My dance teacher is cute | Haobin

33 - Trust Issues

Recommended songs for this chapter:
Loser=Lover - TXT
Heather - Conan gray
Breathin - Ariana grande
Die first - Nessa Barrett
Pity Party - Melanie Martinez

POV: Zhang Hao | MONDAY LATE AFTERNOON

I turned slowly, locking eyes with Ara's cold, cutting glare. Her words echoed in my mind, leaving Hanbin?

"You're an addict, aren't you?" she accused, her voice steady and unforgiving. She stepped closer, arms crossed in front of her like a shield. The sharpness of her tone was enough to make me tense. My brows knit together. So what?

"What's that to you?" I shot back, trying to sound indifferent, stuffing my hands in my pockets. But her eyes, the way they pierced through me—it felt like she could see straight through the front I always kept up. For a moment, I almost wanted to look away. Almost.

"He's dealt with someone like you before. None of us want to watch him go through that again," she said, her voice unwavering. The words cut deep, but I didn't fully understand. Dealt with someone like me?

"I don't know what you're talking about," I replied, confused. I hated that I sounded uncertain.

Ara's eyes widened for a split second before a scoff escaped her lips. "He hasn't told you yet? Guess it's not as serious as I thought," she sneered, a smirk creeping up. It felt like she knew something I didn't—something I should know.

"Told me what?" I pressed, feeling the frustration build. What was she getting at?

"About his ex-boyfriend." The words landed heavily between us. She tilted her head as if it were obvious. "But even if you ask him now, he won't tell you."

I blinked.

Ex-boyfriend? Hanbin never mentioned one. Not once.

Why hadn't he told me?

My chest tightened as the realization hit me. Her words, her smirk—they all began to make sense. That boyfriend was like...me. I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach. Was that why she was so sure I wasn't good for him?

I told myself I'd ask him later, but even thinking about it made me feel sick.

"Anyway, you don't really belong here, do you?" Ara's voice cut through the fog of my thoughts. "Hanbin deserves someone better. Don't you think?"

We both knew the answer to that.

A bitter taste rose in my throat as the doubts I'd been trying to bury surged back to the surface. Hanbin had reassured me over and over, but deep down, I'd never really believed him. It wasn't enough. It would never be enough.

"Hanbin's too nice to abandon you first," Ara continued, her words sinking deeper. "So be the bigger person."

She turned to leave, but the damage was done. It felt like she'd punched me in the gut, leaving me breathless, her words twisting in my head.

Was Hanbin just being nice? Was I just a burden to him? The thought tightened my chest, making it hard to breathe. If Ara could see it, how could Hanbin not?

I felt the shame creeping in, suffocating me. I had been so foolish to think—even for a second—that I could love him, that someone like me could deserve love in return.

I hate love.

Later at the dining table, the silence was suffocating. No one dared to mention what had happened earlier, but the tension was thick, pressing down on me with each passing second. When Hanbin's father returned from work and joined us, I couldn't even look up, pretending to focus on my food.