When the bell finally rang, the classroom erupted in motion. Chairs screeched, bags zipped, voices rose in overlapping chatter. Some students rushed out the door, others lingered in little groups, laughing and making weekend plans.
Ha-jin, however, moved with quiet urgency. He slid his sketchbook into his bag, heart pounding faster than it should. He hated this part of the day — the noise, the glances, the way whispers seemed to follow him even when they weren't about him. All he wanted was to leave before anyone noticed he was there at all.
He kept his eyes down, hands fumbling with the zipper, when suddenly the light around him dimmed.
A shadow stretched across his desk.
Haō-ji
Seo Mina stood there, stretching her arms above her head like a cat after a nap. The movement was casual, unthinking, yet it drew half the classroom's eyes. Boys pretended not to stare. Girls exchanged looks — some impressed, some annoyed.
Mina didn't notice. Or maybe she didn't care.
Her gaze dropped to him, sharp and playful."Running away already, window boy?" she asked, tilting her head.
Ha-jin's throat went dry. The nickname caught him off guard, like she had already claimed a piece of him. He shook his head quickly, clutching his bag strap tighter."I… I'm just heading home."
Mina leaned closer, resting one hand on the edge of his desk. Her presence was impossible to ignore — the faint scent of her shampoo, the glint in her short hair catching the light."Mm, home? Or hiding?" she teased.
Heat rushed to Ha-jin's ears. Words tangled on his tongue, refusing to come out.
And Mina grinned, satisfied with his silence. "Thought so."
The voices around them blurred into background noise. For the first time, Ha-jin realized people were watching — glancing between Mina and him like they couldn't believe she was talking to him.
He wanted the ground to swallow him whole.But at the same time… a strange pull kept him rooted to his seat.
Mina tapped his desk with her fingertip before straightening."Don't disappear too fast, Ha-jin. You still owe me a proper sketch."
And with that, she slung her bag over her shoulder and walked away — as if she hadn't just dropped a storm into his quiet world.
H
For someone who lived in the background, he realized, being seen was terrifying.But maybe… it wasn't entirely awful.