Secrets and Lies || Hoonki/Nikihoon

Chapter 23: Locked away

At his locker, Ni-ki rummaged through his bag, searching for his water bottle. His fingers brushed against something crumpled - soft, thin, and worn at the edges.

Frowning, he pulled it out. A few loose pages, fragile and slightly torn at the corners.

His diary.

The cover was long gone, but some entries had survived, tucked away between his books.

His eyes skimmed the words, and for the first time in a while, he let himself remember.

-----

August 17th,

I sat alone at lunch today. Again. Not surprising.

It's wierd- being surrounded by people but still feeling invisible. No-one noticed when I left early. No one said anything, no one asked. I wonder if I disappeared, would they only notice when my seat was empty?

Anyway, it rained today. I liked that. I made a few new artworks too. I guess that's something.

-----

Ni-ki exhaled, his fingers tightening around the pages. He shouldn't care about things that were already in the past.

The words pulled him in, dragging him back to a time he didn't want to remember.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the hallway, Sunghoon and Jake stepped out of the classroom, heading toward their lockers on the opposite side.

Whispers rippled through the corridor the moment they appeared. People always stared when Sunghoon and Jake walked by - admiring, gossiping, speculating.

But Sunghoon wasn't paying attention to any of them.

His gaze was locked only on Ni-ki.

Sunghoon's eyes flickered downward, catching sight of the crumpled pages in Ni-ki's hands. He immediately recognized what they were.

The diary pages.

His chest tightened.

Memories came rushing back like a flood - the heated argument, sharp words thrown like knives, the way Ni-ki's voice would shake with frustration while Sunghoon only smirked in response. The teasing, the relentless jabs, the moment everything shattered.

History. Their history.

And now, Ni-ki stood there, reading through it all again.

"Sunghoon! Jake!"

Sunghoon blinked, snapped out of his thoughts as Heeseung jogged up to them. Jay followed behind, shoving his phone into his pocket.

"What's up?" Jake asked, leaning against his locker with a lazy grin.

"Coach wants to see you guys," Heeseung said, slightly out of breath. "Something about the lineup for the next game."

Jake groaned. "Ughh, already? We just finished class."

"Yeahh, well," Jay shrugged, "unless you wanna get benched, you should probably go."

Sunghoon barely heard them. His mind was still stuck on Ni-ki, the crumpled pages, the past he didn't like to think about.

Jay nudged his shoulder. "You good?"