(Eun-ji's POV)
Rumors have a way of turning the ordinary into something unbearable.
They start as whispers, harmless and passing, but once they touch you, they cling.
And by the next morning, I could feel them clinging everywhere.
---
The Classroom
The first lecture of the day was economics. The kind of subject that drained me before it even started. I slid into my usual seat, hoping to blend into the noise of shuffling papers and squeaking chairs.
But then came the familiar scrape of the chair beside me.
I didn't have to look to know who it was.
Soo-min.
She sat with effortless composure, pulling her notebook from her bag. A few strands of her short brown hair fell across her cheek as she leaned over her desk, pen already in hand. Her presence settled beside me like gravity.
I forced myself to look down, my pen trembling against the paper. If I let myself look at her too long, I'd forget we were surrounded by sixty other students.
The professor started droning about supply and demand. Numbers blurred. Graphs swam. My eyelids drooped.
And then—
A light tap on my notebook.
I blinked down. A small folded note rested on my page.
My eyes darted sideways. Soo-min wasn't looking at me, her chin propped lazily in her palm as if she were half-listening to the lecture.
I unfolded it with shaky fingers.
"Stay awake, sleepyhead. Or do you need me to pinch you?"
My heart lurched. I snapped the note shut and scribbled furiously in the margins of my book, as if equations could drown out the warmth in my cheeks.
When I dared a glance at her, she caught my eye with the faintest smirk tugging at her lips.
And just like that, the rumor whispered louder in my mind. You and Soo-min are a thing.
I buried my face in my notes.
---
Lunchtime Banter
By the time lunch rolled around, my nerves were already raw. But with our group, there was never such a thing as quiet.
Yura plopped down across from me, slamming her tray onto the table. "Breaking news!" she announced. "I overheard some girls in the bathroom. Guess what they were talking about?"
Hye-jin groaned. "If it's about the cafeteria food again, I swear—"
"Nope." Yura's grin turned wicked. She jabbed her chopsticks between me and Soo-min. "About you two."
I nearly dropped my spoon. "Yura!"
Hye-jin slammed the table, her voice booming across the cafeteria. "Unbelievable! Are people seriously that desperate for gossip?"
Mirae sighed, peeling her orange quietly. "You shouldn't repeat it, Yura. It makes Eun-ji uncomfortable."
"But it's cute!" Yura whined, leaning toward me with sparkling eyes. "Come on, don't tell me you don't think it's at least a little flattering."
My face burned hotter than the soup in my bowl. "I—it's not—don't—"
Across from me, Soo-min calmly chewed her food, her eyes lowered. She didn't defend me, didn't scold Yura, didn't say a word. But the tiniest curve of her lips betrayed her. She was enjoying this.
I wanted to sink under the table.
---
That afternoon, our psychology professor announced a paired activity. Before I could even blink, Yura spun around in her seat and threw her arms around me.
"Partner!" she squealed, hugging me like an excited child.
"Y-Yura!" I squeaked, caught between embarrassment and the undeniable comfort of her warmth. I hesitated for a heartbeat—then my arms lifted, hugging her back gently.
Because the truth was, I loved hugs. I always had. I just rarely had the courage to reach for them first.
But when I lifted my head, my breath caught.
Soo-min was watching.
Her expression was neutral, her pen tapping against her notebook. But her eyes—her eyes were sharp, focused entirely on Yura's arms around me.
A flicker of something unreadable passed across her face. Possessive? Jealous? I couldn't tell. But my chest tightened all the same.
She turned away a moment later, jaw set, as if nothing had happened.
But I couldn't shake the feeling that it had.
---
The Hallway
When class ended, the others filtered out in a noisy cluster. Somehow, Soo-min and I ended up walking side by side.
The hallway stretched long and quiet. My palms were sweaty against my books. The silence felt heavier than the rumor itself.
Finally, her voice cut through it.
"You like hugs that much?"
Her tone was casual, but there was an edge beneath it. My heart leapt.
"I—what? I mean, yes, I like hugs, but it's not—" My words tangled into knots. "Yura's just… Yura."
Her eyes stayed forward, her hands tucked into her pockets. "You don't hug everyone like that."
I froze mid-step. "You noticed?"
Her lips quirked faintly, not quite a smile. "Of course I noticed."
My chest squeezed tight. I wanted to laugh it off, to deny it, but the weight of her gaze pinned me still.
Then she slowed her pace and nodded toward the library. "Go on. You'll be late for your group."
And before I could reply, she walked off down the opposite hallway.
I stood there, my face burning, torn between relief and disappointment.
---
The Study Session
That evening, the library became our battlefield of notes and pens. Hye-jin cursed loudly at her textbook, Mirae calmly corrected her equations, and Yura kept doodling flowers in the margins instead of studying.
I tried to focus, but my thoughts circled endlessly around Soo-min's words. You don't hug everyone like that.
When I glanced up, she was across the table, her pen gliding smoothly over her notes. She looked collected, detached—yet every now and then, her eyes flicked up, catching me mid-stare.
I snapped my gaze down, cheeks flaming. Again.
At one point, my highlighter slipped from my hand, rolling toward her side of the table. She caught it easily, her fingers brushing mine as she handed it back.
The touch was nothing. Barely a second.
But it was enough to send my pulse racing like I'd just run a mile.
"Thanks," I whispered.
"Hmm." Her eyes softened, just for a heartbeat. Then the mask slid back into place.
No one else noticed. Not Yura humming, not Hye-jin arguing, not Mirae smoothing it all over.
But I noticed. Always.
---
By the time I walked home that night, the rumor had lost some of its sting.
Because maybe—just maybe—it wasn't entirely wrong.
What scared me now wasn't the whispers.
It was the truth hiding inside them.