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LEE HAYOON

as weeks go by, i started to be more talkative whenever the 4 of us come together during lunch and more. sunwoo was still the quiet guy he was but he started to come sit next to me, leaving eric and minju sitting next to one another. when the other two left to buy food, he would scoot closer and tell me jokes which sent me laughing non-stop. whenever i stayed late to study in school, he would study with me. whenever he had soccer practice, he would let me sit under the shade on a bench with a cooling fan to wait for him. ever since then, we started going to school and walking home together. he was still shy sunwoo but i chose to believe his actions were telling me he had already warmed up to me.

"sunwoo, stop! that tickles!" i laughed, pushing his hands away from my sides.

"oh so yall are friends now?" eric asked, raising an eyebrow up as he came back to the table.

"what do you mean? we have always been friends," i frowned.

"wait no- so yall talk now?" minju butted in as she also took her seat next to eric.

both sunwoo and i shrugged at them as we dug into our own food. eric and minju sighed at us two and ended up bickering at one another about some random missing socks.

-

"we're still studying later, right?" i asked the three of them as we packed our bags.

"oh! i gotta help my mum. sorry, hayoon," minju showed me a 'sorry' face.

"i-i gotta feed my fish!" eric grinned, "bye sunwoo! bye hayoon!" eric took minju's arm and bolted out of the class.

"welp, it's just you and me," i shrugged at him as he led the way to the library.

the quiet atmosphere of the library was peaceful - only the sounds of pages flipping could be heard. sunwoo tugged on my bag strap lightly as he walked towards a table at the end of the library which was secluded from the rest. sunwoo let me sit on the inner side as he pulled out a bunch of books and materials for revision. he pulled the chair next to mine and proceeded to sit quickly, totally unaware of my questioning look. once he did realised i was looking at him, he sheepishly said, "what? it's easier to study together if we're side by side."

we spent 2 hours, trying to crack our brains to solve math problem sums. most of the time, sunwoo was just distracted with my hair. he would twirl them around and attempt (keyword: attempt) to braid my hair. other than that, he would find spaces in my book to doodle on. i paused, sending a glare his way as he put his hands up in defeat.

"okay, what's your favourite colour?"

"black"

"black is not a colour, sunwoo"

"well, deal with it"

"okay whatever, next- where do you like to go?"

"the beach"

"no way! me too!"

the journey home seemed shorter than usual. my eyes were fixed on the smiley guy next to me who had grown comfortable with me. his fluffy hair bounced slightly at every step he took and he continued to engage in conversations with me as we walked. the empty street behind him was peaceful. i halted my steps, causing him to stop abruptly too.

"hey sunwoo?" i called out to him.

"hm?" he softly asked as his eyes looked down at me with full concern.

"you make me feel... safe"

the statement caused his lips to tug into a shy smile before he softly chuckled.

"then i'll just continue to protect you."

sunwoo bid his goodbye when he made sure that i was safely in my house before he walked back to his own. he was making me feel all types of butterflies and giddiness - what is happening?

-

KIM SUNWOO

school started to be more enjoyable these few weeks. hayoon made everything better. i used to avoid interactions with any other people except for eric and my cousin, minju, but i guess this girl is just on another level. i wondered why my younger self was not close friends with her. we basically grew up together. my thoughts brought me back to a vision of her - her smiles, the way she scrunched up her nose, and how she would always called out to me joyfully.

"sunwoo!" the familiar sweet voice called out to me from behind. there she was, attempting to catch up to me in the school hallways.

i smiled softly at her as she panted hard when she reached me. unconsciously, my hand reached out to tuck a strand of her hair back into place. i noticed her red-flushed cheeks and how she froze at the sudden touch.

"oop sorry," i retreated my hand back, flashing her an awkward smile.

"anyway," hayoon brushed off the incident, "next week, it's the school clubs fair and the art club has an exhibition around school. you have to come see-"

"hayoon, i know," i chuckled at her, "i'll be there - at your art booth then you can take me around." with that, her sweet smile appeared once again as i patted her head.

the rest of the friday afternoon went on fine with eric and minju bickering as always. this time they were arguing about fruits-

"who in their right mind would give a cpr to a watermelon?" minju frowned at the guy in front of her.

"park subak is not just a watermelon!" eric grumbled at the female.

i could only roll my eyes at them before shifting around to face hayoon who was doodling in her book. well, at least i know, i have these friends around in my last year of school here.