“i can read minds.” sungjae finally manages to say.

ilhoon pauses for a while to process that statement. then he bursts out into laughter.

“you’re telling me to believe that? if you can read minds, i can fly!” ilhoon mocks, flapping his arms like he’s going to take off. sungjae pouts.

“i’m being serious!” sungjae whines. he pauses to think of a way to convince ilhoon. then the bulb above his head lights up.  let’s just do a little experiment.

“i’ll ask you some questions and you answer them in your head. if i say all your answers right, it means that you’ll have to believe me, right?” there’s a look of confidence on sungjae’s face. ilhoon starts to doubt himself. can he really read minds?

“yes to that.” sungjae smirks.

and there begins a series of question & answer, where only sungjae speaks. he poses a question, squints as he reads through ilhoon’s thoughts, and says it aloud. as the questions progress, ilhoon’s heart slowly leans towards sungjae. it seems like sungjae was being more than honest about this special ability, he must have been honest about his feelings towards ilhoon’s artistic talents too. ilhoon feels touched.

the questioning stops and sungjae’s upper body falls backwards. he lies down. i’ve gained ilhoon’s trust.

he turns to look up at ilhoon, who is still fascinated.

ilhoon’s amazed. not just by sungjae’s ability to scan through all of his thoughts, but also the fact that he’s being so open and real about it. he could probably only share his extraordinary ability if he feels safe with the person he’s sharing it with. ilhoon smiles to himself. it seems finally, after a long time of being the outcast in his high school, being called arrogant, being despised, he has finally found someone. someone who cares for him.

the corners of sungjae’s lips crawl upwards as he stares at ilhoon. he sits back up.

he moves his face near ilhoon’s. he asks, knowingly.

“are you falling in love with me?”

 

ilhoon’s face is still heating up from sungjae’s sudden attack. he had spent his whole weekend flustered over sungjae’s words. love? is that a confession? he still remembers how he immediately took to his feet the moment sungjae asked him that. he cups his warm cheeks in embarrassment. for such a long time, his unfaltering heart had stayed cold. he rarely opens up, not even to his parents. and for the first time, he shared his story, his story about his interest for art. and he shared it with sungjae.

am i really falling for a boy i just got to know?

“class test begins in 5 minutes, everyone get prepared.” the chemistry teacher says as she writes the start and end time to the test on the whiteboard. sungjae’s eyes widen in confusion. he turns to changsub.

“wait… we have a test today!?” he asks, in a frenzy.

“wow, and i thought i was the one that never pays attention. she literally reminded us every single lesson about this class test you .” changsub offers no sympathy, turning away to look up at the wall clock, surprisingly ready for the test.

this will be sungjae’s first test in high school. if he isn’t even able to handle a simple chemistry class test, how is he going to survive and graduate high school? he has a profiling future awaiting him! if i wasn’t thinking about him, i would’ve DEFINITELY known and studied… sungjae reprimands himself. no use crying over spilt milk now, because the teacher hands the test papers out and sungjae can only prepare to meet his failure. regrets.

the test ends with sungjae’s script half attempted, changsub trying to contain his laughter when he peeked over, and an incoming F grade on sungjae’s report book.

there’s break time now for sungjae to brood over this.

just then, ilhoon quietly walks over to his desk. he clutches both fists as he stands by sungjae, feeling rather out of place. he seems nervous and apprehensive, and then a look of shock is painted on his face, when sungjae abruptly looks up at him. “ahhh you… you’re the reason why i failed that chemistry test…” sungjae sulks out loud.

“wh-what do you mean?” ilhoon stutters.

“i was thinking about you so much these days, i didn’t even catch what the teacher said. there goes my chemistry grade… damn it.” sungjae doesn’t even realize how flirtatious he sounds right now.

so… we were thinking about each other? ilhoon blushes at that thought, brushing through his hair, fixing his already straightened tie. he manages to speak with an awkward smile.

“uhh how about we grab s-some food together? and forget about that stupid test?”

sungjae smirks, something ilhoon’s starting to get familiar with.

“you forgot. i can read your mind, ilhoon ah… we were thinking about each other indeed! how romantic, now we’re even going on a lunch date in the campus? wahhh how cute!” sungjae exaggerates his tone, trying to make ilhoon feel embarrassed. he has definitely succeeded in that, considering how ilhoon’s face quickly turned peachy pink at his words.

“let’s go grab lunch, ilhoon ah!”

before they know it, the two are happily filling their tummies, chatting without feeling any more embarrassment.

“wait, this is starting to feel a little unfair… i couldn’t do the test because i didn’t study. you didn’t study either because you were, ahem, busy thinking of me. if so, why did you find the test easy when i completely flunked it?” sungjae feels defeated by ilhoon’s possession of a sky-high intelligence quotient.

“well, i’m not sure. usually when i take a test, the questions kind of solve themselves in my mind. i don’t really need to study to score well for a test p-”

“wow now i really get why they don’t like you.” sungjae cuts ilhoon off.

ilhoon frowns a little. why’s he insulting me now?

“because we have to work our asses off to even get anywhere near a distinction. but YOU, a wave of your pen and all the A grades are yours… totally unfair, if you ask me.” sungjae pouts, falling victim to jealousy and envy. ilhoon snickers under his breath. he looks up at sungjae with a soft gaze.

“i could always teach you, if you want.” ilhoon lays out a suggestion.

the bulb above sungjae’s head lights up again. if ilhoon, top student in the whole of high school, tutors him, that’ll help him secure good grades and graduate high school. his outstanding results will then impress assessors and accept him into a psychology academy or course in college and university. then he will work up the ranks and outdo all his opponents, and eventually in the working field, officers will beg for him to be a profiler. he’ll receive all the cases he desire, solve them effortlessly, and become a renowned profiler in the nation!

with a snap of ilhoon’s finger, sungjae gets woken up from his daydream.

“what are you even thinking about that’s making you smile like that? you look crazy.” ilhoon gets curious.

“i got it, you can teach me!” sungjae announces, as if ilhoon didn’t already say it.

“that’s exactly what i said.”

sungjae pauses to think about his grand plan, before he opens his mouth to speak again.

“yeah!”

ilhoon lets out a defeated laugh. sungjae’s an ambitious boy, so when it comes to real-life situations, he seems to like making logical leaps. when he gets too involved thinking about his ideal future, he shuts out whatever is most practical or brutally realistic. ilhoon’s a realist, sungjae’s an idealist. why do i fall in love so frivolously with a boy this dense? ilhoon thinks to himself, but manages to pretentiously smile back when sungjae grins at him. well, at least he’s good-looking.

“me? dense? i beg to differ. but good-looking? very much so.” sungjae beams at ilhoon.

and i keep forgetting he can read my thoughts.