Bella walked through the hallway with a small, unshakable smile still lingering on her lips.
The soft hum of early morning chatter, the clatter of locker doors and footsteps, all of it felt strangely muted, like background noise to the reel playing in her mind. The water. His hands. That look in Yunho's eyes just before she kissed him again. It played back in soft, golden flashes, her body still humming with the kind of electricity that didn't fade with sleep.
She hadn't expected to feel like this, light, unguarded, almost… buoyant.
It made the fluorescent-lit corridor seem a little less harsh. Even the usual weight of her tote slung over one shoulder didn't bother her.
She reached her locker, twisting the combination open without thinking.
And then the door swung open. And the sound that followed wasn't her books sliding or papers settling. It was a wet, thick splash.
For a second Bella didn't even register what she was seeing. Water poured out instantly, cold and discoloured, soaking right through her skirt and splattering onto her shoes. It hit the floor in a spreading puddle. Her notebooks were bloated, dripping. Handouts stuck together like some kind of papier mâché disaster. Even the edge of her planner sagged like a wilted flower, ink bleeding down the pages like threads of blue tears.
Bella stood frozen.
Her fingers twitched at her sides, helpless. The sharp scent of chlorine hit her nose, mingling with the faint mildew of paper gone to rot. Someone had done this. Deliberately.
The euphoria from the night before dissolved in an instant.
No, it didn't just dissolve, it curdled.
Bella took one shaky breath and crouched down, trying to salvage a few things. Pages fell apart in her fingers. She swallowed hard, blinking down at the mess as if it might somehow rearrange itself. Fix itself. But it didn't. It just sat there, dripping onto the tile.
Her chest tightened.
Who would, ?
But she already knew.
Bella's jaw tightened as she stared down at the dripping mess.
Only one name came to mind: Hana.
Bella clenched her jaw, chest tightening. She'd seen the way Hana watched Yunho during lunch, how her laugh got louder when he walked by, how she always managed to linger near him after swim meets, flipping her hair like she was auditioning for a shampoo commercial.
And last week, after practice, Bella remembered it now, when Yunho had walked her to class, Hana had watched from a distance with a too-bright, too-perfect smile that didn't reach her eyes. She had excused herself soon after with a flip of her hair.
This felt like something she'd do.
It felt petty. Mean. Personal.
Bella clenched her fists at her sides, throat tightening with a mixture of fury and humiliation. It wasn't just about the ruined books, it was the message behind it. You don't belong with him. Stay in your lane.
But as she bent down to salvage what she could, something made her pause. A harsh laugh bubbled up before she could stop it. Of course this would happen now, right when her life was actually starting to feel bright.
The way the water smelled, sharp, chemical, unmistakable.
Chlorine.
From the pool.
Bella stared harder at the mess, her soaked notes falling apart in her hands. This wasn't from someone sneaking in with a water bottle or shoving snow through a vent. This was deliberate, but… it wasn't Hana's style. She was loud, obvious, all glitter gloss and group laughs.
This? This was quiet. Clean. Calculated.
And whoever had done it had access to the swim area. Swim team members. Some of them stayed late. Some of them… didn't like her at all. Her mind flashed suddenly to a handful of girls from Yunho's relay squad. The ones who always gave her looks whenever she appeared at practice. Whispering. Passive little smirks.
Bella straightened slowly, heart thudding for a different reason now. Bella's chest tightened again, but now it was something colder. The memory of Yunho's hand in hers last night felt so far away, blurred behind this fresh shock of betrayal. Whoever did this wanted her gone.
Hana had a loud mouth, but she'd never been near the pool unsupervised. Not like some of the others. Not like,
She cut herself off.
Her stomach turned.
No. It couldn't be.
But the idea rooted itself in her anyway, unwelcome and unsettling. And suddenly, the memory of Yunho's hand in hers, the warmth of last night, felt far away, blurred by the sharp, bitter taste of doubt.
She stepped back from the dripping locker. Feet wet. Hands shaking. She could hear whispers behind her now, the sound of students stopping, murmuring as they passed.
"Was that her locker?"
"Ew, is that pool water?"
"Who would even…?"
Her ears rang.
Bella closed the locker quietly, even though water kept seeping from the sides. She didn't look at anyone. Just stood there, trying to keep her breathing steady.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket.
She pulled it out with trembling fingers.
Yunho: Good morning. Already heading to class? I want to find you before the bell.
Her eyes blurred for a second as she stared at the screen. She could almost picture him, probably just a hall or two away, walking with that calm confidence, probably hoping to hold her hand again, maybe kiss her cheek.
Her throat tightened again. She could not let him see her like this. Wet shoes, ruined books, eyes burning with embarrassment. She could not drag him into this mess. Not when she didn't even know who did it. Not when it might be someone on his team.
She wiped her eyes quickly and typed back.
Bella: I'll meet you at lunch. Something came up.
Her fingers hesitated. She erased the message. Typed again.
Bella: Running late. Tell you later.
She hit send before her doubt could stop her.
Then she took a slow breath and started gathering the wet remains of her textbooks into her arms, dripping water onto the tiles with every step toward the trash bin.