“Hey.” A familiar high-pitched voice greeted in a whisper. She honestly expected it when she saw a shadow lurking around just outside their classroom window. The backdoor creaked almost silently. Minjoo wouldn't have been able to hear it if she wasn’t paying much attention.

 

“You’re late again,” she said nonchalantly. As if she was just stating a fact. And indeed, she was. This wasn’t the first time the older girl was late to class.

 

“I know, I know.” Chaewon said, a bit exasperated. A sigh leaving her lips as she shrugs off the sling of her bag, dropping it down next to their desk carefully. The last thing Chaewon needed was their teacher taking notice that she was finally inside their classroom and getting a hefty scolding for being late. Again. 

 

The chair next to Minjoo creaked as Chaewon dragged it slowly. The older girl immediately sits down as she pulls on the chair to move closer to their shared desk.

 

“What did I miss?” The older girl whispered to her again as her body leaned down to the side a bit. She opened her bag and took out a worn out notebook and her good ol’ trusty pen with little butterflies on it as designs. They were a bit faded as Chaewon has used this pen for god knows how long. It still had ink to it even if they were already, at least, two semesters in.

 

Minjoo is quite bewildered to think about it. 

 

Their second semester is nearing its end and they’re academic year is about to wrap up, but Kim Chaewon still manages to be late to almost all of their classes.

 

She suppresses a chuckle at the thought. She still didn’t look at the older girl, opting to look back down on her own notebook to take note of the new formula written down on the whiteboard.

 

“Free-fall motion. You can get my notes later for the formulas he gave us.” Minjoo answered with her eyes still focused at the front. Listening attentively all the while entertaining Chaewon’s question. She heard the girl sigh again.

 

“I’m so tired of physics.” Chaewon mumbled, her tone whiny and small. Minjoo finally tore her eyes away from the board, tilting her head to the older girl with a slight tug at the corners of her lips. 

 

She couldn’t help but find the older girl endearing. Her body slouched with her bottom lip protruding forming a pout. Her brows furrowed and her cheeks puffed. Minjoo bit her bottom lip, an attempt to stop her from smiling widely. 

 

Cute, she thought.

 

Minjoo would like to think that everything about Chaewon was just utterly adorable. 

 

From the way her big brown eyes moved back and forth between her notebook and the whiteboard. Trying to take down notes as she tried her best to make sense of half of the lesson that she missed. 

 

From the way she runs her hand through her windswept hair. An obvious sign that she had run her way here just to make it to class. And an obvious attempt at trying to fix her disheveled hair as it seemed like she just came straight out of her bed. 

 

Her puffed up cheeks and furrowed brows.

 

Her brown worn out notebook and butterfly designed pen.

 

Her messy bangs that were already growing past her eyebrows. Then she huffs, blowing the hair away from her bright brown eyes.

 

Absolutely adorable. 

 

Minjoo inwardly sighed. Her heart felt like it was doing flips inside her chest. 

 

Then Chaewon turned to look at her.

 

And it felt like everything slowed down. Her surroundings became a blur to her eyes as their teacher’s voice suddenly became muffled to her ears. All she could see was the older girl. All she could see was Chaewon.

 

The older girl smiled at her, brightly. And all Minjoo could think about was how pretty her smile was. How pretty Chaewon was with the rays of the sun framing her small physique. Slipping past the window as it shone on Chaewon’s dark brown hair, giving the older girl an unnecessary additional glow to her. She was already glowing on her own, Minjoo didn’t understand why nature decided to make her look even more ethereal than she already is.

 

Everything became more muffled and blurred to Minjoo. The only thing she managed to hear was the loud beating of her heart against her chest. Ringing in her ears as she feared that Chaewon could hear how loud it was beating just by looking at her. But Chaewon’s smile only widened, turning back to her notebook to continue writing down notes. 

 

And everything was suddenly back to normal. Minjoo’s peripheral finally saw her other classmates sitting quietly behind their desks. Finally being able to hear their teacher's obnoxiously loud and piercing voice. 

 

And the obvious breathlessness Minjoo started to feel. Her lips slightly parted as she panted a bit. She felt like she ran a marathon but all she did was just stare at the girl beside her.

 

Minjoo’s dark eyes moved back to look at the other girl’s side profile.

 

Her heart stuttered.

 

She ignored it.

-----

Kim Chaewon was merely just a classmate to Minjoo. A seatmate their homeroom teacher assigned to her for the whole second semester. But Minjoo knows a lot of things that are just so… Chaewon.

 

Chaewon was a year older than her, but is in the same grade as her. Chaewon is actually good at physics, she just hates calculations and problem solving. Chaewon hates math, but she still gets higher grades than Minjoo. Chaewon hates coffee (or anything caffeine in general), but she weirdly obsesses over drinking mountain dew every morning— just like a coffee person would with well, coffee. Chaewon was evidently shorter than her, but Minjoo will still manage to find her in crowds. Chaewon was ridiculously attractive, but she would turn down everyone who would ask her out on a date.

 

Minjoo would like to think that they’re friends. She means, they’re close enough to have Minjoo rambling about random stuff that comes up in her head (It’s quite embarrassing but so far, Chaewon would only give her a chuckle as a response while she lets the girl talk her ear off). Hell, they’re close enough to have inside jokes and text each other every night talking about the most simple and trivial things. 

 

But they’re not close enough to talk to each other physically outside the premises of their classroom. Sure, small grins and smiles are thrown here and there when they pass each other in the halls. But Minjoo kinda wants more.

 

She wants to see more of Chaewon.

 

And honestly, she doesn’t know what to feel about that. What to do with that information. Because every time she starts thinking about it in one of her restless nights, she just gets light headed at the mere thought of Chaewon.

 

Maybe she just wanted to be one of the friends Chaewon would always talk about in their boring economics classes. She always talks about them and Minjoo could just see the glimmer in her eyes whenever she does. It was evident that the older girl loved her friends dearly. 

 

Maybe she wanted to be talked about like that, too.

 

Yeah— Maybe. 

 

“Minjoo?” The older girl called, making Minjoo snap out of her reverie. Minjoo only hummed in response as she quickly tried her best to gather her thoughts together. She always had these moments where she stupidly thinks about things that should only be reserved for late nights. And to make it worse— Chaewon is literally beside her. 

 

“Did you sleep at all last night?” Chaewon asked as she analyzed the girl's facial features. 

 

“Huh?” was all Minjoo managed to splutter out. She lifted her head off her hands that were laying flat on top of each other on her desk. “Oh— yeah— uh.” Minjoo internally curses herself for stuttering too much. “I’m fine.”

 

Chaewon still scrutinized her. Sharp caramel eyes scanning her face for any signs of sleep deprivation. Minjoo can feel her heart get lodged in . Gulping nervously as she concluded that it’s kind of scary to be on the receiving end of Chaewon’s intense stare. 

 

The older girl’s eyes still lingered, much to Minjoo’s dismay. Going back and forth between her face, arms and her whole body itself. Until it finally landed on the younger girl’s dark orbs. 

 

Minjoo instinctively inhaled, her breath hitching. There was something about the older girl’s eyes that somehow managed to pull her in deep. They were sharp and a lighter shade of brown compared to Minjoo’s. A pool of sweet caramel that the younger girl wouldn’t mind diving in.

 

Though, Minjoo couldn’t help but see the worry glimmering inside the older girl’s orbs. Her brows slightly furrowed and her lips pursed. She could notice the slowly tightening grip Chaewon has on her pen.

 

She exhaled, feeling a sense of warmth suddenly surging through her body. With her breathing getting back to normal and the air in her lungs having returned, she only gave her a toothless grin. A smile of reassurance to show the other girl that she was, indeed, fine.

 

Chaewon physically deflated. Her grip loosening on the pen as she tore her eyes away from the girl. “You can sleep here for a while, you know. Semester’s ending— we don’t really have much to do except wait for the last day of school.”

 

“I’ll try to get some sleep in, okay?” Minjoo softly spoke. Propping her left elbow up on their shared desk as she leaned her head into the palm of her hand. The younger girl also moved her eyes away from Chaewon. Looking back down on her opened sketchpad to think of things to draw to pass time. 

 

“Okay.” Chaewon mumbled.

 

Silence soon followed. The two girls did their own thing as they sat quietly. Their classmates were making a ruckus as their classroom was attended by no teacher. Still, the two girls didn’t really pay them any mind as they felt comfortable in each other's presence.

 

Minjoo started circling her pencil around her thumb. Her other hand’s index finger started tapping her cheek absentmindedly. It was puffed up as she was deep in thought. She didn’t quite give attention to how the girl beside her started rummaging through her bag in search of something. The younger girl was starting to consider sleeping when she felt something was being pushed inside her ear. 

 

She immediately turned to look at what the older girl was doing, a tad bit startled. Chaewon didn’t really look back at her as she was too busy scrolling through her phone. A white earbud was placed into her left ear, the wires connected to her phone and— oh, to her. Chaewon pushed a small white earbud in her right ear.

 

Minjoo blinked. She felt like her heart was about to ram out of her ribcage and just display itself on top of their shared desk. Out in the open where their classmates could see. Out in the open where Chaewon could see. All of the feelings she’s so confused about, all of the things she didn’t really want the older girl to know. Everything she promises to stay hidden. 

 

Minjoo took in a deep breath as she tried her best to not seem affected by what Chaewon was doing.

 

“I don’t really know your taste in music but I hope you don’t mind.” Chaewon chuckled. Minjoo noticed a nervous undertone in her sentence as she watched the older girl hit shuffle on her chosen playlist. The first notes of a piano sounded through the small earbud inside Minjoo’s ear. A calming tune as Chaewon went back to writing something down on her worn out notebook. 

 

Minjoo chewed on her bottom lip, swallowing down a smile as she turned her head back to the crisp white paper of her sketchpad. With her heart still in , she lets her hand do the work for this new piece she’s making.

-

“Hey.” Minjoo faintly heard, a slight shake to her shoulders. “Kim Minjoo.” 

 

The said girl slowly lifted her head off the comfort of her crossed arms. Opening her eyes lethargically as she started looking around— a little bit confused in where she currently is. She wasn’t sure if she heard the girl beside her chuckling or it’s just her groggy state of mind hearing things.

 

(But Chaewon did chuckle. An endearing smile painting her lips unbeknownst to Minjoo.)

 

“You fell asleep. Classes are dismissed.” Chaewon said with a gentle voice, almost in a whisper. She didn’t want to startle the other girl as she was still dazed from sleeping. 

 

Minjoo blinked a couple times, occasionally squinting her eyes as she scanned the place. The room was empty; only her and Chaewon were left alone inside. The whiteboard being clean of writings, desks properly aligned as chairs were pushed up against them. Then something finally clicks inside of Minjoo.

 

Oh, yeah right. Classroom. Minjoo’s body physically relaxed as her eyes blinked in a slow manner. Her right hand absentmindedly went up to her face, her fingers lightly scratching her eye sleepily.

 

“We should go home.” Chaewon spoke up again, her voice still soft and careful. Minjoo only nodded her head as she started putting her pens and pencils back in its case. Picking up her bag from the floor, she ped it open. 

 

The two girls cleared their desk in a gentle and comfortable silence. Hands moving around in a slow-paced manner. They both didn’t want to break the calming atmosphere by recklessly cleaning their stuff up. Minjoo was quietly putting her things back in her bag when her eyes brushed over the page opened on her sketchpad. She blinked a bit at the familiar facial feature that she drew.

 

Sharp eyes.

 

Dread slowly filled Minjoo to the brim. Her eyes widening a fraction as she frantically tried to close her sketchpad. She was trying to slip it back in the safety of her backpack when she felt warm fingers brushing over her jaw, just right under her ear. Minjoo slightly flinched at the touch. The skin that the finger lightly trailed on felt like it was burning.

 

“Sorry.” Chaewon apologized as she carefully tugged the earbud off the younger girl’s ear. Minjoo took in a deep breath, a blush started to crawl up from the base of her neck. 

 

God, why does my heart feel like exploding whenever Chaewon is near?

 

“It’s okay.” Minjoo managed to choke out in her flustered state. She immediately picked up her phone from their shared desk. Clumsily opening it as she tried her best to push down the blush on her cheeks. She was terrified of the other girl knowing that she gets super affected with the simple things that she does. Fortunately for her, Chaewon didn’t seem to notice. 

 

Looking at her phone screen, a stream of messages from her best friend—Son Hyejoo—greeted her. The bright white notification contrasted her pitch black lockscreen with white wavy grids. Her eyes moved up a bit to check the time before opening Hyejoo’s messages. 5:37pm.

grumpy teenager: i’m near ur classroom 5:07pm

grumpy teenager: where are u 5:08pm

grumpy teenager: get out 5:08pm

grumpy teenager: or else i’m leaving u 5:09pm

grumpy teenager: istg kim minjoo 5:14pm

grumpy teenager: walk home alone asshat i have work 5:20pm

grumpy teenager: ...okay but like 5:22pm

grumpy teenager: find someone to walk home with 5:22pm

grumpy teenager: i’d wait for u but i rlly have to go 5:23pm

grumpy teenager: ask ur seatmate maybe? 5:24pm

grumpy teenager: text me when u get home, okay? 5:30pm

A grin slowly started to form on her lips. Chuckling a bit, she was amused at her best friend’s poor attempt at acting like she doesn’t care for her wellbeing. Hovering her thumbs over her phone’s keyboard, a realization dawned on her.

 

That left without me!

 

The soft grin was replaced with a frown. Her lips pursed in a thin line as she aggressively typed down a response.

loser: 5:39pm

loser: u left without me! 5:39pm

Minjoo immediately received a reply no longer than a few seconds. She didn’t notice that the girl beside her was watching her with curious eyes.

grumpy teenager: u were taking too long, u ?? 5:39pm

 

loser: u could’ve gone inside the room and woke me up >:( 5:40pm

 

grumpy teenager: that’s social suicide for me i am NOT gonna go inside unknown territory 5:40pm

grumpy teenager: i also didn’t know u were sleeping tf 5:40pm

 

loser: wtf do u mean with ‘unknown territory’ THIS IS A CLASSROOM 5:40pm

 

grumpy teenager: A CLASSROOM THAT’S NOT MINE. 5:40pm

grumpy teenager: U ALSO KNOW I HAVE A JOB AND IT STARTS AT AROUND 6. 5:41pm

 

loser: THE CAFE IS LITERALLY A 5 MINUTE WALK FROM THE BUS STOP 5:41pm

Minjoo continued to bicker with Hyejoo through texts as Chaewon watched with amusement. She has never really seen Minjoo being this… aggressive. 

 

The younger girl’s hands were gripping the small device as she types away with such vigor. Her brows furrowed and her lips slowly jutting out to a frustrated pout. 

 

Chaewon isn’t gonna lie, she found the younger girl adorable like this. It wasn’t usual for the older girl to see her in such a way, making her extremely amused.

 

Minjoo clicked her tongue. Her frown deepened as she was already plotting a revenge against her best friend. Chaewon only chuckled lightheartedly at the girl, a small grin on her lips.

 

“Everything okay?” Chaewon asked, zipping her bag close. She heard the girl beside her huff in annoyance.

 

“Hyejoo left without me,” the younger girl grumbled. Stuffing her things inside her bag with sheer force, a permanent pout formed on her lips. 

 

“Your best friend?” Minjoo only hummed in affirmation. Closing her bag, she ran her hand through her dark hair. Huffing again when the name Son Hyejoo passed by her streaming thoughts. Chaewon’s grin only widened at the sound, shaking her head at the younger girl.

 

“C’mon, you child. I’ll walk you home for today.” Chaewon nonchalantly said, making Minjoo look up at her with surprised eyes.

 

“Huh?” Minjoo sputtered out, confused. The chair beside her creaked loudly as Chaewon stood up, her bag safely secured on her shoulder.

 

“Doesn’t Son like— walks you home?” Chaewon asked, suddenly being reminded of the times Minjoo would ramble about her little adventures with her intimidating friend (Minjoo would like to correct that as Hyejoo is actually a softie at heart). 

 

“You don’t have to, you know.” Minjoo replied instead as she scrambled to get out of her own chair. Swinging her backpack over her shoulder, she pushed their chairs up against their desk. Chaewon was already walking towards the door as she did this. The younger girl hastened her pace to catch up to the other girl.

 

“I don’t mind,” the older girl replied. Her fingers were fidgeting with the sling of her messenger bag as she gave the younger girl a crooked smile. “Besides, we live on the same street.”

 

“Your house is still a hefty walk from mine, Chae,” Minjoo would argue, but Chaewon would only shake her head.

 

“Min,” the older girl called, softly. Minjoo slowly turned her head towards her, a small grin was plastered on Chaewon’s face. The younger girl instinctively gulped at the sight, her grip tightening on the straps of her backpack. “I go home on my own now.” 

 

The downcasted look in Chaewon’s eyes didn’t escape Minjoo. The crooked smile on her lips felt timid and dare she says… sad. 

 

There’s something wrong.

 

Minjoo immediately moved closer to the older girl. But not too close that it will make her feel uncomfortable. That was one of the last things Minjoo wanted the girl to feel. Uncomfortable.

 

“Doesn’t Kang… drive you and Choi home?” Minjoo carefully asked. They were already in the main hallway of their school. The big front doors were already in their line of sight along with rows and rows of lockers. Chaewon’s eyes lowered as she turned away from the younger girl.

 

“Yeah,” she replied with her head hung low. Chaewon watched the way her feet took step after step. Sighing dejectedly, she tucked the strands of brown hair that had fallen on the left side of her face. Minjoo got a clear view of the girl’s sharp jaw and fallen eyes. She could only watch with a worried frown as she felt her heart squeeze painfully inside her chest.

 

“We kind of have gotten into a… misunderstanding.” Chaewon managed to mumble out. She tilted her head up to the front again, finally arriving at the end of the hall. Pushing the door open, she waited for Minjoo to slip pass through before walking out herself. “We all haven’t talked in like two weeks tops. It’s whatever, I guess.”

 

If she was being honest, Minjoo was slightly surprised. Chaewon’s friend group is actually known to be inseparable in, like, their whole school. Everyone attending their high school knows who they are. 

 

Who wouldn’t? Minjoo would think.

 

Chaewon’s friend group consists of kids that are considered to be part of ‘a higher group’ in their school’s social hierarchy. From Lee Chaeyeon being the school’s Dance Team President to Ahn Yujin being the Track and Field Team’s most beloved athlete. If we add in Kang Hyewon being the Photography Club’s prettiest and most talented member and Choi Yena being Lee Chaeyon’s Vice President in the Dance Team— they’re pretty much dubbed as unapproachable. Kim Chaewon being an honor student was just like a cherry on top.

 

Minjoo sometimes couldn’t believe that one of them is someone she considers a close friend to her. That someone is her seatmate and is currently walking side by side with her on their way home.

 

But then again, Minjoo thinks back to the fact that all of them aren’t really that kind of popular kids. They only seem unapproachable but really they’re just a friendly bunch. Minjoo remembers the time when Chaewon said that the way social groups work are stupid.

 

(“It’s dumb.” Chaewon would say with a scoff. “This is high school. Not some sort of popularity contest.”)

 

And maybe that’s why Minjoo finds Chaewon endearing. Maybe that’s why Minjoo still stuck around her because Chaewon was someone that’s just hard to dislike. Maybe that’s why her heart feels like exploding whenever the older girl’s around?

 

Minjoo shakes the thought away. Subconsciously dubbing the odd reaction her body does when Chaewon’s around as endearment. Puffing her cheeks up again, she turned to focus on the girl beside her.

 

“Have you guys talked about it, yet?”

 

The two girls walk on the vast space that is the front of their school building. The walk area was beautifully decorated with a border of flower bushes and a neat stone path. Fields of grass covered the space outside of it as a water fountain adorned the center of the place. It looked pretty nice to be here when the sun is setting. A gorgeous orange glow blanketed the area as the smell of freshly cut grass and flowers filled the two students’ nostrils. 

 

Minjoo thinks it’s quite a privilege to be able to see such scenery. Just the beautiful outdoor design of the school— no students loitering around, no loud chattering of a bustling crowd. It’s just Minjoo and Chaewon. 

 

Minjoo sighs. Liking the idea of walking home at this hour with the older girl.

 

“That’s the thing—” Chaewon politely gave the guard at the gates a smile. Minjoo followed soon after as they walked out of campus. “We all kinda have… pride higher than our school building right there.”

 

Chaewon brought her hand up to her neck. Palm rubbing her nape in slight embarrassment.

 

“That’s gonna be you guys’ downfall.” Minjoo said, matter-of-factly. Chaewon could only laugh at that.

 

“I know,” the older girl agreed. “I’m trying my best to get us all to talk… even if it goes against my belief that they should be the one approaching me first.”

 

Chaewon heard Minjoo click her tongue. The next thing the younger girl does takes her aback. It sends her right hand flying up to her forehead as she tries to soothe it by rubbing her fingers on it gently.

 

“Ow! What was that for?” Minjoo flicked her forehead and it elicited a groan of pain from the older girl.

 

“And that’s how you lose friends,” the younger girl scolded. “You sure do know that when it comes to disagreements, misunderstandings, arguments— or whatever that got you guys to have some sort of problems with each other. It doesn’t matter! You should always talk it out.”

 

Chaewon just narrowed her eyes on the younger girl. She still had her hand rubbing circles on her forehead, a vain attempt at lessening the pain that was inflicted on her. 

 

“If you ever use that logic when we fight— I swear I’m never talking to you again.” Minjoo pouted, her grip on the straps of her backpack slacking. 

 

“How would you know that we will ever fight?” Chaewon questioned. Quickening her pace a bit as she observed that the taller girl walks a bit faster than her. Damn, those long legs.

 

“How would you know that we’ll not?” Minjoo countered. “If you and your friends get into fights— even just occasionally. How much more when it’s us?” 

 

Chaewon only chuckled at the girl’s statement. Her left hand smoothly going up to the top of the younger girl’s backpack. Holding onto the top of it gently as she tried to match the pacing of their steps. 

 

“I can’t imagine having a fight with you, Minjoo-yah,” the older girl whispered. Chaewon adjusted her hand on top of Minjoo’s bag, making sure her hand was light and weightless. She didn’t want to burden the younger girl with added weight being pushed on her back. 

 

“I don't ever wanna have a fight with you…” Chaewon trailed off, earnestly. 

 

Minjoo stared at the sun sinking down the horizon. A swirl of orange hues painted the sky as the last warm heat of spring glossed over her skin. Summer was just around the corner, and the weather was evidently getting hotter and hotter by the minute. But the cool breeze brushing through her face says otherwise. Minjoo took in a deep breath, enjoying the last moments of this year’s spring. 

 

Chaewon turned her head to look at the younger girl. A tranquil look washed over Minjoo’s face. Her lips slightly parted and her eyes closed. 

 

Chaewon was mesmerized. 

 

It wasn’t old news to know that Minjoo is an extremely beautiful girl. Her visuals was something popularly talked about by their student body. How couldn’t they? The moment the younger girl stepped foot in their school, everyone’s jaws just dropped. 

 

With a face like that— who wouldn’t just stop and stare?

 

Even she got Chaewon staring the first time the older girl laid her eyes on her. 

(

It was the first day of school and Chaewon was sitting in the back row. A scowl masking her face as she realized none of her close friends were in the same class as her. She at meeting new people— socializing and whatnot.

 

And without her friends, she’s basically a lost cause. 

 

Crossing her arms over her chest, she tried her best to hide her annoyance from the whole class. Chaewon has already made it a promise to herself that she will just quietly sit at the back of the room, avoid any sort of socializing and just patiently wait for others to approach her.

 

“Hi— uh. Is this seat taken?” But not… this soon.

 

“It’s—” Chaewon paused as she turned to look at the person who asked.

 

And maybe it was a mistake doing that. 

 

Because now she got a pair of fox-like eyes staring back at her. Correction, a pair of pretty fox-like eyes. The color of her orbs were of sweet chocolates, a darker shade of brown compared to her lighter ones. Chaewon continued to gaze as she was slightly taken aback by the pretty girl’s looks. 

 

Pointy nose, high cheekbones, sharp jawline. Long raven locks, fox-like eyes, dark chocolates. 

 

Chaewon had half a mind to think that this girl is actually a model in disguise as her new classmate. 

 

Oh, . Her new classmate.

 

A slightly awkward smile grew on the other girl’s lips as she was slowly getting flustered with Chaewon’s stare. Chaewon blinked. Then she gulped, clearing as she forcibly tore her eyes away from the girl.

 

“It’s not,” she finally replied.

 

“Thanks,” she heard the girl mutter. Chaewon missed the grateful smile the girl gave her as she opted to stare at her hands in embarrassment.

)

Chaewon didn’t really get to talk to her again that day. The seating arrangement their homeroom teacher did for their first semester made it hard for her to do so. She only knew the girl’s name because of the attendance roll call (and because of the fact that Chaewon’s seatmate wouldn’t stop gushing over her when she was already in her assigned seat).

 

Kim Minjoo sat quietly in the second row to the front of the class, while Kim Chaewon was still seated in the back row with a talkative seatmate. 

 

They never really interacted much in their first semester of school. Just a couple of awkward grins thrown at each other's way when they get assigned together in groupworks. 

 

But still, that doesn’t change the fact that Kim Minjoo was a very pretty girl. And that Chaewon was a raging homoual. 

 

Chaewon couldn’t believe that the same Kim Minjoo is on a walk home with her right now. Her left hand lightly gripping on the girl’s backpack and the sun setting beautifully in the horizon. Chaewon couldn’t help but gaze at the girl again, much like their first encounter with one another.

 

The orange glow of the sinking sun washed the younger girl’s whole being. It kissed her tanned skin and made her dark hair shine. Her head was slightly tilted upwards. Chaewon stared at the sharpness of her jaw and the slope of her nose. Eyes closed and lips slightly parted, hands lazily holding onto the straps of her backpack.

 

Minjoo looked breathtaking. And if she could, Chaewon would take a picture of this moment. Indeed, her eyes felt like it did take a picture. Capturing it and keeping it somewhere in the safest place of her heart.

 

Chaewon’s breath hitched at the thought. Sharply inhaling as she, once again, forcibly tore her eyes away from the other girl. Frowning at the way her heart seemed to beat louder and faster for the younger girl.

 

They finally reached the bus stop. They left their previous conversation at that as they sat down on the bench quietly, waiting patiently for the bus to come around. 

 

Chaewon finally took her hand off the younger girl’s bag. Minjoo fidgeted with her fingers on top of her lap as the older girl seemed to shift around beside her. Rummaging through her brown messenger bag as she thought it’d be a good idea to do this again. Pulling out the familiar white earbuds and her cracked phone, she plugged it in. She tapped on Minjoo’s wrist gently with her index finger, lifting her hand up to show the object between her fingers. 

 

Minjoo stared, her heart ringing loudly in her ears.

 

Chaewon only gave her another nervous smile, an earbud already placed in her left ear. Waiting for Minjoo to take the other one with bated breath and a lump in . 

 

Minjoo finally took it, cold fingers lightly grazing on Chaewon’s warm ones. The older girl received a soft smile. Minjoo tucking her hair behind her right ear as she pushed the earbud in. She heard the other girl sigh in relief, scrolling through her phone as she looked for a playlist appropriate for this moment. Hitting shuffle again, Minjoo heard the soothing strums of an electric guitar.

 

The small town the girls live in was still bathed in a gorgeous orange glow. The sun’s rays hitting on the house windows as the day was slowly coming to an end. Teenagers riding their bikes and skateboards occasionally passed by, tired adults trudging their feet on their own walk back home, cars seldomly driving down the streets and a couple of people standing around waiting for the bus to arrive.

 

The sound of a low voice sounded through the small earbud, singing the first lines of the song playing. The girl beside her started humming along with it. That simple action managed to make the younger girl’s hearing muffled to her only. A soft tune playing in her right ear, a soft voice taking place inside her heart.

 

Minjoo didn’t mind spending her walks home like this.

-

Minjoo was up in the early hours of the morning that same night. The whirring of her air conditioning was the only sound made inside her room, occasional rustling of her sheets as she moved around restless on top of her bed.

 

Her phone suddenly vibrated on her bedside table. Brightly lighting up as Minjoo turned back around to look at the device. Pushing herself up a bit, she checked the time with squinted eyes. 3:12am. A flash of continuous messages displayed on her lockscreen. 

chae :D: i know you’re still awake 3:12am

chae :D: i think this will help you sleep tonight 3:12am

chae :D: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/10W78KjdTPH29xTYs3lxrC?si=db1172b3cffa46f8 3:13am

chae :D: goodnight, kim minjoo 3:13am

Minjoo’s breath instinctively hitched, her heart lodging in . Her chest warms up as she continues to stare at the screen. 

 

It wasn’t dramatic, the way she realized this. Not like how people tend to describe it.

 

It was soft and slow— like the cool breeze hitting her face earlier. Like the sun’s heat gently kissing her skin. Like the warm skin brushing against her fingers. Like the constant warm presence of the person on her mind right now.

 

It wasn’t a crazy or an out-of-this-world experience. It was just a gentle and warm realization. Warm enough to make her heart clench tightly inside her chest.

 

Oh. 

 

Minjoo watched the fading light of her phone screen, the darkness of her room returning.

 

I like Kim Chaewon.