I sat before the computer on the further side of the library, trying to stay away from the noisy crowd that shouldn't really be here. I neither had the confidence to shut them up nor the permission to make them leave, so this was my final resort. It always was.

It was not like the corner is a bad place though, it was my favourite corner at all times, whether there are annoying people or not. It was different. This was the corner where the Mac computers were placed and I absolutely loved using them. Another thing I liked about this corner was that there was a seemingly endless row of windows next to me and I allow sunlight to shine on my skin for the hours I work here, because I never really liked sports and you seldom see me outdoor. But here, it was delightfully bright, at the same time air conditioned. Well, I needed vitamin D so that I won’t have osteoporosis in such a young age, but it didn’t mean that I loved the heat.

I was a university student and yes, I was the hardworking, boring type you wouldn’t want to befriend unless... unless you were just like me, a loner. But where have you ever heard about loners being friends? It was against the nature of loner - being alone. Sometimes I did feel lonely but I figured out that fictional characters will be nicer to me, and if they were not, I could just forget about the book they’re in, never stepping into their worlds ever again. For real people, they cling on you even after hurting you and it felt disgustingly horrible. It was absurd!

I plugged in my flash drive and it automatically loads. Without really thinking, I opened my latest document, my incomplete paper due a week later. I finished it earlier than I expected last night so I thought it might be a good idea to proofread it before printing and filing it for my professor.

I double checked before I saved the document for printing once I got back to the dorm. Seeing that I had a relatively unoccupied day, I decided to write something, so I drew my notebook from my grey bag and flipped it open to the last used page with ideas scribbled all over it. I was used to jotting down interesting things I observed in my surrounding so that I would never run out of things to write about.

On the lined page I searched for things that suit my mood right now - relaxed and a little bit bored. How about a poem about dead leaves? No, that would be quite boring, and I wasn’t in the mood for  making up metaphors and rhyme. A romantic drabble? No, please, not now. I was disappointed by my unexpectedly depressed mood so I made up my mind to read instead of write.

Somebody walked towards me when I was about to open an online fiction site. Self-conscious, I paused my actions and stared towards the person. It was a he, probably in my year but in a different faculty - well maybe in the same faculty but I didn’t recognise him. No, he should be older than me, with a mature face and large build compared to most people.

“This computer isn’t occupied right?” The senior asked with a friendly smile.

“It isn’t.” I answered in honourifics, trying to smile a little.

“Great!” He switches to honourifics and said softly, aware of the location.

I debated whether or not to start reading online novels, given this awkward situation. I wasn’t going to read fanfiction or or something like those, I wanted to read something sophisticated and philosophical... But that was even more embarrassing, right?

I observed the boy’s action secretly when I casually type meaningless things in a word processor. He sat besides and took out a box file filled with messy pieces of paper. Oh God how I wanted to help him organise the chaos wrapped in the hard covers. He flipped open the box file to pull some statistics or something out. It seemed to me that he wasn’t going to leave soon, and I panicked a little. I hoped that he wasn’t observing me.

“What do you study?” The abrupt question shocked me as I was trying to focus on the story I opened in the browser, and I immediately minimised it, preventing him from reading from my screen although his interest was unlikely.

“Uh.. I study journalism and writing.” I blushed and lowered my head, chewing on my lower lip.

“Oh, an arts student! I’ve always wanted to switch to art subjects but my parents are against it,” the boy spoke slowly in a genuine tone. His voice was deep yet not really husky. “By the way, my name is Bang Yongguk, I’m a science student majoring Chemistry.”

“Wow,” I tried to sound interested. Well, I was interested, just shy to speak to strangers. “Chemistry sounds hard to me. I like reading. My name is Yoo Youngjae.”

We talked further about our professors and boring lectures, then went back to work after ten minutes or so. I was happy to feel my heart slowing down - I felt like my heart was going to pound out of my chest if we talked any longer. Talking was certainly not my thing.

Work was resumed until I noticed the stopping of typing noises and, to my surprise, he eventually fell asleep on the table. He slept like a baby tired from playing all day, his lips twitching at times. He looked cute and less intimidating than when he was awake. I leaned towards him to take a better look of him, debating whether to wake him up or not. I gulped, he was sleeping so soundly, his arms resting on the keyboard, entering pages of meaningless alphabets in the word processor. I have to stop this, I thought, and with a deep breath I attempted to slip the keyboard out from under his arms without waking him up.

Yongguk stirred a little and didn't wake up. I was relieved, it was honestly a little risky to mind a stranger's business. Figuring out that he wouldn't see my actions, I helped him clear the pages of alphabets and accidentally caught a glimpse of what was on the screen.

It was a poem about me.

I wrote this in the school library, sitting in a corner with Mac computers, haha.
But then I didn't finish it and I've forgotten what the ending was, so I apologise for the awkward resolution, teehee.

Bye x