Microbiology was your least favorite class of the semester. And it wasn’t even because you were basically useless when it came to absorbing scientific information or keeping the different theories and discoveries straight. You did well enough to pass the class with a decent grade.

No, it was because you were stuck taking the class with Kim Jongdae.

You didn’t hate him. In fact, you might have even had a bit of a crush on him due to his good looks. Okay, and due to how sweet he could be… to everyone else. He mostly ignored you and he had a semi-good reason for it so you couldn’t completely blame him.

The first time you met Jongdae was at a house party. A house party that you didn’t want to go to in the first place. You were supposed to be going on a date with a guy from your Chinese Dynasties class, but he canceled at the last minute and made it abundantly clear there would be no rescheduling. You were in a miserable mood and all you want to do when you were in miserable moods was curl up under your soft throw blanket on the couch and watch a mind-numbing romantic comedy. But Eun Na was having none of that.

With more force than necessary, Eun Na dragged you out of your apartment and into her car, driving you to some basketball player’s parents’ house for an overly extravagant party you were pretty sure he wasn’t supposed to be having in the first place. Silently from the passenger’s seat, you cursed Eun Na who knew you hated crowds and drunk people. Crowds of drunk people were a category that you went nowhere near. But she didn’t seem to care that night.

As she parked down the street from the house that was located on the outskirts of the rich neighborhood it resided in, you talked yourself through the square breathing technique your dad had taught you when you were younger in an effort to calm your nerves. Eun Na forced you out of the car and you trudged slowly behind her.

The house was stuffed full of college students way beyond the fire safety code. Music blared from the front living room, making you wonder if the people standing right next to the speakers had permanently damaged eardrums. In the back was the kitchen where half-full bottles of vodka, tequila, and other alcohols were scattered all over the counter among abandoned solo cups and ripped open cardboard cases of beer. Eun Na didn’t let go of you until she was right in front of the liquor bottles, grabbing a two liter of coke in the process.

“One drink!” Eun Na yelled over the noise and chatter. “You only have to have one drink! Then I won’t nag you anymore!”

“Fine!” you growled back. Perhaps you could find a plant to pour it in once her back was turned. After shoving a rum and coke in your hand, she stared at you expectantly. Knowing she wouldn’t leave it alone until she saw you take a sip, you brought the cup to your lips. The mixed drink tasted nothing like the ones you’d been forced to try in the past. You couldn’t explain what it was, only that you wanted more.

In a time that was a record for you, you downed the drink and asked for another. Eun Na gladly obliged. Four drinks later and you were starting to feel it, both in your head and in your stomach. Stumbling to find a bathroom before it was too late, you’d ran into Jongdae in the hallway. He’d stared at you strangely, like you were the only one wandering around drunk and on the verge of being sick (hint: you most definitely weren’t). Hesitantly, he reached out to your swaying figure. And that’s when you threw up on his shoes.

After getting you to a bathroom, he made sure you were okay and then high-tailed it out of there. Needless to say, you hadn’t touched an alcoholic drink since.

That was at the end of last semester. To your relief, you hadn’t seen him again after that night. Until the fall semester started and you walked into your biology class to find him sitting right there in the second row. When the two of you made eye contact, the smile vanished from his face and every muscle in his jaw visibly stiffened. He cut off the contact and kept his gaze down. Your shoulders dropped, understanding why you wouldn’t exactly be his favorite person. Thinking it was best for everyone, you broke your seating rule and sat more towards the back so you wouldn’t be even in his peripheral.

It had been two months of excruciating humiliation. No matter what you did, he always seemed to get to class before you could. Being the friendly and personable type, he was always chatting away with someone around him. But as soon as you entered the classroom, his entire demeanor changed. Sometimes, he didn’t even need to be looking your direction. It was like he had a sixth sense for your presence and it created a dark cloud over him.

Today, like any other day, you simply kept your eyes down, not daring to look at him as you hurried to your seat near the back. Only when you were safe in your desk did you dare to look. Usually when you did, you just saw the back of his wavy, dark brown hair. It fell over his forehead at the perfect length and curled at the nape of his neck. Sometimes it would shake from his laughter and you wished you were closer to hear how it sounded. This was not one of those times.

When your eyes met his, you froze. Jongdae was turned around in his seat, staring up at you. But the look in his rich, russet-colored eyes was different than he’d ever given you before. There was genuine concern as his eyebrows knitted together. In a panic, you cut off the gaze, shrinking in your seat. Confused, you tried not to think too much into why he would seem worried for you while you were just embarrassed at how that little interaction was making your heart run a marathon.

What was wrong with you? You hardly knew the guy. Okay, so he was pretty attractive. But that was never the bases for your crushes in the past. And yet, here you were. You liked nice guys and that was problem. He was practically an angel. If you didn’t see him always volunteer to help out someone who didn’t understand or pick up pens that his neighbors dropped, you might have been able to completely ignore him and go on with your life. No such luck. Instead, you were forced to sit there and watch in complete awe without receiving the same. It seemed that no matter what, you couldn’t get Jongdae out of your head. 

There was something inside that was yelling at you to go take the seat next to him before that model-like girl arrived and took her usual place beside him. Where you wanted to be. But you just couldn’t do it.

Letting out a low groan, you laid your head down on the desk until the graduate teaching assistant turned off the lights to start the slide show on today’s lesson. When you risked it again, you look at Jongdae, who’d turned back around to the front like nothing had happened.

**

You were utterly exhausted as you stepped into your apartment. It was your lucky day since you didn’t have to go work at the coffee shop tonight. After about four hours in the library with Eun Na, you were all caught up on homework and free to spend the next day however you deemed fit. 

Well, there was your short morning class. Okay, and you did have a small afternoon shift at the shop. So really, you could spend your free time between eleven and four however you wanted to. Which meant dramas and junk food for five uninterrupted hours to look forward to and no homework to stress about.

Once the door was locked behind you, you dropped your bag on the couch and headed towards the kitchen to find something to munch on. A vibrating sensation from your back pocket made you jump. Pulling out your phone, you read the caller ID: Eun Na.

“Hello?” you answered, wedging the phone between your ear and shoulder while you shuffled leftovers and other foods around in your refrigerator.

“Hey, girl! What’s up?”

You laughed at Eun Na’s upbeat greeting as if you hadn’t just seen her. “Nothing much, just trying to figure out what to eat for dinner.” You picked up a white Styrofoam container, shaking it gently. “Chinese food from last Saturday is not a good choice, is it?”

“Ew, no. Throw that out.” There’s a slight shuffling on her end of the phone and then she was back. “Hey, you don’t work next Saturday evening, right?”

“Uh,” you looked up at your calendar that was magnetized onto the freezer door. “No, I don’t. Tae asked to if we could switch so I only work the mid-day shift. Why? What’s up?”

“A few friends from my neighborhood are having a bonfire and I want you to come with me.”

You whined. “Seriously, Eun Na! I said no more parties. You know what happen last time.”

The one secret you kept from Eun Na was your crush on Jongdae. You knew she would roll her eyes at you, having seen firsthand how he’d gone out of his way to avoid you. But she had heard about your embarrassing first meeting and it’d been your tool to avoid all future escapades.

“It’s not a party,” she argued. “It’s more like a kickback. Twelve of us at the most. Come on, I need my best friend there. Please.” Like a kicked puppy, she started whimpering. You couldn’t stand it when she did that.

No was no longer an option. You slid down to the old, peeling tile floor of your kitchen, leaning your back against the cabinets. “Okay, I’ll go. But not too late okay?”

Eun Na squealed. “Not a problem! Thank you, (y/n)! You’re the best!”

You rolled your eyes, not understanding what the big deal was. But it made Eun Na happy. And, considering what she’d done for you in the past, it was the least you could do for her.

Settling on yesterday’s pizza, you popped two slices on a plate in the microwave and waited for it yell so you knew it was done. Involuntarily, your mind drifted to Jongdae and the look he’d given you. It was almost like he was thinking something was going to happen to you, an accident or some other disastrous situation. Though you didn’t know the reasoning behind the expression, you didn’t think it was pity. If you were honest, you were glad to get some sort of interaction with him that wasn’t pure irritation.

The blaring noise from the microwave pulled your thoughts away from your unnerving classmate and to your stomach, which was gurgling with anticipation. In a somewhat un-ladylike manner, you scarfed down the pizza, remembering to take a few sips of water in between. Satisfied by dinner, but still not quite full, you went back to your freezer and pulled out the pint of chocolate ice cream resting on the top shelf. Then frowned when you took off the lid. Apparently, you had absentmindedly taking a spoonful here and there, leaving only a pitiful amount at the bottom of the cup. With a pout, you put the pint back in the freezer and grabbed your keys, knowing that small little bite was just not going to cut it.

Back out on the streets, you walked diligently to the corner store. The sun hadn’t completely set yet, but the sidewalks were already at a spooky level of darkness. This was a walk you had taken before, but something about the air was sending your senses into overdrive.

As always, you made it to the store and quickly picked out more chocolate ice cream from the cheapest brand. You grabbed M&Ms as a last minute treat for surviving the day. A pathetic excuse for more chocolate, but one you wouldn't disagree with. Grocery bag in hand and purse strewn across your shoulder, you exited the store just to run in what felt like a brick wall. You would have fallen to your right there on the concrete if a hand hadn’t reached out and grabbed your arm, steadying you out.

The one who had blocked your path was an obnoxiously tall man around your age. His light brown hair was disheveled on his forehead and his big eyes were wide with worry.

“I’m sorry!” he said quickly. “Are you okay?”

You took your arm back, smiling at him to let him know that you were fine. “All good. Have a good night.”

Before you could get fully past him, the guy stopped you with a hand on your shoulder. “Wait!”

Biting your cheek to keep your mouth shut from a snarky comment that you’d knew you would agonize over later, you turned around to look at him. “Yes?”

“Oh, um, well.” His eyes flickered around while he searched for an excuse. Shaking your head, you began to turn back.

“Just let her go, Chanyeol.”

You stopped. Jongdae appeared behind the tall one – apparently named Chanyeol – and looked at you with that irritated expression again. So much for the concern. To add to the surprise, the nosy guy from the student union walked up beside Jongdae and rounded out the trio. His look was softer this time, closer to indifferent than the cold stare from your earlier encounter.

You were suddenly very intimidated. All three boys were of different heights, but all of them were muscular and toned and definitely not the kind to be messed with. There was nothing about their stances that were threatening towards you, in fact Chanyeol was looking more like a neglected puppy with the frown on his face. But something in your gut was screaming that underneath their pretty faces was something very dangerous. It was best to get out of there.

“Have a good night.”

You only made it about five steps before Jongdae called out to you. Reluctantly, you glanced over your shoulder.

“Be careful.” Sincerity was clearly in his words, but you had a hard time swallowing his warning. You already knew to be careful. Who was he to try and act this way now?