The classroom was filled with the monotonous drone of the professor's voice, the words blending together into a blur of technical jargon that should have been interesting-should have been engaging, at the very least. But for two perticular students , it wasn't nearly enough to hold their attention.
Hye-rin tapped her fingers against her desk, eyes flitting between the projected lecture notes and the blank coding interface on her laptop. She had long since finished the professor's assigned exercises and was now mindlessly coding a random program-something simple, something pointless, something she would ultimately delete by the end of class just like all the others. Creating without purpose had become a habit, a way to kill time when the world around her wasn't stimulating enough.
Jaehee, sitting a few chairs away from her, on the other hand, was staring at his phone, fingers subtly working the screen in patterns that would seem meaningless to an untrained eye. In truth, he was exploiting a minor vulnerability in the campus Wi-Fi-a leftover from their high school days when he had once hacked someone's phone to expose their cheating ass .
Not that he was doing anything illegal now; it was just a mind game, a challenge to keep himself from falling asleep. He was more than capable of keeping up with the professor's lessons, but that didn't mean they were particularly thrilling.
Besides, when your literal job involved matchmaking as a celestial being, mundane concerns like future career plans seemed laughable. What was the point of deciding on a profession when he was already assigned a lifelong duty as a cupid?
He was currently majoring in both computer and mechanical engineering, but honestly, that was more out of curiosity than necessity. The thought of actually choosing a career path in the mortal world made his head spin.
Just as Jaehee began contemplating a nap, the professor's voice cut through the air with a statement that instantly had both of them snapping to attention.
"For the next project, you'll be working in pairs," the professor announced, sipping at his ever-present coffee. "I've already assigned the groups, and there will be no switching partners."
A low murmur spread through the room, students turning to their friends, exchanging hopeful looks and hushed whispers. Hye-rin's fingers tightened around her pen.
Jaehee leaned forward slightly, anticipation curling in his stomach. Please, let this be fate.
The professor began listing off names. The moment Jaehee heard his own paired with hers , he perked up instantly. Jackpot.
Hye-rin, however, visibly tensed. Her head snapped toward the professor, disbelief flashing across her face. "Professor, wait-why am I paired with him?" she demanded, standing up so abruptly that her chair scraped against the floor.
The professor raised an eyebrow. "Is there a problem, Miss Hye-rin?"
"Yes," she said bluntly. "I want to switch partners."
Jaehee grinned, resting his chin on his hand. "Aw, don't be like that, partner ."
She shot him a murderous glare before turning back to the professor. "Sir, with all due respect, I work better alone. If I have to be paired up, I'd prefer literally anyone else."
The professor sighed, looking unimpressed. "You and Jaehee are the top students in this department. It's about time you worked together. This will be a good opportunity for you both."
Hye-rin's jaw clenched. "I disagree."
"I don't," Jaehee added cheerfully. "I think this is an excellent opportunity."
The professor ignored both of them, already gathering his things as if their argument had no bearing on his decision. "Regardless of your opinions, the pairs are final. Focus on your project. That's what matters."
And with that, he strolled out of the classroom, sipping his coffee like he hadn't just doomed Hye-rin to weeks of pure suffering.
Hye-rin stared after him, absolutely seething.
Jaehee, meanwhile, took his sweet time standing up and stretching before sauntering over to her desk. He extended a hand, his grin as smug as ever. "Looks like we're partners now, Hye-rin-ah," he said smoothly. "Let's get along, yeah?"
She stared at his outstretched hand like it was infected. Then, without hesitation, she slapped it away. " No ."
Jaehee chuckled. "So hostile."
"You are so annoying," she muttered, grabbing her bag and storming out of the classroom.
Jaehee watched her go, his smirk widening in victory. One step closer to getting to her to tolerate me.
The six of them were seated inside Mirang's office room for absolutely no reason—or at least , that's what it felt like to Mirang. She sat at her desk, arms crossed, as she watched the group make themselves comfortable in her space, talking amongst themselves as if they had every right to be there. Jaehee, in particular, looked way too smug for her liking.
Jaehee smirked as he leaned back in his chair. "She might be annoyed that she has to work with me, but for me, this is literally perfect. This project is exactly what I need to make her stop hating me."
Ryo perked up at that, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Should we bet on how long it'll take for Jaehee to fall for Hye-rin?" he asked, looking around the room with a grin.
Jaehee rolled his eyes. "You guys are ridiculous. That is never going to happen."
"Oh, I'm in!" Sion immediately said, sitting forward in excitement. "Alright, I say... a month!"
"Nah, three weeks, max," Riku countered, smirking. "He's already halfway there and doesn't even realize it."
"A week," Yushi chimed in. "Jaehee might be stubborn, but even he isn't blind."
Sakuya hummed in thought. "I'll give it three weeks."
Ryo folded his arms. "I say five days."
After everyone was done, Mirang leaned back in her chair, her expression unreadable. "Two weeks."
Jaehee frowned and turned to her. "What?"
Mirang smirked. "It'll take you a total of two weeks to realize you like her."
Yushi grinned. "You sound confident."
Riku smirked. "Are you sure about this?"
Mirang shrugged. "One hundred percent."
Sion enthusiastically clapped his hands together. "Alright then! It's settled."
Jaehee groaned. "This is ridiculous. I don't like her, and I never will."
Sakuya chuckled. "We'll see about that."
Yushi leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table. "Now, onto an important question." He glanced at Mirang. "What should we do to make Riven's memory come back?"
At this, Mirang stiffened for friction of a second before masking her reaction. "Why are you all so persistent about this?"
Sion shrugged. "We don't know. Maybe we just...... want to do something good for once."
Riku shook his head. "Nah, bro, we're just way too nosy."
Sakuya smirked. "I'm doing it because I want to torture him about it."
Ryo laughed. "Yeah, if Riven ever gets his memory back, I bet he'll just sit somewhere with his head in his hands in horror, realizing what he used to do."
Jaehee nodded in agreement. "He'll probably be devastated when he remembers."
Mirang sighed. "Maybe you should try finding out how he met his wife and what she knows about him. That might be a good starting point."
Sion frowned. "Why have we never thought about that?"
Yushi corrected him. "We have. We just weren't close enough to ask about it before. But now we are."
Riku grinned. "Then we use this perfect opportunity."
As the group continued discussing strategies to deal with Riven, Jaehee leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. The whole thing with Hye-rin was still on his mind. No way was he going to fall for her. This project was just a chance to get along—nothing more, nothing less.
Right?