The campus lounge buzzed with the kind of muted chaos that always showed up before midterms. Low conversations hummed under the constant clack of laptop keys and the hiss from the espresso machine near the counter. The scent of burnt coffee and old paperbacks lingered, heavy with a familiar nervous energy Bella knew too well.
She occupied her usual corner by the tall window, where a soft pool of morning light stretched across her open notebook. Earbuds were tucked in, as usual. To everyone else, she was unreachable. Untouchable. In truth, she just needed the illusion of peace, a quiet bubble where she did not have to be anything to anyone for a little while.
She was halfway through reviewing her notes from Chemistry, An introduction to General, Organic and Biological Chemistry when movement flickered at the edge of her vision. A flash of cream wool. The sharp click of boots on polished tile. Claire.
"Hey, Bella." The voice was bright and casual, like they were old friends and this wasn't planned. Claire was already sitting across from her, uninvited, settling into the seat as if it belonged to her.
Bella blinked slowly. "Hi."
"I didn't know you volunteered here. And keeping up with classes, too." Claire's tone was light. "That's impressive."
Bella offered a thin smile. "It's not that hard. You make time for the things you care about."
Claire gave a soft laugh as she tucked a glossy strand of hair behind her ear. "For sure. Just… not everyone can juggle all that. Especially if you don't have a safety net."
Bella's pen paused. She didn't respond.
Claire leaned forward slightly, voice lowering in that familiar tone people used when they wanted to sound kind but were really gauging the damage. "I heard you're on the Dean's List too. That's amazing. I guess having a scholarship keeps you on your toes, right? Always having to stay ahead."
Bella stared at her page as Claire kept smiling.
"Not that that's a bad thing," Claire continued. "It just means you earned your spot. Some people just coast, but not you. You actually have to prove you belong here."
Bella lifted her gaze, voice calm and even. "Different doesn't mean lesser."
"Of course not. I didn't mean it like that," Claire said, eyes still warm. But her smile stayed sharp.
Claire rose with a graceful sweep of her cardigan. "Anyway, I should go. I have prep to do. I'm interviewing next week for that mentoring program in Yunho's department. You know the one? Super selective. My uncle's on the board, so hopefully it will go smoothly."
She paused, offering one last sweet smile. "If you ever need help with internships or contacts, let me know. I'm sure someone would love your kind of story. The hardworking, self-made type."
Bella said nothing. She didn't blink. She just stayed still, letting the words collect like dust in her lungs.
Claire walked away without looking back.
The silence that followed was not peaceful at all. It rang and rattled like something cracked inside a shell. Bella's gaze dropped to her notebook. One corner of the ink had smudged. She hadn't even realized she was gripping the pen so hard.
She had known Claire didn't like her. That wasn't new. But this was different. Claire wasn't just jealous of Yunho's attention. She wasn't just flirting or competing on the surface. This was about power, about place. A reminder of boundaries Bella had crossed by existing in spaces that were not meant for her. Claire wasn't just trying to steal Yunho. She wanted Bella to feel small. And the worst part was, it was working.
Bella closed her notebook slowly and exhaled. It shouldn't matter. But it did.
The silence left behind after Claire walked away wasn't the comforting kind. It rang in Bella's ears like a leftover echo, hollow and lingering, buzzing faintly under her skin. The lounge around her continued to hum: students typing, cups clinking, muted laughter from across the room. But everything felt far away. She stared at the page in her notebook where the text had blurred into a smear, a bruise of blue ink against off-white paper.
She set her pen down gently.
Her heart wasn't racing exactly, but it wasn't steady either. Just this dull, restless beat that reminded her of the past — of sitting in rooms where she didn't quite fit, of smiling through conversations that felt like tests. Maybe she should be used to it by now. But it still landed differently when the words came from someone like Claire. Polished. Perfect. Untouched by the effort Bella had to pour into everything just to stay afloat.
She inhaled slowly, exhaled. Once. Twice.
Her phone buzzed on the table beside her. A message from Emily sharing about her day and which guy who couldn't take no for an answer and was trying to ask her out for the umpteenth time. Bella huffed a short breath that might have been a laugh. She typed a quick What's New?, then closed her notebook, sliding her things back into her bag with more care than she felt.
She didn't go to class right away.
Instead, she headed to the library. Her literal sanctuary where she regains her inner peace. She checked in with the librarian, offered to shelve a few returns and drifted into the deeper rows. Books didn't talk back. Books didn't remind her of what she didn't have. They just waited to be read.
After a while, the calm returned, in small ripples. She lost herself in the rhythm of putting things back where they belonged. Dewey decimals. Order. Structure.
She was kneeling by a lower shelf when she heard footsteps behind her. Slow. Familiar.
Bella turned, still holding a book. Yunho stood a few feet away, hands in his jacket pockets, watching her with a quiet intensity. His presence carried warmth even before he said anything.
"How long have you been standing there?" she asked, not quite accusatory, just surprised.
"Long enough," he said softly. No teasing today. Just a gaze that searched her face. Concerned. Present.
She tried a small smile. "I'm fine."
"Liar," he replied, and her throat tightened.
He walked toward her. Bella set the book back on the shelf and straightened. Yunho lifted a hand and gently brushed a strand of her bangs away from her face. His fingertips lingered just a moment, as if he could erase the morning with that small touch.
His eyes softened as he tilted his head slightly, like he was seeing something new. "Your hair's getting longer," he murmured. "And… your bangs. You're growing them out?"
Bella blinked and gave a shy little nod, tucking a piece behind her ear. "Trying to," she said. "They keep getting in my eyes, though."
A soft smile curved Yunho's lips. He brushed a strand away with his thumb and tucked it back behind her ear for her. "I like it," he said quietly. "More than you know."
Bella's cheeks flushed, but it wasn't the embarrassed kind. It was warm, real. She felt strangely seen, in a way Claire never could make her feel. In a way only he ever did.
"Was it Claire?" he asked quietly.
Bella froze. "How did you—?"
"There are many people who are more invested in our drama than you think." His voice stayed gentle. "But you don't have to pretend with me."
She wrinkled her nose and replied. "I just… didn't want it to be another thing for you to worry about."
"I don't fix you," he said. "I stand with you. That's different."
The words hit her square in the chest. Unexpected, simple, devastating in the way truth tends to be. She felt her vision blur for half a heartbeat and blinked it back. She hated crying. She especially hated crying here, in a place that was supposed to be hers.
She looked up at that. His eyes were steady. Unflinching. Warm in a way that made her want to collapse forward into him and exhale everything she'd been holding.
So she did.
He stepped forward before she even reached him, arms opening just enough to let her fall into them. She pressed her forehead against his chest. He held her with a firm, gentle strength, with one hand at her back, the other at her nape, fingers threading through her hair in a single slow stroke that nearly made her knees give.
They stayed like that for a long, quiet moment in the aisle where no one could see. She let her eyes fall closed, breathing him in. Finally, she pulled back enough to look at him. He kept one hand on her waist, as if grounding her there.
"I'm okay now," she said quietly.
"You don't have to be okay for me," he murmured.
"I know." She hesitated. "But right now I am. Because of you."
His thumb brushed her cheek once before dropping his hand. He leaned in, kissing her softly, just a warm press of assurance. When he pulled back, she felt steadier.
She nudged him lightly with her shoulder. "Aren't you supposed to be at practice?"
"I skipped," he said without apology.
"You skipped? You? The future Olympic gold medalist?"
"I was needed more here," he said. Then, softer, "I'm allowed to want to be where you are."
Bella kissed him once more, just a brief press of lips. Then she wiped beneath her eyes and blew out a slow breath. Yunho grinned and replied, "Actually, it was postponed cos they mentioned something about pool maintenance but it should be open soon."
"I should get back to shelving," she said. "They'll wonder if I wandered off."
He nodded, then hovered close another second. "You're coming over after school," he said. It wasn't an order. It was an invitation wrapped in care.
She smiled, genuinely this time. "Yeah. I'll come."