Hearts Entwined || PpoToz

CHAPTER 17

YOOYEON POV

The next day, Seoyeon approaches me between classes, her usual playful expression replaced by one of concern.

“Are you okay?” she asks, her voice softer than usual.

I can’t bring myself to lie. “No,” I admit, my voice barely above a whisper.

Seoyeon nods, as if she expected that. “Stick close to me, or to Sohyun and Yubin. We won’t let them get to you.”

I hesitate, feeling a wave of guilt. “I don’t want to burden you,” I say, looking down. “I’m sorry.”

Seoyeon shakes her head, about to say something, when suddenly everyone’s phones go off simultaneously. The entire class, including Seoyeon and me, gets added to a group chat.

Curiosity gets the better of us, and as soon as we open the chat, we find a video file. Without thinking, everyone hits play, but none of us is prepared for what happens next.

The video is a leaked footage from my old school. My heart stops as I see myself on the screen. The whispers around me grow louder as the video plays, showing me with two other students, tormenting some poor kids. One of them is brutally beaten, and then... I watch in horror as the version of me on the screen lights a cigarette and burns a girl’s hand with a twisted smile. We’re all laughing, and I look like a complete psychopath.

There are more clips—compilations of us bullying others, our cruelty on full display. It feels like the ground has fallen out from under me, and I’m free-falling with no way to stop.

Seoyeon is glancing at me, confusion and shock evident on her face. I feel Nakyoung's eyes on me too, her usually sweet and innocent expression replaced by a look of stunned disbelief. She doesn’t say anything, but I can tell she’s struggling to reconcile the girl she sees in the video with the Yooyeon she knows.

The rest of the class starts whispering, stealing glances in my direction. The whispers suddenly stop as the teacher walks in, oblivious to the chaos that just unfolded. But I can’t focus. All I can think about is how everything is falling apart.

I sit there, frozen, praying that I’ll somehow make it through the next four months alive.

NO ONE POV

The cafeteria buzzed with the usual chatter, but at their table, silence reigned. Seoyeon, Xinyu, and Nakyoung sat together, their trays of food untouched. The video had only leaked a few hours ago, and the shock still hung heavy in the air. The trio avoided eye contact, each lost in their own thoughts, as the normalcy of lunch hour felt like a cruel joke.

Seoyeon poked at her food absently, her mind replaying the scenes she had just witnessed—the flashes of Yooyeon’s past, laid bare for everyone to see. She didn’t know what to think, what to feel. Her stomach churned, but she kept her expression neutral.

Xinyu broke the silence first, her voice hushed but firm. “Seoyeon,” she began, glancing around to ensure no one was listening. “You need to stay away from Yooyeon. After everything that’s happened… I don’t want you to end up like her.”

Seoyeon paused, her fork midway to her mouth. Xinyu’s words struck her like a blow. The thought of distancing herself from Yooyeon—her academic rival, her reluctant companion—felt both impossible and inevitable. She didn’t respond, her gaze fixed on her plate.

Nakyoung, sitting across from Xinyu, frowned. “You’re overreacting,” she whispered back, her tone uncharacteristically serious. “What if Yooyeon has changed? Maybe all of this happened because she’s trying to be a better person now.”