By lunchtime, Bella had almost convinced herself she was fine.
That whatever had happened on Friday didn't have to mean anything. Maybe it was just a warm afternoon, a beautiful distraction, nothing serious. She repeated that thought in her head like a mantra as she crossed the cafeteria.
That confidence started to crack the second she stepped inside.
Because there he was.
Yunho was sitting with a group of upper-year girls and a couple of guys from the swim team. He was laughing at something someone said, one arm stretched across the back of a chair, head tilted back in that easy, radiant way that drew people in without him even trying. A girl next to him nudged his arm with her shoulder. He smiled at her. Said something back. She laughed like it was the funniest thing she had ever heard.
Bella stopped in the doorway, tray in her hands.
He didn't look her way.
Not once.
"Earth to Bella," Emily whispered, suddenly appearing beside her like she had materialized out of thin air. "You're staring like he broke up with you via interpretive dance."
"I'm not staring," Bella muttered as she moved forward.
Emily narrowed her eyes in that way she did when she knew she was absolutely right. "He didn't text you, did he?"
Bella said nothing.
They chose a table near the windows, but Bella's gaze kept drifting across the cafeteria like a compass that wouldn't stop pointing North.
She told herself she wasn't jealous.
She told herself it was just… the contrast. The way he'd kissed her like she actually mattered, and now he sat there acting like they had never shared anything at all. Like maybe she had imagined it. Like maybe she had made the entire thing up.
"He's looking now," Emily said around a mouthful of sandwich.
Bella didn't turn. "Let him."
"Do you want to go over?"
"No."
Emily leaned closer, her voice a little softer. "Are you okay?"
Bella stabbed her salad with her fork like it had personally offended her. "I'm great."
Yunho's POV
Yunho laughed at something Hana said, though it wasn't actually funny. It was easier to laugh than to think too hard about what he had not done.
The table was full of teammates and a few extra girls who always seemed to orbit whenever a meet was coming up. The noise was loud enough to fill the spaces he didn't want to face.
But every so often, his eyes flicked toward the cafeteria doors.
She wasn't there yet.
He knew he should've texted Bella. All weekend he had thought about it. Something simple like "Had fun" or "Want to hang out again?" He even drafted one or two messages. Deleted them. Wrote them again. Deleted them again. Somehow the longer he waited, the harder it got to reach out.
And she hadn't texted him either.
So maybe she wanted things casual. Maybe it had only been a nice afternoon. That was what he told himself. It almost worked.
Until she walked in.
The second he saw her, everything inside him went too still. She scanned the cafeteria briefly, her eyes landing on him just for a second. One second. That was all.
Then she looked away.
Just like that. Like he wasn't even there. He hated how much that hurt.
Next to him, Hana said something again and nudged his shoulder. He gave her a smile because it was easier than explaining why his stomach had twisted itself into a knot. He didn't even hear what she said.
His eyes kept going back to Bella. She was sitting with Emily now, staring down at her lunch like it had wronged her. She didn't even glance in his direction.
For a moment, he almost got up. He wanted to walk over, sit beside her, tell her he hadn't texted her because he was nervous, because she made him nervous. He wanted to explain that the silence wasn't indifference, it was him being an idiot.
But he didn't move.
Because from where he sat, it looked like she'd already decided to move on.
So he stayed in his seat.
And watched her not look at him.
By Wednesday morning, Bella had officially rationalised everything.
It was just a date.
A good one, sure, a little flirty, a little spark. But one moment didn't mean forever and Yunho hadn't made a move since. Which was fine. Totally fine.
She told herself this as she tied her hair into a neater ponytail than usual. Told herself again when she double-checked her lip balm in the mirror. And once more when she caught herself hesitating at the necklace clasp before tucking it under her collar.
Emily raised an eyebrow over her cereal.
"Still pretending you're not thinking about him?"
Bella rolled her eyes. "Still pretending I have time to care."
She made it through most of the day like that, focused, unbothered, functional.
Except when her phone buzzed and it wasn't him. Or when she passed the swim team bulletin board and slowed down without meaning to.
She caught Yunho in the corridor once, he was talking to a teacher, looking serious. Tall and glowing and frustratingly charming.
He gave her a glance, unreadable as always.
Bella didn't smile. Didn't wave.
She walked right past.
After School
The sun was lower now, school nearly emptied out as clubs wrapped and the final bell echoed faintly across the courtyard. Bella had stayed late in the library, hoping the quiet would help clear her head.
It didn't.
She stepped through the side gate, her bag heavy on one shoulder, when a shadow moved out from behind the pillar near the bike rack.
"Hey."
Her heart jumped before her head could catch up.
Yunho.
Still in his uniform, blazer slung over one arm, tie loose like he'd tugged at it halfway through the day. He looked tired, but not the exhausted kind. The restless kind.
"You waited?" she asked before she could stop herself.
He shrugged, eyes holding hers. "Had a feeling you'd come this way."
Bella didn't reply. She just started walking.
Yunho blinked, then scrambled to fall in step beside her.
She didn't slow down.
"You've been… distant," he said, glancing sideways.
"You've been quiet," she shot back.
"I didn't know what to say."
Bella let out a small breath. "You didn't have to say anything. You just… disappeared."
"I thought maybe you needed space."
"You didn't ask."
He winced slightly. "That's fair."
They walked in silence for a few paces. Her pace never faltered; his lengthened stride had to keep up.
"You've been on my mind, you know," he said after a while.
Bella didn't answer at first. Then: "You had a funny way of showing it."
"I didn't mean to make it weird."
"Well, it is," she said plainly.
He looked at her, really looked, but she kept her eyes ahead.
"I thought maybe you regretted it," he said quietly. "The kiss. The whole day."
Bella's laugh was short and humourless. "Regret? No. But I also don't do games."
"I wasn't playing."
"You were silent."
Yunho stopped walking for half a step before catching up again. "You're right," he said softly. "I messed it up."
A pause.
Bella slowed just enough to glance at him. "So now what?"
He met her gaze. "Now… I try not to mess it up again."
She arched an eyebrow, unimpressed but curious. "Try harder."
A hint of a smile tugged at his lips. "Challenge accepted."