Hearts in Harmony || Keesoul

Confusion and Clarity

Chapter 39: Confusion and Clarity

The sun streamed through the classroom windows as Soul sat quietly at his desk, scribbling in his notebook. He was trying his best to stay focused, but Keeho's presence was an unavoidable distraction, as always. Soul glanced out the window, hoping that the calm view of the school courtyard might help him clear his head.

But, of course, Keeho had other plans.

"Hey," Keeho's voice cut through Soul's thoughts as he slid into the empty seat next to him. "You're looking pretty serious over there. Everything okay?"

Soul kept his eyes on his notebook, determined not to let Keeho rattle him. "I'm fine. Just trying to focus."

Keeho leaned in closer, lowering his voice to a soft, teasing whisper. "You sure? You seem a little tense."

Soul's hand froze mid-note, his heart skipping a beat. Keeho's voice had a way of doing that—making him forget everything else, even in the middle of a busy classroom. He cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure. "I'm fine, Keeho."

Keeho wasn't buying it. He grinned, his arm casually brushing against Soul's. "You know, you're really cute when you're all focused like that."

Soul's cheeks turned pink, and he quickly turned his head away, hoping Keeho wouldn't notice. "I'm just trying to get through class," he mumbled.

"Uh-huh," Keeho replied, clearly not convinced. "You can pretend all you want, but I know you like the attention."

Before Soul could respond, Theo walked in, dropping his backpack next to his desk with a dramatic sigh. He sat down in the seat directly in front of them, turning around to face Keeho and Soul.

"What are you two whispering about now?" Theo asked, raising an eyebrow.

Keeho leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms behind his head. "Just keeping Soul company. He looks like he needs it."

Soul rolled his eyes. "More like you're distracting me."

Theo chuckled, clearly amused. "Keeho? Distracting? Never."

Keeho shot Theo a playful grin. "See? Theo gets it."

Theo shook his head, but there was a smile tugging at his lips. "You two are hopeless."

Soul gave Theo a pleading look. "Help me out here?"

Theo shrugged. "Sorry, Soul. You're on your own with Keeho."

Keeho laughed, leaning over to whisper in Soul's ear. "Looks like you're stuck with me."

Soul shivered slightly at the closeness, his mind racing as he tried to focus on anything but the warmth of Keeho's breath against his skin. Why was Keeho always like this—so flirty and close, as if he didn't care about how flustered Soul got every time?

Before Soul could spiral any further, the teacher walked in, calling the class to attention. Keeho finally backed off, though the smirk on his face told Soul that he wasn't done teasing him just yet.

Lunchtime...

Soul sat at the lunch table with Theo, Jiung, and Intak, trying his best to shake off the flustered feeling that Keeho always left behind. Theo had moved on to discussing the latest K-pop songs, but Soul could barely keep up with the conversation.

"Soul, you're spacing out again," Intak said, poking him in the arm.

"Huh?" Soul blinked, snapping back to reality. "Oh, sorry. What were you saying?"

Theo smirked knowingly. "Thinking about Keeho, huh?"

Soul's face flushed bright red. "W-what? No!"

Jiung snorted, shaking his head. "You're not exactly subtle, Soul."

Soul groaned, burying his face in his hands. "Why is everyone always teasing me?"

"Because you make it too easy," Intak replied with a laugh.

Before Soul could protest, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He didn't even have to look to know who it was.

"Hey, guys," Keeho said, his voice dripping with casual charm as he dropped into the seat next to Soul. "What's up?"

"We were just talking about Soul's little crush," Theo said with a mischievous grin.

Keeho raised an eyebrow, looking amused. "Oh? Do tell."

Soul shot Theo a glare. "There's no crush."

Keeho chuckled, resting his arm on the back of Soul's chair. "I don't know, Soul. You've been pretty distracted today. Maybe Theo's onto something."

Soul's heart skipped a beat as Keeho's arm brushed against his shoulder. He tried to focus on his food, but with Keeho sitting so close, it was almost impossible.

"You're doing it again," Keeho teased, his voice low. "Spacing out."

"I'm not," Soul muttered, shoving a bite of rice into his mouth to avoid saying anything else.

Keeho laughed softly, leaning in just enough to make Soul's heart race. "You're so cute when you're flustered."

Soul groaned internally, trying to keep his face from turning an even deeper shade of red. How did Keeho always manage to get under his skin like this?

The conversation continued around them, but Soul was too distracted to participate. Every time Keeho leaned in or whispered something teasing, Soul felt his nerves spark all over again. It was like being trapped in a constant state of flustered chaos.

But somehow, deep down, he didn't mind it.

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