Hyemi sat back in her chair and smirked down at the chessboard. She’d had her doubts, but she needn’t have worried. The trap she set was working beautifully, and she couldn’t help but internally applaud herself for its flawless execution.

 

Across the chessboard, Samdong was leaning his elbows on the table with his fingers at his temples. He glanced up at Hyemi, and she neutralized her face again. She could tell he’d spotted the trap, but she wasn’t going to acknowledge it.

 

He raised his hand and went to grab his knight, but then he furrowed his eyebrows and retracted his arm. Samdong let out a loud sigh and buried his hands in his hair.

 

They heard the front door close before Oh Hyuk walked in with some groceries. He noticed the chessboard and laughed. “Trying to decide who does the dishes again?” he said as he placed the bags on the counter. 

 

Before Jingook left, they used to rotate whoever did the dishes. Once it became just her and Samdong, they found themselves bickering over it and deciding to settle it with games of chess. At first, it wasn’t exactly fair. Samdong was a very inexperienced player, whereas Hyemi used to play it against her dad all the time. Needless to say she grew comfortable not doing the dishes for the past couple of months. However, Samdong somehow goofed his way into winning their last match, so she spent an unpleasant evening scrubbing pots while he lounged on the couch and smiled innocently at her whenever she glared at him. Because of that day, she was a bit wary about playing against him again, but she was worried for nothing since he was currently getting his kicked.

 

“Mmhmm.” Samdong hummed as he raised and retracted his hand again, looking slightly stressed.

 

“Who’s winning?” Oh Hyuk walked over to the table and looked down at the chessboard. He sighed and gave Samdong a pat on the shoulder. “Better luck next time, Samdong.”

 

“I haven’t lost yet.” he grumbled. He went for his knight again but stopped when his teacher winced. “Is there a better move I can make?” The poor boy looked like he was pleading. He really hated the dishes.

 

Oh Hyuk just smiled and patted him on the shoulder again before walking out of the kitchen.

 

---

 

Hyemi frowned at her reflection in her now dead phone. She huffed and threw it on the coffee table before grabbing the TV remote. She surfed through the channels and found nothing of interest, so she just a random movie and attempted to care about it. Hyemi found the movie quite stupid, honestly. The plot was predictable, the scenes weren’t cut smoothly, and the soundtrack was horrendous and awkwardly placed. She’d probably enjoy watching it if she had someone to ridicule it with.

 

She glanced over to the kitchen. Samdong was at the sink with his back to her. Besides the occasional loud clang when he dropped a pot, he’s been relatively quiet. She was angry and annoyed when she was forced to do the dishes last time, and she made sure he knew it. It wasn’t until now that she realized how little he complained. He looked a bit disgruntled right after he lost the match, but other than that he’s been fine.

 

Hyemi focused on the screen again, but she lost interest immediately. She sighed and got up. Samdong was just draining the sink when she walked in, and she felt herself get a bit hopeful.

 

“Are you done?” she asked nonchalantly.

 

He shook his head and nodded at the dishes in the drying rack. “Noona said she wanted the dishes dried too.”

 

She looked down and frowned at them. 

 

He smiled a little at her. “Why? Are you waiting for me? Don’t worry, I’ll be done in a few minutes.”

 

“Ya. I’m not waiting. You’re just making a lot of noise out here.” she huffed and left the room.

 

The movie was just as boring as she’d left it. Hyemi glanced at the kitchen again. Samdong was still working, but this time when he turned around he spotted her looking at him. He grinned.

 

“Hyemi-ah. Do you really miss me that much?” He said.

 

She scoffed. “Aniya. I’m just bored.” When she saw he was still smiling to himself, she stood up. “Never mind, I’ll just go find Hyesung.” She started toward the stairs.

 

“Wait wait wait! I’ll be done in a minute. Have you found a movie to watch?” Samdong started drying the dishes slightly faster.

 

Hyemi wandered into the kitchen again. “Kinda. It’s really bad.” She leaned on the counter next to the sink and watched him dry off a mug. She glanced over at the dishes. Only a few more… 

 

So Hyemi, being uncharacteristically charitable, grabbed a towel and started drying off a pan. She noticed Samdong’s bewildered look. “What?”

 

“What are you doing?” He asked.

 

“I told you I’m bored, and you’re moving too slow.” She brushed past him and crouched down by the cupboard for the pots and pans. Right as she stood up, Samdong leaned over her to put the mug in the cupboard above her. She hit her head on his arm, causing him to lose his grip on the mug and scramble forward so he wouldn’t drop it. 

 

She found herself pinned to the counter by Samdong with their faces only inches apart.

 

Whenever something like this happens (not that anything as drastic as this happens, maybe a brush of the hand or a bump of the shoulder), Hyemi usually shoves Samdong away or glares at him, and he’ll just smile a little shyly.

 

But for some reason, neither of them moved. 

 

Or breathed.

 

Samdong had his arms around either side of her shoulders, still gripping the mug behind her back. He was looking at her with a mingle of panic and alarm, but still unable to move.

 

By now she would’ve shoved him off her, but instead she found herself staring at him. She’d never been this close to him before, and she couldn’t help but survey his face. His eyes were upturned, and although they were wide with panic right now, she could tell they were quite pretty, especially with those long eyelashes she was slightly jealous of. She noticed a freckle on his eyelid and his upper lip, and she even thought she spotted one through his hair above his eyebrow. He has really nice skin. Again, she’s jealous. She spends a lot of time and money on her skincare routine to have flawless skin, and she knows how little he does to care for his, yet he still has beautiful skin? She glanced down at his lips. Oops, she’s jealous of those too. He has nice and full lips, and they’re slightly upturned at the corners, which made some kind of sense considering he’s one of the happiest people she knows.

 

When she looked up at his eyes again, he looked less panicked and more shocked. She realized that she’s been staring at him like a complete idiot and he’s obviously noticed. 

 

Hyemi came to her senses and yelled, “Ya! Get off!” She shoved him hard on the chest and he stumbled backwards. Unfortunately, he was still gripping the mug with both of his hands. His arms hooked around the back of her neck and sent her stumbling forward with him. He freed one hand and grabbed her around the middle to try and stop the fall, but Samdong ended up smacking his lower back against the kitchen island counter with Hyemi on top of him, hands on his chest to steady herself.

 

If Samdong looked alarmed before, it was nothing compared to now, and this time she mirrored his expression. 

 

They heard footsteps and turned to see Oh Hyuk walk in. He stopped short and stared at the scene before him. His absolutely bewildered expression shocked them both enough that they sprung apart. 

 

He looked between the two of them for a few moments. “What are you guys doing?” he asked.

 

“Nothing.” They both answered too quickly, and Hyemi shot a glare at Samdong, who cowered under her look.

 

Oh Hyuk narrowed his eyes. “Then-”

 

“I’m going to go to bed.” Hyemi interrupted. There was no way in Hell she was going to explain what the heck just happened when she didn’t even know herself, let alone to her teacher. “Goodnight.” she said hurriedly and brushed past Oh Hyuk.

 

“Hyemi!” he called after her. He glanced at his watch. “Hyemi, it’s 6:30!” Her door slammed. He turned around and looked at Samdong.

 

Samdong just looked at him with wide eyes and cleared his throat before hastily leaving the kitchen as well, taking the mug with him.

 

Oh Hyuk stood puzzled for a moment, trying to figure out what in the world just happened. He sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. When he looked up, he noticed the remaining dishes on the counter. Noona’s going to be upset if she sees these. 

 

With a huff, he grabbed a towel and began drying the rest of the dishes, deciding he’d rather not dwell on what it was he may or may not have just witnessed.