You Belong With Me | Jeongcheol Fanfic

Chapter 10

Later that morning, in the bustling school hallway, Seungcheol and Jeonghan found themselves walking toward each other. The crowd of students, lockers slamming, and scattered conversations created the usual chaos, but for a moment, everything seemed to slow down for both of them.

Seungcheol, his backpack slung over one shoulder, kept his eyes down, not wanting to draw attention. Ever since the bullying incident with Jaehyun, he'd been avoiding Jeonghan, afraid of causing more trouble for either of them. He couldn't handle the thought of dragging Jeonghan into the mess that seemed to follow him.

But as he glanced up briefly, his heart did a flip when he saw Jeonghan walking straight in his direction.

Jeonghan, on the other hand, had been thinking about Seungcheol all morning. Despite telling himself over and over again that he didn't have feelings for him, the moment he saw Seungcheol, his chest tightened, and all those lies unraveled. He had been looking for him without even realizing it, and now, here he was.

Their eyes met—just for a split second.

Jeonghan's heart skipped a beat, and he hesitated, his hand twitching at his side as if he wanted to reach out and say something. His usual confidence faltered, replaced by uncertainty. Should he say hi? Ask how Seungcheol was doing? Or should he just keep walking, pretend everything was normal?

Seungcheol quickly looked away, his pace picking up as if he couldn't get away fast enough. He didn't want to face the awkwardness, the tension that had settled between them after everything that happened. And he certainly didn't want to see the concern in Jeonghan's eyes—the concern that made him feel both cared for and painfully guilty.

Jeonghan watched as Seungcheol hurried past him, his heart sinking a little. He didn't know why, but seeing Seungcheol avoid him like that hurt more than he expected. It felt like the distance between them was growing wider, even though he wanted nothing more than to bridge it.

But instead of calling out to Seungcheol, Jeonghan clenched his jaw and kept walking, pretending like it didn't matter. Pretending like Seungcheol's absence from his life didn't leave a strange emptiness he couldn't quite explain.

As they passed each other in that crowded hallway, it felt like there was an invisible barrier between them—one that neither of them knew how to break.

~

Hansol couldn't help but notice the shift in Seungcheol's demeanor over the past few days. Normally, Seungcheol wasn't the most talkative guy in their group, but he was never this quiet or distant. Ever since that incident with Jaehyun and the way things had shifted between him and Jeonghan, Seungcheol seemed more withdrawn, as if he was carrying the weight of something too heavy for him to bear alone.

During lunch, as they sat together at their usual spot, Hansol glanced over at Seungcheol, who was picking at his food absentmindedly, his mind clearly somewhere else. Dino, engrossed in a conversation about video games, didn't seem to notice, but Hansol couldn't ignore how out of it Seungcheol seemed.

"Hey," Hansol said, nudging Seungcheol lightly with his elbow. "What's up with you, man? You've been kind of... off lately."

Seungcheol looked up, startled by the question. He hadn't realized his friends were noticing his change in behavior. "Huh? Oh... nothing. I'm fine," he muttered, offering a weak smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

Hansol wasn't buying it. He knew Seungcheol well enough to tell when something was bothering him, and this was definitely one of those times. "Come on, Seungcheol, you're acting weird. Is this about Jaehyun? Or is it... Jeonghan?"