Sitting at the back of the class, my chin rested in my palm, fingers drumming idly against the desk. a grin tugged at my lips as I watched the chaos unfold at the front. Yang Jinsu was sprawled on the floor in a ridiculous pose like a push-up gone wrong. His hands were stretched awkwardly past his head his body curved like a bent bow.
"Whoever didn't do their homework, come forward," the art teacher said, her voice sharp but weary, like she'd repeated the same line a hundred times. Her brows were drawn together in a deep frown, eyes narrowing at the class.
His arms trembled violently, as if they might give out any second, his face red with both strain and humiliation.
"So only one? The homework was just to roughly draw an apple." The teacher's lips pursed in disbelief, her tone dripping with irritation. "An apple, Yang Jinsu. Not the Mona Lisa."
Laughter rippled through the classroom, mine included. Jinsu's ears turned bright red as he tried to force a grin, but it only made him look more pitiful.
The teacher rose slowly from her chair, face tight with irritation. Without a word, she reached for the fat wooden stick resting against the desk. The class went silent, eyes wide with anticipation.
"Is it really that much? Is it that difficult to draw an apple?" she said coldly, her voice rising with every word. Stretching her arm back as far as it would go, she swung down hard.
SMACK!
The crack of wood meeting flesh echoed through the room. Jinsu yelped, his body jerking as the class erupted into uncontrollable laughter. His pride was gone, buried beneath the sting on his backside.
The bell rang, signaling the end of class. Chairs scraped against the floor as everyone shuffled out, their chatter filling the room. I stood, slinging my bag over my shoulder, then made my way toward Suwon's desk. He was still sitting there, staring absently at his notes.
"Hey," I said, stopping by his seat. "Wanna head over to Inseop's class together?"
Suwon blinked, as if pulled out of a daze. He hesitated for a moment, then gave a small nod. "…Yeah. Let's go."
Heading down the hall, I pushed open the door to Class 6. The moment I stepped inside, the room fell into silence, as if someone had cut the sound with a knife. Dozens of eyes turned toward me, the air heavy with curiosity.
Then came the whispers. Soft at first, but quickly spreading like ripples across the room.
"Who is he…?"
"Isn't he the handsome guy from another class?"
"Wow… he's actually tall and dreamy hehehe…"
A few girls covered their mouths as they whispered, their eyes following me with a mixture of surprise and excitement.
"Hey…! Heyy, Hyorim, look at him," Irina whispered urgently, nudging her side with a grin.
"What?!" Hyorim snapped, half-distracted. She was busy checking her reflection in the small mirror on the back, carefully brushing her bangs into place. Her tone was annoyed, but curiosity tugged at her eyes as she finally glanced up.
Her breath hitched. For a second, her hand froze mid-motion, the comb hovering uselessly over her hair. A faint pink crept across her cheeks before she quickly looked back down at her mirror, pretending to fuss with her bangs again.
Irina's eyes widened before curving into a sly smirk. "Oho… what's this? Seol Hyorim, are you blushing? Do you know him or something?"
"I-I'm not!" Hyorim quickly ducked her head, brushing her bangs again as if that could hide the faint red creeping across her cheeks.
Jinkyung leaned in with a mischievous grin. "Please, your ears are bright red. Don't even try to deny it."
Lee Daegyu, slouched lazily in his seat, clicked his tongue. "Tch, what's the big deal? He's just some guy." But even as he spoke, his knee bounced under the desk, restless. His mind flashed back to the bathroom—the sharp sound of Chulgyu hitting the tiles, the cold warning in my voice. He quickly looked away, avoiding my direction altogether.
Yang Jinsu crossed his arms, trying to act unimpressed. "Hmph. Doesn't look that special to me." But his voice cracked slightly at the end. The memory of being frozen in place, unable to move, still clung to him like a shadow. He refused to meet my eyes, focusing instead on the scratch marks on his desk.
"Some guy? He's literally glowing," Irina teased, oblivious to the tension in the boys' faces.
Park Dong chuckled, shaking his head at the group's fuss. "Come on, don't start a fight over nothing. Let her breathe."
But Irina wasn't done. She nudged Hyorim again, her grin wicked. "So? Spill it. Do you know him or not?"
"…I said I don't," Hyorim muttered, still pink-cheeked. But when her eyes flickered toward me, just for a heartbeat, it was enough to betray her.
I slid into a seat at the front row, right in front of Inseop. From here, I had a clear view across the room straight toward Hyorim's group.
They were clustered together as usual, laughter and whispers passing between them, though I could feel Daegyu's and Jinsu's stolen glances snapping away whenever my eyes drifted their way.
A moment later, Suwon dropped into the seat beside me with a quiet sigh. He didn't say anything right away, just set his bag down and rested his chin on one hand, looking like he was carrying the weight of the world.
From the corner of my eye, I caught Hyorim again. She was brushing her bangs down, her friends giggling around her. For some reason, the sight made the corners of my mouth twitch upward.
Chapter 10 Caught
I leaned back in my chair, chin resting on one hand, eyes drifting again toward Hyorim. She was laughing at something Irina said, her bangs falling into her eyes as she brushed them aside. That small gesture so ordinary, so natural held me longer than I'd admit.
Infront of me, the sound of button-mashing and muffled groans broke the moment. I glanced at them. Inseop was hunched over his phone, thumbs flying across the buttons.
"God, you suck at this," Junhyun sneered from behind him.
"How can your score be so low. Give me the phone ill play," In Ohno added with a stoic facen then grab the phone.
"Hey give it back!!," Inseop grumbled, looking at Ono snatching the phone, stubbornly refusing to hand it over. "I got this."
Their bickering rolled on like background noise. But then, mid-game, Inseop's eyes flicked up straight at me. He caught the direction of my gaze, lingering a little too long on Hyorim's across the room.
A slow smirk spread across his face.
"…Do you like her?" he whispered, low enough that only I could hear.
I didn't flinch. Didn't look away either. My eyes stayed on Hyorim for a moment longer before I leaned back and muttered, "…Yeah. I do."
Inseop blinked, the smirk slipping into something closer to surprise. He tilted his head, studying me like he wasn't sure if I was joking. But when he saw the calm in my expression, he gave a short laugh under his breath.
"Well," Inseop said after a beat, stealing another glance toward Hyorim before turning back to me. A grin tugged at his lips. "You two actually look like you'd suit each other."
I raised a brow. "Suit each other, huh?"
"Yeah," he said with a shrug, lowering his voice again. "But saying it and doing it are two different things.
How're you even planning to get close to her?" His tone wasn't mocking, more curious like he was genuinely interested in what I'd do next.
I smirked, meeting his eyes without hesitation. Leaning back in my chair, I said confidently, "Watch."
Then I stood up surprising him and walk closer to Seol hyo-rim group then greet them.
"Hi" I greet while smiling
For a heartbeat, silence.
Then Irina flinch. "O-oh… hi," she stammered, clearly caught off guard.
Park Dong gave a polite nod in return, though his brows were raised.
Jinkyung tilted her head.
Then Daegyu and Jinsu froze, the memory of the bathroom incident flashing behind their expressions.
And Hyorim she looked straight at me, not flinching, her expression calm.
After greeting them, I let my gaze linger on Yang Jinsu and Daegyu. Their posture stiffened the moment our eyes met, and the cocky smirk he usually wore died on his lips.
"Hahaha, don't be so stiff." I waved my hand casually, flashing them a smile. "I'm sorry about what happened in the bathroom… and at the cafeteria yesterday."
The group blinked in unison, caught off guard. Even Daegyu froze for a moment before blurting, "Y-yeah… me too. Sorry."
"I'm sorry too," Jinsu added quickly, his usual bravado nowhere to be found.
Irina's brows shot up, curiosity sparking in her eyes.
"Bathroom?" she echoed, leaning forward.
Park Dong crossed his arms, looking between us with suspicion. "Yeah, what happened in the bathroom?"
Park dong tilted her head, eyes narrowing with curiosity. "Wait… bathroom? What happened?" he asked, his gaze shifting to Jinsu and Daegyu.
At Park dong question, Jinsu and Daegyu exchanged uneasy glances before finally spilling everything the bathroom encounter, how they told him to guard the door while smoking then Chulgyu attacking then defeating him in seconds
Both boys stiffened, avoiding his eyes.
Daegyu scratched the back of his neck, stammering, "W-well… it's nothing big, really…"
Hyorim raised her brows, glancing back at me, then at them again, clearly amused by their nervousness.
At Hyorim's question, Jinsu and Daegyu exchanged uneasy glances before finally spilling everything the bathroom encounter, how they'd roped him into guarding the door while they smoked, and how Chulgyu had stormed in, only to be flattened in seconds.
Both boys stiffened as they finished, clearly regretting saying so much. Daegyu scratched the back of his neck, forcing a weak laugh. "W-well… it's not that big of a deal, really…" he muttered, eyes darting anywhere but Hyorim's.
Irina was the first to react, bursting into laughter so loud half the group flinched. "Wait, wait Chulgyu? Flattened? By him? Oh my god, that's priceless." She nearly doubled over, tears threatening the corners of her eyes.
Park Dong raised his brows, leaning back in his chair with an amused whistle. "No wonder you two looked like you'd seen a ghost yesterday. Makes sense now."
Jinkyung only smirked, eyes glinting with quiet interest, while Jinsu muttered under his breath, cheeks still pale.
Hyorim, laugh lightly. Then stared at me quietly, her gaze lingering a little too long, thoughtful and unreadable.
Before the awkward silence stretched too long, I leaned back slightly and smiled. "By the way, I don't think I've properly introduced myself yet. I'm Yoon Seojin."
That seemed to reset the mood. Hyorim straightened a little, her calm eyes meeting mine. "Seol Hyorim," she said simply, her tone polite but not distant.
Irina leaned in with a grin. "Irina. Don't forget it."
"Park Dong," he said with a nod.
"Lee Daegyu…" Daegyu muttered, still rubbing the back of his neck, clearly not over the earlier story.
"…Yang Jinsu," Jinsu added reluctantly, his voice quieter than usual.
"And Kim Jinkyung," the last of them said, offering me a small, measured smile.
One by one, their names settled in my head, attaching themselves to faces I already knew from the manhwa. But this time, it wasn't just a page or panel. It was real, alive, and I was standing here among them