“Oh, how rude of me. I’m Jongin. But maybe you already know that.” the boy said calmly and looked at me with his deep brown eyes. He shrugged a shoulder towards the bench I was sitting on. “Do you mind if I take a seat?”

       I shook my head and scooted over. He plopped down and let out a loud sigh.

       “Aigoo…” he complained, cast a quick glance on me and leaned forward with his elbows supported on his knees. As someone opened the entrance door, a cold wind swirled around the room and I tugged my cardigan tighter around myself. Jongin looked up at me with a frown.

       “Are you cold?”

       His sudden question made me twitch, but then when I realised what he had asked, I nodded. He wriggled out from his jacket and carefully placed it around my shoulders. I gave him an asking look and he immediately looked down into the floor.

       “Sorry, I was just thinking that you were-”

       “It’s okay.”

       The corners of his mouth curled up and he snorted, amused.

       “That’s good..” He cleared his throat.

       “You ARE Song Hyejin, right?” he asked and stiffly scratched the back of his head.

       “Yeah, but maybe you already had an idea about it before.” I teased and winked.

       He raised his hands in defeat and pursed his lips into a narrow line. “Guilty.” I had never seen a person’s face go from normal to bright red as fast as Jongin’s in that moment.

       “To be honest, I also did. Know about you since before, I mean.” I confessed. He laughed and seemed to relax, at least for a bit. The atmosphere around us grew tense again and I tried to initiate a conversation.

       “So… I heard you have art as you major..?”

       “Yeah! That’s what I do!” he said excitedly. Only two seconds passed until he realised what he had just said. His eyes widened and he smacked both hands to cover his mouth.

       “Awm sowwy, I didn’t mean to be infowmal to you…” he apologized, still with his fingers tightly pressed towards his lips, thus the muffled sound.

       “Don’t worry about it. See, you’re pretty nice once you relax.” I gave him a reassuring smile but then grew awkward again. “Not that you seem unfriendly when you don’t…” I added, not short after.

       “But, Hyejin, what are you studying for here? I mean, I’m studying art, so my goal is pretty much narrowed down by that, but what about you?”

       Oh no, not this again.

       Being kept company by Yixing since yesterday had made me completely forget about this topic that, to me, was filled with so much anxiety that I simply avoided to think about it. But these past 24 hours, it had been like it had never existed, for the first time in years.

       “I-I don’t know actually. I take a couple of classes but I’m not sure exactly what for. Keeping all doors open, I guess.” I shrugged.

       “I know what you mean, I used to be like that too. That was before art came into my life and blew me away.” He hesitated, but then decided to continue. “I know many doesn’t like it when their parents get involved with their plans for future, but can’t you ask yours? They might have some good ideas.”  

       “My parents say they just want me to be happy, and by that I must find my own path.”

       My phone gave off a tingling sound, notifying that my next class was starting in a couple of minutes.

       “I’m sorry, I have to go..” I apologized and stood up. Jongin’s facial expression drastically changed to something I would interpret as disappointment. As I turned around I felt a strong hand clasp around my wrist and drag me back. I looked at him and he met my eyes with such intensity that I immediately wanted to look away.

        “Hyejin, I really wanted to ask you something, but I didn’t know if I had the guts,” he confessed, still with a firm grip around my wrist. Ah man, not now.

       “….Yeah?” I choked on my own words.

       “YAH JONGIN-AH! Is this where you’ve been hiding!” someone yelled in the distance. I turned my head to see who was coming, but the boy that was walking in a rapid pace towards us was not familiar in any way. He was quite tall, with broad shoulders and black, fluffy hair. His sharp eyebrows together with his ebony eyes and his soft-looking lips made him look like, believe me or not, a puppy.

       “Jongin-ah- oh.” The boy’s eyes fell on you, down to Jongin’s hand holding your wrist and back you again. “Oh,” he said again, dumbfounded.

       “Why did you stop?” a deep voice said and another boy appeared from behind the first one, panting. The second boy was even taller than the first, his hair curls of gold and protruding ears. The first didn’t say anything, just kept staring.

       “Oh,” the second boy echoed.

       Jongin noticed the tension and let go of my hand.

       “Ehm… I’ll see you later,” he laughed nervously. I nodded quietly in agreement and hurried away. When I reached the staircase, I heard a loud “YAAAAH JONGIN-AH YOU DIDN’T TELL US..-” the rest was muted and I looked behind me to see the first boy jump forward onto Jongin, climbed around for a bit before he seated himself in Jongin’s lap and ruffled his hair. Jongin smiled whilst talking to the tall guy and the latter smiled back. So that’s his friends. I made my way up the stairs.

The moment I stepped into the classroom I felt someone poke my waist. Hard.

       “Ouch!” I exclaimed and put both of my hands where I just got poked.

       “Oh, sorry, I didn’t know I’d poke you that hard!” Yixing rushed forward to check if I was okay. I looked up and looked at the boy whose eyes were filled with genuine worry.

       “Aish, this guy..” I mumbled and gave him a threatening look, raising a fist slightly. He still looked worried, but this time not for my wellbeing, but for his own. Seeing how confused he got I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

       “Why are you looking at me like that? Furthermore, why are you laughing?” Yixing stuttered and looked really uncomfortable.

       “No special reason.” I smiled maliciously, trying to sound indifferent but he wasn’t convinced at all. He knew I was going to get my revenge.

       “By the way, where were you this whole break?” he raised an eyebrow. “You disappeared.”

       “At one of my hiding places, resting.” Almost the truth. I felt a pang of guilt in my chest for not being entirely honest with him, but something in the back of my head said it was best for now. Then again, that wasn’t his business actually, at least that’s what I tried to convince myself to feel a little better. Didn’t work.

       For a brief second I saw that empty look in his eyes flash, but it was gone in an instant and replaced my a glittering grin. I was sure I had seen something more.. Sadness? Processing what I’m saying, right?

       “What about it?” I frowned.

       “No nothing, just thought.. You sleepy head!” he ruffled my hair, still with that silly grin plastered on his face.

       “Yah! You can’t get used to not doing that, can’t you? You’ll pay for it!” I yelled and lunged forward and stretched my hand towards his head. However, Yixing took a step back but lost his balance and fell down on the floor with a loud thud. There was nothing for me to hold onto so I followed and landed on top of him. He let out a strained hiss.

       “发生了什么?” he groaned.

       “Huh?” I stared at him. Yixing seemed to get his senses back and lifted his head to meet my eyes. Then, he realised what position we both were in, and the fact that everyone in the classroom were staring at us (including the newly arrived teacher) and leaned his head back on the floor again and sighed. I rolled off him, stood up and bowed to the class.

       “I’m sorry for the disturbances. Please continue.” I apologized and looked down Yixing, who was still lying on the floor. He winked and I had to hold in an amused snort because of how ridiculous he looked. Seriously, this guy. I raised my eyebrows and Yixing understood exactly what I meant. He flew up and bowed as he brushed off the dust from his clothes.

       “I am sorry. Please continue with your work.” he gave me a glance that may have seemed innocent, but I knew the precise meaning of it. ‘This isn’t over. Far from over.’

Hello everyone!

I'm sorry for not updating as often as intended! I really want to but it's gotten harder to write and I've gotten stuck and rewritten this chapter I don't know how many times! So I kept it pretty short.

I'm going to Barcelona soon, so you won't get any updates in around two weeks, but I'll maybe write one before I leave!

But I hope you're enjoying this fic so far and look forward to further updates <3

Stay awesome everyone!