Chapter Text
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The first bell rings through the hallway, sharp and bright like morning sunlight on polished floors.
Jaehyun tugs his blazer into place, earbuds half in, mind still foggy from a too-short night.
He’s halfway through the corridor when someone rounds the corner — fast.
A shoulder brushes against his chest. A notebook slips, pages fluttering like startled birds.
“Oh— sorry!”
Jaehyun blinks down. The boy standing in front of him is tall, his hair brushing over his eyes in soft waves of brown. There’s a patch of morning light caught in his lashes. He bends down quickly, picking up his scattered papers.
Jaehyun kneels to help. Their hands graze once, then again — longer than either of them means to.
Taesan’s voice comes out quiet but warm.
“Thanks… I’m kind of lost. First day.”
“New student?” Jaehyun asks, offering a shy half-smile.
Taesan nods. “Yeah. Transfer. I’m trying to find Class 2-3.”
Jaehyun points down the hall. “Same class as me. You’re going the right way.”
Their eyes meet — just for a second — but it’s enough. Something shifts.
For the rest of the day, Jaehyun swears he can feel that moment lingering in the air, like the scent of rain on pavement.
And when Taesan sits two desks away in the afternoon sunlight, glancing out the window with his chin propped in his hand — Jaehyun realizes he’s not the only one stealing glances.
✦ ✦ ✦
He doesn’t know it yet,
but something has already started.