The Conquest (Underworld 5) SH

21: Fool in Love

Soonyoung had been trying—desperately—to get Jihoon's attention for weeks now, but every attempt had ended in spectacular failure. It was becoming a running joke among his friends, especially Nari and Hiro, who watched his increasingly ridiculous antics with a mix of amusement and second-hand embarrassment.

Today was no different.

Soonyoung spotted Jihoon near the vending machines in the campus hallway, headphones on and completely absorbed in his phone, as always. His heart raced just at the sight of him. "This is it," Soonyoung muttered to himself, his eyes gleaming with determination. "This time, he's gonna notice me."

With a deep breath, Soonyoung marched over, rehearsing a cool, casual greeting in his head. Just play it smooth, he thought. Act like it's no big deal. He was about three steps away when his foot caught on something—his own shoelace. In an instant, Soonyoung tripped, arms flailing as he crashed to the ground with an embarrassingly loud thud.

Jihoon didn't even blink.

Face burning, Soonyoung scrambled back to his feet, brushing off the imaginary dirt with as much dignity as he could muster. Okay, okay. Round two, he thought, determined not to give up so easily. He marched over to the vending machine, pretending to be interested in the snacks, even though he was still shaky from his fall.

"Hey, Jihoon!" Soonyoung said, leaning casually against the machine. Or at least, that was the plan.

Except his elbow missed the machine entirely, and he ended up slamming it straight into the wall, letting out a loud grunt of pain. "Ow..."

Jihoon still didn't look up.

Nari and Hiro, watching from a distance, stifled their laughter, exchanging amused glances. "How long do you think he's going to keep this up?" Hiro whispered, trying not to choke on his drink.

Nari shrugged, eyes twinkling. "Forever, at this rate."

Undeterred, Soonyoung rubbed his aching elbow and decided to go for broke. "Alright, time for Plan C." He spotted a water bottle lying near Jihoon's foot— perfect! He bent down to "accidentally" pick it up, hoping for the classic meet-cute scenario. He'd hand it to Jihoon, their eyes would meet, and boom—instant connection.

Except when Soonyoung bent down, Jihoon took a step back, completely unaware of his presence, and stepped right on Soonyoung's hand.

"AAAHHHH!" Soonyoung yelped, clutching his hand dramatically as he shot up to his feet.

This time, Jihoon did glance at him—just for a split second—before calmly returning to his phone, completely unfazed by the chaos happening around him. The look he gave Soonyoung was one of mild confusion, as if wondering why someone was screaming in the middle of the hallway.

Soonyoung, face red from a mix of pain and embarrassment, tried to salvage the moment. "Uh, Jihoon! Hi! I was just—"

But Jihoon's headphones went right back on, and he turned on his heel, walking away without a word, leaving Soonyoung standing there like a rejected puppy. The hallway echoed with the sound of Jihoon's footsteps fading into the distance.

Defeated, Soonyoung slumped against the vending machine. "Why... why won't he notice me?"

Nari and Hiro finally burst into laughter, walking over to their friend, tears in their eyes from how hard they were laughing.