you still remembered the laughter. sharp and cold, it echoed in your mind even after all these years. sunghoon’s laughter, surrounded by his friends, after you confessed your feelings to him in high school.

"you? in love with me?" he’d said, his voice loud enough for everyone to hear. "don’t embarrass yourself."

it crushed you. you’d sworn that day to never let yourself feel that way about him, or anyone else, again.

but life was cruelly ironic. years later, sunghoon was back, only now the tables had turned.

you first saw him at a friend’s party, standing tall and confident, but his expression shifted the moment he noticed you. his cocky grin melted into something softer, almost regretful. you ignored him.

sunghoon didn’t.

he started showing up everywhere. at the café where you grabbed your morning coffee. at the bookstore you frequented. he even joined your gym, flashing you sheepish smiles as you rolled your eyes and walked past him.

"can we talk?" he asked one day, cornering you outside the bookstore.

"no," you said flatly, pushing past him.

"please," he persisted. "just for a second."

you turned to face him, arms crossed. "what do you want, sunghoon?"

"you," he said simply, his voice almost trembling. "i was a jerk back then. i didn’t know how to handle-"

"spare me," you cut him off. "i don’t care about your excuses. you humiliated me. you don’t get to rewrite the past just because you’ve decided you want me now."

he looked stunned, like he hadn’t expected your words to hit so hard.

"i’m sorry," he whispered.

"good," you replied, walking away.