"what is love?" (zhang hao)

chapter twenty-three

the next lesson was pe lesson, and the two girls were changing in the girl's changing room.

"yurim-ah, was that the zhang hao that you always talk about?" haeyul asked the younger as she changed into her sports uniform. yurim's face was flushed as she tried hiding her shyness.

"uhm yeah unnie, why though?" yurim questioned as she tied her hair into a high ponytail.

"oh nothing, just curious," haeyul simply replied as she stretched her back. "argh, that lecture was so boring, my back hurts. i feel like i'm sixty even though im only twenty."

"maybe it's because you're actually kinda old," yurim teased as she fixed her shirt.

"yah! respect your elders,"haeyul glared at yurim as yurim stuck out her tongue playfully.

"yurim, are you and zhang hao dating?" one of their female classmates asked her as her group of friends followed her.

"huh? no, hao and i are bestfriends ever since we were younger," yurim said wide-eyed. why would anyone think that they were together?

"oh okay, just so you know he is mine," the girl said as she smirked in contempt.

haeyul's gaze darkened as she instinctively took yurim's hand, stepping protectively in front of her. "listen, oh miah," haeyul's voice was low but menacing, "if you do anything to hurt yurim or zhang hao, i won't hesitate to chop off your head."

the intensity in haeyul's glare was enough to make the girl and her friends back away, and as they retreated, yurim squeezed haeyul's hand, grateful for her unnie's unwavering loyalty

જ⁀➴ 

it was the first pe lesson of the semester. it was usual practice for the whole year to have pe lessons together. the lessons typically consisted of warm-ups, followed by an activity, like an inter-class activity.

"okay guys, listen up," mr kim tried to get everyones attention. "get into pairs with someone in your class for the warm-up."

yurim turned around to ask haeyul to be her partner, but before she could say a word, haeyul had already spun around and was making her way to one of their friends.

"renjun-ah! remember, you said we could partner up for pe, right?" haeyul asked brightly, giving renjunan exaggeratedly hopeful look.

"a-ah, yes! yeah, we can pair up," renjun stammered, caught a little off guard, as haeyul threw him a grateful smile.

as haeyul and renjun walked away together, haeyul glanced back at yurim with a mischievous grin, giving her a cheeky wink.

"pair up with your boyfie~" haeyul mouthed, wiggling her eyebrows.

"this motherfucker," yurim sighed to herself.

yurim's face turned a shade darker as her eyes fell on hao, who was standing amidst a group of girls all vying to pair up with him. he looked overwhelmed, clearly unsure how to handle the attention, his eyes darting around until they landed on her.

relief washed over his face as he gently wove through the crowd, making his way toward her with a grateful smile.

"hey, yurim," he said, his voice a little lower, almost as if he didn't want anyone else to hear, "do you wanna partner up? i'd feel a lot more comfortable with someone i actually know."

yurim felt her heart flutter as she nodded quickly, trying to hide her excitement. "of course! i mean... yeah, let's partner up." she offered him a reassuring smile, feeling her shyness fade as she stood next to him. 

with a quick grin, hao joined her side, sending a subtle message to the disappointed girls around them. they moved off to the side to begin their warm-up, and as they stretched together, yurim felt the warmth of his presence beside her, making her cheeks tint with just a bit more pink.

────
[somewhere in the other side of the hall]

"oh my gosh don't they look so cute?" haeyul squealed silently as renjun nodded furiously in response. 

 "i agree i agree! oh god they're so cute i might get diabetes from them. i wish we could take a picture of them right now," renjun groaned jokingly as he continued stretching.

the two of them continued fangirling over the "non-couple", occasionally sneaking glances at them across the gym. meanwhile, yurim and hao were completely wrapped up in their own world, exchanging smiles and laughter as they went through the warm-up— totally oblivious to each other's feelings

୭ ˚. ᵎᵎ

renjun and haeyul are so real omg lol (i'd do the same ngl)
also renjun's a member of nct dream!! i stanned them a lot in the past but not so much now bc i started stanning other groups
also stay tuned for more groups appearing!!
(note: this chapter is actually the last pre-written chapter i wrote so now i need to write more! wish me luck~)

˙⋆★ tokkiluves ୨ৎ ࣪ ˖