The art of crushing and chaos

The next day, I went to the office. Alex looked at me, smiled, and—oh boy—I felt good. Like, really good. Later, I went to the cafeteria and guess what? Alex was there too! Was it destiny or just his caffeine addiction? Either way, I was ecstatic. Seeing him often made my heart do cartwheels. His kindness? It was like a magnet, and I was definitely the paperclip.

Soon, we started seeing each other more often. Just casual glances, smiles exchanged like secret codes. A few days of this cat-and-mouse game went by, and before I knew it, I was stalking—uh, checking out—his social media. Alex looked amazing in every photo, even the ones from seven years ago! Yes, I went that far back. Don't judge. He probably thought, What kind of creature likes all my ancient photos? But did I care? Nope. I was busy admiring his perfect smile.

One day, Alex added me to the office's social media group. My heart did a victory dance. I felt like I was finally getting closer to him. Soon after, the office mates invited me to a team dinner. As usual, I planned to decline because, well, socializing. Then I heard Alex never missed a team dinner. Plot twist! I decided to go.

When I showed up, people stared at me like I'd grown a second head. Apparently, I was famous for being a dinner no-show. We all headed to the restaurant, and just as we started eating, Alex and Lehan arrived. I called out to Alex to sit beside me, but before he could, Lehan swooped in and stole the seat. I was fuming internally. Why, Lehan? Why? If Alex had sat beside me, my life would've been 100% complete.

After dinner, Alex came up to me and said, "It's getting late. Can I drop you at your dorm?" I tried to keep calm, but inside, fireworks were exploding. During the ride, we talked and laughed so much that I felt like I'd known him forever.

Time flew, and two and a half months passed. My illustration test was in 10 days, and panic was setting in. I had improved a little but didn't feel ready. Asking Alex for help was out of the question. What if he thought I was dumb? Nope, I decided to study on my own.

One Sunday, Lehan's grandpa called and invited me over for lunch. I tried to refuse, but the man was persistent. Despite the test looming over my head, I went. When I arrived, Lehan was there too. His grandma explained that Lehan wanted to treat me for "taking care of them." Treat me? Yeah, right. It was more like a trap.

As I chatted with his grandparents, Lehan marched into the kitchen and dragged me along to "help." Help? More like slave labor. He handed me one chore after another. Every time I tried to escape, he'd find something else for me to do. I was ready to scream, What are you, a chore-detecting robot?

Finally, the food was done, and we ate. I told them I needed to leave to prepare for my test. Then Lehan, casually sipping his tea, asked, "So, have you actually learned anything in these past months?" Ouch. That stung. I admitted I wasn't confident about passing. And just like that, he offered to teach me.

My first instinct? Run. But his grandma chimed in, "Don't refuse him. He's really talented." So, reluctantly, I agreed.

Lehan led me to his room. It was surprisingly empty—guess he didn't stay there much. He started teaching me, but halfway through, the office group chat pinged. Alex had said something funny, and I couldn't help but blush. Lehan noticed. Oh boy, did he notice. His face darkened, and before I could react, he pulled me close and practically growled, "Just focus."

For a moment, I thought he was going to slap me, but no. He just went back to teaching. Honestly, he was good at it, and by the end, I felt like I actually stood a chance at passing the test.

Lehan offered to drop me back at my dorm. The car ride was painfully silent. Not a word. I guess he was still mad. But hey, at least I got some solid preparation out of it.