“Aki, we’ll hang out with the K uni students later at the usual place. Wanna come?” an acquaintance called out to Aki. He recognized the other student as another regular at Moonlight.

Aki shook his head and smiled. “Thanks but no thanks.”

The student who invited him just shrugged and joined his friends as they sauntered outside the hall. Jun looked at his friend curiously.

“What?” Aki asked.

“You’re going to hit the library again?”

Aki nodded. He had been staying late in the library in the past couple of days, determined to take back that scholarship. He bid his friend goodbye and went to study while Jun went to his other class.

When Aki arrived at the library, the first thing he noticed was the number of female students in the room. Almost half of the female population in their university seemed to gather there. But even without looking at the table, he knew the cause already.

He made his way to a secluded table in the corner of the library. This was his favorite place, far from the librarian, far from the students. It was like having his own world in this little corner.

He studied for a while, attentively perusing his notes and books until his head started to droop. Staring off in space, he rubbed his tired eyes and scanned the library. His eyes fell on Liam who was studying with a serious expression, oblivious to the fawning gazes coming his way.

‘He’s smart AND good-looking. How unfair is that,’ he thought bitterly.

Liam followed Aki’s rules. He did not talk to him when they were at school, treating him like air. They acted like they did not know each other, which should have been good.

But that treatment extended even when they were at home. It seemed like Liam made it a point not to cross paths with him at home. Ever since that night when he moved in, Aki barely saw even Liam’s shadow in the house. It was just mostly him. He did not even know when Liam arrived because he seemed to come home later than Aki.

‘Maybe a part-time job at night? Or staying at his girlfriend’s house?’

When they did cross paths at home, Liam would just nod his head at him as a greeting and then hole himself inside his room. Aki would do the same.

That somehow made Aki sad… and lonely. But he was the one who asked for it so he should not complain.

Yet looking at Liam’s cohorts made him think what would it feel like to chat with him, joke with each other...

“At least, be civil at each other,” he whispered to no one.

Sometimes it was hard to understand the other guy. If he cooked too much food, he would leave some for Aki. Every day, it became a habit to look for any notes left on the table. He began to look forward to them, keeping the notes on a notebook -- a proof of their conversation.

Liam cooked delicious foods. He knew that much, something he would never have thought before. Just thinking about his breakfast made Aki drool.

‘He’s got everything huh? Really unfair.’

It was getting harder and harder for him to keep his eyes open as his head kept on dropping to every side. His thoughts blended with one another, he could barely tell what was a dream and what was a reality.

Maybe, if he was even a drop of Liam’s coolness, Zy would come to like him. Zy would choose him over Drew or anybody else.

And his consciousness faded away.