A smile split on Haewon's face when she walked into her class on Monday and saw Jake seated in one of the front rows where she preferred to sit.
She wouldn't have taken note of him had he not waved to her. Immediately, she went to join him since there was an empty space beside him.
"Hey!" Haewon greeted with a broad smile once she was seated beside him.
"Hey! I decided to show up earlier and keep an eye out for you today. I don't want you getting into any trouble," He said, and Haewon smiled.
"Who knows? I might just get in trouble because you're here," She said, and he chuckled.
"Do you have any other classes after this?" Jake asked, and Haewon shook her head.
"This is the last. What about you?" She said curiously.
"I still have one more class after this. Your sisters have traveled back, I suppose?"
"Yeah. They left yesterday," She said, and he nodded.
"That's nice. You look exceptionally beautiful today," He said, looking her over, and a blush stole Haewon's face, and she looked away from him, making his lips twitch.
His grandmother had told him to do everything he could to sweep her off her feet, and in order to do that, he had to always give her something to think about.
Flirt a little, make thoughtful gestures, and do romantic stuff that would swoon her. Everything had to be done moderately so it wouldn't appear unnatural.
He didn't want her to just have a minor crush on him. He wanted her to slowly but gradually fall head over heels in love with him until he was the first waking thought on her mind in the morning and the last sleeping thought at night.
"Thanks," Haewon said in a thick voice and then cleared her throat awkwardly, making him chuckle.
"I suppose it's not a coincidence that we met on Friday for the first time, and I'm running into you like this on Monday?" She asked, and he grinned.
"That would be too much coincidence, don't you think? I figured the only reason we haven't crossed paths was because I always come in late and through the exit door at the back, so I decided to be an early bird today and see if I would get a glimpse of your lovely face," Jake said making Haewon's heart skip a beat.
She had to admit to herself that he was more welcoming and open to the idea of friendship with her. Maybe it was time to start matching up the energy he was giving.
They locked eyes for some seconds without saying anything until the professor walked into their class.
Jake smiled at her, "The professor is here. We better focus. I don't want either of us blaming the other for being a distraction later," Jake said, and she quickly looked away from him in embarrassment.
"Talk after the class then," She said, and they both focused their attention on the professor in front of them.
From the corner of his eyes, Jake observed that Haewon was stealing glances at him at intervals, but he pretended not to notice. Only once did he turn to hold her gaze, and she had quickly looked away, amusing him.
Because she had been so distracted by Jake's presence beside her, Haewon had barely paid attention to the lecture, and when it was over, she looked down at her note and scowled when she saw that she had only jotted down a couple of stuff out of all the man had said.
As she shut her book, her pen fell, and both she and Jake bent down at the same time to pick it up, causing their heads to bump.
"Ouch!" Haewon cried softly as she straightened while Jake went on to pick up the pen and chuckled as he met her gaze.
"My head is hard, right? Sorry," He said as he touched the side of her head where their heads had touched.
Their gaze met as he patted her head softly, and once again, Haewon felt her heart flutter as she gazed into his dark eyes.
"Haewon!" Charlotte, who had walked into the classroom to find her so they could go home together, called, and she quickly looked away from Jake guiltily, and he put his hand down.
"I should go for my next class now. I will text you later. Try to get home without any trouble," He said with a grin before rising to face Charlotte, who was staring at them both with interest.
"Hello!" He said, and Charlotte nodded.
"Hello, Jake! It's good to see you again," Charlotte said, and he gave her a nod.
"Same here. I have to run now. Don't want to be late for my next class," Jake said and waved at them both before leaving.
Haewon watched as he walked away, wondering why he was being extra friendly to her. Did he perhaps like her? She asked herself as she thought about how charming he had been since their encounter three days ago.
"Okay! Enough with the ogling!" Charlotte said, snapping her fingers in front of Haewon.
"I wasn't ogling," Haewon said with a scowl as she faced Charlotte.
"That's not the look that should be on your face when you haven't seen me since Friday," Charlotte reminded her, and Haewon smiled.
"True! How was your flight?" Haewon as she rose so they could go home.
"Great! What I'm more interested in is knowing what Jake was doing here a moment ago and why you were staring at each other like you were about to exchange saliva," Charlotte said, making Haewon's face scrunch up in disgust.
"Eww! Don't say that in such a disgusting way," Haewon said, thinking that she could try asking for Charlotte's opinion to know if Jake liked her.
She couldn't exactly ask her sisters' opinion. Even though it was all fun right now with all the teasing, she knew how overprotective they could be. They might give Jake a hard time.
"So, are you going to tell me what is going on or not?" Charlotte asked as they approached the car.
She had not been able to tell Charlotte about her reunion with Jake yet since Charlotte had been busy all weekend, and they had only spoken once when Charlotte called to let her know she had gotten home.
And she was only just seeing Charlotte now since Charlotte arrived that morning after she had left for class.
"Why don't we get home first so I can focus on the story? You can tell me all about your trip while I drive," Haewon suggested, and Charlotte was happy to oblige.