[CONTENTID1]

forty-three: the smuggle

[/CONTENTID1][CONTENTID2]

[“I like being with you.”]

[/CONTENTID2][CONTENTID3]

”Oh, this is a disaster,” Juyeon moaned, rubbing at the bones near her eye sockets with the palm of her hands. “This presentation is awful.”

”I think it’s fine,” D.O said quietly, tapping his pen lightly on the papers spread out around them.

”No. D.O, no, it’s .” She smacked her hand impatiently onto the pages. “Look at this! Our introduction is sloppy, our conclusion is nonexistent, and I can’t find a way to organize our information in a way that would transition smoothly from one topic to another!”

One corner of D.O’s lips quirked up. “Dear, oh dear. What a travesty.”

She gave him a half-hearted glare. “Don’t tease, you’re not Kai or Baekhyun, for god’s sakes.”

”Look, think of the positives,” he said. “We got all our information sorted out with two and a half months to go. That’s gotta be a High Class record. All we need to do is organize it and then plan out a presentation. We have plenty of time.”

”That’s encouraging. I guess.” Juyeon rested her head against the smooth, cold table. “I just want to do well, y’know?”

”Do you really feel like you need to prove yourself?” D.O’s voice was soft. “You already have. You’re top in our class and hardly anyone even cares you’re a normal anymore. They’re even starting to like you.”

Just thinking about that made Juyeon feel giddy inside. She closed her eyes and smiled happily. “Did you know that Amber from our class invited me to one of our dorm parties yesterday?”

”Really?” She heard something shift, and had a feeling that D.O was looking at her. Something in his voice sounded like he was smiling. “Did you say yes?”

”I told her I was very happy she invited me, but I had an appointment with you. Which is why I’m here and not at the dorm right now.”

”We could have rescheduled.”

”Nah, it’s fine. I like being with you.”

Almost as soon as the words left , she realized the implication of them, and felt embarrassment crawl up her neck and cheeks. She turned her head to the other side, facing away from him, and kept her eyes tightly closed, biting her lip and mentally hitting herself. She hoped D.O would let it slide.

Instead, D.O said behind her, “You like being with me? Is that true?” His voice sounded almost breathless.

”No ― yes ― I-I mean, it is,” she stuttered out. “I like being with Exo more than anyone else.”

When there was a few seconds of silence, she hastily added over her shoulder, “Except for Sumi! I like hanging out with Sumi way, way more than you, okay?”

There was another few seconds of silence, and Juyeon began to panic. Did she insult D.O or give him the wrong idea? Or was it the right idea? She didn’t know ― she was growing confused by her own emotions ― she didn’t know what to think ―

Very slowly and softly, a warm hand pressed against the top of her head.

Juyeon’s eyes flew open, but she didn’t dare turn around. She felt like she had stopped breathing, then realized she did.

The hand stayed there, almost resting, and didn’t move. Was D.O going to say something? Juyeon both wanted and didn’t want him to, and now she was getting confused again.

”Next time,” D.O said, his normally quiet voice now so soft it was practically a whisper, “you can go to the party. We’ll always have time to hang out together later.”

Juyeon bit her lip and stayed as still as possible, heart hammering in her chest, despite the fact that her neck and back was starting to hurt.

”I like being with you, too.”

His hand added more pressure, just slightly, before he pulled away completely. Juyeon counted to ten (then did it another time just so she was extra ready) before she sat up straight, cheeks flaming red and hair slightly messy.

D.O was looking away, but she could see a smile at the corner of his lips. She struggled to make her brain work again.

”Uh,” was the only thing she managed to say. She blushed even harder and tried again. “I, um, think we should go over the best points again.”

D.O said nothing, but he was still smiling, and Juyeon fancied that he leaned a little bit closer to her for the rest of their time together.

Juyeon was still wrapped deeply in the mystery surrounding Park Suji and (according to Taehyuk’s riddle) the relationship between Sumi and Sehun. However, a sudden influx of tests and pop quizzes in all classes (which everyone, even Juyeon, agreed was totally unfair because they only just got back from break) forced the matter out of her head to make room for equations and dates and facts.

It wasn’t until January was rolling to an end and February was turning its head to greet them did Juyeon finally have the time and e