CHAPTER 2: FORELSKET

The first period soon came to an end, and the teacher dismissed the class. Jiwon shot Eunha an encouraging smile before walking out with some of their other classmates. Eunha watched them leave, feeling a bit nervous as she realized she was left alone with Sunghoon. Just as she was about to gather her things, she heard a voice speak up from beside her.

"Hey." It was Sunghoon. He was looking at her, a small smile on his lips. Eunha's heart fluttered, and she mentally cursed at herself for being so affected by one word.

"Um, hi," she manage to say, her voice coming out a bit squeaky. She busied herself with packing her books, trying to appear casual.

Sunghoon didn't seem to mind. He leaned back in his chair and looked at her, studying her face. Eunha could feel his gaze on her, making her cheeks feel flushed.

Sunghoon, realising they haven't properly introduced themselves, broke the silence. "Hey, um, I just realised we've never actually properly introduced ourselves," he said, his smile widening. "I'm Sunghoon. Park Sunghoon."

Eunha, relieved that he had taken the initiative to speak, replied, "I'm Eunha. Park Eunha. It's nice to meet you." She couldn't help but notice how nice his name sounded when he said it.

Sunghoon nodded. "Yeah, I'm fairly new to this class. I was actually in Class B last year," he said, fiddling with his pen. "This is my first time being in a top performing class during highschool years."

Eunha raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You were in Class B last year? Wow, you must have worked really hard to get into this class," she commented, impressed.

Sunghoon shrugged modestly. "I guess I just studied more and tried to focus on the subjects I was struggling with,"he said, then he looked at her with a playful gleam in his eye. "And I got a lot of help from my mom, she made sure I didn't slack off too much."

Eunha laughed, imagining a tiny Sunghoon, being nagged by his mother to do his homework. "Well, whatever you did, it must have worked," she said. "And now you're stuck with us A class people."

Sunghoon chuckled. "Yeah, I guess so." He paused for a moment before continuing, "But honestly, it's kind of refreshing to be in a new environment. I hope I'll be able to keep up with everyone here."

Sunghoon's expression turned thoughtful for a moment. "It's funny, though," he said, his eyes looking off into the middle distance. "I've seen you around school before, but we've literally never spoken to each other until now."

Eunha was taken aback by his comment. "You've noticed me before?" she asked, her voice betraying her surprise.

Sunghoon nodded, a slight blush creeping onto his cheeks. "Yeah, I mean, who wouldn't notice you? You're kind of hard to miss," he said, and then quickly added, "In a good way, I mean. You're really pretty."

Sunghoon, realising he had blurted out the first thing that came to his mind, quickly tried to backtrack. "Ah, sorry that came out wrong. I didn't mean you're pretty to look at, though you are-" He took a deep breath to collect himself. "What I meant was... do you, uh, want to be friends?"

Eunha couldn't help but smile at his stumbling words. It was nice to see he was as nervous as she was. "Sure," she said, trying to sound casual. "That'd be cool. Friends."

Sunghoon visibly relaxed, relieved. "Great," he said, his smile widening. "I mean, yes, great. We're friends now." He extended his hand across the desks, and Eunha couldn't help but note how long and slender his fingers were. She shook his hand, feeling the warmth of his skin against hers. It sent a thrill down her spine, and she quickly pulled her hand back, pretending her heart wasn't racing.

"So, what do friends do, then?" she teased, trying to hide her flustered state. "Apart from sit and talk awkwardly in a classroom, that is."

Sunghoon laughed, shaking his head. "I guess we could start by hanging out more, grabbing lunch together, stuff like that," he suggested. "And we can complain about how hard math is, since we both have that class together now."

"Oh boy, don't even get me started on that," Eunha groaned. "I swear, Mr. Kim is determined to torture us all this year. You'd think he'd be nice since we're in Class A, but no, he's just as strict."

"Tell me about it," Sunghoon agreed, rolling his eyes. "I'm not ashamed to admit I'm awful at math. But hey, at least we can suffer together now, right?"

Eunha chuckled. "Great, we can form a 'we hate math' club," she joked. "We'll be the most pitiful group on campus."

"I'll bring the snacks and the tissues for our tears," Sunghoon joked back, his eyes crinkling in amusement. "And we can vent about how algebra is a cruel invention that should be banned."

"Don't forget geometry," Eunha added. "And trigonometry. I swear, it's like they're trying to make us hate numbers."

"Right, right," Sunghoon agreed. "And let's not forget calculus. That beast can burn in the fiery pits of hell."

Eunha laughed, enjoying the easy banter between them. "You're forgetting the most evil one of all: statistics," she said, with a shudder. "It's like they invented it just to torment us."

"Oh God," Sunghoon groaned, leaning back in his chair. "Don't even talk about it. I swear I don't know how anyone understands that devil's calculations."

The last class of the day finally came to an end, and the students began packing up their belongings. Eunha looked out the window and realized how late it had gotten. The sun was already setting, turning the sky a beautiful array of pink and orange.

As she gathered her things, she turned to look at Sunghoon, who was already putting his notebooks into his bag. "Hey, uh, do you... do you want to walk out together?" she found herself asking, her heart beating a little too fast for comfort.

Sunghoon looked up, visibly surprised by the question but quickly recovered, a small smile playing on his lips. "Uh, sure. That'd be nice," he said, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

They walked out of the classroom together, Eunha's heart racing at the thought of spending more time with him. As they walked down the hallway, they made small talk about the classes they had for that day, talking about their favourite and least favourite teachers and subjects.

As they walked, Eunha's phone suddenly buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out to check the message, which was from Jiwon asking where she was. She quickly sent a quick reply saying she was with Sunghoon, and pocketed her phone, hoping Jiwon wouldn't grill her later.

They exited the building and were met with the cool evening air. Eunha took a deep breath, enjoying the feeling of the fresh air in her lungs. She glanced at Sunghoon, who was walking beside her, his hands shoved casually into his pockets.

Just then, Eunha's driver, approached them. "Miss Park," he said, nodding to Eunha. He then turned to Sunghoon, eyeing him suspiciously.

Eunha, realising the driver didn't recognize Sunghoon, quickly spoke up. "It's okay, Mr. Choi," she said, gesturing towards Sunghoon. "He's a classmate of mine." Her driver relaxed slightly, but he still eyed Sunghoon warily.

Sunghoon, seemingly unfazed by the driver's intense stare, smiled politely at him. "Nice to meet you, sir." He looked at Eunha then, realising they had to part ways now. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow," he said, a hint of reluctance in his voice.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow," Eunha replied, feeling a pang of disappointment that their time together was already ending. She watched as the driver led her away, her eyes lingering on Sunghoon until he was out of sight.

As she got into the car, she couldn't help but replay their conversation in her head. The way he laughed, the way he spoke, the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled. She couldn't deny it any longer; she was intrigued by him, and she was definitely developing a crush.

She sighed, leaning her head back on the seat. She knew it was silly and probably pointless to like him. After all, they barely knew each other. But she couldn't help it. There was something about him that made her want to get to know him more, to spend more time with him.

She decided then that she would try to spend more time with him, try to get to know him better. Maybe she was being foolish, but she couldn't help the flutter in her heart whenever she thought of him.

As the car drove off, she looked out the window, watching the city lights flicker in the distance. Her mind was filled with thoughts of Sunghoon and their conversation, and she realised that no matter how foolish it might be, she was already excited for tomorrow.

That night, she tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. Her mind was filled with thoughts of Sunghoon, and she kept replaying their conversation in her head. What would it be like to be more than friends with him? To hold his hand, to touch his face... She shook her head furiously, willing herself to stop thinking such dangerous thoughts.

But it was as if a dam had been broken. The more she tried to stop herself from thinking about him, the more her mind refused to listen. She thought of his laugh, his smile, his eyes.

She eventually fell into a fitful sleep, her dreams filled with visions of Sunghoon. In her dream, they were simply talking and laughing together. She woke up the next morning feeling equal parts embarrassed and excited.

She got ready for school faster than usual, her heart racing with anticipation. She applied her makeup carefully, trying to look her best without appearing like she was trying too hard. She put on her school uniform, smoothing out any wrinkles in the fabric.

As she left the house and got into the car, her thoughts turned to Sunghoon. Would he notice that she had worn her hair a bit differently today? Would he notice the slight change in her makeup, the way her uniform looked a bit more flattering than usual? She secretly hoped he would.

When she arrived at school, she found herself looking for him immediately. Her eyes scanned the crowd, searching for his familiar face. But with so many students milling about, finding him was like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

She walked through the hallways, her eyes darting to every person she passed. Disappointed each time she didn't see him. She realised she was acting like a lovesick teenager, and inwardly rolled her eyes at herself. She was supposed to be one of the top students in the school, not some lovestruck fool.

As she turned a corner, she finally saw him. He was talking to some of his friends, laughing about something one of them had said. Her heart did a little skip at the sight of him, and she felt a mixture of relief and nervousness wash over her.

She tried to act casual as she approached them, her eyes fixed on Sunghoon. When he saw her, his smile widened, and he seemed genuinely pleased to see her. "Hey," he greeted, his eyes sparkling.

"Hey," she replied, trying to sound nonchalant. But she knew her heart was beating just a little bit faster, and she could feel a blush creeping up her neck. "How's it going?" she asked, her voice betraying her inner turmoil.

"Good, good," he responded, still smiling at her. His friends, noticing their exchange, glanced between them with curious eyes. One of them, a boy named Haru, gave Sunghoon a sly look.

Haru smirked at Sunghoon. "Well, looks like someone's happy this morning," he teased, nudging Sunghoon in the ribs. Sunghoon shot him a warning look, but he didn't deny it.

"Shut up, Haru," he muttered, shoving Haru playfully. But his eyes were still on Eunha, watching her reaction. She could feel her cheeks getting warmer by the second, but she tried to play it cool.

Eunha mustered up a casual smile. "I'll go on ahead first," she said, holding her head up. "See you in class." With a nod, she turned to walk away. She could feel Sunghoon's gaze on her as she walked away, making her heart flutter.

As she entered the classroom, she took a deep breath trying to calm herself. She settled into her seat, her eyes darting to the door every now and then, waiting for Sunghoon to arrive.

A few moments later, Sunghoon walked into the class. He looked around, his eyes landing on Eunha. He smiled at her, and her heart skipped a beat once more. He made his way towards her and took the seat next to her, just like the day before.

The teacher began the class, and they both sat attentively. Eunha could feel the heat from Sunghoon sitting beside her, distracting her from concentrating on the lesson. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, noticing how he was paying attention to the teacher, taking notes diligently.

Everytime he would lean forward to write something or would move to adjust his sitting position, she found herself stealing glances at him. She couldn't help but admire his sharp features - his high cheekbones, his strong jaw, his intense eyes. She mentally chided herself, knowing she should be focusing on the class and not him.