Standing groggily in front of the campus main coffee shop, Hayoon yawned loudly.

“Couldn’t sleep well Sunshine?” Baekhyun asked as he approached her.

Entering the coffee shop, Hayoon let out a heavy sign.

“I may or may not have panicked a teenie tiny bit last night when I realised I accidentally ditched a very important lecture and will now get penalised.”

“Just blame it all on Yeol,” Baekhyun said jokingly while patting her shoulder. “On the bright side, he went to class today and has stopped singing depressing songs.”

“That’s good…” Hayoon hummed as she turned towards the counter, only to come face to face with a certain broad shouldered tree.

“Well, who do we have here? Certainly not someone who attended yesterday’s lecture,” Sehun singsonged while arching his eyebrow.

Ignoring his comment, Hayoon just turned to Baekhyun.

“The usual?”

“You won’t be penalised,” Sehun interjected, earning a look of confusion from Hayoon. “I covered for you. The professor had no idea you weren’t there.”

“…How?” Hayoon gaped.

“I have my ways.” Sehun mused. “Plus you’re tiny and it’s a large class, so even if you were there I doubt the professor would have seen you. The advantage of being a shortie I suppose.”

“Thanks… I guess?” Hayoon muttered, surprised that Sehun had noticed her absence and even covered for her, though somehow he still managed to poke fun of her in the process.

Just then Soojung entered the coffee shop. Seeing Hayoon and Baekhyun however, the girl immediately turned around to leave the premises. Hayoon immediately ran after Soojung, her coffee forgotten.

“Soojung, wait!”

Hurrying after the girl, Hayoon grabbed onto her bag to stop the girl from running away.

“Not now Hayoon,” Soojung begged while diverting her eyes.

“If you’re worried about running into Yeol don’t be. He isn’t here.” Removing her hold on Soojung’s bag, Hayoon stared at her. “That’s why you ran away isn’t it?”

Soojung combed her hair with her hands, sighing.

“I think it’s better if I distance myself for a while. Let everything cool down.”

“But you can’t keep avoiding us like that. You’ll just end up hurting yourself more.” Hayoon frowned.

“Stop being such a worrywart,” Soojung replied with a bittersweet smile. “I have Junmyeon. Plus we'll be busy with the end of year exams. You just stick with Yeol. He needs you more.”

Without waiting for a response, Soojung bid Hayoon goodbye and left the girl there still frowning.

Back in the coffee shop, Baekhyun just stared in the direction of Hayoon and Soojung, eyebrows furrowed together.

“So…” Sehun droned. “Girl drama?”

“Something of the sort,” Baekhyun huffed.

“Well, here’s your coffee, and tell shortie that she owes me one for saving her ,” Sehun quipped.

・・・

During the Japanese Cinema lecture, Baekhyun chewed on the inside of his cheeks, ruminating on what Hayoon had told him about her conversation with Soojung. Dropping his head on the desk, he forewent trying to listen to the lecture. Next to him, Hayoon was being the usual attentive student. Squinting her eyes in an attempt to see without the aid of her glasses, Hayoon struggled immensely to read the slides projected on the board. However she just had to make do because clearly she would not be able to borrow Baekhyun’s notes seeing as he was doing anything but paying attention.

After what appeared to be an eternity, the lecture finally ended, leaving Hayoon feeling exhausted from overexerting her eyes. Walking out of the lecture hall, Hayoon checked her phone to see whether she had received any messages from Jongin regarding their little shopping trip.

“It’s so not fair,” Baekhyun whined, dragging his feet on the floor. “Why did they have to change my schedule? It’s all that witch’s fault, how can she prioritise her needs over her students? And her workshop is just a pain in the . So not fair that it’s mandatory.”

Giving him a side glance, Hayoon attempted to comfort the boy.

“At least your Friday afternoon freed up as a result of the schedule change,”

“That