JIAH POV
Yu Enhyeok is handsome. Not just normally handsome, but the kind of handsome that feels almost unfair.
The kind that makes people pause for a second longer than they should. Unreal, almost like someone edited his face before sending him into the world.
At school, he's practically a walking fever dream. Everyone treats him like their imaginary boyfriend, the guy they secretly imagine themselves dating.
Half the girls in school probably have him as their lock screen without admitting it.
And worst of all, he has been my seatmate for more than a year.
One entire year sitting next to that face. That annoyingly sharp jawline. That stupid mole under his lip that somehow makes him look even better, even though it really shouldn't.
Right now he's still standing in the middle of the field, staring straight at me. Not at Bora. Not at Haerin.
At me.
My brain starts overheating from the attention.
Why is he staring at me like that? Why isn't he looking away like a normal person would? The way he's watching me almost feels like he's trying to read something written across my face.
"Hey—Yu Enhyeok!"
Bora suddenly shouts next to me, her voice exploding right beside my ear.
I snap back to reality so fast my neck nearly hurts.
But he doesn't look at her.
Not even once. No polite glance. No reaction.
His eyes stay locked on me, like I'm the only person standing here.
Then one of his friends jogs toward us, scratching the back of his head. Minseok looks slightly embarrassed.
"Uh—my bad! Sorry! It slipped!"
He smiles at me like he expects forgiveness, but honestly I'm still trying to process what just happened.
A sharp sting spreads across the back of my head.
I reach up and touch the spot.
Right.
The basketball.
And then the realization hits me.
Yu Enhyeok threw that ball.
At me.
And now he's just standing there like he didn't nearly knock my brain out of place.
I glare at him with full force.
A proper glare. Cold. Direct.
He stares back without changing his expression.
No emotion. No apology. Nothing.
Like a statue. Like he's completely immune to human reactions. Like I'm just something mildly interesting he's observing.
The audacity of this man is unbelievable.
My eye twitches.
Before I can stop myself, I raise my hand and flip him off.
Right there in the middle of the field.
Bora gasps like I just declared war. Then she immediately starts shouting insults at him like an angry soldier.
Behind me, Haerin whispers something that sounds suspiciously like a prayer.
Enhyeok does nothing.
He doesn't blink.
He doesn't move.
He doesn't react.
I'm completely fed up.
"That's it. I'm done. Let's go," I mutter while grabbing my drink.
Bora storms after me instantly. Haerin hurries behind us with her nervous little steps.
I walk quickly, still irritated, still embarrassed, and still trying to ignore the lingering sting on the back of my head.
Then I make the mistake of glancing over my shoulder.
He's still staring.
Same expression. Same unreadable eyes. The same unsettling calm.
For some reason it sparks something strange inside me.
Not romantic.
Just… irritatingly unsettling.
Like his gaze is seeing more than it should.
I immediately face forward again and walk faster.
Seriously.
Who does he think he is?
_____________
ENHYEOK POV
Stupid.
Yeah.
That's the only word that fits her.
Maybe even more than stupid.Idiot without a brain.Walking circus act.A clown holding her own brain in her hands like, "Here, take it, crush me again, Baek Jiho."
Seo Jiah.
I don't understand her.
At all.
Ten minutes ago, I'm practicing with the guys, minding my business, not thinking about anything except breathing and the ball in my hands—and then Minseok yells across the entire damn field:
"Did you hear—Jiah Got Rejected Again—"
And I swear, I freeze mid-dribble.
Like a glitch.
Like someone unplugged me.
Like I'm suddenly buffering.
Over her.
Which pisses me off instantly.She doesn't control me.Not even close.But for some reason, my body reacts like she does.
Then the others join in—loud, stupid, laughing like hyenas.
"Again??"
"Is she insane??"
"Who even chases someone after the fifth rejection??"
"Bro, Baek Jiho? Out of all people??"
And they laugh harder.And I'm standing there thinking:
Yeah. Out of everyone… she chose him.
Baek. Jiho.The human cardigan.The soft-spoken doodle.The guy who smiles like he irons his socks. He's also stupid.
Perfect match, I guess.
But somehow she's worse.
Then she shows up at the ground, walking with her two friends like she's attending her own funeral. Sits on the bench. Head down. Drinking that pink shit she's always drinking.
Strawberry milk.
If she keeps consuming that amount of sugar every time her heart breaks, she's gonna die of diabetes before Jiho even realizes she has the guts of a grown man.
And she does have guts.
Insane ones.
Pathetic ones.
The type that makes you watch out of disbelief.
Who confesses six times?
Who humiliates themselves six times?
Who keeps chasing a guy who clearly doesn't even see her?
She does.
That's why she's stupid.
And she's sitting there now—shoulders small, fingers tight around that drink, pretending like she isn't about to cry.
Looking down like she deserves the rejection.
When the hell is she going to realize Jiho doesn't even deserve the same oxygen she breathes?
When is she going to realize she's worth way more than the cardboard boy she's obsessed with?
Idiot.
Then she stands up and SCREAMS into the sky like she's auditioning for mental hospital membership.
I watch her.Too long. Too closely. Enough that it annoys me.
Then—
fuck it.
My hand moves before my brain does.
The ball leaves my fingers.
Perfect aim.
Fast.
Direct.
And the sound when it hits her head—
THWAK—
is honestly satisfying.
She whips around like she's about to murder someone.
Good.
She won't hurt her brain because she clearly keeps it outside her skull anyway.
And then she sees me. And I swear—
that glare?
Jiho deserves that glare once in his lifetime.
He'd fold.
He'd kneel.
He'd apologize for breathing wrong.
She gives it to me instead.
Lucky me.
And then—
She flips me off.
Middle finger.
Full send.
No hesitation.
First time she's shown me anything other than the back of her head in a damn year.
Huh.
I don't react.
Why would I?
Her stupidity doesn't deserve my expression.
So I just stare at her. Let her feel it. Let her know she's an idiot.
She stomps away with her little angry steps, still holding that cursed strawberry milk like a weapon.
Her friends drag after her, yelling, panicking, useless.
And I just stand there.Watching her get smaller. Walking away. Like she always does.
We've been sitting next to each other for over a year.
Same row. Same two desks. Same silence.
Never spoke. Never looked. Never acknowledged each other's existence.
Not once.
She sits beside me like a ghost. Quiet only when she's near me—
annoying everywhere else.
And now—
This?
A glare.
A scream.
A middle finger.
The first reaction she's ever given me.
And it…was worth the year of nothing.
Seo Jiah.
You're stupid.
Stupid as hell.
__________________________
JIAH POV
We finally reach the hallway. Well, they reach it. I'm mostly being dragged along behind them like a piece of luggage with emotional damage.
I'm still holding the strawberry milk I bought earlier when suddenly—
My shoulder slams straight into someone.
"My bad—sorry," I mumble automatically while rubbing my forehead.
Then I look up.
Shin Ara.
Miss Perfect.
The school's princess. The girl everyone stares at the same way they stare at Enhyeok.
She looks me up and down slowly.
My messy hair. My red eyes. The strawberry milk still clutched in my hand.
Her expression turns into a small mocking laugh.
The quiet kind of laugh that somehow feels more insulting than a loud one.
Then she walks away without another word.
Like standing near me for too long might lower her social ranking.
I clench my fist.
For a moment I genuinely consider throwing her out the nearest window.
But no.
I choose peace.
Mostly because prison would ruin my future.
Instead, I stomp toward my classroom.
Haerin and Bora follow silently behind me. They both know that saying anything right now would probably be a mistake.
I drop into my seat.
My seat.
The last row beside the aisle.
The cursed seat next to the human glacier himself.
I toss my bag down and lean forward on my desk with a heavy sigh.
Jiho's voice echoes again inside my head.
"I don't have any feelings for you."
It still hurts.
Like someone poured lemon juice directly into a paper cut on my pride.
But after a moment, I sit up again.
No.
Absolutely not.
I refuse to give up that easily.
"I know I'm going to make him fall for me eventually," I mutter quietly while opening my math book. "He doesn't like anyone. He's single. That means I still have a chance."
Then the bell rings.
Students start filing into the classroom.
Our math teacher, Ms. Park Hyerin, walks in looking exhausted, like coffee failed her this morning.
"Alright, settle down. Open your books to page 184. We're continuing quadratic functions."
I flip through my book when—
"May I come in?"
The voice is deep and calm.
My entire back straightens instantly.
I look up.
Yu Enhyeok is standing in the doorway.
His uniform is slightly damp. His hair looks wet, like he just washed it at the gym sink. Small drops of water slide down the side of his jaw.
Ms. Park doesn't even look up from her papers.
"You're late. Sit."
He walks in quietly.
Long steps. No unnecessary movement. No noise.
He pulls out the chair beside me.
The metal legs scrape loudly against the floor.
I glance at him.
"Could you not do that?"
He obviously doesn't apologize.
He simply sits down.
Calm. Silent. Still dripping water like a broken faucet.
Then I smell something.
Cologne. Or shampoo.
I'm not sure which one.
But it smells expensive.
The kind of expensive scent that could probably empty my entire bank account.
I inhale by accident.
Like an idiot.
And I immediately realize he noticed.
I look at him.
He's already looking back at me.
Directly.
His eyes are sharp and focused.
I turn my head away so quickly my neck cracks.
Why was he looking at me?
Ms. Park taps the board.
"Everyone. Page 184. Now."
I open my book.
But the numbers blur together.
Because he's still sitting next to me.
Still warm. Still silent. Still somehow taking up the entire space without doing anything at all.
I grip my pencil tighter.
Why him?
Why today?
Why does this seat feel cursed?
Ms. Park suddenly pauses while writing on the board.
Then she turns around and looks directly at me.
"Seo Jiah," she says gently.
The entire class turns to look.
"Yes…?"
She gives me a sympathetic smile.
"Dear, don't lose hope."
The classroom explodes with laughter.
Minseok is nearly choking.
Someone actually says, "Aww."
I sit there completely frozen while my dignity evaporates.
Ms. Park continues like nothing happened.
"I'm giving you all a test this Wednesday."
The class groans loudly.
A test already?
"If you fail," she adds calmly, "there will be punishment."
I stare down at my book like it personally betrayed me.
Then she calls my name again.
"Jiah?"
"Yes?"
She walks closer to my desk.
"You're last in math."
No point denying that.
"If you fail again," she continues, "I'm assigning you a personal tutor."
"A personal tutor?" I repeat awkwardly. "Someone teaching me one-on-one?"
"Yes."
My stomach drops.
"Who?"
She gestures toward the desk beside me.
Yu Enhyeok.
He's leaning back slightly in his chair, slowly tapping his pencil against the desk while watching me.
A drop of water slides down his neck.
He doesn't wipe it away.
He just keeps staring.
"Him?" I ask, my voice cracking slightly. "You mean… him?"
Ms. Park nods casually.
"Yes. Him."
Enhyeok raises one eyebrow slightly.
Barely noticeable.
But enough to make my heart drop in disbelief.
I stare at him.
He stares back.
Calm. Cold. Completely unreadable.
Yu Enhyeok.
My personal tutor?.