The Whispers (Underworld 6) VK

13: The Broken String

Hansol stormed into the apartment, the door slamming behind him with more force than necessary. His mind was racing, and his body felt tense—too tense for reasons he didn't even understand. He barely acknowledged Chan, who was sprawled out on the couch, watching some late-night show, laughing at the screen. Chan glanced up briefly as Hansol breezed by, noting his friend's unusually tight expression.

"Hey, man, how was the cafe?" Chan called out lazily, expecting the usual nonchalant response.

But Hansol didn't even slow down, his pace hurried as he made a beeline for his room, slamming the door behind him. Chan blinked in surprise, pushing himself up on the couch.

"Okay... What's his problem?" he muttered to himself, wondering if something had happened.

Inside his room, Hansol dropped his bag on the floor and paced for a moment, running a hand through his hair. He could still picture Seungkwan at that cafe, laughing with Moonbin and... his date. That guy, sitting there, making Seungkwan smile in a way that felt way too familiar—way too personal. And for what? It wasn't like he cared who Seungkwan was dating. Right?

Hansol shook his head, trying to push the thought out of his mind. He sat down at his desk, opening up his music theory notes, hoping that maybe studying would distract him. But no matter how hard he tried to focus on the notes, the image of Seungkwan sitting across from that guy kept flashing in his mind. He could almost hear Seungkwan's laugh—sharp and carefree, like he didn't have a single worry in the world.

"Damn it," Hansol muttered under his breath, pushing his chair back with a frustrated groan.

His gaze drifted to the guitar leaning against the wall. Maybe that would help. Music always did. He grabbed the guitar and sat on the edge of his bed, trying to strum a familiar melody, but his fingers were too agitated, too clumsy. His usual smooth playing felt rough, erratic, almost like his emotions were pouring through the strings instead of the music.

As his frustration grew, his playing became more intense, more aggressive. He wasn't thinking about the song anymore—he was just playing, letting the noise drown out the annoying thoughts in his head. But no matter how hard he tried, it didn't help. All he could think about was how annoying it was to see Seungkwan so... happy with someone else.

Snap!

The sudden sound of the guitar string breaking startled him, cutting through the room like a sharp crack. Hansol froze, staring down at the snapped string hanging loosely from the neck of the guitar. He let out a sigh, running both hands through his hair in frustration.

"Great. Just great," he muttered.

For a moment, Hansol just sat there, staring blankly at the broken string. It was stupid, he knew that. He shouldn't care. He *didn't* care. But the more he tried to convince himself of that, the more tangled up his thoughts became. What was it about Seungkwan that had gotten under his skin so much?

There was a soft knock on his door before it creaked open, and Chan's head popped in, eyebrows raised in concern.

"You good, man?" Chan asked, clearly noticing the tension radiating off Hansol. "I heard the guitar string snap. Rough night?"

Hansol sighed, leaning back against the wall and rubbing his face. "Yeah, you could say that."

Chan walked in, hands in his pockets, and gave Hansol a knowing look. "This about Seungkwan?"

Hansol stiffened, trying to brush it off. "What? No. Why would this be about him?"

Chan smirked, clearly not buying the denial. "I dunno, maybe because you came in here looking like you were ready to punch a wall. And that was right after I heard you went to the cafe where someone was on a date?"