˗ˏˋ you fell, but he fell harder ‥

it started with quiet glances across the classroom.

you were always tucked behind a book, fingers scribbling down notes faster than anyone else could blink. no one really noticed you — except for your teachers, who adored your top scores, and the few classmates who borrowed your homework but never your time.

then there was sunghoon.

cold eyes. perfect hair. every hallway seemed to freeze when he walked through. he didn't talk much, but when he did, everyone listened. he wasn’t just popular — he was untouchable. girls clung to every move he made, and he acted like none of them were worth his attention.

you thought he never noticed you.

until he did.

you bumped into him one morning, your books flying everywhere. he didn’t walk past like you expected. instead, he knelt down, gathering your papers — holding one a little longer than necessary, his eyes scanning your notes.

"you’re smart," he said, voice low, "too smart to be invisible."

from that day, things changed.

he’d wait outside your class sometimes. not every day. just enough to make your heart skip. he sat next to you during group projects, offering help when he clearly didn’t need to. he’d steal your pens just to see you get annoyed, but always give them back with a rare smile.

his fangirls weren’t happy.

they whispered when you walked past. some “accidentally” bumped into you. others warned you — told you not to get too close. but sunghoon? he just pulled you closer.

"ignore them," he’d mutter, eyes flickering with something dangerous and protective, "they don’t matter. not like you do."

and somewhere between shared earbuds in the library and late-night texts about constellations and calculus, you realized you were falling for him.

but what you didn’t know — what sunghoon would never admit out loud — was that he had already fallen for you as well. harder.