Late Night – Ha-rin's Room
The door clicked softly as Ha-rin slipped back into the dark room.
The others were asleep except for
Seo-yeon, who sat up immediately, eyes wide open.
"Where were you?!" she whispered, half angry, half worried.
Ha-rin froze. "Seo-yeon… it's fine. I just—"
Seo-yeon cut her off. "Don't even start. You were gone for almost an hour! What happened?"
Ha-rin hesitated, then sat on the edge of her bed.
"You remember how I told you I ran into Min-Jae earlier?"
Seo-yeon nodded quickly. "Yeah. You two went to the beach."
"Well…" Ha-rin exhaled, her voice quiet. "After that, I went to Joon-ho's room. He texted me."
Seo-yeon blinked. "…You what?"
Ha-rin rushed to explain everything
how she went there, how they had to hide when someone came in,
how they ended up stuck together for way too long.
By the time she finished, Seo-yeon's jaw dropped.
"Ha-rin," she whispered, "you were hiding in his bathroom? For forty minutes?"
"Keep your voice down!" Ha-rin hissed. "Everyone's sleeping!"
Seo-yeon threw her hands up in disbelief, then flopped back on her pillow.
"I can't believe you. First the beach with Min-Jae, now this?!"
Ha-rin pulled her blanket over her head. "We'll talk about it tomorrow."
"You bet we will," Seo-yeon muttered. "You're not escaping this one."
The Next Morning – Cafeteria
The cafeteria was noisy.
teachers talking, trays clattering, students half-awake.
Ha-rin sat with Seo-yeon, trying to look normal while sipping her juice.
Seo-yeon leaned closer. "So… did you even sleep after all that?"
Ha-rin sighed. "Barely."
"Mm-hmm." Seo-yeon smirked. "You're lucky no one found out.
If they knew you were in Joon-ho's room at midnight, you'd be dead."
Ha-rin looked down. "Yeah… I know."
At that moment, Min-Jae walked into the cafeteria with his friends.
He looked tired , dark circles under his eyes .
but when he spotted Ha-rin, he smiled slightly.
Seo-yeon immediately noticed. "He didn't sleep either," she whispered teasingly.
"Don't," Ha-rin said quietly, looking away.
Then, across the room
Joon-ho entered.
He scanned the tables until his eyes landed on Ha-rin.
Their gazes met for a second too long before he turned toward his group.
Seo-yeon raised an eyebrow. "And now the other one's here."
Ha-rin pressed her lips together. "Please don't start."
But Seo-yeon grinned. "I'm just saying, girl… you're in trouble."
After a few minutes
The cafeteria buzzed with noise
trays clattering, students laughing, teachers half-yelling.
But Ha-rin barely heard any of it
Across the room, Joon-ho sat down with his friends, pretending to scroll through his phone.
Every few seconds, his eyes flicked toward her table.
And on the other side of the hall, Min-Jae leaned back in his chair, his friends talking loudly about snacks and beach plans
but he wasn't really listening.
His gaze kept drifting to her too.
Seo-yeon noticed both. Of course she did.
She leaned toward Ha-rin and whispered,
"Okay, this is way too obvious. They're both looking at you like you're a movie they're watching."
Ha-rin groaned. "Please stop talking."
"Nope," Seo-yeon grinned. "You've officially become the main character of a love triangle, congratulations."
"Seo-yeon—"
"Don't 'Seo-yeon' me, I'm enjoying this."
Ha-rin buried her face in her hands just as a shadow fell over the table.
She looked up
and there was Min-Jae, holding his tray.
"Morning," he said, his voice calm but his eyes tired.
"Morning," Ha-rin said softly.
Seo-yeon raised her eyebrows but didn't move.
Min-Jae pulled a chair and sat right next to Ha-rin.
"Did you sleep at all?" he asked.
"Barely," she admitted. "You?"
"Same," he said, giving a small smile. "Guess we're both bad at that."
Before Ha-rin could answer
a second voice cut in.
"Hey, Ha-rin."
It was Joon-ho.
He stood at the end of the table, his tray still in his hands.
For a moment, neither boy spoke. The air between them felt sharp, almost quiet despite the noise around.
Seo-yeon froze
her eyes darting between them.
"Oh, great," she muttered under her breath.
Joon-ho looked straight at Ha-rin.
"Can I talk to you for a second?"
Ha-rin blinked. "Uh—right now?"
Min-Jae's jaw tightened slightly.
"She's eating," he said flatly.
Joon-ho looked at him, unamused. "I wasn't talking to you."
Min-Jae leaned back in his chair, smirking just a little.
"Yeah, but you're standing at our table."
A few students nearby turned to look sensing tension.
Ha-rin quickly stood up. "Both of you
stop. Please."
The two boys didn't move for a second.
Then Joon-ho looked away first, exhaling. "It's fine. Later, then."
He walked off, and Min-Jae watched him go, his smile fading.
Seo-yeon let out a long breath.
"Okay, wow. That was intense."
Ha-rin sank back into her seat, staring at her tray.
"Why can't things just stay simple for one day?" she whispered.
Seo-yeon patted her hand gently.
"Because, my dear Ha-rin," she said with a teasing smile,
"you've officially entered drama territory."
To be continued