Noori POV:
I dragged myself out of bed, already mentally preparing for another episode of Who Will Embarrass Me Today? starring: me, obviously.
Mom was rushing around the living room, half-dressed for work, hair clip in her mouth, yelling something about losing her coffee mug again.
"Morning," I mumbled.
She kissed the top of my head on her way out.
"Bye, baby—don't forget your lunch!"
I opened the fridge.
She forgot my lunch.
It's fine.
It's fine.
I'll just… starve elegantly.
I got ready, slung my backpack on, and stepped outside, letting the early morning air smack me awake.
The walk to the bus stop was quiet.
Too quiet.
The bus came earlier than normal , atleast I was already there, and when it arrived I saw an empty seat so I immediately sat there, just then someone dropped their bag right next to me.
"Good morning," Minho said, as casually as if he didn't spend all of yesterday invading my personal space like it was a hobby.
"I wasn't waiting for you," I said.
His smirk almost knocked me into traffic.
"Never said you were."
Great.
Perfect.
My day is already ruined and he hasn't even done anything yet.
I remembered he was sitting in another seat, why did he move here?
"...What are you doing?" I asked.
He shrugged.
"You looked tired. Didn't want you to sleep and fall on some random kid's shoulder."
"I don't fall asleep on random people!"
He hummed.
"But you do fall asleep on me."
I choked on my own existence.
"THAT WAS ONE TIME—"
He gave me a small smile.
Quiet.
Soft.
Dangerous.
"Still counts."
The engine rattled as the bus started moving, and I pretended to look out the window.
Keyword: pretended.
Because I could feel him looking at me.
The kind of staring that makes you fix your hair even though it was fine.
"What?" I said without turning.
"Nothing," he replied.
…Liar.
The bus bounced over a speed breaker, and I accidentally leaned into him.
Just a little.
Just enough for his shoulder to brush against mine.
I pulled back immediately.
He moved closer.
"Relax," he said quietly.
Relax?
RELAX???
In what universe do you sit next to Lee Minho and relax???
I focused on the window to keep myself sane, but then—
He gently nudged my knee with his.
Once.
Casual.
Dangerous.
"You're really quiet today," he said.
"I'm always quiet in the morning."
"No," he said, shaking his head. "You're usually annoyed at something by now."
"I'm annoyed at you," I muttered.
He smiled.
"This feels normal then."
The bus jerked again, and this time his hand brushed mine on the seat.
I froze.
He didn't pull away.
Didn't flinch.
Just left his hand there—barely touching, barely not.
"Your hands are cold," he said softly.
"My whole personality is cold," I said, trying to joke.
He chuckled.
"No. It isn't."
My heart tripped over itself.
Another bump in the road.
I grabbed the seat handle with one hand—
And his sleeve with the other.
I didn't mean to.
It just happened.
He blinked.
"You good?"
"Totally," I said, releasing his sleeve like it was radioactive.
But instead of teasing me, he reached out and tugged the end of my sleeve gently.
"Hold on to me next time," he said casually, like he wasn't committing a crime.
"Why would I do that?" I whispered.
His voice dropped lower.
"Why did you just now." He smirked
I swallowed.
"Reflex?."
He looked at me.
"Sure," he said softly.
"If you say so."
The bus slowed down near school.
He stood up, slung his bag over his shoulder, then looked back at me.
"Come on," he said, reaching for my bag, which he kept in the upper compartment right above our seats. I moved to the aisle seat and stood up right in front of him. We were dangerously close. His whole body was blocking the way,man, WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO? His hands, still up, his eyes chose to look at mine, our noses brushing against earth other unintentionally.
I got lost in his eyes. I felt real butterflies right now, my heart beating at the speed of light, my cheeks were heating up at the point that it could boil water. I didn't feel like to step back, my knees felt weak, like collapsing.
Inside nooris mind:
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADGCGFRSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGJJGHFGHFHGFHDTYDHFDHFJFDYFJGFHTFDHGFUYRTSTSFHDTGHNVJUGITUYKOIUKJBOIUJLGJHYFHDRTSGFSERWDFGSCAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
AUTHORS POV: they both got lost in each others eyes. Lee Minho also felt flustered at how close she was standing. The moment lasted 1minute or smth
Noori POV:
He chuckled, leaned a little closer, and whispered,
"Noori… your heart is beating so fast."
"STOP LISTENING TO MY HEART WHAT ARE YOU A CARDIOLOGIST??"
He laughed—soft, low, terribly dangerous.
"It's cute."
CUTE.
CUTE??
CALL MY FUNERAL HOME.
"Uh, do you mind?" I nudged him, he turned flustered. Huh! I have never seen him like this. I mean he was FLUSTERED?
THAT DUDE JUST TOSSED MY BAG IN MY ARNS AND WALKED AWAY LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED? UGH!
I got down the bus, after him.
ding.
My phone vibrated.
I pulled it out, still slightly dizzy from the whole eye-contact fiasco.
Cyrus: Hey Noori :) are you free after school again today? I kinda need more help… sorry 😅
My heart did a tiny jump.
Not the dramatic Minho-type jump.
A… familiar one.
"Oh?" I mumbled without meaning to, reading it again. I smiled at the text.
Noori:yea, sure! Meet you at lunch!!!!!!
Sent
… was that too many exclamation marks? Or not enough. Also, why at lunch, you may ask? Well, I'm pretty much free then cuz I have no lunch. Anywho…I shoved my phone back into my pocket before I could accidentally type something embarrassing like "YES CYRUS TAKE MY SOUL 😭😭".
I headed down the bus steps, still replaying the whole "bag toss + Minho turning into a tomato" incident in my head like a glitching TikTok loop.
ding.
My phone buzzed again, but I ignored it because I was still processing how he FLUSTERED then pretended he DIDN'T.
Bro acted like I did something to him.
Like sir, YOU leaned in. I was just breathing.
I stepped onto the road, and—
Of course.
He was standing right there.
Minho.
Back turned.
Hands in pockets.
Waiting for… something? Someone?
Me?
Nah. Don't assume things, Noori. That's how embarrassment happens.
He glanced over his shoulder the moment I approached, eyes lowering instantly to my face.
"Why are you smiling?"
NOT THIS AGAIN.
WHY DOES EVERYONE NOTICE EVERYTHING I DO???
"I'm not smiling," I lied. Badly. Horribly. Even my soul cringed.
He raised an eyebrow.
"You literally are."
"I'm just… in a good mood, okay?"
He hummed. Hummed. Like he heard something suspicious in my tone.
Then, casually—way too casually—he said:
"Did Cyrus text you again?"
I froze.
HE DID NOT JUST SAY THAT.
"…maybe," I muttered.
He nodded, still not looking at me, and said a calm, simple:
"Oh."
Not sarcastic.
Not teasing.
Not petty.
Just… "Oh."
Somehow, that made my stomach twist.
He started walking again, hands still shoved in his pockets, and I followed behind him, confused out of my mind.
Before I could even figure out why that "oh" felt like someone pressed a small bruise in my chest, I heard footsteps behind me.
Fast footsteps.
Yeji-speed footsteps.
A hand hooked around my arm and yanked me out of Minho's walking radius like she was rescuing me from a burning building.
"GOOD MORNING MY LOVE—" she started, then saw my face.
Stopped.
Squinted.
"…girl, why do you look like you just failed a vibe check?"
"I did not fail anything," I hissed.
"Uh-huh."
She crossed her arms. "Then explain why your face is literally glowing. Did Minho feed you holy water or something?"
I groaned. "Nothing happened."
"Nothing?" She leaned in. "Nothing as in 'we made accidental eye contact on the bus and my brain melted' nothing? Or nothing as in 'he took my bag, stood too close, threw it back at me like a flustered idiot, and now I'm smiling at texts from Cyrus' nothing?"
I stopped walking.
Yeji's eyebrow rose.
Oh no.
She put two and two together and made TEN.
"YOU ARE BEING DELULU FOR TWO MEN AT THE SAME TIME?!" she whispered-yelled, shaking me by the shoulders.
"SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH," I whisper-screamed back.
Minho turned his head slightly at the noise.
Yeji instantly hid behind me. "Abort mission. Abort mission."
I dragged her forward. "It's not what you think."
"It is ALWAYS what I think," she said proudly. "So tell me. Why was Minho looking like someone stole his cat after you got a text from Cyrus?"
"He wasn't—"
"He was," she cut in. "He SO was. I saw his face."
"You didn't! You were behind us!"
"Yes, but I have intuition. Girl intuition. Women intuition. Nosy best friend intuition."
I sighed dramatically. "Can you NOT make it sound like a K-drama love triangle?"
She smirked.
"Oh, honey… the way both of them look at you? It's already a whole season."
I shoved her lightly. "STOP!"
She giggled and looped her arm through mine.
"Fine, fine. I'll shut up. For now. But later?"
She pointed two fingers at her eyes and then at me.
"We are TALKING, Miss Do Noori."
I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't help smiling.
Yeji grinned wider.
"There she is. The lovestruck idiot I know."
"YEJI—!"
"Okay, okay! Going silent now."
She zipped her lips,two voices echoed behind us:
"Noori! Yeji! WAIT UP!"
We turned to see Hyunjin and Jisung jogging toward us — Hyunjin looking like he was in a shampoo commercial, Jisung looking like he fought a chair and lost.
"Why do you two walk so fast?" Jisung complained, collapsing dramatically onto Yeji's shoulder.
"We walked at a NORMAL pace," Yeji said, peeling him off.
Hyunjin squinted at me the moment he reached us."What's with your face?"
I blinked. "My face is… my face?"
"No, it's… brighter," he said, leaning closer like the judgmental sassy auntie. "Suspiciously bright."
Jisung gasped. "OMG did someone text her?"
Yeji whipped her head toward me like: you better not lie right now.
I panicked. "NO. No one—"
Jisung didn't wait. He snatched my phone right out of my hand.
"HEY—!" I reached for it.
He held it high over his head while Hyunjin held my shoulders like a bodyguard.
"She's violent," Hyunjin whispered.
Yeji unhelpfully nodded.
Jisung's eyes scanned the screen as I internally prepared to commit every crime known to mankind.
"Ohhhhhh…" he said slowly. "It's Cyrus."
Hyunjin blinked. "Cyrus? The tall one? The one who looks like he edits his own selfies for three hours?"
"Yup," Jisung confirmed, handing my phone back. "He texted."
Yeji nudged me with her elbow, grinning."Interesting."
"It is NOT interesting," I snapped, shoving my phone into my pocket.
Hyunjin crossed his arms. "Hmm. I'll allow it. For now."
Jisung wagged a finger. "But if this dude hurts you—"
I cut him off. "He won't. He just needs help."
All three of them looked at each other.
Then at me.
Then again at each other.
Yeji sighed. "Girl, we need to talk later."
Hyunjin swung his arm around Jisung. "Mission Cyrus is now in motion."
"YEP," Jisung said proudly, "we're stalking him. For research."
"NO, YOU'RE NOT," I yelled.
They were absolutely going to stalk him.
And Yeji was absolutely going to tease me later.
I entered the building with the 3 monkeys, they all went to their separate classes, me and jisung have music.
Yay! I love music, mainly cuz I get to play the guitar. I fingers looked engraved and like they were about to put me in a grave, struggles of being a guitarist. Next up, math, with Jisung and Hyunjin, ugh.
Confusing, Complaning and Chaos. The 3 C's that basically describe math class. After that, I have Chemistry now, oh dear, If regular chemistry class is stressful…
Chemistry lab is straight-up WAR.
The moment I walk in, the smell of ethanol and danger hits my face.
And of course — OF COURSE — Minho is already there leaning against the counter like the main character in a drama.Arms crossed.Mischievous eyes.A "you're about to suffer and I'm excited" aura.
He looks up as soon as I step in.
"oh,My lab partner is here."
I stop walking.
"Lab part— What? Since when— who–"
He shrugs."I told Ms. Rao we work well together."
WE???WORK???WELL????TOGETHER?????
"Since when did I work?" I asked
"since you became my partner, now suck it up"
Before I can protest, Ms. Rao claps her hands.
"Everyone, find your partners. Minho, Noori — station 4."
Great.Fantastic.Amazing.Truly, god is testing me. It's just- this- these chemicals, they make me feel uncomfortable. Well, since I won't be doing any chemical-thingies, might as well just help a little bit
I try to read the instructions but Minho snatches the sheet.
"I'll read," he says.
"You don't trust me?" I challenge.
He looks at me.Long stare.Too long.
"No," he says.
"I— EXCUSE ME???"
"Not after you almost set your sleeve on fire last lab."
"That was ONE TIME—"
"And I saved you."He adds that like he's reminding me he saved the country.
Then he hands me a beaker.
"Hold this."
"No"
"Why not?, you scared"
I hold it.
"Steady."
I hold it steadier.
"Stop shaking."
"I'M NOT SHAKING—"
"You are."He reaches over and adjusts my grip, positioning my fingers with his.
Warm hands.Close breath.Too close.My brain glitches.
I yank my hand back.
"I can do it myself," I say.
"You sure?"He taps the counter."Because your hand is literally trembling."
IT IS NOT—OKAY MAYBE A LITTLE—BUT THAT IS HIS FAULT—
This is where disaster begins.
He lights the burner.Fire appears.I step back immediately.
He sighs.
"You're scared of the flame?"
"No! I'm cautious."
"Uh-huh."He smirks."Come here."
"No."
"Yes."
He takes the mixture and gently nudges me forward with his elbow.
I swear I almost combust more than the chemicals.
Then he stands behind me — behind me — guiding my hand with the test tube.
"Lower it slowly."
His hand is on mine.HIS HAND IS ON MINE.
My brain:Error 404: cognitive function not found.
The liquid starts bubbling.
He leans forward, whispering near my left ear,"See? Not so scary."
He lowered the beaker on the counter and let my hand go. I RAN OUT OF THERE AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT, MY SOUL LEFT MY BODY, MY BODY LEFT MY SOUL, MY LEFT SOUL BODY.
Author PoV:
He sighed muttering "my scaredy-cat"
One moment:His hand is on mine.Next moment:I'm already halfway down the hallway questioning my entire existence.
My legs were moving like they had a personal vendetta against the floor.My breathing? Illegal.My soul? Logged out.My dignity? Pending update.
I practically slam into the lockers and stand there like:
"Why am I alive? Who allowed this?"
My heart was beating so fast it was auditioning for a drumline.
I touched my hand — the SAME hand — and immediately regretted it because it sent ANOTHER WAVE OF BUTTERFLIES FROM MY TOES TO THE STRATOSPHERE.
OH LORD.OH NO.OH–
He whispered in my ear.My EAR.MY. EAR.
I'm trying to breathe normally, ACT normal, EXIST normally—
But guess who's standing right there?
Chan. And Seungmin.
Both of them staring at me like I just did a full Olympic sprint indoors.
Chan blinks.Seungmin raises an eyebrow.I consider teleporting to another universe.
"Uh… you okay?" Chan asks gently.
Seungmin just straight-up squints at me.The judgement in this child's eyes could BURN A CITY.
My hand is still trembling so I shove it behind my back like that's gonna hide my shame.
"I—I'm fine," I say, with the confidence of a soggy noodle.
Seungmin looks at my red face, my chaotic hair, my heavy breathing.
"…You look like someone chased you," he deadpans.
OH IF ONLY HE KNEWIF ONLY.
Chan pats my shoulder. "Did you fall? Trip? See a bug?"
I shake my head violently.Nope. Nope. Worse. MUCH WORSE.
I saw MINHO.
WHISPERING in my EAR.
My soul is not built for this.
Before I can respond, Chan and Seungmin exchange a look — the "something is definitely wrong with her" look.
"Did someone chase you?"
I open my mouth.
Close it again.
Try again.
"…oxygen is a luxury right now," I manage.
Seungmin blinks slowly. "That's not an answer."
I look away, desperately trying to cool my cheeks down. "I'm fine, really. Totally fine. Ultra fine. Mega fine."
Chan squints. "Noori… you're holding your left arm like something just traumatically happened to it."
"NO," I say a little too loud. "Nothing happened to my left arm. My left arm is innocent. Pure. Untouched."The lie burns my tongue.
Seungmin: "You're literally shaking."
"THAT'S JUST CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT."
Both: silence
Chan steps closer, voice soft like he's talking to a terrified squirrel."Noori, you can tell us if something's wrong."
OH YOU WANT THE TRUTH?
THE TRUTH IS MINHO HELD MY HAND.LEFT ME FOR DEAD.WHISPERED IN MY EAR.DESTROYED MY CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM.
But I can't SAY that.
So I go with: "…science class happened."
Seungmin snorts. "What did science do? Bite you?"
"YES—NO—MAYBE."
Chan rubs the bridge of his nose like he's dealing with a toddler."Okay… start from the beginning."
I shake my head frantically. "If I start from the beginning, I'll die."
Seungmin folds his arms. "You're acting suspicious."
"I'm not suspicious!"
"You are VERY suspicious."
Chan leans forward. "Did a creature fall on you? Did someone spill chemicals? Did your groupmates bully you? Did you break something? Did Min—"
I FLINCH at the "Min—".
Chan pauses.
Seungmin's eyes widen very slightly.
Oh no.
OH NO NO NO.
Seungmin tilts his head. "...Minho?"
My soul evaporates.
"NO COMMENT!" I yell, hitting my locker with the force of shame.
Chan's mouth forms a tiny "ohhhhh."
He starts smiling.SEUNGMIN starts smirking.
I instantly regret being alive.
Chan: "So something DID happen with Minho."
Seungmin: "Your face is basically confessing."
I repeatedly banged my head against the lockers lightly"STOP READING ME LIKE A BOOK PLEASE."
Chan chuckles softly. "Look, whatever he did, you're safe, okay? Just breathe."
I take a breath.
Immediately regret it because my entire body reminds me of The Incident.
Then—because my suffering is apparently entertaining—Seungmin goes:
"…did he finally talk to you without scaring you?"
I choke on my own saliva.
Chan pats my back in panic.Seungmin is smirking like a menace.
Chan: "Did he do something to your hand?"
I froze
Seungmin notices.That boy notices EVERYTHING.
He leans closer, eyes darting to my hidden left hand.
"…he held it, didn't he?"
I combust.I genuinely combust.
"No further questions!" I screech, turning to run.
Seungmin: "SHE RAN. YEP. HE HELD HER HAND."
Chan: "That explains… everything."
"GOODBYYYEEEEEEEE!"
Fast forward to lunch:
I sat on the terrace wall, swinging my legs while the wind slapped my hair around like it owed it money. My lunchbox sat untouched beside me — not that I had lunch anyway.
I kept checking the door.
He said he'd come "right after he grabbed his notes."
That was 14 minutes ago.
Noori, relax. People take time. People walk slowly. People sometimes forget how walking works and start crawling. Anything is possible.
I checked my phone.
Nothing.
3 more minutes passed.
Still nothing.
I tried to distract myself by reorganizing my pens, then reorganizing them again by color, then by size, then by "which one writes smoothest," because clearly I was losing my mind.
The breeze got colder.
My chest got heavier.
He's not coming.
Not even a "wait a sec."Not a "sorry I'm late."Not even "where are you again?"Just… silence.
I waited until my phone felt heavy in my hand.Then I finally sighed and stood up.
"Seriously?" I muttered under my breath. "Why do I even try?"
I locked my phone, shoved it in my pocket, and grabbed my bag. The terrace felt too wide, too empty, too familiar in the worst way — like every time someone promised to show up, and didn't.
I walked back inside, down the stairs slowly, my hand gripping the railing because my fingers felt a little shaky.
When I pushed open the door to the hallway—
I walked straight into someone's chest.
I stepped back, startled.
Of course.Of COURSE.
Lee. Minho.
He looked down at me, eyes immediately narrowing like he could smell my emotional damage.
"…What happened?" he asked.
Not teasing.Not smirking.
Just concerned.And that somehow made everything worse… and better… and harder to hide.
I tried to escape.I REALLY did.
I made it four steps toward the stairs before a hand hooked gently around my wrist.
"Nope," Minho said.
"What— hey— where are you—"
"You didn't eat."
"I— what? Yes, I did! I had…"I looked into my empty soul."…air?"
"Exactly."
Before I could protest, he tugged me back—not harshly, but firm enough that my legs had no choice but to follow. He guided me right back to the terrace.
"Sit," he ordered.
"I'm not a puppy."
"Then stop acting like a starving one."
He pulled something from his backpack—a neatly packed lunchbox.
I blinked. "Is that… yours?"
"No," he said flatly. "Yours."
"My… mine?"
"Yeah. Because someone skips lunch like it's a hobby."
He opened the box and shoved it lightly into my hands.
"I'm not hungry," I said, looking away.
He grabbed my chin—gently—and made me look back at him.
"You are."
My entire bloodstream turned into boiling water.
He let go quickly, clearing his throat like he didn't just do that.
I sat down, mostly because my knees stopped functioning.
Minho sat beside me, leaning against the railing.
"Eat," he muttered, staring at the sky.
I poked the food.
Minho stayed beside me, sitting close enough that our shoulders brushed every time I moved even a millimeter.
Which… was completely unfair.
I swallowed a bite and felt his eyes on me again.
"You're staring," I muttered without looking up.
"No," he said.
"You are."
"…No."
I dared to glance at him.
He looked away instantly, jaw tight, ears turning pink.
My soul ascended.
"Minho?" I teased.
"Hm?"
"You're being suspiciously… caring."
He let out a low exhale.
"I'm not caring," he said, lifting a hand to brush a loose strand of hair behind my ear.
I forgot how to breathe.
His fingers barely grazed my skin, soft, intentional, lingering a second too long.
"I'm being… responsible," he murmured, voice lower than usual.
"Oh," I whispered, staring at him like an idiot.
He didn't pull away fully. His hand stayed there, near my cheek, his thumb almost touching the corner of my jaw.He was looking directly into my eyes now—really looking. Like he was searching for something.
My lungs were GONE.
"Minho…" I breathed.
He blinked slowly, gaze dropping to my lips for a split second before snapping away.
I stopped breathing.
He definitely looked.I wasn't hallucinating.I am NOT insane.That was REAL.
"Minho…" I whispered, because my brain couldn't form any other word in the English, Korean, or alien language.
He cleared his throat, looking anywhere BUT me — the sky, the wall, the railing, the literal dust particles floating in the air — as if everything suddenly became more interesting than my existence.
His fingers twitched beside mine.Tiny. Hesitant. Like he was fighting with himself.
"You—" I started, voice small.
"Don't," he muttered quickly.
"Don't what?"
"Don't look at me like that."
LIKE WHAT??? WAS I SUPPOSED TO LOOK AT BAIR? THE GRASS???
I blinked, confused. "Like what?"
His jaw clenched.
"You know," he said, eyes finally meeting mine again. "Like you're… waiting."
Waiting.For him.Waiting for something to happen between us.
My heart launched itself out of my chest and ran ten laps around the terrace.
"I'm not—" I began, but the lie stuck in my throat when he leaned in the tiniest bit.
Just enough for his nose to almost brush mine again.
"Really?" he murmured. "You sure?"
I froze.
He exhaled softly — warm, shaky, way too close — as if he didn't even realize how close he was until right now.
His hand lifted halfway again.
Not touching me.
Hovering.
Like he wanted to but was scared to finish the movement.
"Minho…" I whispered again, because apparently that's the only word I can say around him.
His eyes dropped one more time.To my lips.Lingering longer than before.
He swallowed.
Then—
He pulled back suddenly, running a hand through his hair like he needed to physically restart his brain.
"Class starts in ten," he muttered.
He stood up so fast he nearly tripped over the bench.
"I— uh— eat properly," he added, voice cracking just a little.
He walked away before I could even reply.
And I just sat there, heart exploding, lungs malfunctioning, and soul floating somewhere near the ozone layer.
Because Lee Minho almost kissed me.
And I think… I wasn't the only one who panicked.
Also, bad timing, but this sandwich is pretty good. I wonder what's in here. Maybe his mom will give me the recipe?