Overlooking Your Eyes

Now it made sense. Now he understood why Yoo Seon-woo hadn’t moved seats, leaving only him to shift over beside him. That incredible ‘coincidence’ hadn’t been a coincidence at all, it was orchestrated by Yoo Seon-woo.

“…But Seon-woo is already good at studying.”

“Right?” the teacher replied playfully. “Maybe he just wants to do even better. If he’s aiming for the top spot, you’d better watch out, Yeong-won. He might really be after first place.”

Smiling faintly at the teacher’s teasing, Yeong-won bowed slightly and left the staff room. But the question lingered: Why would he go so far as to ask the teacher just to sit next to me? Is it really about studying?

Though he generally paid no attention to others’ grades, he knew that Yoo Seon-woo consistently ranked in the top three. Everyone always mentioned his academics when they talked about him, sometimes second, sometimes third. Someone had even joked once that Seon-woo could take first if he wanted to but was deliberately holding back.

…Could he really be trying for first?

Nothing in the world came easy, least of all staying at the top. Maintaining his rank since middle school had been anything but simple for Yeong-won. It demanded relentless effort, arriving at school earlier than anyone, never missing a single self-study session, and devoting weekends, holidays, and vacations to the same disciplined routine. He had never stepped foot in a PC room, never played a single game on his phone. His life was entirely built around his studies.

“Where were you? Why didn’t you check your messages?”

Startled by the sudden shadow looming over him, Yeong-won took a step back. It was Kim Hyun-jin, slinging his backpack over one shoulder and squinting at him accusingly.

“The teacher called me to the staff room.”

“For what?”

“I’m the temporary class president.”

“Wow, you’re already settling in, bossing people around, and taking charge without me? I’m so hurt,” Hyun-jin joked, feigning tears as he leaned his head against Yeong-won’s shoulder.

Laughing, Yeong-won played along, patting Hyun-jin on the back as if to console him. But Hyun-jin, much taller and leaning his full weight into the act, made it hard to keep his balance. Pushed backward, on the verge of falling, Yeong-won shoved him off a little harder this time, then froze.

In that moment, he locked eyes with Yoo Seon-woo standing by the back door, silently watching them with an unreadable expression. Flustered, Yeong-won quickly shoved Hyun-jin away, the harmless joke now feeling like he’d been caught doing something inappropriate.

“You’re so cold.” Hyun-jin whined.

“Stop being gross. Go already.”

With a wave and a final pat on Hyun-jin’s shoulder, Yeong-won sent him off. Then he stepped into the classroom. Self-study wasn’t mandatory yet, and there wasn’t an official sign-up list, so only two students remained in the room: one was Yoo Seon-woo, and the other was a nameless classmate waiting around with a backpack. Once that classmate left, only the two of them were left in the quiet room.

“….…”

The situation made him uneasy. From the very first day, he’d spent far more mental energy on Yoo Seon-woo than he’d planned, leaving him with a slight headache. None of this had been part of his plans.

But there was no way around it. He had to stick to his routine, completing the day’s study goals before heading home. To achieve that, he needed to solve 30 English questions before dinner, which would allow him to focus on math during the evening self-study sessions.

Really, there was no reason to feel uncomfortable. All he needed to do was focus the way he had for the past five years. Worrying about a strange, unfamiliar classmate was nothing but a waste of time.

Stealing a brief glance at Seon-woo, who sat quietly with a blank expression, Yeong-won went to his seat and sat down as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Studying side by side in a mostly empty classroom felt a little absurd, but it wasn’t worth dwelling on. Checking his watch, its worn strap snug around his wrist, he opened his English workbook and began reading a densely packed passage.

He solved three questions based on the text, noting key words and idioms as he worked through the next section. Though the questions were deliberately tricky, understanding the context made the answers clear. Checking off another four questions, he glanced at his watch again. At this pace, he was sure he could finish everything with time to spare.

“….…”

As Yeong-won flipped a page in his workbook, he glanced sideways toward the quiet figure next to him. Yoo Seon-woo’s desk was empty, not a single book, not even a pen. He wasn’t sleeping or looking at him; he simply sat upright, deep in thought, with perfect posture. For the first time since that morning, Yeong-won took a long look at him.

Seon-woo’s hair was immaculate, his skin flawless, unmarred by any scars or blemishes. His straight neck and perfectly squared shoulders complemented his upright posture, a position that clearly wasn’t achieved overnight but built through years of discipline.

“….…”

Following the line of Seon-woo’s straight back, Yeong-won let his gaze settle on his side profile again. From the moment he had leaned over the teacher’s podium earlier that morning, Yeong-won had noticed the faint scent coming from him.

Is that cologne? Or a high-end fabric softener? Or… is it just his natural scent?

Unconsciously, he continued observing. The light from the setting sun streaming through the window deepened the brown of Seon-woo’s eyes, giving them a rich, amber glow. Everything about him seemed polished in a way that was completely different from Yeong-won. It wasn’t something he could replicate, even if he tried. There was something inherently different about him, something fundamental.

Perhaps sensing his gaze, Seon-woo, who had been looking out the window, slowly turned his head. Their eyes met. Only then did it hit Yeong-won that he’d been openly staring for far too long. Realizing how rude that was, he opened his mouth to apologize, but Seon-woo spoke first, his voice cutting through the stillness of the classroom.

“Do you like Kim Hyun-jin?”

“…What?”

The question caught him so off guard that all he could do was repeat it, dumbfounded.

Did I just hear that right?

“Or does Kim Hyun-jin like you?”

“What are you even talking about…”

“If not, why do you two act like that?”

“What do you mean by that? What have I even done with him?”

“In the hallway earlier.”

Seon-woo fully turned his body to face him. As Seon-woo leaned slightly forward, closing the distance between them, Yeong-won instinctively pushed his chair back and stood up. He didn’t understand why Seon-woo was suddenly approaching him like this.

“Wh-what are you—”

“I’m showing you what you did.”

Seon-woo rose from his seat, striding forward purposefully. Startled, Yeong-won took a step back, then another, his body moving reflexively. There was no need to run, but his feet moved on their own as Seon-woo continued advancing. When his back hit something solid, Yeong-won froze. He turned to see that he had been backed into the closed rear door of the classroom. Reaching for the handle, he tried to open it, but Seon-woo’s hand pressed down firmly on the door, keeping it shut. The pressure was too strong for him to budge.

“…Don’t—don’t do this. Are you crazy?”

The words slipped out unfiltered, a sign of how flustered he was. Rarely one to use such expressions, they felt foreign even to him. As Seon-woo leaned in further, his face lowering toward his own, Yeong-won squeezed his eyes shut.

Warmth and weight settled on his shoulder. Peeking one eye open, he saw Seon-woo resting his head against him, his face buried into his shoulder. Confused and caught off guard, Yeong-won tried to push him away. He already knew that someone as tall and sturdy as Seon-woo wouldn’t budge easily, but even so, he hadn’t expected no movement at all.

“This is what you did.”

The low sound of Yoo Seon-woo’s voice resonated against his shoulder, and Yeong-won instinctively tensed, clutching Seon-woo’s arm. This wasn’t like when Kim Hyun-jin pressed his forehead against him as a joke, it felt entirely different.

“What are you…”

The weight on his shoulder shifted upward toward his nape. Seon-woo’s nose grazed along the pale, slender curve of his neck, brushing softly before he finally pulled away. The moment the warmth left, Yeong-won instinctively reached up to cover the spot on his neck with his hand, glaring at Seon-woo.

“Your face is red.” Seon-woo remarked.

“…Are you seriously insane?”

“Why? You did it with Kim Hyun-jin too.”

“Hyun-jin didn’t do it like you! He was just joking around!”

Even though he hadn’t done anything wrong, the fact that he felt the need to explain this made everything feel absurd. Frustrated, he swallowed the words that had been bubbling up, words that felt too much like a justification, and shoved Seon-woo back. Unlike before, when Seon-woo hadn’t budged, this time, he stepped back easily, as if yielding on purpose.

The deliberate way he moved made it obvious he was ‘letting’ himself be pushed, and that realization left Yeong-won sighing in disbelief. After maintaining an unnervingly blank expression, Seon-woo’s face now seemed more relaxed, almost playful. Looking up at him, Yeong-won met a gaze softened by a smile, the same warm, easy smile Seon-woo used in front of others.

Any harsh or awkward words that had been circling in his head evaporated into nothing.

Shaking his head, Yeong-won returned to his desk and dragged his chair back into place, sitting down to focus on the English passage in front of him. Behind him, Seon-woo also returned to his seat. Thankfully, there was no more lingering gaze, no further attempts to talk.

Letting out a small sigh, Yeong-won closed his eyes for a moment, trying to reset his focus before reopening them to the page.

As he read a line about buffer zones, a sharp heat flared along his nape. Unconsciously, his hand reached back to cover the spot where Seon-woo had brushed against him earlier. A strange warmth lingered there, as if the brief contact had left something behind.

Even through his palm, he could feel a subtle heat flickering, popping like tiny kernels of popcorn. The sensation dyed his hand with warmth, fading briefly, only to flare up again.

It wasn’t going away.