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heeseung had changed.
the space between them in class felt like a chasm, one that grew wider with each passing day. it had been three days since he found out her secret—three long, painful days since the look of betrayal settled into his eyes like a storm, dark and furious. yuwon could still feel the weight of it pressing against her chest. everything about him was different now, though only she could tell.
he didn't sit next to her anymore. instead, he sat across the room, near zahra. yuwon's eyes trailed to the empty seat next to her, the one that used to be his, where he would nudge her with a smirk and mutter, hey nerd under his breath. but now, it remained cold and untouched, just like the silence between them.
she shifted in her seat, trying to focus on the professor's voice, on the words that blurred together into an incomprehensible noise. her fingers drummed nervously against the notebook in front of her, the pages filled with half-hearted notes. she couldn't concentrate. not when heeseung was just a few feet away but felt so distant it was as if they were in different worlds.
heeseung looked like a stranger. his fingers tapped irritably against the edge of his desk, zahra leaned in close to him, whispering something, but heeseung only nodded absentmindedly, clearly not paying attention.
her gaze flicked over to him again, subtle, almost as if she didn't want him to notice. he was sitting stiffly, eyes focused ahead, but there was a tension in his shoulders, a tightness in his jaw. everything about him screamed anger—no, frustration. heeseung was furious, she could feel it radiating off of him like heat from a flame. and yet, even with all that rage simmering beneath the surface, he hadn't said a word to anyone about her secret. not to zahra, not to anyone.
yuwon didn't know whether to be relieved or devastated that he was still protecting her, even though he had every reason to expose her. heeseung was angry with her, hurt by her lies, but something held him back from crossing that line. and somehow, that made it worse. it made the guilt eat away at her like an open wound.
beside him, zahra nudged his arm, leaning in closer, her brows furrowed. "you've been off lately. what's going on?" heeseung barely glanced at her. his response was flat, detached, almost robotic. "nothing."
"really?" zahra pressed, her tone laced with disbelief, followed by a scoff. she knew him well, and well, he's never been the type to care if you're aware that he's lying. "you haven't spoken to yuwon in days. something's definitely up."
heeseung's jaw clenched, his grip tightening on the pen in his hand. yuwon could see the way his fingers flexed, the frustration seeping out in the smallest of gestures. but still, he said nothing. he just shook his head slightly, brushing off zahra's concern with a sigh. "it's nothing, zahra. drop it."
