𝘱𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 ✓

a

Jihye flies down the stairs towards the lobby of her apartment,

leaving for school without Nari again.

a blast of cold air hits her face like a swarm of knives the moment she walks into the brisk,

bitter february morning.

Jihye shutters momentarily,

before wrapping her thick navy-blue jacket tighter around her torso

while desperately trying to pull her short,

plaid uniform skirt to cover her shivering,

exposed legs.

i should've worn my longer jacket.

ugh, if only i knew it'll be so cold today.

Jihye abruptly stops fixing her uniform

as she nears the intersection and stops at the crosswalk to pull out her phone.

7:15, i got some time.

she hastily shoves her phone back into the warmth of her pockets

and stand there waiting for the lights to change color,

swaying from side to side.

out of the corner of her eye,

she spots Hobi walking out of his building towards the same intersection she's at.

he spots her, and his face lights up like a light bulb,

a friendly smile stretches onto his face and waves at her.

Jihye shyly smile and wave back at him

as he walks up and stands next to her, easily towering over her.

"hey, Jihye! how ya doing?"

Hobi asks, stopping himself next to the quivering girl.

"i-i'm good. how 'bout you?"

he notices Jihye's slight tremor from the cold

and digs through his pockets looking for something.

"i don't understand why the school came up with these uniforms, it's freezing,"

he sighs, "here take these,"

he throws 2 small hand warmers into Jihye's open hands.

"th-thanks," she quivers out of either cold, girlish jitters, or both.

the light changes to green

and the pair walks side by side to their destination.

Jihye let the older boy do most of the talking,

periodically answering with a nod or short answer,

while her mind races again,

this time with amplified anxiety and jitteriness.

i'll tell him after school today!

+++++

"meet...me...in room...411,"

Jihye mutters under her breath

as she scribbles her name at the bottom of the blindingly fluorescent pink sticky note,

before ripping it off of the pad

and smacking it on the door of Hobi's locker.

Nari reluctantly stands over her,