Inside the private karaoke room, a Birthday song echoed cheerfully, its melody bouncing off the walls.
A cake sat on the table, candles flickering warmly, their light dancing across the room.
Hai-an clapped along, singing with a bright smile, her eyes never leaving him.
Kwangwoon leaned forward and blew out the candles in one breath.
A soft chuckle escaped him as he straightened, his gaze instinctively finding Hai-an's.
She leaned closer, shoulders brushing his, the distance between them shrinking until it felt intimate, deliberate.
At the corner of the seat, Irina's gift bag rested quietly, forgotten its presence heavy despite being untouched.
Hai-an leaned back slightly, her cheeks flushed, eyes still locked on Kwangwoon.
A thought slipped through her mind, sweet and dangerous all at once.
You're mine…
-
We ended up meeting again.
Kwangwoon walked alone down the street on his way home, eyes fixed on his phone.
When she said she'd stop contacting me…Just thinking about it made my heart drop.
Then another thought surfaced.
But why hasn't Rina contacted me at all?
That wasn't like her not even a message or even a call.Is she hanging out with friends or something?
I should call her.
|Click. Thud.|
The call ended instantly.
Kwangwoon slowed to a stop, frowning."…Huh?"
He tried again.
|Click. Thud.|
Silence.
She hung up right away..? was it a mistake?
He hold his phone nervousness creeping on him.
Let's call her again..
|Click. Thud.|
Huh..?
He stared at his phone with unease.
What the hell..?
-
Inside the classroom, everyone kept glancing toward Irina.
She'd been slumped at her desk ever since class started, her head buried in her arms, completely motionless.
"What's up with Irina today?"
"No idea."
"Is it that time?"
"No… she doesn't look sick."
"It's honestly scarier when she's this quiet."
Two girls approached her desk one wearing sunglasses, the other with short hair.
"Seolhyo, is Rina sick? Shouldn't she go home early?"
She tapped the edge of Irina's desk.
"Or maybe we should take her to the infirmary?"
Seolhyo didn't even turn.
She stared out the window, elbow propped on the desk, cheek resting against her palm.
"She said she's not feeling well."
"Oh my…"
"Just… leave her alone," Seolhyo added quietly.
Out in the hallway, I was with Park Dong's group, Suwon included.
"PUHAHAHAHA!" Park Dong burst out laughing. "You should just run away from home already, lol."
Daegyu. "You should've locked your door,"
Jisung laugh out loud. "I did lock it, but It broke, fuck lol."
We arrive at Seolhyo's classroom and we walk inside.
"Hey!" Park Dong grinned. "Let's hit the snack store! To celebrate Jisung getting screwed ice cream on me!"
Then his eyes flicked toward irina.
"Huh? That one's totally passed out over there."
I followed his gaze to Irina, slumped over her desk.
Then I looked at Seolhyo.
I let out a quiet sigh.
In the end, it still happened. But what could I do? It's not like I could stop that guy from cheating anyway.
"Hey…"
Jinkyung, who was nearby.
Gesture for us to follow her the four of them follow but I didn't.
I stayed behind, my eyes fixed on Seolhyo.
Seolhyo eyes looked tired it seems like she's been crying all night long.
She fixed her eyes on me too, and for a moment, we just looked at each other in silence.
Then, without a word, she rose from her seat and walked out of the room.
I didn't say anything and just follow her.
We headed to one of the advanced classrooms rooms usually kept empty for privacy, since our school only had first-year students and no classes were ever scheduled here yet.
It was quiet, as if abandoned.
The moment we stepped inside, Seolhyo broke.
She pressed herself against me, arms wrapping tightly around my torso, her face buried in my chest.
I felt her shoulders trembling, small shakes she couldn't hold back.
-
"Crazy… she really saw it with her own eyes."
They gathered at the picnic table beside the snack store.
The five of them sat there in heavy silence, the air thick and bitter.
Daegyu let out a sigh."Ha… even I'm shaking. There really isn't a single bastard in this world you can trust."
Jinkyung sitting beside him, staring down at the table."Yeah… how could he do that when he already had a girlfriend?"
"…Damn," Jisung muttered from across the table.
Then he slammed his hand down."And you just watched it happen?! That pisses me off. Just expose him already. What, does being older make him special or something?"
Jinkyung exhaled sharply."Ugh… I seriously wanted to grab him by the neck and end it right there. But I can't.."
Jisung flinched a little at her tone."Then just tell her to dump him. We'll set her up with someone decent. You got anyone in mind, Daegyu? 'Cause I don't."
Suwon, sitting quietly beside him, finally spoke up."Hey… isn't that a bit too soon?"
Jisung turned slowly, eyes narrowing."…Oh? Is it?"
"Yeah," Suwon said quietly. "It's already a miracle she even came to school today."
Jisung clenched his jaw, irritation flashing across his face.
Ever since Suwon had beaten Yang Jinsu in that fight, something in him had shifted a strange, lingering sense of defeat that never quite faded.
Ugh… this guy's giving advice now?
Park Dong lay sprawled at the picnic table, arms folded under his head, staring up at the sky without saying a word.
-
Inside the advanced classroom, two students can be seen hugging each other.
One sat perched on the edge of a desk the other was curled tightly against him, face buried in his chest.
I grit my teeth at the sight of Seolhyo like this.
I've never seen her so vulnerable before, and it leaves me shaken.
I just wrapped my arms around Seolhyo one hand cradling the back of her head, fingers threading gently through her hair, the other resting firmly against her trembling back.
She leaned into me harder, as if afraid she'd fall apart if I let go.
Her shoulders shook, her quiet sobs growing louder, rougher, breaking through the silence of the empty room.
After a while, I carefully lifted her chin so she had to look at me.
Her eyes were swollen and red, lashes clumped together with tears.
I sighed and brushed my thumb across her cheek, wiping away the tear tracks she hadn't noticed."Did you guys confront him after you saw it?"
She shook her head slowly. "I wanted to… but Irina told me not to that she's scared. So we just left."
"…Come on," I said quietly, trying to lighten the weight in my chest. "Why are you crying this hard? It's not like you're the one who got cheated on."
She shot me a sharp glare, eyes still glassy. "What so you'd cheat on me too?"
"What? When did I ever say that?" I scoffed, startled. "I'd never do that."
I leaned in, pressing my cheek against hers and planting a light kiss there careful, gentle.
"You better not," she muttered. "Or you won't even know what hit you."
I laughed awkwardly, patting her back. "Yeah, yeah. That's terrifying."
I glanced at the clock on the wall. "Let's head back. We've been gone for a while class will probably start soon."
She sniffed, then nodded, pulling herself together.
When she stood in front of me, I reached up to fix her hair, smoothing down the messy strands, wiping the last tear stains from her cheeks and straightening her wrinkled uniform.
I gave a small grin. "Heh… you look like a mess."
A soft laugh slipped from her lips, fragile but real, and with that, we stepped out together, heading back toward class side by side