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The first time Yeji realized she had a crush on Jisu, it was over something incredibly stupid.
It was not a dramatic moment and certainly not a life-changing revelation. Not one of those scenes from romance movies where the main character felt butterflies in their stomach and everything clicked into place.
No.
It was in a random day at school when she saw Jisu laughing.
That's it, just laughing.
The memory irritated Yeji every time she thought about it and yet it still made her smile. Because how was she supposed to defend herself against that? She was so down bad.
Plus, the irritation wasn't even because she dislikes the memory but mostly because she felt it was ridiculous.
She liked to think she was a reasonable person, rational and sensible. The sort of person who plans and thought things through before making decisions. Yet somehow she'd developed a crush because Jisu laughed.
Not because Jisu had done anything extraordinary and not because of some grand romantic moment. Just a laugh, a really adorable one.
And somehow, that made it feel even more real.
It was single laugh, and suddenly Yeji found herself noticing everything.
The way Jisu's eyes crinkled and looked like it smiled too when she laughed too hard, the way she covered her mouth a second too late, the way her shoulders shook and throws her head back because it was too funny.
One second, Yeji had been listening to Ryujin complain about a professor and the next, she was staring. Completely distracted. Yeji was completely gone.
Everyone else had continued the conversation but Yeji hadn't. She'd been too busy watching Jisu. Not even in a subtle way, she was straight up staring at her. It was embarrassing and even more embarrassing because Jisu caught her.
Of course she did, Jisu noticed everything. Jisu had always been observant, Yeji thought.
Their eyes met from across the table and Yeji immediately looked away. Unfortunately, not before seeing the smile tugging at the corner of Jisu's lips. And it was not her usual smile but a knowing one, the kind that made Yeji want to disappear into the floor.
That had been a month ago, and things had only gotten worse since then.
***
"You're staring again."
Yeji nearly dropped her phone and across the cafeteria table, Jisu was grinning. The sunlight spilling through the windows caught in her dark hair, outlining the edges in gold. Yeji hated that she noticed things like that.
"I wasn't."
"You absolutely were."
"I was thinking."
"While looking directly at me?"
"I was looking at the door, I just happened to be facing your direction."
Jisu hummed. The sound alone was enough to make Yeji suspicious because whenever Jisu made that sound, it meant trouble.
Sure enough, she leaned forward slightly. The movement was small, casual, but it was enough for Yeji to catch the faint scent of whatever shampoo Jisu used. It was something floral. Something unfair, because Jisu knew exactly her effect on her.
"Thinking about what?"
"Nothing."
"Liar." Jisu says, subtly smirking as Yeji ignored her and tried hard to focus on her lunch.
Across the table, Ryujin was watching the entire exchange with a tired expression parents would give when they're tired of their childrren's bullshit.
Jisu continued smiling while Yeji wanted to launch herself through the nearest window. Instead, she stabbed aggressively at her food and pretended not to notice Jisu looking entirely too pleased with herself.
***
The problem wasn't that Jisu teased her. The problem was that Jisu remembered things. Every little thing, every offhand comment, every compliment and every detail.
A few days ago, Yeji had casually mentioned that she liked Jisu's sweater. A completely normal and harmless observation, at least, it should have been.
But now, Jisu wore it constantly. And every single time she did, she made sure Yeji noticed.
"Cold today." Jisu dropped into the seat beside her in class, the familiar sweater immediately caught Yeji's attention and Jisu noticed because of course she did.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You're looking at my sweater."
Yeji closed her eyes briefly and when she opened them again, Jisu was smiling.
She was not laughing, not teasing, just smiling. And somehow that was worse because she doesn't know what to make of that smile.
"Didn't you say you liked this one?"
Heat crawled up Yeji's neck.
"It was a passing comment." She says.
"Hm."
Jisu tugged lightly at one sleeve. "I still remember it."
For some reason, that stuck with Yeji for the rest of the day. Because Jisu had remembered. A random comment Yeji herself had forgotten about days later but Jisu hadn't.
The realization made her heart beat erratically, which was a problem. A very serious problem for her.
***
It didn't help Yeji's budding feelings that Jisu was affectionate without her realizing it. At least, Yeji hoped she didn't realize it, otherwise, that opened an entirely different set of problems.
Jisu touched people casually—a hand on a shoulder, a quick nudge with an elbow, leaning her head against someone while laughing, and sometimes even hugging someone's arm.
Yeji thought these were normal and friendly things that shouldn't have bothered her as Jisu's friend and classmate.
Unfortunately, having a crush on Jisu meant noticing such things and it wasn't even being a creep or anything. Because somehow, those little things just made Yeji's heart beat a little too fast and it made her feel a little guilty for feeling that way towards her friend.
One afternoon, they were walking back from campus together. Ryujin suddenly left twenty minutes ago after spotting someone she knew, leaving Yeji alone with Jisu which was dangerous situation for Hwang Yeji.
The conversation had been normal enough, they talked about classes, assignments and weekend plans. And then, Jisu laughed at something Yeji said and instinctively hooked her arm through Yeji's.
Just for a second.
A casual and completely thoughtless gesture and then, Jisu continued talking without missing a beat while Yeji forgot every language she had ever learned.
The warmth lingered on her skin long after Jisu let go. And the worst part? Jisu probably didn't even remember doing it.
***
By the time finals season arrived, Yeji was exhausted. Not from studying, but from Jisu's teasing—from constantly trying not to look at her and constantly failing, from pretending her heart wasn't doing increasingly concerning things whenever Jisu smiled at her.
It was becoming ridiculous.
Which was why she found herself alone in a classroom after school one Friday afternoon.
Everyone else had gone home. The setting sun painted the room in shades of gold and orange. Dust drifted lazily through the light spilling from the windows.
The campus outside had grown quiet. Only the faint hum of the air conditioner remained.
Yeji was trying to finish a presentation and maybe, trying to focus on her work because suddenly Jisu was there, standing behind her and doing absolutely nothing but watch her from behind as she does her work.
"What are you doing?"
"Keeping you company."
"You've been watching me for twenty minutes."
"I know."
Yeji sighed and Jisu smiled. The sight made something in her chest tighten.
Annoying, extremely annoying that she drives Yeji crazy—but it is totally endearing.
A few moments later, Jisu suddenly dropped a bomb that completely caught Yeji off guard.
"You never told me who your crush was."
Yeji froze, the cursor blinked on her laptop screen as if mocking her. Jisu immediately noticed her reaction, a slow grin spreading across her face.
"Oh."
Yeji already hated where this was going.
"Oh, that's interesting."
The amusement in Jisu's voice made her stomach flip.
"What's interesting?"
"The fact that you look guilty."
"I don't."
"You kind of do."
Yeji closed her laptop. The click echoed softly through the room. Jisu blinked, something about the gesture seemed to catch her off guard.
Good.
For once, Yeji had an effect on Jisu and a reaction that's wasn't a smirk or a knowing smile. Yeji was tired of the teasing and being the only one getting flustered. Tired of wondering if Jisu felt nothing while every interaction made her feel too much. Maybe it was time to make things fair.
Yeji stood and Jisu looked up, still grinning at her. Then Yeji took a step forward, then another step, and another until she cornered her to the wall.
Jisu's grin slowly disappeared.
Interesting, Yeji thought as a faint smile appeared on her lips.
For the first time since that day, Jisu looked flustered.
"Yeji?" Jisu says, eyes looking at her and immediately looking away when Yeji's eyes met hers.
Yeji ignored the way her own heart was trying to punch through her ribs. Ignored the voice in her head screaming that this was a terrible idea. Because for once, Jisu was the one looking nervous. And Yeji wasn't about to waste the opportunity.
She stopped inches away from her, close enough to see every detail of her face, close enough to notice the way Jisu suddenly stood a little straighter, the way her hands clutched the hem of her sweater and the way she wasn't smiling anymore.
Yeji leaned a hand against the wall, her eyes looking straight into Jisu's eyes and trying not to lose her composure because God, her eyes are so beautiful.
"You've been really interested in my crush."
Jisu laughed awkwardly, her eyes darting everywhere except Yeji's.
"I mean... yeah." She replied, looking at Yeji's eyes for a second and immediately looking away.
The hesitation in her voice made Yeji's pulse jump.
"Oh?"
Suddenly, everything felt different. Because Jisu looked flustered, actually flustered. A faint pink tint had appeared across her cheeks and the moment Yeji noticed it, she couldn't stop noticing.
"Oh my God," Jisu muttered.
Yeji almost laughed. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Really?"
"Yep." A complete lie.
Jisu's blush deepened and Yeji's heart nearly stopped. She'd spent months wondering what Jisu would look like if someone ever managed to make her nervous. Now she knew.
It was incredibly adorable.
Jisu swallowed.
"You look way too happy right now."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Yeji grinned.
"You're enjoying this."
Maybe she was. A little.
Jisu groaned and covered her face with one hand. The gesture should have made Yeji feel bad. Instead, it made her chest feel strangely light, like she's flying.
Jisu looked just as affected—just as flustered as her whenever the younger teases her.
And a dangerous thought appeared in her mind..
Because if Jisu reacted like this from a little teasing, then—
No.
Yeji shut the thought down immediately, that leads to a disaster.
"You should see your face right now." Yeji commented, still smiling at Jisu's flustered expression.
Jisu peeked through her fingers.
"Don't."
"It's cute."
"Yeji."
The warning only made her smile wider.
Jisu groaned again and tried to step back even if the wall was right behind her and there is no space left.
The blush stubbornly remained and neither of them spoke for a moment leaving an awkward silence.
The classroom felt quieter than before. The sunlight had shifted, stretching long shadows across the floor. Outside, students were beginning to head home.
Inside, neither seemed particularly eager to leave despite the awkward air.
Yeji found herself studying Jisu again. The curve of her smile, the way she kept avoiding eye contact, and the faint pink still lingering on her cheeks.
Jisu caught her staring. This time, neither looked away immediately and the air between them changed completely. It was the kind of silence that felt like standing on the edge of something.
Then—
The classroom door slammed open.
"Oh, for the love of—"
Ryujin stopped in the doorway. Her eyes moved between them.
She was greeted by the sight of Yeji leaning against the wall with Jisu caged in front of her.
Jisu looking suspiciously red and a weird tension was lingered in the air.
And then, there was silence. A very long silence.
Ryujin dropped her head back toward the ceiling, breathing a sigh.
"Seriously?"
Both immediately stepped apart.
"We weren't doing anything."
"We weren't doing anything."
The synchronized response only made Ryujin roll her eyes, looking tired of them already.
"One day."
She pointed at both of them.
"One day, one of you is going to admit whatever this is."
Neither answered and Ryujin laughed, not because anything was funny, because the laugh sounded closer to exasperation. Watching the two pine for each other for months should qualify her forr financial compensation.
"You know what? Never mind."
She turned around and then paused. Without looking back, she added: "By the way, literally everyone thinks you're dating."
And then, the door closed behind her.
Yeji and Jisu stared at the door, eyes trying to avoid each other's. The blush immediately returned, but this time, it was the both of them turning red. And somehow, impossibly, neither of them could think of a single thing to say.
End.