When I saw her for the first time, immediate excitement was replaced by immediate disappointment. Because just by one look, I knew that she was already taken. She was everything a guy would ever want in his girlfriend. Who wouldn't want her?

       I guess the rest of the guys in the room weren't logical enough to realize she probably had a boyfriend, because all of their faces lit up when she walked in the room asking for a math tutor. The teacher at the front smiled at the girl reassuringly. She turned toward me, calling my name nicely.

       "Jiyong? Sandara here needs a math tutor. Do you have time to help her?" Instantly, the faces of the men in this room all fell. I stood up in my seat, ignoring the glares of jealousy they were all giving me. It's not my fault the teacher picked me to be her tutor.

       "Yes, I have time. When are the sessions scheduled for?" Even I was surprised at how steady my voice was. I mean, we're talking about tutoring the prettiest girl I've ever seen in my life. Shouldn't I be shaking and stuttering and making a complete fool out of myself?

       "I'll let you two decide that later today. Sandara said she'll meet you outside the school library when school ends. Is that okay?" The teacher raised her eyebrow at me. I almost laughed out loud at my good fortune. But instead, I tried hard to remain calm, so as not to freak her out. She already has a boyfriend, anyway. I shouldn't be considering this good fortune.

       "That's fine." I nodded slightly before turning to the beautiful girl and flashing a kind smile. She sincerely smiled back, and I swear I've never seen anything as beautiful as her smiling face. I watched her as she quietly thanked the math teacher and walked out of the classroom, closing the door behind her. The males filling the room all sighed dreamily before returning to the lesson the teacher quickly went back to teaching.

       I don't think you can blame me for smiling like an idiot for the rest of the school day.

       After the longest school day ever was over, I quickly ran to my locker and stuffed all of my history books with the rest of my belongings. Swiftly, I pulled out my math book and carelessly slammed my locker closed before skipping off to the school library. I smiled widely when I saw her standing by the library doors, her left side facing me. She was gazing off into space, and I couldn't help but stop and just stare at her for a little bit. Before I could actually register any of her beauty in my head, however, I saw her turn toward me and wave excitedly. I snapped out of my trance and waved back, quickly making my way toward her.

       "Uh...hey. I'm Kwon Jiyong," I timidly greeted when I arrived in front of her.

       "Hi! I'm Sandara! Call me Dara. Nice to meet you." She smiled brightly, temporarily blinding me with her beauty.

       I smiled boyishly before replying, "Let's go in, shall we? It's a little crowded here." She nodded and we entered the library together. I casually picked a table to sit at, and she smiled at me again before sitting down and pulling out her math book. I noticed she was in the math class below mine.

       "So...do you have anything specific you need help on?" I asked, observing her notes.

       "Actually..."

       And that's how our tutoring sessions began.

       I don't think I realized that she wasn't just a crush until I thought I didn't have a sliver of a chance with her.

       We had decided to have the tutoring sessions Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. We were two months into the school year, six weeks into the tutoring, when I saw her hugging another man. It was a Thursday, and I walked out of the classroom to be greeted by a sight that was unreasonably heartbreaking. I had no right to feel jealous, but I did. I knew from the beginning that she had a boyfriend, but I was still selfishly angry that she could so casually run up to this guy, hug him, get in his car, and drive off with probably the brightest smile I've ever seen.

       I like to think that we were pretty good friends by then. The tutoring sessions were pretty casual, and I honestly don't believe she actually needed tutoring. She had most of the content down pretty well. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, because it gave us more time to talk about ourselves instead of math. But once I saw her laughing and being so happy with another man, I realized that I might've wanted to be more than friends. But what can I do? She was taken. I was just a good friend, or maybe not even that. Maybe I was just that one math tutor.

       But curiosity got the best of me, and I asked her who the guy was the day after, on Friday. I made it look and sound casual, but inside my heart was pounding and I was hanging on to that little speck of hope.

       "So...who's the lucky guy that picked you up yesterday? Your boyfriend?"

       "The guy that picked me up yesterday? You saw that?" She looked at me, raising her eyebrow in amusement.

       "Uh...I just kind of...passed by...?" I replied hesitantly, shrugging my shoulders.

       She chuckled. "Chill out. I don't have a boyfriend. He's my younger brother, Sanghyun. He came back from studying abroad. I haven't seen him in almost a year, and he surprised me by picking me up from school." She smiled to herself, suddenly getting caught in her own world. My heart leaped in joy when I heard that he wasn't her boyfriend.

       Suddenly, my world stopped as everything else she said clicked in my head. Did she just say she didn't have a boyfriend? I smiled from ear to ear, springing up from my chair. She jumped slightly, surprised at my sudden action. I yelled in joy, but immediately shut up when the librarian shot me a deadly glare.

       Embarrassed, I slowly sat back down and Dara's math book became the most interesting thing in the world.

       "Uh, Ji? Are you okay? What just happened?" She waved her hand in front of my face, a worried expression taking over her beautiful features.

       "Huh? Oh, nothing. I just realized something extremely exciting," I quickly explained, dismissing it with a wave of my hand. I couldn't confess to her yet. We had only known each other for six weeks! But I knew that by the end of the year, I would make her mine.

       Being her innocent and oblivious self, she just giggled at me before returning to her math book.

       After that amazing day, I started to realize even more how amazing this girl was. She was nice, innocent, smart, pretty, and considerate. Where has she been all my life?

       We began to act more as a couple, without actually admitting it. I would pull her by her hand into the library each day, and she would gladly follow me in. I would lean closer in when I needed to look at her notes, and I swear she started messing up problems on purpose so I would scoot my chair closer to hers and try to find her mistake.

       I actually ended up spending a lot of the tutoring sessions just watching her try to figure out a purposely-challenging problem. I loved the way she read the problem with such eager eyes. I loved the way her eyebrows furrowed when she realized she couldn't understand the problem. I loved the way her eyes would light up again when she figured out how to solve it. I loved the way she would studiously solve the problem on her graph paper. But most of all, I loved the way she hugged me when she finally solved the problem correctly.

       Time passed in a blur. Before I knew it, I had already spent almost the entire school year tutoring the girl of my dreams. Today is our last tutoring session, and I am determined to make her mine.

       The entire session had passed like any other tutoring session we've had before. But now, it's the end of the session, and I really don't know how you end something like this.

       "Well, that's it for today!" I say like I say every time we're finished. However, unlike every time we're finished, this time the atmosphere instantly becomes awkward. Very, very awkward.

       We both stand up from our seats, looking anywhere but at each other. Finally, she breaks the silence.

       "Is this the end?" she quietly asks, looking at the ground, her fingers fiddling with each other. Is this the end? I can't let this be the end, can I? I love her. I have to tell her right now.

       I smile and put my hand under her chin, lifting her face up so I can look her in the eyes. I gather up all of my courage before blurting out, "Will you be my girlfriend?!" Her face lights up, her eyes shining with a mix of disbelief, excitement, happiness, and something I never noticed until now. Love.

       This isn't the end. This is only the beginning.

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