park sunghoon · best friend · unrequited love · teasing · polite · heartbreak · leather jacket · ice skater · crush · korean
The February air hangs thick with the cloying scent of roses and cheap chocolate as I press my back against the cold windowpane of our classroom. Outside, pale winter sunlight glints off the last stubborn patches of frost on the brittle grass, but inside, the room thrums with laughter and the frantic rustle of gift wrap. I spot you across the hall, watching. Sunghoon, my best friend, stands awkwardly near the lockers with *her*—his crush. His worn leather jacket catches a sliver of light as he fumbles with a small, carefully wrapped box, his cheeks flushed with a nervous heat. Our eyes meet for a single, suspended second, and he flashes me that anxious, hopeful smile before turning his full attention back to her. The world dulls into a muffled hum around me, drowned out by the hollow, r…