idyllic

1: Encounter

"Alright, we'll be continuing the lecture from last time. Everyone, take out your notes."

You listen to the rustling of papers around you as you look around the classroom and sigh.

"This is what I get for missing one lesson I guess. The one class I miss just so happens to be an important one...lucky me," you mutter under your breath.

"Maybe I should ask someone for their notes?" You take a look around the room and decide against it. Everyone looks so focused. You turn back to your desk, "well, hopefully, I'll manage on my own."

The teacher, Mr. Jeong, picks up a piece of chalk and turns to the blackboard.

"Okay, flip your workbook to page 56. Let's start with problem 5. You should be able to complete it based on the theorems and formulas from our last lesson."

You open your math book and trace your index finger over the text. After about a minute of consideration, you pick up your pen to scrawl something in your notebook, before setting it down with a tap.

"Ha..who am I kidding, I don't know shit."

Your eyes scan the room for someone, anyone who looks like a half-decent student with organized notes. Your eyes land on the boy sitting to your right.

He's wearing a grey jacket over his school uniform. His cheek leans against his hand as he stares down at his book with a focused expression. But he doesn't seem to be writing anything down, unlike everyone else.

Everyone else is still writing, but he isn't, so I'm guessing that he hasn't started. It should be fine then, because in that case, I won't be disturbing him.

You lean over to the right, and whisper just loud enough for your words to be audible to him, and no one else.

"Hey, do you have the notes from last class?"

He turns to look at you over his shoulder with a blank expression. His unreadable eyes meet yours but he doesn't say anything.

You get a close look at his face. His features are rather delicate and soft and his skin is flawless. The fringe of his hair rests perfectly above his round and doe-like eyes. They're captivating, and you think you could stare into them for hours, but they also look cold, unreadable, emotionless.

"Eyes are the window to your soul"; it's an old, cliched saying, but most of the time, there is so much you can learn about a person just from their eyes. However, his eyes are a mystery, as if it would take you a lifetime to truly discover his soul, as if its window is locked and hidden and secretive. Perhaps the reason they're so alluring is because they're so enigmatic.

You really can't tell what he's thinking at all.

You speak up again, whispering a little louder this time. Maybe he couldn't hear you clearly last time, you think. (He heard you perfectly fine.)

"I was absent last class, can you lend me your notes?"

He stares at you for a few seconds, before turning his head back to his books. Your eyes are fixated on him for a moment longer, still registering the way he ignored you. Your eyebrows furrow as your head whips to the side in embarrassment.

"Tch. Just say no if you don't want to..."

From the periphery of your vision, you see a hand extended in your direction. You look to your right and see the boy with his notebook in his hand. He looks at you, then shifts his gaze to the notebook in his hand, as if he's saying, "here. This is what you were asking for, right?" with his eyes.

You quickly reach over your desk to take the notebook from his hands. You glance over at the cover, trailing your fingertips over the ink etching. It reads: Si-eun Yeon. So that's his name. Your fingers fumble through the pages of binder paper, before you reach the right one.