Minji looks at the folded piece of paper on her desk, wondering if a classmate had decided to pull a prank on her. That must be it, she convinces herself, and yet she blinks as she lets each letter of her name float just right in front of her eyes, heart almost immediately accelerating the longer she looks at the note someone had purposely left for her.

She knows that someone. Her heart wouldn’t drum into a frenzy inside her chest if she didn’t. Taking a deep breath, she pulls out the chair behind her desk and sits again, right hand reluctantly taking the piece of paper and finally opening it.

Minji, the letter starts. How are you? The handwriting is unmistakably Oh Sehun’s, Minji is sure of it. She has stared long enough at him as he wrote words on the blackboard whenever he is called by the teacher to recite, as their other classmates hurriedly passed his photocopied notes whenever exams were coming up, as she read one of her test papers he himself had corrected -- failing marks and all. She can recognize the way he wrote each character; how each was done so gracefully and precisely you’d mistake it for a woman’s handwriting. Knowing these things isn’t surprising anymore at least to her, for her knowledge when it came to him went beyond the way he wrote things on paper. In the years that she has silently watched him from a distance, Minji already knows Oh Sehun like the back of her hand. To not know a side of him would have been similar to not knowing how to breathe at all.

And yet her mind is blank as she lets her eyes scan the message he has especially written for her. Minji doesn’t know where to start -- surely this is a prank, her mind keeps telling her. Someone in her class must have been talented enough to copy the way he writes, down to the way he uses punctuation marks. Minji is so engrossed with analyzing the letter’s authenticity that she doesn’t notice the scraping sound of the chair being pulled away from the desk right beside her, as well as the other person now occupying the said seat.

“Done reading?” The person beside her asks, his voice so placid that it could have easily blended with the sudden quietness that blanketed the room.

“Not yet --” Minji answers distractedly then stops, a surprised gasp cutting off her would have been dismissive response. Beside her, the mysterious person indulges himself with a smug smile, feeling both happy and relieved that the girl reading the letter has not yet cut the invisible tie that has always bound them together.

Minji glances to her side, if only to discreetly make sure that the person sitting right next to her is the letter sender himself. Her breathing quickens the moment she catches a glimpse of his watch, a rather sophisticated silver time piece she has always felt matched his personality perfectly. Cheeks now almost flaming red, she lets her eyes wander upwards until they finally rest on his angelic face.

“S-s-sehun s-ssi,” Minji stutters, the letter on her hands now completely forgotten.

“Done reading?” Sehun asks again a little impatiently. He tilts his head at the opened note on her now trembling hands, lips frowning a little when he has realized that Minji has barely made it to the third sentence. “You’ve been gawking at it for about ten minutes now, I thought you’ve already read everything.”

She bites her lower lip rather hard as embarrassment settles inside her, feeling stupid for not being able to do simple things like reading a letter under ten minutes. She never really did something right whenever given an opportunity to prove him that she’s not what he thinks she is.

“It’s okay if you haven’t read the entire thing yet,” Sehun softens up the moment he notices the disappointment crossing Minji’s delicate features.  As calm as he appears to be, he is very much frustrated with how he can never seem to say anything right whenever he’s been given the chance to make her enjoy his company. “I’m just feeling a little anxious, that’s all.”

“Why?” Minji asks quietly. “What is this letter all about?”

Her straightforwardness shocks her and leaves Sehun totally lost for words.

What was the letter all about? Sehun knows all the answers, but he doesn’t know where to start.

It’s about falling in love with you, his heart explains, only to be abruptly interrupted by his mind that says,

It’s about me pleading for you to not get over me. The contradiction is halting his ability to speak coherently, so for the sake of enlightening Minji, Sehun tells her bluntly and clearly,

“It’s about you.”

“What about...what about…” The fear in Minji’s voice has become apparent; Sehun realizes that Minji is thinking of something totally opposite to what he has been intending to say. If Minji gives up her feelings for him because of this he knows he would hate himself for the rest of his life.

“I’m not...breaking things off between us.”

Minji’s eyes widen, but nothing slips past her lips. Her sudden quietness makes Sehun’s heart race, and it makes him wish that Minji just read the letter instead of asking questions. Maybe if he had been more patient…

“Your confession,” Sehun begins filling her in on what his stunt is truly all about. He has always been an eloquent speaker as per description of his teachers and peers, but strangely he couldn’t seem to effectively get his message across to the young woman sitting beside him. How hard could this be? He berates himself inside. His anxiety is truly getting the best of him.

“I understand how that bothered you.” Minji tells him, her voice all quiet from shame. Head hanging low she murmurs, “I’m sorry. I will never do that again.”

“Don’t do what?” Sehun questions harshly, causing Minji to further shrink in her seat. Seeing her cowering in fear makes him want to cut his tongue. Running a hand through his hair in frustration, he tries to explain himself to her, more kindly this time. “I didn’t mean to sound like I’m mad at you, Minji.” In a more gentle tone, he asks her again, “Don’t do what, Minji?”

“Confessing?” Minji says, all the while doing her best to avoid Sehun’s intense gaze. It hurt her to be vocal about something she doesn’t want to stop doing, but she feels like she has no choice. Her actions have affected Sehun mostly in a negative way, so it’s best for her to stop...liking him.

She has expected Sehun to agree, but instead a low growl of disapproval is heard on his end.  

“See, that’s why you should have read the letter first,” Sehun scolds her, irate that Minji has gotten his message all wrong. Seriously, why is he so bad at this? Thank God university exam questions does not involve topics related to this oblivious girl beside him, for that would mean him saying goodbye to entering college. His inability to tell her how important she is to him is making him feel embarrassed to be called smart.

“I don’t want you to stop telling me how much you like me.” Sehun has finally opened up, this time deliberately letting his eyes stare straight ahead at the blackboard facing them, scared that he might do something he knows Minji isn’t ready for yet if he continues looking at her. “That’s the last thing I would want to happen. I don’t want you stop thinking about me; it doesn’t matter if you do that when you’re supposed to be studying for an exam or whatever, I don’t really care because I can tutor you if needed anyway. I do want you to stop thinking that you have no chance of being with me, though. I want you to stop thinking of liking other guys, because the thought of you doing so absolutely disgusts me -- not because you have no right to do that, but because I can’t see you liking anyone but me. You contemplating on getting over me; please, perish the thought. I want you stop entertaining ideas related to me not liking you back, because I wouldn’t be saying all these things to you if that thing is impossible.” Cheeks already as flushed as hers, he whispers, “I really, really like you, Minji. Maybe more than you’ll ever know. I don’t even know what I’d do with myself if the day you confess to someone else comes. That’s the purpose of that letter in your hands. To tell you not to get over me.”

“That’s…” Minji’s voice sounds like she is on the verge of crying, and it makes Sehun want to cover his ears. He doesn’t know why, but he can’t help but think that Minji has indeed forgotten her feelings for him.

“...that’s never going to happen.”

Sehun turns sharply to look at her. “What is never going to happen?”

“Me confessing to someone else.” Minji says bravely, her lips forming a pretty smile for him. “I can never do that. Even when you tell me to stop.”

“But I won’t stop you.” Slowly, the tension on Sehun’s face disappears as his features relax enough to return her smile. “Keep liking me. Only me, okay?”

“Only you.” Minji repeats fervently. It’s not like there has been another one besides him anyway.

“Really?” Sehun asks, not even bothering to conceal the eagerness in his voice anymore. “But what about that guy you were talking to in the hallway a few days ago?” He knows the guy he was talking about pretty much lost to him, but he still wants to know where that young man stands just to be sure.

“Oh, you mean the one who carried my books for me?” Minji laughs, surprised that Sehun had seen that. She didn’t expect him to watch her from afar, just like how she did with him for the past three years. “That’s my cousin. I can’t believe…” She tries to finish her sentence but bursts into a fit of giggles instead. “And even if he weren’t, he’s not the kind of guy I would date.”

“Good,” Sehun says, relieved but embarrassed for overreacting. “Because I would be carrying your books from now on.”

“Will you walk me home, too?”

“Yes,” Sehun confirms, happy to see a genuine smile from Minji again. “And I will tutor you, buy you ice cream when you’re down and…”

“...write you letters. The kind where I just write long essays detailing how much I love you.”

The list of promises makes Minji sigh in contentment. “That sounds good.”

“Of course,” Sehun says simply, his hand reaching out to hold hers. “That’s what boyfriends do, right?”