The lecture hall buzzed as the professor announced the details of the semester project. Psychology majors paired off quickly, voices overlapping as students scrambled to choose partners. Kaya sat still, her pen tapping nervously against her notebook.
Ji-eun waved from across the room. "Kaya, you want to—"
But before she could finish, the professor interrupted. "If you haven't chosen a partner, I'll assign one for you. Kaya… Moon Seo-jun. You two will work together."
Kaya blinked. *Moon Seo-jun? He wasn't even from their department—probably just taking the class as an elective. Still, the professor's word was final.
Her eyes darted to the far row. Moon lifted his head at the sound of his name, his expression unreadable as usual. Their gazes met briefly before he gave a small nod, accepting the arrangement without hesitation.
Her heart skipped.
After class, she approached him, clutching her notebook like a shield. "Um… I guess we're partners now."
Moon adjusted the strap of his bag. "Looks like it."
"Should we… meet in the library tomorrow? To plan?" Kaya asked, her voice softer than she intended.
"Library works." He didn't smile, but there was a gentleness in his tone that steadied her.
The next afternoon, they sat across from each other at a table stacked with books. Kaya spread her notes, explaining her ideas in halting sentences.
Moon listened without interrupting, occasionally jotting down something in his notebook—not psychology notes, Kaya noticed, but fragments of music.
She tilted her head. "Are you… writing a song?"
He looked up, caught. For a moment, silence stretched between them. Then, almost reluctantly, he slid the page toward her.
Kaya's eyes traced the scattered notes and words scribbled in the margins. *Waiting, silence, lanterns.*
Her chest tightened. He was writing about that night.
"It's not finished," he said quickly, as if embarrassed.
But to Kaya, it didn't matter. It felt like he had taken a piece of their shared moment and turned it into something lasting.
She smiled faintly. "It's beautiful already."
Moon studied her for a long second, as if searching for something in her face. Then he lowered his gaze, returning to his work.
Yet the air between them had shifted—subtle, but undeniable.
To be continued...