𝗨𝗡𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗞𝗘𝗡 | park sunghoon. ✓

▎022

☂︎

SARIM sat cross-legged on the wooden tiles of her room, her fingers tapping lightly on her pencil as she finished up her homework. The soft ticking of the clock on her wall filled the quiet space, grounding her in a familiar routine. Suddenly, her phone buzzed, cutting through the stillness. She glanced over, her brow furrowing slightly, and saw a message from Shuhua lighting up the screen.

"heyy sarim, do you want to go for boba in 40 minutes?"

A small smile tugged at the corner of Sarim's lips. It wasn't often she got invited out, especially outside of school. The thought of hanging out with Shuhua felt like a nice change of pace, a break from her usual solitude. Without much hesitation, she typed a quick reply:

"Sure, see you soon shu!"

She stood up and wandered to her small, cluttered desk, pulling open the drawer to search for some cash. After rifling through a few old receipts, she found a couple of crumpled bills — it was just enough for one bubble tea.

As she scanned her brown and small wardrobe, Sarim bit her lip. There wasn't much to choose from, but she still wanted to look presentable. After a moment of deliberation, she settled on a soft, oversized sweater paired with her favorite jeans. The outfit was pretty comfortable, yet it looked like she had put in some effort. She tugged at the hem of the sweater, checking herself in the mirror, before heading out.

As she walked down the street to meet Shuhua, the cool winter breeze brushing against her face, her thoughts drifted. She realized she had never really spent time with anyone outside of school—making friends had never been easy for her, to be exact she never had any. But Shuhua was different. She was easy going, fun, and didn't push Sarim too far out of her comfort zone.

When she reached the corner, Shuhua was already there, waving energetically. Dressed in an oversized blue hoodie and black pants, her long black hair tied neatly into a ponytail, Shuhua looked so effortlessly pretty.

As they started walking together, Sarim felt the casual, comfortable energy settle between them as they chatted about school and random topics.

But as they neared the boba shop, Sarim's steps slowed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something—or other, someone—that made her stomach twist.

Sunghoon. And beside him was his best friend — Nayu. They were walking closely, much too close for her liking. His arm brushed against hers as they walked, and from the way they laughed together, it seemed like they were in their own little world.

Sarim's chest tightened. Are they a couple? Does Sunghoon like
Nayu? The thought pierced her mind before she could stop it. She swallowed hard, trying to ignore the sharp pang of jealousy that flared up inside her. Why does it even matter to me? she asked herself, but no answer came. She didn't have feelings for Sunghoon... did she? She quickly pushed the ridiculous thought away.

Shuhua, still deep in conversation, hadn't noticed the shift in Sarim's mood. But Sarim could barely focus on anything her friend was saying. Her eyes kept drifting back to Sunghoon and Nayu, and with each glance, that sinking feeling in her gut grew worse.

As they walked past the pair, Shuhua finally seemed to pick up on Sarim's sudden silence. She nudged her gently. "Hey, girl, are you okay?" she asked, her voice laced with concern.

Sarim blinked, forcing herself to look away from Sunghoon and Nayu. "Y-Yeah, I'm totally fine," she mumbled, the lie slipping out too easily. She didn't want to make a big deal out of it, especially not in front of Shuhua.

They reached the boba shop a few minutes later, and after ordering their drinks, they found a small table by the window. The conversation shifted to lighter topics—school, teachers, Shuhua's favorite boba flavors—and for a while, Sarim managed to shake off the strange, lingering feeling in her chest. She laughed at something Shuhua said, taking small sips of her boba, grateful for the distraction.

But then, out of nowhere, Shuhua leaned in slightly, her tone casual but curious. "By the way," she began, her eyes flicking toward Sarim with a knowing look, "I think Sunghoon and Nayu might be together. I heard they're best friends but they're always so close, you know?"

Sarim froze, her heart skipping a beat. She kept her expression as neutral as possible, though she could feel her pulse quicken. "M-Maybe," she said with a small shrug trying to act indifferent. "I don't really know..."

Shuhua raised an eyebrow, clearly not convinced. She took a sip of her boba, her gaze still on Sarim. "Do you like him?" she boldly asked, her voice light and teasing.

Sarim's face immediately grew warm. "What? No, it's not like that," she replied quickly, a little too quickly. Her heart thumped loudly in her chest, betraying the calm front she was trying to maintain. Do I like him? The question gnawed at her, but she refused to think about it any further.

Shuhua laughed softly. "Okay, okay, no need to get defensive. I was just curious," she said, smiling. "You just seemed a little distracted back there, that's all."

Sarim forced a weak smile, but inside, her thoughts were spinning. Why does it bother me so much? The idea of Sunghoon and Nayu being together made her chest tighten in a way she couldn't quite understand. She didn't want to care, but the jealousy gnawed at her, refusing to be ignored.

As the conversation drifted to other topics, Sarim tried to stay engaged, but her mind kept wandering back to Sunghoon. She stared down at her boba, the ice clinking softly against the cup, trying to figure out why seeing him with Nayu bothered her so much. She couldn't stop thinking about the way sunghoon walked really closely to Nayu.

He probably just spent time with me because he pities me, He probably likes Nayu. Or maybe they're even a couple, she thought to herself.