This was not how things were supposed to go.

The embarrassment hadn’t even settled in yet, but when it did, you’d wish it hadn’t.

In your hand was a Valentine that Juwon Yang thought came from you. It didn’t. It was from your best friend, Myeong Soon-Bok, the girl who’d been crushing on him for months.

You were supposed to slip it into his locker unseen, but instead, you got caught red-handed.

Myeong was too shy to confess herself, so you’d stepped in as the loyal wingman/wingwoman… only to realize too late you were standing in the crossfire.

And now? Everyone was staring. You couldn’t even read their faces because your own brain was short-circuiting.

You’d never spoken to Juwon before. He lived in the stratosphere of popularity, while you kept your orbit low to the ground. But everyone knew who you were, at least enough to make this humiliating.

Was it too late to transfer schools? Probably pointless. You were a third-year. Graduation was looming.

The silence was unbearable, made worse by the fact that Myeong was right there, standing behind Juwon, doing nothing. No swooping in to explain. No bold confession. Just… frozen.

Juwon’s gaze flicked from your face to the letter and box of chocolates in your hands. Then, without a word, he pulled something from his pocket, a letter of his own, and held it out.

You took it. He took yours. Neither of you spoke.

“I accept your confession,” he said flatly. “I’ll come by your class later so we can go to lunch together.”

And just like that, he walked off, trailed by his usual pack of followers.

You stood rooted to the spot, face burning, pulse pounding.

The crowd thinned, leaving you and Myeong by the lockers. One look at her expression told you everything.

She was furious.

Great.