Zephyr | Lee Felix

Chapter 27

SATURDAY, WEEK 6

Why am I here again? Hyunjin blinks, absent-mindedly taking off his shoes as the blue and white room décor greets him once more. Being invited by Eugene for another study session is clearly not part of his week 6 itinerary, but here he is.

The girl has invited him over for another productive session, though it was rather impromptu—he thought. She texted him yesterday, talking about her mind being clouded by thoughts preventing her from concentrating.

Does this mean I'm a good distraction? He ponders, following her to sit on her tiny dining table. They settle down across each other, with the girl smiling in guilt.

"I'm sorry for dragging you here."

"Don't worry about it." He responds with a nonchalant tone, a smile plastered on his face as he tries to hide his excitement. It still feels unreal; the fact that he is here in her apartment once more.

He can't help but feel curious about her reasoning, but as they both have their respective assignments due, Hyunjin chooses to push that thought away and unpack his art supplies to resume his work.

"Thank you, though. Your presence really helps me to keep track of my assignment progress." She chuckles softly, setting up her laptop on the table. "Ah! Would you like any drinks, by the way?"

Hyunjin's heart flutters inside his chest at her words; all he can do is grin at her in response. God, she's sweet.

"Glad to help. And sure, some coffee will be nice, please."

"Oh phew, thank God I have canned coffee in my fridge." Eugene returns the grin and gets up to prepare the drinks in the kitchen.

Hyunjin's eyes trail her every movement as she goes. The way she grins and skips off to the kitchen with her long, brown hair softly bouncing against her back. It takes him a while (and an effort) to look away.

He sighs inwardly, his eyes looking down to the sketchbook propped up on the table. Why am I this whipped over a friend? This is so unhealthy...

"Here you go." She says, gently sliding the canned coffee towards him. Her smile is contagious, and before he knows it, his own grin appears on his lips.

Keep your cool. He tells himself whilst accepting the can, though he can't help but glance down at her slender fingers.

They look so delicate and fragile—it makes him imagine how it would feel to hold her hand in his own. He suddenly feels a pang of embarrassment at the thought and forces it to the back of his mind.

"Thank you..." He manages to mutter, his fingers hovering over the can to open.

As he struggles with the can, a thought suddenly pops up into his head. What even made her invite him over, anyway? The thought must've been extremely heavy for her to need a good kind of distraction.

He looks up, finding her focus on her laptop, and tries to ask the question as casually as possible.

"So... what made you invite me over so suddenly...?"

Eugene stops typing and looks up at him, thinking over her words before answering, "Just... a lot of thoughts. It's preventing me from focusing on my assignment. So..."

She sheepishly grins and shrugs. "I thought that having you here would help clear my mind and concentrate better."

Hyunjin's heart skips a beat. Huh... so having me around makes her feel better...

He lets out a small, forced chuckle to ignore the butterflies swirling around in his stomach. "Uh... I'm just sitting here silently, not doing a thing. How do I clear your mind just by being here?"