While they were having their sandwiches at the canteen that week, Yunho was observing Bella for the best opportunity to bring up the matter to clarify himself.
I waved at you the other day when you are heading over to the library but you did a u-turn and walked away. Bella faked ignorance, "OH? when was that?"
"When Claire was talking to me and later asked me to dinner."
Bella looked up, startled by the sudden statement. She blinked, her expression unreadable for a moment. "Oh?"
He walked over and set her tea in front of her, then sat across from her, his fingers tapping a slow rhythm on the table.
"I told her no," he added quickly. "Said I'd take a rain check, but… it wasn't a yes. It wasn't even a maybe. Just me trying not to be a jerk."
Bella's gaze dropped to the tea, the faint curl of steam rising between them. "You didn't have to tell me," she said quietly.
"I know," Yunho said. "But I wanted to."
He leaned forward slightly, elbows on the table, trying to find her eyes. "I saw your face the other day. When she touched me."
Bella's breath caught just a little. She hadn't realised he'd noticed.
Yunho continued, voice softer now. "It wasn't nothing. I didn't want you thinking I was blind to it. Or to you."
Bella looked at him. "I trust you. I didn't want to be the kind of person who asked you to explain something that wasn't even your fault," she murmured. "That kind of jealousy is very strange to me."
He reached across the table, his fingers brushing against hers. "I just… wanted to make sure we're okay."
Bella's lips parted, but for once, no sharp retort or clever quip came out.
"We're okay," she said. "But thank you. For not making me ask."
Claire wasn't used to being turned down.
Especially not by someone like Yunho, popular, good looking, charismatic, someone befitting of her. She could usually read people, shift the energy in her favour with a smile or the right comment. But Yunho… Yunho had walls. Not cold ones, just… principled.
And worse, he was distracted. Always looking toward someone else.
She knew exactly who that someone was.
So, when Claire passed Bella in the hallway later that day, she didn't flinch. She offered a warm, unbothered smile and a soft, "Hey," like they weren't circling around the same person with very different intentions.
Bella only gave a polite nod, not stopping.
Claire paused, watching her walk away. Not hostile, but distant. Guarded. Maybe even unsure of her footing.
Claire filed that away.
That evening, she crafted her next step. Nothing too forward but edgy enough to get his attention. She waited until Yunho was alone after class, lingering by the doorway like she hadn't planned it.
"Hey," she said, bright and easy. "Can I ask for a tiny favor?"
Yunho turned, a little wary now, but polite as always. "Sure?"
"I'm working on that group project for literature, Professor Imbert's class? My group's a mess and I remember you mentioned you took it last semester." She tilted her head slightly. "You think I could borrow your notes? Or… maybe just walk me through the structure you used?"
Yunho hesitated. He wasn't oblivious. He knew this was a pivot, less direct than dinner, but more strategic.
Still, he nodded. "Yeah, I have them saved. I can email them to you."
Claire smiled, gracious. "That would be amazing. Maybe I'll owe you coffee or something."
He didn't answer that, but she caught the flicker of hesitation in his eyes. As she turned to leave, she glanced back over her shoulder. "By the way, that rain check? I won't cash it in. Don't worry."
It sounded like kindness. But it wasn't.
It was a challenge.
Later that Week
The library was quiet, the kind of quiet that made thoughts louder. Bella stood behind the returns desk, sorting through a small stack of overdue books with practiced ease. The dusty scent of pages and the soft rustle of turning paper had always been a kind of comfort.
Until today.
She was shelving a book on Korean mythology when Emily appeared, slipping between the shelves with the air of someone who knew she didn't quite belong in a library but was making an exception.
"Look at you," Emily whispered, glancing around dramatically. "Model citizen. Alphabetising your way into heaven."
Bella cracked a smile. "What are you doing here? You haven't voluntarily read anything since we were twelve."
"I read labels," Emily shot back, leaning against the cart. "And texts. Mostly group chats I don't want to be in."
Bella rolled her eyes but didn't argue.
Emily took a long sip, then said, "You seen Claire lately?"
Bella stiffened, just slightly. "Not really. Why?"
"She's been cozy with Yunho again. But not in the same way." Emily swirled her straw in the cup. "Less flirting, more… playing the long game. She asked him for help with notes or something. Group project excuse. Classic."
Bella blinked. "You were there?"
"No. But Chad was. He's in Yunho's class. Said it looked casual, but Claire was leaning in a little too close for someone needing just academic advice."
Bella didn't respond immediately.
"She had the look." Bella paused mid-shelving. "The look?"
Emily watched her for a moment, then added quietly, "I'm not saying she's a threat. I'm saying she thinks she is."
Bella finally met her eyes. "Yunho told me she asked him to dinner."
Emily raised her brows, impressed. "He told you?"
"Yeah," Bella said softly.
"Well… damn," Emily said, impressed. "That's rare. A guy who actually tells you that without prompting?"
"Yeah," Bella said, quieter now. "He didn't want me to have to ask."
Emily's lips curved into a rare, approving smile. "Okay. That's good. Really good."
Emily leaned closer, voice low. "But you're still thinking about it."
Bella glanced down at the empty book cart, fingers brushing along the metal edge. "It's not him I don't trust."
Bella's mind was elsewhere now. The fact that Claire pulling back just enough to seem harmless while still staying hanging around Yunho wasn't lost on her.
She knew girls like Claire. Girls who played the long game and smiled while doing it. She just hadn't thought Yunho would be the kind of person caught in the middle of that.
Maybe he wasn't. Maybe he was choosing her, like he said.
Still… something in her stomach twisted.
That evening, she saw Yunho walking toward the campus gates, earbuds in, backpack slung low on one shoulder. He looked up, caught sight of her and smiled, genuine and warm.
She smiled back, but the quiet doubt still lingered, tucked away like a note she hadn't decided whether to read.
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