Work Text:
It’s absurd, really, how it happened.
It started when Kang Daniel realized that he literally had two more weeks to finish up around twenty more pages of his dissertation.
For those two weeks, the only thing he did was type. Type, and run to the library when he needed fifteen more research books than he anticipated, and Jesus Christ why didn’t he finish up the dissertation beforehand?
Two days before the deadline, Daniel finally keyed in the final word of his dissertation. He had been ecstatic. So ecstatic, that he had immediately returned every single book, shut off his computer without saving his dissertation, and went to a party.
By the time Daniel woke up the following day, it was too late.
The last two pages of the dissertation were completely erased.
And Daniel, being in the shitfaced position that he was, ran to the library with a hangover and borrowed two books completely unrelated to his dissertation.
Why did he do this to himself?
The first book was about economics, meaning it had enough tangential material for Daniel to BS his way through, but the second book was about psychology and not business and by God Daniel was an idiot.
******
It was far past midnight when Daniel finally finished up his dissertation. Again. This time, he pressed the save button sixteen times, backed up his dissertation so many times he lost count, and reopened the document twenty times two make sure it was completely, irrevocably saved.
His eyes drooped. His fingers lazily flipped the psychology book close, and he was about to fling it halfway across the room when he saw the scrawled writing on the hard spine of the book.
With closer examination, it was a number.
A… a phone number?
010-4958-2934 hit me up XOXO OSW
Daniel snorted. “Hit me up?” he asked aloud to the empty air. He slammed the book shut and promised to return it first thing the next day.
******
“Hello, ma’am.”
The librarian was already buried deep in a huge book when Daniel came at the crack of dawn. Sometimes, Daniel wondered if she actually slept there. The beanbags sure were comfortable enough.
Her smile was warm, if a little condescending. “Judging from the bags under your eyes, you’ve been rushing your assignment until the very last day, haven’t you?” She clucked quietly. “That’s bad for your health, Daniel.”
He smiled back. “But I wouldn’t have been able to finish at all without your books, ma’am,” he said sincerely. And with that, he gave the two books back to the librarian.
He was halfway out when a gasp came from the librarian.
Daniel turned around, and saw the librarian examining the spine of the psychology book with disbelieving eyes. At first, his mind didn’t register what possibly would have made her this shocked. Then, as she looked at Daniel with a scandalized expression, Daniel remembered.
“X. O. X. O. You even wrote your phone number, Daniel. I thought you were a respectful student, but I guess I was wrong on another thing about you.” The librarian’s expression was a mask of quiet fury.
“I— I didn’t do it, I promise!” Daniel pleaded, hoping she would realize that OSW was not Daniel’s initials.
Her mask broke, revealing the rage underneath. She slammed her hands on the counter. “You’ve damaged my trust already by defiling one of my books, Kang Daniel! And now, you lie to me?” Her anger was all-encompassing, and Daniel swore he could feel the ground shaking.
“I’m telling the truth, ma’am!” The librarian’s eyes stared daggers into Daniel, and he couldn’t help but step back a little at how the usually sweet woman was now downright murderous. “I promise I didn’t vandalize the book!”
“Well, why did I notice this … carving into the book today?” The librarian was terrifying when it came to vandalism of her books. And Daniel never vandalized her books!
“You know I would never destroy your book in any way, ma’am!” Daniel was shaking a little.
“Alright, you little rascal. If you want me to believe you, you have to call that number. And if no one picks up for a minute, then I really will have to ask you for recompense!” The librarian spat the words at Daniel.
His fingers shook as Daniel quickly dialed the number.
Luckily, the number picked up at the first ring.
“Hello?”
Daniel sighed loudly, his rigid posture finally relaxing. The librarian’s anger didn’t decrease any less, but it was now directed to the phone. “Hello… I’m Kang Daniel. I’m a Cambridge senior—”
“Are you calling because of alumni?” The receiver sounded tired, but at least he wasn’t turning off his phone.
“No, actually… I was calling because there was a number on the spine of a textbook and—”
“Ah. You’re that desperate for love? Responding to an ancient thing I carved into that textbook ages ago?” The voice was giggly now.
“No! I don’t need love. I called because when I returned the textbook, the librarian found out and she thinks it’s me—”
A loud gasp on the other end of the line. “Oh my god, are you hurt anywhere? Do you want me to come save you? I’m grown up now, I can take the blame like a grown man! I’ll come over in five minutes!”
And like that, the frantic phone call ended.
******
Five tense minutes later, the man arrived, chest heaving as his head whipped this and that way. He had a rather large book tucked under his arm, and Daniel knew immediately that this man was the ‘OSW.’
The librarian saw the man first.
She was halfway to the man when he immediately whipped out the brand new copy of the psychology textbook.
“I’m truly sorry for ruining one of your textbooks. I know it was extraordinarily expensive, and I know how much you depend on the library’s wellbeing. Will you accept this copy of the textbook? I’ve also slipped about a hundred bucks behind the cover page for extra recompense.”
The man’s voice was fast, but Daniel caught every word. And he sighed with relief.
At the loud breath, the man looked straight at Daniel, his eyebrows furrowing at the ‘trespasser.’ “Why are you listening in on the conversation? Mind your own business, rookie.”
A rise of anger within Daniel. But before he could part his lips, the man’s demeanor changed.
“Wait… you’re the one that got accused of vandalizing the book, right? I’m really sorry about that, and about snapping at you just now, and—”
The librarian shook her head and went back to the counter, the new gleaming textbook in her hands. The man was now holding the old textbook, his face earnest with apology towards Daniel.
Daniel couldn’t do anything but nod slightly.
The man grinned, his teeth dazzling Daniel. “Are you accepting my apology? You are? Good, I can leave now right?”
The man spun on his heel and walked briskly off, leaving Daniel dazed.
He had been gorgeous. And Daniel still had the man’s phone number in his call history. Daniel has never been able to control his impulses.
Rrring
“Who’s this?”
“It’s…. It’s Daniel. From five minutes ago?”
“What’s up, Daniel?”
“Well…” Daniel hesitated. “I wanted to ask if your offer was still available?”
“What offer?”
“Y’know… could I still hit you up?”