"what is love?" 〃 zhang hao

chapter twenty-five

"who were the four people?" hao asked yurim.

"oh them? they're my juniors. jinseo and aein are in visual arts, yumi's in dance and sakuya is in music. they're the same age as yujin, you know," yurim hummed as they took a seat in their respective seats next to each other. 

there were twenty-two seats arranged around a large circular table, with seating organized by grade. each person could choose to sit anywhere in the room as long as they sat next to their fellow class president

yurim chose to seat next to the year two female class president, who happened to be one of her friends.

"hey haesun! and jaeyoon," yurim greeted the two year twos as they nodded at her.

"hi yurim! who's the guy next to you?" haesun asked yurim as yurim sat down.

"oh him? he's zhang hao. the previous class president changed schools," yurim said.

not long after, jinseo walked over timidly. "unnie," she whispered, barely above a whisper, as she sat down on the couch. yurim smiled warmly. "hey, jinseo! glad you're here."

"alright guys, i'm sure that minjin-ssi and i have already introduced ourselve earlier. however, i'm sure some of you guys can see some new faces here, so we'll have everyone introduce themselves. is that okay?" hanbin said as everyone responded with a "yes".

after all the introductions, the meeting finally commenced.

hanbin and minjin called the meeting to order. "let's get started! today's agenda: sports fest planning."

the table was shrouded be an awkward silence as everyone dared to not speak. just then, a small voice was heard.

"i was thinking about having a tag-of-war activity. i remember some of my classmates talking about it," jinseo said as her voice faltered at the end.

"a tug-of-war activity? that sounds fun! it'll also let the older students reminisce their childhood," minjin smiled as she nodded at jinseo's idea. after all, the year fours were ten years older than the grade sixes.

"what about having a talent show at the end of the day? people can volunteer to showcase their talents like, say, dancing, singing and others," someone said said as everyone nodded in response.

"maybe we can have some class presidents be the timekeepers and etcetra? i'm sure we have a lot of class leaders, plus i'm sure some sports people would like to participate in more activities in the sports fest," kyungmi pointed out, with jaehyun and jiayi, two of the sports people agreeing with her.

"i agree with her. i have a friend who told me that his team planned to take part in a few of the activities," hanbin said.

the meeting continued with ideas flowing more easily now, but jinseo remained quiet, listening intently to everyone's suggestions. at one point, jihoon slipped into the room, making his way over to a seat. he gave yurim a playful wink. "cousin, didn't expect to see you running things here."

yurim rolled her eyes, whispering back, "someone has to keep you in line, right?"

as the meeting wrapped up, hanbin glanced around at the class presidents. "i think we're on the right track. let's reconvene next week to finalize everything."

"thank you everyone for coming today. we'll see you guys next week!" minjin said hapily as everyone bowed.

after yurim and hao left the room, hao asked, "you're going to get kyungmin right?"

yurim nodded. "yeah, why though?" she asked.

"oh nothing, i just wanted to follow you," hao said as he scratched his nape. yurim was caught off guard as her face flushed slightly.

"u-uhm yeah sure, let's go!"

જ⁀➴

the pair were now awkwardly standing outside kyungmin's dance practice room, waiting for him to come out. 

"bye guys, see yall tomorrow- yurim noona?" kyungmin stared at them confused.

"hey, riwoo told me to bring you home since he's busy," yurim said.

kyungmin's mouth formed an 'o' shape as he shrugged. "oh alright, let's go!"

as they walked, yurim could feel the tension in the air between herself and hao, but kyungmin seemed blissfully unaware. after a few steps, he started humming a tune, trying to break the silence.

"how was practice?" yurim asked, glancing at kyungmin.

kyungmin grinned. "tiring as always, but i think we're finally nailing the routine! hao-hyung, you should come by sometime and watch us," he said, nudging hao.

hao chuckled softly, trying to hide a hint of nervousness. "yeah...maybe i will. it'd be interesting to see how you guys are doing."

the trio continued walking, with kyungmin occasionally pointing out the most random things on the street to fill the quietness in the room. eventually, kyungmin's gaze bounced between yurim and hao, his grin growing mischievous.

"hey, are you two... you know..." kyungmin trailed off, wiggling his eyebrows.

yurim and hao both turned red, each stammering out their denials in perfect unison, making kyungmin burst out laughing.

kyungmin's laughter echoed down the quiet street, his eyes crinkling with amusement. "oh, come on! you both got so flustered—it's adorable!"

yurim huffed, trying to regain her composure, but the blush on her cheeks betrayed her. "it's not like that," she mumbled, glancing anywhere but at hao.

hao, equally flustered, rubbed the back of his neck. "yeah... we're just friends," he said, though his voice sounded a little too uncertain.

kyungmin held up his hands in mock surrender. "alright, alright, i'll stop teasing." he winked at them. "but just so you know, i've got a pretty good sense for these things."

the trio continued down the street, the playful tension lingering in the air. when they finally reached kyungmin's house, he turned to them with a big grin.

"thanks for walking me home, noona, hyung. i'll see you both tomorrow!" he said, giving them a quick wave before disappearing inside.

now alone, yurim and hao found themselves standing in silence once again, the street dimly lit by the glow of the streetlights.

hao cleared his throat, breaking the quiet. "so... should we keep walking?"

yurim nodded, smiling softly. "yeah, let's go."

they began walking side by side, their steps in sync. the night air was cool, and the distant sounds of the city filled the background. after a moment, yurim spoke up.

"sorry about kyungmin. he can be a bit... intense," she said with a small laugh.

hao chuckled, his shoulders relaxing. "nah, it's fine. he's just curious... after all, he's still really young. and, well, it's not like he's the first to think that," he admitted, glancing at her.

yurim's eyes widened slightly. "oh... really?"

hao nodded, looking down with a shy smile. "yeah... people have mentioned it before. but i mean, if it bothers you..."

she shook her head quickly, her heart pounding a little faster. "no, it doesn't bother me," she replied softly, her gaze fixed ahead.

they fell into a comfortable silence, each lost in their own thoughts, the subtle warmth of their shared moment lingering as they continued their quiet walk home.

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