chapter ten

the math quiz was tomorrow and aeri hadn't studied.

not really, anyway. she'd stared at her notes, flipped through her textbook, scrolled on her phone, and given up after ten minutes. but she knew where to find help.

she found him exactly where she expected—tucked in the back corner of the library, alone, a highlighter in his hand and a pile of books in front of him.

he didn't look up when she walked over.

"this seat taken?" she asked, already pulling the chair back.

he glanced up, eyes flicking to her, then back to his notes. "no."

she smiled, dropping into the chair. "thought so."

they sat in silence for a bit. he worked. she... pretended to. her math worksheet sat untouched while she doodled stars in the margins.

wonwoo noticed.

"you're not going to pass like that," he said without looking at her.

"pass what?" she asked innocently.

"the quiz. you're doing the equation wrong."

"how do you know?" she asked, lifting an eyebrow.

he finally looked at her, and with the most deadpan expression said, "because you're multiplying instead of factoring."

she pouted. "math is dumb."

he gave the smallest shrug. "it's not that bad."

"spoken like a true nerd."

"you asked for help."

"i didn't say you were a bad nerd."

he paused. then something strange happened.

he smiled.

barely, but it was there.

not the sarcastic, tight-lipped kind she was used to. it was real. soft. like he hadn't smiled in a while and forgot how, but remembered just for her.

she blinked, caught off guard.

"did you just smile?" she asked.

he looked away quickly. "no."

"yes, you did."

"you imagined it."

"i did not. that was a smile. that was a full-on 'you think i'm funny' smile."

he didn't respond, but his ears turned a little red.

she leaned back in her chair, smirking. "wow. jeon wonwoo smiled. someone write this down."

he rolled his eyes, but there was a spark of amusement in them now. he took her worksheet and pulled it closer.

"here," he said. "this is how you do it."

she leaned in, letting her arm brush his just slightly, and watched the way his pencil moved—precise, confident, sure.

and for a second, she wasn't thinking about the quiz. or the bet. or anything else.

just him.

but the moment passed, and she shook it off.

this was still all part of the game.

right?