothing to discourage the girl, however.

"Yes, Nako. Yes!" Hitomi mouthed silently to her short friend.

"Go ahead." The teacher then looked back at the blackboard, continuing with the lesson. Hitomi slowly went out of the classroom, and once she was out, she ran to the toilet.

Her seatmate facepalmed upon seeing her run with such vigor, it's as if the love-struck Japanese's life depended on it. Well, not really life but love life.

Hitomi stopped running almost near the toilet and walked as if she hasn't been running to catch her crush inside. She wore such an uneasy smile on her face.

One step, two steps… She took small steps upon nearing her destination when a redhead walked to the entrance of the room.

"H-hey!" Hitomi greeted. Did she stutter? She suddenly couldn't hear herself.

"O-oh… Hey," the redhead greeted back. She also wore an uneasy smile on her face.

"W-what a coincidence, right?" Oh god. What was she saying again?

"Y-yeah…?"

"You're using the toilet too?"

"Yes, I am."

"Nice to hear!"

The redhead's eyes squinted upon hearing it. "Okay? See you." After bidding the girl farewell, the redhead left, leaving the Japanese to enter the facility.

Hitomi tried remembering what transpired just now and she suddenly wanted to flush herself down the toilet, never to appear again. 'I'm such an embarrassment to my family. What the heck? Should I commit seppuku for being such a disgrace?' She despaired in front of the sink for a while until deciding that it was time to return to her classroom.

When she returned, her seatmate was glaring at her. She just rolled her eyes and went back to her seat.

'Even if it's a little, I want Chaewon-senpai to notice me.'

///

It was a week after Hitomi ambushed Chaewon in the toilet. All of her approaches so far were just timed appearances, she knew she would be cheating by doing that but yeah, desperation calls. She hoped the redhead wasn't crept out or anything because that would be game over.

Nako would somehow try to talk Hitomi to stop it but no amount of Nako's convincing could bring her back to her senses which the girl wanted to regret but she was already there so cheers.

She was on her way to bed when she suddenly received a text message.

Unknown Number

Hi. I'm already here.

Hitomi looked at the message suspiciously until another message arrived.

[ Unknown Number ]

Oh. I'm sorry. I meant to send that to a friend of mine but accidentally sent it to a wrong number. Who is this?

Hitomi tilted her head, her lips pouting. She decided to reply, letting the person know that it was alright.

Oh, it's fine. Some sophomore in a school.

She received a reply almost instantaneously.

I see. I'm a senior at ENOZI All-Girls Academy. Sorry, really.

Hitomi's eyes widened upon seeing her reply because the senior was apparently at the same school. Could it be her? Hitomi gulped and quickly typed a reply. She prayed for the gods that her wish would come true because if it was, she'd be fine dying after it.

Eh? I'm from the same school! Are you from Class B? And no, it's alright!

The reply was somehow slow this time. It took 10 minutes before she received it.

Ah, yeah. Why are you asking? Do you like anyone from my class?

Hitomi took deep breaths. She tried imagining Chaewon's voice saying the words and it somehow fit. But she couldn't be sure about it. She then pressed her screen to reply.

Not really… It's just I really admire Chaewon-senpai from the same class. Err… Sorry!

The reply came after 10 minutes again and Hitomi was on the verge of throwing her phone if the person on the other line was somehow Chaewon.

Ah! Chaewon! I'm pretty close to her. You can ask me about her if you want.

Upon seeing the reply, Hitomi's breathing normalized. And oh, an ally? Hitomi wanted all the help she could get in her quest but she wasn't some idiot to trust a total stranger.

Erm… How could I make sure you're not a creep?

A reply came in but without a photo or any proof of identity.

Just trust me. I'll give you location sightings as well as tips if you want.

Hitomi gulped and pondered for a few seconds. 'Do I trust her? Well… I only need to try one time to test it out.'

Alright. Give me one and I'll see if I could trust you.

A reply came in almost immediately.

If you live in the school dorms, wake up tomorrow at 5:00am. Chaewon usually jogs around the dormitory at that time.

Hitomi bit her lip. Does she take the gamble? She lived in the dorms after all. Several minutes later, she considered everything and decided to go with it.

I'll test it out tomorrow. Thank you, senpai!

A prompt response came back.

I see. Well, it's already late. Good night!

Hitomi looked at the time and it was. She wearily rubbed her eyes and went to bed, replying one last time before turning off the lamp.

Good night, senpai!

///

It was the following day, at 4 o'clock in the morning. Hitomi woke up, quickly taking a shower. She wanted to see if what the senior told her was true. After almost an hour, she managed to go downstairs. She looked around, trying to see if a certain redhead was there.

Left, right, back. Hitomi was searching everywhere until she saw her. Dressed in a pink windbreaker and grey track pants, there she was. The redhead knelt on one knee to fix her right shoe.

'So the person was right.' Hitomi smiled and ran to Chaewon's side. "Good morning, senpai."

The redhead looked up and smiled at the sophomore. "Oh, good morning." Chaewon stood up and shook off the dirt from her left knee. She looked at Hitomi once more. "You also jog every morning?"

Hitomi nodded vigorously. "Yes."

"I see. Well, it's nice to have a jogging buddy like you in the morning."

Hitomi was stopping herself from smiling. While talking to each other, the two decided to depart from their starting point.

Days passed since then and so did Chaewon and Hitomi's accidental meetings. Hitomi swore that the mysterious senpai helped her a lot when it comes to finding where Chaewon was on breaks. She trusted her source too much, she even gave her name. What an innocent girl indeed.

Hitomi and Chaewon got closer and Hitomi could only hope that maybe, just maybe… The senior reciprocates her feelings. The Japanese noticed a lot from the older girl after all. The casual greetings, the random touching, the hugs, and even the way the redhead intertwines her fingers with her. Hitomi would lie if she said that the gestures didn't make her heart flutter… Because it certainly did.

Remembering every encounter, she wanted to improve on one thing: the way she approaches the redhead. Every single encounter had Hitomi nervous to do anything. And so she would practice talking about interesting topics alone in the school's rooftop, with the girl in her mind.

///

It was lunch and Hitomi was supposed to meet Chaewon in the Cafeteria. Days ago, Hitomi managed to get Chaewon's number and the two had begun texting each other. Hitomi was grinning from ear to ear, on her way to the cafeteria.

Upon entry, she saw that the place was crowded and thus tried finding the redhead. The moment she saw the familiar back she always sees passing through the corridor near their classroom, she knew it was definitely her. She leaped a few steps to the girl, which was unbothered by the noise around her. Chaewon was holding a phone, probably looking at some messages.

"Chaewon-unnie, I'm here," greeted Hitomi.

Chaewon turned around and quickly turned off her phone. "Oh, hey. Let's grab something to eat, shall we?" The redhead's hands intertwined with hers, and good lord, Honda Hitomi, a hopeless romantic at the age 17, just felt her heart wanting to break out of her ribcage, run away with some random body organ, never to see the lig