criminal love; jungwon

12

Jungwon wasn’t sure when it happened. Maybe it was during one of their quiet walks home, or maybe it was the first time Nanhee smiled at him, a genuine smile that made the world feel a little less heavy. Whenever it was, one thing was clear: he was caught.

It wasn’t obvious at first. They were just friends, after all. Two people who found comfort in each other’s presence. But lately, everything felt... different. Her laughter lingered in his mind long after she was gone. The way her eyes lit up when she talked about something she loved made his chest ache in a way he couldn’t explain.

He was trapped.

Nanhee felt it too. She told herself it was nothing, just a harmless friendship. But every time Jungwon teased her, every time his gaze softened in that quiet, thoughtful way, she felt herself sinking deeper.

She wasn’t supposed to feel this way. Not after everything she’d been through. Not with someone like him—someone who kept walls up even as he let her in.

But love, she realized, wasn’t something you chose. It was something that found you, wrapped itself around you when you least expected it.

And now, they were both ensnared.

They didn’t talk about it. Didn’t acknowledge the shift that had taken place between them. It was easier that way, safer.

Because admitting it would make it real. And if it was real, it could be broken.

One afternoon, they sat on the school rooftop, the city spread out below them. The sky was a pale shade of blue, the air crisp with the bite of winter.

Nanhee hugged her knees to her chest, glancing sideways at Jungwon. “Do you ever feel like... you’re stuck?”

Jungwon leaned back on his elbows, staring up at the sky. “All the time.”

She nodded, her gaze distant. “Me too.”

For a moment, neither of them spoke. The silence stretched, comfortable but charged.

Jungwon turned his head to look at her. “Nanhee.”

She met his eyes, and something unspoken passed between them.

“We’re in this together, right?” he asked quietly.

Her lips curved into a soft smile. “Yeah. Together.”

But even as they said the words, both of them knew the truth.

They weren’t just stuck.

They were in a trap—a trap of love.

And neither of them wanted to escape.