6 - he loves me, he loves me not —
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Dohyeong's P.O.V
It's the 10th; and I'm so nervous I feel like I'm going to explode.
I've had Aera remind me a thousand times that this isn't a big deal, and I'll be fine, but I can't seem to take in those words.
But I'm excited. It's a weird combination, nervous and excited. But I just wish I was getting a little more out of the excited side.
Aside from my dilemma, everything is going as usual. I still get up painstakingly early in the morning, I still don't pay attention in algebra, and plus the red-haired boy is still around—which I guess I need to start trying to figure him out a little— so pretty much nothing is preventing me from worrying about it 24/7.
"Alright, anything you didn't finish is homework."
I looked up at the English teacher's voice, my ear filling with sounds as everyone hurriedly tried to get out of the room. I looked down at my blank worksheet and resisted a groan. I guess I'll have homework.
As I was putting my stuff away, I snuck a glance over at the red-haired boy, who was distractedly playing with a stack of ungraded papers.
I resisted a smile as I stood up, walking out of the room with his light footsteps soon following. I have to admit, having him around isn't half bad. Like, the things I thought would be awkward with him around aren't really at all.
Like when I change my clothes, he waits somewhere else for me, and not to mention that he doesn't even bat an eyelash at Aera and I's weird conversations. He's really placid about everything, which I like. Because, I mean, if I'm going to be seeing people no one else can, I'd rather them be really calm than completely insane.
I opened my locker and slipped my binders into my backpack, and I abruptly began thinking about what I'd been avoiding all day when someone came up next to me.
Hyeokjae. His locker is next to mine.
I'm not stupid, I knew this would happen. Just like every other day. Just, today I wasn't exactly ready for it. Luckily, he didn't speak to me for the majority of the time we were both packing up our stuff.
It was only when I had slung my backpack over my shoulder and realised that I'd forgotten the textbook I needed for the English worksheet I didn't finish in my locker.
So I quickly opened my locker again and pushed the switch for the compartment above my locker. But as I had the textbook in my hand and went to shut the compartment, Hyeokjae closed his locker on my finger.
I let a little hiss in pain, to which he of course immediately reacted to. "Oh shit, Dohyeong, I'm sorry." He apologised quickly, his expression shifting in worry.
I shook my head, burying my finger in the fabric of my shirt and hoping that would do something. When I saw Hyeokjae was still looking at me out of the corner of my eye, I said, "It's fine."
I then proceeded to walk away at the fastest speed that wouldn't be considered weird if you were subtly trying to get away from someone.
I normally would've stayed and talked to him if the opportunity arose because he's a pretty nice guy to talk to, honestly. But my nerves always seem to win out.
•
"Aera, I swear I remember learning this, just tell me what the fuck comes after phytoplankton on the food chain."
I slouched in my desk chair as I held the phone up to my ear. The angel just sat in the grey chair in the corner of my room, a small amused smile on his lips.
I had half a mind to slap the smile right off his face, but I don't think doing that to someone I'm not even on speaking terms with would be a good idea.
Not to mention I don't even know if he's real or not, so more of a reason not to.
I just sighed when he caught my gaze, before quickly looking away and beginning to talk to Aera again.
I saw him give me a strange look out of the corner of my eye. And trust me, he wasn't the only one confused.
•
"Phytoplankton is a bunch of bacterias that are the basis of the ocean's ecosystem, and they're what gives all of the other life-forms energy. The next thing in the chain is zooplankton, which is basically immature normal species like shrimp, bigger bacteria, and small fish."
Aera told me all of this while she drove us to the school for the dance, but I wasn't really listening too much.
I was really excited, but I was definitely more nervous. All of the annoying nerves that have been showing up in the past few days were in overdrive at the moment. Plus, the situation from earlier with him just added to them.
When Aera finally noticed I wasn't paying attention, she put her free hand on my back, rubbing slow circles as a chaste attempt to comfort me.
"Don't tell me you're still nervous."
I didn't know how to reply.
She sighed at my silence. "Girl, seriously. Hyeokjae is the nicest guy ever, not bad in looks either, so just because you like him doesn't mean you need to curl up in a ball at the thought of him."
I nodded as I stared into space, "Yeah, I know he's the nicest guy ever, and I know he has good looks. That's why I'm nervous. He's the opposite of me."
Her hand left my back and went back to the steering wheel, "But that still doesn't change the fact that opposites attract. You told me that yourself, so chew on that and get it together."
The ride was silent for the rest of the way, the only sounds being the slight humming of Aera and the fast-paced finger-tapping from myself.
When we got there, I have to be honest when I say that some of my nerves dissipated at the sight of the school. It looked so different at night, the normally packed classrooms empty while students in formal wear wandered around the halls.
"Yuta said he and Hyeokjae were waiting at the entrance," Aera told me, slipping her phone into a small clutch she'd brought along.
This was the biggest dance of the year if you excluded prom around the end of the year, and I just happened to be going with my crush.
There's a pit in the bottom of my stomach.
When the pair we were meeting came into sight, Aera gripped my hand tightly, sending me a reassuring smile as we walked up to them.
"Hey, you made it!" Yuta greeted us politely, a huge smile showing up on his lips. He was greeting us, but you could tell he wasn't focused much on me. Aware and Yuta looked so happy to see each other.
When I looked at Hyeokjae, he wasn't doing much but playing with the cuffs on his sleeves.
The pit in my stomach was growing.
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A/N: this entire chapter had me internally screaming from secondhand embarrassment.
but tbh, I sympathise with her. if I were in her place, I'd be a nervous wreck