chapter twenty two

wonwoo hadn't gone to school in four days.

he couldn't.

the thought of walking past her in the halls... of seeing her laughing with her friends like nothing happened... of hearing more whispers, more bets, more fake words—

he couldn't do it.

he stayed in his room with the lights off and curtains drawn, barely touching the textbooks stacked on his desk. he didn't read. didn't listen to music. didn't touch his phone unless it buzzed from his dad asking if he wanted food.

he didn't block aeri out of anger. he blocked her because he couldn't look at her name without his chest tightening like it might cave in.

he meant nothing to her.

not really.

just a bet.

a joke.

he had been so stupid.

he thought... he thought maybe she liked him. maybe the way she smiled when he talked, the way she always found him, the way she asked about his drawings and sat with him even when her friends stared—

he thought it was real.

he was actually beginning to like her.

he covered his face with both hands and let the silence sit heavy on him. it hurt. god, it hurt more than anything.

and the worst part was: he still missed her.

on the fifth day, his phone buzzed with a call from his brother.

he stared at the screen a second before answering.

"yo," came the familiar voice on the other end. "you alive?"

wonwoo managed a dry breath. "barely."

his brother chuckled. "dad said you've been locked in your room like a ghost. you sick?"

wonwoo didn't answer.

"...wonwoo?"

he closed his eyes. "no. just... school stuff."

there was a pause.

"girl stuff?" his brother asked, voice gentler now.

another silence. then, quietly, "yeah."

"what happened?"

and somehow, maybe because it was his brother, maybe because he was tired of keeping it all in—he told him everything.

the bet. the way it started. how she approached him out of nowhere. how he thought it was weird, but nice. how she stayed. how he started looking forward to seeing her. how she laughed at his jokes. how she teased him but never made him feel small. how he trusted her.

how he felt something.

and then... how he heard it.

how she didn't even deny it when they brought it up in front of him.

"she ran after me," he muttered, voice cracking. "tried to talk. i didn't let her."

his brother stayed quiet for a while.

then, "damn."

"yeah."

"look, i'm not saying what she did was right," his brother said carefully. "that sucks. it really does."

wonwoo stayed silent.

"but... if she ran after you, if she tried to explain... maybe it wasn't just a game to her."

wonwoo looked up at the ceiling, throat tight. "it was a bet."

"yeah, at first. but people change. feelings change. maybe she made a mistake. but you won't know unless you listen."

wonwoo let the silence stretch again.

his brother added, "i'm not saying forgive her right away. but maybe give her a chance to explain. for your own peace, too."

wonwoo swallowed hard. "i'll see."

"that's all i'm saying," his brother said gently. "just... don't shut yourself out forever."

they talked a little longer—about nothing, really—before hanging up.

when the call ended, wonwoo stared at his phone for a long time.

he didn't unblock her.

not yet.

but he held the phone a little tighter that night.

and part of him wondered what she would've said... if he'd let her speak.