𝑩𝒂𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆, 𝑰'𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒆

[19]

Namra rested her chin against her palm, gazing out the window as the morning sun filtered through the glass. The hum of the classroom surrounded her—quiet chatter, the distant scuff of shoes against the floor, the occasional rustle of paper. She should have been focused on the lesson, but her thoughts were elsewhere.

Sooheon had come early today. That was unusual.

She glanced at him, seated just a few seats away, his expression unreadable as always. He had a habit of looking like he wasn’t paying attention, but she knew better.

It was strange.

She had grown used to his presence, to the quiet familiarity that had settled between them over time. He was different now—less reckless, more thoughtful—but there were still moments when she saw glimpses of the boy he used to be.

The same boy she had once crossed paths with in another school.

Namra lowered her gaze to her desk, fingers tracing the edge of her notebook.

She hadn’t thought about it in a long time. That first meeting. That fleeting moment before she even knew his name.

Yet now, as she sat there, watching him from across the room, the memory surfaced like a whisper from the past.

The first time they met… she hadn’t even looked at him.

Namra never paid much attention to transfer students. They came and went, some blending into the background, others making a loud entrance before fading away just as quickly. She had seen it happen enough times to know that most of them didn’t matter in the long run.

So when she heard about another transfer student coming into her class, she barely reacted. Another face, another name she didn’t need to remember.

She had been on her way to the teachers’ office that morning, a stack of graded assignments in her arms, her mind already focused on the day’s schedule. Her footsteps were quick and precise, practiced from years of efficiency.

And then, as she turned a corner—she bumped into someone.

The impact was sudden but not forceful, just enough to make her stumble slightly. The papers in her arms wobbled, but she tightened her grip before they could fall.

Her shoulder brushed against someone’s chest, her hands tightening instinctively around the stack of papers to keep them from slipping. She froze for the briefest second, the scent of unfamiliar laundry detergent mixing with the crisp morning air.

A presence. Someone tall, standing just in front of her.

But Namra didn’t look up. She never did.

Instead, she took a step back, adjusting her grip on the papers, heart hammering—not from fear, but from the abruptness of it. She could feel the weight of the person’s gaze on her, waiting, expecting something.

She gave nothing.

Without a word, without hesitation, she moved past him, continuing toward the teacher’s office as if nothing had happened.

It was only when she sat at her desk minutes later, listening to the teacher introduce the new transfer student—Ji Sooheon—that she realized.

The boy she had bumped into.

She hadn’t seen his face.

But he had seen hers.

---

In Hyosan High the halls were crowded, the air thick with the noise of students, but despite the commotion, she had always felt alone.

She didn’t have any friends there, not really. There were people she knew, classmates who saw her as the model student—the one who never faltered, who had perfect grades and perfect composure. But no one ever got close enough to truly know her.