PROMPT: Everyday, for an hour, at the public library, Son Yejin buries herself in her books to study in order to enter medical school.

And everyday, for an hour, at the public library, Hyun Bin manages to invade her personal space in a quest to win her heart.
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Lines of bookshelves stretch to forever inside the Seoul Public Library, perfectly emulating the notion that knowledge is unquantifiable.

Another perfect example of this is Son Yejin, whose friends fondly call a walking encyclopedia, for her insatiable thirst for knowledge is second to none.

Spending each chapter of her life with a specific goal in mind, Yejin doesn't have much experience at failing.

This mindset has so far enabled her to claim the spot at the top of her class, remaining there, unchallenged, for all her academic years, eventually graduating High School as the class valedictorian.

The quiet overachiever also has a penchant for extra-curricular activities, and it was at a soccer game one day when she caught the eye of the school jock, Hyun Bin.

He knew who she was, of course, but had merely thought of her as that pretty nerd with the cute smile.

She was obviously the studious type, who was always buried in books whenever he passed by her in the halls, and preferred to hang out in the library instead of socializing with the rest of the class after school hours.

So, he hadn't paid her much attention when she joined a boys versus girls soccer game for their school's sports fest. He also hadn't expected her to do exceptionally well.

Though he had seen her twice or thrice - or maybe five times? - playing with her friends at the soccer field, he hadn't really thought she would be anything more than an average player.

When Yejin had scored her winning goal, her face completely lit up in sheer joy before she made a cute silly dance that Hyun Bin could only describe as a dashboard puppy jutting its head forward, the ball she hit went straight to the net, and her smile went straight to his heart.

There was no turning back from that moment on, but when he had first voiced out his feelings to her after graduation, she had regretfully turned him down.

"I can't afford any distractions, Bin. My next goal is medical school, you know how hard it's going to be," she said as he walked her to her house like he's been doing since before the end of the school term.

He had merely shrugged and offered her a cheeky grin. "I know you're not gonna give up any of your goals," he replied, leaning forward to whisper his last words in her ear. "And I'm also not gonna give up on you."

From then on, Hyun Bin had managed to accompany Yejin to every trip to the Seoul Public Library, waiting patiently while she spent at least one hour with her review materials, before acting as her spotter and quizzing her about everything she read afterwards.

He was so good at it, she once joked that he could probably take the exams with her.

"I don't know about that. I'm not as brilliant as you are," he had answered when she first suggested the idea.

She had frowned at that, reaching over to grip his arm on the table. "Hey, don't say that. You're one of the smartest people I know."

He had detected pure genuine sincerity in her voice when she said those words, and he couldn't help but take her hand and bring it to his lips, making her blush at the sudden move.

Pulling her hand back, she rolled her eyes and opened one of her books purposefully between them so that he couldn't see her face, missing the way she turned even redder and had to bite back her smile.

Truthfully, Hyun Bin wasn't exactly the distraction she thought he would be.

If anything, he pushed her to study harder, to do better. She wasn't sure at first if she would like having him around while she devoured her review materials, for fear of not being able to concentrate, but, for some reason even she couldn't explain, she really liked having him with her.

It made studying that much... easier. As if she could suddenly conquer any kind of test because his support and encouragement was so overwhelming in its consistency.

Now, as she pulls out the books she intended to read that day, and goes to their usual spot at a table by the corner of the library, she frowns a little when she sees that he's not yet there.

"That's weird," she thinks out loud, checking her wristwatch. As she sits down, she notices a bright yellow post-it stuck to the center of the desk, with a note written in a handwriting she'll recognize anywhere.

Yejin-ah, I'm sorry I can't be with you today. I came here earlier to drop off your photocopied materials. Please study well and eat well. PS, yes I could have sent you a text message, but this is cuter, isn't it? :) -Hyun Bin

That one day without him confirms how Yejin had, indeed, fallen for Hyun Bin.

While she's able to still study productively by herself, the longing that stayed with her that made her wish for him to be there was undeniable.

Using her heart this time instead of her brain, she finishes her hour at the library with a new goal in mind. Outside the main entrance, she stops by the concrete steps where she whips up her phone to call him.

He answers at the fourth ring. "Hey, what's up?"

Biting her lip, Yejin has to coach herself to breathe through her nose. "Where are you?"

It takes him a moment to reply, and she can practically see him smiling that damn dimpled smile through the receiver. "Awww. Miss me?" He asks teasingly, but he stops chuckling when she offers a ready "yes" in reply.

"Wait... Did you say you missed me?"

"Yes."

A pause. "Yejin, you're not playing with me, are you? I've never ever heard you say anything like that."

"I miss you," she says confidently, though her heart feels like a pigeon's with the way it's hammering like crazy in her chest. "I want to see you."

The fact that he isn't answering almost drives her insane. Did he not hear what she just said? Where was he? What was he doing?

Her brain goes into full overdrive, wondering if she was too late, if he no longer wanted her, if this is what it feels like to fail at something, if -

"Turn around."

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Photos from BAU by Bride and You & Crocodile