In the early hours of the morning, a light fog had settled around the school. Hana, as usual, walked silently through the school gate. Gaeun was with her, chatting away, but Hana was only half-listening.
She thought about the events of yesterday—Hyunwoo's increasingly strange behavior, Aerin's brief but meaningful glances... Something had changed, and Hana was aware of it.
As she reached the corner of the corridor, she instinctively turned her head. Aerin was standing in her usual spot. But this time, they didn't make eye contact. Aerin was staring at the ground, seemingly lost in thought.
Hana sighed softly as she entered the classroom. How would today go, she wondered?
---
The classroom was lively as usual when they entered. Eunbi was busy with something at her desk. Sera and Eunwoo were having an argument by the window. Hana found her seat and placed her bag on the chair when she noticed the door opening.
Hyunwoo had entered the classroom. But this time, instead of coming over to Hana like usual, he headed towards his friends. Normally, the first thing he did in the mornings was come over to joke around with Hana. But not today...
Hana stared blankly for a moment, then took a deep breath and tried to focus on the notebook in front of her. She didn't need Hyunwoo's attention, did she?
---
The class passed quickly. When the bell rang, the students stirred. Hana left with Sera and Eunwoo. They wandered around for a while, chatting, but Hana was becoming more and more withdrawn.
When they reached the front yard, Hana's eyes instinctively drifted toward where Aerin was standing. Hyunwoo, Aerin, and a few others were talking there.
Hyunwoo noticed Hana, but this time, he didn't approach her.
Hana felt a strange emptiness inside, but quickly collected herself.
---
The classes passed quickly. When the dismissal bell rang, Hana, as usual, left with Gaeun. Hyunwoo didn't call after her.
As they walked, Hana realized something had definitely changed.
Hyunwoo no longer prioritized her.
And maybe that was the way it was supposed to be.
The day went on, and then ended.
---
Thursday began like any other. After the only class held early in the morning, the rest of the day was gym class, which meant it was a free day for Hana and Sera. Most of the classes were either outside playing or hanging out in the cafeteria.
With Eunwoo absent from school today, Hana and Sera had settled into the back corner of the cafeteria, chatting away while munching on snacks.
"I'm thinking," Sera said, shaking her juice bottle, "we should go somewhere this weekend. I'm getting tired of this back-and-forth between school and home."
Hana raised an eyebrow, thinking. "Where exactly?"
"I don't know, maybe shopping. Your closet is full of nice clothes, but it could be fun to get you something new," Sera grinned.
Hana shot her a sideways glance. "My taste is perfectly fine."
Sera laughed at Hana's supposed defense. As they kept laughing, the door to the cafeteria opened, and two young people entered. Hana and Sera didn't recognize them, but it was clear from their friendly conversation that they were friends. After scanning the crowded cafeteria for a moment, they headed for the drinks line.
At that moment, Hana and Sera were so absorbed in their own conversation that they didn't notice what was going on around them. While Sera was talking, her eyes suddenly drifted toward one of the newcomers. She noticed that he briefly looked at Hana.
Sera squinted and leaned in. "Hana."
"Hmm?"
"The guy in the brown coat just looked at you."
Hana lifted her head while continuing to snack on chips. "What?"
"I said, the guy in line right now looked at you."
"Don't be ridiculous, why would he look at me?" Hana immediately dismissed Sera's words, but deep down, she was a little curious.
Sera smiled and shrugged. "I don't know, but my eyes don't lie."
Hana thought Sera was exaggerating and dismissed the topic, though she couldn't help but avoid looking toward where the mentioned guy was.
Not wanting to linger any longer in the cafeteria, Hana forced Sera to leave. The sun was shining high above, and students were hanging out all over the yard. Sera yawned and walked over to Hana.
Just then, they noticed a group of students playing volleyball on the sports field. Eunbi, Hyunwoo, Aerin, and Bomin were joking with each other while playing.
Sera folded her arms and turned to Hana. "Eunbi and Hyunwoo have gotten pretty close, haven't they?"
Hana glanced briefly at the field but didn't let any emotion show on her face. "I don't care how close they are to anyone."
Sera laughed and tapped Hana on the shoulder. "Just saying."
The two of them decided to hang out a little longer in the yard. As they were watching the game, Hana briefly turned around and glanced at the cafeteria door. The guy and his friend were still there. This time, Hana, even though she didn't want to, made eye contact with him.
That brief moment of eye contact filled Hana with a strange feeling, but before she could figure out what it was, the guy looked away and continued walking in the other direction.
Sera nudged Hana lightly. "Didn't I tell you he was looking at you?"
Hana rolled her eyes. "Stop it."
But this time, her voice didn't sound as confident as usual.
---
Sera tilted her head and looked at Hana. "You and Hyunwoo don't hang out much anymore. You're not talking like you used to."
Hana paused for a moment. It was true that she hadn't spent as much time with Hyunwoo recently. She wasn't sure what to say, but tried not to show it, shrugging. "I don't know, isn't it normal to spend time with everyone? We don't always have to be together."
Sera raised an eyebrow. "Whatever you say," she said, but she didn't quite believe that Hana didn't care about this change.
At that moment, their attention was drawn back to the volleyball court. Hyunwoo was holding the ball and talking to Eunbi, who was giggling and pushing him away. Aerin and Bomin were laughing as well.
Sera gently touched Hana's arm. "If my boyfriend was hanging out like that with someone else, I'd be jealous."
Hana rolled her eyes. "Stop it. He's not my boyfriend, and even if he were, can't he talk to others?"
Sera chuckled and raised her hands in mock surrender. "Okay, okay, I was just curious."
Without saying anything, Hana turned away. She really wasn't jealous, was she?
Just then, the scene on the field caught their attention again. Hyunwoo and Aerin were sitting together. Hyunwoo was talking about his situation with Hana, but his gaze was distant.
"I don't know," he sighed. "It was fun at first, but now I feel like we've spent too much time together."
Aerin, hearing Hyunwoo's words, felt something tighten inside her. His nonchalance about being bored of Hana bothered her, but she didn't show it. Twirling the bottle of water in her hand, she asked the question that had been on her mind.
"So? Are you just going to drop it like you do with every other girl?"
Hyunwoo shrugged. "I don't know, it doesn't have to end right away. But I'm just not as interested as I was before. She's acting weird too, maybe she's noticed that too."
Aerin gripped her water bottle a little tighter. She didn't want to see Hyunwoo being so indifferent. Hana deserved someone who appreciated her, not someone like him. But instead of saying anything, she turned her head away.
The others hadn't been paying much attention to the conversation. In fact, Bomin and Eunbi had already moved on to another topic. Hyunwoo quickly joined in, but Aerin's mind stayed with the earlier conversation.
---
Meanwhile, Hana and Sera were getting tired of sitting in the yard and decided to return to the cafeteria.
As they entered the door, they saw the guy and his friend were still there. Hana noticed them but deliberately tried not to look.
Sera, noticing that the guy had looked at Hana again, smiled and nudged Hana's arm. "He looked at you again!"
Hana sighed deeply and rolled her eyes sarcastically. "Cut it out, Sera. He didn't even look at me."
Sera pursed her lips and shook her head. "Sure, sure, whatever you say."
Not wanting to dwell on the topic any longer, Hana changed the subject. "Let's just go get something to drink."
The two of them stood in line at the back of the cafeteria. Hana was trying to distract herself from her thoughts while getting a cold juice from the vending machine. Everything felt different lately. Her relationship with Hyunwoo had become strange.
As all this was happening, without realizing it, Hana's gaze drifted outside again to the group still playing volleyball. Hyunwoo was still there, laughing and having fun. He looked like he didn't care about anything.
Hana sighed softly. Was he really that indifferent?