Honestly, Joohyun hadn’t expected to see the art student this quickly. Yes, it’s true that they went to the same university. But the building was still enormous and there was also a big chance that their schedules didn’t correlate.

Yet, there she was, running past a few students with the same restless look on her face and clumsily holding on to even more materials than yesterday. The other girl, rather than helping, was walking calmly behind her as she wore an amused smile on her face.

Joohyun winced as the art student nearly bumped against two students who shot her a deadly. She quickly apologized and ran up the stairs.

“Is that the girl who pretty much painted all over you yesterday?”, Sooyoung asked with one raised eyebrow.

Joohyun’s eyes widened in surprise as she looked at the taller girl.

“How did you know?”

“Considering the details you told us? Not a very hard guess…”, Seungwan said with a somewhat judgemental undertone.

Joohyun knew that Seungwan was probably internally criticizing the clumsiness and inattention that the art student seemed to have, considering that she was the type to expect competence from others.

“I see she hasn’t really learnt her lesson, huh?”, Sooyoung laughed.

“I guess not”, Joohyun shrugged. She kind of wondered why the girl seemed to always be in such a rush. Sure, she had only ‘met’ her yesterday, but the art student seemed to be in as much distress today as she had been the day before.

Maybe she was the type of student to always arrive late?

“Anyways, I have to go. Class starts in 10 and I want to be there in time”, Seungwan said. She kissed Sooyoung on her cheek and gave Joohyun a quick hug. “I’ll see you guys at the library at 12, okay?”

All three of them happened to have a free period on Wednesdays and always met up in the library to study. Or well, at least, Seungwan did.

Joohyun, more often than not, just spaced out while staring at whatever study book she was holding, while Sooyoung either doodled on her notebook or walked around the library to search for “more interesting things to read than homework” (her words not Joohyun’s. Not that she disagreed though).

So, after 3 long and torturous hours of having to listen to the most boring teacher she had ever had in her entire life, Joohyun happily walked towards the library on the 3rd floor.

The school’s cafeteria happened to be on that floor as well, which was an honest-to-god blessing, since Joohyun’s stomach loved to make ungodly noises around 12pm. And for some reason, the students were actually allowed to eat in the library (Joohyun felt bad for the cleaners; some students could really learn to be more considerate).

Joohyun bought a cup of instant noodles as well as a cup of tea. She just loved the calm ambient that came with drinking something hot in a quiet library, especially now that it was autumn.

Seungwan and Sooyoung were already sitting at the usual table (for some reason, rarely any students sat there) and as expected, the older girl was already ardently jotting down notes with a deep frown on her face while the younger girl bopped her head to whatever music she was listening to.

As Joohyun walked over to the table, her gaze couldn’t help but capture a familiar face not sitting too far from them. The art student looked like she had just stepped out of bed. Her brown hair was dishevelled, her black shirt wrinkled and her eyes furiously blinking they travelled over the book she was holding.

Joohyun recalled that morning when she had seen the girl run up the stairs accompanied by sounds of heavy panting as well as quick apologies.

She kind of expected to see the same scenario tomorrow, especially after noticing how some students had been observing the scene as if they had experienced it multiple times. And by the looks of the grin on the other girl’s face as she followed the art student, it seemed to be a routine even.

Joohyun wondered how she had never noticed this happening before, though the answer was more than obvious given her head-in-the-clouds personality.

Yesterday’s events replayed and Joohyun thought about the girl had felt so guilty that she had, not lent, but given her a shirt. Her own shirt.

She wondered whether it was a common occurrence for the art student; giving strangers her clothes after disaster had occurred.

Joohyun had admittedly found it a sweet gesture, especially since the girl had been so keen on giving it to her despite the older girl’s protests.

Unaware of how long she had been staring, Joohyun jolted as Sooyoung flicked a finger against her forehead (a habit the taller girl had developed each time Joohyun zoned out for a bit too long).

She rubbed the painful spot as she shot Sooyoung a deadly look. Or at least, that was what she imagined her gaze looked like. However, the taller girl’s amused smirk was more than enough evidence that Joohyun wasn’t as intimidating as she thought she was.

Then again, few things seemed to scare Sooyoung anyways (she had been able to handle Seungwan at her most enraged stage and Joohyun had yet to experience something more frightening than that. The sole memory made her shiver in place).

“Liking what you see?”, Sooyoung’s gaze shifted from Joohyun to the art student and back. The annoying wiggling of her eyebrows made the older girl roll her eyes.

“I was just surprised to see her here.”

“You were surprised to see her at the library?”, the taller girl stated rather than asked, arching one eyebrow.

“… in that state?”, Joohyun replied uncertainly, noticing how weak her reasoning was despite it being the truth.

It was the truth, right?

Sooyoung’s gaze shifted back to the art student. She frowned.

“She just looks like university has been killing her and that she is completely done with life”, the taller girl shrugged. “Like the average student does.”

Joohyun mumbled a ‘whatever’ as she put her bag on the table, catching Seungwan’s attention for a brief moment, the latter smiling before returning to the task at hand.

“Just admit you find her attractive”, Sooyoung’s infamous Cheshire smile grew.

The older girl nearly dropped the books in her hand at the sudden accusation.

Well, it felt like one.

“W-what are you even saying?”, Joohyun could feel her cheeks heat up.

“That you have the hots for her and that’s why you were staring so absurdly long.”

“I was not staring for that long!”, Joohyun crossed her arms in defense.

“For at least 5 minutes.”

The older girl blinked.

There was absolutely no way that it had been that long. Perhaps 2- or 3-minutes tops.

“So… your silence means that it’s a yes?”, Sooyoung’s smile remained unfaltering. Joohyun really wanted to wipe it off her face.

“I do not have the hots for her!”

The taller girl snorted. Joohyun looked at Seungwan for help. The latter, however, seemed to be just as entertained as her girlfriend, having laid her pen down as she listened to the conversation with an amused twinkle in her eyes.

“So, you are telling me that you don’t find her the slightest bit attractive?”, Sooyoung narrowed her eyes, closely observing all of the details on Joohyun’s face, searching for tiniest piece of evidence to confirm her assumptions.

Rather than immediately answering, Joohyun couldn’t help but look at the art student who seemed ready to rip all of her hair out due to whatever she was reading.

If she had to be honest with herself, the second thing Joohyun had noticed yesterday after her brain had processed the fresh paint on her shirt, was the girl’s appearance. She was cute. Actually, Joohyun thought she was quite beautiful. She recalled the art student’s long and wavy hair, her dark brown eyes and the way her eyeliner had accentuated their sharpness (which had honestly made Joohyun stare for a tad longer than she had wanted).

There was also a certain charm to her. Perhaps it was her shy smile or how she worded things in a slightly whimsical way at times (her suggestion for Joohyun to splash paint on her clothes made the curves of Joohyun’s lips slightly curl up).

Joohyun sighed.

“Okay, fine. I think she’s cute. She’s pretty even. But”, she held her index finger up to prevent Sooyoung from making any further comments, “that’s all. Nothing more.”

“Uh-huh, right”, Sooyoung winked.

“I’m serious!”, Joohyun had to stop herself from raising her voice, considering that they were in a library. “You can find someone pretty w-”

“Attractive”, the taller girl interrupted with a smirk. Joohyun inhaled deeply. Sometimes Sooyoung could really get on her nerves with the teasing.

“… without feeling anything more”, she finished with a sigh. “So no, I don’t have the hots for her.”

“Yet”, Seungwan added, making Sooyoung snicker.

Joohyun rolled her eyes.

Great, two against one. Always a fun situation to be in. Especially when you’re the victim.

“Guys, seriously! I don’t feel anything!”

“Whatever you say bud”, Sooyoung patted her on the shoulder as she po