chapter three

aeri wasn't the type to lose sleep over a boy, especially not one who clearly had no idea how the social world worked. but by monday morning, she found herself glancing around the halls more often than usual, eyes quietly scanning for glasses, books, a still figure tucked into a quiet corner.

but jeon wonwoo was good at being invisible.

so she asked around.

casually, of course.

she started with sungmin. "hey, doesn't wonwoo have calculus with you?"

"yeah, sits in the back. never talks."

"does he... hang out with anyone?"

sungmin looked at her suspiciously. "why?"

"just curious."

he squinted. "you're still doing the dare."

"i'm investigating."

he laughed. "good luck. dude disappears after class like a ghost."

next was hana, a girl from student council who was known to know everything.

"wonwoo?" hana frowned, thinking. "he's in the library a lot. like... all the time."

"which lunch period?"

"first, i think? he usually eats there too. he's kind of a hermit."

aeri smiled sweetly. "thanks."

and that was all she needed.

by tuesday, she started taking her lunch a little earlier. just ten minutes or so. no big deal. she'd grab something from the vending machine and slip into the library like she had business being there. which, technically, she didn't. but it looked believable.

the first day, she didn't even see him.

the second day, she caught a glimpse—back corner, next to the window, head bent over a book like the world outside didn't exist.

she didn't approach. not yet.

just walked past, pretended to browse the fiction shelves nearby, fingers trailing along the spines without really seeing the titles.

he never looked up.

the next day, she came in earlier.

and this time, when she walked toward the shelves, he was already there.

same seat. same posture.

but something was different.

his eyes flicked up as she passed.

only for a second—but she saw it.

progress.

on thursday, she sat one table away.

opened a notebook she didn't plan to write in.

glanced sideways every few minutes, pretending to stretch, pretending to yawn.

he didn't move.

didn't speak.

but he hadn't left.

and that was enough to keep her coming back.

friday, she made her move.

she walked in with two drinks—iced coffee for herself, and something neutral for him. she wasn't even sure what he liked, but she picked a lemon tea from the vending machine. it felt safe. boring, like him.

he was already seated, reading as usual.

she stopped by his table, placing the drink down without a word.

he looked up, startled. no one else was near them.

"for you," she said simply, sliding into the chair across from him.

he stared at the bottle. "why?"

"you're always here," she said, keeping her tone light. "figured you might be thirsty."

he didn't respond. didn't touch the drink.

just looked at her like he was trying to solve something.

"jeon wonwoo, right?" she asked, even though she already knew.

he nodded slowly.

"i'm aeri."

silence.

she leaned forward slightly. "you're not much of a talker, huh?"

"you're not much of a reader," he said, voice quiet but steady.

she blinked.

he was watching her. not cold, not rude—just observing.

"how do you know that?" she asked, half amused, half caught off guard.

"you've been holding the same notebook for three days."

a small laugh escaped her. "okay. fair."

he didn't smile, but something in his eyes softened—barely.

"so why are you here?" he asked.

"why are you here?" she countered, tilting her head.

"to read."

"then maybe i'm here to bother you."

his brow lifted slightly, as if that answer didn't surprise him at all.

she waited.

but before she could say anything else, he stood up.

again.

same motion, quiet and clean.

he left the tea behind.

walked straight out of the library.

aeri exhaled through her nose, staring after him.

second time he'd walked away from her.

this time, though, he'd spoken.

watched her.

noticed her.

that counted.

she looked down at the untouched drink.

smiled to herself.

"okay," she whispered, tapping her fingers on the table. "so it's gonna be like that."

challenge accepted.