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joonhwi has never been one to take note of what the people around him wore or looked like. he can't deny that he picked up the habit of looking at what people wore from his uncle. he was taught to be observant, to pick up and observe every piece of information one was given. this was ultimately how one could made a sound judgement, but analysing all evidence and looking in detail.
but that was before her. before kang sol.
he remembers meeting kang sol first day in high school orientation, where she was running late and took a seat next to him. her bangs were in a mess, her slightly wavy hair in a tight ponytail was bushy and her face was sheen with sweat. he knew she must have just ran her way here.
"sorry, i hope you don't mind if i take a seat here." sol quickly apologises and bows out of courtesy. she turns her attention to the speech given by the dean in front as she tries to arrange her fringe as best she can.
joonhwi couldn't help but observe her. the way her eyes darted around in a slightly anxious state. her fingers fidgeting and picking on the skin of her hand. it didn't take a genius to know that she was jittery about something.
"are you finding someone?" joonhwi asks in a low whisper, not wanting to draw the attention of the teachers around.
"oh no, no, i'm not. i just... it's been a while since i stepped into a school." sol softly said. subsequently, over their many lunches and breaks, he would learn that sol was only in school for a few years before pulling out as her mother couldn't afford to pay the fees. their deadbeat alcoholic father didn't help things either. but he would then learn that kang sol is one of the most hardworking person joonhwi has met.
for now, as he quietly thanks himself for choosing a seat at the back, in hopes of falling asleep. the talk given by the principal doesn’t register in his head.
he thinks that between a nap and making a new friend, he chooses the latter.
“high school was nothing like what they said!” kang sol groans as she slams her book on the table in her empty classroom. han joonhwi only suppresses a cheeky smile as he turns to face her.
months have passed since they first met. joonhwi found most assignments a breeze and the rumour soon spread that he was one of the smartest students in school. kang sol on the other hand…
“what are you having difficulty with?” he asks, earning a scowl from sol.
“everything!” she cries out as she buries her face in her hands. “the fact that im suppose to be scoring well in class due to my scholarship is not exactly working in my favour.”
kang sol found everything hard. for too long she found herself helping to care for her sister before she found herself back in school. the adjustment wasn’t easy, with her helping out her mother as well by working at a fast food chain on weekends. this left her little time to catch up on her studies and revise. the fact that she hasn’t stepped into school for such a long time made things even worse.
“do you want me to teach you?” sol raised her head at the question. staring in front into joonhwi’s eyes, she looked for the mischievous glint she was all too familiar with after the few months of meeting him. but she found herself staring at serious, warm brown eyes, just inches from hers.
startled, she blinked a couple times before drawing her face back to sit back in her chair, realising how close they were. she folded her arms and scrunched her eyebrows.
“don’t crack a joke like that, it isn’t funny…” she muttered. han joonhwi teaching the worst student kang sol? it was like telling her that she was accepted to oxford university.
“i’m serious!” joonhwi defended as he shook his head in mock offence, bringing a hand to his chest.
“you’re not gonna think it’s a waste of time?”
“you’re not a waste of time.” the words fell out of his mouth before he could stop it. sol looks at him before he quickly continues, flustered by his words. “i’m revising too by teaching you. think of it as killing two birds with a stone.”
when he received no reply, he turned back around to his desk and resumed reading. the silence went from seconds to minutes. sol only stared at the back of joonhwi’s head and his white school uniform perfectly ironed and crisp.
“o-okay.”
he suppressed a smile as he carefully wrote down the answers to his assignment. sol only picked up her book she slammed as she flipped it open harshly, bringing out her highlighter and sticky notes to write down the things she had questions on. he didn’t need to reply. the silence alone was enough to tell her that his offer still stands.
and he took the offer.
their study sessions became routine.
sol would highlight her doubts and write her questions on little sticky notes. after school, joonhwi would sit with her as she bombarded him with questions. he would always smile fondly when she goes on pointing at her work and textbooks, not once looking up to realise that she has not stopped once to allow him to answer her questions. when she did realise, she would only give a sorry smile and stay silent as he patiently explained in different analogies so she gets it.
they would do that for hours on end. joonhwi always knew to stop when he needed to and waited in silence as he watched her write in her neat handwriting. he knew the way her eyebrows will raise before she asked to clarify a point he made. he would know when to switch to another simpler analogy when she didn’t get it.
as she came closer to the exams, her manager told her to stop working and spend the time studying instead. her manager knew how hard she worked, how she worked extra shifts on the busiest days of the year, how she worked the whole summer to pay her fees and help her family at home. blessing her with an advance pay, she merely said “you can pay me back when you top the class.”
the time the two classmates spent became even more. on weekends, they went to a bench outside universities or libraries. they would study, nap, chat, and eat all at the same table, only leaving to grab dinner or for the toilet. too many times, sol found herself catching a twenty minute power nap at the table as joonhwi sat and stared, soon taking a nap himself.
it would have been an ordinary day, if it wasn’t for what she wore when joonhwi saw her.
she was already at the table under the tree, their usual spot. donning a pair of shorts, her old sneakers, hair in a messy bun with a highlighter stuck in the middle, bangs neatly combed and curled as she tapped her pen on the table while thinking to a math question.
“is that mine?” joonhwi asked looking at her as he sat and pulled his books out. sol only looks up at him, looking at the hoodie she’s wearing.
“oh, i think so. i must have took it home from yesterday. i’ll give it back to you when i wash it—“
“no.”
sol stopped talking and looked at joonhwi’s eyes, not knowing what he meant. was he mad because she took home his sweater? or upset?
“w-what?”
“you can keep it.” he said softly, taking his book and holding it up to hide his burning face. “you look better in it.”
sol’s face felt hot, as she played with the hem of the hoodie and the long sleeves. only then did the familiar smell of sandalwood hit her that it was indeed his hoodie. the way the sleeves were too long, how it draped loosely over her and now remembering that she saw it on him first day he met him.
“um…o-okay.” she shyly replied. they shyly avoided eye contact for the rest of the study session as they quizzed each other and did their work.
joonhwi never expected to think that having her wear his hoodie would make him blush. yet there he was, hiding behind his book, trying to calm his blushing cheeks. it wasn’t just because he associated the word cute with her. it was knowing that if she returned it, it would smell of her.
he thought to the first day he thanked himself for sitting at the back to make a new friend, wearing the hoodie she wore now. then to the day he asked her if she needed help with her grades.
as he went home that day, staring at the closet without the hoodie, he gave a small smile.
that’s okay, he thought. i would give her all I had if she wanted to.
she already has my heart.