~The Second Heartbeat~
Hwang Ga Eul

When I arrived at class, I was slightly cranky and exasperated. I figured it might’ve been the sleep deprivation getting to me and causing my pessimism. With a typical honours student smile plastered onto my face, I entered the classroom, trying to keep myself as presentable as possible. As an honours student, it was really important for me to maintain a clean and proper image. For several years, I was careful to hold my tongue around anybody who wasn’t Namjoon or Yoongi and kept my thoughts to myself. It tested my patience at times, but building an image did require effort after all. I could only really be myself around the guys, but that was fine by me.

I looked around and took in the sight of the classroom. Some guys were playing cards in the corner, while girls were mingling with each other on the other side of the room with a few loners seated at random desks scrolling through their phones. I chose to take a seat near the window in the back row. I plopped my bag down right beside my desk, immediately taking out my phone and going onto Spotify. After plugging in my earphones, I managed to block out the noisy chattering of my classmates and zone out of reality.

After a while, Mr. Heinrich finally walked into the classroom, causing everyone to rush to their seats in a quick frenzy while I casually pulled out my earphones, storing them away into a pocket. Class started with a brief introduction and attendance, followed by a block of review and another block covering an introduction to limits afterwards. I had already learned the material, so it wasn’t really necessary for me to pay close attention to Mr. Heinrich. Throughout the lecture, I stared out the window and tuned out of reality, pretending to pay attention to the whiteboard out of respect for Mr. Heinrich. The bright side of being in Mr. Heinrich’s class was that he never really picked on you even if you weren’t listening, as long as you didn't disturb the class and could show him you understood the material. Although it came with the risk of him raising his expectations of you, meaning you’d have to perform exceedingly well on the tests to satisfy him. Fortunately, that wasn’t a problem for me, thanks to my parent’s merciless lectures back at home.

I noticed at some point that the seat right beside me was empty, while the rest of the desks were filled up. Everybody had a desk partner except for me. This class was supposedly at full capacity the last time I checked, so I’m guessing my desk partner must've been late or absent. There were rarely any absences on the first day though. Seeing as they were late for Mr. Heinrich's class of all classes, they must've not cared too much about their grades. He had a strict policy about being tardy and if you were late even by 1 minute, he would take several marks off your grade while you would be “rewarded” with several extra math worksheets. That was on top of all the homework he assigned, which would all be due the next day at the beginning of class. Nobody would be dumb enough to be late to this class if they cared in some way. But I guess that wasn't my problem to stress over.

I started thinking to myself while scanning the sky for anything out of the ordinary. Maybe a UFO or something. I wasn't really expecting anything to appear to be honest, just anything to pique my interest and pass the time by quickly.

What should I eat for lunch? Fried chicken? Hmm, not quite feeling it today though. Jjajangmyeon? Wait nevermind, the sauce could stain my uniform. The cafeteria food isn’t all that great either… what else is there to eat? Whatever, I’ll get hungrier thinking about it. Is this class gonna ever be over… Is that Namjoon and Yoongi down there? Can’t really see their faces from here. Ahhh, I should’ve worn my glasses today. Why do I have to be so blind dammit?

My thoughts were disturbed when there were three abrupt knocks at the door. Must be that latecomer. The door slid open in the blink of an eye as I expected to see a disorderly student, but got a pleasant surprise instead.

Contrary to my beliefs, there stood a girl with a frantic expression shaping her features. I noticed almost immediately that she actually wore her uniform properly, unlike other girls who shortened the length of their skirts in an attempt to look stylish or cute. Although the girl was quite petite in stature, she held a thick notebook with a pencil case in hand while a chocolate brown backpack that seemed a little too large to handle rested on her back. Her hair was loosely tied up into a bun with a few locks of dark chestnut brown waves hanging down to her ears, while her eyes were framed by round glasses that actually suited her alright. I deducted by the look of her that she would be quite popular among the guys, and despite being late, I was under the impression that she actually took her studies seriously. Generally from experience, people could never juggle popularity together with academics. Maybe she could though, who knows.

Luckily for the latecomer, Mr. Heinrich let her off without punishment, considering today was her first day as a newcomer to Saints Academy. I learned her name was Hwang Ga Eul. She was a bright girl, judging from her smile and cheerful voice she spoke with during her introduction. Mr. Heinrich then dismissed her and she headed towards the empty desk beside me, acting as if her late arrival never happened at all. She plopped herself down on the wooden chair, then proceeded to greet me with another smile of nowhere, which I admit startled me a little. Holding out a hand, she spoke to me in a light bouncy tone.

“Looks like you’re stuck with me for the next little while huh? So what's your name?"

I stared blankly at her. My mind was still so out of it that I hadn't realized she was asking me a question. It must’ve been obvious I didn't get her question because she repeated herself again, but at a slower pace. Blinking myself back to reality, I coughed, clearing my throat a bit before shaking her hand and politely answering back with a weak smile.

"Ahem, n-nice to meet you Hwang Ga Eul-ssi. I’m Kim Seokjin."

"Nice to meet you too sunbae! I like your name, it’s pretty nice. Do you mind if I call you Jin-sunbae for short then? "

"Sunbae? I mean, sure yeah go ahead, Jin is fine. I don’t have a problem with it, but what’s with the suffix? Aren’t we all the same age here?"

"Funny you asked that actually! I started school a year earlier than other children, and I skipped a grade in middle school so I’m usually the youngest wherever I go."

“W-wait, so you're telling me that you’re two years younger than me, but you started school early and skipped a grade? Wow, that’s re-”

"You two in the back row there. You’re going to have to keep your mouths shut or else I’m gonna chuck this marker over there understand?"
 

I winced a little after hearing Mr. Heinrich snap at us. He never needed to yell to make a point to his students. It was the whole reason why he was so fiercely intimidating. God, he’s got to have really good ears to be able to hear us all the way at the back here. I didn’t think we were even all that loud in the first place. After mentally glaring at him, I averted my gaze back to Ga Eul, who was staring at me for some reason. It made me feel insecure and I nearly backed up a mile away, but I somehow managed to compose myself.

She was innocently staring straight right at me, as if she didn't know the meaning of being too close. Even though I tried to avoid eye contact, I couldn’t help but reciprocate her gaze. Her doe eyes glistened from the sunlight and her features were actually quite subtle, resembling that of a child’s. She didn't seem frail and her energy made her seem rather lively. She had fairly pale skin that was near flawless and I had to resist the very slight urge to go and poke her cheeks. They looked pretty squishable to me and also reminded me of my cousin’s baby daughter. I also noticed a single lock of hair that had fallen onto her face, leading down to her lips which seemed awfully soft and… wait, what the hell am I doing right now? Oh god, I’ve really got to stop staying up so late at night.

She continued staring at me without uttering a single word, as if she was inspecting me or something of the sort. I couldn’t help but feel my face uncomfortably burn up in fear she would point out a flaw of mine or figure out what I was just thinking of. I began to feel even more insecure and I could only hope it didn't show on my face. It wasn't until a little bit later that I finally managed to break the silence.

“Wh-what? Is there something on my face?”

"Hnn, there is. And it’s bugging me. Quite a lot."

I panicked. But only on the inside.

“What? H-here? What is it?” I started wiping my cheeks and forehead, hoping to get whatever it was that caught her attention off.

Holy, how long was it there for? Since the beginning of class? dkgbdf what if it was earlier than that, when I left the dorms? What if people thought I looked stupid? Oh dear lord, I‘ve worked my off to build and maintain my honours student image too and it’s all about to get ruined by my stupid self!

“Hahaha! No sunbae, it’s still there. Here, let me help you.”

She dug into her backpack and took out a pocket tissue. Then she came closer for a bit, to which I immediately shut my eyes. I think my heart just died a little on the inside.

“Okay, you should be good now! Just relax sunbae.”

“...Wh-what was it?”

“Hmm? Oh, don’t worry about it. It was just a little leaf!”

She flashed a bright smile at me while showing me the tissue she took out earlier, now all scrunched up into a ball in her hand. Realising she spoke a little too loudly, she covered and turned herself around towards the front of the class before Mr. Heinrich could snap at us again. I, on the other hand, could barely even register what just happened.

I felt a poke at my right elbow and looked down to see Ga Eul slipping a small piece of paper in my direction. There appeared to be a message written on it.

Haha, did that surprise you? You looked so tense LOL. You’re so cute sunbae ^^

Sorry if that bothered you though, I was just trying to help you out a bit.

Anyways, I’m looking forward to being desk partners for the next couple of months!

-Ga Eul

How considerate of her. I guess there was more to her than what meets the eye. While reading the note, my eyes seemed to pay more attention to her use of the word, “cute.” Sure, I’ve been complimented for my looks before. but I’ve never been called cute. I chuckled and turned the paper over. Grabbing a mechanical pencil, I smirked and started to write down a response. I knew exactly what to say.

I secretly slipped the piece of paper onto her notebook and turned my face away towards the window, not making eye contact with her. I rested my face on my hand, waiting as she took it and read what I wrote. Out of curiosity, I stole a glance to see her reaction. She was smiling from ear to ear and trying to hold herself back from bursting into laughter. I felt a small tug at my lips as I looked back out the window, spending the rest of class attempting to wrap my mind around how straightforward her personality was. Hwang Ga Eul was a bit of a weird girl, but she was really kind. Even by the end of class, the heat from my face never did disappear completely.

Thanks for the help. I was worried that my good looks might have been ruined by that leaf haha!

After all, they don’t call me Worldwide Handsome for nothing you know? (◞･౪･)

Little did I know, that leaf on my head turned out to be a caterpillar instead.

A/N: OUR WORLDWIDE HANDSOME JIN STRIKES AGAIN <3 

Bless him he's so extra