call me by my name | binjin

4. Eyes On You.

Never before in her life, all 23 years of it, had Son Yejin ever been rendered speechless. Her own parents did not hold the honor of making her go dumbstruck but here was this nerd in his oversized sweater and a messy hairdo, holding a piece of white chocolate in his hand. Judging by the look on his face, Yejin was certain he had not caught up on anything she had said in the last few minutes— but why was he offering her chocolate?

Yejin continued to stare at him like had grown a second head. With her jaw unhinged and eyes wide, she contemplated her next move. There was a variety of options to choose from; a) she could slap the living daylights out of him for ignoring her but then again, he hadn't done anything too bad. b) she could take up on that chocolate offer and then walk away with her all too famous bully smirk on her face like he was just another lowlife or c) she could sit down and tell him that “you're very cute but I really do have to go.”

Just as her Philosophy Professor would say, “There are no correct answers.” Yejin was determined to try a mix of every plausible option her mind had come up with.

After another minute of ponder, she extended her fingers to reach for the chocolate. Once the tiny bar was popped in her mouth, she took a seat right next to him and then, put a hand on her cheek. Something about this man was utterly fascinating and she wanted to know what but; they were still left with option aʼs mix. “Are you deaf or did pretend not to hear me?” Yejin got a hold of the shiny packet from his hand with a snatch, slowly biting into the rich material.

The tall man in glasses, supposedly her new teacher, struggled to utter a single word, it really made her chest swell with pride. A bully, after all, took immense pleasure in inflicting physical or emotional pain on their victim. While Yejin hadn't been physical with her victims, she knew that words cut deeper than a knife.

“Say something, you nerd. I don't want you telling on me.” she took a huge chunk before throwing the wrapper carelessly on the floor. The librarian was too busy to notice her and the introverted nerd was too scared to do something— the perfect scenario.

“God, if you're not going to speak something at least tell me your name and a few basic topics so I can say I was with you yesterday.” Professor Kang was surely going to ask about her whereabouts and work routine, she had to be prepared. It wasn't like this was the first time she had to lie to a teacher, if she was being taught this class against her will, Yejin believed she had every damn right to cause trouble for her peers and teachers. Why did her stupid father have to enlist her for this subject? She hardly had any idea on how manage life, how did he expect her to excel at something as difficult as Accounting?

Her attention was brought back to the matter at hand when the librarian approached them. The same old hag who had bothered her for years— telling her to issue some readers and enjoy reading them at home. How did she tell this woman that neither did she enjoy reading nor was that place her home. Her eyes fell on the wrapper on the floor and almost immediately, her fellow student/teacher/definitive nerd scrambled to get it. He bent over her lap from his side of the table and expertly stretched his long arm to retrieve it.

“My apologies.” Yejin had to double check the depth in his voice. “It must have fallen out.” he bowed his head at the old woman while Yejin was too busy to admire the rich voice he possessed. Quickly, she tried to go back in her memory as search for a name to put to this masculine voice, she had to! Professor Kang said it a couple of times but she still couldn't recall it.

“It's okay, Bin.” the librarian was her savior.

Hyun Bin, Aha!

“Do you want to stay a couple of more hours or should I close up?” even after university hours, the library was the only place that stayed open. Mrs. Brown was the last person to leave the building, sometimes, she even handed over the keys to Bin just so he could stay in a few more hours to study for an upcoming test or prepare for an exam a day before. When things got too shitty back home, the library was his sanctuary. He was only glad Mrs. Brown bestowed that kind of a privilege upon him.