I watched You the other day. I sat, crossed leg twirling the spoon in my tea cup. Green tea. They said it helps anxiety, but I still feel anxious watching You. You are sitting with Him. Who is He? Another friend? He cannot possibly be a lover. The last one was just removed. A sore spot for my eyes. 

I press the cup to my lips and take a sip. Bitter. Am I being bitter or is he reaching for the curly strand of hair that reaches Your nape and tucks it behind Your ear. You grew it out all these months. A long cold winter. Most would have cut their hair to signify a breakup. You let it grow to signify someone else was present. 

He cannot stay.

I drink the rest of the tea, feeling the anxiety gurgle in my throat as I swallow it down. 

He cannot stay.

I place the cup upside-down on the plate. 

He will not stay.

I get up and walk towards You, but now You are leaving. I stop and turn, choosing to admire Your reflection from the cafe's window. I see that He hugs You and You wince. You do not like that. I grin. 

He will never stay. 

"Hey Donghae!"

The man turns around to find his best friend, Siwon grinning at him.

"Hey! I didn't see you in class today, Wonnie. What did you do now?"

"Nothing. Just had a late party, went on until sunrise. I couldn't possibly make it at 8. Did the professor complain?"

Siwon threw one arm around Donghae's shoulder laughing.

"Professor Lee? Of course! He gave us two assignments due this Friday."

Siwon scowled. "I swear he has it out for me. Maybe if he partied for two seconds he'd loosen up."

Donghae elbowed Siwon causing the younger to pout. 

"He's busy enough grading our papers and he's been looking more tired than usual."

"So loosen him up!" Siwon grinned and ran off. Donghae cursed and ran after him.

You are fascinating. Graceful, beautiful, talented, patient. I could go on and on, but this isn't about my feelings for You. It is You. Every day I get to experience the human mind, its wormhole of emotions. Thoughts I never imagined I could create, all in a single image. 

I glance at my rolex. Silver. Simple. Intricate diamonds surrounding the band. There's a matching one I plan to gift to You. Rose gold, it matches Your skin complexion. It's engraved too. The intials? A combination of Our name. Someone as sophisticated as You would understand the detailing.

I gaze closely at the time. Your final class is over. 1500 on the dot. Military time is more precise in the art of time. Every second counts and the exact 13 seconds it takes for You to walk out of class, the 6 and 1/2 minutes it takes to walk back to Your dorm where You rest in a single room is enough time for me to meet You there. 

See you soon.

I leave the gift by the door with 20 seconds to spare. No one was watching. As usual, young adults more concerned with their own bodies and other bodies than to care of what could potentially be a threat. I love it. I love that no one cares. That in this moment only I care enough to stand a mere two feet away, the latest hot magazine in hand covering my face. 

I watch as You glance downwards, eyes instinctively looking left and right. You attempt to distinguish who could've left it, but You recognize no one. Or at least at this moment no one sticks out. Certainely not myself hiding behind a magazine of half women. If anything, men applaud me as they walk by. I fit in. The gift fits out.

You pick it up, a small pink box with a black ribbon perfectly tied. You haven't moved. Currently You are reading the card attached to it. So tiny, a detail anyone could've missed but not You. Details are Your thing. 

I am always watching

signed Me to You

You stumble backwards, but hold Yourself upright. You untie the ribbon, pull the lid off and notice the rose gold rolex. I smile inwardly. No need to come off as creepy. I can see how it comes off to You. A $13,000 watch left at your doorstep with an anonymous note. Anyone would be worried. Yet I see You smile as you place it on Your wrist. Perfect fit. I measured your wrist in your sleep, remember that night You drank too much? I tucked you into bed. I measured Your ring finger as well, the next gift will tie you to me for eternity. 

But that's for another day. I turn around, fold the magazine under my arm and walk off. No one notices. No one cares.

"Professor Lee?"

The man looks up from his pile of papers.

"Uh yes?" He peers under the glasses on his nose, recognition lights up his face. "Mr. Lee. What a pleasant surprise. Please sit. Ignore the stupendous amount of paperwork. I do it to myself."

"I had a question about the paper you assigned us yesterday."

"Do ask."

Donghae fumbles with the sheets in his hand. "Um..this question here." He points. "Question #3 we were given an option of choosing two topics; Love or Obsession, but I don't see the difference."

The young professor leaned back in his chair. "I'm not sure of your question Mr. Lee. Or do you believe love and obsession are similar."

"Well when you love something, you become obsessed but it isn't always a bad thing."

"Stalking can form from obsession. Do you believe that is a good thing?"

"Not always Professor. But why do all of these terms have to be negative? We don't know how others feel. You can't make an assumption of your own thoughts when someone else might feel different."

The professor clasped his hands together. "Then you have your answer, Mr. Lee."

"I--so I could choose both and turn it into a comparison paper."

"It would be twice the work, but it seems you feel strongly about these subjects. I'll still be expecting this paper in 3 days."

"Understood." Donghae beamed. "Thanks again Professor!"

"Anytime."

You are wearing the rolex I bought you to visit Your friend. Is He a good man? Would He buy you something that costs more than he makes in a month? He isn't good enough for you. I am. But I am a patient man. I saved every penny to buy You that watch. I listened to others, I followed guidelines, I worked amongst the most insufferable men and women to see it sparkle on Your wrist. Divinity in motion. 

You do not see me. Not yet at least. It isn't time. You have another class in twenty minutes so make this conversation short. Breakfast will be waiting at Your desk. Everything is set up. Time is on My side for now. You never miss a class. Would it even start without You? The smartest one there. I assure You everyone would be bored. You're the only one with questions, comments and concerns. Everyone else is a fish waiting for a hook. But not You. I am Your hook.

You have been captured. 

You just haven't realized it yet.

"And that concludes class for today. Papers are due tomorrow. I only expect the best from everyone." 

"Yes Professor Lee" The class says in unison. 

As the class packs up and leaves, Donghae stays behind waiting for the classroom to empty.

"Uh Professor Lee, I just wanted to turn in my paper."

"Oh?" The professor looks up from the heap of papers sitting before him. He piles them together and faces Donghae. 

"Yeah, here you go. I had a lot of inspiration and I was able to finish it. Citation page and all."

Professor Lee flipped through the pages handed to him. There were exactly 5 pages. Detailed. Thorough.

"Hmm, I'll give it a read later but all grades will be received at the same time on Monday. Are you sure you don't want to wait until tomorrow? Once it is handed in, that's that."

Donghae nodded his head. "Yes. I'm certain. I don't think I could add anything else to it. I was detailed and I researched a lot. Spent the last 2 days working on it, after what you told me my brain couldn't stop."

HEADER: THE CORRUPTION OF LOVE THAT TURNS TO OBSESSION

WRITTEN BY: LEE DONGHAE

"Well it's definitely a first for me to have a student give a paper before its due. I'll take note of that."

"Thank you Professor."

"Oh and Donghae, one last thing."

"Yes Professor?"

"Can you tell me the time? My watch seems to have stopped."

"Right. Uh." Donghae glanced at the watch on his wrist. "3:10 pm"

The professor nodded. "So it's your last class of the day."

"Yes."

"It's also mine. I'll see you tomorrow. On time, Mr. Lee."