"Everyone, stand in line!" The PE teacher's sharp voice broke through the chatter as students scrambled to form neat rows on the ground. The morning sun shone brightly, promising a tiring session ahead.

Taehyung stood next to Daeseong and Ji-ho, stretching his arms while waiting for the warm-up drills to begin. His gaze scanned the crowd before landing on Byeol, who was tying her hair into a ponytail a few feet away with Ayeong by her side.

Jun-seo nudged him with his elbow, his smirk ever-present. "And there she is. Time to execute the plan, step 1."

"Yah, stop being so obvious," Taehyung hissed, his cheeks already showing a hint of color.

The teacher clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention. "Today, we'll start with relay drills. Pair up with someone from the opposite class. Move quickly!"

The field turned into a mess as students began looking for partners. Taehyung froze for a moment, his heart racing. This was the perfect opportunity. But as expected, a group of Class One boys—not all who are classmates with Byeol and Ayeong—had already formed a protective circle around the girls.

"Go now!" Jun-seo whispered harshly, shoving Taehyung forward.

Taehyung stumbled a little but quickly recovered, walking up to the group with a confident stride. "Han Byeol," he said, his voice loud enough to carry over the buzz of chatter. "Want to team up?" He sounded so confident and had no stuttering in between.

The Class One boys turned to glare at him, their gazes a mix of annoyance and disbelief. Byeol, at first caught off guard, blinked up at him before a small smile formed on her lips. "Sure, Taehyung," she said, stepping away from the group.

Their plan, Step 1—to make Taehyung ask Byeol to pair up with him—had been successful. Now, it was time to move on to Step 2. But the truth was, they had no idea where to start. Taehyung and Byeol's vague idea of "creating a moment" sounded great in theory, but how did it work in practice?

Daeseong scratched his head while they huddled together for a quick water break. "Okay, so what's the plan now? You didn't actually think this far ahead, did you, Jun-seo?"

Jun-seo, who usually had a smug confidence, looked slightly less sure of himself. "We improvise," he said, waving a hand like it was no big deal. "Taehyung just needs to... faint or something at the right time. You know, get her worried. Classic move."

Ji-ho snorted, nearly choking on his water. "Faint? Do you think he is a female lead or something? If he collapses at the wrong moment, it'll just embarrass him, and Byeol might think he's weak or something."

"Exactly!" Daeseong chimed in. "We need a better idea. Something understated but effective."

Taehyung, overhearing their whispered debate, turned to glare at them. "Can you guys stop thinking about my life for two seconds? I'll just stick to the plan—talk to her, get to know her, and let things happen naturally."

"Naturally?" Jun-seo mimicked, raising an eyebrow. "Taehyung, you couldn't even say 'hi' without blushing before this. If we leave it up to you, you'll be single forever."

Before Taehyung could retort, the teacher blew the whistle again. "Pairs, get ready for the relay!"

"Showtime," Jun-seo whispered with a wicked grin, nudging Taehyung forward.

Should I faint? Is this even a good idea?

The train of thoughts ran in his head until a soft hand placed on his shoulder, shaking him slowly, which made him snap out of his trance.

"Taehyung?"

He blinked, turning his gaze down to the hand on his shoulder before slowly lifting it to meet the person it belonged to. Byeol stood there, her head tilted slightly, her chocolate brown eyes sparkling in the sunlight.

"Are you okay?" she asked, her voice soft and genuinely concerned.

A smile curled over his bow-shaped cherry lips, spreading warmth across his face. His heart skipped a beat as he realized he'd been holding his breath.

He didn't even notice the heat creeping up his neck and into his ears. "Y-Yeah, I-I'm fine," he stammered, nodding his head quickly.

Her lips pressed into a thin line as she stared at him for a moment longer, her gaze soft yet curious. But she eventually nodded at his answer, a small, understanding smile tugging at the corners of her lips before she turned her attention back to the activity ahead.

Not far away, Jun-seo, Daeseong, and Ji-ho were doing their best to hold back their laughter as they eavesdropped.

"See?" Jun-seo whispered, nudging Daeseong with his elbow. "What did I tell you? He can't even say hi without turning into a tomato."

Daeseong grinned, trying to stifle his chuckle. "This is worse than I imagined. He's not just blushing—he's malfunctioning."

Ji-ho smirked, crossing his arms as he leaned closer to the others. "If she knew the chaos she's causing, she'd probably feel bad for the guy."

"Or tease him," Jun-seo added with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Taehyung caught the faint sound of their muffled whispers and turned his head slightly to glare at them, though his still-reddened ears betrayed him. "Yah," he hissed under his breath, "I can hear you!"

"Good!" Jun-seo retorted with a grin.

'Bastard,' Taehyung mumbled underneath his breath before turning his head back to face the front.

After some practice pairing with Byeol, the sunny day even felt like spring for him. Maybe that's why the elders say people who fall in love feel like they're walking on air. And now Taehyung feels the same. Just standing beside her, occasionally holding her hand for support, and her small huffs in between the practice and her small yet warm smile whenever she turned her head towards him. It was a feeling he never wanted to end.

A heavy sigh left her lips as she wetted her dry lips with the tip of her tongue while wiping the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. "I can't stand it anymore," she complained, looking up at Taehyung.

He chuckled at her small complaint. It's true; why would their PE even decide to make them run laps in this scorching heat? But Taehyung felt like this was the best time to execute their stupid step two of their plan—fainting. But in his style.

"Then want to bunk the rest of the class?" Taehyung asked softly yet playfully; there was no blushing or stammering in his voice, which somewhat surprised him, but he shrugged it off.
Byeol's chocolate brown eyes widen in a mix of surprise and excitement at Taehyung's suggestion. "Can we do that?"

"Of course we can," Taehyung replied with a mischievous grin and turned his head back to his three friends who are watching them. "They will help," Taehyung said, turning to Byeol.

"But how?"

"Just a moment," he excused himself and slipped back to his friends, who were back following them behind. "Let's execute step two," he said with a grin showing his boxy smile.

"You sure!" Daeseong asked with wide eyes, for which Taehyung nodded and said, "But with a small difference?" he added.

Jun-seo raised his eyebrow. "What was it?" Taehyung leaned in and whispered the slight modification to their plan, causing Jun-seo's eyes to widen in surprise. "That's genius, Tae!" Jun-seo said with a huge, proud smile.

Taehyung, after setting everything right, got back to his row, where Byeol waited for him, biting her nails and checking out to not get caught. "All set," Taehyung said, standing beside her.

"Are you sure?" She asked him again. Taehyung grinned, showing his boxy smile, which somehow flattered the girl even more, which he didn't know.

After five minutes, all of a sudden, Taehyung fell on the grass ground with a soft thud, making Byeol gasp—fake, of course.

Byeol quickly knelt down beside Taehyung, pretending to be concerned. "Seonsaegmin!" she called out to PE.

"OH MY Taehyung!" the three boys yelped dramatically, running to him.

The Pe arrived quickly. "What happened? He asked, and his eyes fell on unconscious Taehyung. "Oh my god, what happened to him?" he asked with a short gasp.

"I don't know; he suddenly fainted out of nowhere," Byeol explained.
"Oh, Taehyung-ah," the boys cried, for which Byeol stifled her laugh behind her hand and tried to look concerned. While Class One boys rolled their eyes as they guessed it was just another prank of theirs.
"Let me call the school nurse," the PE said, taking out his phone but stopping when the boys said, "We will take care of him, sir." The PE nodded and stepped back, allowing the boys to tend to Taehyung.

As Jun-seo and Daeseong tried to lift Taehyung, the PE teacher stopped them. "Why are you even struggling to take this thin boy to the nurse's office? Just carry him; he weighs nothing!" Everyone from class one to his class laughed at the PE teacher's comment.

Ji-hoo carried Taehyung in his arms and effortlessly made his way to the nurse's office, with the rest of the boys following closely behind. Taehyung tried not to show how embarrassed he was by the situation but still acted calm.

"Seonsaegnim, can we take Byeol with us, too? She's been feeling unwell all day," Ji-hoo said, pointing to her who was standing beside them. The PE teacher nodded in agreement; that's it. They mustered the anger in class; one boy, but three boys didn't care, and they made their way to the medical room together, supporting each other along the way.

As soon as they reached the medical room, Ji-hoo almost threw Taehyung on one of the beds, making a thud sound. Taehyung groaned loudly, "Yah! JUNG JI-Ho, be careful!"

Ji-hoo just chuckled and said, "You really weigh nothing, Tae." Taehyung shot her a playful glare while the other four laughed. Wait, four—yes, Byeol is with them now.

And Taehyung is really embarrassed about being called a lightweight and then carried like a princess by Ji-hoo, that too in front of his one-sided love—this is really very embarrassing.

Byeol quickly fetched a glass of water for Taehyung, who was still groaning in pain. The group settled in as they didn't see any medical facility around. "You are a great actor, Kim Taehyung," she said, but it sounded more sincere than playful. She really was astonished by how Taehyung had acted even after there was a joke about him being a lightweight, not scrunching his face or showing any signs of discomfort. It was clear that Taehyung was trying to keep his cool in front of his crush, despite the embarrassing situation.
Taehyung smiled shyly. "But not that good when he is with you—ouch," Jun-seo groaned in mid-sentence when Daeseong stomped on his foot, making him stop talking. Daeseong shot him a warning look before turning back to Taehyung, who was already sending death glares to Jun-seo.

Byeol looked at them with her eyebrows furrowing in confusion, wondering what was happening between the four of them. Taehyung grinned at her, "Don't worry about them; he is just joking." Byeol chuckled nervously.

"Okay, now we'll be taking our leave," Daeseong said while Ji-ho waved his hand, standing up from the bed. They both turned to Jun-seo, who is staring at Taehyung with a teasy grin. They cleared their throats, making Jun-seo realize that it was time for them to leave both alone. Jun-seo nodded in understanding and stood up.

"PE will be missing, so see you after the class," Jun-seo said ever so casually as he followed Daeseong and Ji-ho out of the room, leaving Taehyung and Byeol alone.

Finally!
They both are alone; no one is in the medical room, and the atmosphere suddenly felt awkward. Byeol fiddled with her fingers, looking here and there. Taehyung cleared his throat, breaking the silence. "So," Taehyung began but paused, not knowing where to start from.

"Why do you four have clashes with Miho and others?" Byeol asked, her curiosity getting the best of her. Taehyung stared at her for a moment, not expecting that question from her. With a heavy breath he shifted himself on the bed.

"We don't have any problem with them, but it's your class boys who mainly have that miho group." Byeol didn't say or respond to anything. Damn, I must have made her feel offended or uncomfortable. Taehyung thought to himself, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel that offensive."

Byeol finally spoke up, "No, it's okay. I was just curious." Taehyung let out a revelled sigh. "I know my class boys are filled with pride and can be insensitive at times, but I hope you know that not everyone is like that." Byeol nodded in understanding, a small smile forming on her lips.

"You look close with Miho, I guess." Taehyung blurted out; he didn't even realize he said it out loud. Though he just said it absentmindedly, he has had feelings for so long that it even made him think about confessing his feelings to her soon.

Byeol's smile widened. "It's not like that, but yeah, we do know each other pretty well. Miho is a great friend." Taehyung's heart sank a little at Byeol's response, but he tried to hide his disappointment with a forced smile.

"But not close to disappointing you," she said, staring into Taehyung's eyes.

Wait—did she say
The smile on his face slowly faded as he stared into her brown orbs filled with warmth. His heart is racing, unsure of what to make of her words. They both stared at each other in silence; it's quite comfortable but also filled with unspoken tension.

"Oh Kim Taehyung!" a female voice came at the door, interrupting the moment. Taehyung and Byeol broke their gaze; they somehow felt relieved by the interruption. Taehyung quickly turned towards the door as the nurse walked in and went to her table.

"Hello, Noona," he greeted the nurse with a smile, trying to shake off the strange feeling that had built between him and Byeol.

Byeol furrowed her brows at how Taehyung called the nurse "Noona," a term of respect typically used for older sisters or close female friends. Taehyung noticed Byeol's reaction and quickly explained in a whisper, "She is my elder cousin."

Byeol raised both eyebrows with a nod of understanding. But the next thing Taehyung whispered is something that she didn't expect. "Don't worry, I don't have any feelings for the girl." Byeol's eyebrows shot up in surprise at Taehyung's words.

The nurse turned back to them, and Taehyung turned his head from Byeol to her before the nurse noticed. "So, again played an act to escape from PE," she asked, setting papers on the table.

Taehyung giggled and nodded, "Yeah, you know how it is." Byeol couldn't help but smile at how he explained the whole thing like a little kid and how the nurse nodded while hearing his response, clearly used to his pranks and stories.

"So, you even dragged this poor girl too?" She asked after the whole explanation, and Taehyung nodded enthusiastically, pointing at Byeol with a grin. Byeol smiled nervously as the nurse's eyes turned to her, feeling embarrassed.
"Looks like you've got yourself a partner in crime from another class," the nurse commented with a chuckle.

She will become my love partner if she accepts.
Taehyung smiled like a fool, closing his eyes and not saying anything. Byeol felt her cheeks grow warmer at the nurse's words. The nurse simply chuckled and patted Byeol on the shoulder. "It's lunchtime; go and eat," she said.

They both nodded but taehyung tracks stopped when the nurse patted him on shoulder making him turned to her. "Where are you glases taehyung?" she asked crossinghe arms over her chest.

Taehyung smiled sheepishly. The cousin shook her head, not being surprised. She got used to it after all these years. "I must have left them in my room," Taehyung replied with a grin. The nurse laughed and shook her head. "You never change, do you?"
"If you don't wear them, you'll be blind, Tae."

Taehyung chuckled at her comment; he does have glasses, which he doesn't like to keep on because he thinks they make him look nerdy. But deep down, he knew he needed them to see clearly.
"I will wear them from tomorrow on, so don't worry," he said, and the nurse smiled, knowing that he probably wouldn't keep his promise. Taehyung's carefree attitude was just part of who he was.

"let's go" he said to byeol who is wating for him at door.

"You have glasses?" she asked, leaning sideways over his shoulder as they walked out of the room. Taehyung nodded, feeling a bit self-conscious about his glasses. "Yeah, I do. I just don't like wearing them all the time," he admitted with a sheepish smile.

Byeol laughed, "So, I have seen you qiute time wearing glasses but I thought it wasn't you" she said with a grin.

Taehyung turned his head other side biting his lips in embrassment, She saw me on glasses.

She chuckled and gently nudged him with her elbow, "Don't worry, you look good in them." Taehyung shot his head back. "Really?!"

Byeol nodded, "Yeah, really. It suits you."

A shy smile crpet over his lips as she said. But he didn't notice how her heart fluster when ever he smiled like that. She quickly changed the subject, not wanting to dwell on her feelings. "So, are you nearsighted or farsighted?" she asked playfully, trying to lighten the mood. Taehyung chuckled, grateful for her lightheartedness, "I'm nearsighted. I can't see anything far away without my glasses."

"Then how could you recognize me from afar?" She asked playfully, raising an eyebrow. Taehyung laughed, "I don't know, it's just like that." He shrugged.

And the day went on, they parted ways and after lunch togather with taehyung and boys. Three of them became one and taesed taehyung as soon as byeol left and too many things happned in a day.

For byeol, paring with taehyung and then bunking PE class and their conversation, she couldn't understand why she said "But not close to disappointing you,". Throwing her flushed onto pillow she rolled over the bed. And then there is taehyung's words "Don't worry, I don't have any feelings for girl." What does he mean? He don't have feelings for anyone or is he hinting her that...

"Ah... get a grip, Byeol... He is such a sweet guy; you must have misheard it or overthought it.

and for Taehyung it's the same; he couldn't even sleep at all that night, replaying the conversation in his head. Was she hinting to him that he had a chance, or was she just being casual? He couldn't figure it out. One thing is clear: the more he is with her, the more he is falling for her. He just wants to confess it soon but not hurriedly because he doesn't want to break the bond that is just getting closer.

 
He just can't wait to see her and talk to her about everything that's been on his mind.