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there was nothing more that jungwoo wanted but to look up.
he’s just scared that if he did, he’ll catch him easily— and if jungwoo was being honest, there are no excuses to explain the blush blooming across his cheeks in seconds time.
he’s prided himself as the friend who always knows what to say whatever the situation might be even if causes embarrassment on his end. he doesn’t like unnecessary silence, especially between two people. if he feels that no words were needed, jungwoo would keep his mouth shut.
but if there’s a way to ease the awkward tension, to make each other comfortable— then jungwoo has the perfect joke or pun that will at least evoke some kind of reaction from the other.
bottomline: jungwoo usually doesn’t have a hair of awkwardness in his body when it comes to introducing himself to someone for the first time. but as it stands right now, his personal record is dangerously close to its end. jungwoo has been feeling the tension in his muscles for forty-eight minutes now (and counting).
he has not been breathing normally for the same amount of time either, and it’s bound to be a problem when jungwoo really needs to stretch his arms, unstrain the pain from his neck, and possibly catch a better glimpse of the pretty boy sitting in front of him.
the thing is, he doesn’t know what to do from then on if jaehyun (as seen from the flimsy paper name tag pinned to his cardigan) makes eye contact with him right there and then.
jungwoo opts to clear his throat, straightening out his back to relieve a strained muscle or two, and backspace the whole nonsensical paragraph he mindlessly typed onto the word document. he has been working on a three-thousand page essay the moment he sat on the only available table in the study section of the library. jungwoo thought himself lucky for snagging a cozy, little corner among the bustling yet whispered chatters of other students on the same floor.
but the moment he settled himself down on one of the two chairs, he heard it squeak against the wooden floor. as he tried to balance his tall, lanky frame on the otherwise small, uncomfortable seat, the table itself swayed like the trees in the park at night that jungwoo swallowed his prior words. he might as well have stepped on multiple cracks walking to the library because no one likes an uneven table, especially if you’re trying to focus on a school-related assignment with a deadline. on the second week of the semester.
the third year student loses interest on the sentence he had paused on, completely forgetting his train of thought. the boy sitting in front of him, jaehyun, had stopped doing handwritten notes and is now highlighting a rather thick textbook from paragraph to paragraph. jungwoo couldn’t stop looking at jaehyun’s hands; slender, perfectly-shaped, and nails trimmed neatly. he’d notice the way jaehyun places the blue highlighter to the side, rubs his thumb against the skin of his pointer finger and jungwoo feels awkward.
jaehyun had stretched his arm somewhat a couple minutes ago but due to the length of the table they were using, he had accidentally touched jungwoo’s left hand. it was when jungwoo was on a roll with the essay, having been able to shift his focus entirely on what he had originally planned on doing in the library. but as soon as the tiniest bit of warmth traveled directly onto jungwoo’s skin, he froze in his spot and almost — almost shot his head right back up and hope to find jaehyun’s eyes.
but he didn’t. because jungwoo’s scared. he’s scared that he’d find jaehyun looking at him questioningly, accusing him of hogging most of the table’s space because of his laptop, making it known that he’d rather have the corner to himself and jungwoo had overstayed his welcome (despite the fact that jungwoo arrived there first, but his mind stopped being logical which is why half of his paper’s content is probably unreadable at this point).
jungwoo is scared to finally know jaehyun’s eye color, but worse of all, he is scared that if he looks up and drinks in the hazel or ocean blue or even the darkest of black that his eyes will shine like, jaehyun wouldn’t even be looking at him at all. wouldn’t even realize the effect he had by the mere contact his fingertips met with jungwoo’s personal space. possibly, wouldn’t even care that jungwoo was there inches away from his figure.
it’s just the library. it’s just a study room. it’s just jungwoo procrastinating an essay due before midnight, and it’s just jaehyun being a diligent student like jungwoo thinks of him as.
jungwoo doesn’t realize the sigh that escapes his lips was more dramatic than he intended, putting a hand to cover up his mouth and just a tad bit underneath his nose. he’s still just looking at his laptop screen and wished that he at least brought his blue light glasses. he can endure strained muscles on his neck for the night, but jungwoo is not a big fan of migraines.
completing the damned essay in the presence of someone jungwoo regards extremely cute and unbothered has turned futile as minutes passed, and he really can’t put it off any more. however, there was no use in trying to finish this at his dorm either.
if his friends aren’t there to distract him with (just one! or five ) rounds of kart rider tournaments, then he’d be tempted to rummage through the community fridge or channel-surf on the huge television screen in the lounge area. the library was the only place that is a good distance away from his dorm that jungwoo can do his attempt to fulfill his college student duties.
sharing a table with someone that made his heart skip incredibly fast is definitely not part of it.
something stirs, and jungwoo once again holds himself in place while his eyes surreptitiously watch jaehyun. the boy with the golden honey colored hair closes up his textbook and puts his highlighter back in a slim black pencil case. he puts both things inside his sling bag and takes out a phone, all the while jungwoo squirms from anticipation.
will his suffering end? is jaehyun about to leave? will that really make jungwoo feel at ease— or will it continue to make his heart long for the guy? they’ve only talked once the whole time they were here, and jungwoo didn’t even bother to look him in the eye due to his frustrations over the essay prompt.
“is this seat taken?” jungwoo had heard someone ask, voice close enough to assume it was directed at him.
being to engrossed at figuring out the best introductory sentence for the first paragraph, jungwoo managed to nod his head once and mumble under his breath, “no. go ahead.”
he didn’t mind sharing the table with anyone, really, just as long as they were respectful of their individual spaces and kept the peace as per library etiquette.
he didn’t think that jaehyun would have stayed either considering that the table was still uneven, and the moment he took the other chair, it wobbled again. jaehyun muttered a surprised, “sorry,” for causing jungwoo’s laptop to shake while he typed, but jungwoo just responded with another dismissive nod.
“it’s been doing that,” jungwoo commented airily, biting the corner of his lips in concentration. “i just stay still so it doesn’t move.” he’s mostly talking to himself, momentarily forgetting another person is in close proximity to him.
“oh, i have a solution,” jaehyun quipped, tone chirpy enough for jungwoo to flicker his eyes above. the first thing he sees is the name tag cut haphazardly round, and the small handwritten name scribbled just slightly off-center. then, jungwoo watches jaehyun’s mussed hair bounce softly as rummages for something in his bag.
“i…” jungwoo is rendered speechless.
jaehyun has folded a piece of scratch paper to fourths and is about to look up until jungwoo returns his gaze towards his laptop screen.
“let me just…” jaehyun trails off, sliding the folded paper underneath one of the uneven legs of the table. the wobbling has stopped, making the surface more sturdy for two people to work on.
he hums in content, and there is only so much of jungwoo’s strength to resist really looking up at him. goosebumps dance along his skin, and jungwoo thinks it’s unbelievable how much one guy’s presence has thrown him off completely.
he’s a sucker for nice, deep voices. it doesn’t help but jaehyun has nice, smooth pale skin.
oh, and should he even mention his wide shoulder framed by the soft, beige cardigan he was wearing over a low collared white shirt.
if seeing his exposed neck already made jungwoo’s head stir dizzy, there was no way he’d survive knowing how his face actually looked like in full view, let alone his eyes.
jungwoo is a sucker for someone else’s eyes on him. he basks in the knowledge of another person giving him their full attention.
but with jaehyun right here in front him, there’s something in the back of jungwoo’s head telling him not to ask for his attention because who knows how he’ll receive it.
just shy of an hour into his essay writing and jungwoo is so close to accepting defeat. the library is still packed with students so he knows if he gives this table up he’s not going to find an available one in at least a few more hours.
he needs this done now, but also— jungwoo really doesn’t want to leave first, and he clearly is having a dilemma whether or not jaehyun is going to say something again, and if he’s willing to sacrifice his heart on his sleeve for a glimpse of jaehyun’s eyes.
without even thinking, jungwoo closes his eyelids shut, the brightness of his screen finally getting to his optic nerves and the strain of his neck too much to bare.
he massages it carefully, making sure his movements are subtle enough not to disturb jaehyun with whatever he was doing.
“how’s the essay?”
jungwoo stops, palm still resting on his neck and his other hand hovering over the keyboard. he doesn’t dare open his eyes but peeks through long lashes to find…
jaehyun staring back at him.
“sorry to assume— you’ve just been typing a lot,” he says, offering a small dimpled smile. dimples, he has dimples and jungwoo wants to scream.
fluttering his eyes open, jungwoo exhales the previous nerves in his system only to be replaced with panic. a certain panic that he was so sure only occurs in cheesy, romcom dramas he forces his friends to watch with him for giggles.
there’s now way he’s living his own moment right now.
“i am, i was. it’s—” tongue tied, jungwoo chooses to just laugh the stress away. he’s so taken aback by the sudden conversation starter that words fail him, any of his usual witty antics vanished from his brain.
jaehyun’s eyes are beautiful, just like the rest of his face.
and jungwoo doesn’t know how to breathe properly anymore.
if jaehyun knows jungwoo is having a hard time processing what’s going on, he doesn’t make it obvious. instead, he chuckles alongside jungwoo, nodding his head in understanding.
“i get you. i already have my first exam at the end of the week. it’s stressing me out so much that i grew more wrinkles on my forehead.”
jungwoo perks up at jaehyun’s self-depracation, although probably meant as a jest, and shakes his head. his black hair follows his movements and a pout forms on his lips. “you’re too young for wrinkles, jaehyun.”
it’s not until jaehyun gives him a surprised expression when jungwoo realizes he said his name out loud. tongue feeling like lead, jungwoo shyly points at the name tag on jaehyun’s clothes.
jaehyun’s eyes don’t flicker as he seems to be enjoying the view right in front of him. did he know all this time that his name tag was in full view and deliberately messed with jungwoo’s head?
either way, jaehyun smiles againa and those dimples will haunt jungwoo in his dreams tonight.
“ah, right. i forgot i was wearing it.” jaehyun touches the name tag briefly. “i went to a club meeting earlier today and they made us wear these. i felt like i was in grade school all over again.”
he purses his lips in thought, and jungwoo hitches a breath from being hyper-aware of jaehyun’s actions.
his eyes shine despite the low lighting of the library, and jungwoo can’t help but lose himself in them at the moment. his own smile grows on his face, liking the way jaehyun’s eyes aren’t intimidating, just really mesmerizing. and yet, his heart drums on his chest a little louder but he can’t look away.
“what’s your name?”
jungwoo blinks, an automatic response blurting out of his lips. “kim jungwoo.”
jaehyun plays with his phone, rotating it in his hands as he nods once at the sound of jungwoo’s name.
he licks his lips before trying it out on his own tongue, “jungwoo. kim jungwoo, nice to meet you.”
if his ears can only press rewind, he’d listen to the way jaehyun spoke his name in such a velvety, gentle fashion like a broken vinyl player.
“nice.. to meet you, too.”
“do you come here often?”
“here? in the library?”
“yeah,” jaehyun chuckles, shiny brown orbs crinkling into upturned crescent moons. it sends jungwoo’s headspace somewhere far from reality, and at this point he did not care if he stared.
he didn’t want to look at anything less beautiful than the person in front of him.
“not really,” jungwoo says honestly, teeth sinking into the corner of his lips when he’s saying something he’s not quite proud of. “only when i need the quiet. i can’t do time-sensitive stuff at my dorm. too many distractions.”
“i see.” jaehyun crosses his arms. “were you able to get a lot done today, then?”
“um.” jungwoo contemplates on a white lie, as if jaehyun really does care how his essay is doing. it’s hard to read his body language if all jungwoo can imprint in his mind is the way jaehyun continues to make eye contact with him.
he couldn’t say the full truth either unless he wants to ruin any and all chances of getting to know jaehyun first before admitting his quickly forming infatuation towards the guy.
“i’ll get it done,” jungwoo decides to be vague, stretching his arms upwards, thankful for the sudden freeness of his restricted body movements.
“i have—” jungwoo glances at the clock on his laptop, “six more hours to go.”
“you plan on staying here until midnight?” jaehyun’s eyebrows go up to his bangs, the widened look on his face makes jungwoo’s heart tighten in his chest. he needs a check up at the nurse’s office soon, his erratic breathing has clearly gone out of hand.
“the library closes at ten, though,” jaehyun informs him. “and assuming you live in the nearby dorms, the last bus that gets you there comes in at eight thirty.”
“ah…” regretfully, jungwoo sighs. great, he thinks in frustration, he virtually has two and a half hours left until he can go home without walking thirty-ish minutes back to the dorm. even then, he knows he won’t get the essay done.
he’s much too distracted now, thoughts painting visuals of jaehyun’s face instead of supporting arguments for his paper.
“i guess i’ll see what happens in two hours,” jungwoo concludes out loud, taking a deep breath and exhaling through his nose.
he puts a hand against his forehead, attempting to hide his own stress lines from jaehyun. the latter seems amused at jungwoo’s predicament, however, watching his frustrations unfold as he rests his chin on his palm, elbow against the surface of the table.
his eyes hold a mysterious shine to them, his dimpled smile reeling jungwoo over the edge and he wonders what it’s like to have those soft, cherry-tinted lips on his own.
as he sweats out the thought, panicking from the sudden rated subconscious musings his mind has gone to, jungwoo ruffles his hair in an even more disheveled mess and rakes his hands over his face. he’s tired, he’s embarrassed, and most of all, he’s not getting any more near finishing what he came here for in the first place.
and jaehyun is enjoying the view. too much.
“stop staring at me like that,” jungwoo whines which eggs jaehyun on even more.
“i’m not, though,” jaehyun teases, his deep set voice turning into a playful lilt. jungwoo pouts with puffed up cheeks. he can’t believe he’s having this conversation with him.
“yes you are, jaehyun-ssi.”
“is it making you uncomfortable, jungwoo-ssi?” he counters back, the shine in jaehyun’s eyes threatening to melt jungwoo on the spot.
“no…” he starts off, squirming in his seat, “just… really distracted.” jungwoo watches the way jaehyun sits right back up, fixes the hem of his shirt and cards his fingers through his fluffy hair. he knows what he’s doing, and jungwoo is letting him do it.
suddenly, having overcame the nervous anticipation of jaehyun locking eyes with him, jungwoo relishes in the attention he’s getting all of a sudden.
no matter how flustered he looks, no matter how warm his face feels or the swirling, weird sensation in the pit of his stomach is making him squirm.
“so i’m the reason why you’re stuck on your paper,” jaehyun sighs, faux sadness in his voice which causes jungwoo to laugh awkwardly. he waves his hands in front of his face, panic settling in just in case jaehyun really believes that.
“no, no— please, it’s not— you’re just, i’m just being stupid.”
jaehyun raises an eyebrow at that comment. “you’re not being stupid, jungwoo.”
of course he’d say that to be polite, jungwoo reacts foolishly, rolling his eyes in a playful manner until jaehyun speaks again.
“i think you’re being cute.”
if there’s one another thing that jungwoo likes despite full-on eye contact with the person he’s talking to, it’s that compliments about his silly personality makes his heart swell in his chest. jungwoo enjoys making other people’s day better, cherishes the content smiles his friends have on their faces after a corny joke or a meaningful conversation shared with jungwoo.
he’s a people pleaser, let’s be real, and jungwoo will do anything to commit to that role for as long as he can.
but when he’s unintentionally being himself, and jaehyun compliments him out loud, all of a sudden jungwoo doesn’t know how to act. doesn’t know how to accept such flattering words well, and his heart may be clinging onto those words like oxygen, jungwoo’s brain can’t comprehend what he should do next.
“jungwoo-ssi?”
no response. just a tight lipped smile, and a drumming heart.
“are you okay?”
“never. better.”
jaehyun eases his shoulders, worried that jungwoo is just letting him be flirty just for the sake of camaraderie. this time, he bites the inside of his cheeks to resist saying something that will most likely render jungwoo even more speechless.
jaehyun is glad that he has been able to control the way his ears expose his own emotions but it’s more likely because of how jungwoo is reacting to his flirting.
flushed with a rosy blush and long, eyelashes fluttering each second. it frames his delicate features in the prettiest way, and there’s nothing more that jaehyun wants but to keep keep his full attention on jungwoo and no one else.
“jungwoo-ssi,” jaehyun says his name once more, liking the way it rolls of his tongue which makes him smile involuntarily. he hopes jungwoo has brought himself back to the present enough for him to listen attentively.
as much as he finds himself so fond at the way jungwoo’s eyes wander off to his own version of cloud nine, jaehyun doesn’t want to their interactions yet.
“yeah?”
“i’ll let you finish your essay,” jaehyun starts, and jungwoo thinks he’s going to faint. the dreaded ending of his short-lived romcom drama scenario is fast approaching, and his mind is too much of a mess to keep it alive at this point.
“are you leaving?” he doesn’t mean to sound so sad, but jungwoo can’t help express his honest feelings if jaehyun keeps looking at him like that .
“i have this stupid meeting,” jaehyun exhales, wishing he can just stay by jungwoo for as long as time permits. “and then i have discussion for forty-five minutes.”
“oh.”
“but afterwards, i’m free. and, hopefully, you finished your essay by then?”
“oh."
jungwoo’s facial expression contorted to that of hope, lips parted slightly and bangs covering part of his eyes from the way he moved in his seat.
jaehyun wants to reach out and fix the sh strands to the side so he can have a full view of jungwoo’s eyes again, but he knows an opportunity to do so in the future will present itself soon enough.
he doesn’t want to go all in. jaehyun thinks it’s best to take it slow with jungwoo because he doesn’t want to overwhelm him or the boy with his own emotions bursting at the seams.
just by looking at jungwoo’s soft, delicate eyes, jaehyun knows there’s so much more to learn about him.
jaehyun ignites a tiny spark that he hopes will turn into a bright, and wonderful flame glowing for the both of them.
“i can come pick you up and treat you for completing your essay,” he treads carefully. “we can visit the boba place just a few minutes away, they have really good cheese foam.”
“really?” jungwoo’s eyes light up, the spark flickering within them. jaehyun can’t help but smile.
“really,” he confirms. “my car is parked behind the library, so it really wouldn’t be a bother. i’d love to treat you for your hardwork.”
“ah, jaehyun” jungwoo responds shyly, “if you say it like that… i have to work hard first, you know?”
“i’m sure you have been,” jaehyun laughs, hsi features softening up at jungwoo’s scrunched up eyebrows and pouting lips.
it’s a sight he doesn’t want to tear his gaze away from. but alas, he really needed to go soon.
“hey, can i have your number?” jaehyun picks up the last ounce of bravery in his chest and slides his phone towards jungwoo’s space.
“you think i’m going to ghost you when you come back for me here in the library?” jungwoo jokes, his confidence building up again.
“no,” jaehyun denies, although he knew there was still that tiny possibility that jungwoo is just playing it up for friendliness right now.
he wished it wasn’t the case, and judging by jungwoo’s quick typing on his phone, jaehyun believes that the boy wants something more out of this like him.
“i want to ask you how you’re doing on the essay while i’m gone.”
“i don’t think that’s going to help, jaehyun.”
“why not?”
“because,” jungwoo pauses, narrows his eyes playfully towards the accused, “you’re just going to distract me like you have been doing for the past hour.”
all the blood pumping through his system has rushed its way on jaehyun’s ears, and if jungwoo noticed he didn’t say a thing.
only that his smile seemed to grow wider while he passes the phone back to its owner, briefly touching the back of jaehyun’s hand.
“i’ll let you know when i’m done, and i’ll wait for you outside.”
“okay,” is all that jaehyun can muster.
“have fun at your meeting, jaehyun,” jungwoo gives him a wave, and jaehyun begins to pack up his stuff. for a moment, jaehyun blurs out the surroundings and only chooses to see jungwoo, sitting on the chair, hands resting lightly on his laptop keyboard, eyes smiling at his own.
“i’ll try,” he muses, bowing his head before turning to leave.
jungwoo calms himself down for a few seconds, processing what just happened to him and his unfinished essay.
an adrenaline rush jolts him wide-awake, wringing his hands together as it cracks under pressure. jungwoo has a newfound motivation to just write the goddamn essay.
rather than thinking of jaehyun as a form of distraction, this time, jungwoo is excitedly tapping his foot with every word his fingers tap tap tap methodically on the keyboard.
he feels his phone vibrate beneath his pocket, and his hands reach for it so quick as if the text he received was going to disappear in mere seconds. jungwoo bites down hard on his bottom lip to prevent his flustered emotions to spill all over the table.
i know you said i shouldn’t text but
i’m only five minutes into the meeting and
i wish i was there with you instead
your eyes were a much better view
he stares at the four separate messages he received, endearment coursing through his body knowing that jaehyun is like him when he texts. in spurts, never just one sentence, making your stomach feel like a garden of butterflies.
two hours is going to feel like an eternity, but jungwoo will gladly endure the wait if it meant he’d prove himself to be a decent enough student to submit an essay right before the deadline— and snag an impromptu date right afterwards.
from: kim jungwoo
to: you
i think i know who’s the cuter one, jaehyun-ssi :)
also as much as u made me smile with that text
i need to focus!! stop being my distraction pls. we have the rest of the night to ourselves later ^^ i’m the best at staring contests so if u wanna challenge me
i’m urs all night :)