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THE BELL signalling the end of the last class was still echoing through the concrete hallways when the usual chaos broke loose. It was the worst part of the day—dozens of students talking over one another, backpacks being zipped up in a rush, and the sharp clatter of shoes against the tiled floor.
Louis stood right in the middle of it all, yet somehow seemed completely detached from the commotion. His movements were almost automatic as he tried to shove his heavy biology textbooks into his metal locker. He was exhausted, his head already overloaded, and all he could think about was how screwed he'd be if he didn't figure out those genetics graphs before tomorrow's exam.
Gripping the dented locker door, he gave it one firm shove to slam it shut.
What he didn't expect was for the empty space beside him to be occupied in the split second the metal door snapped closed.
Leaning casually against the neighbouring locker, arms folded across his chest and a perfectly smug smile tugging at the corner of his lips, stood Woojin. He looked as though he'd been there for ages, quietly watching Louis wrestle with his books.
Louis jolted backwards so suddenly his heels nearly left the floor. It was almost an over-the-top reaction. The strap of his backpack slipped off his shoulder, forcing him to catch it awkwardly mid-air while his other hand flew straight to his chest, where his heart was pounding hard enough to feel in his throat.
— Bro... — Louis let out, his voice cracking into a higher pitch from the genuine fright. He blinked several times, trying to catch his breath—and salvage what little dignity he had left—as he looked down at the older boy.
Woojin let out a quiet laugh, his shoulders bouncing ever so slightly, clearly finding Louis's reaction far funnier than he should have. Pushing himself off the locker, he took an unhurried step closer.
A few metres behind him, near the main staircase, three mates from their class were standing around chatting, laughing, and gesturing animatedly. They were obviously waiting for Woojin so they could head off together after school—or wherever they'd planned to go. But Woojin seemed to have completely forgotten they were there. His attention was fixed entirely on Louis.
— Why're you putting that away? — Woojin asked, his voice dropping into that softer, slower tone he only ever used when it was just the two of them, despite the dozens of people surrounding them. He nodded towards the backpack Louis was still clutching against his chest.
— Forgot we've got revision?
Louis swallowed hard, the shock fading almost instantly, replaced by that familiar rush that always travelled up his spine whenever Woojin decided to stand just a little too close. He had to tilt his head down to meet Woojin's eyes, and somehow that only made him feel even more flustered. Clearing his throat, he adjusted the strap of his backpack and tried to slip back into the indifferent attitude he liked to pretend he had.
— I didn't forget. I was just getting my stuff organised, — Louis lied, his voice coming out a little lower than usual beneath the noise filling the hallway.
Woojin took another half-step closer, slipping both hands into the pockets of his school trousers. He tipped his chin up ever so slightly to hold Louis's gaze.
— You're full of it.
The words were quiet, but they landed perfectly. Woojin didn't look away for even a second, wearing a look of complete certainty that made Louis turn his head ever so slightly, suddenly finding the hinges on his locker incredibly fascinating.
— You were about to leave without me, — he continued. Reaching over, he gave the strap of the backpack Louis was still clutching to his chest a gentle tug. — Your exam's next week. If you do badly, I swear I'll give up on you.
Louis let out a quiet huff of laughter before finally looking down at the older boy again. Woojin's little threats had never really worked on him—or maybe Louis just liked pretending they didn't.
Woojin was in Year 12. He was at the most brutal, stressful stage of school, carrying the crushing weight of final exams on his shoulders, with endless practice tests swallowing up every weekend. The fact that he was here, refusing to head off with his own mates after school just to spend his afternoons helping a Year 10 student with the basics, meant a lot.
It meant everything.
Louis treasured that time more than he could ever put into words.
— I wasn't leaving, — Louis lied again, though this time his voice was softer, the tension easing from his jaw. — I just... actually got the fright of my life.
Woojin raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced, but simply jerked his head towards the end of the hallway.
— Whatever. Get moving. Meet me at the table in the back of the library in five minutes. Don't make me waste my time.
Woojin turned on his heel and headed towards the stairs. His group of mates was still waiting for him, but he only gave them a vague wave as he passed, telling them he had to sort out some study stuff in the library and that they could head to tutoring without him.
Louis stayed where he was, watching the older boy disappear into the sea of school uniforms. He drew in a slow breath, trying to steady the frantic beating of his heart before finally making himself move.
First, he adjusted the backpack strap that had slipped down his shoulder and tugged the zip shut to make sure nothing would fall out along the way. When he finally started walking, he took his time, letting the crowded hallway gradually thin out around him. Louis naturally caught a few glances as he passed, and he returned a couple of nods to familiar Year 10 students walking in the opposite direction.
His mind, though, was fixed entirely on getting to the library.
He didn't want to push the five-minute deadline Woojin had given him.
— Oi, Louis!
A voice called from the other side of the hallway, near the art lockers. Louis stopped and turned just in time to see one of his classmates jogging over with his backpack hanging off one shoulder.
— Everyone's heading to that ice cream shop near the station, — the boy said, coming to a stop in front of him with an eager grin. — Pretty much all the boys from the club are going. You coming? It's way too hot to head straight home.
A small, polite smile spread across Louis's face as he tightened his grip on his backpack strap.
— Thanks for asking, really. But I can't today. I've got a revision session in the library. Maybe next time, yeah?
— Ah, shame. Studying straight after school? You're brave, mate, — his classmate laughed, giving Louis a friendly pat on the arm before backing away. — Good luck, then. See you tomorrow!
Louis waved back and picked up his pace ever so slightly. There was a warm feeling settling in his chest as he realised that, out of everything he could've been doing after school, there was only one place he actually wanted to be.
A few minutes later, he pushed through the library's double glass doors. The quiet that greeted him felt like stepping into a different world. The scent of old paper and polished wood lingered between the tall bookshelves. Louis walked at an easy pace, the soft squeak of his trainers against the floor the only sound for metres around. He could feel his mind finally beginning to settle.
But his steps gradually slowed before coming to a complete stop as he turned past the history shelves and approached the quieter corner at the back.
At the black table beneath the warm, dim glow of an old desk lamp, Woojin was already there, waiting for him.
Only...
He wasn't alone.
A girl was sitting directly opposite him, leaning forward as she spoke in an excited whisper. She talked with her hands, laughing at something as she tilted her head to one side with an almost practised ease. Woojin sat with his forearms resting on the wooden tabletop, his posture as relaxed as ever, wearing one of those easy smiles of his.
An immediate, inexplicable knot twisted in Louis's stomach.
The comfortable warmth that had filled his chest only moments earlier vanished, replaced by something cold and heavy as he watched someone else occupying the space that was supposed to be his. He'd just turned down an invitation to get ice cream with his mates just so he could be here, and seeing Woojin giving that same attention to someone else made his blood burn in a way he absolutely hated.
He started walking again, straightening his posture and planting each step with quiet purpose, making himself look as tall and composed as possible.
Louis's shadow stretched across the table before he even reached it.
The girl's laughter died instantly.
She looked up and swallowed hard as she was met with Louis's completely closed-off expression—cold, unreadable, and unmistakably territorial. The easy atmosphere around the table evaporated within seconds, replaced by something heavy and painfully awkward.
She cleared her throat, visibly flustered, and hurriedly gathered her pencil case and books, seeming to realise her presence was no longer welcome.
— Well... I'd better get going, — she murmured, pushing herself up from the black chair. She glanced sideways at Woojin, nervously biting the inside of her lip before adding with a small smile, — I'll text you later, yeah?
Woojin offered her a gentle smile and gave a relaxed nod while she adjusted the strap of her bag over her shoulder.
— No worries, — he replied softly, his calm voice barely carrying through the quiet corner of the library. — Get home safe.
The girl turned and hurried down the aisle between the old bookshelves, her cheeks noticeably pinker than before, disappearing from sight a few moments later.
Woojin's gaze lingered in the direction she'd gone for only a second before lifting, completely unhurried, to the tall boy still standing beside the table.
The contrast between the easy kindness Woojin had shown his classmate and the heavy silence radiating from Louis made the air between them suddenly feel much thicker.
Louis stepped forward and pulled out the chair the girl had just vacated. The legs scraped loudly across the wooden floor with far more force than necessary, deliberately breaking the library's silence. He dropped his backpack beside his feet, sat down, and immediately folded his long arms across his chest.
His eyes stubbornly refused to meet Woojin's, settling instead on some meaningless scratch across the black tabletop, while the faint flush creeping over his cheeks betrayed just how irritated he really was.
Woojin watched him quietly for several long moments, resting his elbows on the table and leaning forward slightly. He noticed the tight line of the younger boy's jaw and the way his breathing seemed just a little too controlled.
At first, Woojin frowned, the amusement fading from his eyes.
It never even crossed his mind that this had anything to do with the girl who'd just left. As far as he was concerned, it had only been a quick, meaningless chat about the Year 12 student council. He assumed something serious must have happened on Louis's way to the library—or maybe the stress had finally caught up with him.
Unfolding his arms, his posture softened into one of genuine concern as he studied Louis's expression.
— What happened? — Woojin asked, his voice dropping to a quiet whisper that barely broke the library's silence. Leaning in a little further, he tried to catch Louis's eye. — Did someone in your class give you a hard time? Or was it one of the teachers?
Louis kept his eyes fixed on the table, folding his arms tighter across his chest. Hearing the genuine concern in Woojin's voice only made the knot in his stomach worse.
— Nothing, — Louis replied, his answer short, sharp, and lower than usual.
Woojin let out a quiet sigh but wasn't ready to give up. Reaching over, he pulled Louis's backpack onto the table and calmly unzipped it, taking out his biology textbook.
— Doesn't look like nothing. You walked in here looking like you were ready to flip the table over, — Woojin said, sliding the book to the middle of the table and opening it to the genetics chapter. As he did, his fingers brushed lightly—and deliberately—against the side of Louis's hand, a touch meant to be reassuring. — If you're worn out from training or classes, we can take it easy today.
Louis's skin tingled beneath the brief touch. He swallowed hard before finally lifting his dark eyes to meet Woojin's.
The concern in Woojin's eyes was genuine.
And somehow, that innocent concern was exactly what turned Louis's jealousy into nothing but stubborn pride.
— I already said it was nothing, Woojin, — Louis muttered, holding his gaze with quiet intensity.
Woojin blinked, caught off guard by the seriousness in his voice. A moment later, though, a crooked smile crept back onto his lips. Leaning in a little closer, he raised an eyebrow.
— Woojin? — he echoed, his voice dropping to a teasing whisper. — Since when? Where's the hyung? Whatever happened to your manners?
Louis tried to hold it together. He pressed his lips into a thin line, folded his arms tighter across his chest, and looked up at the library ceiling to avoid making eye contact.
It was pointless.
Woojin's teasing was impossible to resist.
A quiet snort escaped Louis before he could stop it, completely undoing his sulking act. He covered his mouth with one hand and shook his head, while Woojin smiled to himself, looking thoroughly pleased that he'd managed to crack tough exterior.
— Whatever, hyung.
He unfolded his arms and finally pulled the biology textbook towards himself. His long fingers hurried through the pages, trying to hide the warmth still lingering in his cheeks, before stopping on page forty-two, where genetics charts and Punnett squares filled nearly the entire spread.
— Explain it to me.
— Someone's impatient, — Woojin murmured, a quiet laugh slipping from his lips at the younger boy's bossy tone.
He didn't actually mind.
With his usual laid-back attitude, he reached across, grabbed Louis's pencil case without asking, and fished out a bright lime-green highlighter. He popped the cap off with his teeth, shuffled his chair another inch closer, and leaned his weight onto the table, his shoulder almost brushing Louis's.
— Right, pay attention. — Woojin's voice dropped into that low, unhurried whisper they had to use in the library. — What you got wrong on the last practice exam was the very basics of heredity. — He pointed the tip of the highlighter at the chart on the page. — A genotype is an organism's genetic makeup—the letters you see here. The phenotype is the physical trait that's expressed as a result. Got it? If a dominant allele is present, that's the one that'll be expressed.
Louis kept his eyes on the page, but Woojin's voice, so close to his ear, made concentrating almost impossible.
— Yeah... I get it — Louis murmured, absentmindedly fiddling with the cuff of his blazer to hide how distracted he was.
— Doesn't look like it — Woojin shot back with a quiet chuckle, dragging the highlighter beneath another paragraph. — If you had, you wouldn't have missed the Punnett square question. Look—if you cross two heterozygous individuals, the phenotypic ratio will always be three to one. Write that down in the margin so you don't forget.
Louis pulled a pencil from the open pencil case and rested the tip against the page. Their hands brushed lightly across the tabletop as he leaned in to write down the formula, and the warmth of Woojin's closeness made him clear his throat quietly, doing his best to focus on nothing but biology.
— Like this? — Louis asked, turning the page slightly so Woojin could see his notes.
— Yeah, that's it. Now the rest depends on you remembering which traits are recessive, — Woojin explained. — There's no point memorising the formula if you forget to read the question properly. If it says the trait is only expressed in a homozygous individual...
That was exactly when it happened.
Right in the middle of his explanation, the brief buzz of a phone on the table broke both of their concentration.
Louis's phone, lying beside his textbook, lit up.
His eyes darted to the lock screen just long enough to read the notification from one of the boys in his year.
«Hey, Louis, did you end up finishing that history summary? Reckon you could send me your notes later?»
Without hesitation, Louis reached over and flipped the phone face down against the wooden table, hoping to kill the conversation before it even started.
Woojin, whose lime-green highlighter had paused halfway across the page, watched the younger boy's quick movement. Slowly, he set the marker down on the open notebook.
One eyebrow lifted.
— Who was that? — Woojin asked, curiosity slipping into his whisper as he studied Louis's face.
— No one important, — Louis replied immediately, his voice perfectly steady as he nudged the phone a little farther away with one finger. — You can keep explaining, hyung.
Woojin leaned back in his chair, resting comfortably against the backrest. A familiar, cheeky smile slowly spread across his face. Propping his chin in one hand, he looked at Louis with unmistakable amusement.
— No one important, huh? — he teased, his soft voice dripping with playful sarcasm. — The way you've been hiding that phone... I'd bet you've got heaps of girls chasing after you these days. Is that it?
Louis let out a quiet huff of laughter and shook his head, feeling a faint warmth creep back into his cheeks.
— Don't be ridiculous... — he muttered, lowering his eyes to the notebook as he absentmindedly fiddled with his pencil.
But the irritation he'd been carrying ever since he walked into the library and saw that girl sitting across from Woojin refused to stay buried.
Before he could stop himself, he looked up, locking his dark eyes onto Woojin's.
— I could say the same about you, couldn't I? From what I saw, your queue's looking pretty full as well.
Woojin blinked.
The smile lingering at the corner of his lips froze for the briefest moment.
What exactly was Louis trying to say?
Woojin kept his eyes on the younger boy, but his mind stalled for a moment, genuinely puzzled.
A queue?
He replayed Louis's words in his head.
Your queue's looking pretty full as well.
He wasn't exactly drowning in messages. Most days, he barely had time to look at his phone, so why would Louis...
Then it clicked.
His eyes narrowed ever so slightly as he replayed the last few minutes. The girl leaning across the table. Her laughter. "I'll text you later, yeah?" Then Louis arriving moments afterwards with that stormy expression, dragging the chair across the floor and refusing to look him in the eye.
The pieces fell into place almost embarrassingly fast.
Louis was jealous.
A grin tugged at the corner of Woojin's mouth.
— Hang on... don't tell me... — he whispered, his eyes sparkling with amusement. — Were you actually jealous?
Louis didn't answer.
He simply held Woojin's gaze.
Woojin's smile only widened.
— You know there's no reason to be bothered by that, Lou. I don't complain when you give other people your attention.
— But I don't.
The reply came immediately.
Low. Firm.
It sliced straight through Woojin's teasing.
Louis didn't look away.
— I turned them down so I could come straight here. I don't care about anyone else after school, hyung. — His fingers tightened around the pencil in his hand before he spoke again, quieter this time. — The only person I want to spend my time with... is you.
The silence that settled over the table at the back of the library felt unbearably heavy.
Woojin froze in his chair, lips slightly parted as his heartbeat suddenly hammered against his ribs, completely catching him off guard. Every bit of that confident Year 12 composure vanished. He searched Louis's face and realised, almost instantly, that the younger boy wasn't joking.
He meant every word.
— ...what?
— I said you're the only one I care about, hyung, — Louis repeated, not backing down in the slightest.
His voice dropped even lower, almost disappearing beneath the library's silence, yet it carried a certainty that made Woojin's stomach flip.
Louis remained leaning over the black table, close enough that Woojin could feel the warmth of his breath.
Woojin blinked.
He searched desperately for a quick comeback, some joke—anything to lighten the mood—but his mind had gone completely blank.
His heart was beating so loudly against his ribs that, for a terrifying second, he wondered if Louis could hear it.
His eyes lingered on Louis's before drifting, almost against his own will, to the younger boy's lips.
He swallowed.
— You... you can't just say things like that out of nowhere, — Woojin whispered, his voice coming out noticeably rougher than usual.
— Why not? — Louis didn't hesitate.— It's the truth.
The scrape of chairs from nearby tables broke the silence.
Louis didn't move an inch.
He kept looking straight at Woojin, refusing to look away.
Around them, though, the atmosphere shifted. The handful of students still studying began packing up their things and heading towards the exit. The library was emptying quickly.
Woojin sat there for another long moment, still trying to process what he'd just heard.
He blinked several times, completely at a loss for words.
The teasing smile he'd been wearing had disappeared without a trace.
Needing something—anything—to do with his hands, he slowly stood and picked up one of the library's thick reference books that had been sitting on the corner of the table.
— I... need to return this to the back shelves...
The words barely escaped as a whisper.
Without waiting for a reply, Woojin turned and walked away.
Louis blinked, confused by the sudden reaction.
He stayed where he was for a second, staring at the now-empty chair across from him, trying to make sense of the fact that his hyung had simply stood up and left after what he'd said.
Did I say something wrong?
Running a hand through his hair, he frowned, wondering if he'd crossed a line by being so honest.
But he wasn't about to stay there waiting.
Leaving all of his things on the table, Louis got to his feet and went after him.
Woojin walked at a steady pace between the tall wooden shelves, but inside, everything felt like chaos.
He wasn't running, but he wasn't looking back either. His fingers gripped the thick reference book so tightly the edges started to ache.
He just hadn't been ready for that.
No one ever spoke to him like that—so direct, so certain, so unguarded.
Especially not Louis.
As he tried to focus on the numbers marking each aisle, Woojin felt his chest rising and falling too quickly. His heartbeat was uneven, restless, and the worst part was the heat creeping up his neck, spreading slowly across his cheeks.
Had what people joked about in the hallways actually been true?
He recalled the stupid comments his friends used to make whenever they saw them together in the courtyard. Things like “the freshman never leaves your side” or “he only has eyes for you.” Back then, Woojin would shut it down immediately, brushing it off as nothing more than Louis being new to the school—just a younger student clinging to the one person who helped him settle in.
An older brother figure. That was all it was supposed to be.
At least, that was the easiest way to label it.
But now, that explanation didn’t sit quite right anymore.
It wasn’t unfamiliar, exactly. Woojin had felt versions of this before, in different places, with different people. He recognised the shape of it well enough.
This was just… sharper. Harder to ignore. Less convenient to name.
Trying to escape that storm in his head, Woojin drifted deeper into the back section of the library, where the smell of old paper was stronger and the light barely reached. He was so lost in his own thoughts, trying to steady his breathing, that his senses slipped past him completely. The silence seemed to swallow everything, and he barely registered the quiet footsteps following behind him.
He stopped in front of the correct shelf and looked up at the high row where the book was meant to go. Woojin stretched his arms, rising onto his toes, but the height wasn’t helping in his current state. The book trembled slightly in his fingers.
Before he could try again, he felt a presence behind him.
Someone stopped so close the air itself shifted.
The next second, a larger hand with long fingers came over his and took the book cleanly from his grasp. Without any effort at all, it was pushed into the high shelf, sliding neatly into place.
Woojin turned sharply.
And found Louis.
A few centimetres away.
One of Louis’s hands was still resting on the shelf above Woojin’s head. His body filled the narrow space between the bookcases with a calmness that completely contrasted the tension Woojin was still trying to hide. His dark eyes were locked on him, not moving away even once.
The corridor suddenly felt smaller.
— What are you doing here? — Woojin whispered, his voice slightly unsteady. He pressed his back against the wooden shelf behind him, even though there was nowhere to go. — You left your stuff at the table.
Louis didn’t move.
— I came after you, hyung, — he replied, his voice low and steady, muffled slightly by the surrounding books. He tilted his head down just a little, shrinking the space between them even further. — You walked off without answering me.
Woojin swallowed hard. His chest rose and fell too quickly to hide anything now. He glanced away for a second, but there was no real escape between the shelves.
— I didn’t have anything to answer, Louis, — he tried, but the firmness in his voice slipped halfway through. — The bell’s about to go. We should grab your things and head out.
— Why did you leave the table like that?
Woojin opened his mouth, ready to push back, to remind him of the age gap, to take control of the situation again.
But nothing came out.
Louis’s gaze held him there.
Silence stretched.
— Because… you talk a lot of nonsense. — Woojin finally murmured, turning his face slightly away, heat rising to his ears.
— Is it nonsense to say I like you, hyung?
The words landed in the space between them like something final.
Woojin froze.
No teasing. No joke. No hesitation.
Just the truth, said plainly, without fear.
He tried to respond, but nothing came.
His heartbeat was so loud it felt like it filled the gap between them.
And for the first time, Woojin realised it wasn’t just him who was shaken.
Louis was too close. Arms still braced against the shelf. Breathing shallow, controlled in a way that didn’t quite match the certainty of what he’d just said.
Seemed to hesitate after letting those words out, as if he had used up every last bit of courage just to put his feelings into sentences, and now that they were finally out in the open, all he could do was wait for whatever came next—an answer, a rejection, or something in between that he didn’t even want to define yet. His fingers, still pressed against the wooden shelf above Woojin’s head, trembled faintly, not because he was trying to close the distance or push anything further, but because he was simply holding his ground, quietly bracing himself for Woojin’s reaction.
Woojin swallowed hard, but his mind wasn’t exactly cooperating. Instead of logic or control, all he could think about was how they had even ended up here in the first place. A few minutes ago, they were just in the library talking about genetics like any other study session, and now he was backed against a bookshelf with Louis standing too close, looking at him like that, saying things like that. He blinked once, then again, trying to make it fit into something familiar or manageable, but nothing lined up properly anymore. Louis wasn’t joking, and that alone was enough to throw everything off balance.
And worse than that, Woojin realised there wasn’t a clean way to dismiss it. A part of him didn’t want to. The thought made his chest tighten in a way he couldn’t immediately explain, because he was used to keeping things neatly separated—school, tutoring, everything in its place—but Louis had never really stayed in one category for long. Woojin’s gaze dropped for a moment, then lifted again to Louis’s face, the same face he had been looking at across a table all afternoon, the same expression that had slowly pushed past every excuse he had built without him noticing.
He let out a quiet breath through his nose, barely audible in the stillness between the shelves, and tried to think properly—just enough to find a response that wouldn’t break something he didn’t fully understand yet. But every option that came to mind felt wrong in a different way. Pretending nothing had happened wouldn’t work, laughing it off felt impossible, and saying what he actually felt was something he wasn’t ready to deal with either. Louis was still there, waiting without moving, and that fact alone made it impossible to push the moment aside like he usually would.
His fingers tightened briefly against the shelf behind him, grounding himself in something physical while his thoughts kept spinning, but even then he didn’t step back. He didn’t reset the distance between them. He just stayed there, caught between every answer he didn’t know how to choose, staring at Louis like the next thing he said would shift something he couldn’t take back.
He went quiet for a moment that felt far too long, as if he was still trying to organise a coherent response in his head, but nothing came out clearly enough to be spoken aloud. The air between them felt thick, heavy with everything that had been said before, and Woojin realised it wasn’t just nerves anymore—it was a decision. Not something sudden, but something that had been building in silence for far too long, even if neither of them had ever put it into words until now.
Slowly, almost like he was making sure there was no way back, he raised his hands and gripped the front of Louis’s uniform. The fabric felt warm beneath his fingers, and that small detail was enough to break whatever hesitation was left. Woojin leaned forward, pulling Louis down and closing the space between them until there was nothing left to say.
The kiss didn’t come like something light or uncertain.
It came like something that had already been there long before it actually happened.
Their lips met with a restrained intensity that felt like everything they had been avoiding, ignoring, and pretending not to notice had finally found a way out all at once. It wasn’t rushed, and it wasn’t messy—it was firm, direct, and charged with a kind of electricity that hadn’t started in that moment, only stopped being held back. Woojin kept his grip on Louis’s collar like it was the only thing anchoring him, letting that moment overwrite every attempt at logic or restraint.
Louis responded immediately, as if there had never been any surprise on his end, as if he had been standing at this exact point long before either of them admitted it. His backpack slipped off his shoulder without him caring, and he leaned in just as strongly, like something tightly held for too long had finally been released.
Still, it didn’t feel rushed. It stretched just enough to feel inevitable, like it had been waiting for space to happen long before they realised it.
And only when breathing became necessary did they finally begin to pull apart.
Louis separated just enough to catch his breath, but he didn’t step away. The warmth of his breath still brushed Woojin’s face, and the silence around them felt heavier than any sound the library could make. What remained between them wasn’t confusion—it was awareness.
— Hyung... — Louis whispered, his voice coming out lower than he intended as he tried to keep it quiet in the empty library. He swallowed hard, glancing briefly down the dark corridor, as if remembering where they were all over again. — I don’t think this is... appropriate here.
Woojin looked at him for a second, really looked, and couldn’t help the quiet breath of a laugh that slipped out. It wasn’t mockery—just disbelief at how Louis’s brain could still be functioning like that right now. He rolled his eyes slightly, like he was about to argue, but instead just leaned in again, grabbing Louis by the front of his uniform once more and pulling him back in before the hesitation could fully settle between them.
The kiss resumed slower this time, less startled and more certain, like the interruption had only made it clearer that neither of them actually wanted to stop. But the tension from everything that had built up through the afternoon still lingered in Woojin’s body, and his balance shifted without warning. His knees weakened slightly, and his heels pressed back into the floor as he instinctively leaned into Louis just to steady himself against the edge of the bookshelf behind him.
Louis reacted without thinking. He wasn’t experienced enough to be careful about it, and all his focus was on not letting the moment break apart again. His hands slid down in a rushed, slightly clumsy movement and found Woojin’s waist, gripping the fabric of his uniform firmly—not harsh, just desperate in a way that showed more instinct than confidence, like he was anchoring him in place.
The sudden pressure made Woojin freeze for half a second, breath catching as his back brushed fully against the shelf. The sound that slipped out of him was quiet and unplanned, more reaction than anything else, breaking briefly into the space between them before disappearing again into the kiss.
That small moment of imbalance changed something in the air.
Louis stiffened slightly, his grip still there, still holding Woojin close, but uncertainty flickered across his expression for a split second. He hadn’t meant to do anything wrong or might have been too rough with him.
But Woojin still didn’t move away. He stayed there, back pressed firmly against the wooden shelf, eyes shut, breathing uneven—like he was trying to hold himself together through nothing but instinct.
That reaction sent a different kind of heat spreading through Louis’s chest. Something quiet, curious, and a little dangerous in the way it made him want to test it again, just to be sure he wasn’t imagining the effect he had. His fingers shifted slowly at first, then tightened around Woojin’s waist with more confidence, searching for that same fragile reaction again, like he was learning something unspoken through touch alone.
Woojin felt it immediately—a sharp, controlled shiver running down his spine, his entire body tensing slightly against the shelf as if the contact itself had rewired his thoughts. He still didn’t open his eyes, but his mind wasn’t even trying to make sense of it anymore. It was worse that way, actually, because Louis wasn’t supposed to feel like this—steady, certain, as if he already knew exactly what he was doing to him.
It didn’t feel fair. Or logical. Or safe in any way Woojin knew how to categorise.
Feeling like his heart was pushing too hard against his ribs, Woojin reached out for something—anything—to ground himself. His hand moved slowly across Louis’s chest in the dim light, finding his wrist more by instinct than sight. His fingers closed around it, shaky at first, and he tried to pull it away, but the motion lacked real conviction, like even his body didn’t fully agree with the decision.
But Louis didn’t give him space to pull away. Instead, he kept his grip firm and steady, not allowing any distance to form between them again. He didn’t seem rushed—on the contrary, there was a strange calmness in the way he stayed there, as if he was absorbing every breath he could draw from Woojin without needing anything more than that.
The air between them had turned thick—too warm, too quiet—until the sharp sound of metal suddenly cut through it.
Keys. Jangling. Footsteps. Close enough to matter.
The spell broke instantly.
They separated at the same time, stumbling back half a step, breath catching in their throats as reality snapped back into place. Louis wiped at his lips with the back of his hand in a clumsy attempt to recover some composure, while Woojin straightened his rumpled collar with fingers that still didn’t quite feel like his own. His gaze dropped immediately to the wooden floor, heat flooding his face so fast he couldn’t even pretend it wasn’t there.
The sound of keys kept echoing through the rows of books. The staff member in charge of the library round and closing up the section was already moving through the aisles, and the footsteps made it clear he would reach their area any second now.
The sudden realisation made Woojin blink sharply, snapping out of his daze. Even though his face was still burning, instinct kicked in louder than anything else when he heard the metal sounds getting closer. He didn’t wait for Louis to react. He reached out in the dim light, grabbed his wrist firmly, and gave a quick tug, nodding towards the side. They couldn’t just walk straight down the main corridor—they’d run right into him.
Guiding Louis through the longer route, Woojin moved quickly but quietly, weaving around the tall shelves on the opposite side to avoid the inspector’s path. Louis let himself be pulled along, following Woojin’s pace while using his free hand to awkwardly fix his hair at the back of his neck.
They slipped around the arts section and reappeared quietly beside the back table. In a rush, they shoved the biology textbooks, notebooks, and pencil cases into their bags without any real order. Louis pulled his zip closed, trying to muffle the metallic sound, while Woojin swung his bag over his shoulder, still feeling his pulse hammering a little too fast.
Once everything was packed, they made their way quickly toward the main exit, convinced they had managed to slip out unnoticed.
But their luck ran out right at the glass doors.
Standing there with a clipboard in hand and a deep crease between her brows was one of the strictest supervisors in the building. She lifted her eyes and immediately locked onto the two boys coming in from the darker end of the library wing. Her pace slowed, and her gaze narrowed the moment she recognised Woojin.
She didn’t particularly like him.
Not because he was a troublemaker, or because he ever broke rules on purpose, but because of the way he carried himself—too relaxed, always laughing too loudly with his mates in the corridors, like the school rules were more of a suggestion than anything else. She kept an eye on him more than she admitted, always waiting for a slip-up she could finally call him out on.
The supervisor stepped forward, studying them with almost personal severity. It felt impossible to hide anything under her scrutiny. Woojin’s uniform collar was visibly skewed to one side, and his lower lip had a flushed, unmistakably red tint to it.
Her attention shifted from Woojin to Louis, forcing her to tilt her head slightly given her smaller height. She studied him closely. Up until now, he had been nothing but a model student—quiet, well-behaved, never once on her radar for disciplinary issues.
But seeing him there, breathing a little too quickly, cheeks warm, standing right beside Woojin, something in her expression shifted. In her mind, the older boy was clearly the problem—the one who had dragged the quiet first-year into whatever mess they had been hiding in the back section of the library.
She tapped her pen against the clipboard, the sharp sound making Woojin’s stomach drop instantly.
— The library closed ten minutes ago, boys — she said firmly, her eyes fixed on Woojin before flicking back to Louis. — What were you doing back there all this time? And why do you both look like that? Especially you, Woojin. I thought Year 12 students would have more respect for school hours instead of dragging first-years into trouble.
Woojin froze on the spot, his hands growing cold inside his pockets as he tried—badly—to come up with something that sounded responsible enough to shift attention away from himself.
Noticing the tension, Louis cleared his throat and took a small step forward, subtly positioning himself in front of Woojin without looking like he was trying to.
— Sorry for the late exit, miss — Louis began smoothly, his tone calm and respectful, with none of the nerves that were clearly running through him. — It was my fault. I was struggling with a Year 10 topic and asked Woojin-hyung for help. Since he’s in Year 12, he stayed behind to explain the genetics diagrams in the back tables where it’s quieter.
The supervisor blinked, her guard dropping just slightly at the polite, composed tone.
Louis didn’t give her time to interrupt.
— We got so focused on the exercises that we lost track of time.
Woojin lifted his eyes slightly, almost disbelieving the way the younger boy was lying straight to an authority figure without even flinching.
The woman looked back at Woojin again, narrowing her eyes for a moment longer before finally relenting.
— I see… — she muttered, adjusting the clipboard under her arm with a resigned sigh. — It’s good of you to help younger students, Woojin, but rules are rules. Head straight to the gate. I don’t want to see anyone loitering around after the bell.
— Yes, miss. Thank you — Louis replied with a short, polite bow.
They waited until she turned away and started heading back towards the main desk before finally moving. The moment they stepped through the library’s glass doors and into the now-empty school corridor, Woojin let out the breath he’d been holding, his shoulders finally loosening.
The school was almost deserted at that hour. A few staff members were still near the entrance, and a cleaner pushed a metal cart far down the corridor under the fading afternoon light, which was already stretching long shadows across the concrete.
They walked side by side in silence for a few metres, keeping a careful distance as they passed the office windows. Woojin still had his hands buried in his pockets, trying to steady what was left of his heartbeat, when he felt a subtle shift beside him.
Louis slowed his pace slightly. Without looking at him, still facing forward towards the gate, he reached out and took Woojin’s hand out of his pocket. Their fingers slipped together naturally, fitting with an easy, quiet warmth.
Woojin jolted slightly at the sudden contact in the middle of the open walkway, but he didn’t pull away. Instead, he squeezed back, even as he glanced sideways with that familiar teasing edge in his voice.
— Look at you… — Woojin murmured, a hint of irony in his tone as he shot Louis a quick glance. — The model student can’t even stop breaking rules, can he? We just got told off and now you’re trying to get us caught again in the middle of the courtyard.
Louis kept walking with his head high, but the corner of his mouth lifted slightly, softening his usual composure for just a second.
— No one’s looking, hyung — he replied quietly, his voice steady as he gave Woojin’s hand a small, reassuring squeeze, tugging him a little closer as they finally stepped through the gate.
The walk after that felt quieter than it should have been, like the world had finally decided to stop talking at them for a moment. The school gates were just ahead now, framing the end of the day in dull metal and fading light, but neither of them seemed in a hurry to actually step through them.
Woojin kept his hand in Louis’s for a little longer than necessary, pretending it was just easier that way, like it had nothing to do with the fact that letting go would mean acknowledging everything they weren’t saying out loud. Louis didn’t comment on it either. He just stayed close, matching his pace, as if this silence between them was already something familiar rather than new.
When they finally reached the gate, Woojin slowed down, fingers loosening slightly but not fully letting go. For a second, he looked ahead at the empty street outside the school, then down at their hands, then back up again like he was trying to decide which version of himself to use next. There were a lot of things he could say. Jokes. Teasing. Something light enough to make it easier to pretend none of this had shifted anything.
But none of them came out.
Instead, he exhaled quietly and gave Louis’s hand a small, almost reluctant squeeze.
— Don’t get used to this, yeah? — he muttered, but there was no real bite behind it.
Louis let out a soft breath of a laugh, not turning his head fully, just enough for Woojin to see the faint curve at the corner of his mouth.
— Too late, hyung.
That was all.
No big confession. No clear ending. Just the space between them holding something new now, quietly settled where it couldn’t be undone.
And as they finally stepped out through the gate, side by side, neither of them let go first.