It was the day of a liberal arts class. When I walked into the lecture hall, I saw the back of Lee Sangwon, sitting there. It was the same seat as last time, the same posture. He was leaning back in his chair and looking at his phone.
The other seats were open. As I walked over to the side, Sangwon lifted his head. Our eyes met, but we didn't acknowledge each other. I, too, wordlessly set my bag down in the seat next to him. By now, it felt weird to sit anywhere else anyway. This was where I sat last class too, and the class before that as well.
Once I sat down, Sangwon flipped his phone face-down.
“Back again.”
“I came to take the class. You think I came to see you?”
“Did I say anything?”
His tone was curt. Since I told him not to act all coy at the bar, it seemed he'd thrown polite speech out the window altogether. I didn't bother pointing it out either. More than sarcasm wrapped in honorifics, this was less irritating.
I pulled a pen out of my bag. There were still about ten minutes left before class started.
Sangwon picked his phone up again. His face had no particular expression as he scrolled up and down the screen.
I stared quietly at that face. Come to think of it, I'd never seen him smile at school. Not a smirk or a sneer, but a real smile. At the bar, he'd smile just fine whenever the women said anything.
“Why?”
Sangwon asked without looking away from the screen.
“Why what?”
“You're staring.”
“I wasn't.”
“What, did you fall for me? That's a real problem.”
I looked at him with a disgusted expression. Does this guy have princess syndrome or something? Prince syndrome?
I was about to look away, but I rested my chin in my hand instead. I studied Sangwon's profile again. From his brows to his nose bridge to his lips, there wasn't a single bad angle. Good-looking face, garbage personality. The rumors probably weren't for nothing.
“Why don't you smile at school?”
Sangwon's fingers stopped moving. A moment later, he slowly turned his head.
“Out of nowhere?”
“Just. Thinking about it, I don't think I've ever seen you smile.”
“You've seen me at my part-time job.”
“That's customer service.”
“A smile is a smile. They're all the same.”
“Doesn't seem that way to me.”
Sangwon set his phone down on the desk. Then he looked down at me like he was wondering what the hell I was going to say all of a sudden.
What. Had I put my foot in my mouth or something?
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“No reason.”
“Then what is it?”
“I guess I've been watching pretty closely to see how you smile.”
There he goes again. Prince syndrome, this jerk.
“How could I not notice when you keep smiling nonstop at customers' faces?”
“So you weren't the only one?”
“Do you only smile when someone's paying you?”
I said it with a sneer at a question not even worth answering. Then I let out a small sigh and went on.
“Fine. What am I even supposed to do with seeing your smiling face?”
After a moment, I felt a tap-tap on my shoulder. I turned back with a what-now look.
Sangwon had tilted his head, lightly pressing the back of his hand to his cheek. When our eyes met, his eyes curved a little, and one corner of his mouth slowly lifted.
It was different from the smile I saw at the bar.
It wasn't the neat, polished smile he showed in front of customers. Nor was it a face sneering at people. With his eyes slightly curved and only one corner of his mouth raised, he looked pretty cocky. What a punk.
“What are you doing?”
“You told me to smile.”
“That's your idea of smiling?”
“Good enough if you got to see it for free.”
Sangwon lowered his hand and straightened up.
“You smile, too.”
“No thanks.”
“I smiled for you.”
“Why should I smile for you?”
“I just smiled for you too.”
“Did I ask you to?”
“Do I have to be paid to smile?”
“Don't copy me.”
“Why? They're your words.”
Sangwon let out a snort and lifted one corner of his mouth again.
I shouldn't have brought it up. I hadn't even wanted to see that face in the first place. I was just curious why the guy who smiled so easily at the bar was always stone-faced at school.
Still, seeing him smile like that, I kind of understood why there were so many rumors. More irritating than when he smiled politely, and way more distracting.
Soon the professor came in and the lecture hall fell quiet. Sangwon straightened his posture and opened his liberal arts textbook. I pretended to write something in my notebook with my pen, drawing circles instead.
Once class started, there wasn't much conversation. Surprisingly, Sangwon listened pretty diligently. He underlined things in the book and even wrote in the margins whenever the professor emphasized something. His handwriting was a disaster, unlike his looks.
I can't make out a thing he's writing.
Remembering his smiling face from a moment ago, I glanced sideways. Sangwon was expressionless again. But his gaze wasn't on the book; it was on me.
“Why?”
He mouthed it. Under the desk, Sangwon pointed at the corner of his mouth with his finger. It seemed like he meant for me to smile.
Has he lost it?
I frowned and turned away. Then he leaned his body toward me like a total lunatic. No, seriously, what is wrong with him? Persistent bastard. And we're in class!
In the end, the professor's voice cut in.
“Student Lee Sangwon.”
The professor's voice rang out. Sangwon didn't answer right away. He was still looking at me.
“Student Lee Sangwon?”
Keeping my face stern and looking straight ahead, I jabbed Sangwon's side with my elbow. Only then did he lift his head.
“Yes?”
The professor stared at Sangwon over the rims of his glasses.
“What did this chemist do to the world, again?”
“…I think it got better.”
Laughter burst from all over the lecture hall. “Pay attention.” The professor swallowed a sigh and spat the words out. Sangwon was still standing there with a face that said he had no idea what was going on. Before I knew it, a laugh slipped out of me. What a clueless face.
“Pff.”
Sangwon's gaze snapped to me at once.
Oh no.
I shut my mouth and looked at the blackboard with an innocent face. Sangwon kept quiet for a moment, then, still looking at the board, spoke.
“You just laughed.”
“I didn't.”
“You did.”
“It was because of you that I made that sound.”“But you laughed.”I turned my head and glared at Sangwon. He really wasn't about to let this go. Lee Sangwon's profile was smiling with one corner of his mouth lifted, just like before. I was about to say something to him when
“You…”
the professor's voice rang out again.“You two there. Do your flirting after class.”The lecture hall erupted once more. Laughter and low murmurs burst from all around. A few people even blatantly turned to look our way.
I kept my face calm and looked at the blackboard. Beside me, I could see Sangwon scratching the back of his head. It looked like he glanced at me, then slowly lowered his gaze to the liberal arts textbook.
Seriously, I wish he'd stop drawing attention. Who knows what kind of rumors are going to pop up now. His expression seemed a lot worse than before. His face muscles felt frozen.
A little later, Sangwon leaned slightly toward me.
“Hey.”“……”
“Sorry. I made us stand out…,”
“Don't talk to me.”
Sangwon shut his mouth right there. For a moment it seemed quiet, then I heard him mumble softly.
“So prickly.”
Sangwon wedged his pen between his fingers and spun it around and around. He wasn't going to let this one go either. And we didn't say anything else after that.
I thought he only found women annoying outside of work. I'd heard rumors that he blocked women who bothered him outside the bar, and at school he ignored anyone who talked to him. But he was the one who started talking first, and he was easier to talk to than I'd expected. Of course, half of it was just him getting under people's skin.
I rolled my eyes and glanced sideways.
Sangwon was still spinning his pen while looking at the book. The face he'd made when the professor singled him out earlier, standing there blankly like he had no clue what was going on, came back to me. Seeing that stupidly handsome face with that dazed expression was strangely funny.
“Heh.”
Before I knew it, a small laugh slipped out.
The pen in Sangwon's hand stopped. Soon I felt his gaze turn to me. This time, I kept pretending not to know until the end.
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