chapter twenty three

aeri walked into school with her heart pounding in her ears.

the halls felt colder than she remembered. quieter, somehow. or maybe it was just her.

her bag was heavy on her shoulder, but not nearly as heavy as the knot twisting in her stomach. she wasn't sure what she expected—whispers? stares? nothing at all?

either way, she kept walking.

yejin, donghyun, and sungmin were by the lockers when she turned the corner. they looked up in unison, eyes wide.

"oh my god," yejin said. "you're alive."

a weak laugh escaped donghyun. "we thought you transferred schools or something."

aeri managed a small smile, but it didn't reach her eyes.

yejin looped her arm through hers like no time had passed. "so. what's going on? you disappeared right after the bet blew up. was it that bad?"

aeri's feet slowed.

donghyun raised an eyebrow. "you're not still upset about wonwoo, right? come on, aeri. you were supposed to win. we all knew that."

"you were playing the game better than any of us," yejin added with a grin. "you almost had us convinced you liked him."

aeri stopped walking.

the smile fell off yejin's face. "wait—don't tell me you actually—"

"i did." aeri's voice was quiet, but sharp. "i did like him."

the silence that followed was awkward and thick.

"well," sungmin muttered under his breath, "that's unfortunate."

aeri turned to them, her face unreadable. "i thought it was just a stupid game. but it wasn't. not for him. and not for me. i messed up. badly. and if you guys don't get why that matters, then maybe we're not as close as i thought."

yejin blinked. "are you seriously getting mad over—"

"i'm not mad," aeri interrupted. "i'm just done."

she pulled her arm from yejin's and walked away without looking back.

she didn't owe them anything anymore.

the rest of the day dragged.

teachers gave her looks—some surprised, some indifferent. her classmates whispered in corners, but she kept her head down, eyes on her desk. she wasn't here for anyone else.

she was here for one reason.

by the time lunch came, her hands were shaking. she hadn't eaten, hadn't spoken to anyone since the locker hallway. she stood outside the library for almost five minutes, frozen in place.

then she opened the door.

it was quieter than she remembered. the smell of books, faint pencil scratches, soft footsteps. her eyes swept the room, scanning each table, every corner—

and then she saw him.

across the room.

by the window.

jeon wonwoo.

he was reading, or at least pretending to. one hand held a pencil, the other rested on the open page.

and as if he felt her there—

he looked up.

their eyes met.

and her breath caught in her throat.

he didn't look away.

neither did she.

everything else disappeared—the whispering students, the tension, even the pounding in her chest.

for a second, it was just the two of them.

aeri took a step forward.