I didn’t go there for the educational reasons, though. Ever since I was a little boy, I was incessantly bullied by the bigger kids because of my funny-sounding giggle and excessively feminine face. The library, to make a long story short, was where nobody could hurt me.

So I went inside and looked around for a bit.

I immediately noticed that the library was divided not only in structure but also in people. All of the more outgoing people were at the large tables discussing compositions or whatever outgoing musicians talk about. Some of the more hardworking ones were studying in their own study blocks. I noticed some students browsing for textbooks, some listening to CDs with the library headphones, and some lined up in front of the librarian desk to check something out. Occasionally, I would spot a student just idling by, doing nothing in particular with a book in front of them.

Rolling my eyes a little bit, I concluded that I was part of the last group.

Shrugging, I grabbed a random book lying around and settled down in the most secluded corner of the library. I was sitting on a pillow with my back against the wall, half of me hidden behind a book shelf.

Once I made sure that nobody was around (don’t ask; it’s just a paranoid habit), I looked at the cover and immediately smiled: Music and Monstrous Imaginings*. Hmm, well, that sounds interesting.

“Have you ever wondered about how the Dies Irae death toll was first formed? Have you ever wondered about the origins of dwarfs and werewolves and vampires? Have you ever wondered why composers like to incorporate ual allusions in their music?”

“No, no, and no,” I whispered out loud, giggling mischievously.

“Why Jaejoong, I didn’t expect to see you here!”

Yunho’s voice startled me so much that I jumped onto my feet like I was struck by lightening and knocked over a stack of books.

I gasped and bent down again to retrieve the flying pages scattered around the shelf. “I’m so sorry, Professor Jung! You caught me completely by surprise! I-I’ll clean this up!”

“Quite alright, quite alright,” he answered as he bent down to help me put things back into place.

I tensed as his hand reached under my abdomen to retrieve a book, and my fingers shook violently as I placed each book back onto the shelf. The fact that I could smell his subtle yet seductive cologne did not help the burning sensation in between my legs, either.

His head was inches mere from mine, and I could see his details of his face clearly. Yunho had perfectly shaped dark brown hair with eyes of the same color. I also noticed that he had a scar on his forehead, one underneath his eye, and one on his neck.

‘Ugh,’ I thought to myself, wincing a little bit. ‘That must have really hurt.’

Yunho looked up at me and our eyes met for a brief moment, sending an electric shock throughout my body.

“You were wondering where I got the scars, weren’t you?”

I gasped a little bit before looking down in shame. “I-I’m so sorry; that was very rude of me. I won’t do it again.”

“Jaejoong, you apologize too much,” Yunho said in a serious voice (but then again, he always said things seriously). “You did nothing wrong.”

Not knowing how to reply, I just kept my head down.

Yunho smiled. “I got this one [he pointed to the scar on his cheek] when I was two years old; I fell off a roof. This one [he pointed to his neck] was the souvenir I got from a surgery on my voice box. And this one on my forehead [he chuckled a little bit]: I was reaching for a book when the whole bookshelf fell on me.”

“And you actually LIVED through all of that?!?!” I exclaimed incredulously.

“Trust me, I have been in more than one hundred life-or-death experiences.”

“There’s MORE?!?!”

“You have no idea. I almost died drinking something that was poisoned with superglue. I vomited up blood and had to be rushed to the hospital.”

I stared at my piano professor in awe and fright.

“Judging from your face, you have not been as accident-prone as I was when I was younger. There is not a blemish in sight.”

I felt my face flush as he studied my features, and I almost died when he my cheek with the back of his hand. “N-No, I suppose not, sir,” I managed to breathe out.

My professor chuckled. “Remember, Jaejoong, you must grow out of the habit of calling me ‘Sir’, ‘Mr. Jung’, or ‘Professor Jung’. It makes me feel old.”

“You don’t look old at all,” I said shyly. ‘Unlike me.’

Yunho messed up my hair playfully and smiled. “You are very sweet.”

I blushed at those words while attempting to put my hair back into place.

“Oh, by the way,” Yunho looked as if he had just had a revelation, “Do you have any time this Friday?”

“Yah, I’m free all day. Why?”

“I am leaving Korea on Saturday and I want you to have a lesson before that.”

‘Yunho? Leaving Korea? Since when?’ I gulped. “Why are you leaving?”

“I am a professor at two conservatories,” he explained. “This one here in South Korea, and another in Japan. I have to alternate between the two all the time.”

I realized that I was shivering and I was sure that it was not because of the cold. “So when are you c-coming back?”

“In a month or so.”

A MONTH!?!? “Really? That long?”

“What?” Yunho smirked. “Are you going to miss me, Jaejoongie?”

“Yes!” I blurted out before I could stop myself. I covered my mouth in surprise. ‘That did not come out right,’ I thought, feeling my face turn an embarrassing shade of bright red. And wait, did he just call me Jaejoongie?

Yunho just laughed, deepening my blush. “A month passes fast, Jaejoongie. Trust me.”

I blinked.

“Well, how’s Friday at 2:00 p.m.?”

“Y-Yah! That sounds g-great!” I stammered, still unrecovered from my embarrassing outburst. “Friday at 2:00 p.m. sounds great!”

Smiling, Yunho messed up my tuft of hair again and stood up. “See you then!”

He turned around, but after taking a few steps, he looked back with a glint in his eye. “I liked that book, too,” he pointed at the Music and Monstrous Imaginings book that was lying on my left. “If you really want something funny, try P.D.Q. Bach.”

I smiled slightly. “I read that one already.”

Yunho smiled. “Good.”

And with that, he walked away from me and out of the library.

I watched the library door long after Yunho’s back disappeared behind it and noticed that I was panting hard. ‘Damn it, Jaejoong, what is WRONG with you!?!’ Then I realized something. Friday was… tomorrow.

PANIC!!!

I clumsily grabbed my bag and scampered out of the library, paying no heed to the cantankerous librarian’s scolds for me to walk properly.

‘, , , I need to practice, oh !!!’

I ran past the classrooms, dashed through the hallways, and jumped down the stairs as if there was a serial killer behind me. I felt like those nervous white lab mice that had to maneuver themselves through difficult mazes, thinking ‘Find the food, finish the maze, find the food, eat!’

But then, I had a feeling that it was not the lesson that panicked me.

*Music and monstrous imaginings is actually a music course at Cornell University.

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I made a poster for fun, but it's temporary since I already requested one somewhere else. I was never goo at making posters lol.

Please comment and let me know if I made any grammar mistakes or something stupid like that LOL.

Have a nice day!

Tomorrow is my birthday =) I'll be turning 15!!! *throws confetti*