sunk-cost fallacy. ᵖˢʰ

ten.

The hallways look crazier than usual. It's filled with maroon ribbons and tiger origamis hanging all across the hallways. Even dried red roses are hanging on the stair railings.

There's endless student posters gallowing on the walls, including Jake's that says 'Making The World Better Since 2002! Vote for SIM JAKE from Class 12-A Now And Get a FREE Polaroid of Him!'

Chanelle makes her way through the overly spread out hallways that leads to the room where most of the prefects held their meetings. Stay after school today, meet me at the conference room after your classes, his text says an hour ago.

As she's approaching, she sees Heeseung coming out of the room with an opened laptop in his hands. He smiles when their eyes lock.

"Here for Sunghoon?" He asks, closing the door. When Chanelle nods, he simply hums and steps aside. It's a silent welcome. "He's inside."

"Right, thank you," Chanelle says, reaching out for the door handle. She watches as Heeseung walks up the stairs that lead to where the second years' classes are located. Weird, but it's not her place to question him.

Without thinking much, she pushes open the door and pauses in the doorway. Sunghoon's back is facing the door, so he can't really see her walk in.

He's seated on the u-shaped desk, dark brows furrowed slightly in concentration as he types away on his laptop. The top button of his white school shirt is undone, his sleeves rolled up to reveal the lean muscles in his arms.

Soft afternoon sunlight streams through the open window beside him, bathing his perfect features in gold, and as if the whole scene isn't dramatic enough, a light breeze drifts in and runs its fingers through his hair like this is some goddamn K-pop music video.

It makes sense that he doesn't even turn around when Chanelle opens the door, because apparently he's got AirPods in, probably listening to a Justin Bieber song or something.

She watches him in pure fascination. It's so hard to ignore the fact that this guy is so, so handsome. And the fact that Chanelle has the opportunity to look at him at such close proximity still gags her up until now.

Then suddenly, he tugs his AirPods out and spins around. Panic floods through her veins when she realises she's been smiling like a lovesick fool the whole time she's watching him from a few steps away.

"Chanelle?"

"Hi," she says, walking towards him as Sunghoon pulls on the chair beside him and urges her to take a seat. "How did you know I'm here?"

"I feel you," he says smoothly, lifting his left hand to stroke the loose tendrils of hair behind her ear with nothing but gentleness. "How's your day?"

"Good," she mutters, then rolls her eyes when the annoying thoughts come back in. "Then Mr. Smith ruined everyone's day by saying only 10 of us got full marks on his maths test yesterday."

Sunghoon takes one of his White Rabbit milk candies next to his laptop and peels off the white-and-blue wrapper with his slender fingers and hands it to her.

Chanelle pops it in her mouth as Sunghoon says, "I'm sure you're one of the 10 people."

"Why did you ask me to come here anyway? I thought students other than prefects and teachers aren't allowed to be in this room?"

"Chanelle, this is one of the perks of dating a prefect," he says, the corner of his mouth lifts up in an expression so smug she swears she would've punched him in the face if this happened a month ago.

Instead, Chanelle rolls her eyes. "Asshole."

"Been a while since I heard you call me that," Sunghoon grins, simply snapping his laptop shut. And then, against all odds, his eyes softened. "I'm sorry I didn't go to lunch with you today."

"It's fine, I missed eating lunch with Jia too."

Sunghoon hums. He crosses his arms and lets his head fall back—showing his adams apple. He squints his eyes as if he's been staring straight into his laptop for hours now. He looks a bit exhausted too, now that Chanelle is close enough to look at him.

"Are you alright?" she asks, brows knitted together.

He nods. "Just tired."

"Should I leave then?"

"No," he says, still with his eyes closed. "I just... want to see you so bad today but there's just so much to prepare for the upcoming election."

Chanelle feels her heart slumps. There's just no way he said that. They're... friends, though the constant ache in her chest tells her it somehow has gone far beyond that at this point.

She knows ignorance isn't bliss, but God, Chanelle wants nothing but to pull him closer to her. She scoots closer and reaches for his hands. Sunghoon opens his eyes and looks at her. She sees nothing but tiredness in his eyes.

"Will it make you feel better if I stay?" she asks, carefully choosing her words.

"Mmm," he replies, then leans in so that his forehead rests gently on Chanelle's shoulder. Then he sighs, "I really, badly want to kiss you right now. Fuck, you even smell so good."

Perhaps it's the drowsiness that speaks for him, but Chanelle tilts her head to the side to let him make a home for himself in the crook of her neck.

"Please." he whispers against her throat.

"Well, kissing you would be a cataclysmic mista—"

And his mouth is on hers before she even got the time to finish her words. Chanelle's lips part for him naturally—with no hesitation in the glide of his tongue against hers.

She loops her arms around his neck as he kisses her harder, sucking on Chanelle's lower lips. His kisses are so deep she almost loses herself in it.

Sunghoon slides his lips to her jaw and neck, and Chanelle gasps when he softly kisses the sweet spot on her collarbone.

It's everything that she wants, but then she slowly pushes him away. This isn't normal. And it'll never be normal. They just fucking broke the last rule, and probably the most important rule out of this whole 'fake dating mission'.

Silence ices over them as Sunghoon stares at her with ragged breaths, "That was..."

"A blunder," she finishes the sentence for him.

Sunghoon's jaw clenches before he looks away, "Right. A blunder."

"We don't have to talk about this ever again, if you want to. I'll pretend it never happened," Chanelle says, ignoring the way her chest tightens.

He nods, opening his laptop again without sparing a glance at her. "Sure."

It's for the best. It's easier to act like nothing ever happened. But as she keeps on convincing herself it was all a mistake ruled by their own drowsiness, she realises one thing.

There is no deadly trap than the one you've set for yourself.