LETTER [정원]ᴇɴ⁃

7

JUNGWON – POV

I know, right? Why am I so curious about her? She's not even my girlfriend. Not even my friend.

But lately, she keeps appearing in my thoughts.

Her face feels familiar, like I've met her before.

Sunoo talks about her a lot. The other members too. He even brought her up when we were heading back to the dorm after our last showcase.

I looked down at her hairpin in my hand, then glanced over at Sunoo.

Maybe I should ask him to return it. He seems close to her anyway.

Before I could say anything, Sunoo snapped me out of my thoughts.

"What about the letter? Did you get one today?"

I quickly hid the hairpin from his sight.

The letter. Right. It hit me that I hadn't received one today from that strange girl. For the first time in a while nothing. It felt odd.

Sunoo chuckled to himself and went back to his phone. A few moments later, the others returned with food.

"This is delicious!" Jay said, happily stuffing his face before feeding a bite to Niki like a kid.

"Sunoo, did you go to the café again?" Heeseung asked.

Sunoo nodded, holding up his coffee with a playful grin.

"Did you see Soo Ah?"

Sunghoon asked, and my attention snapped to them.

"I didn't see her today. Her friend said she's got a fever," Sunoo replied.

"Then text her. Ask how she's doing. Maybe it'll help her feel better,"

Jake suggested, with Niki nodding in agreement.

But Sunoo only smirked.

"Just let her rest. I already messaged her about what happened at the café."

"What happened?" I asked.

"Lee Hana fainted earlier. Soo Ah probably went there to check on her."

The moment I heard those words, I stood up without thinking and rushed out of the practice room, running to the café as fast as I could.

⸻

I pushed the door open, breathless.

"Jungwon..." a soft voice called out.

I stopped.

"Hana..." I said, eyes landing on her pale figure holding a bottle of medicine.

She looked weak, clearly unwell.

"Where is Soo—"

Before I could finish, Hana suddenly threw her arms around me, hugging me tightly.

"Are you worried about me?"

she whispered.

"It's okay. I feel better now that you're here. It reminds me of how we used to be."

I gently tried to pull away, but she hugged me tighter.

"I'm Soo Ah..."

a voice came from the doorway.

Hana quickly let go. I turned and saw her.

Soo Ah.

She stepped back when I stepped forward.

"I'm sorry for interrupting. I didn't mean to disturb your moment,"

she said with a small smile, then turned to leave.

Hana grabbed her hand, stopping her.

"Soo Ah, please. I never meant to lie to you. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"It's fine. You don't have to care about my feelings anymore,"

Soo Ah replied calmly. She looked at me again, offered a final smile, then walked out.

And then, she bumped into someone.

"Kim Sunoo..."

she mumbled, surprised just like I was.

He reached for her hand.

"Let's go,"

he said, leading her away without another word, leaving Hana and me standing in silence.

⸻

SOO AH – POV

Why do I always end up seeing them together? Why does it hurt this much? My heart feels like it's being ripped apart every time.

I looked at Sunoo, still holding my hand as he pulled me away from the café.

As strange as it was, I was relieved he came when he did.

"Control your emotions next time. If he notices, everything could fall apart,"

Sunoo snapped. He let go once we were alone.

I stared at him, confused. Why did he even care?

"What's wrong with you?" I asked.

"You're so reckless. I was trying to help you. Do you want me to just tell Jungwon the truth?"

"I..."

"Fine." He turned to leave.

"No, wait!" I grabbed his hand, desperate.

"Please don't. I'm begging you."

He sighed.

"Then what are you doing here? You should be resting if you're sick. Are you trying to push yourself until you collapse? Why are you so worried about Hana? She has someone else now."

"I'm not sick. I just don't feel well."

I smiled weakly.

"I was really worried about you," he said.

"But you just smiled like nothing was wrong."

I froze.

"What?"

"I said I'm worried about you."