Lunch break had started out the same as most days — noisy cafeteria, clusters of friends chatting over trays of food, and Chloe commandeering the best table in the room. Ha Joon had gotten used to the rhythm: Chloe would talk his ear off, Sabrina would listen quietly, and he'd chime in when it felt right.
Today, though, Sabrina was… different.
She sat stiffly across from him, fiddling with her fork, eyes flicking between him and Chloe as though trying to decide if she should speak up. Her mouth opened once, then shut again.
"You've been quiet," Ha Joon finally said, leaning on his palm. "That's… not your usual."
Sabrina blinked, startled. "Do you even think of me as a friend?"
That made him sit up straight. "What?"
"I mean, you talk to Chloe all the time. We barely interact. I'm just… there."
Chloe made an offended noise. "Excuse me? Of course he thinks you're a friend—"
"With you," Sabrina clarified, pointing her fork toward Ha Joon. "I don't think we've ever had a proper conversation."
Ha Joon sighed softly, guilt creeping in. "I… didn't mean to make you feel that way. I just thought you were more reserved — that you wouldn't like my, uh… way of doing things. So I gave you space."
Sabrina's eyes softened but she still looked wary. "I thought you just didn't like me."
He smiled faintly. "If I didn't like you, I wouldn't be sitting here right now. You're quieter than Chloe, yeah, but that doesn't make you any less of a friend. Honestly, you're one of the few people who doesn't exhaust me."
The corner of her mouth twitched upward. "That's probably the nicest thing I've heard all week."
Chloe, deciding the moment needed her stamp of approval, looped an arm through each of theirs. "Well, now that you've cleared up the silly misunderstanding, I'm declaring us officially my top-tier trio. End of discussion."
Ha Joon chuckled. "Fine by me."
---
By the time lunch neared its end, Ha Joon slipped out for fresh air. The courtyard was lively — a basketball game in full swing, groups sitting under trees, laughter and chatter carrying on the breeze.
He leaned against the low stone wall, letting his mind wander, eyes tracking the arcs of the basketball players without really watching. His thoughts drifted, unfocused…
"Ha Joon! Look out!" Chloe's voice sliced through the noise.
He barely had time to turn before a basketball hurtled toward him.
A strong hand intercepted it mid-flight. Luka stood there, casually spinning the ball once before tucking it under his arm. "You okay?"
Ha Joon's heart skipped. "Y-Yeah… I just zoned out."
"Could've been a nasty hit," Luka said, brows furrowing. "Let's get you checked out just in case."
Ha Joon started to protest, but Luka was already guiding him toward the nurse's office, a light touch at his back that sent an embarrassing warmth creeping up Ha Joon's neck.
---
The nurse gave him a clean bill of health, and they walked back toward the courtyard together.
"You really should pay more attention," Luka said, glancing at him with a half-smile.
"Guess I'm guilty of daydreaming," Ha Joon admitted.
"Deep thoughts?"
"Something like that," Ha Joon replied, sneaking a look at him. "You play basketball?"
"Sometimes. But music's my real thing."
Ha Joon grinned faintly. "Figures. You've got 'plays for the melody, not the crowd' written all over you."
Luka laughed under his breath. "And you? You seem more like a stage guy."
"Used to be," Ha Joon murmured. "Now… I'm figuring things out."
There was something in Luka's quiet look that made Ha Joon want to keep talking — but the moment broke when a scream rang out from the other end of the courtyard.
---
Chaos erupted. Alya — or rather, Lady Wifi — was zipping between students, tapping her phone and freezing them mid-motion. People ran in all directions.
Ha Joon caught sight of Luka just as the beam hit him, freezing him in place mid-step, ball still tucked under his arm.
"Luka!" Ha Joon's voice cut through the din. Chloe and Sabrina appeared at his side.
"We need to get out of here!" Sabrina urged.
"You go," Ha Joon said quickly. "I'll stay with him."
Chloe raised an eyebrow, a smirk tugging at her lips. "Uh-huh. Because you're so concerned about his safety."
He shot her a look, but she just smirked wider and tugged Sabrina away.
---
Ha Joon turned back to Luka. The stillness made it easy to study him — too easy. His lean but defined build, the way his jacket fell just right over his shoulders, those luminous cyan eyes frozen mid-focus. And his lips — slightly parted, so effortlessly tempting it made Ha Joon's pulse jump.
Before he even realized it, his arms had looped loosely around Luka's neck, pulling himself closer under the guise of… what, shielding him?
It was only when Ladybug's Miraculous Cure washed over the courtyard in a swirl of light that Ha Joon realized his mistake. Luka blinked, movement returning — and found Ha Joon standing there, arms still around his neck.
Luka tilted his head down, amusement glinting in his eyes. "Last I checked, you weren't anywhere near me when I got frozen."
Ha Joon's brain short-circuited. "I—uh—it's not—"
"An… intimate position," Luka finished for him, the faintest smile curving his mouth.
Heat rushed to Ha Joon's face. He released him immediately, taking a quick step back. "I was just— you were— I thought—"
"Uh-huh." Luka's smirk deepened. "You're terrible at excuses."
Ha Joon floundered. "Look, I was making sure you didn't fall when you un-froze. You know, safety and all that."
"Right," Luka said, clearly unconvinced, his voice warm with quiet amusement. "Guess I should thank you for the… safety."
The worst part was that Ha Joon couldn't even bring himself to look him in the eye — not when Luka's tone made it sound like the word meant something else entirely.
---
The rest of the battle played out in a blur. Ladybug and Cat Noir took care of Lady Wifi, restoring the city to normal, while Ha Joon avoided meeting Luka's gaze for the remainder of the afternoon.
Still, every time he replayed that moment — his arms around Luka, the smirk, the teasing — he couldn't decide if he wanted to bury his face in a pillow from embarrassment… or hold onto it forever.