Whalien 52

PROLOGUE: I Am A Sucker For Eyes

I pulled open the door, slowly enough to not make a sound. My attempt at not getting noticed was a total failure. I always hated that side of me.

I was late. That much was obvious. And worse? Every seat at the back was taken.

The professor looked up from his laptop that was resting on the glass podium. He pushed his thick glasses up from the perch of his nose and I can see how his eyes shone in recognition even if I was a good 20 meters away from him.

"Ah, Miss Wu. Glad to see that you've made it. Please come up front for your seat."

I gulped as I inched my way towards the front along the rows of tables, with my head slightly bowed and my hands holding onto the hem of my shirt. As I walked, I happened to glance by the students', my classmates, seats. They all had names on the back of their chairs. I glanced at the empty chair at the very front line of tables in the auditorium and, as I guessed, it had my full name at the back. Just the surname would be nice. It was in very neat cursing, which I recognized to be the professor's handwriting. I've always loved his fonts. They were so smooth and they flowed like the wind on a breezy day.

I muttered my excuses as I squeezed myself closer to the bones in my body in order not to make any physical contact with the chairs that weren't mine. As I arrived on my spot, the guy seated on the right side of my chair stood up. I froze on my spot, only one teeny-weeny step away from my assigned seat and an arm's length away from him. He took hold of the back of my chair and pulled it away from the table, making it face towards me.

Like how  a perfect gentleman wold offer a beautiful lady her seat around a dining table.

But this was no dining table. He was no perfect gentleman (not to judge, but he looks like a jerk). And I was absolutely no lady. Much less beautiful, too. So it was a whole change of scenery. And it was awkward. But standing there, just staring at my chair, would make me look more idiotic than I already am. So, setting aside the thought of him invading my privacy by simply making contact with MY chair, I bowed slightly and muttered my fake gratitude before setting a little uncomfortably on my seat, letting him push both of us, me and the char, towards the table.

He sat beside me, accidentally brushing my arm and I looked up, wanting to glare at him. But I didn't get to do that. Glaring, I mean. I just...stared.

It never happens. It's uncanny. For me to make eye contact with anyone else but my family and childhood friends. But at that very moment, I did. I looked up...and made eye contact. And hell, did I regret it. I was drowning. In a sea of light brown orbs. And I can't seem to swim out of this glittering pool. I don't think I wanted to get out. I didn't want to escape. I wanted to drown more, to tattoo the look of his sparkling eyes in my head.

I'm a sucker for eyes. And his eyes were the most perfect eyes I have laid my own boring, lifeless eyes on.

I was in love. I was drowning and I loved it.

"I'm Taehyung."

It was a whisper, but it was loud enough for me to hear. Only me.

"Xiao Hui."

"Ah, you're Chinese."

I nodded. He smiled. It was contagious so I did the same. His hand moved towards me and instinct would usually tell me to recoil, to back away, to treat his hand like it was that of the devil's and one touch would pull me down to the blazing grounds of hell.

But there were his eyes again. And I became stupid around a perfect pair of orbs.

My hand moved on its own. Releasing the hem of my shirt from its death grip, my hand slowly, carefully raised itself and aligned with his. He took it and shook it. Gently. As if he knew that I was fragile. As if he knew that one strong tug would rip my whole arm off. He took care of my hand as if a precious gem dug up from the deepest core of the Earth.

"It's very nice to meet you, Xiao Hui."

His eyes sparkled even more. And I can see myself being illuminated there. I can see how my mouth hung agape and how my cheeks flushed like a tomato.

"The octopus is under the Phylum Mollusca and Order Gastropoda, along with other animals like cuttlefish and squids. The octopus has the most complex eyes..."

This is complete bliss.