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yuwon tapped her pen against her notebook, the steady rhythm doing little to calm the storm inside her. she hadn't seen him yet, but the weight of his absence from her peripheral vision was heavy. heeseung was always there—late, careless, with a teasing smile on his lips that made it impossible to stay mad at him for too long. her eyes kept drifting to the door, waiting for him to burst in like he always did, hair a little too messy, tie barely hanging on, as if the world had thrown him off balance and he hadn't cared to adjust.
but today was different.
heeseung slipped into the room quietly, slipping through the cracks of her attention like a shadow. there was no playful ruffle of her hair, no "hey nerd" murmured in her ear to make her heart do that stupid fluttering thing. instead, his voice was subdued, like he was already elsewhere. "morning" he mumbled, not even sparing her a look as he slumped into the seat next to her.
something sank in her chest, like the steady erosion of a cliffside battered by the tide. yuwon stared at her notebook, though the words had long since blurred into meaningless scrawls. she tried to focus, but the bitter taste of regret gnawed at her thoughts. it wasn't supposed to matter—he wasn't supposed to matter this much. and yet, here she was, her pulse betraying her every time he moved, every time his presence felt too distant, too cold.
goddamn it. why was she being like that? girls like kim yuwon don't like guys like lee heeseung, right?
right?
it was etched into her mind—that one time he said they'd make a cute couple, blabbering about how opposites attract. yuwon had never believed it, heeseung always had, though.
"don't be ridiculous" she muttered under her breath, hating the way her voice shook. she shouldn't care. she had made a choice—agreed to go out with yeonjun—but now, the reality of that decision pressed in on her like a weight she hadn't anticipated. what was supposed to feel simple now felt like a misstep in an endless dance of indecision. her gaze flickered toward heeseung, who hadn't looked at her once.
and it hurt more than she would ever admit.
the bell rang sharply, slicing through the oppressive silence that had stretched between them. she gathered her things in a frenzy, not trusting herself to say anything. the usual casual goodbye she gave heeseung was stuck in her throat, tangled with words she wasn't ready to confront. without a glance, she bolted for the door, her steps quick, almost frantic, as if she could outrun the weight of her own emotions.
"yuwon!" yeonjun's voice broke through the haze, but she didn't stop. didn't even slow down. she couldn't deal with him right now, couldn't deal with any of it. her heart raced, pounding against her ribs like a bird trapped in a cage, desperate for release.
