the drowsiness almost evaporates from your body as your screen loads and zoom crush!mark comes into view, his messy hair peeking out from a beanie, round glasses sitting on his rosy nose tip. your cheeks heat up and you quickly avert your gaze when he yawns, trying to gather enough courage to ask him about his weekend but getting interrupted by your other classmates now popping into view like daisies.

haechan was at a crossroads.

the way he saw it, he had two options: one, confess the feelings he’s kept hidden, locked away in a corner of his heart, for years, potentially making you run away with the last of his dignity while his heart breaks into a million tiny pieces, leaving him to spend years trying to pick them up and piece them together again, BUT with the chance that you could feel the same way.... or two, push the feelings even further down his chest, maybe putting up another lock or two to keep them sealed away, an option which did have the benefit of keeping the risk of you running away at a minimum, but likely at the cost of his sanity.

his eyes scanned the room that was full to the walls with people; seniors enjoying their last weekend of freedom before finals begin, freshmen standing in corners looking like deer caught in headlights, a few grad students chatting on the couch in the living room.... and you. haechan’s eyes were pulled to you like a magnet, finding you standing among a group of your friends, laughing at what was presumably a joke cracked by mark who was sitting on the edge of an abandoned beer pong table on your left.

your eyes looked up, as if they had felt his on you, sending him one of your signature smiles that sent a warm rush through his entire body, making him feel both weak in the knees and like he could sprint a marathon all at once. the feeling traveled from haechan’s head to his toes, making his heart overflow with bubbling emotions that were going to spill over any minute now.

haechan mirrored your smile and started taking shaky but determined steps towards you. he had decided. the truth was that he wouldn’t mind all the pain in the world if it meant he could see you smile at him like that just one more time.

you wouldn't necessarily call yourself petty. you were not typically one to hold a grudge, nor were you particularly interested in gossip or how strangers chose to live their lives. but there was something, some mysterious force of energy or perhaps a curse put on your poor undeserving soul, that led you to despise a certain red-haired man. it wasn't the fact that you were annoyed by this man's mere presence that had your blood all but boiling; that in itself was whatever. no, the real curse lay in the fact that said man somehow managed to infiltrate into every corner of your existence, like poison ivy grabbing hold of every open surface of an ancient brick building or dirty water leaking out from the plumbing system of a five-star gourmet restaurant.

first it was the coffee shop. your favorite place on campus, and frankly, the only coffee shop you ever stepped foot in, where they sold those iced teas that you swore were laced with something that had you coming back almost daily for more. it was a seemingly regular afternoon post-midterms when you walked in, coming face to face with their new barista-slash-waiter-slash-whatever the hell else he had to do as part of the job. great.

second was the soccer club. admittedly, he was a great asset to the team, transferring to your university halfway through your junior year of college like some savior angel descending from heaven to save the coed soccer team from yet another embarrassing season (judging by the looks of appreciation and almost idolization coming from your teammates), but it still meant you had to be in close vicinity to him at least three times a week. five, if you included your trips to the coffee shop.

the third and (you hoped to whoever was up there in the sky) final instance was your class in advanced ecosystem studies. lo and behold, the red hair in question paraded in during the second semester, right as finals project groups were being decided. and that's how you got stuck with him as your new project partner. yippie yay and all of that. you weren't completely sure what it was about this man that struck a nerve with you, and your friends would probably tease you relentlessly for it, singsonging about how its 'probably a crush' because he is 'clearly super popular'. you scoffed at the thought. no way.

"hi." in your periphery, you saw the infamous red hair sit down in the chair beside yours, not meeting his glance nor returning his greeting. when he didn't receive a response, he cleared his throat once, then once again, and then a third time, in a theatrical manner. finally, you turned to face him.

"i'm yuta," he announced, a gentle grin resting on his face. you took a few seconds to take in the view of him. red, messy hair in a half-up half-down ponytail, silver jewellery attached to multiple piercings in both ears and a ring in his left nostril, paired with a short-sleeved shirt with geometrical patterns swirling around one another like melted ice cream that would probably make your head spin if you stared at it for too long.

you simply nodded and turned back to your notebook, earning a fourth ahem, this one less theatrical and quieter.

"so," he started again, attempting to get at least one syllable out of you before class ends, "you're in my soccer team right? i think i've seen you around."

despite the use of 'my soccer team', his tone sounds more shy than boastful. you give a quick nod, which seemingly gave him the confidence to continue this one-sided conversation.

"are you always this shy, or do you simply choose not to talk?" his tone was now playful, testing the limits of your (strictly academic) partnership.

you roll your eyes at his words and turn back to face him.

"i am not shy. i'm simply thinking about this project which, in case you weren't aware, is worth sixty percent of our grade in this class. you probably didn't know, since you're a transfer student or whatever, but--"

"how'd you know i was a transfer student?" he interrupts, cocking an eyebrow at you. a small yelp leaves your mouth as you mentally punch yourself for revealing your more-than-expected knowledge of your new project partner, who has leaned back in his chair, grinning while flipping a pen around his pinky finger.

"i-i... uhm..." at a loss for a reasonable excuse, one that didn't include elements which inarguably would make you sound like a stalker, you sit at your desk with your mouth gaping and closing like a confused goldfish.

the silence doesn't last long, however, as yuta breaks out into an infectious giggle. soon enough, both of you are laughing so hard you earn angry stares from your peers, only stopping when the guy in front of you turns around and tells you to be quiet.

you didn't know where this change in attitude had come from, but when you turned to your new partner once more you handed him a slip of paper with your phone number scribbled in blue ink.

"i have work to get to, but text me later and we can discuss the project," you grin, packing up your supplies and waving goodbye as you make your way to the rear exit of the auditorium.

behind you, yuta is still smiling, a blush the shade of his hair now adorning his face as he watches you leave.

~*~*