Chapter Text
“Riki-ssi”, a soft voice spoke to him amidst the sound of chatter and clatter around them, the sound of school being out.
Riki, recognising it immediately, turned from his friend to face the person, smiling widely at the girl in front of his desk.
“Sunmi-chan!”, he replied in a singsong voice, smile widening upon seeing her giggle at the endearment.
She lowered her hand she had covered her plum lips with, and spoke to him again.
“Since we’re partners for the project, we should exchange contact info”.
Riki could’ve cheered, but outwardly just brought his phone out, unlocking it and clicking on the contacts-icon, then holding it out for the girl, who immediately took it with her well-manicured hand.
Riki looked at her with a smile, as she typed her info in, and then returned the phone.
“Message me”, she said, smiling as always.
He nodded, and sent an emoji to her, and the pocket of her jacket buzzed.
The girl took it out, nodding, and then put her hand up in a small wave.
“Let’s discuss how to do this later, Riki-ssi”, she said, smiling yet again.
Riki grinned at her, and looked at her as she turned to go join her friends in the doorway. He had to suppress a sigh. Kim Sunmi was a literal angel. She was smart, kind, soft-spoken, and the cutest, with round cheeks and plum lips and a pair of amazing eyes. And she was quite short too, making Riki tower over her with his 185 centimetres. Adorable!
A voice interrupted his daydreaming.
“The world to Riki, hello”.
Riki turned to the voice, looking at his friend Choi Gu-Hyun, who was rolling his eyes.
“Got her number”, Riki beamed at him, earning him yet another eye roll.
His friend got up from his seat, straightening his jacket while doing so.
“I tell you man, she’s not interested in you, she’s just being nice and trying to make it through the last year. Don’t read into it”.
Riki stuck out his tongue.
“You’re just jealous”.
His friend snorted, picking up his bag.
“Get your stuff packed, I wanna leave”.
Riki nodded, and turned to shuffle his things into his bag, before getting up himself. He smiled at himself. No matter what Gu-Hyun said, he had gotten her number and he considered that a score.
**
*
Even her texting was cute!
Riki said as much, as he was laying on his friend’s bed that Saturday evening, sighing at his screen.
Gu-Hyun replied with a snort, not turning from where he was glued to his television, playing a game on it.
“You’re down bad, man. It’s getting a bit sad at this point”.
Riki stuck his tongue out at his friend, knowing he couldn’t see it. Gu-Hyun just didn’t get it!
“I think she likes me too, Hyunie! She sent me a flower emoji”.
Gu-Hyun let out another undignified snort.
“A flower emoji! Next she’ll propose”.
Riki rolled his eyes, and sent an emoji of a cat and a thumbs up back. They would meet up the next day, and Riki was excited. He’d go to her house! Just the two of them. He wondered if he’d see her room, he figured it was just as neat as herself. And he’d see her out of uniform. He wondered what type of clothes she wore on weekends. He couldn’t help but sigh.
Gu-Hyun spoke to him.
“Stop making those sounds, you’re distracting me”.
Naturally, Riki had to overdo it, just to spite him. He let out louds sighs and cooing noises, until his friend let out a frustrated groan upon dying on the screen. Riki let out a loud laugh upon seeing it, and couldn’t stop laughing more as his friend immediately threw the console away, and turned to attack. A tickle fight ensued, and Riki was laughing like a mad man. Gu-Hyun was relentless.
**
*
Riki was a bit nervous, as he put his phone down into his back pocket. He looked up, and found himself outside of a big and nice villa. Kim Sunmi’s house.
It hadn’t been too hard to get there, but he had needed to change buses twice, and there hadn’t been an AC on it, so he thought he probably looked messy. He had carefully combed his hair back for the study date , but at this point he could feel strands falling down over his forehead. Annoying! He had put effort into his looks. He was wearing a black jeans jacket, with matching black pants, and a white t-shirt underneath. Gu-Hyun had said it was overkill, but Riki had dressed to impress.
With a deep breath, Riki opened the gate to the small garden, and closed it behind him when he was past. He made his way along the small trail leading up to the front door, and with another breath, he rang the doorbell.
Immediately, he heard footsteps from within, and he had barely time to drag a hand through his hair, before he heard the lock turn and the door open. He plastered a smile on his lips, and there she was.
“Hi, Riki-ssi, welcome in”.
She had her hair down, resting on her shoulders, and she was wearing a pair of black shorts and a striped pullover, and she looked adorable . Riki thanked his lucky stars again for this opportunity. She stepped aside slightly, and it made her hair move away fully from her face. She had even put on a little bit of makeup, he thought, making his heartbeats pick up. She was so… so. Riki could have fainted.
After a while, he saw her raise her eyebrows at him, and Riki blinked, and finally stepped into the hall. Embarrassing.
“Thank you”, he said in a low voice, as she closed the door behind him. He stepped out of his shoes, and put them next to the other shoes already there.
She spoke to him again, as he rose again.
“Did the journey here go alright?”
He nodded with a smile.
“It did!”
Riki glanced over the hall. He saw hangers on his right, and shrugged out of his jacket. He hoped he didn’t smell bad after the trip. Riki saw what looked to be an open and airy living room ahead, and then a stairway on the opposite of it.
He turned back as he hung his jacket, smiling at the short girl.
“Your house is nice, Sunmi-chan”.
She let out a small giggle yet again, and nodded.
“Thank you”.
She then started walking, and Riki followed her.
“We can sit in the living room, my parents are out. My brother is home, but he won’t bother us”.
Riki felt his heart sink a bit by learning he would not be invited into her room, but felt his spirits lift upon hearing only her brother was home. Great. He followed her into the living room, and she gestured towards the sofa.
“You can sit here, and I’ll go get some snacks for us. Tea?”
He sat down, and turned to her with another smile.
“Please”.
She smiled back, and turned. Riki still felt his heart beating, and he let out a sigh. He reached into his back pocket, and pulled out his phone. Immediately, he went to his contacts.
[10:03]
Me : hyunie im at her place n im SWEATING !
Gu-Hyun didn’t seem to be online, and Riki sighed, putting his phone screen-down on the table in front of him. He then turned to his bag, and took out his notebook and laptop. He supposed he was on his own.
**
*
Riki thanked his lucky stars once more for giving him Sunmi as his partner, because she was smart. At once when she had returned with snacks and a pot of warm tea, she dove into working-mode. Riki barely got a word in, and all things considered, he wasn’t as prepared as she was. He found himself blindly agreeing to her ideas, and it made her smile, and that was all Riki wanted, after all.
They would make the project on a local factory, due to the subject being civics. Sunmi had already gathered information on it, and in no time they had made a draft for what to present in class in two weeks. Riki felt completely sure that their presentation would go well, and although the subject was a bit boring, he figured the teacher would like it.
As they took a small break, drinking the tea and chatting a bit leisurely while nibbling on the crackers Sunmi had brought, a door was opened upstairs. Riki’s eyes went to the stairway he could glimpse from his seat, and only now did he remember that Sunmi had said that her brother was home.
Sunmi confirmed it with a smile.
“That’s my brother, he probably woke up just now. Sunoo-oppa is a first year in university”.
She looked proud to say so, and Riki nodded with a smile in return.
“I see”.
Upstairs, he heard another door being opened, and then how a shower got turned on, and for a few more minutes he and Sunmi just drank their tea and Riki was content listening to her talk about her interests, finding out they liked the same shows while doing so.
By the time they finished up and were about to turn back to their work, the door upstairs was opened and Sunmi’s brother began walking down the stairs. Riki looked up as the person came into view, and immediately he paused. The boy had flushed cheeks, from the shower, and was drying his short black hair with a small towel. His features was like a male copy of Sunmi, but it had something else about it that made his breath hitch a bit. He was wearing a loose tee and a pair of trainers, and he stopped too upon meeting Riki’s eyes.
Sunmi turned too, and she spoke in a cheery voice.
“Sunoo-oppa!”
Riki couldn’t help but swallow, mouth suddenly dry, as they boy started walking again, going into the living room.
“Morning Sunmi-yah”, he said, and his smile was pretty. He then looked at Riki. “And you must be Ni-ki?”
Sunmi giggled.
“His name is Nishimura Riki, not Ni-ki”.
Sunoo hummed.
“Ni-ki is cuter”, he said, smiling once more at Riki. “Don’t you agree?”
Riki swallowed again, and then found himself nodding.
“You can call me that”, he just said.
It earned him a laugh from both siblings, and the sound of them intermingling in the open area made Riki's heartbeats pick up. Riki couldn't help but stare at the sight of Sunmi's brother, as he smiled at Riki before settling down in the armchair next to where Sunmi was seated, asking them what they were working on.
Kim Sunoo was somehow even prettier than his sister, and he could call him whatever he liked.