JIAH POV
"Oh—there's one more thing I need to announce."
The whole class freezes as if someone pressed pause. Heads turn toward Mr. Han at the same time.
Even Bora stops arguing with Minsol. Everyone waits, alert now, hoping for something interesting enough to distract them from another normal school day.
Mr. Han scans the classroom with a dramatic smile before speaking.
"Seo Jiah got first place in the English poem competition for our school."
For a moment, the words do not make sense.
I sit in my chair staring at him, blinking slowly as my brain tries to process what he just said. English poem. First place. Me.
Then the room erupts.
Bora slams the desk beside me and shouts proudly, while Haerin claps with bright excitement.
Taeyoung whistles from somewhere in the front. The noise spreads through the classroom—desks banging, voices cheering, laughter echoing.
I remain still for a second, trying to understand it.
The poem.
The one I wrote late at night when I couldn't stop thinking about Jiho.
The love poem.
The one that existed only because I was stupid enough to cry over him again.
And somehow that poem won.
I straighten slowly in my seat and shrug like it is nothing important. Inside my head, however, my thoughts are spinning wildly.
Then I hear a quiet clap.
Slow. Soft.
I turn my head.
Yu Enhyeok is clapping.
He is looking at me while doing it.
For a second I wonder if I imagined it. He did not react when the class congratulated him for winning the math competition earlier. He had barely acknowledged it at all.
Yet he is clapping now.
Our eyes meet briefly.
Then he stops and returns to his book as if nothing happened.
Mr. Han clears his throat again and continues smiling.
"Congratulations to both of you. Now open your literature books."
The class groans, but the lesson begins anyway.
I try to focus, but my mind keeps circling back to the same thought. I actually won with that poem. The one about Jiho, who probably has no idea he indirectly inspired it.
When the bell rings, I immediately grab Bora's hand with one hand and Haerin's with the other and drag them toward the door.
"Jiah, that was amazing," Bora shouts as we move into the hallway.
"You're so talented," Haerin adds, practically glowing with excitement.
We walk into the bathroom together, laughing and talking, the adrenaline from the announcement still rushing through me.
I stop at the mirror and adjust my hair, watching my reflection for a moment. It feels strange to enjoy a victory for once.
Then the door opens.
Shin Ara walks in.
She approaches us with her usual polished smile.
"You got first place, right?" she asks sweetly. "What trick did you use?"
Before I can answer, Bora snaps back immediately.
"What trick did you use to be this annoying?"
I tap Bora's arm gently and she stops, though the irritation remains obvious.
I look back at Ara calmly.
"What trick did I use?" I say. "Probably my brain."
Haerin steps forward beside me, her voice quiet but sharp.
"The thing you don't have."
Ara's smile tightens.
She tilts her head slightly, still pretending innocence.
"If you had a brain," she says lightly, "you wouldn't have confessed to Jiho six times."
The bathroom goes completely silent.
My smile disappears before I can stop it. Bora inhales sharply beside me while Haerin freezes.
Ara watches my reaction with clear satisfaction before flipping her hair and leaving the room.
The door shuts behind her.
I stare at it for a moment.
Inside my mind, anger surges forward, but reality quickly pushes it back down. Ara's family has money and influence far beyond mine. Starting a fight with her would only end badly.
I swallow the anger.
"Not today," I mutter quietly.
Bora is still furious. "Say the word," she growls. "I'll drag her back in here."
"No," I say quickly, grabbing her arm.
Haerin nods in agreement.
I take a breath and face the mirror again, smoothing my hair back into place.
"It's fine," I say, even though the words feel hollow.
Bora and Haerin start laughing when I try to brush it off.
The tension fades enough for us to leave the bathroom and return to class.
---
Math class begins shortly after.
Ms. Park walks into the room and drops a stack of worksheets onto the desk.
"Today we're doing a group task with your seatmates," she announces.
My stomach sinks.
Seatmates.
Which means Yu Enhyeok.
She places the worksheet in front of us. The problems look complicated enough to cause a headache just by staring at them.
"Work together," Ms. Park adds. "Math requires cooperation."
I stare at the page before glancing sideways at him.
"Just saying," I mutter quietly, "I'm solving this myself."
He does not even look at me.
"Okay."
That is all he says.
I begin working anyway, though the first problem already makes my head hurt. After writing something that might be a solution, I glance at his notebook.
He immediately shifts his arm over it, blocking my view.
I frown. "Relax. I'm not stealing anything."
No response.
Ms. Park begins checking desks one by one, slowly making her way toward the back of the room where we sit.
Panic starts creeping in.
I lean closer to him.
"Is this correct?" I whisper.
He finally glances at me.
"You said you didn't need help."
"I'm asking if it's right."
He turns slightly toward me. "What if it isn't?"
"Then I'll fix it."
He exhales quietly. "It's wrong."
"You didn't even look."
"I don't need to."
I stare at him in disbelief.
"I'll tell the teacher you didn't cooperate."
"Go ahead."
My patience snaps.
Before I can argue again, he says quietly, "Admit it."
"What?"
"That you need help."
I clench my teeth.
"…Fine. I need help."
A faint smirk appears on his face. He writes the correct answer quickly and slides the paper toward me without explaining anything.
I copy it silently while he returns to his own work as if nothing happened.
___________________
ENHYEOK POV
Break time begins the moment the bell rings. The hallway fills with noise as students leave their classrooms. Minseok appears beside my desk almost immediately.
"Get up," he says. "You're buying drinks."
I finish writing the final line in my notebook before closing it.
"I never promised anything."
"You won the competition," Taeyoung replies. "That counts as a promise."
Yijun shrugs. "Same thing."
I let them believe whatever they want.
We walk through the hallway together while the usual attention follows us—students whispering, glancing, pretending not to stare.
I ignore it.
Minseok talks constantly. Taeyoung mocks him for it. Yijun pretends to be detached but laughs anyway.
Everything feels normal.
Except for the quiet thought still lingering in the back of my mind.
Seo Jiah.
Earlier.
The way she said she needed help.
The words sounded forced, like they scraped against her pride on the way out. For someone like her, admitting that must have felt like losing.
And strangely, I enjoyed it.
More than I should have.
We stop near the notice board where a new poster has been placed.
Competition results.
As we step closer, I see someone already standing there.
Baek Jiho.
He is not looking at my photo.
He is looking at hers.
Seo Jiah's picture sits beside mine on the poster. Two winners from the same school.
Jiho studies her photograph for a moment before a small smile appears on his face.
My gaze shifts between the poster and his expression.
Her bright smile in the photograph.
His attention fixed on it.
Something inside my chest goes still for a moment.
Then the realization settles quietly.
Oh.