Eight

 

Luhan watched intently at Eunji's sleeping face. She had the side of her face planted onto her book, facing Luhan. He found himself smiling as he stared at her, her sleeping face so unlike her usual scowl or poker face. Her expression was serene and calm and he could hear the sound of her steady breaths. He didn't want to wake her up yet, but the clock was ticking and it was almost the end of the school day.

 

He carefully leaned over and tapped Eunji gently on the shoulder. She stirred for a moment, before she became still once again. Luhan sighed and poked her cheek continuously, amazed at how plushy it felt. Eunji's eyes snapped open at the strange feeling. He quickly pulled away, acting as if he was still focused on his work. She slowly brought herself upright, her eyes barely open.   "Mm? What time is it?" she asked groggily, eyeing Luhan since she was pretty sure she felt someone poking her cheek.   Luhan chuckled. "You've been asleep for half an hour already. We've got five more minutes till the bell."   Eunji nodded slowly as she rubbed her eyes. "Sorry....." she muttered. "I shouldn't have fallen asleep."   Luhan thought of an idea and grinned. "Well, I've been working my off all this time and all you've been doing is sleeping." He pretended to be disappointed and discontent.   Eunji furrowed her eyebrows. "What are you trying to say?" she asked.   "I'm saying that you owe me," Luhan said cheekily. "We were supposed to work together but you fell asleep."   Eunji scoffed. "Excuse me? Owe you what?" Eunji tried to seem menacing, but she could barely keep her body upright, let alone her eyes open.   Luhan pouted and puffed his cheeks. Eunji groaned. "Okay, fine. What do you want?"   The boy immediately found his smile back. "So. Tell me."   "About?"   "Why you're always so sleepy. I'm your partner, I deserve to know. I let you sleep in peace instead of waking you up and forcing you to do work. This is the least you can do to repay me for my kindness and consideration."   Eunji rolled her eyes and mentally debated whether to tell him or not. In the end she concluded that she could tell him, just not all the details.   "I'm poor," she said bluntly.   Luhan raised an eyebrow. "You're... poor? How poor?"   "Hmmm, really poor?" Eunji was starting to get uncomfortable.   "So you work a lot? Is that why you're always sleeping?" Luhan asked, concern creeping onto his face.   "Yeah, I guess you could say that," Eunji said.   "How long?"   Eunji paused and thought for a moment. And in that convenient moment, the bell rang and the librarian told them to pack up. Luhan was still sitting, waiting for his answer. Eunji ignored him, hoping that it would make him forget his question and just pack up. She gathered her books and pencils, but Luhan was still barely moving, still looking up at her. She sighed.   "You don't need to know. Okay?" Eunji sighed. "Now hurry up or else the librarian will get angry."   Luhan looked down at the table and said nothing as he began to pack his own things. His eyebrows were still slightly furrowed and he seemed much more gloomier than a few minutes ago. Eunji noticed and bit her lip in frustration.   "You don't need to worry about me