His eyes met mine for just a second
-just long enough to drown in,
not long enough to matter.
Y/N POV :
The moment we tumbled into my house, the smell of vanilla cake hit us like a hug. Mom stood at the counter, flour dusting her apron as she turned with a smile.
"Why do you rarely visit?" she scolded, waving a spatula."Eat dinner here! Sleepover! I'll make Jangjorim!"
We squealed with excitement-the four of us were practically vibrating with sleepover energy. Our families had always been close: Nari and I lived just streets apart, while Juhee and Haerin were neighbors since birth.Our friendship was practically woven into our neighborhood's DNA.
Mom slid a freshly baked cake onto the table, its vanilla scent wrapping around us "This is what I baked today-eat up!".."And call your parents-tell them you're staying the night."
They called their parents anyway, though we already knew the answer.Permission was practically guaranteed-the only time our parents ever said no was when we'd been oversleeping at each other's houses too often. But lately, with school and growing up, those chaotic sleepovers had become rare.
We'd grown so comfortable with each other's homes that it felt like one big, extended family. Clothes, books, and other belongings were scattered across each other's houses, a testament to our frequent sleepovers and hangouts.
___
After dinner, we bolted upstairs-only to be stopped by Mom's voice from the living room: "Don't forget your assignments!"
We froze mid-step.
"Do... we have assignments?" I whispered, like the answer might summon a demon.
Nari and Haerin blinked at each other."No clue."
Juhee sighed, adjusting her glasses."Of course we do-you three never pay attention!" she scolded, though we all knew she'd bail us out like always.
In our usual chaotic division of labor, Juhee solved the actual problems with terrifying efficiency, Nari and I "paraphrased" her answers (changing just enough to look original), and Haerin decorated the margins with doodles of us as superheroes. Within minutes, we'd conquered the homework through our signature blend of academic delinquency and teamwork.
We arranged our floor beds in the usual chaos-blankets half-tangled, pillows thrown like grenades. The gossip started instantly:
"Ji-hoon totally winked at you today-"
"That wasn't a wink,he had something in his eye-"
"LIES! You're just blind-"
We were shrieking so loud the neighbors probably regretted living nearby when suddenly-
"LOOK AT MY NEW BOYFRIEND!" Haerin yelled, shoving her phone in our faces. "Isn't he handsome?" The screen showed Jay mid-blink, one eye half-closed like a drowsy owl.
Silence. Then-
"SINCE WHEN?!" Nari launched herself at Haerin, caught between excitement and betrayal."You didn't tell us!"
Haerin smirked."Just now, I told you we've been texting"
I seized her shoulders."Ask him if Sunghoon's single. RIGHT NOW."
"Relax,"Haerin said, smug as a cat with cream."Even with a boyfriend, I'd never abandon you losers."We looked at her with a mix of amusement and skepticism, but our conversation continued late into the night.
The room was filled with laughter and chatter, and it wasn't until 2:00 AM that we finally settled down to sleep.
__
"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty!"
A sudden gust of cold air hit me as someone-probably Nari-yanked my blanket away. I curled into a defensive ball, but it was too late.
"Get uuuup," Juhee sing-songed, poking my cheek with her ice-cold fingers. How was she already showered and dressed?
"Mmmph."I buried my face under a pillow. "Five more minutes."
But the universe had other plans. One by one, my friends emerged from the bathroom, their hair damp and smelling like my mom's strawberry shampoo. I dragged myself to the shower, half-asleep under the warm water.
By the time I stumbled downstairs, the others were already "eating"-if you could call it that.
As we approached the school gate, I spotted Sung-hoon chatting with a group of girls from other classes. They were all giggling and smiling at him, and I couldn't help but feel a pang of annoyance. Why did he have to be so attractive to everyone?
"Y/N, your eye is doing that twitchy thing again," Nari whispered, poking my cheek.
"What? No it's-"
"She's right," Haerin said, snapping a pic of my murderous expression. "You look like a disgruntled kitten."
I opened my mouth to protest, but Juhee cut in:"Breathe. Before you implode."
And just like that-the spell broke.Nari tripped over her own shoelaces, Haerin started a dramatic retelling of last night's blanket theft, and I was laughing so hard I forgot to be jealous.
Time moved weirdly when you were actively avoiding responsibility.One minute, we were debating who'd score the most in afternoon sports; the next, Miss Bok was tapping her ruler like a metronome of doom.
"Bae Nari. Kim Y/N." Her smile was terrifying. "Care to explain why your 'homework' has the exact same wrong answers? Including..." She squinted. " Also Jung Haerin and Lee Juhee '?"
Juhee whispered"Three days in, two ejections. We're setting records."
As Miss Bok pointed to the door (again), I realized we weren't alone- some other was exiled with us.At least failure loved company.
I stole one last glance backward.
Sung-hoon's eyes met mine.
Just for a second. Just long enough to make my stomach flip.
Worse than detention?
Knowing your crush witnessed your academic downfall.
I whipped around, pressing my back to the wall. "Ughh ...Why does he always see me when I stumble?"
Nari patted my shoulder. "Stay strong, soldier. At this rate, we'll beat our 'kicked out' record by Friday.
_
It's games and sports time now. Our class (2-1) is playing basketball against class 2-2, and Sunghoon is playing too.
The game starts, and everyone is cheering loudly.
The basketball court was chaos-squeaking sneakers, screaming fans, and Sunghoon moving like he was born with a ball in his hands. When his winning shot swished through the net, our friend group became a chaotic celebration squad,we lost all our dignity: dancing around while the others stare at us.
Sunghoon, still glowing with that post-game adrenaline high (why did sweat have to look so good on him?), he walks over to our class seats, smiling, and he started walking straight toward our seats. My heart did a backflip-
Until Wonhee happened.
She materialized out of nowhere, shoving a water bottle into his hands and clinging to his arm like a possessive koala. Sunghoon blinked, startled, but didn't shake her off.
My celebratory mood nosedived into oblivion.
"Let's go," I muttered, slinging my bag over my shoulder with unnecessary force. The walk home was suddenly very quiet.
At night, I checked my phone and saw that our class was making a group chat. I kept looking for Sunghoon's name - My thumb paused mid-swipe-there he was.
Sunghoon's profile.
I stared at it like it held the secrets of the universe.
Should I message him?
Absolutely not.(Some unspoken rule of crushes: Thou shalt not text first, even if thy fingers itch to do so.)
Mom's voice floated upstairs: "Y/N! Stop playing and study!"
I grabbed my sketchbook,so I ended up drawing Sunghoon instead.I love drawing-honestly, it's the only thing I feel really good at.
When I finally looked up, the clock read midnight. My unfinished homework lay abandoned, but the page in front of me was alive with the boy who'd been living in my head rent-free.