winter was slowly starting to wear out, fade into the recesses of the streets in seoul and allow the warmth of spring to seep in the way the sun rays seep into the window of joohyun's bedroom, tickle her eyelids open - a signal to a brand new season, a brand new day, a brand new semester.

same , just semester, joohyun likes to think.

nonetheless, she isn't one to rebel against convention so she washes up and heads to school. along the pathway she treads, and the same thoughts stir in her head like the coffee she mindlessly whirls her spoon in before she drinks in one gulp and leaves her home.

am i too nerdy or too weird or too hipster or or or - she thinks, stops in her tracks and stares down at her shoes upwards, wonders if her outfit is on point. but she doesn't know for sure, because she's herself, her own opinion, and even if she thinks she looks ok, there might be a thousand others who think otherwise.

it doesn't matter, she tries to convince herself, because she has friends, enough for her to call at 3 in the morning to know that this doesn't bother her - not having friends in her major is something she should shrug off like dust on her shoulders. once the lesson ends, she could jolly well rush out and find the friends worth making and having and forget how the 3 hour seminar she just had was intolerable, nauseating, with her major acquaintances socialising with one another, gushing over classics and pouring immense disdain over lousy films remade from the very same classics. she asks herself several times in her head as her eyes glance about the class why she just couldn't fit in. she thinks it's because she divides her life into balanced sections - not too much time on classics so she can spend equal time on her friends, on baking, on tv, on learning how to play an instrument... while her coursemates dedicate their lives to interpreting every book deemed a literary work of art. she wonders she wonders if her lack of love (maybe not lack per se, just not enough love) for her course itself repelled her from making friends, or she simply could not click with people in her couse (how could she talk to someone daily about a book? there was so much more to life than that). maybe she would never know, and maybe she would make it through 4 years of her course in perfect solitude, and live to tell a tale.

---

the cycle is a vicious one, and joohyun finds a corner (yes a corner) in the circle of chairs and slumps in her seat, alone, 20 minutes early for class. she whips out her laptop, begins to surf the net while listening to her headphones. she finds a talented cover of a song she likes, puts it on repeat and listens to it as she scrolls past twitter mindlessly. at the corner of her eye she sees a girl step in, the door closing behind her and she sits a few seats away from joohyun. (whatever, it's not like she really cares, anyway.) she tries not to pay attention to the girl, but knows from previous classes that the girl is decent, decent, pretty looking, and very, very intelligent. her mind suddenly slips back to one of their past lessons and she remembers how the girl analysed a poem so expertly she's very certain if the girl ever bothered to, she would perhaps have a psychoanalysis of joohyun at the back of her hand. it sends a slight, just a slight, tingle down her spine, that a stranger could see through her skin and bones so simply. but she shakes her head, almost giggles at such a ridiculous thought and resumes mindless scrolling. she senses a presence beside her, and goes to the youtube tab, clicks pause, removes her headphones and turns to see a girl decked in a black snapback, cropped pink sleeved shirt and tight shorts towering over her.

she tries not to shiver blatantly in anticipation, or drool, whichever comes first.

"yeah?"

"do you mind if i place my stuff behind you? there's no space at my seat, and well, you're at a corner so there's some space to you know - "

"y-yeah sure," she cuts her off quickly, not really because she's rude, but more of how she hasn't been talking and doesn't talk to anyone in her course, more so if it's someone so well-versed in her field and pretty (yes, pretty is a good quality to consider too). and yet here she is, some unbeknownst fate granted by god to be here, alone with miss pretty and intelligent.

the girl inches past her, touching joohyun slightly as she squeezes past the chair and joohyun's eye trail over where the girl has been. 

she notices what the girl is holding and she tilts her head, pondering.

percussion casing?

the girl suddenly swerves back, facing joohyun and joohyun tries not to look to obvious, resumes looking at her laptop. the girl inches back to her seat. by then other classmates have started streaming in and she plays with her laptop awhile longer before the professor steps in.

she closes her tab one by one. twitter, facebook, evan chapman - percussion cover of your hand in mine

---

3 hours of discussion is not easy feat, and 1.5 hours through joohyun begins to feel a throbbing ache settle in her brain and all she wants is more coffee and maybe a dash of intelligence so she can participate more in class, stop letting her classmates have the upperhand in the discussion which may then compromise her grades. unfortunately today's lesson hasn't been on her side, nothing coherent stirred in her mind for her to discuss in class and she was left speechless as she absorbed the perceptive statements from her fellow classmates (and the pretty girl, nonetheless). the professor calls for a break, and she rises up to head to the restroom to wash her face.

she's walking to the restroom when she hears extra footsteps, not in sync with hers - they're hurried, like they're running. and joohyun turns her head slightly to see the pretty girl running, running after her.

her eyes dart nervously to her sides as she remains rooted to the ground. the girl catches up to her.

"you didn't say anything earlier on"

joohyun wonders if there was anyone else who realized that she hadn't spoken a word in class today. she crosses her fingers, and hopes with all her heart that there wasn't, and that the pretty girl wasn't just perceptive, but observant.

again, joohyun likes to hope that the girl's observation skills were selective.

joohyun clears her throats, reminds herself this is real life, not some fairytale where things go her way, and she looks up to the girl, tries to be friendly, tries to be smooth but thinks she doesn't quite make it.

"ha ha, well maybe you should stop stalking me."

the girl smirks a little and they both head over to the restroom to rejuvenate themselves.

---

when they're out, joohyun blindly follows the girl, her rational side tells her to be proud and independent but her want for a fellow major friend and potential interaction with a soon-to-be crush send all rational thoughts down the drain. they stand outside the class. joohyun fiddles with her fingers and the girl looks too relaxed. joohyun wonders why the girl is talking to her, when inside the classroom she probably has half the class as her friends.

"i'm seungwan" i know.

"joohyun"

"that's a pretty name. so... why didn't you say anything in class today?"

"i just couldn't think of anything smart to say"

"i get it, sometimes i get that too." really, now?

joohyun doesn't quite know how to reply. they are basking under the sun, the rays of the sun playing with the ends of her hair, joohyun spots the ends a little light and presumes seungwan has dipdyed her hair before.

"you're quiet"

"maybe"

"i don't think you're always quiet, at least, not in your mind."

in the heat of the sun, joohyun shivers a little and feels a chill go down her spine. seungwan hasn't even spoken more than 10 sentences and joohyun feels like she's close to being stripped bare and splayed out like a classic written by seungwan herself.

"i couldn't be."

seungwan steps a little closer, her fingers teasingly close to joohyun's, and it gives a very false impression that seungwan was actually going to hold her hand. even so, she feels static in the space between their fingers and the electricity courses through her veins.

it's nauseating, she thinks. first she is nauseated by bring lonely, but now it's otherwise, and she's starting to feel confused.

seungwan leans over, just as the clock ticks, 1 minute left to their break.

"it's not always easy to appreciate instrumental music, and that's why i would like to know more about what's going on in that head of yours."

joohyun feels her breath tickle her ear, a little of her neck and she has to clench her fingers to stop shivering. but her mind is in a whirl, and whirls her back to when she closed the music tab before class started.

by then, seungwan was well out of sight. she returns to the classroom, sees seungwan glance over, a smile tugging her lips up and joohyun tries hard not to swoon.

the next 1.5 hours pass in a blur - her eyes mostly concentrated on seungwan (when she isn't looking back at her, of course), her lips pursed as she tries to concentrate on what she is supposed to be focusing on, and her ears... her ears are a jukebox that only plays your hand in mine, over and over again.

---

a/n: this could be an inspiration to a multishot. i'm not too sure, i procrastinate (too much) with my school work & i don't like to keep you waiting... so let me know your thoughts & i might get back to it when i'm free. LOL.

sorry for any typos! too sleepy, & thanks for all your comments! i will reply them asap <3