All of Hyebin's classes for the day were over. She walked down the third-floor corridor toward Professor Kang's private office. She knocked on her professor's door, then pushed it open and entered as soon as she heard the call from inside: “Come in!”
“Excuse me, Professor Kang. You said you wanted to talk to me?” Hyebin asked, her voice polite but edged with anxiety.
“Ah, Hyebin-ah. Have a seat.” He let the girl sit in the chair in front of his desk. “Let's get straight to the point,” Professor Kang Hajoon said, looking directly at Hyebin. “Considering how poorly you did last semester... I asked you to come here because I'd like to recommend a fellow student to be your partner for your upcoming academic project.”
“Who will be my partner, Professor?” Hyebin asked with a resigned expression, waiting to see what other misfortune fate had in store for her.
Professor Kang didn't answer right away. He turned toward the other side of the curtain separating the office space from the sitting area in the corner of his office.
“Yang Jeongmin, could you come over here for a moment?”
Hyebin's heart seemed to stop beating when a tall guy stepped out from behind the curtain. The same guy who had sent her a ridiculous text yesterday and chased after her in the campus park.
“Jeongmin-ah, could you be Hyebin's partner for her upcoming class project?” Professor Kang asked Jeongmin. Then he turned to Hyebin. “Hyebin received a poor evaluation last time, so I want you to help her. Since Jeongmin is one of the transfer students from Sydney and his academic entrance scores were nearly perfect, I recommend that he work with you.”
Hyebin bit down hard on her lower lip. Her blood boiled instantly. She couldn't just stand there and let her professor and this overconfident guy decide her fate for her. Deep down, she wanted to reject Professor Kang's suggestion as firmly as possible.
“Wait, Professor!” Hyebin cut in, her voice panicked. “I... I can find my own partner! And I'll make sure to work extra hard on our upcoming project! I don't need a tutor or a special partner!” She turned and shot Jeongmin a sharp glance. “You don't have to pretend to be nice and become my partner—”
“Sure, Professor.” Jeongmin deliberately cut off Hyebin's sharp words. He looked away from her, ignoring the murderous glare she sent him, and faced Professor Kang with a friendly smile. “I'd be happy to be Hyebin's partner for this project.”
Professor Kang beamed. “That's great! I knew you'd agree, Jeongmin-ah,” he said, flashing Jeongmin a relieved smile.
Jeongmin also smiled politely at Professor Kang, who had willingly helped smooth the way for his approach. In fact, before Hyebin arrived, Jeongmin had already persuaded Minjae to give up the position and pleaded with Professor Kang to make him Hyebin's teammate instead.
“All right. I hope your project goes well and that you can bring your grades back up, Hyebin. You may leave now,” Professor Kang said, waving them away.
Without thinking twice or saying a word, Hyebin turned around and walked out of that annoying professor's office. She sped down the corridor, stomping across the tiles without caring about the footsteps behind her.
“Hyebin! Hey, slow down!” Jeongmin called as he ran after her, then cut her off and stopped abruptly in front of her. “Why are you trying so hard to avoid me?”
Hyebin was forced to stop so she wouldn't run into his chest for the second time. She closed her eyes for a moment and let out a frustrated breath before opening them again and glaring at Jeongmin, who was blocking her path.
“Hey, listen to me!” Hyebin snapped before he could say anything. “You don't have to play the hero and become my partner! I don't want to trouble you, and honestly, I can handle this project myself without anyone's help. So, could you go back to Professor Kang and cancel—”
Once again, Jeongmin cut off her long-winded speech just like that. “Can I get your number?” he asked, pulling his phone from his jeans pocket.
“My number?” Hyebin asked innocently. Jeongmin meant her KakaoTalk number, which was of course different from her Line number. “Why?” She tilted her head, staring at him with furrowed brows.
Jeongmin chuckled at the girl's innocent reaction. “So I can text you about our project? I mean, how are we supposed to discuss things if I don't have your contact info?” he said, raising one eyebrow with a faint smirk.
Hyebin immediately cursed herself internally. How stupid! Why did she look so incredibly foolish in front of this guy? Of course Jeongmin needed her phone number to discuss coordinating their class project!
“But we haven't agreed yet—”
“Go ahead and type in your phone number. I have to leave after this.” Jeongmin cut her off casually as he held his phone out closer to her chest.
“Oh... okay.” Hyebin sighed in resignation. Fine. This time, she really couldn't be selfish or let her pride get in the way. She didn't want to make another careless decision that would hurt her academic standing. “Give me your phone.” Hyebin typed her phone number into Jeongmin's screen and handed it back. “Here.”
Jeongmin smiled with satisfaction when he saw her name and number saved in his contacts. “Thanks. I'll text you later about the discussion schedule... But maybe not today, since I have baseball practice soon.” He waved casually. “See you later, partner!” he called before turning around and jogging down the corridor, beaming with delight at how smoothly his plan had gone this time.
“Hey! Wait! I'm not done talking!” Hyebin called, half shouting, stopping Jeongmin at the end of the stairwell.
Jeongmin turned back and leaned one shoulder against the corridor wall with his signature smirk. “Yeah? Anything else you want to say, Partner? Or do you already miss me even though I only just started walking away?”
Hyebin strode toward Jeongmin, ignoring his ridiculous teasing. She folded her arms and glared sharply at the guy in front of her.
“Don't call me ‘partner’ like that. It sounds so cringey,” Hyebin said firmly. “And one more thing: even if Professor Kang appointed you, that doesn't mean you can act like you're the sole decision-maker on this project. We have to divide the work fairly. I don't want you acting like my boss!”
“Oh my God, Hyebin-ah. Why do you always assume the worst of me?” Jeongmin shook his head dramatically. “I have no intention of being the boss. I'm just a lucky exchange student who gets to have a Veterinary Medicine student as critical as you for a partner.”
“A Veterinary Medicine student whose grades tanked last semester, you mean?” Hyebin snorted sarcastically, remembering her tragic C in Molecular Veterinary Biology. “You're making fun of me, aren't you?”
“I'm serious,” Jeongmin cut in. “I've read some of the anatomy and tissue analysis papers you did for the lab last semester. Your understanding of animal physiology is incredibly detailed. The only reason you had trouble with the last research project was that you focused too much on pure genetic analysis. That's where my Biology background comes in—to help you. One bad semester is normal. It doesn't mean you're not smart.”
Hyebin was stunned. Her lips, which had been ready to unleash a string of biting remarks, suddenly fell silent. She hadn't expected this incredibly annoying, overconfident guy to understand exactly where her weaknesses had been in the previous Veterinary Medicine project—or to have read the results of her laboratory research.
“Th-that doesn't change anything,” Hyebin stammered, desperately trying to regain her focus after it had briefly wavered. “You don't have to act sweet just to win me over or anything.”
Jeongmin raised one eyebrow, his obnoxious smirk returning to his face. “Who said I was trying to win you over? I mean... if you are won over, then great. My job will be easier.”
Hyebin snorted irritably. “Yang Jeongmin!!”
“Just kidding, just kidding!” Jeongmin chuckled as he took one step backward toward the stairs. “But seriously, Hyebin. I know you might not be able to trust me yet because of the ridiculous rumors from Ji-a or the text I sent yesterday. But for Professor Kang's project, I really do want to work well with you. Deal?”
Hyebin studied Jeongmin's expression for several seconds. There wasn't a trace of dishonesty there, only enthusiasm and seriousness hidden beneath his ridiculous behavior. With a long sigh, Hyebin finally nodded slowly.
“Deal. But if you're late turning in the draft or interrupt me again like you did just now, I won't hesitate to cross your name off the assignment sheet,” Hyebin warned, pointing an index finger at Jeongmin's face.
“Yes, boss!” Jeongmin gave a brisk salute, his face bright with happiness. “In that case, I'll get going before my baseball team captain starts freaking out because I'm late for practice.”
“Go,” Hyebin shooed him away, waving her hand.
“Don't miss me, Han Hyebin! Check your phone tonight!” Jeongmin called as he walked down the stairs, waving high before finally disappearing completely around the bend in the corridor.
“What a weird guy...” Hyebin muttered, though a faint smile unconsciously bloomed across her lips.