Chapter Text
Hyuna woke to the sound of her blaring phone alarm at the unholy hour of 6 a.m. She questioned her sanity every time she agreed to take the opening shift at the diner. Why it needed to be open by 7 a.m. was beyond her.
She slowly dragged herself out of bed and stretched. Her job required a dress code—nothing extreme, just black pants and preferably a white or black shirt. It was easy enough to follow, and the apron covered most of the outfit anyway.
Hyuna supposed she could sleep in a little longer if she skipped makeup, but the routine of getting ready helped her wake up—dark circles under her eyes notwithstanding. She pinned her hair back in a low bun and got up once she was satisfied with her appearance.
Her first mandatory class didn’t start until 1 p.m., which meant she could work until noon, grab a quick lunch, and still make it to class without any trouble.
Growing up, Hyuna always knew she’d go to college to study something. As a child, she cycled through several classic kid phases—vet, teacher, or, if you asked her at age four specifically, a magical princess with a sword.
None of those stuck, and now here she was, three years into earning her degree in social work. In a way, her childhood self had almost hit the mark with the teacher idea. She wanted to help people, and she was good with kids—so social work felt like the right path.
Having gone through the foster care system with her brother when they were just six years old, she knew firsthand how difficult it could be. It was hell for most kids. Hyuna wasn’t delusional enough to believe she could fix the system, but if she could make even one child’s life a little easier, she’d be satisfied.
Their foster mom treated her and Hyunwoo more like paychecks rather than actual children and didn’t care what they did or how they did it. As long as they behaved in school and kept their grades up, their social worker didn’t bother Phan.
As kids, Phan would string them along with promises of adoption—if they behaved—only to threaten to kick them out later the same night. It was chaotic, and Hyuna quickly grew to resent her. It was even harder on her brother, who sought Phan’s approval and didn’t know how to handle her unpredictable moods.
Hyuna swore she’d take more care when reviewing foster parent applications and would prioritize the mental health of the kids in the system.
So here she and Hyunwoo were—no contact with the woman who raised them, working minimum-wage jobs to support themselves through college.
Her brother had chosen something practical and ended up as a business major. It wasn’t his dream program, but it offered job security, and that was all he cared about. Hyunwoo worked shifts at the bar across from campus, and Hyuna worked at the campus diner. It was affordable, and most students stopped by for lunch or just to grab a drink before class.
They’d both gotten lucky finding jobs close to their dorms. Public transport wasn’t great, and neither of them owned a car.
Hyuna preferred to study on her own rather than sit through three-hour lectures where professors read directly from PowerPoint slides created 10 years ago. Thankfully, she’d managed to bribe one of her classmates into sending her notes in exchange for leftover pastries she smuggled from work. Isaac would probably send her the notes for free at this point, but she liked their little system. She hated wasting food anyway—and what her boss didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.
Fate had a funny way of tying things together. Imagine Hyuna’s surprise when she found out that Isaac’s younger brother, Jacob, had been Dewey’s classmate back in high school. She and Hyunwoo had known Dewey since childhood—they’d grown up as neighbors. Talk about a small world.
The five of them quickly formed a tight-knit friend group, and Hyuna genuinely appreciated having them all in her life.
As she made her way across campus, she unlocked the diner doors at 6:20 a.m. and let herself in. Her coworker arrived three minutes later, grumpier than usual.
“What happened to you—roommate troubles again?”
“I fucking hate that guy!” Till answered, his tone far louder than the hour warranted.
“Did he reorganize your socks again?”
“No, but thanks for reminding me of whatever the hell that was. He woke me up at 3 a.m. by setting an alarm because he had to cram for a test. I wouldn’t have cared if he stayed up until 3, but setting an alarm? Might as well wake up the whole damn hallway.”
“Well, that sucks,” Hyuna said casually, already used to Till’s rants as she wiped down a spot on the counter the closing shift had missed.
“I think he’s just messing with me on purpose. So what if I leave dishes on my side of the desk sometimes? It’s my side for a reason!”
“I think you’d both benefit from a roommate change.”
“I barely got off the waitlist. You got crazy lucky with your single.”
“Well, if you ever need a break from… um—”
“Ivan.”
“—Ivan, then you can crash at mine. I have a spare inflatable mattress.”
They finished prepping, and at 7 a.m., Hyuna unlocked the front doors. A few students were already waiting outside, desperate for caffeine.
The morning rush picked up around 8, right before the 8 and 9 a.m. lectures. Despite so many students looking for jobs, the diner was somehow always understaffed. Their third coworker wasn’t scheduled until 11, which meant she and Till handled most of the chaos alone.
Till worked the register and handled to-go coffee orders while Hyuna waited tables. To say they were stressed was an understatement. The fact that the diner didn’t have many tables was possibly their only saving grace—and most students were fairly understanding.
No one liked working customer service, after all.
Till shoved the next order into Hyuna’s hands, and she hurried toward table 4 with an iced coffee and a banana muffin, and two espressos for table 7 in her other hand. Her balancing skills had improved over the last few months, but she still couldn’t speed walk efficiently with two trays. She’d tried practicing at home, but the rush of service made it difficult in the moment.
“Luna, come back here—WATCH OUT!”
That was all Hyuna heard before she tripped over a small white dog darting past her, leash trailing behind. She tried her best to catch the trays, but it was too late—the coffee went flying. She was so close to reaching her table… too close, she realized, as the man seated there let out a startled noise.
Hyuna slowly looked up at him—now standing, covered in coffee, with ice cubes scattered across the floor.
This was exactly why pets had a strict leash policy.
They stared at each other in stunned silence.
Shit.
The man was well-dressed, and his now-ruined sweater looked expensive. There was no way he wouldn’t report the incident to their manager, and Hyuna couldn’t even blame him. It wasn’t her fault, but she was bound to get chewed out.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry! Hold on, I’ll get napkins,” she blurted out, already rushing to the counter to grab a stack in a futile attempt to salvage his clothes.
By the time she returned, most people had gone back to their own conversations.
“Here you go. I’m so sorry again!”
She braced herself to be yelled at, but the man silently accepted the napkins and began dabbing at his clothes.
“It’s alright…”
"I hope you don’t have any super important lectures to get to," Hyuna said apologetically.
"Not for another 30 minutes, no," the man replied. He sounded way too calm for someone who’d just had three separate beverages thrown at him.
Hyuna finally let herself actually look at him.
His blond hair was cut short, with wavy bangs that framed his face. What made her pause were his pale gold eyes—bright and strangely familiar. Why did he look so familiar? Maybe he’d been a customer before, but she was fairly sure she would’ve remembered him—he looked like a walking model, with an almost eerie kind of beauty.
Wait...
Three beverages!
Her table seven orders!
Hyuna quickly apologized one last time and rushed to remake the spilled drinks—only to find Till had already taken care of it. The two espressos were waiting on the counter. She shot him a grateful nod and quickly carried the drinks over to the correct table.
She made her way back to table four, where the blond guy was now wiping coffee off the table.
“Shit, sorry, let me—” Oops, no swearing around customers. But Hyuna was too stressed to notice. She grabbed a cloth and began mopping up the mess.
“I really don’t mind—”
“Nope, no, I’ll take care of this and get you your order. We’re really understaffed right now, I’m so sorry for the chaos.”
“You apologize a lot.”
Hyuna looked up at that and saw the guy smiling at her, clearly amused.
“And you’re way too calm for someone who got coffee spilled on them at nine in the morning.”
The man just chuckled and stood up.
“I haven’t paid yet, so you can consider this order a raincheck. I really should go change.”
“You sure—” Hyuna started to protest, but Till called her name from behind the counter. Right. Other tables. Other orders.
If this guy had decided to be incredibly chill about the whole situation, Hyuna sure as hell wasn’t going to argue.
The rest of her shift passed in a blur, and she let out a sigh of relief when Mizi finally arrived to clock in. The girl walked in through the back just as Hyuna was putting away her apron.
“Tough day?” asked the pink-haired girl.
“You have no idea,” Hyuna sighed.
Just then, Till poked his head in through the door.
“She tripped and spilled two trays of drinks on Luka.”
“What?!” Mizi squeaked.
“Wait, hold up—you guys know him?”
“Uh, yeah? He’s a regular, but I guess he usually comes in when you’re not working. He’s like, a giant bitch.”
Okay, wow. It had to be pretty bad if Mizi of all people was outright insulting him.
“I had to remake his order like three times once, and he didn’t even tip,” Till grumbled before hurrying back to the front as a new customer rang in.
“Can confirm—he’s… unpleasant, to put it lightly. He’s in one of the same classes as my girlfriend, and apparently, he’s not much better there either.”
“Huh. Then maybe he was just having a really good day? He was really nice and understanding when it all happened.”
“Are we… talking about the same Luka? Blond, creepily pale yellow eyes?”
Well, Hyuna wouldn’t call them creepy , but…
“Yup, that’s the one.”
“That’s so weird…” Mizi looked at her skeptically.
As much as gossiping about customers was a fun pastime, Mizi had to get out front before Till exploded from working alone, and Hyuna had a lecture to get to.
Luka…
Why did that name sound so damn familiar? It was the same feeling she got when she saw him, and it was driving her nuts. She just couldn’t put her finger on it. Where did she know this guy from? Had she seen him around campus or something?
Realistically, that was probably it. She’d probably passed him in the halls, and her subconscious remembered. Well, she likely wouldn’t be seeing him again anytime soon if what Mizi said was true. If he usually came in when she wasn’t working, that definitely wasn’t going to change after their coffee-soaked first impression.
She entered the lecture room and dropped her bag on the table, taking a seat next to Isaac.
“Look at you, not being late for once,” he greeted.
“Ha ha. Now I don’t even feel bad about forgetting to bring you a muffin.”
“How ever shall I survive.”
“Fuck off,” Hyuna chuckled.
Their conversation was cut short as the professor walked in, but Isaac leaned over and whispered in her ear.
“By the way, Dewey is planning a Shrek marathon, and apparently attendance is mandatory. Jacob and Hyunwoo already agreed.”
“Again? We need to stop letting him pick the movies. We’ve seen all the Shrek movies like 15 times because of him. There’s a limit dude.”
“It was either that or a One Piece marathon Jacob wanted to do. I don’t know about you, but I refuse to sit still for 12 hours and still have 600 episodes left,” Isaac grumbled, opening his laptop.
“Probably more, honestly,” Hyuna said thoughtfully.
They both shut up when the professor gave them a dirty look.
Hyuna steeled herself for the next two hours. The class was boring, and the professor had a known stick up his ass. Still, showing up was easier than dealing with him later on the exam. He was notorious for failing students he didn’t recognize from class, even giving them harder questions out of spite. Just a petty old man all around.
Later that weekend, while they were all huddled on and around the couch, Hyuna got a phone call from Mizi.
“Hi, Hyuna. I’m sorry for the trouble, but is there any way you could cover my afternoon shift on Monday? Sua asked me to help her move because her sister canceled.”
“Oh yeah, sure. I still owe you for last time anyway. What time?”
“From three to six. Acorn said he’s fine with closing on his own.”
“Yeah, sure. Have you called the manager about it yet?”
“Yup, he’s cool with it, just text him to confirm.”
“Gotcha. I gotta go—we’re about to start a movie.”
“Of course! Thanks again, you totally saved me. Bye!”
Jacob leaned over from the other side of the couch, handing Hyuna a bowl of popcorn.
“You working again?” he asked.
“Yeah, Mizi asked me to cover a shift. I don’t mind, I could use the extra money.”
“You and Hyunwoo both work too much. I can’t believe he canceled on us to take an extra shift, absolute treachery.” Dewey whinnied.
“It’s Saturday and he works in a bar, the hell did you expect.” Isaac grumbled from the arm chair, clicking through the movie library on the tv.
The two continued bickering over nothing but Dewey shut up once the movie started playing. He was the only one with an actual rented apartment, so most hangouts happened at his place. The student doorms weren’t bad but they were small and most people had a roommate.
Dewey didn’t mind hosting, so they all usually grabbed a beer and snacks and just spent some quality time together. Since it was a Saturday they all decided to sleep over, due to their movie marathons running well into the night.
Jacob fell asleep by the 3rd movie and Isaac was half watching from the kitchen while cleaning up. That only left Hyuna and Dewey on the couch by 12 a.m.. They persisted for quite some time but called it quits by 2 a.m.. Isaac covered them all with blankets before shuffling into the other room to steal Dewey’s bed—no reason for sleeping on the floor if a bed was available.
_
Monday rolled around too quickly and Hyuna was making her way down to the diner before she knew it. Her classes concluded a few hours ago and she could feel the lack of sleep settling in her bones.
Students were entering and exiting the building in small groups. The afternoons brought in the worst crowds, with most students needing a space to hang around during their lecture gaps or grabbing a late lunch.
Hyuna quickly put on her apron in the back and greeted her coworkers at the counter. The management decided to be nice this week it seems and the whole process ran pretty smoothly with four people working.
Hyuna was friendly with all of her coworkers but she had to admit shifts without Till or Mizi were pretty boring. She was too busy with her orders to notice a blond man enter through the front door.
“One of my tables spilled water all over, you think you could handle my section while I clean up?” asked one of the coworkers. She was a nice girl, a little younger than Hyuna.
“Yeah, sure.” She replied. Most of her tables already had their orders anyway.
She noticed him almost immediately after looking around for anyone who hadn’t placed an order yet. Feeling a weird sort of anticipation in her stomach, she made her way over.
“It’s you!” Not the smoothest greeting of her life.
The man looked slightly startled by her enthusiasm.
“You’re…” he trailed off.
“Hyuna, the waitress who managed to spill multiple drinks on you last week. I think I still owe you a coffee.” She laughed lightheartedly. Maybe she shouldn’t have reminded him, who knew if his good attitude was still present since last week. Mizi did mention he was known to be an asshole.
“Ah, no, I mean…I do remember. I just didn’t expect to see you so soon.” He said softly.
“Yeah, you know how shifts can be. Anyway, what can I get you?”
“Just a black coffee please…”
“Gotcha!”
Hyuna quickly took a few other orders and headed back to the counter. The drinks were made quickly enough and she was back at the guy’s table almost immediately.
“Here ya go!” Her gaze cought the now many papers and open laptop.
“Ah, that explains the shift in coffee order. Got an assignment due?” If he thought it was weird that she remembered his previous order, he didn’t comment on it.
The guy was looking at her like she just fell from the sky or something. He didn’t seem to expect her to be chatty.
“Yes, it’s only a short essay though.” He replied, looking back at his screen, like he needed to remind himself what he was working on.
The silence stretched on for a few seconds and Hyuna shifted awkwardly. She didn’t know why she felt slightly disappointed at the lack of conversation or why she was even still standing here. Like on que, one of her coworkers called her to the counter. She wished the guy a good day and excused herself.
He stayed at his table for about an hour typing away but every time Hyuna glanced in his direction she’d find his eyes on her before he quickly averted his gaze. It was odd, Hyuna originally thought she had overstepped with her friendliness but it was clear something about her caught his attention.
She quickly got distracted by work and the next time she glanced over he was already gone.
A few days later, she was once again working her normal shift, when she suddenly remembered she wanted to ask Mizi about something.
“Hey, Mizi, remember that blond guy I told you about? What was his name again?” Hyuna turned to her friend. Well, work friend, but she liked to think they’d gotten pretty close over the last few months.
“You mean Luka?”
“Yup, that’s him!” Hyuna snapped her fingers, relieved she could finally put a name to the face. She’d been racking her brain for days, and it was driving her crazy.
“Did he do something?” Mizi asked, her tone laced with worry.
“What? No, nothing like that. Damn, you really don’t think highly of him.” Hyuna laughed, then trailed off. “What’s his deal, anyway? You said he’s in the same classes as your girlfriend, right?”
“Yeah. Why the sudden interest in him?”
Hyuna hummed in thought. “I don’t really know.”
“Don’t tell me you’re into that freak,” Till cut in from across the diner, mop in hand.
Hyuna rolled her eyes and ignored him. It wasn’t that she was into Luka—something about him just raised questions in her mind. Still, everyone she asked had warned her to steer clear, and maybe she should take that as a sign.
By the time Hyuna dragged her tired limbs back to her room, it was 9 p.m. She still had some quick homework to get through, but when she rummaged around, she realized her laptop was nowhere in sight.
Shit. She must’ve left it in the campus library before her shift. The fact that the library stayed open 24/7—mainly for desperate all-nighters—was her only saving grace. She prayed no one had stolen it, though considering the laptop was eight years old and held together by tape, hope, and sheer stubbornness, the odds were in her favor.
After a brisk walk, she pushed open the library doors. A few stragglers lingered inside, but otherwise, the place was dead silent. The quiet automatically softened her movements, though her footsteps still echoed as she made her way to the second floor.
Her laptop sat waiting for her on the corner of a study table, but before she could grab it, her eyes caught on something further down the room.
Luka.
At this point, Hyuna was starting to believe they were accidentally stalking each other. What were the odds?
As she slid her laptop into her bag, she debated whether to approach him. Technically, she’d introduced herself already at work but as far as he knew, she still didn’t even know his name if it weren’t for Mizi and Till.
Her dilemma became pointless when Luka looked up and spotted her.
They stared at each other in the hushed library until Hyuna decided walking away would only make things more awkward.
“Oh, hi! It’s you again.”
The words came out painfully fake, her attempt at a casual greeting doomed from the start. Hyuna’s acting skills clearly needed work.
She crossed the distance between them. Libraries had a way of making you whisper, even if it was pointless in the middle of the night.
“Still working hard, huh? I was about to start my homework but realized I left my laptop here.” She laughed, filling the silence.
…
Luka didn’t reply. Maybe he just wasn’t much of a talker.
“Got a lot left?”
The question seemed to snap him out of a trance. “Ah, yes. The project deadline is in two days.”
“I was thinking of grabbing some coffee downstairs before starting. Want to come with?”
Was she being too familiar? Was this too weird?
“If you want…”
“Sure! My treat. Promise not to spill it on you this time.” She offered him an open smile.
Luka nodded and stood. Both of them left their things behind—no one at the library ever stole notes or laptops unless they were a complete asshole. If her ancient laptop had survived unattended all day, it would survive a few more minutes.
The convenience store down the street offered to-go coffee. They took their cups back to the library steps and sat outside.
“I never introduced myself before. My name’s Luka.”
“Oh, I know!”
…
Shit.
“I mean—uh—the girlfriend of my coworker is your classmate, so it came up,” she stammered, cheeks burning.
“I see.”
Hyuna forced a nervous smile, already regretting her big mouth. But then Luka spoke again.
“Do you study around here as well?”
“Yes! Social work. I like working with people.” She brightened.
All hope wasn’t lost after all!
“I can see that. You’re very outgoing.”
She laughed it off. Most people liked her extroverted personality, though she’d met her share who thought it was “too much.”
“I’m a music major. I don’t talk to people much unless I’m performing,” Luka added.
“For real? That’s so cool! I didn’t know you guys had to write essays, though.”
“Rarely. I’m also taking some literature classes—most of my assignments are for those.”
Hyuna was pleasantly surprised. Even if it was just small talk, the conversation flowed more easily than she’d expected.
For the next half hour, she rambled about nothing in particular, Luka offering short but steady replies. It wasn’t awkward, and that was all that mattered.
By the time she checked the clock, their coffee was long gone.
“Shit—I kept you out here for way too long!” She scrambled to her feet, offering Luka a hand. He took it, hesitant. Back at the study tables, Hyuna grabbed her bag.
“Right, so… I’ll see you around?”
She was about to leave when Luka caught the strap of her bag.
“Wait. I—”
Hyuna blinked as he struggled to find the words.
“I… liked talking to you.”
His nervousness over such a simple admission made Hyuna’s smile soften.
“I work closing shifts most Tuesdays and Fridays. If you wanted to—I don’t know—hang out again? I’m not sure what you’d call instant coffee at midnight outside the library.” She laughed.
“Sure. I’d… like that.”
Instead of asking for numbers—which suddenly felt far too personal—they exchanged social media handles. It was safer. Less nerve-racking.
By the time Hyuna collapsed into bed, she couldn’t shake the feeling she’d forgotten something.
It wasn’t until 3 a.m. that she bolted upright, eyes wide.
Her damn homework!
_
Hyuna had to drag herself to class the next morning. She wasn’t even sure her outfit counted as real clothes—more like glorified pajamas. Her hair was pinned back, and she hadn’t bothered to hide the deep-set dark circles under her eyes with makeup. Today was simply one of those days where the only goal was survival.
She’d spent the entire night finishing the homework assignment due that morning. Most classes in 2025 offered the standard option to submit work online, but her professor was practically older than the concept of a floppy disk. He still demanded hard copies turned in at the start of class, which made procrastination infinitely riskier. The campus printers were either clogged by someone copying eighty pages of a textbook or completely broken. Which meant you had to plan ahead, finish your work early, and waste time standing in line. Exactly the opposite of what Hyuna had done.
Now she was anxiously checking the time on her phone, knowing damn well her professor locked the door precisely two minutes after lecture began. Sometimes it felt like she was still in high school.
A notification popped up across her screen.
[💯Mom (definitely not Isaac)]:
Dude?? Where the hell are you, you’re gonna get locked out
[✨🍻 Hyuna🍻✨]:
I KNOW !!
The damn printer line is taking forever
STALL HIM FOR ME
[💯Mom (definitely not Isaac)]:
How the fuck am I supposed to do that??
[✨🍻 Hyuna🍻✨]:
IDK
Ask a really long pointless question
Just keep him AWAY FROM THE DOOR.
[💯Mom (definitely not Isaac)]:
Ughh. You owe me.
Finally, the person in front of her stepped away from the computer, and Hyuna spent the next two minutes wrestling with email verification codes. She ripped the pages out of the printer and sprinted toward her lecture hall.
Despite her best efforts—and Isaac’s pathetic attempt at a distraction—the door was locked by the time she arrived. Hyuna slumped against the wall in defeat, panting from the three flights of stairs, she just sprinted up.
She spent the next five minutes on the floor contemplating her life, while students streamed past without a second glance. All she knew was she had dragged herself out of bed for a 9 a.m. class for absolutely nothing—and now she had a ninety-minute gap in her schedule.
She decided she might as well hit the campus diner for a muffin. At least she could use her employee discount.
Her coworker waved when she walked in, and Hyuna dropped her bag at the nearest window booth. Ordering from someone you worked with was always a little awkward, but the new rules were strict: employees weren’t allowed to grab food themselves when they weren’t on shift. She used to be able to just snag a pastry and drop cash in the register, but after a few people got caught stealing, management cracked down.
Hyuna opened her laptop, intending to get some work done before her next class, but the more she stared at the PowerPoint slides, the more her mind drifted. She was halfway through mindlessly clicking around when the bell above the door jingled.
She didn’t register the footsteps until a calm voice cut through her daze.
“Hyuna?”
“Luka! Hey, didn’t expect to run into you so soon again.”
“Yes… one of my classes was canceled, so I came here to wait.”
He shifted awkwardly, his eyes flicking toward the empty seat across from her. Hyuna caught the silent question and immediately perked up.
“Wanna sit? I’m not doing anything important. I could use the company.”
Luka nodded, smiling faintly, and slid into the seat.
“Are you waiting for a class?” he asked.
“Technically, I’m missing a class right now, haha.”
He tilted his head slightly. “You’re skipping?”
“Nah, I got locked out. I was only like three minutes late, but the professor’s a total dick.” She sighed, resting her chin in her palm before grinning at him again. “You asked that with so much concern, like you’ve never skipped a class.”
Her laugh trailed off when she noticed Luka’s blank expression.
“You’re kidding… You’ve never skipped?”
“I’m paying to attend the classes. I don’t see the point in skipping.”
“I mean, sure, but some classes are just not worth it, you know? I have a friend who skips every time it rains because he doesn’t want to walk in it. How have you gone twenty-something years without skipping?”
“Twenty-five years, actually. But yes.”
She blinked. “You’re twenty-five?”
“Yes. I’m two years into my master’s. I took a gap year because of my health.”
“It’s not that! I’ve got a classmate who’s thirty-four. It’s just… you look so young. Obviously twenty-five is young, but I honestly thought you were a first-year or something. You being three years older than me is the last thing I expected.”
“Ah… yeah, I get that a lot. People never guess my age right.” He laughed softly.
Hyuna was about to respond when she accidentally knocked the spoon from her coffee, causing it to land in her lap. Normally she wouldn’t have thought much of it, but the spoon made her look down, and she froze, suddenly remembering the sorry state of her appearance.
Feeling self-conscious wasn’t something Hyuna was used to. There had been plenty of times she’d shown up to hang out with friends right after waking up or while hungover. Jacob has seen her in every state of mess possible. So why was she so nervous all of a sudden?
She glanced up at Luka and took him in: put together in a beige, expensive-looking sweater, black jeans, hair carefully styled in a side part. He could have been the protagonist of a K-drama, while Hyuna sat across from him looking like she’d spent the last hour crawling across a subway floor.
There weren’t many men Hyuna would call pretty, but Luka was definitely one of them. She felt her face heat with embarrassment — and something else — and quickly shook the thought away.
They spent the rest of the hour chatting and walked back to campus together.
“Which classroom is your next lecture in?” Hyuna asked at the bottom of the stairs by the entrance.
“Oh… I don’t go here. I go to the Academy down the street.”
“WHAT? You never— you just said you were a music major!” Hyuna scrambled.
The Music Academy was one of the more prestigious schools around. As her brain put one and two together, she remembered Mizi’s girlfriend didn’t attend their college, either. The Academy focused on the arts, with departments for dance, vocals, and pretty much every instrument you could imagine. They still had regular classes, but the program emphasized performance and practice.
Things started to make sense. She would have noticed someone as striking as Luka wandering their halls.
“My focus is piano and violin. I apologize — I never explained properly,” Luka said, bowing his head slightly.
“Dude, that’s impressive as hell. But the Academy’s down the street in the opposite direction. Why’d you come all the way here?”
“I just… wanted to walk you, I suppose.”
“Oh.” Hyuna blinked. “Well, thanks. I like talking to you too, so I guess this worked out.” She grinned, recovering quickly.
Luka waved goodbye as he left, and Hyuna went through the front door feeling oddly light. The conversation had solidified something: she had made a new friend. Luka seemed as happy to hang out as she was, which felt nice. She was used to her friends being loud, outspoken people, so she wasn’t too sure how to go about Luka, not wanting to push any of his potential boundaries.
When she walked into the lecture hall she immediately spotted Isaac in the back row and slumped into a seat.
“You suck at distracting people,” she said.
“You try distracting that old geezer—he immediately knew I was up to something. Walked to the door while I was mid-sentence to lock it,” Isaac grumbled. “Anyway, wanna grab a snack at the diner after this?”
“I was just there.”
“What—traitor. Actually, I’m impressed you managed to sit alone with your thoughts for over an hour.”
“Who said I was alone?”
“I literally texted the group and everyone’s in class.” Isaac gave her a quizzical look.
“I have other friends, you ass!”
“Your coworkers don’t count.”
“It wasn’t a coworker! Mizi has class, and Till’s probably asleep in his dorm,” she said, pulling out her laptop to get her notes ready.
“I’m waiting for an elaboration here.”
“Nosy… fine. If you must know, I met this guy during one of my shifts. I think we’re officially friends now!” she said proudly.
“You met a guy…”
“Why do you sound so suspicious?” Hyuna side-eyed him.
“Nothing. It’s just that whenever you befriend a new dude, they try to get with you within a month, and then we listen to you bitch about it for a week.”
“Yeah, because those guys suck. Besides, I don’t know—I have a different feeling this time. I’m allowed to have faith in friendships.” Hyuna huffed.
“You know the drill, if he gets pushy, just send Dewey on him. He gets a kick out of it.” Isaac chuckled.
“Dewey’s hobby of intimidating people aside, there’s no need to worry. I can handle their asses myself if needed.”
“Trust me, I know. We still watch the clip of you throwing Jacob over your shoulder. Still trying to figure out how that was physically possible.” Isaac looked at her knowingly.
“Question my ability to kick ass again and you’re next.”
Isaac raised his hands in mock surrender and they both chuckled at the stupid direction the conversation had gone. Hyuna meant it, though — the energy around Luka felt different, even if she couldn’t name it.
She was willing to take the risk if it meant getting to know him better.