Attraction | Ateez

Chapter 14: Growth

When Seonghwa and Hyejin first met, it was in their freshman year in the library of the University, a week before exams. Hyejin was looking through the books, trying to see if she could find one of the textbooks she needed for her Sociology class next semester, but she didn't want to have to cough up the money for a new book she probably wasn't going to use. 

Seonghwa was sitting at one of the study tables on his laptop, finishing an assignment that was due that day. A stack of books lay beside him on the red-cushioned chair and multiple papers lay scattered across the table in front of him. He shifted through papers, looking for the rubric that the assignment would be based on. 

He glanced up, noticing a short girl struggling to pull a book out from one of the higher top shelves. He watched for a moment, slightly amused by the sight before walking over to help her. She hadn't noticed him approaching and was startled when he reached up, grabbing the book off the shelf. 

"Is this the one you need?" He asked in his low, but soothing voice. She looked up at him, a soft blush crossing her face.  She nodded, avoiding eye contact with him. He handed it to her and she took it, bowing lowly before scurrying off to one of the study tables on the far side of the library. Seonghwa walked back to his seat and re-situated himself. He glanced over to where she sat. 

There were only a few students in the library which Seonghwa found slightly unusual considering that exams were only in a week. A couple of students sat scattered at the tables with headphones in, trying to study or finish up assignments. He glanced at Hyejin. She set her backpack on the table and pulled out a notebook along with her laptop and her phone, setting the book he had gotten down for her on the table.

Seonghwa looked back at his laptop screen at the argumentative essay he was typing. Thousands of words filled the screen talking about the pros and cons of medical gene transfer and how it could affect society and the medical field. He sighed, looking over the document with tired eyes. 

Seonghwa stood and closed his laptop, shoving it in his laptop messily with his papers, not bothering to put them back into their folders. He slung his backpack over his shoulder and left the library, heading back to his dorm.

Seonghwa hadn't seen Hyejin until a few months later in one of his math classes. He had learned, from observation, that she really enjoyed math and was also really good at it. They barely exchanged words except for the day Seonghwa worked up the courage to say something to her.

Hyejin was on her way back to her dorm when Seonghwa noticed her. He was walking to the lab building, halfway zoning out when he saw the small girl with her over-sized backpack and a pink shirt. Her shoes, which were once white, were now a dirty tan color and she wore a pair of blue jeans. Her black hair hung loosely down by her shoulders. She was walking slowly, not appearing to be in much of a hurry.

Seonghwa looked down, watching his feet as he walked. He took a deep breath and jogged to catch up with her. When he approached her, she jumped, not expecting someone to come up behind her. 

"Hey," he said. She smiled and looked up at him. 

"Hi," she responded. She looked back down and pursed her lips, trying to hide the small smile that crept up on her face.

"Where you headed?" Seonghwa asked, slightly embarrassed.

"Oh, my dorm." Her voice was soft and shy.

"My name is Seonghwa by the way. Park Seonghwa. I'm a Psychiatric Nursing major. Well, that's what I plan on doing if I don't change my mind." It was clear that he was the one that would have to initiate and keep up the conversation. 

"I'm Hyejin. Young Hyejin. I also am a Psychiatric Nursing major." she responded, looking up at him. 

Seonghwa walked with her all the way back to her dorm building, where they ended up exchanging phone numbers and deciding to meet back the following day at the library. After that, they became close friends and did nearly everything together. Hyejin began to open up to him and become less reserved around him and he did the same. Throughout their college years, they never really dated officially, but anyone looking from the outside in would think so. 

Eventually, they were separated for about two months after graduating college because they were trying to get on track finding a steady job, but to their surprise, they both ended up getting hired at the same hospital and living within a few minutes with each other where they grew, even more, close and could do everything together.