Joori quickened her footsteps, swiveling around tittering bodies left and right; her high heels not helping her at all in accelerating her speed. Why was she running? To get to Junmyeon, obviously. She didn’t know his schedule like the back of her hand (she found material memorization to be difficult. She only memorized dance moves) and so she had to ask his friends, which was embarrassing because they kept giving her flirty eyes, kissy mouths, and smirks, as if they had her all figured out. She was transparent in her affection regarding the boy; she admitted of that, but they didn’t have to make her look so obvious about it. They could have played nice, the s. She was already drowning in embarrassment at the concept of asking them about his schedule as it is; they just had to make her sound stupid about it, too.

Whatever, she thought to herself as she turned back-wise towards a hustling student, and then corrected her path, before jogging away. Why was Junmyeon’s business department so busy anyway? There were.. so many people, crowding the halls, gossiping loudly in groups, and holding huge text books they struggled to carry. Her law side of the university was a lot more organized than this. Anyway, she was getting sidetracked; her mission wasn’t to judge different campuses, but to get to Junmyeon before he left for his next class. She needed to treat him for lunch before he did so, knowing that he tended to forget about food when he was busy. 

Arriving to the main classroom of Business Law class, she was slumped to see most of the students already no where to be seen, the classroom doors wide opened, and only lingering students still inside, either writing down the last of the notes still, or talking with their friends. She went towards the doorframe and began to look around for Junmyeon, eyes wide and expectant, hoping from the deepest parts of her guts that he’d still be there.

She didn’t notice the awed, curious looks everyone moving around kept shooting her, or maybe she was simply ignoring them because she was so used to the attention. She was extremely known around the university that all campuses and different departments knew about her. She rarely went out of the dance and law buildings, so the surprise of finding her hanging around the business side was bound to get her onlookers. She heard distant whispers, probably talking about her, from her back and her sides, and she slumped against the doorframe both because people liked to gossip and because Junmyeon was no where to be found.

“Joori?”

She heard someone call behind her, and the astonishment at hearing Junmyeon’s soft yet curious voice call out her name made her heart fly all the way to . She snapped backwards so fast she might as well have a whiplash, her eyes wide with mirth and excitement. Junmyeon’s eyes blinked under the brown medical glasses he had on because of the sheer emotions in her face, those eyes of his soon flickering down to take all of her in. She was wearing a mini leather skirt — black — that hugged her body in all of the right places, a long sleeved shirt which she tucked most of under the high waist skirt, and high heels, which he didn’t think girls should wear in university because they hurt as hell. Knowing the monstrous schedule some students have in university, he thought they’d at least want it to be as comfortable as they could. Apparently, Joori didn’t think the same. She considered beauty over comfort.

And damn, how beautiful she looked. She was like a goddess, with that shimmering eye make up and her smile which always seemed to look y and playful, even when she wanted it to be softer. It was in her essence to be seductive, in her soul, and Junmyeon wondered if that was the reason everyone seemed so fond of her, because she was both dangerously beautiful and extremely talented; smart too, considering she was majoring in law. Once again, a bubble of insecurities grew within him, and he wondered what the heck she saw in him, for her eyes to glow such bright light, for her lips to curl so beautifully upon seeing him as if she was presented with someone beautiful, or how well she treated him, like he mattered to her as someone of equal status. Why would she? Had she not known and experienced how awkward he could be? How secretive? How conservative and, to put it simply, how boring he was? She seemed like a fun person, wouldn’t she want someone that lifted her up instead of pulling her down?

“Jun,” She softly called, her tone titteringly gentle, arousing asleep shimmers in Junmyeon’s body. Junmyeon’s friend, the one he was walking with, gaped silently at the both of them, but she didn’t even seem to have noticed him, eyes solely focused on him. She came closer to him and slowly, she wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him close to her. Surprised, Junmyeon pushed the books he was holding to the side, an arm going around her torso to hold her sudden weight. He gave his friend a petrified look, red pooling in his cheeks, and his friend cleared his throat, looking away. He was fighting off an amused smile. Junmyeon wasn’t deaf to the growing whispers around them, either. She let him go and beamed at him, a beautiful smile gracing her lips.

“Uh, Joori,” Junmyeon swallowed, nervously fiddling with his glasses. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to see you, obviously,” She sassily rolled her eyes, making Junmyeon huff, but she still had that tender twinkle in her eyes as she gazed at him. “I don’t have anyone else I know in the business department besides you.”

“I mean, why do you want to come and see me?”

She snorted, now playing with the strings of his large, oversized hoodie casually, eliciting another delicious shudder up his body and a pinkish hue in his cheeks. She was just, so close, and she always made things look so normal, like she didn’t mind the awkward stiffening of his shoulders. “As if you don’t know why.”

“I don’t...?”

She gave him a long, focused stare, her smile diminished and gone; Junmyeon wondered if he said anything wrong. She smiled quickly, however, a smile small yet soothing, flickering her eyes momentarily towards his eavesdropping friend, who was definitely listening, and then back to him, shuffling closer until their bodies threatened to touch. She whispered, “Because I miss you.”

Junmyeon went red in the face, and he hoped he wasn’t always so stupidly nervous and awkward around her so these childish tilting redness don’t invade his cheeks anymore. He was a prospering adult but he was still a shy boy who gets flustered with cute and sentimental stuff like a simple I miss you’s. Sure she wasn’t his girlfriend, and she wasn’t as close to him as his friends; but he considered her as something still; these gestures of hers made his heartbeats flutter. Junmyeon’s heartbeats do not flutter. 

The friend besides him couldn’t help it and snorted a laugh, but when Junmyeon and Joori both looked at him — Joori with an amused look and Junmyeon with a glare — he took the chance to shoot Joori a smile.

“Hi, I’m Kris Wu, are you this loser’s girlfriend or something?” He offered her a hand, large and scarred, like he played sports, and Joori gave him a diplomatic smile she shot to all those people who shot her those suave smiles, ignoring the flirtatious gleam sparkling in his eyes. Junmyeon became stiff, his glare hardening at his friend because he knew he was flirting with her, and despite the animalistic mindset; Junmyeon considered Joori off limits. Why did everyone flirt with her anyway? Was she really just a figure to court and not a valued person in herself?

Joori shook Kris’s hand with that stiff smile on. “Nice meeting you, and I wish I was. He doesn’t seem very keen about that, yet.”

Kris looked amused, the flirty side of his dissipating with that response of hers, knowing she wasn’t interested; while Junmyeon looked back at her, eyes wide, blush intensifying. What did that mean? Junmyeon learned to ignore some things she said because she tended to be very straightforward; and despite that, some things weren’t worth thinking about too much. 

Before he could say anything, she turned to him and, sounding excited, told him, “Let’s go have lunch together, Jun. I can pick up all of the onion rings you don’t like and trade you with my chicken.”

“I can’t,” He sighed, even though he really wanted to join her, “I have a class next.”

She deflated like a popped balloon, looking pouty and insanely adorable. How did she do it? Become y yet adorable at the same time? “I thought you had an hour break after Business Law,” that was what his stupid friends have told her anyway.

“No, you’ve got it wrong. I have an hour class long right now.”

“I can wait for you!” She brightened, sounding much more excited than the drowned town she used before, her whole face glowing. “I’ll wait for you! It’s just one hour, I’m free for the rest of the day.”

Junmyeon looked concerned, “But wait for an hour? That’s.. you don’t think it’ll be an inconvenience?”

She scoffed, amused at thinking anything she does for him has to be annoying, “For you? Never.”

He found himself warming up from the inside, actual fire igniting at the transparent emotions in her eyes, sincerity and affection. Sometimes he’d wonder why anyone would look at him like that, but with Joori he do less thinking than with most people, and.. it felt refreshing. 

Kris released another snort, eyeing Junmyeon like he was an alien from space and definitely seeing the gross, cross-eyed look of his. Junmyeon snapped his head towards him, offended, “Why are you still here?”

“Because she’s here,” Kris gave Joori a sappy, cheesy wink, clearly trying to rile a reaction out of Junmyeon than actually flirting. “Can’t leave now that I know you’re acquainted with the Joori; that’s a prize right there.”

Junmyeon threatened to kick him, eyes angry and very, very riled; and so Kris left them, chuckling, patting Joori’s head as he walked away because he was a giant and found himself doing that to everyone who was smaller. Joori didn’t mind. She found him to be amusing, now that she understood his playful flirting to be used against Junmyeon rather than gaining anything with her. 

Junmyeon caught her smiling at his retreating figure, and when she pointed her attention back at him; he scowled.

“What?” She , knowing exactly what but hoping to fluster him more. 

He rolled his eyes, his lips still very clearly screwed in displeasure. “Wait in the cafeteria, or wherever you want. I’ll give you a ring when I’m done. Give me your phone.”

She looked sheepish at the request — or the demand — a bit embarrassed at what she was about to say next, “I already have your number.”

He blinked, pausing, and she took the chance of his momentary silence to hop another step towards him, cheekily smiling up at him and grabbing his strong arms in her grip. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll ring you after precisely an hour and ten minutes.” She leaned over before he could say anything and pressed her lips in a kiss on his cheek.

Then she left, a cheeky look coming alive in her eyes, blooming good redness in Junmyeon’s cheeks. When she was out of his sight, he turned around, cursing under his breath about how effective every single one of her gestures were. 

-

“Junmyeon!”

Junmyeon heard a loud exclaim of his name by no one other than Joori when he put his first steps in the cafeteria’s grounds, his eyes looking around. He flickered his attention towards where the sound have came from, and found her waving at him with a beam on her face, standing in front of a table. The moment his attention came into hers, and his eyes softened; she jogged towards him, wholeheartedly ignoring the many, many pair of eyes that followed her around.

Standing in front of him, she leaned on her tiptoes and hugged him, evolving him in her lean arms and exchanging scents, heat and emotions. His whole body melted faster than an ice cube in room temperature against hers; his focus of the peering students vaporing into the wind aimlessly. 

“You’re hugging me a lot today.” He murmured in the curve of her shoulder and neck; his warm breath cascading down her body and making her shiver pleasantly. She released her clutches from him and playfully flicked his forehead, ignoring his grimace. 

“Don’t think that I’m going t