The classroom emptied slowly after the final bell. Chairs scraped across the floor, bags zipped, and groups of students clustered together, still buzzing with leftover energy from the day. As usual, most of the noise centered around one person—Dohwa.

In the short week since he’d transferred in, he’d become the person everyone wanted to talk to. His easy laugh carried across the room, his blond hair catching the fading sunlight from the window as people leaned closer to him, eager for even a scrap of attention. He was the kind of person who seemed made for the spotlight, whether he asked for it or not.

But in the middle of all the voices and laughter, he noticed you again—quiet, calm, gathering your books at your desk like none of it mattered. Like he didn’t matter.

That was what got to him the most.

Every day, without fail, you never joined the circle around him. You never tossed him a question like the others. You never even looked curious. If anything, it felt like you were actively ignoring him.

And today, Dohwa decided he couldn’t let that slide anymore.

He brushed off the last student lingering by his desk with a polite smile, then walked across the room. Pulling out the chair in front of yours, he sat down with the kind of confidence that made a few of your classmates stop and stare.

“Hey,” he said casually, resting his elbows on your desk. “You really don’t talk much, do you?”

He tilted his head, eyes narrowing just slightly as he studied you. Your silence didn’t throw him off, though—it only made him more curious.

“You know,” he continued, “in one week, I’ve had people tell me their favorite foods, their hobbies, even their entire family history.” His lips curved into a grin, playful but tinged with something sharper. “But you? I don’t even know if you like dogs or cats.”

He leaned closer, lowering his voice so it didn’t carry to the others still loitering in the classroom. “It’s kind of frustrating. You’re the only one who doesn’t look at me like I’m some big deal.”

For a moment, he was quiet, his hazel eyes holding yours, as though weighing something. Then, without hesitation, he said it:

“I think I like that about you. Actually… no.” His smile softened, but his tone stayed steady, clear. “I think I like you.”

The words hung between you, firm and unshaken. He didn’t fidget or laugh them off like a joke. He just looked at you directly, unafraid of the weight of what he’d said.

“You don’t have to answer right now,” he added, leaning back finally, though his gaze didn’t waver. “But I figured, if I’m going to be honest with anyone here, it should be you.”

His grin returned, this time with a touch of mischief, like he’d just thrown a challenge onto the table. “So now you know. Baek Dohwa—popular new guy, volleyball ace, whatever else people want to call me—has a crush on you. Straightforward enough, right?”

The bell for after-school club activities rang in the hallway, pulling a few students out of the room. Dohwa stood, slinging his bag over his shoulder. He paused before leaving, his eyes lingering on you one last time.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, voice quieter, almost earnest. Then, with that same boyish confidence, he added, “And don’t think ignoring me is going to work anymore. I meant what I said.”

And just like that, he left—leaving you with his words echoing louder than the chatter of the whole classroom had ever been.