Sunlight filtered through the tall windows, casting long shadows on the wooden tables. The usual buzz of students had faded, leaving a near-empty library. The only sounds were the quiet rustle of pages, the occasional scratch of a pen, and the faint hum of a laptop.
At a corner table, Ara was buried in her notes, highlighter in hand, her planner open beside her. Across the room, Chenle sat with his laptop, headphones draped around his neck, absentmindedly tapping a pencil against the table.
After an hour of silence, Ara stretched, rolling her shoulders before glancing around. She noticed Chenle, still deep in his work, an unusual sight for someone who usually avoided long study sessions.
She approached his table, speaking softly. "Still here? I thought you'd have bolted by now."
Chenle looked up, grinning, though a trace of exhaustion lingered in his eyes. "I could have. But then I'd be stuck presenting something half-done tomorrow."
Ara glanced at his desk: neatly written notes, highlighted key points, an open document filled with organized bullet points. For someone who claimed to "wing it," he was clearly putting in more effort than he let on.
She tilted her head, teasing, "Didn't take you for a perfectionist."
Chenle chuckled, leaning back in his chair. "I'm not. Just... Ningning won't let me hear the end of it if I mess this up. And you know how Giselle gets."
Ara smirked, but as she watched him, something shifted in her perspective. Chenle was unpredictable, impulsive, but beneath all that, he was quietly determined, willing to put in the effort when it mattered.
After a pause, she spoke sincerely, "You're better at this than you think, you know."
Chenle blinked, caught off guard, before a slow, genuine smile replaced his usual smirk.
"Coming from you, I'll take that as high praise."
They lapsed into a comfortable silence. Ara returned to her seat, but the conversation lingered between them, an unspoken understanding settling in.
The courtyard was lively with students enjoying their break between classes. Ara, Ningning, and Giselle sat at a table, chatting over their meals.
Walking by with Jaemin and Jisung, Chenle paused when he overheard Ara talking.
"You're not skipping the fundraiser meeting just because you're tired. We promised to help, remember?" Ara's voice was firm but warm, directed at Ningning.
Ningning groaned dramatically, slumping against the table. "But it's just a meeting..."
Ara crossed her arms, unimpressed. "No excuses. If I can juggle planning and homework, you can make it to one meeting."
Ningning pouted, but there was no real fight behind it.
From a distance, Chenle watched, noticing something he hadn't before. Ara wasn't just bossy... she was dependable, making sure her friends stayed on track, not out of control, but out of care. And they respected her for it.
A moment later, Ara spotted a classmate struggling to carry a stack of supplies. Without hesitation, she stood, effortlessly balancing half the load.
Chenle observed, something shifting in his expression.
"She's too good for this school," he muttered to Jaemin, half-joking but not entirely.
Jaemin raised an eyebrow, amused but silent.
Chenle lingered a moment longer before walking away, a small, quiet smile tugging at his lips.
The library was quiet again, just as it had been before. Ara and Chenle sat at separate tables, but every so often, they glanced up at the same time.
Across the room, Winter and Karina passed by briefly, talking in low tones, but neither Ara nor Chenle paid them much attention. The space around them felt calmer, more personal.
Ara returned to her notes, focusing on her planner, but her mind occasionally wandered to the quiet determination she'd seen in Chenle. And Chenle, though pretending to concentrate on his laptop, couldn't help but notice how Ara handled every situation with thought and care, making even small things seem important.
For the first time, the space between them didn't feel quite as distant.
And neither of them minded.
They worked in silence, but it was a comfortable silence, the kind where no words were necessary. Every now and then, a glance, a small smile, or a shared sigh of relief at completing a difficult section was enough.
By the time the sunlight shifted, painting golden streaks across the tables, Ara and Chenle had finished the majority of their work. They packed up slowly, their movements relaxed, the quiet understanding between them stronger than it had been the day before.
Even in a nearly empty library, they found each other—not with words, but with the small, quiet moments that said more than anything else could.
And for once, both of them felt at ease.
A.N -
- Thank you so much for over 200 views, I really appreciate it <3
- The start of their love story :)
