Intro To Love
Han Jisung x Reader
Warnings: None
Summary: It's the start of a new college semester. Stressful as usual. Until you partner up with the cute nerd in your class.
WC: 2.1k
Note: eee finally posting my fics lolol I'm so nervous but so excited too :') I feel like this is so short, but I wanna stretch this out into at least two posts. Any and all feedback is appreciated!
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
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You sighed as your phone's alarm went off. Looking at the screen, it reads 8:00 am. Not like you got any sleep anyway, considering how your anxious thoughts kept you up all night.
Today marked the start of the fall semester of your sophomore year of college. You’d think that after nearly 20 years of living and going to school for however long, the first days weren’t that anxiety-inducing, alas, your brain didn’t exactly get that memo.
As you got out of bed and ready for the day, your thoughts swarmed with everything that could go wrong. What if you walked into the wrong classroom and didn’t notice until the class already started? What if you couldn’t even find the room at all? What if your schedule was actually wrong and you’re meant to go to your Wednesday class instead, despite it being a Monday?
As you brushed your teeth and contemplated your timely demise in your dorm room's bathroom (thankfully, you had not only a solo dorm, but one with its own in-unit bathroom), you tried to redirect your thoughts into what positives might come out of today.
Maybe you’d meet a new friend, or you’d really like your professors. Maybe you’d even meet a cute guy or girl. It’s been years since you've actually talked to someone romantically; maybe the universe will finally send someone your way. That’s just hopeful thinking, though.
As the clock struck 8:30 am, you pulled on your shoes and went out the door. Making your way down and outside your dorm’s building for your first class of the day. For some reason, your past self decided that having a 9 am Intro to Lyrical Analysis class on a Monday was a good idea. (In reality, it was the only time slot that worked with the rest of your schedule.)
You thankfully made it to the classes building easily, and even found the classroom with 15 minutes to spare. The classroom was pretty small, similar to a high school classroom. You took one of the seats near the back of the class, slipping on your headphones as you waited for the class to begin.
As more people flooded into the classroom, you felt your heart rate speed up a little. There goes your brain with making up unlikely, yet anxiety-inducing, scenarios. What if you fell out of your chair randomly and everyone pointed and laughed at you? What if the professor called you out by name because they somehow saw those two failed classes in your school’s account? What if-
Your thoughts were cut off as someone sat down a seat away from you, being one of the only open seats left in the room. You saw the professor clear her throat, taking that as a signal that the class would start soon. You pulled off your headphones and sat up straight.
You took a second to look at the person who sat next to you in your peripheral vision. He had on a dark green hoodie with some kind of graphic on the back, which looked like flowers of some kind. He wore a black hat, the bill sticking out from the hood of his hoodie. It looks like he was wearing glasses too, though it was kind of hard to tell without looking directly.
Thankfully, he didn’t seem like the type to try to strike up a conversation, which you were grateful for. You turned your focus back to the professor who had started talking. As it’s the first day of the semester, the main topic of the day was the syllabus for the class. Good thing you already went over it online the night before.
After the syllabus was gone over and all questions regarding the class and its workings were done, the professor said with a cheery voice and smile
“Alright! How about we do a little ice breaker?”
You felt your hands clam up immediately. You always hated icebreakers. You just hoped it would be something easy instead of needing to find a partner or something else ridiculous.
“Since it’s the first day, I won’t make you do anything crazy. Let’s just go around and say our names and favorite foods?”
You internally relaxed a bit. That was doable. You could do that. You had time to think over your answer, overthinking it to hell and back despite the question's simplicity.
As it neared your turn to speak, you fidgeted with your hands in your lap. Watching as everyone else introduced themselves. Sooner than later, it got to your table.
The man who sat next to you took what seemed like a slightly shaky breath before saying
“Uh, I’m Han Jisung.. and I like cheesecake”
This was the first time you actually got a good look at his face. He.. looked nice, you thought. His round cheeks puffed out a tiny bit as he slumped back down in his seat, turning his head to you as he finished.
You cleared your throat a little before introducing yourself to the class, repeating the answer you masterfully crafted in your head nearly 3 minutes ago flawlessly.
With you, the introductions ended. This led the professor to jump into the start of the first lesson. You pulled out your laptop to take notes as she began her lecture.
As the professor wrapped up the first half of the lesson, she dismissed the class. You packed up your things into your backpack before standing up and slinging it over your shoulder, and making your way out of the classroom. Putting your headphones back on, you scrolled through your phone until you landed on a certain playlist, letting the music wash away the last bits of anxiety that gnawed on you.
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After another class, you made it back into your dorm, flopping down onto your bed with a huff.
“Didn’t go too bad for the first day..” You sighed to yourself. Even though nothing exciting happened, you still felt exhausted. Your eyes drifted shut, lulling you into sleep as your body pressed against the sheets.
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The next two weeks of your classes had gone by pretty smoothly. Most of your professors were fairly laid-back, keeping the first few assignments short and simple. You’ve yet to make any friends, aside from exchanging emails for notes with a girl in your film theory class. Not that you minded much, you’ve always liked keeping to yourself better anyways.
You sat down in your usual seat with a huff. Even though most classes don't have assigned seats, everyone tends to stay in the same spot they chose the first class. That held true with your Intro to Lyrical Analysis class. You barely slept the previous night, your thoughts scrambled. You pushed off your headphones, setting them on the table as the professor spoke up.
“So-! We’re gonna be introducing our next assignment, and its our first partnered assignment too”
Your heart dropped. Partners? You haven’t made friends in this class. Not even anyone you could remotely call an acquaintance. You looked around the room, trying to notice if anyone else was having the same reaction as you. Suddenly your eyes caught sight of the man sitting a seat away from you, his hands fidgeting on the table.
He hadn’t changed his seat since the first class either. You haven’t spoken a word to each other either, aside from the introductions but that hardly counted. You figured it couldn’t hurt to ask to partner with him, since he was already sitting next to you anyways. Maybe he already had someone in mind to ask though?
You thought it over as the professor explained the outline of the assignment, ultimately deciding to wait a minute or two before asking, in case he did wish to partner with someone else.
The assignment itself was relatively simple. Each group of two people would be given a song and its genre to analyze. The genres ranged anywhere from country, to metal, to soft lofi pop.
Eventually the professor finished her spiel about the assignment, giving the go ahead to partner up before handing out the songs. You took a deep breath, your hands shaking a little in your lap as you looked around the room. Most people were in the same boat as you, trying to find someone to partner up with. You spoke, a little too quietly amidst the small classroom, to the man next to you.
“Wanna partner up.? since we already sit next to each other..” he turned to look at you, a flash of relief over his face at your words.
“Yeah, easier that way huh?” He smiled softly, releasing a quiet breathy laugh. “Want me to move to the seat next to you?”
You shook your head “Nah, I will” You quickly shuffled over to the next seat, now able to feel the warmth radiating from him. He mostly wore the same stuff every class. That being some variation of a hoodie and sweats, occasionally a hat. Not that you could say much though, as you didn’t put a whole lot of effort into your outfits for class either.
You spun your pencil in your fingers as you waited for the rest of the class to partner up.
“So.. Your name is.. shoot I remember it from introductions I swear-“ You grumbled as you pinched the bridge of your nose, trying to recall his name
He chuckled “Han Jisung, don't worry, I don't remember your name either” He said with a slightly nervous tone, scratching the back of his neck as an embarrassed blush crept over his cheeks. You felt better to know that it wasn’t just you that sucked at remembering names. You quickly introduced yourself.
“What genre are you hoping to get?” You said as you rested your chin on your hand, propped up on the table by your elbow.
He furrowed his eyebrows a bit as he thought, puffing his cheeks out slightly. “Uhm.. Probably rock? or a lofi pop vibe” He shrugged “I’d be happy with anything though, honestly”
You nodded in reply. You both spent the next few minutes talking about your favorite songs and artists until the professor cleared her throat and began to hand out the songs to each group.
Once she got to you, she jotted down your group and set down two sheets of paper in front of you. You grabbed them, handing one to Jisung as you skimmed it.
The song was "The Moon Will Sing" By the Crane Wives. Lucky to get a song you knew of. The professor walked back up to the front of the room, starting her instructions.
"So, this project is relatively simple. However, you won't have enough time to complete this in class, so you and your partner will have to meet up outside of lecture time to complete it. Due date is in two weeks"
She explained the main points that the analysis should make, even showing an example project. 'This shouldn't be too difficult..' You thought to yourself.
After the professor finished, Jisung turned to you.
"Have you heard this song before?" He asked, his eyebrow quirked up.
"Yeah, it's in my playlist. Kinda surprised this was one of the songs though, I figured they'd all be popular stuff." You shrugged "Have you?"
He shook his head. "No, but the lyrics are good.." He mumbled slightly as he looked back down at the paper. You pulled out a spare pair of earbuds from your backpack, plugging them into your phone. You handed him one of the earbuds, putting the other in your ear.
"Here, we can listen to it. The melodies are really nice, and the lyrics are a lot more impactful when actually listening to them." He quickly grabbed the other, putting it in his own ear, leaning a bit closer to you thanks to the wire.
You spend the next few minutes listening silently, subconsciously leaning a little closer until your shoulders are touching. His warmth and scent invading your space. A light pink dusts your cheeks from the proximity.
As the song ends, you pull back. "See? It sounds so much more.. raw when you listen to the full song. It'll be fun to analyze deeper."
He agrees, pulling out his own phone and handing it to you. "Here, we'll need each other's numbers to work on the project so.." You stumble over your words slightly as you take his phone, putting in your number. You set your name and hand it back to him, handing over your phone to do the same.
He hands your phone back right as the class ends, he stands up and grabs his bag.
"I'll text you later, to.. um.. You know, figure out when we can meet up to work on it."
"Yeah! sounds good." You replied, looking down at your phone as he walked out of the room. Seeing that he set his contact to "Jisung :)", you smiled a little to yourself.
Maybe this project wouldn't be that bad.
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