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« 🥀 » 𝐜𝚑. 3

-͟͟͞͞➳ 𝐚𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲

(𝓃.)  𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑚𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟.

The next day, Bomi catches a glimpse of him after her chess club again. He's not where he was last time; it looks like he's just arriving, walking casually down the hall. This time, his sweatshirt is a deep purple.

He notices her first. "Hey, Bomi, right?"

She gives a jerk of her head. "Yeah, hey."

He reaches her, that smile somehow seeming to be forever present on his face. "Nice to see you again. What are you doing here?"

"Chess club," she tells him. "You?"

"My friend's part of the debate club, I'm here to wait for him."

He nods to the classroom she'd seen him standing in last time. She looks at his hands and shirt, and they're stained with color just like the last time she's seen him here.

"Have you just gotten out of art?" She asks.

"Yeah, a little while ago before I came here," He says. "Where are you heading, then?"

She shrugs. "Just the dorms now, I guess. I'll probably stop for a snack somewhere."

"Oh, you stay in the dorms. That's cool." He checks the time. "I'm free after this, could I join you for coffee?"

"Sure," She replies. She wonders why he's so eager to make a new friend, but then she mentally slaps herself for mistakenly assuming the rest of the world was as introverted as she was.

"My friend says his debate club's going to end late, anyways, so. Have a place in mind?" Ethan asks her.

"Just the little place next to the cafeteria, I think," She says. "I was going to go to the cafe you work in, but it's a bit too far and I do need to get back to my project."

"Sounds good," He says, and they head out of the building.

They make casual conversation as they walk, Bomi's tote bag swinging slightly from her arm. Strangely, it isn't forced or uncomfortable at all. Ethan is a good few inches taller than her, but she still finds it easy to meet his warm brown eyes.

He looks at her questiongly when she orders warm peppermint tea. "More of a tea person, then?"

"Yeah, I get my caffeine from tea. Coffee is too bitter." She tells him.

They sit there for a while, talking with their hands wrapped around their respective cups. Bomi learns that Ethan runs an art blog, posting his sketches and paintings, and that he owns a Polaroid camera and likes to use it for motivation. Bomi ends up telling him how she has glasses but doesn't like to use them in public where she was afraid she could be stereotyped as a nerdy Korean girl. Then she remembers she has a research project to finish and an essay to write, both due in a couple of days.

"I'll have to go now, I've got work waiting for me." She tells him, standing up and pulling her coat on.

He does the same, pushing his chair in and taking both of their cups. "Samar- my friend- he's probably done by now."

Before they leave the table, Ethan fishes out a tiny notebook and a 4B pencil from his pocket. He scribbles something on a page and tears it out, handing it to her.

A string of numbers, scrawled in messy handwriting. A phone number.

"Hey, man!" A guy calls, and they look up. A person whom Bomi assumes is Samar waves from the third floor window.

"Meet you there!" Ethan shouts back, and Bomi can't help the laugh that escapes her throat.

They part ways in front of the dormitories, but the warmth- from the tea, most likely- lingers, and Bomi doesn't feel so cold despite the chilly weather.

Later, before she sleeps, she texts him, and he texts back almost immediately.

He tells her he had a good time today, and asks her if she'll accompany him on another excursion. Off-campus, this time.

She texts back her answer for the affirmative, and that she's available this upcoming Friday around six. He sends back a reply and an emoji.

She falls asleep with a bit of a smile on her face.