Wonyoung extracted the synthesised polymer into a syringe for further characterisation. She was in a state where she was focused on the sample and not the professor watching over her shoulder, so her hands were steady as she set the sample into the slide and pinched it shut.

She had been working on this study for a while as a research assistant. They were developing a Continuous Flow Reactor for the Efficient Synthesis of Bio-based Polymers, which was perfectly apt because Wonyoung was in the final year of her Chemical Engineering Ph.D., and this work was exactly what her dissertation was about— Continuous Flow Synthesis of Bio-based Polymers: Reactor Design, Process Optimization, and Sustainability Assessment .

Wonyoung set the slide beneath the microscope, adjusting the clamps so the sample was centred. 

Yujin’s melodic voice reached her ears as she reached beside Wonyoung, their arms brushing as she turned the magnification dial. “10x isn’t enough, try 50.”

On her own, Wonyoung would’ve seen it blurry and realised afterward that she needed to adjust the magnification, since that wasn’t on the forefront of her mind. That's just one thing that shows the experience difference between them. Yujin thought about everything all the time and Wonyoung had to hyper-focus not to make silly mistakes.

“Oh, yeah.” Her voice was meeker than a whisper. “Thanks.” The lab was silent as her cheeks dusted pink. It was just the two of them.

Wonyoung had this… secret. When she told her friends, none of them were really surprised she had the biggest crush on her professor. It was obvious in how differently Wonyoung acted and how often she tried to see her. 

“Mhm,” Yujin hummed. “You're doing well.” She was smart and pretty—and very helpful, and patient. Oh, and she had the best smile. And her voice was like honey. 

Wonyoung’s blush deepened as she shifted the slide to observe further, and she couldn’t focus as she wondered if Yujin could tell what she was thinking. They were almost done with the whole thing, almost done with Wonyoung dropping by every day after her office hours to work on this with her. But Wonyoung didn’t want it to be done. As shy as she was, she enjoyed being around Dr. Ahn.

She reached to look into the magnifier, hand slightly quivering, which she thought wasn’t noticeable until she heard Yujin’s voice again. She always sounded like honey. Sometimes when Yujin would be saying important things, Wonyoung caught herself not understanding the words because she was so focused on hearing it. 

“Why are you still so nervous?” Yujin put her hand over hers, which immediately made her freeze up. “You should feel more comfortable by now... Is it something I said?”

Wonyoung’s cheeks only became a deeper shade of scarlet, the colour spreading to her ears and chest before she pulled her hand out from under her professor’s. Meeting Yujin’s beautiful, brown eyes did nothing to help. Yujin was so mature and smart and kind . And despite how she was a relatively new professor, Yujin was excellent at her job. It was as if she had taught people her whole life. She made things easy to understand and made every one of Wonyoung’s little flustered mistakes seem perfectly all-right.

It was their last day in the lab. Wonyoung was on her own for the assessment and analysis portion, since they were both meant to draw their own conclusions before discussing anything. After she characterised the final polymer, which was already in the microscope, they would clean up and see each other only a few more times, just to exchange papers. Then they would barely or never meet again, because Wonyoung would finish her PhD and Yujin would teach other people. The thought made Wonyoung chest tighten.

So was there something Yujin said to make her nervous? Two answers: Yes, everything ; and No, nothing specific. 

“No… it’s…” It was strange how Wonyoung took all of Yujin’s classes, seminars, and workshops, and had even assisted on plenty of research, but was still painfully shy around her. Maybe suspicious is the better word for it. Yujin should be suspicious , but also why would she be? “It’s… it’s just—it’s me.”

“Is it?” Yujin’s eyes left Wonyoung to look somewhere else on her face, seemingly at her increasingly reddening ears. Unable to bear it, Wonyoung covered the bottom part of her face with her hand, making sure not to touch her skin directly as Yujin pressed her for more. “Are you sure?”

Wonyoung could only nod. Yujin’s brow furrowed adorably. If Yujin was the type to give up easily she wouldn’t make such a good teacher. “Are you ok though? You’re getting red. Did you get some on your hands or—“”

“I’m fine.”

“It’s ok. If you’re not feeling well I can clean up.” 

“I’m fine.” 

“You don’t look very fine , Wonyoung.” Yujin gave her a knowing look—but not too knowing—and stepped closer, reaching out to touch her forehead. Wonyoung took a step back, bumping into the counter, flustered beyond what she had ever felt before “I’m… did I do something?”

Wonyoung wasn’t usually the type to be so bold, but it really was the last time she and Yujin would earnestly meet. Plus, the guilty look on Yujin’s face was unacceptable. She’d been nothing but amazing since forever. 

“No.” She shook her head. Her heart was echoing in her ears, which made it hard to hear her own voice as she whispered, “I like you.”

The furrow in Yujin’s brow went away. “You… like me?” She said it like she heard wrong, but the way the corner of her lip curled in obvious humour made Wonyoung look away, step to the side, and bury her burned face into her hands. What was she thinking telling her that? She clearly wasn’t.

 

Yujin watched as Wonyoung turned and hid away. Cute . Wonyoung was cute.

“It’s ok. Don’t be embarrassed.” It was highly amusing how Wonyoung was getting a rosier red by the second. This was the last thing Yujin expected Wonyoung to feel for her. While Wonyoung wasn’t the first student with a crush on her, she was the first one who was actually somewhat Yujin’s type—at least who confessed.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry.” Yujin chuckled. “I don’t mind.” 

Wonyoung was frozen in the same position, seemingly unable to face her after the confession. Yujin wasn’t sure what more to say to get her to keep working. “Let’s finish characterising this.” Yujin reached out to put a hand on her shoulder but pulled back, realising that she actually did that quite often, but never noticed Wonyoung act any weirder than normal, just because Wonyoung was always so shy and stiff.

Wonyoung only managed an ever-timid, “Ok,” before turning and looking into the lens, her focus returning for a moment to note the crystalline nature of the protein.

If Yujin had to choose someone who was as genuinely fascinated by this subject as herself, it was Wonyoung. Wonyoung, who took all her classes and extra things she taught—and every chance to be a Research Assistant. Turned out the girl was interested in more than just the subject of chemistry, so Yujin wondered how much of it was that and how much was genuine. Yet it didn’t make her bitter. 

“Ok, I’m done,” Wonyoung said, and Yujin reached to look into it and adjusted the slide slightly before attaching the DSLR adapter and snapping a photo. 

Yujin couldn’t manage to wipe the flattered smile away. “Ok.” Yujin went to the computer to upload the photos, her attention shifting every once in a while to how Wonyoung seemed to be in a hurry as she began to take apart the tubes and collect all the slides in the lab area.

Yujin chanced a single glance after she saved the photos onto Wonyoung’s drive, and she caught Wonyoung darting her eyes away. Ok, yes, again, Wonyoung was very cute. Yujin was her teacher but wouldn’t be in a week, and Wonyoung was on the final leg of her thesis anyway, so she didn’t feel wrong acknowledging that. 

She unplugged the USB and took it in her palm, approaching the lab again. “Here.” She extended it to Wonyoung, who reached out for it. Yujin pulled it back at the last second, hoping that it would get Wonyoung to look into her eyes instead of everywhere else. It worked. Yujin pinched the USB between her fingers. “Is this all you need?” 

“I—yes,” she stuttered, looking away and back for the nth time. 

“You sure?” 

Wonyoung nodded. Yujin smiled and stepped closer with a tired sigh. She was unsure whether Wonyoung was playing dumb, rejecting the advance, or genuinely didn’t see what she was trying to insinuate. 

Usually Yujin didn’t like shy girls, but Wonyoung was very pretty, and she actually knew Wonyoung wasn’t all that shy. It was only when Yujin would walk over and ask how her and her lab-mate were doing that she would go silent and start fidgeting. One time she saw the student in the grass slapping her friend on the shoulder as well, laughing about something she said. Yujin held a belief that no one is ever shy once you get to know them. After being confessed to, the demurity made sense. Yujin would be lying if she said wasn’t attracted. 

“Ok.” Yujin handed her the drive and took a blue pen out of Wonyoung’s pocket, stepping even closer and grabbing her wrist. “Well, if you have any questions, you should call me.” Her voice dropped lower. She wrote ten digits down on the back of Wonyoung’s hand, clicked the pen off, and slid it back into her pocket with a smile. It was her personal number and not the one anyone could access online.

Wonyoung looked at her with shock in her eyes. “Questions…?”

“Questions.” Yujin nodded once. Wonyoung looked down at the numbers as if she wasn’t sure where she was anymore. Yujin huffed a laugh at the haze she seemed to be in and lifted two beakers, that previously held reagents from the table, pinching them together to carry them. “I’ll clean up.”

“I… I should help, it’s my… thing ,” Wonyoung managed, each word having a harder time escaping until the last where she spat it out with a little gesture to everything around them. She seemed allergic to Yujin’s eyes by this point. 

“I don’t want you dropping anything, since you seem nervous.” Yujin stared at her for a moment, enjoying the extra inch she had on the student because of her heels, though she was sure it was adding unnecessary intimidation. Wonyoung fidgeted with her hands for a moment before freezing, looking down at her hand—checking if she smudged the number. Yujin’s smile grew. “It’s ok, Wonyoung. I don’t mind doing things for you.” Ok, so maybe Yujin was laying it on a little thick, but Wonyoung practically wasn’t her student anymore, anyway. She wouldn’t be in due time.

“Thank you.” Instead of looking afraid, Wonyoung smiled, albeit still shyly. But she seemed to get the hint.

“Mhm,” Yujin hummed, smile turning to a smirk. “You’re always welcome, Wonyoung .”