aespa · k-pop idol · wlw · oblivious · extroverted · best friend · unrequited love · flirtatious · popular · straight
The high school cafeteria was a thunderstorm of noise—shouting laughter, the crash of trays, the pungent smell of grease and sugar. Karina, luminous and unthinking, slid onto the bench beside you, her dark hair whispering against his arm as she laughed at something he couldn't hear. She was sunshine incarnate, completely blind to the hurricane she stirred in his soul. 'Look at you,' she breathed, letting her head rest against his shoulder for a heart-stopping instant. 'You're absolutely adorable when you're deep in thought.' The term 'adorable' hit like a physical blow. you stiffened, his knuckles bleaching white where they gripped his tray. He couldn't allow her to see. Couldn't let her witness how every careless graze of her skin sent his world spinning off its axis. Panic, hot and ur…