Hourglass [ H.HJ ]

2: Hwang Hyunjin

— a few hours later

I stared at the heap of books on the table and let out a sigh in content. I wasn't mad that I had to sort them—in fact I was more than happy to.

I work part-time at a library known as Serenity Athenaeum so I can take care of my extra needs. I'm not rich, but my dad has been sending me money from an anonymous address so I can take care of my necessities while I live alone.

I'd rather have him actually live with me instead of doing all this unnecessary shit. Lord knows where he went though...

But apart from getting extra money in, I loved my job. For three hours I got a chance to hang around in the library, and it made me feel powerful in a sense. A world of vast knowledge, resources, and development all enclosed in books on the smoothly cut wooden shelves.

I wasn't completely alone here as there were always passerby's as well as coworkers, but we didn't get many of them here as it was a small and old-fashioned antique library. The larger and more advanced city library was where most people would go, and honestly I liked it better that way since I could avoid people from school in the most productive way possible. Occasionally I would stumble upon books that piqued my interest, so not only did I have a getaway but also a good source of entertainment.

Paradise, I thought with a happy exhale. For real this time.

Twenty minutes had passed, and I'd moved on from four shelves in that time. A new record! I smiled triumphantly and put away the last few books that were left, and went to move the cart that previously held the books back to its rightful place at the front of the library near the receptionists' desk.

Suddenly, I skidded in my tracks the moment I got there like a deer caught in headlights.

Oh God, please no.

There he was, the boy from earlier. Talking with the head receptionist, book in hand. He looked completely different from the first time I encountered him. He was dressed in a smart yet simple looking white buttoned long sleeved shirt, and a pair of semi tight-fitting black jeans.

He checked out his book and turned my way. I stood there as stiff as a wooden board and stared straight into his eyes. And just kept staring, and staring, for no reason at all while a billion thoughts coursed through my mind. Mostly about how ironic it was that he somehow managed to come to the exact same place that I worked at, and how he always found a way to ruin my paradise.

To my surprise, he didn't try talking to me. All he did was send me a little wave and head towards the study tables in the far corner of the library, as if I wasn't there in the first place. He was gone about as quick as he came, yet still here at the library with me. It was unsettling and I had the overwhelming urge to ask the head receptionist to kick him out for 'disturbing the peace'.

"Akuji," I heard my coworker quietly call, to which I snapped out of my thoughts and turned around to face her. "I need a little help organizing these bookmarks over at the study tables. Think you can lend a hand?"

I'm not cold towards my coworkers, though at the times that I did talk I was a bit blunt. I would've said 'no' but my hands were completely empty and I'd technically been driven into a corner by her question. "Sure," I finally managed to blandly reply.

I had a habit of keeping all conversations with my coworkers limited to one word—possibly a full sentence—to reduce the amount of interaction. Less interaction meant more work done, and more work done meant more income. So I swallowed my uneasiness and took one pile of bookmarks and brought them over to the study tables.

"I'll take this one, you can do that one," my coworker said. To my horror she was pointing at the table that belonged to the boy from earlier as she said the last part of her sentence. I was so tempted to protest against it, but once again I decided to lay low and obey.

The moment we split up, the boy momentarily glanced up at me. When I inadvertently looked down to face him, he flashed me that same ambiguous smile from before and turned back to what he was working on as I started sorting the bookmarks. That smile of his sent a shiver down my spine, and I didn't like it one bit.

Why do I feel so uneasy around him? I thought to myself. It was confusing and I hated it.

I didn't want to interact with him, but I suddenly felt curious. How did he know about this quiet library that no one from school ever comes to? As far as I could recall, I'd never seen any of my peers come here. So why him?

The more I thought about him, the more I found myself subconsciously staring down at what it was that he was working on. He was doing a simple brainteaser, but kept staring down at it and twirling his pencil in his hand with no clue of how to solve it. Then, he wrote down a completely irrational answer and I almost gasped in disbelief.

Idiot... does he not know BEDMAS?

"Ah right," he chuckled, and looked up at me once again. "Thanks for reminding me about that. Almost failed that question there."

Shit. "Did I say that out loud?" I asked, like a total fool. For a moment, I wondered who was the real idiot here.

He smiled. "Yeah. You did."

Well that's embarrassing.

"Hyunjin," I heard the boy say after a bit of awkward silence, his eyes still focused on his paper. "Hwang Hyunjin."

"Huh?"

"I'm Hyunjin. You're Akuji, right?"

I went back to paying attention to my bookmarks. "It's not your business." In all honesty though, I was curious on how he knew my name. But of course I didn't ask. I didn't need to, apparently.

"You're the one who got that answer right in class today... I see you all the time and you're always so good at maths even when Mr. Chwe calls on you out of nowhere. I could never," he sighed.

"Then try harder."

My tone was icy, but in reality I was pleasantly flattered. Personally I thought that I was terrible at maths, but oh well, people surprise you all the time. That's why I hate them the most.

Hyunjin was no exception. I didn't know why, but I had a strong dislike towards him. And now finding out that he's in my maths class...

Things are definitely going to get interesting. And not in a good way.

———— ☾ ————

hope you're all enjoying the story so far, and remember criticism is allowed :)

what do you think will happen next with these two? not going to spoil anything, but let's just say they're in for a bumpy ride.

- R.S