...Chemistry Lab – Afternoon...

...The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead as the scent of ammonia and pencil shavings filled the air. The chemistry lab was supposed to be silent—students bent over their experiments, scribbling observations—but Kim Cheol had other plans....

...His chair scraped against the linoleum as he stood, his cronies snickering behind him. With deliberate slowness, he swaggered over to Hyun-woo’s desk, where the latter sat, unmoved, his pen gliding across his notebook in perfect, uninterrupted lines....

...Kim Cheol kicked Hyun-woo’s chair so hard it screeched....

..."Yah, calculator-brain. Get up."...

...Hyun-woo didn’t even blink. His pen didn’t pause. "Oh? Did your last brain cell finally expire?"...

...A few stifled giggles erupted from nearby students. Cheol’s jaw clenched. He leaned down, his shadow swallowing Hyun-woo’s desk, his voice dripping with faux pity....

..."Aigoo, poor orphan. No mommy to teach you manners?"...

...The air in the room thickened. The class fell silent....

...Hyun-woo’s fingers stilled. Then, with deliberate calm, he removed his glasses, polished the lenses with the edge of his sleeve, and set them back on his nose. When he spoke, his voice was ice....

..."Funny. I don’t take orders from failures who need me to wipe their academic diapers."...

...Cheol exploded. "YOU LITTLE—" His hand shot out, grabbing Hyun-woo’s collar and yanking him up so fast his chair toppled backward with a CRASH....

..."You’ll do my lab work," Cheol snarled, his breath hot and sour, "or I’ll break those ugly-ass glasses."...

...Hyun-woo didn’t flinch. Instead, his lips curled into a smirk....

..."Try it. I’ll reconstruct them from your shattered ego."...

...For a heartbeat, no one moved....

...Then—...

..."KIM CHEOL!"...

...Eun-ha’s voice cut through the tension like a knife. She stood, her own chair screeching as she shoved it back. "Are you seriously this desperate? Can’t even write your own name without help?"...

...Cheol’s grip on Hyun-woo loosened just slightly as he turned his glare toward her. "Stay out of this, Kang."...

...Eun-ha folded her arms. "Make me."...

...The standoff crackled—until the bell rang, shattering the moment....

...Cheol shoved Hyun-woo back with a grunt. "This isn’t over."...

...Hyun-woo adjusted his collar, his expression unreadable. "It never is with you."...

...School Gates – Dismissal...

...The afternoon sun blazed as students flooded out of the building, laughter and chatter filling the air. Eun-ha adjusted the straps of her backpack, her pulse still thrumming from the confrontation earlier. She needed to catch the bus—if she missed it, she’d have to walk, and her mother would kill her....

...She broke into a sprint—...

...THUD....

...Pain exploded in her shoulder as she collided hard with someone tall. Books and papers went flying, scattering across the pavement....

..."Aish—!"...

...She looked up—and froze....

...Hyun-woo....

...He was already kneeling, gathering his notes with sharp, irritated movements. His voice, when he spoke, was colder than the wind....

..."Are you blind?"...

...Eun-ha’s face burned. "I—I’m so sorry!" She scrambled to help, grabbing the nearest notebook and shoving it into his hands without looking. "I’m really late—sorrysorrysorry—!"...

...And then she was gone, darting through the crowd before he could respond....

...Hyun-woo stared at the notebook in his hands....

...…This wasn’t his....

...Hyun-woo’s Bedroom – Night...

...The desk lamp cast a harsh glow over Hyun-woo’s workspace, his textbooks arranged in neat, regimented rows. He should have been studying. He needed to be studying....

...Instead, he was staring at a notebook that wasn’t his....

...With a sigh, he flipped it open....

...The first few pages were what he expected—notes from class, though messier than his own, with doodles crammed in the margins. Cats wearing glasses. A half-finished sketch of what looked like their chemistry teacher with devil horns....

...His fingers stilled....

...…What?...

...He turned the page....

...And there, tucked between notes on molar ratios, was a folded sheet of paper....

...He opened it....

...Dear Crush,...

...Your voice could read the periodic table and I’d pay attention. Also, when you corrected the teacher’s mistake yesterday? I almost died. Call me?...

...Hyun-woo’s grip on the paper tightened....

..."...Idiot."...

...His eyes flicked to the pile of his own missing textbooks. His meticulously organized notes. His upcoming exam prep....

...All in the hands of some distracted, daydreaming—...

...He exhaled sharply through his nose and snapped the notebook shut....

...Tomorrow was going to be interesting....

Eun-ha’s Kitchen – Same Night

..."EUN-HA! WASH YOUR HANDS! THEY LOOK LIKE YOU’VE BEEN DIGGING IN THE GARDEN!"...

...Eun-ha groaned as her mother brandished a wooden spoon like a sword. "But eomma, I’m hungry no—"...

...WHACK!...

..."FILTHY HANDS DON’T TOUCH FOOD!"...

...Eun-ha yelped, rubbing her stinging wrist. "FINE! But if I starve, you’re explaining to halmeoni why her favorite granddaughter—"...

...WHACK!...

..."MOVING FEET GET MORE FOOD!"...

...Laughing, Eun-ha dodged another swipe and bolted to the sink, never noticing the unfamiliar weight in her backpack....

...----TO BE CONTINUED----...