When she scrolled through his posts, she mostly saw clips from football matches, scores of the team he supported, and sometimes photos taken from the field. He had a few pictures in his team's jersey, but even in those, his face was not clearly visible.
Just as she was about to scroll further, something caught her eye. They supported the same football team! Hana stared at the screen in disbelief. Wasn't this too much of a coincidence? Seeing that Okwon was so passionate about football seemed normal, but finding out that they supported the same team brought an odd sense of excitement within her.
Sera and Eunwoo had already fallen asleep, so there was no one to share this discovery with. She smiled to herself, put down her phone, and went to sleep.
TheNextDay
A new day had begun. Hana opened her eyes as usual when the alarm went off for the second time. She lingered in bed for a while, then checked her phone. Remembering that she had accepted Okwon's request, she instinctively opened Instagram. But there was nothing new.
After glancing at the unnecessary messages from Sera and Eunwoo in the group chat, she got out of bed and got ready. She quickly skipped breakfast, grabbed her bag, and left the house.
On the way, she skimmed through the messages in the group chat.
Eunwoo: "I actually saw the kid you mentioned a few times when we were younger. But we never talked. He usually hung out with his older brother."
Hana: "He has an older brother?"
Eunwoo: "Yeah. He should be about two years older than him. But I haven't seen either of them for a while."
Sera: "So, are we learning new things about this kid now?"
Eunwoo shrugged and said with a laugh, "I don't know, I'm just saying it because you guys are showing interest."
Along the way, Sera tried to push Hana again with messages about Okwon, but since Hana didn't react much, they changed the topic.
When they arrived at school, they were in the usual morning crowd. As Hana walked down the hallway, her gaze briefly shifted to Okwon's classroom, but she couldn't tell if he was inside.
When the bell rang, Hana and Sera headed to their respective classrooms. Hana took her seat next to Eunbi.
Before the class started, the classroom was filled with the usual chatter. While Hana was looking at her phone, she unintentionally overheard Aerin and Eunbi's conversation from the back row.
Eunbi: "Hyunwoo broke up with Gayeon. He sent a screenshot this morning."
Aerin: Laughing, "Why does he always send everything to you, Eunbi? Why did they break up?"
Eunbi: "It was pretty obvious it wasn't going to last."
Hana paused for a moment. With Gayeon? Just recently, his name had been linked with another girl, and before that, with Hana... Hana was now sure that Hyunwoo was completely in the past. A few days ago, she might have felt upset, but now... She just sighed and returned her attention to the class.
Aerin and Eunbi were still laughing and talking. Hana realized that she no longer felt affected like she used to. Maybe she had truly closed that chapter.
The class began, and the room quieted down. Without realizing it, a small smile appeared on Hana's face.
---
As the lesson progressed, Hana took notes while her mind wandered. If it had been before, Eunbi's words would have bothered her, but now, the only thing she felt was… emptiness. She hadn't even noticed that Hyunwoo was dating Gayeon. He was probably going to be with someone else in a few days, maybe even the next day, just like he did to Hana.
When the break bell rang, everyone quickly got up from their seats. Eunbi and Aerin were still talking about Hyunwoo. While Hana was packing her bag, she unknowingly listened in on their conversation.
Eunbi: "I wasn't surprised, he didn't really seem to like her much."
Aerin: "Let's see who's next. Let's wait a week, we'll definitely see him with someone new."
They both laughed as they left the classroom, and Hana took a deep breath. Eunbi and Aerin saw Hyunwoo as someone they could now mock. Did Hana feel the same way? What used to be charming to her now seemed childish.
Sera, noticing Hana's thoughtful mood, lightly tapped her on the shoulder.
Sera: "What's up? Thinking too much? Forget it, at least you got rid of him."
Hana smiled and said, "Nah, I don't care anymore. I must have been overthinking."
As they both laughed and left the classroom, Hana realized that the topic of Hyunwoo no longer held any significance in her life. It was just a fleeting illusion from one chapter of her life.
After stopping by the cafeteria and getting something to drink, Hana and Sera headed to the schoolyard. The weather was nice, with a light breeze blowing. As they sipped their drinks, they made small comments about the students walking by.
Sera: "Why is everyone so dressed up today? Especially that girl's skirt... Are we in high school or at a fashion show?"
Hana: "Maybe she's going to a princess-themed birthday party after school."
They both burst into laughter. For a moment, Hana really felt like she was having fun. She realized that it had been a long time since she had laughed so freely because of all the nonsense with Hyunwoo.
Just then, Hyunwoo, Aerin, and a few friends walked into the yard. Hana unknowingly looked at him, but at the same moment, Hyunwoo looked right at her. There was a brief, ambiguous eye contact. Neither of them moved toward the other, nor did Hana look away.
Sera: "Look, Hyunwoo is ignoring you."
Hana: "Don't even mention him to me!" She quickly raised her drink as if she was about to pour it on Sera.
Sera: "Okay, okay, I won't say anything. I think that whole relationship never even happened. You should think of it that way. Come on, let's go mess around with those guys."
They both headed toward a group of friends who were playing volleyball. Hana had already forgotten about Hyunwoo's gaze. For the first time in a while, she was truly enjoying her day.