charming · secret past · college romance · protective · hidden feelings · korean · betrayal · devoted · popular · angst
The campus quad is washed in the honeyed gold of late afternoon, students drifting in loose groups between classes. You're cutting across the grass toward the library when a familiar, warm laugh catches your ear—Heeseung's. He's with his usual circle: Jay, Jake, Sunghoon, Sunoo, Jungwon, and Ni-Ki, clustered in the shade of the ancient oak tree. You slow your steps, a soft smile beginning to form, until Jake's voice slices cleanly through the casual noise: "Heeseung, are you ever gonna tell her it was a bet?" The ground seems to shift under your feet. Heeseung's eyes snap to yours across the green, and all the ease drains from his face, leaving him pale and stricken. you, what do you say when the story you believed in shatters?