"what is love?" (zhang hao)

chapter twenty-two

as they stood outside the familiar campus buildings, the bustling crowd of high schoolers and university students moving around them, yurim and her friends took a moment to soak it all in.

"wow, we're really in our second semester of university," haeyul sighed wistfully, her gaze fixed on the busy campus.

"yeah, the year really has passed by quickly," yurim replied, wiping a fake tear from her cheek for dramatic effect.

the past year had been a whirlwind. there'd been some chaotic moments—like when jinseo was targeted by yujin's fangirls, prompting haeyul and yurim to step in and defend her. and then, there was the whole ordeal with hao. he'd briefly dated someone, only for it to end within a few months, leaving yurim feeling unexpectedly distant from him. they still talked occasionally, but their conversations had grown shorter, and every time, it tugged at her heart.

"i really can't believe it," haeyul added, sharing a quick, playful shake with yurim as gyuri and jinah watched with amusement.

"alright, girls, let's get going," gyuri urged, nudging the two forward.

"let's get going~" jinah echoed, giving them a light push towards their school building.

જ⁀➴

"alright, class, we have a new student here. come in!" their homeroom teacher, mr kim, announced as the door opened and a boy walked in. the moment he entered, the room erupted in excited whispers and squeals from the girls.

"omo, he looks so handsome!"
"ahhhhhh!"
"he's mine!"

yurim, a little irritated by the noise but curious, glanced up. her eyes widened when she recognized the boy standing in front of the class.

"oh—hao?" she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper, but he caught it, locking eyes with her immediately. the air seemed to thicken between them, and neither could look away.

"i see you both know each other," mr kim said, a hint of warmth in his tone. "yurim, would you mind showing him around campus later?"

"uh- yeah, that'll be okay," yurim replied, still in slight shock as she watched hao.

hao bowed politely, his gaze drifting to the class. "hi, everyone, i'm zhang hao, and i'm from china. i hope we can get along well."

"oh my gosh, his voice!!"
"i know, right?"

"thank you, zhang hao. you can sit behind yurim," mr kim instructed, and as hao made his way to his seat, he leaned down slightly, whispering to her.

"i didn't expect to end up in the same class as you," he murmured, his voice carrying a hint of playful surprise.

"i didn't even know you were in korea!" yurim whispered back, her voice barely hiding her excitement and confusion.

"hehe, sorry, we wanted it to be a surprise. let's talk more later, hmm?" he replied with a cheeky smile, and she nodded, feeling her cheeks warm slightly.

for the rest of the class, both struggled to focus, their thoughts fixed on each other.

୭ ˚. ᵎᵎ

so the two of them reunited hehe
also i'll update 2 more chapters(?) today
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˙⋆★ tokkiluves ୨ৎ ࣪ ˖