Idol(s): Nam Woo Hyun of INFINITE

Genre: Fluff, Romance

Inspiration: I was at the library and while walking around during a break, I randomly started looking through the huge dictionary that sits on a podium. I noticed a red "Not For Circulation" sticker on the binding and it inspired this fluff one shot, just in time for Valentine's Day too.

Synopsis: Woo Hyun tries to woo a nerdy student working at the library.

Individual Story Link: Not For Circulation

Note: This story may contain some Korean terms. If so, their definitions are provided (to the best of my knowledge) when they first appear. You can hover over the hyperlink for a definition if you’re on a desktop computer or click on the link to be directed to a Glossary of Korean Terms if you’re on other devices.

~//~

It was the first day of spring semester and Nam Woo Hyun arrived on his university's campus with his usual confident attitude and dazzling smile ready to captivate the girls. Woo Hyun was familiar with the effect he had on the female population, causing them to swoon and stare whenever he passed, and rather than humbling himself or acting shy, he embraced his popularity with arms wide open. He felt it his duty to grace the world with his charm and beauty.

But what many people did not know was that behind his pretty face, Woo Hyun was a bookworm. He loved reading and spent hours in the library where he would reward himself with a book he had been looking forward to reading once he finished his homework.

After three straight classes, Woo Hyun had a break which he planned to spend at the university library until his next class. He arrived in front of the large, brick, three-story building just as another female student did. Like the gentleman he was, Woo Hyun opened the door and flashed a smile as he gestured for her to enter before him. She thanked him with a shy smile and Woo Hyun did not fail to notice that her cheeks turned a slight shade of pink, which only boosted his ego.

The great thing about the first day was that Woo Hyun didn't have any homework, which allowed him to casually stroll through the aisles of the latest arrivals and build a small stack of books that sparked his interest in his arms. As was habit, he decided to check them out before actually starting to read.

Woo Hyun arrived at the front desk where a student he had never seen before sat hunched over a very large novel which she looked to be halfway through. He cleared his throat to get her attention.

The student looked up. She had long, straight, black hair (a personal preference of Woo Hyun's), pale skin from staying indoors too much, and big, black-rimmed glasses that sat slightly crooked on her small, short nose. She was sort of attractive, Woo Hyun thought, in an oddly cute and geeky way. She blinked, blank-faced, at him.

Woo Hyun put on his charming smile, "I'm ready to check out." He slid his stack across the counter to her with his library card on top.

She didn't answer, but immediately began scanning his card followed by his books into the computer system.

"That's a hefty-sized book you're reading," he said in attempt to make conversation. "How long did it take for you to get that far?"

"Three hours," she answered with her focus kept on checking out.

"Wow, you're a fast reader," Woo Hyun commented. Her eyes remained downcast while she grabbed a book from the stack on her left, scanned it, and then placed it in a new stack on her right. Woo Hyun glanced to the side where a plastic nameplate stated the student worker's name, "Ma Joon Hee," he read aloud and then returned his gaze back on her to find her finally staring back. His pleasant smile returned, glad that he was finally able to get her attention.

"You can't check this book out," she dryly stated while holding up the book, an English-Korean dictionary.

"Why not?"

Joon Hee turned the book on its bottom and pointed to a red stamp on the side of its pages that read, "Not For Circulation". "This means this book can't leave the library. As a general rule, you can't check out most of the reference books."

"Oh, well then I guess I'm not getting it," he shrugged indifferently.

Joon Hee set aside the book and printed out a receipt which listed the books he had checked out with their due dates. She slid it forward with his books and library card and then returned to reading without a second glance at him.

Woo Hyun stared confusedly at her. He had never had a problem making conversation with girls, but this one, she couldn't care less that he had been trying to flirt with her. "Is that a good book?" That was the only reason he could conjure up for her apathy towards him. Sometimes he found that the fictitious world of a book could be so enthralling that he became closed off to everything happening around him in the real world.

Again, Joon Hee kept her eyes on the task at hand, in this case, on the crisp, white pages in front of her. "Not particularly."

Her answer stumped him. "Why are you reading it then?"

She sighed tiredly as she flipped a page, "It's a best-seller with a lot of acclaim so I thought I'd read it, but I don't see what's so great about it. The plot is cliché, the characters are frustratingly confusing, and the writing is sub-par. I've read better fan fiction by amateurs."

Woo Hyun raised a brow with a sly smile. He placed his elbow on the desk and rested his chin on the fist of his propped up arm. "You read fan fiction?"

Joon Hee's eyes lifted up from her book. Woo Hyun finally had her attention.

"I never would have pegged you as the type, but like they say, 'never judge a book by its cover', right? I bet you read that rated stuff too, don't you?" Woo Hyun asked with a suggestive smirk. He noticed her swallow saliva and her cheeks flame red and knew he had hit the mark.

"Th-that was an accident," Joon Hee defensively stuttered while trying to remain calm, though her rapidly blinking eyes did nothing to help with the façade. "I didn't know when I clicked on it that it would contain…" she cleared , "and then when it did come up, I was already invested in the plot that I had no choice but to read it so I could find out how the story ends," she finished in one breath.

Woo Hyun giggled at her serious attempt to explain herself. "It's okay, there's nothing wrong with it. You're definitely old enough to be reading anything you want."

"I didn't want to read it, I swear!" Joon Hee stubbornly maintained.

Woo Hyun chuckled again. Most girls that didn't know him well stuttered or said embarrassing things because of his presence, but Joon Hee was just awkward all by herself. He thought it endearing and he wished to get to know her better. Unfortunately that would have to wait. Behind him, there was a small line of students waiting to check out. Not only that, glancing at the clock behind her, Woo Hyun realized he didn't have much time left to get to his next class.

He grabbed his stack of books and flashed a smile at Joon Hee, "See you later," he said with a wink. She frowned in response, a first for him, but rather than deterring him, it only made him anticipate their next meeting more.

***

The worst part about taking so many Literature classes was the countless papers Woo Hyun had to write. He didn't mind all the reading, usually, but analyzing everything, from the symbolism, the overlying themes, the connections to the author's own life, the topics were endless.

In the midst of a ten page paper, Woo Hyun decided he needed a break. He stood up from his seat and stretched his arms and neck. He thought this would be a good opportunity to seek out Joon Hee. However, she wasn't at the checkout desk, though he recalled seeing her when he entered the library. Did her shift already end?

Then out of the corner of his eye, Woo Hyun spotted Joon Hee in one of the aisles with a book cart, putting back returned books on the shelf. He smiled to himself and made his way towards her.

"Boo," Woo Hyun said in her ear.

Joon Hee let out a small yelp and dropped the book in her hand. Woo Hyun giggled and picked it up for her. She scrunched her nose in displeasure, "Oh, it's you." Joon Hee snatched the book from him, "Can I help you with something?"

"Yes, entertain me," Woo Hyun playfully demanded.

"Sorry?"

Woo Hyun leaned against the shelf with one hand and smiled, "I'm taking a break from writing my paper and I need entertainment."

Joon Hee pursed her lips and Woo Hyun thought she would retort with a sassy remark about her job not entailing the provision of amusement for the bored student, but to his surprise, she scanned the titles on the cart and picked out a worn, paperback book and handed it to him, "Here, this should keep you amused for a while."

Woo Hyun read the title, "The Survival Challenge, what's this?"

"It's a book where you're the main character and you choose what happens when faced with different situations and the point is to pick the path that allows you to survive, basically like a game in book format. It should keep you amused for a while. Did you need anything else? I sort of have to get back to putting these away," she said as she placed her hands on the cart handle to push it to her next location.

"No, continue what you were doing." Woo Hyun held up the book, "I'll try this out. Thanks for the suggestion."

Joon Hee gave him a small nod and started pushing the cart away.

"My name is Woo Hyun," he suddenly said to her retreating back. She looked over her shoulder at him. "Nam Woo Hyun, in case you were wondering."

"I wasn't," Joon Hee bluntly answered, which hurt Woo Hyun just a little. "I already knew your name."

"You did?" he asked with a growing smile. It looked like she was finally taking interest in him.

"Yeah, I checked out for you and I remember your name from your library card," she explained.

Woo Hyun's smile fell slightly; so Joon Hee hadn't looked into him. Still, at least she did remember his name and was able to associate his face with it. He'd just have to be a little more persistent for her to really take of notice him.

***

The following day, Woo Hyun was again at the library during his break. This time though, he headed straight for the checkout desk where Joon Hee sat, taking notes from a textbook. He slammed the book she had recommended onto her notebook to get her attention, making her jump and her glasses fall down her nose.

Joon Hee pushed her glasses up and huffed, "Do you like startling me or something?"

"You suggested this book to me," Woo Hyun began like an unsatisfied customer, "I asked for you to entertain me, not pull me into a black hole."

"What are you talking about?"

Woo Hyun sighed annoyingly and leaned in as he pointed under his eye, "Do you see these bags under my eyes? They're from pulling an all-nighter. And it's all your fault."

Joon Hee crossed her arms defensively and frowned, "Why is it my fault?"

Woo Hyun held up The Survival Challenge. "I was at this for hours, trying to figure out which path didn't lead to me dying. I tried dozens of times before I gave up and searched for the ending where you live and tried to go backwards from it to figure out the right answer. Only when I had done that did I remember I still had a ten-page paper due the next day which I spent all night on to finish. So thanks for that," he sarcastically said.

Joon Hee’s lips twitched until she couldn’t hold back and she snorted into a laugh which she tried to muffle with her hand. Woo Hyun gave her a strange look. This was hardly the reaction he had been expecting, though he did realize that this was the first time he'd seen Joon Hee actually look happy.

"Sorry, I didn't think you'd get so into it," she said with a lingering smile, "but if it helps, I did the same when I couldn't figure it out. It turns out you can't actually the poison out from a snake bite like in the movies."

Woo Hyun began to mimic her smile. She had a very refreshing and nice smile, he thought to himself. "Yeah, and you can't drink water from a cactus."

"It's amazing how much you think you know is actually wrong, isn't it?"

This sparked a long conversation between the two about survival myths they had always thought true but found to be false, and even life-threatening, after reading this book.

"Hey, so since you suggested a book to me, how about I suggest one to you?" Woo Hyun said once they had reached the end of their topic. He opened his backpack and pulled out a large hardcover novel. "I recently got into this series, and it kind of has the same theme of survival as the book you suggested."

Joon Hee took one glance at the cover title and gasped, "You read Planet Nowhere too?" she asked with stars in her eyes, like she had just found her soul mate. "I love this series but no one else has ever heard of it."

Just like that, they were engrossed in another long conversation revolving around their favorite characters and what they liked and disliked about their new mutual interest.

With the help of books, Woo Hyun and Joon Hee naturally grew closer over the following weeks, giving each other suggestions and discussing them afterwards while she worked at the checkout desk or in the aisles putting away books. With all the time they spent talking about a hobby they both enjoyed, it was no surprise that Woo Hyun started to like her more and more. And if his knowledge of girls and their behaviors when they liked a guy (more importantly, their behaviors when they liked him) was as accurate as he thought, then he was sure Joon Hee felt the same about him. From the way she bit her lip to hold back a grin from overtaking her face when their arms would brush against each other, to the way she made small changes in her appearance, like wearing headbands and lip gloss, Woo Hyun knew the signs well.

Thus, a couple days before Valentine's Day, Woo Hyun approached Joon Hee in one of the aisles where she was busy putting away books. By a habit which had developed since the first time he found her in the aisles, he put his hands on her shoulders and said, "boo", and like all the times prior, Joon Hee was still startled by him.

"When are you going to stop doing that?" she whined.

Woo Hyun cheekily grinned, "When you stop being scared." Joon Hee rolled her eyes and sighed. "So, I have a book for you." He reached into the front pocket of his backpack for a small, red book which fit in the palm of his hands.

"The Book of Answers? What's that?" Joon Hee asked, reading the gold-lettered title.

"You've never heard of it? It's exactly what it says in the title. It's a book which will answer any question you have about life, like a Magic 8 Ball but in book format, and it's actually very accurate. Watch," Woo Hyun began to demonstrate by placing one hand on top and explaining, "First you ask your question," he cleared his throat and spoke to the book, "Valentine's Day is only two days away. Will I get to spend it with a girl?" He lifted his hand from the cover, "Then you open the book to the page that calls to you." He ran his thumb along the edges, flipped it open, and read the single line answer, "You will not be disappointed”. Woo Hyun grinned, "See?"

Joon Hee stared at the page with slightly open in awe. "Yeah," she answered while slowly nodding her head.

"I'll try another question." Woo Hyun closed the book and again placed his hand on top. However, this time he kept his eyes on Joon Hee when he asked his question, "There's a girl I have in mind that I want to spend it with, someone I've been getting to know for the past few weeks. Will it be her?" He flipped the book open and the page read, "Bet on it".

From the way Joon Hee stared wide-eyed back at him, Woo Hyun knew she got the message. He smiled to himself and held the small book out to her. "Here, it's already checked out in my name, but you can borrow it for a while." He picked up his backpack from the floor and slung it over his shoulder. "I have class to get to now, so I'll see you later."

Woo Hyun grinned broadly on his way out the library. His plan worked just as he had practiced it.

***

The campus was buzzing in high spirits on Valentine's Day. Couples more openly displayed their affection, some with unique and outrageous couple looks, and buildings were covered with red and pink flyers and posters advertising Valentine's Day events that were taking place throughout the day.

Like all the other students around him, Woo Hyun was in high spirits that day. He was on his way to the library to see Joon Hee, when he ran into a close friend just exiting the building. She was a classmate of his, and admitted to having a small crush on him when they first met, thought it quickly went away after she got to know him. Now, she gagged at his cheesy displays towards the female population.

After quickly catching up with one another, she explained that she was on her way to meet someone and bade Woo Hyun farewell. And just to annoy her, Woo Hyun deliberately made big hearts with his arms and repeatedly threw them her way. She cringed and hid her face behind her palm while quickening her pace.

With a chuckle, Woo Hyun opened the glass door of the library and entered. Just as he stepped into the lobby, he noticed a girl had dropped her things and was on the floor picking up all the scattered papers and books.

"Let me help with that," Woo Hyun graciously offered.

The student thanked him with the typical shy smile that appeared whenever he was present.

"No problem. And Happy Valentine's Day," he replied with a wink before making his way to the checkout desk in front.

Joon Hee was there, as usual, with a large stack of new books that she was entering into the computer system. However, she looked surprisingly disconcerted and upset. She also wasn't wearing a headband and her lips weren't glossy.

"Hey," Woo Hyun said with his chipper smile.

Joon Hee replied with a curt "hi" before returning to her task.

Woo Hyun cocked his head in confusion but shook the feeling that he was the cause of her sour attitude. He rested his arms on the desk and leaned down, "So, did you have fun with The Book of Answers?"

Joon Hee pulled out the book from under the front desk and slid it towards him. "No, I didn't like it."

"What?" Woo Hyun demanded in shock. "Why not? What's not to like about a book that gives you real answers?"

Joon Hee scoffed. "Real answers? They're not real answers. If they were, you wouldn't be able to check out the book." She picked up a nearby "Not For Circulation" stamp, "If it gave real answers, it would be a reference book and have this stamped on it."

Woo Hyun frowned at her snappy tone. "Did I do something wrong?"

Joon Hee turned The Book of Answers on its side to show the edges of the pages and pointed to two very tiny indentations. She opened the book at the marks and revealed how they happened to land on the same pages that Woo Hyun had landed on before: "You won't be disappointed" and "Bet on it". Woo Hyun guiltily gulped. He was caught.

"Did you think you could fool me like all the other girls?" Joon Hee demanded.

"No!" Woo Hyun immediately denied. "Wait, all the other girls?"

Joon Hee's angry exterior faltered and Woo Hyun saw the hurt in her eyes, "I saw you making hearts to that girl just outside the library and then you winked to another girl just a few minutes ago. I thought I was different." She blinked her eyes rapidly to hide her pain and returned to her hard glare, "But I see that I'm just like all the rest. You just had to try a little harder with me. Well guess what, I'm not falling for your tricks. You might treat other girls like, like…" she furrowed her brows in panic trying to think of a good analogy without losing her fire, "well like library books that you can check out when it interests you and return when you're done with them, but I'm not a library book," she declared.

Woo Hyun should have been offended that Joon Hee thought so lowly of him, but instead he was grinning like a fool.

Joon Hee found this very unsettling after her serious diatribe. "Why are you smiling like that?"

"Just, the fact that you're so upset because of how I well treat other girls, it means you're jealous, and you can only be jealous if you really like me," Woo Hyun happily pointed out. Joon Hee's eyes widened, obviously taken aback at the reversal of now being in the hot seat.

"I -- I -- Fine, I admit I did like you, but not anymore," Joon Hee stammered unconvincingly.

Woo Hyun placed his elbows on the counter and rested his chin atop his palms. "I don't think that's the case," he taunted her with an impish smile. "You still like me."

Joon Hee narrowed her eyes at him and pushed her glasses up her nose in an "I mean business manner". "Whether that's the case or not, it doesn't matter because like I said, I'm not like the other girls who fall at your feet just from your smile."

"But I don't see you like other girls," Woo Hyun admitted. "I'm sorry if you felt like I was playing around with you, but that's not the case at all. I really like you and I don't see you as a library book." To make his point clear, he grabbed the stamp on the desk and pressed it on to Joon Hee's cheek so that "Not For Circulation" was now stamped on her in red letters. "There, now you're not someone I can just check out when I want."

As cheesy as it was, Joon Hee still smiled at his declaration. And then realizing that she had a library stamp on her cheek, furiously tried to rub it off, to no avail. "Great, now I'm going to look like an idiot walking around with this."

In response, Woo Hyun stamped himself on his cheek. "That's okay, we'll look like idiots together. It'll be our couple look. It's actually fitting for us if you think about it. We're no longer on the market."

The two laughed at how ridiculous the other looked and how ridiculous they would look to passerby. But that was the nice thing about Valentine's Day, it gave a free pass for couples to display their love and affection in crazy ways without being considered foolish.

~//~

Credits: 1) The Survival Challenge is a fictional book inspired by the children's series, Choose Your Own Adventure by Edward Packard & R. A. Montgomery 2) Planet Nowhere is a fictional series from the American TV Show The Middle 3) The Book of Answers is a real book by Carol Bolt

February 14, 2014, 12:06 AM