Ara had mastered the art of avoidance. At least, she thought she had. 

For the past few days, she kept her distance from Jungwon—no lingering glances, no accidental run-ins.

If she saw him coming, she turned the other way. If he spoke, she gave short, indifferent answers. It wasn’t that hard. 

Or so she thought. 

Because somehow, despite all her efforts, she still felt his presence everywhere. In the way Sunoo smirked at her knowingly.

In the way Jiwon clung to his arm a little more these days. In the way her stomach twisted whenever she caught a glimpse of him laughing with someone else. 

And worst of all, in the way he let it happen. 

Jungwon didn’t chase after her. He didn’t call her out on the distance she had put between them.

He simply let her slip away, and for some reason, that frustrated her more than anything. 

“Are you really going to keep pretending?” Sunoo asked, leaning against the lockers as they waited for their next class. 

“Pretending what?” 

Sunoo scoffed. “That it doesn’t bother you.” 

Ara shot him a glare. “It doesn’t.” 

“Right.” He crossed his arms. “So you’re totally fine with Jiwon being all over him?” 

“That has nothing to do with me,” she said, but the words tasted bitter. 

Sunoo studied her for a moment before sighing. “You know, for someone who doesn’t care, you sure do a lot to avoid him.” 

Ara didn’t reply. Because deep down, she knew he was right. 

And it scared her. 

Because if she admitted it—if she let herself acknowledge the way Jungwon made her feel—then she’d have to face the truth she had been running from all this time. 

That maybe, just maybe, she was slipping through the cracks of something she wasn’t ready to name. 

And worse, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to stop it.