The chattering of students in the hallway surrounded Soobin, with more people arriving as class time approached.

Soobin had arrived at school rather early this morning, and sat quietly on the floor near his locker. He snacked on a small chocolate chip muffin as he waited for class to start.

When only one bite of his muffin was left, a hand snatched the precious piece away from him, scaring Soobin half to death.

"Wait-" Soobin started as he looked up, but paused at the sight of his best friend popping the last bite of muffin into her mouth.

"Hey Soob," said the tall girl as she plopped down onto the floor next to him, savoring the muffin that entirely wasn't hers.

"Yeji, you took my damn muffin," Soobin stated, still grieving its loss.

"I've been sick for a week, I deserve it," the girl, Yeji, replied, as she leaned back against the wall.

"Oh, yeah," Soobin remembered, turning to dig through his backpack. "I bought you something."

Yeji gave him a skeptical look as Soobin searched his bag, a bit frustrated as he couldn't locate the item.

"Ah, here," he said as he found it, pulling it out of his bag. He held out a cute pair of golden hoop earrings to Yeji, who gingerly took it from him.

"Oh my god, where'd you get these?" she asked, holding one up and looking at it.

"Thrift store. These were on sale," Soobin answered, shoving the stuff he'd taken out of his backpack back in haphazardly.

Yeji gave him a look. "You went to a thrift store? Amazing..." she trailed off, laughing as Soobin gave her an offended look.
She only turned on her phone, scrolling through Instagram in order to ignore any of Soobin's complaints.

"Bin?" a voice grabbed his attention, male this time.

Soobin glanced over to see Yeonjun walking down the hallway towards him, a cute smile on his face that made Soobin feel like he was dying for some reason.

"You're here early," Soobin commented as Yeonjun pulled a wad of fabric out of his backpack.

Yeonjun tossed the garment to him. "Here's your hoodie, I left you a couple gifts in the pocket," he spoke, watching as Soobin's expression shifted to surprise.

"Oh, yours is still at my house. Do you want me to bring it tomorrow?" Soobin questioned. Yeonjun pursed his lips, thinking for a moment.

"Do you wanna get some boba after school?" was all Yeonjun asked, waiting cautiously for the younger's reply.

"Yeah! Of course," Soobin answered a bit too quickly. "You wanna stop by my place and get your hoodie?"

Yeonjun nodded, seemingly relieved at the response.

The bell rung, its shrill sound sending students now dashing towards their morning classes as the hallways turned into a racetrack.

"I'll talk to you about it in first period," Yeonjun stated, nodding at Soobin before joining the other students in speed walking off to their classrooms.

As Yeonjun disappeared from sight, Soobin felt an elbow lightly jab him in the side. He looked over to see Yeji, staring at him with a hundred questions lingering on her expression.

"Who was that?" she asked, gathering her stuff and swinging her backpack over her shoulder.

Soobin, following suit, stood up and stretched. "His name's Yeonjun. He's, um... my friend," he answered, now suddenly remembering the balled up hoodie he gripped in his hand.

Yeji only sent Soobin a smirk.
"You two went on a date yesterday?" she asked as Soobin promptly sent a glare at her.

"It wasn't a date, we just went thrifting and got frozen yogurt," Soobin said, fidgeting with his hoodie.

The two began to walk side by side down the hall.
"That sounds like a date to me," the girl insisted, only laughing at Soobin's protests.

A thought popped into Soobin's mind as he looked down at the fabric he was holding.
Considering Yeonjun had worn his hoodie the day before, Soobin couldn't help but feel a curiosity nagging at him.

Soobin glanced around, not wanting to look like a weirdo, before subtly bringing the garment up to his face.

Upon breathing in, the familiar honeyed scent of roses welcomed him, its embrace almost intoxicating.
Soobin immediately brought the hoodie away from his face, startled that he hadn't been imagining it the previous day.

"You good?" Yeji asked, seeing her best friend spacing out.

"Uh. Would you happen to know what detergent this is...?" Soobin asked timidly, handing the balled up hoodie to Yeji.

She gave him a weird look, before taking the garment and lightly sniffing it.

"This literally doesn't smell like anything," she said, her look turning to one of slight judgement.

Soobin stared at her.
"What? Try a different spot," he said, seeing her reluctantly do so.

"Soobin, it literally smells like nothing. Are you okay?" she said after her second attempt, handing the cloth back to the taller boy.

Soobin shook his head. "I'm fine. I'm probably tired," he said, wanting to drop the topic.

Soobin arrived at his classroom, waving Yeji off as she continued down the hallway.
He walked in, hurrying over to his desk where he plopped down into the seat.

"You took a while," the voice of Yeonjun came from next to him, scaring the hell out of him for a second.

"Sorry, I was talking," Soobin replied, pretending he didn't suddenly feel anxious next to the other boy. He was scared that he might be going a little bit insane.

"Who's that girl?" Yeonjun asked, tapping a pencil on his desk.

"Oh, Yeji? She's my best friend," Soobin answered, glancing at Yeonjun. "I've known her since we were little."

Yeonjun nodded in understanding.

"Do you have any boba place you wanna go to or can I choose?" Yeonjun changed the topic, slightly catching Soobin off guard.

"I don't really care, you pick a place," Soobin said, feeling just a bit guilty for his anxious thoughts towards Yeonjun.

Soobin glanced to his left, seeing the same sweet boy sit there as usual. Yeonjun gave him a small smile upon making eye contact.

It drove him mad. Soobin didn't have a single reason to feel worried around the elder, so why was his gut instinct screaming at him that something was wrong?

"But, um, would you wanna hang at my house for a little while when we go get your hoodie?" Soobin forced himself to ask.
He wasn't scared of Yeonjun. He had to prove to himself that that wasn't what was off.

Yeonjun seemed surprised at this offer.
"Yeah, sure? Why don't we go there after we get the boba, though," he accepted, thinking of how long the walk would take.

Soobin nodded, turning his attention to the front of the class as the teacher walked in.

As the rest of the room hushed, Soobin couldn't stop thinking nervously of what was to come later that day.