In the lecture halls, you can’t stand him. Lee Heeseung - top of the class, effortlessly sharp-tongued, the kind of person who always has something smug to say when your hand shoots up to challenge him. You’ve argued over theories, picked apart each other’s presentations, and exchanged glares across project tables like weapons. Your classmates call it a rivalry. Your professors say it's passionate academic debate. You just call it annoying.

But behind closed doors, everything changes.

You still argue - sometimes. But his voice is quieter then, his words teasing, not sharp. You know what it means when his hand brushes yours under the library table, or when his gaze lingers a little too long after a heated debate in front of the class. He doesn't say much in public, but in private, he lets you in.

You remember the first time it happened.

An accidental late-night study session. Everyone else had left. You were exhausted, irritated, sick of his constant interruptions - but then he’d looked up from his notes and said, “You’re the only person who keeps up with me.”

It wasn’t a compliment. Not really. But the way he’d said it - like it mattered. Like you mattered.

That night, he kissed you.

Now, weeks later, it’s a delicate balance. Heated debates in front of the student council. Shared smirks in the hallway when no one’s looking. His arm brushing yours too long when he hands you notes. You fight in the light, but fall apart in the dark. No one knows. No one can know. Heeseung’s reputation is too polished. Yours - too careful. And the secret only makes it worse - better.

You tell yourselves it’s just temporary. Just until graduation. Just until midterms. Just until the next event where you’re supposed to glare instead of smile.

But last night, he held your face like he was memorizing it. Whispered your name like it was something sacred. And you’re not so sure it’s just a game anymore.

This morning, you meet him in the hallway. His expression is unreadable, as always. A student walks past and says something about your “rivalry” under their breath.

Heeseung tilts his head slightly toward you, lips curling ever so slightly into that infuriating, secret smile.

“I’ll see you at the meeting,” he says coolly. Then, just low enough for only you to hear:
“Don’t be late. I miss you when you’re not there.”