𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐷𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑙'𝑠 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑒 || ᵖᵃʳᵏ ˢᵘⁿᵍʰᵒᵒⁿ

XO

The high school year...

Sunghoon sat silently in the empty classroom, his gaze fixed out the window.

His face was covered with bandages, evidence of the bullying he had endured earlier.

As he sat alone in the room, the silence was abruptly interrupted by the soft creak of the door opening.

Sunghoon turned his head, his heart skipping a beat as the door opened. He knew who it was. Of course, the love of his life.

Hana, holding two cans of their favorite drink, entered the classroom, her eyes meeting his with a gentle smile.

Sunghoon watched as Hana approached him. He couldn't help but smile back at her, his heart racing as she took a seat next to him.

"Here." Hana handed Sunghoon one of the cans, their fingers grazing for a moment.

Sunghoon felt a jolt of electricity run through him at her touch, "T-Thanks..."

He took a gulp of the drink, the cold liquid doing little to calm the butterflies fluttering in his stomach.

Hana took a sip from her own drink as she studied Sunghoon's face, hidden by his bangs, glasses, and bandages too.

Leaning a little closer, she asked him softly. "How are you feeling now? The bruises don't look as bad as last time."

Sunghoon looked at her, his expressions softening as her words sunk in. Her concern for him never failed to touch him.

He cleared his throat before answering, his voice a little husky. "I'm okay... the wounds don't hurt as much this time. Thanks for always being there for me, Hana."

Hana shook her head slightly, a look of disbelief in her eyes. "Of course I won't just sit quietly, Sunghoon. I can't just let them push you around like that!"

Sunghoon chuckled softly at her reply, appreciating her fierce protectiveness over him. "Yeah..."

Hana took another sip of her drink, then fished out a pair of earphones from her backpack.

As she plugged them into her phone, she spoke to him. "Hey, wanna listen to some music? Just to take your mind off things."

Sunghoon's eyes widened slightly, a mixture of surprise and curiosity on his face. He wasn't expecting her to offer to share her earphones with him.

He nodded softly, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. "Y-Yeah... I'd like that..."

Hana looked at him with a soft smile, then carefully plugged one end of the earphones into her own ear and put in the other end into his ear.

They were sitting close enough that he could faintly smell her scent - a mix of sweet perfume and something uniquely hers.

Hana gently adjusted the earphones in his ear, her fingers slightly brushing against his hair.

His heart thumped loudly in his chest, the butterflies in his stomach seemed to be doing somersaults. Their faces just a few inches apart.

Her voice was soft and near as she asked, "Is it fitting correctly?" He could feel the heat of her breath against his skin.

His ears were burning red as he nodded, his eyes meeting hers for a brief moment.

"Y-yeah... it's fine..." He managed to stammer out, his heart skipping a beat again.

Hana's fingers scrolled through her music playlist, landing on a song titled XO.

As the first notes of the song started to play, Sunghoon listened intently. The melody was soothing, the lyrics were too relatable.

Hana glanced at Sunghoon and asked, a hint of uncertainty in her voice. "Is this okay? It's one of my favorites, but if you don't like it, I can change it."

He smiled faintly at her, but deep down, he couldn't help but wonder if she realized the lyrics spoke of a love unspoken, a longing to express more than just friendship.

He nodded slightly, responding to her question, all the while fighting off the fluttering in his chest. "Yeah...I like this song... It's nice..."

Hana smiled softly as she leaned a bit closer, her shoulder touching his. She couldn't help but steal a glance at Sunghoon.

His profile was so attractive, even though it was barely visible through all the stuff on his face.

She found herself studying the curve of his chin, the way his eyelashes brushed against his cheeks.

She thought he looked ethereal, sitting there in the empty classroom, listening to her favorite song.

As the music played, Hana couldn't tear her gaze away from him. The slight smile still visible on his face as he was hearing the song intently.

She wondered if he could feel the lyrics, cuz she had actually chosen the song for him. It was a silent confession, which she would never reveal.

She felt guilty that her heart seemed to be beating a little faster, that she couldn't tear her eyes away from Sunghoon, the way she should be able to if she was truly devoted to Heeseung.

Hana was torn. She knew she was dating Heeseung, the boy of many girls' dreams.

Yet here she was, feeling her heart race as she listened to music with Sunghoon.

She knew it was wrong to have these kinds of feelings for someone else. And yet, her heart would never listen to reason.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☁︎