💢| Yang Jeongin

The sound of laughter filled the Institute's hallways. At the center of the noisiest group of boys was Jeongin: captain of the basketball team, arrogant smile, and possessor of the kind of effortless popularity that seemed to come naturally to him. Tall, with tousled hair as if he never combed it but it looked perfect on him, and that mischievous glint in his eyes...

And in front of him, as every morning, she/he walked. In silence. Always with a book in her/his hands, headphones on, eyes forward, and a peace that drove Ian crazy. Not out of boredom, no. What drove him crazy was that she/he didn't look at him. Not like everyone else did. And that drove him up the wall. "Hey, Nerd! Is that book as boring as you?" he shouted that morning, feigning mockery.

His friends laughed. You just raised an eyebrow and gave him a dry look, ignoring him. The laughter this time came from the other side of the hallway. Jeongin smiled, but inside he was churning. It wasn't that he liked bothering him. Well, yes, a little… but only because he didn't know how to talk to him without ruining it. Ever since he saw him/her sitting under that tree on the first day of class, reading and unconsciously biting his/her lower lip, he had fallen completely in love. And the problem was that Jeongin didn't know how to say "I like you" without hiding it behind a silly joke.

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That afternoon, you were the last to leave the classroom. Jeongin was waiting for you by your locker. "Now what? Are you going to make fun of my locker too?" you said. "No," he said, scratching the back of his neck. "I just… wanted to give you this."

He handed you a crumpled piece of paper. You took it cautiously and opened it. “I don’t know how to talk to you without ruining everything. I like you. I always have. But I’m an idiot. I’m sorry,” the note said.