Summer time; a time where students take refuge in bright sunny days, away from the distress of schoolwork and tight policies—a time where malls are flooded while hallways were nothing but abandoned. But in that particular sunny morning, the sound of uneasy footsteps could be heard, pacing faster and faster, the sound reverberating in echoes amidst that quiet hall. Kim Jieun, a girl with dark chocolate brown hair and milky white skin ran in a complete fuss, her hair messily scattering in whip-like lines as she gasped for air with every second. She ran and ran until she reached the front of the library, jamming both of her hands against the wooden double door and screaming out her bombastic entrance.

“I made it!” she yelled in relief, extending her hands out and dramatically kneeling as if she had won a marathon. “Ms. Lee, I made it, right?”

Ms. Lee simply chuckled, “Barely.”

Ms. Lee was the head librarian who is in her mid-thirties. She has short yet vibrant black hair that fit perfectly well with her chic, relaxed attitude. She looked very fresh and loved comfort, simplicity, and neatness. Jieun took a liking to her as she had this gentle charm that diverted from the norm once in a while. Today, she had on a loose knitted cardigan outside a moss green shirt, and a long skirt the dropped past her knees.

While Jieun was still panting to recover, she asked, “Are you sure you don’t want to spend summer like the other kids? It could get pretty boring here, y’know.”

Jieun was quick to shake her head and enthusiastically responded, “No, Ms. Lee; I love it here! I get to read books all I want and have some peace and quiet.”

Ms. Lee raised a brow. “And also because you get paid?”

Jieun heartily laughed, “Yeah, and that.”

Ms. Lee fixed a couple of files and placed them in a drawer. “Well, there’s nothing really to say aside from ‘welcome to your first day on the job.’ You know what to do, man the desk like how you used to when there were still boisterous students around.”

“Got it,” she responded.

“Oh, and one more thing, please arrange the borrower’s cards alphabetically by surname; please separate and arrange the ones that are overdue as well,” Ms. Lee ordered politely. “If you need me, I will just be on one of the tables contacting suppliers. We need to update the selection in the library.”

“Sure thing, Ms. Lee!”

Jieun went over to sit and immediately arranged the borrower’s cards. Since she was used to doing that task, it only took her around five minutes to arrange the stack, and as she finished, she heard the sound of what seemed to be nachos being eaten loudly.

“What is that sound?” she asked herself aloud.

“It’s me,” said a low voice.

She turned around to see that it was Kyungsoo standing casually sporting his red hair and a black hoodie. He was a classmate she found very, very annoying because of all his crazy antics with his group of friends.

Her face showed genuine disgust the moment she saw him. “You’re not allowed to eat nachos here. Get out.”

“Hey!” He whined and stuffed a nacho into his mouth. “You can’t just send me out.”

“And why is that so?”

“I work here—“

“Say what?!”

Uncovering his ears from the loudness of her voice, he then said, “Look, I don’t like this as much as you do.”

Hearing the ruckus, Ms. Lee approached them and explained Kyungsoo’s situation.

“Kyungsoo over here broke school property—the fire alarm to be exact and because of that, he is now going to be an intern as punishment.”

“Being beside her is already punishment enough,” he sighed as he rolled his eyes.

“Don’t worry, I reciprocate the feeling,” she agreed with a scowl.

“Shut it, you two,” Ms. Lee sternly ordered. “Jieun, do your work. Kyungsoo, please mop the floor and scrub the windows. I want this place to be hospitable and clean, got it?”

“Got it,” they said in unison.

Off they went to work quietly throughout the entire morning. Jieun just sat on the desk and read, attending to some who would borrow and return their books while Kyungsoo was become more and more exhausted as he cleaned the place. He didn’t look or act like it, but he was a perfectionist and made sure that every nook and cranny was spotless. Neither one of them spoke to each other until lunch time that Jieun finally said a complaint.

“Hey, can you stop making the smell of your food clog the room up?” she complained.

“Hey, can you stop being jealous of my pasta?” he retorted. “Besides, you’re just jealous that it beats your measly little sandwich over there.”

Annoyed, she walked over to him, sandwich in hand. “My sandwich satisfies me, thank you.”

“Really now?” He raised a brow and scoffed. “You couldn’t keep your eyes off my food from the moment you smelled it.”

She couldn’t help but admit. “Your mom really outdid herself; she must be a great cook.”

To that, he smiled widely and said, “I bought it.”

“Oh.”

Just like that, a moment of awkward silence happened between the two. Unable to handle the tight air, she simply remarked, “You have an overdue book; please return it ASAP.”

And then she left swiftly, but as she was going back to her spot on the counter, an endearingly handsome guy passed by her. It was as if time had gone into super slow motion for those few seconds that they had crossed each other. The guy had nice brown hair and a unique sense of style; he stood coolly, and was gentle yet chic. She immediately turned back to look at him as he walk past her, looking at his backside that emitted a kind of charisma.

On the other hand, Kyungsoo was eyeing on the guy with a different kind of feel. His face showed much inquisition and so much judgment as well.

Jieun returned to her post and watched the cool stranger with every action he did. She watched him grab a book from the Classics section and read it with much immersion. With every page he flipped, it implied that he had fully digested the information and spread it through his system. He sat alone, quietly indulging in that little paperback. For three hours, he read and read. And for three hours, Jieun was mesmerized.

Finally, the stranger stood up and grabbed another book but this time, wanted to borrow it. As he approached the counter, Jieun’s heart beat faster and faster. She began to question whether she was making a stupid-looking face or not although the moment he reached the counter, she couldn’t help but smile and blush.

“Excuse me,” he said in a low, husky voice. “I’d like to borrow this.”

With big doll eyes, she looked up at him and asked, “Have you signed the borrower’s card?”

He simply nodded. She squealed inside.

She went straight ahead to her task, recording everything and then finally handing the book over to him.

“Please return this in two weeks. Thank you.”

He lifted the book and nodded at her. “Sure, no problem.”

She watched him leave and daydreamed about how she’d be confessed to by him, how they’d hold hands in the middle of a summer day. Thoughts like these made her smile and feel at ease.

Kyungsoo barged in. “Hey!”

“Yah!” she yelled in surprise.

“Gotcha,” he laughed, proud of his effortless success. “Look who has a cute little crush.”

“Was I that obvious?”

“Hell yeah.” He nodded in utmost agreement. “The way you look at him like he’s the only thing in your world, how you just ooze yourself with everything he does. Heck! You even giggle a bit whenever he’d simply change his sitting position. What is wrong with you, woman?!”

“There’s nothing wrong with me; that is what women do!” she spat. “And besides, if you call me stalker-ish, why were you so keen on my actions?”

“To tease you when he leaves,” he said. “Now that he left, I can say whatever I want.”

“You’re so pathetic.”

“Well, look who’s talking,” he said, irritated by her comment. “Why do you like him anyway? He’s so boring—so quiet and just there. You don’t even know his name for crying out loud!”

It was then that she smirked. “Yes, I do.” She lifted up the borrower’s card he signed; it said, written in exquisitely unique handwriting, “Kris Wu.”

“Kris Wu? So, the handsome Kris Wu just wooed you.” He laughed at his own pun. “Get it? Wooed you?”

She bloated her cheeks. “Don’t you dare make fun of Kris!”

This time, he wanted to make fun of her as he spotted some important information.

“Kris is a college student,” he stated monotonously.

“What?!”

“Read the friggin’ borrower’s card, woman!”

She looked at the card to see that it was indeed true that Kris was a college student and went to the same school as her brother at that. Upon finding this out, she was overjoyed. The possibilities were endless.

“It’s a small world after all!” she yelled. “I can connive with my brother to gather info about him.”

“A stalker in the making,” he sighed in dumbfoundedness.

She slapped his shoulder. “You shut up!”

“No, you shut up!”

“No, you two shut up,” entered Ms. Lee calmly yet sternly. “It’s already 3 PM; you can go. Thank you for all your efforts.”

“Thank you for bearing with us,” Jieun replied with a bow.

“Us?” Kyungsoo’s eye whites flashed as his eyes grew big in disbelief. “I cleaned my off; moping the floor, wiping windows—I even arranged the chairs and made the sure the books were in order. And what did you do, huh? You just sat there and stared at Mr. Kris Wu over there.”

“A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do, Kyungsoo.”

He leaned sideward to direct his ear at her. “And that is?”

“To admire someone.”

He scoffed. “You’re funny.”

“What—“

“See ya!”

Before she could argue more, Kyungsoo had already walked past her, waving as he exited the door with his hand tucked casually in his pocket. In the end, she had no choice but to dismiss the topic with his leaving. Kris was still stuck in her mind though; he was all she could think about from the moment she left the library right until she went home. Everything she did reminded her of him, and her thoughts were filled with fluffy romance. Everything seemed brighter, everything seemed more peaceful for her.

A sudden discovery of a crush can affect a girl’s heart so much; it gives her bliss because she gets to live the life of the idealistic character she wishes to be. She wishes to see him, she wants to talk to him, but for now, at this moment, she just wanting to fill her innocent thoughts of him. But the underlying question regarding her sudden liking to this stranger is: Do first impressions really last?

Hello! So finally the first chapter is out and it's pretty much a basic introduction of the main three characters in the poster. Sadly, not much romance here for now, just some crazy antics here and there.

I also just wanna say thank you for being the early bird subscribers in this story. :)

Thank you for reading and I hope you guys enjoyed it~! :D