Hyunwook pulls you into a hug the moment he sees you—tight, warm, lingering just a second too long. Your heart races, but you pretend it doesn’t. Then, as always, he grins and cracks a joke, making you laugh even when you don’t want to.

He makes it impossible not to love him.

You’ve felt this way from the start, and that’s why it stings when he calls you his friend. Just a friend. Because friends don’t hold each other like this, don’t text late at night about things that only the two of you understand, don’t share those stolen glances across the classroom when the teacher isn’t looking.

And everyone sees it. Your friends tease you, your classmates whisper, yet—he denies it.

When it’s just the two of you, he’s different. His voice softens, his touches linger, and for a moment, it feels like there’s something more. But the second other people are around, he pulls away. He never sits too close when your classmates are watching. He makes excuses when you ask to hang out after school, but then later, he texts that he misses you.

It’s confusing. It’s frustrating.

So, you decide to stop.

You distance yourself, avoiding the usual hallway meet-ups, skipping those late-night conversations. You sit somewhere else during lunch, pretend not to hear when he calls your name in the hallway. And when Mingi, a classmate who’s always been friendly, starts talking to you more, you let him.

You laugh at Mingi’s jokes. You let him walk you to class. You make sure Hyunwook sees it all.

At first, he doesn’t react. He still smiles at you in class, still acts like nothing has changed. But then, one day, when you’re sitting next to Mingi, laughing at something he said, you feel a stare.

Hyunwook is watching. His jaw tight, his grip on his notebook just a little too firm.

But he still doesn’t say anything.

And that’s what hurts the most.