Lady Spring

In high school, there was one time when Saeun got a chance to touch Wooyoung. And it wasn’t just his hands or his arms. It was his face. Of course, Wooyoung probably didn’t know about this. If she thought he knew at the time, she would’ve jumped off the window. 

Unlike other schools, the students in her school were free to do whatever they wanted during the self-study class, which took place in the evenings. So except during the exams, it was rare to see anyone stay behind at school. This was especially the case since they were still only in the first year of high school. They were young kids who liked to have fun, so after the midterm, no idiot was expected to stay late.

But she stayed. Home was not a good place to be for Saeun, so she preferred to relax in the quiet classroom and read a book. 

Time passed quickly in the afternoons. It was already around 6 P.M. and Saeun was wondering what she should do about her dinner when the classroom door burst open. She almost jumped in shock.

“Oh, Class President. What are you doing here?”

Wooyoung, who walked into the room leisurely, waved when he spotted her. Saeun’s heart began to pound fast. Why was he here? She wanted to ask him, but she didn’t trust her voice not to crack. But she knew she could manage to say something sarcastic.

“The exams are over, so I thought you would be busy practicing stuff like dancing and singing.”

“Oh, gosh, here we go again. Always nagging me about becoming an ‘idol’… You’re worse than my mom, Class Pres.”

He sat down behind her and rested his chin on his hand to gazed over her shoulder. Because he was much taller than her, he seemed to be able to read the book on her desk easily. He grinned.

“What? You aren’t studying? I’m going to tell the teachers about this.”

“Whatever. Do you think that will change my grade? That I will get a worse grade than you?”

“Only when hell freezes over.”

Wooyoung smiled nonchalantly and laid his head on the desk. His presence bothered Saeun, but she didn’t voice her concern. Instead, she put away the novel and took out her textbook. 

“Anyway, why are you really here? It can’t be because you plan on studying.”

Thankfully, she was able to keep her voice calm. Wooyoung shrugged and replied,

“The agency car hasn’t arrived yet. I think I have to wait a while longer, so I thought I should stay here.”

He stretched his arms and yawned before laying his head down again. 

“I’m tired from playing basketball with the guys. I’m gonna take a nap, so if you hear someone hunk outside, wake me up, okay?”

Before she could answer, he buried his face in his arms. For the next five minutes, Saeun remained silent and listened to his breathing slow down. Inside the quiet classroom, she could only hear the sound of his breathing. 

After a long while, Saeun finally got the courage to turn around cautiously. Wooyoung was sleeping with his face lying on its side against his arm on the desk. His eyelashes, longer than hers, created a shadow over his cheeks and his hair, longer than what was allowed in their school, rustled gently as he breathed. 

His cheeks looked so soft. Unlike her own, which was covered in zits, his skin was clear without a single blemish. His perfectly chiseled  cheekbones created just the perfect amount of shadow on his face, and even his nose was amazingly straight and handsome. If she didn’t know him and he was just a celebrity she saw on TV, Saeun knew she would have definitely found him hot. 

Well, she thought he was good looking now too, but she couldn’t admit it to anyone. If he was a stranger on TV, she would’ve been able to say out loud how cute he was. But if she said anything nice about any guys in her class, she knew her classmates would think she had a crush. 

She could never let something like that happen.

The sun was setting slowly and the classroom began to get dimmer. His and her shadows elongated as if they were growing taller. Wooyoung’s quiet breaths sounded like music to her. The gentle wind through the windows made the curtains dance lightly. The sounds of cars and crowds could be heard from a faraway distance. 

There were just the two of them in the classroom.

And no one knew about this.

No one would even be able to imagine that Wooyoung and Saeun were alone together. 

No one knew how she felt about Wooyoung. It was something she couldn’t even write in her own diary. 

The wind touched his head and made some of his stray hair fall down on his cheek. Without realizing what she was doing, Saeun reached out and touched his cheek. Her fingers felt like they were hit by the lightning. His cheek felt like steel covered in soft fabric. The subtle warmth and smoothness of it seemed surreal to her.

Carefully, she reached out again to caress his face. This time, she touched him slower but a little firmer. Just enough that he wouldn’t wake up from it.

Soft yet firm. But his chin felt a little rough. Stubble maybe? But he was only a high school student. But then, there were other guys in her class who could grow a full beard if they wanted. She was just surprised because Wooyoung didn’t look like the type.

The moment felt so serene that Saeun wanted to touch his face again. She wanted to try kissing his cheek too. Would that wake him up? What would he think about her kiss? She was the ugly girl with the most zits in their class, so maybe he would want to wash his face raw. 

But even so, dreaming about a kiss on his cheek felt heavenly. Unfortunately, her wishful thoughts shattered when the classroom door suddenly burst open.