The group's chatter picked back up, Irina still laughing, Park Dong shaking his head in amusement, and Hyorim gaze bumping into my eyes.
only offered them a small smile before excusing myself, turning back toward my own seat.
As I walked away, I could feel their eyes lingering on my back some curious, some wary, and one pair in particular that made my chest feel strangely warm.
I dropped back into my seat in front of Inseop, leaning casually against the desk.
He glanced at me with a raised brow, already smirking like he'd been waiting.
"Damn, Seojin… you really just walked up there like you owned the place," he teased, shaking his head. "I was expecting a hello, not a full conversation with them."
Before I could respond, Suwon shifted beside me, his expression caught somewhere between admiration and unease.
"…How can you be that confident?" he asked quietly, eyes dropping to the desk. "Is it just looks? Because if it is… then am I really that bad-looking?"
The sudden weight in his voice made both of us glance at him.
Before I could think of what to say, footsteps approached. Junhyun strolled over, casual as ever, and without hesitation placed a hand on Suwon's shoulder.
"Of course," Junhyun with a smile that seem no lies are spoken.
After the bell rang, the groups broke apart little by little, laughter trailing as trays were gathered and chairs scraped against the floor.
I turned toward Park Dong and Yang Jinsu, who still looked a bit stiff, and called out,
"Hey, let's head back together. We're in the same class, right?"
They blinked, surprised for a moment, before nodding. So, the four of us Park Dong, Yang Jinsu, Ji Suwon, and I made our way down the hallway.
Eventually, we split paths, leaving Junhyun and In Ohno to head off toward their own classroom.
Sliding into my seat, the atmosphere felt strangely lighter than before like some invisible wall between people had quietly thinned over the past two days.
Park Dong and Suwon take their seat since they're desk mate, Yang jinsu sitting behind Park Dong leaning over to whisper something, and Suwon sat down and begin to sketch some drawing on his sketchbook.
Yang Jinsu's eyes lingered on me, sharp and uneasy, before darting away.
I didn't miss it the way his thoughts seemed to circle back to Hyorim, to the subtle glances she'd thrown my way, to the faint blush that colored her cheeks when I entered the classroom.
His jaw tightened almost imperceptibly, a shadow of jealousy flickering across his face. He still didn't trust me not fully.
I leaned back in my chair, staring absently at the ceiling. The story wasn't following the same script anymore.
Suwon wasn't falling for Hyorim. Hyorim was laughing around me. And somehow, I was the one sitting at the center of it all.
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 sitting right here among them.
My gaze drifted past the group until it landed on Suwon. A faint chuckle slipped past my lips before I could stop it. Didn't Suwon have another love interest later on? What was her name again… right. Won Suji. Backward of his name Ji Suwon, Won Suji.
I smirked to myself, shaking my head. Even your name's set up for it, Suwon. Seems like you're still destined to end up with a girlfriend, one way or another.
The thought made me snicker under my breath, though I quickly masked it with a casual smile when Suwon glanced my way.
A smile tugged at my lips.
The original plot's already broken… so what's stopping me from rewriting the rest?
Two days slipped by faster than I expected. Between classes, lunch breaks, and the small in-between moments, I found myself orbiting closer and closer to two circles that never really overlapped before: Suwon's group… and Seol Hyorim's.
With Suwon's side, things fell into place naturally. Gaming with Inseop and Junhyun during breaks, trading half-hearted trash talk, even dragging Suwon himself into the matches until he laughed despite losing it all felt easy.
I even managed a few casual conversations with In Ohno, who barely spoke to anyone. He wasn't talkative, but when he did respond, there was a quiet sharpness in his words that made it worth it.
Hyorim's group wasn't much harder to slip into either.
Irina and Park Dong's easygoing nature made conversations light, and even Kim Jiseong just talks about games and he's already your best buddy and Kim Jinkyung warmed up after a few exchanges.
To my own surprise, Lee Daegyu had loosened around me too, acting more like a classmate than someone who once looked at me like I was a monster.
The only one who hadn't quite adjusted was Yang Jinsu his wariness lingered. I noticed the way his eyes flicked between me and Hyorim whenever she glanced my way, but I didn't bother giving it much thought.
By the end of the second day, the distance between both circles felt thinner than ever. That lunch break, I found myself sitting with Hyorim's group, directly across from her.
Her expression was calm, but her eyes lingered just a second longer than most would have. And on the other side of me, Suwon and his friends had taken the next table, close enough that it almost felt like we were all sitting together.
Two groups. One table. And me caught in the middle exactly where I wanted to be.
As the chatter buzzed around the table, Park Dong leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand.
"Hey, Seojin," he said casually, "you came from Seoul, right? What was life like before moving here?"
The question caught the group's attention. Even Irina, who had been teasing Hyorim about her bangs a moment earlier, tilted her head with interest.
I paused, chopsticks hovering above my tray. "Seoul, huh…" A small laugh slipped out. "It's fast-paced, crowded, always buzzing.
There's a ton to do shopping, street food, you name it." My tone stayed light, but I kept the details vague, careful not to say too much. "It can be overwhelming at first, but once you get used to it… it's actually pretty great."
"Ohh, Seoul boy," Irina drawled, leaning across the table with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"So, tell us did you leave a girlfriend back there?" She said it casually, but the way her gaze flicked toward Hyorim for just a second was anything but subtle.
The table went quiet for a beat, all eyes shifting to me. Even Park Dong, usually unfazed, raised a brow with interest. Daegyu leaned in, grinning like he didn't want to miss the answer, while Jinsu just clicked his tongue but stayed quiet, his jaw tight.
And Hyorim she didn't say anything. She simply kept eating, but the slight stillness in her movements, the way her chopsticks hovered for a second too long, didn't escape me.
I gave a small shrug, keeping my tone light.
"No. I never had a girlfriend."
For a second, they just stared.
"Really? That's hard to believe," Irina said, her eyes narrowing with playful suspicion. "You're either lying… or you lived under a rock."
"I'm serious." I chuckled. "No one ever really caught my interest."
Seeing I wasn't budging, they let it go and just like that, the conversation moved on.