Sweet love (Kim Seungmin)

Chapter 10

- So, let me get this straight. Consumer surplus is the area above the demand curve, right?

- Hmmm. And which of these curves is the demand curve?

He hesitates a bit before pointing to one – This one?

I shake my head.

- How am I supposed to fixate all this? – a frustrated Seungmin puts his hands in his hair, messing it up.

As you may be thinking, yes, I am suffering. He's here by my side. No. Practically glued to me. Another centimeter and our arms touch.

And have I already mentioned how attractive he is? Why does he always look effortlessly good? Today he decided to wear a training suit, as he's going to play basketball with the boys. It consists of a black t-shirt and grey sweatpants. You heard right. GREY! God! And now, with his hair disheveled.... I'm going crazy! I just want to run my hands through his hair (obviously, to fix it, not because it looks so soft).

I need help. From a doctor, preferably. Okay. A psychologist also works.

We've been in the library for forty-five minutes. The session is scheduled to last one hour, meaning I only have to suffer another quarter of an hour. Easy. You can already tell that I'm not well when I spend my time doing math to distract myself.

- Try these exercises – exactly. Do something to distract yourself so you don't notice the way I can't stop looking at you.

About ten minutes pass. Sometimes I correct something he did wrong or he asks me questions. Nothing special happens. Except for my heart beating at speeds considered not healthy, I suppose.

While trying to pick up the eraser to correct something he wrote badly, without taking his eyes off the sheet, Seungmin accidentally pushed it to the floor between our chairs.

I start to lower myself and when I was about to pick it up, a hand touches mine. I look up and see Seungmin also bent down to get the rubber.

Our eyes meet. His face is practically millimeters away from mine. I feel his breath touching my cheek. Noses almost touching. He's so, so close. My eyes roam his face and his mine. Every second passes, we get closer and closer to each other.

One of his hands comes up to my face and tucks one of my strands of hair behind my ear. Until he decides to leave it there.

I don't know if it's me or him who's approaching. The most correct answer is probably both. I can't seem to control my body. My eyes watch his lips for a millisecond, but I immediately look up back to his eyes, the ones that are already fixated on me. Now he's the one looking down at my lips. A little more... it's so close... just a millimeter more...

- The library is closing!

We moved away from each other and jumped up from our chairs like lightning.

I feel my face boiling. My cheeks must be as red as tomatoes.

What just happened? Why couldn't I walk away? It felt like there was a gravity in it that was pulling me with enormous force.

I start packing my things, making sure he can't see my face.

In the corner of my eyes I see him packing too. Did he feel the same? Or was it just me? Did this all just happen in my head and am I dramatizing the situation? No. He had to feel it. He didn't move away either. Right?

Our arms brush against each other. My heart doesn't stop beating. It must be at a thousand. I'm going to close my book. He does the same. Our hands touch again. He immediately removes it, placing it behind his neck.

- So... I'll see you again on Friday, as agreed? – he seems shy. No. Impossible. What happen must be changing my mind and my perception of reality.

- Yes. See you Friday – and with that, I almost run out of the library. I don't even care what he might think of me. One more second there and I'm almost certain I would die of a heart attack. I need to calm down and get some fresh air.

I walk to the pastry shop, open the door and am immediately greeted by a smiling Bea talking to an irritated Sofia and Anna, who calmly drinks her coffee.

- Hi, Teresa! – she greets me, but soon after, her features change from happy to worry – Are you ok? Your face is very red.

I don't think the walk managed to calm me down. It's little complicated when you can't get a certain situation out of your head.

- Walking is tiring, you know.

- At least tell me that your tutoring session went well? – Sofia asks me – I obviously had to be paired with the most annoying person in the world! Why did he have to choose microeconomics and not something for dumb people.

- What happen? – I question. I admit that hearing and seeing Sofia angry is helping me distract myself. I can already feel my heart returning to normal, as well as the color and temperature of my face.

- It's Minho, duh – Bea answers me.

- I hate him!! I hate him so much! If he opens that mouth in front of me one more time, I promise you someone will die! – she stops talking and takes a deep breath, trying to calm down.

- Calm down girl. It may be better if we change the conversation. Have any of you thought about whether you want to participate on the exchange program? I was thinking about going. I could travel to another country and it would help with my CV. But I don't want to go alone – says Anna.

Actually, the other day, I was talking to my parents and they started the normal speech of I have to make an effort, now more than ever, to think about my future and blah blah blah. Maybe it would even be good if I participate in that.

- Now that you mention it, I wouldn't mine trying it.

- And you? I've already spoken to Iris and she doesn't want to – she's now talking to the other two.

- I don't know. Maybe next year – responds to Bea followed by a "same" from Sofia.

- Ok. Let's go together, Theresa. Just the two of us. We don't need these fake ones.

Sofia rolls her eyes.

- Did it go well today? You haven't answer me yet – she questions me.

And back to the red face. Why did you have to remind me of that again!

I will never recover from what happened!

IT'S OFFICIAL!

Seungmin will be the cause of my death!!! I never thought I would die because of a boy, but here I am.

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