Yunho strode into the gym from the hallway entrance, still damp from swim training, his team jacket slung loosely over his shoulders and a water bottle in hand. His hair was still wet, strands clinging faintly to his forehead and there was a look in his eyes that didn't quite match the casual way he moved, something simmering, controlled.
He scanned the court once and found her.
Bella was near the bleachers, flanked by two tall figures who were laughing a little too loudly for Yunho's taste. Jake had an arm lazily draped behind her on the bench; Keith leaned forward, gesturing as he spoke animatedly. They were drawing attention, not just from Bella, but from everyone nearby.
Yunho's jaw ticked.
He didn't stride forward rashly; he didn't need to. Each step he took was deliberate, measured, and somehow it made its own space, parting the crowd around him without a word.
Jake spotted him first. "Uh-oh. Trouble in swim paradise."
Keith tilted his chin. "Told you he'd show."
Bella turned, eyes catching on Yunho's. Her pulse kicked up, he looked… not angry exactly, but unreadable.
Yunho stopped just in front of them, gaze flicking from Jake to Keith, then settling on Bella.
"Mind if we talk?"
Bella blinked. There was no real emotion in his voice, no demand, no accusation. Just quiet gravity.
She hesitated, then stepped away from the bench. "Sure."
Jake leaned back with an exaggerated brow raise. "Oh. The captain does bite back."
Keith let out a low whistle. "Careful, Yunho. We might just steal her next time."
They moved down the hallway in silence, the muffled sounds of basketball shoes squeaking and balls bouncing fading behind them.
Bella kept her gaze ahead. She could still feel Jake and Keith's lingering amusement echoing in the back of her mind and the heat of Yunho's sudden appearance hadn't quite left her chest. He wasn't walking particularly fast, but something about the way he moved, like he was holding back, made her nervous.
When they turned the corner, Yunho finally spoke.
"Guess I should've shown up earlier. Looks like I missed the party."
His tone was casual, but it didn't quite land. The edge underneath it was unmistakable.
Bella let out a short breath, half a scoff. "I didn't invite them, if that's what you're asking."
"I didn't say you did."
She glanced at him. "Then what are you saying?"
Yunho stopped walking. She did too, only realising a second later how close they were standing.
He looked at her, really looked at her, eyes dark and unreadable. "I was in the middle of cooldown when I got the text. Someone said you were surrounded by 'two smug basketball guys'." A pause. "Didn't think I'd need to check for myself."
Bella crossed her arms, defensive without meaning to. "Jake and Keith are harmless. They're friends. You've met them."
"I know who they are," Yunho replied, sharper than he intended. He exhaled, looking away briefly. "I just… I didn't expect to see that."
She hesitated. "What did you expect, Yunho?"
He looked back at her then, the edges of his frustration softening under something more uncertain. "I don't know. Maybe a reaction. A hello. Anything, really. Since we kissed. Since we,"
"Went out once," she cut in. "One lunch. No rules. No labels."
Her words came out sharper than she meant them to. She wasn't even sure who she was trying to convince, him or herself. The silence that followed was heavy, not with anger, but with that awful ambiguity she hated.
Yunho didn't flinch. The silence that followed pressed against them, dense with unsaid words and the ambiguity she hated. Yunho's smirk tried to hide the flicker of disappointment, or maybe fragility. It didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Right. One date." His voice was soft, controlled, but carried the weight of unspoken things.
Bella pressed her lips together, then added quietly, like an afterthought that suddenly felt important, "I've known them longer than I've known you."
Yunho's voice was soft, but steady.
"But in the same way?"
That question, simple, honest, hit her in the chest.
His eyes held hers, a little raw, a little tired. "I need to know where I stand, Bella."
He stepped forward. The hallway suddenly felt smaller, compressed by proximity and tension.
Yunho tilted his head, voice low and hopeful. "Will you wait for me to finish my practice so I can walk you home instead of you going off with them?"
Her brow lifted. "Is that a question or a demand?"
His lips twitched, gaze steady. "A request. A very… hopeful one."
Yunho gave her a crooked, self-deprecating smile. "Besides, I was in mid-practice when I got that text. I'm pretty sure Coach has already given Chad my spot on the team."
That drew a small laugh from her, surprised and reluctant. "You're ridiculous."
"I am," he said lightly. "Completely irrational. Especially when it comes to you."
She sighed, half-exasperated, half-something else. "You really came all the way here just because of Jake and Keith?"
"I didn't know what I'd see. I just… didn't like not knowing."
She hesitated, her thumb brushing unconsciously along his. It wasn't that she didn't want to say yes. It was that saying yes felt like a choice, like handing him more than just her time.
Still, something in the way he looked at her, not possessive, not overconfident, just quietly asking, nudged her walls sideways.
"Alright," she said. "But only if you promise you won't make a scene if Jake tries to ruffle your feathers again."
Yunho laughed under his breath. "No promises. But I'll try to limit my death glares."
Bella rolled her eyes and started walking toward the gym doors, their hands still lightly joined. "I'll wait outside, then. Try not to pull a muscle from all that overthinking."
"I'll be quick," he called after her with a grin.
She didn't look back, but he saw the way her shoulders shook with a stifled laugh.
Yunho, Back at Practice
Yunho jogged back onto the pool, wiping his face with his towel and ignoring the curious looks from a few teammates. Chad raised an eyebrow as he passed, giving him a look. Coach barely glanced his way. "You done storming off over whatever drama that was?"
"Not drama," Yunho muttered, catching the ball. "Just… time-sensitive."
Coach snorted. "Then run it off."
They fell back into drills, but Yunho's mind wasn't fully in the practice. His mind floated back to their conversation about the "One date". He knew that look. The one she gave when she was quietly bracing for disappointment. And it made him want to prove her wrong.