Chapter Text
Y/N walked through the crowded halls of WoodCreek High like she did every morning—books clutched to her chest, head slightly down, careful not to draw unwanted attention. It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy the looks or compliments; she had learned long ago to ignore whispers that followed her down the hall. People could admire you, but admiration had a shadow, and she knew that better than most.
Her reputation as the “prettiest girl in school” was something she hadn’t asked for. Being sweet, kind, and helpful had only made it worse—everyone wanted something from her, and very few genuinely cared about who she was beyond the surface. Y/N had learned to smile politely and keep her walls up.
And then there was Martin.
He had been… different. Dangerous, reckless, and infuriatingly magnetic. He loved her with a fire that scared her, a love so intense it had no room for compromise. At first, she had been drawn to him—the thrill, the unpredictability, the feeling of being wanted so desperately. But love shouldn’t feel like a cage, and soon she had realized she couldn’t breathe when he was near.
Breaking up with Martin hadn’t ended the storm. He didn’t accept rejection. He spread rumors, twisted truths, and made her life miserable at every turn. Lies about their past, vicious whispers in the halls, even threats—Martin’s obsession had made her school a battlefield.
Y/N had survived. She had focused on herself, her studies, and her own future. She had grown stronger, more cautious, and wiser. But the shadow of Martin’s temper, and his dangerous tendencies, lingered in the back of her mind.
Shaking off the memories, she opened her locker. Her day started normally enough—classes, small talk, the constant hum of teenage life—but a flicker of unease ran down her spine. Something about the hallway felt different this morning, though she couldn’t name why.
Then came the first bell of the day, echoing through the building. She tucked her notebook under her arm and moved toward her classroom, her heels clicking softly against the floor. She passed groups of classmates, all chatting, laughing, completely unaware of the tension threading through the school’s air.
Y/N reached her classroom door just as it slid open, the usual chatter waiting on the other side. She stepped in, trying to settle into the routine.
The classroom door swung open with a loud bang, and every head turned.
Martin stepped in like he owned the place, headphones blasting metal music that made the walls thrum. His hands were shoved deep into his pockets, and he didn’t even glance at the teacher as he walked toward his usual seat in the back. The casual confidence in his stride was infuriating.
Y/N felt her chest tighten.
Keonho, the class clown and one of Martin’s closest friends, caught sight of Y/N. His smirk was slow, deliberate. He sat in the front across from Y/N, he leaned back in his chair and shot her a glance, proceeding to make a "finger in hole" hand gesture while sticking his tongue out—a suggestion of something sexual, an unmistakable imitation to the rumors Martin had spread after their breakup.
Y/N’s face burned. She felt rage in every part of her body. Every whisper of high school gossip flaring up in her mind. Keonho continued to laugh
Y/N clenched her fists under her desk, forcing herself to stay calm. She refused to give him the satisfaction of a reaction. But inside, a storm of anger, fear, and frustration churned. She hated that he still had this power over her, that even months later, he could unsettle her with nothing more than a look, a gesture, and a swagger down the aisle.
The class shuffled awkwardly around the tension, and Y/N focused on her notebook, pretending to take notes she didn’t care about. But her mind couldn’t stop telling her to turn to Martin. He was dangerous, he was no good, and this was only the beginning.
Finally, the bell rang, sharp and beautiful.
Chairs screeched back, and the usual wave of chatter filled the room. Y/N slipped her notebook into her bag, still unbothered. She waited for most of the class to pour out before she stood, keeping her head down as she brushed past desks.
Martin didn’t even look up. He leaned back in his chair, headphones still on, tapping his foot to the beat like HE was the main character. Keonho was laughing about something stupid, and Y/N could feel as if her name was being tossed carelessly into the mix as she left the room.
She didn’t bother to turn back. She never did.
The hallway air felt cooler, freer, like she could finally breathe again for five minutes. She pressed a hand against her throat, trying to calm the burning sensation in her throat. Every time she saw him, she's reminded in so many different ways; how it brought everything back—the rumors, the humiliation, the nights she cried to her mom until her eyes hurt.
As she walked down the hall, the noise of lockers slamming and voices blending together filled her ears, grounding her. She let herself smile a little, small but real. She had friends waiting for her, a group that didn’t believe the lies, people who saw her as more than just Martin's ex.
It was only 9:45 in the morning, and Y/N already felt the kind of tired that made her struggle to stay awake. The day had barely started, but her energy was already spent just trying to keep her composure.
She leaned against the cool metal of her locker, the hum of the hallway all around her — sneakers squeaking on tile, laughter echoing off the walls, snippets of conversations about weekend plans and tests. It was all so normal, and that was exactly what she needed right now. Normal.
Y/N glanced down the hall, waiting. Minji was late — as usual. Her best friend had a habit of getting caught up chatting with people, her energy the total opposite of Y/N’s quiet calm. Still, Y/N didn’t mind waiting.
A few students passed by, offering her polite smiles or quick greetings. She returned them out of habit. On the surface, everything was fine — her makeup was neat, her uniform crisp, her smile sweet.
A hand suddenly waved in front of her face.
“Y/N.....!!”
Y/N blinked and looked up. Minji was standing there, grinning, her hair in a messy ponytail and her backpack hanging off one shoulder.
“Took you long enough,” Y/N said, voice soft but teasing.
“Sorry,” Minji said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Got cornered by Mr. Fish about that stupid project again. You look like you’re about to fall asleep, by the way.”
Y/N let out a tired laugh. “Because I am. It’s not even lunch yet and I already want to go home.”
“Then let’s get to class before the day gets worse,” Minji said, looping her arm through Y/N’s.
Together, they started down the hall. The noise of the school swelled around them — laughter, lockers, footsteps.
Minji’s chatter filled the hallway as they walked. It was the kind of noise Y/N didn’t mind—soft, comforting, something to occupy her thoughts with instead of letting them drift back to unnecessary things.
They turned the corner toward their usual hangout spot—a cluster of lockers near the art wing, where the light from the courtyard spilled through the windows in golden patches. Sunoo and Chaewon were already there.
“Finally!” Sunoo groaned dramatically the moment he saw them. "We’ve been waiting forever.”
“You’ve been waiting three minutes,” Chaewon said flatly, her tone teasing but her smile genuine. She stood with her arms crossed, neat as ever, her dark bob bounced perfectly.
Sunoo rolled his eyes, hand on one hip. “Three minutes is an eternity when I’m deprived of gossip.”
Y/N couldn’t help laughing, the sound easing the knot in her chest. “Okay, so whats the tea?”
“Oh okay,” Sunoo said with a evil smirk. “Apparently, Mr. Kang from gym is dating the new art teacher. Don’t quote me, but the tension between them is insane.”
Minji rolled her eyes. “You and your theories, Sunoo.”
"Oh! Y/N, also I heard that Juhoon wants to ask you out this week!” he said, as if he couldn't wait to say it.
Y/N blinked. “Juhoon? From gym?”
Sunoo nodded, eyes wide with excitement. “Mhm! Pretty tall, cute, plays soccer, and—get this—he told Soobin that he thinks you’re the prettiest girl in school. His words, not mine.”
Minji gasped dramatically. “Wait, he did? Oh my god, I ship!!”
“Yup. Yesterday at soccer practice,” Sunoo said proudly, as though he’d uncovered a national secret. “I have great ears.”
Chaewon rolled her eyes, lips slowly smirking. “Your sources are always wrong, Sunoo.”
“But anyways, I also heard Hyein and Seonghyeon got caught making out behind the bleachers. That whole friend group consists of H.O.E.S,” Sunoo shot back.
“Sunoo, you should not be calling anyone a hoe with what you do,” Minji pointed out.
Y/N giggled, the sound soft but real. “You guys are ridiculous.”
“Maybe,” Sunoo said, leaning in with a grin, “but you’re not even a little curious about Juhoon?”
Y/N shrugged, trying not to smile too much. “He’s… nice. I don’t know. I’m just not really thinking about that kind of thing right now.”
Minji gave her a knowing look. “Still getting over Martin?”
Y/N hesitated, the lightness in her chest faltering for a moment. “Very much moving on...” she said quietly. "But yeah.. that whole friend group needs to be checked.”
The group fell silent for a beat, their laughter fading into the hum of students moving down the hallway. Sunoo’s expression softened.
“Well,” he said gently, “Are we still skipping class after lunch?”
The first bell rang overhead, echoing through the halls.
“Ugh,” Minji groaned. “Here we go again. Math —pray for me.”
Chaewon reached out and grabbed both Sunoo and Minji by their collars, steering them toward the stairs. “See you idiots after lunch.”
The group dissolved into laughter as they headed off in different directions for class, backpacks bumping, voices overlapping. Y/N lingered for a moment, watching them go, warmth blooming in her chest.
Maybe this week wouldn’t be so bad after all.
The rest of the morning dragged on like any other. Y/N sat through English class with one ear tuned out, pretending to take notes while her mind wandered. Her teacher, Mrs. Choi, talked on about symbolism in book; Mobi-Dick, while Y/N’s highlighter hovered uselessly over her paper.
Every so often, she’d catch people whom she hadn't known staring at her.
She inhaled slowly, grounding herself.
When the bell finally rang, she packed up faster than anyone else, ignoring the looks, ignoring the smirk she swore she saw from across the room.
By the time lunch rolled around, she was more than ready to forget everything.
--
The cafeteria buzzed with noise — trays clattering, laughter spilling from every table. Y/N spotted her group instantly in their usual corner by the big window.
“Here comes the queen herself,” Sunoo announced dramatically as she approached. “Y/N, tell me we're about to go off campus.”
Minji snorted. “No we aren't. You chose to get three corndogs. That’s on you.”
“They were on sale,” he defended, mouth already full.
Chaewon looked up from her lunchbox, raising a brow. “Since when does cafeteria food have sales?”
“Since today, apparently!” Sunoo said proudly, gesturing with his corndog.
Y/N giggled, setting down her tray beside Minji. “You’re all insane.”
“You love it,” Minji said, bumping her shoulder.
For a while, everything felt normal again — the laughter, the teasing, even the way Sunoo dramatically recited random lines from TikToks until everyone choked on their drinks.
Suddenly, Minji leaned in with a mischievous grin.
“So,” she whispered, “are we still doing it?”
Y/N blinked. “Doing what?”
“Skipping. You said you needed a break before science. Come on, it’s tradition.”
Chaewon smirked. “We haven’t skipped together since last semester. It’s practically overdue.”
Sunoo clapped his hands. “Bathroom squad, assemble!”
Y/N laughed nervously. “You’re all going to get us caught again.”
“Not if we’re careful,” Minji sang, digging in her food.
Before Y/N could reply, a sudden clatter echoed from behind them — the sharp sound of a tray hitting the floor.
Minji gasped as something cold splattered across her sleeve. “Oh my god!”
Everyone turned. Seonghyeon -- one of Martin’s friends — stood frozen, an empty milk carton dangling from his hand.
“Watch where you’re sitting next time,” he muttered with a grin that wasn’t really apologetic at all.
Sunoo’s chair screeched against the tile as he stood halfway up. “Excuse me?”
Chaewon’s voice was tight. “It was an accident, right?”
The boy smirked, eyes flicking to Y/N for just a second too long. “Sure. Accident.”
Y/N’s stomach dropped.
“Come on, Minji.” Y/N stood quickly, grabbing a handful of napkins and gently blotting her friend’s sleeve. “Let’s just go clean up.”
Minji sighed, still glaring after him. “Jerk.”
Sunoo muttered something under his breath about throwing hands, but Chaewon tugged his arm down, shaking her head. “Not worth it.”
As Seonghyeon turned to walk away, Sunoo’s patience snapped.
“Hey, bitch!” he yelled, his voice cutting through the cafeteria noise. “Next time watch where the fuck you’re going — and go get caught up with Hyein behind the bleachers or something!”
Gasps rippled through nearby tables. A few heads turned; someone even laughed.
Seonghyeon froze mid-step, his jaw tightening. “What’d you just say?”
Sunoo didn’t back down. “You heard me.”
Before Chaewon could stop him, Seonghyeon turned and shoved Sunoo’s shoulder hard enough to make him fall to the floor. Chairs screeched.
“Oh my god,” Minji hissed, but she was already standing, moving toward them.
“Don’t you dare touch him!”
Within seconds, chaos broke out. Sunoo shoved him back, Seonghyeon swung, and the next thing anyone knew, the table beside them tipped over, food splattering across the floor.
“Stop!” Y/N yelled from a distance, heart pounding as students scrambled to get out of the way. But no one was listening—too much shouting, too many people recording, and too much egging them on.
It only stopped when a teacher’s sharp voice cut through the noise.
“Enough!”
Mr. Brown, the vice principal, appeared out of nowhere, face red with fury. “All of you—office. Now.”
Sunoo stood there breathing hard, his shirt wrinkled, eyes still locked on Seonghyeon. Minji muttered a curse under her breath, still holding Sunoo’s arm protectively.
“Move!” Mr. Brown barked again, and they finally did.
Y/N and Chaewon exchanged helpless glances as their friends were escorted out of the cafeteria. The crowd slowly began to settle, whispers buzzing through the air like static.
“Well,” Chaewon sighed, picking up her bag, “there goes skipping.”
Y/N tried to laugh, but her throat felt dry. “Yeah. Guess it’s just us now.”
Chaewon gave her a small shrug.
Y/N nodded faintly, glancing toward the door where Sunoo, Minji, and Seonghyeon had just disappeared. The uneasy feeling in her chest wouldn’t fade.
“Yeah,” she said softly. “Let’s go before the next bell.”
Y/N and Chaewon tossed their trays and slipped out of the cafeteria a minute or two before the bell rang. The halls were still mostly empty, sunlight spilling through the tall windows and painting gold lines across the floor.
“Okay,” Chaewon whispered, glancing both ways before tugging Y/N toward the back hall near the language wing. “We can hang out in the bathroom there until the bell rings. No one checks that one.”
Y/N chuckled under her breath. “You sound like you’ve been planning this.”
“I skip everyday,” Chaewon said, smirking.
Y/N rolled her eyes but followed anyway, her sneakers squeaking quietly on the tile. The laughter and noise from lunch faded behind them until all that was left was the hum of the lights and the faint echo of doors closing as teachers began calling students in.
They rounded a corner, and Y/N slowed.
Something tugged at the back of her mind — a small, uneasy thought she couldn’t shake.
“Hey,” she said softly.
Chaewon looked over her shoulder. “What?”
“Martin wasn’t in the cafeteria.”
Chaewon blinked. “What?”
“Seonghyeon was there. But where were the rest of them? They’re always together. I didn’t see Martin, or Juhoon, or any of them.”
Chaewon frowned, the smirk fading a little. “Maybe they ditched lunch early? You know those guys — probably hiding behind the gym smoking or something.”
“Yeah, maybe…” Y/N murmured, though the explanation didn’t feel right. Martin never missed a chance to be seen.
She shoved her hands into her pockets, trying to brush off the chill creeping up her spine. "I mean.. who really gives a fuck?"
“Let’s just get to the bathroom before we get caught,” Chaewon said, her voice lighter now. “We can gossip about Juhoon or plan our fake sick notes or something.”
Y/N smiled weakly, nodding as they pushed open the heavy bathroom door. The sound of the latch clicking behind them echoed louder than it should have.
The bathroom was quiet except for the faint hum of the vents and the echo of their footsteps. Chaewon checked the stalls one by one, then grinned. “Perfect. Our hideout.”
Y/N laughed softly, leaning against the counter. “If we get caught again, I swear to god.”
“Please, I’m a professional.” Chaewon hopped up to sit on the counter beside the sink, her legs swinging. “Sunoo thinks he invented skipping and is the expert, but I was doing this since freshman year.”
Y/N smiled, pulling out her phone. “Let's do this TikTok dance.”
“Alright.” Chaewon chuckled
They both laughed. For a few minutes, it was easy — the kind of quiet rebellion that felt safe and stupid and perfectly teenage.
Chaewon brushed a strand of hair from her face and glanced over. “How do you feel? After what happened with Seonghyeon?”
Y/N hesitated, looking down at her reflection in the sink’s metal surface. “Yeah. I just… hate that it always comes back to Martin somehow.”
Chaewon tilted her head. “What do you mean? You still think about him?”
“Not like that,” Y/N said quickly. “Just—like every time something happens, it’s like he’s still around. Every time a fight happens or something, it's always connected to Martin. I also can’t walk through the halls without someone looking at me and thinking about what he said.”
Chaewon’s voice softened. “You know most people don’t believe that stuff, right? They just like to talk.”
“I know.” Y/N sighed. “It’s just hard to forget.”
Chaewon offered a small smile. “You’re stronger than you think. He just doesn’t like that he lost someone better than him.”
Y/N let out a quiet laugh. “You sound like my mom.”
“Your mom sounds smart.”
They shared a look, both smiling, and for a moment the world outside felt far away — no whispers, no rumors, no Martin. Just the faint buzz of the fluorescent lights and the sound of Chaewon humming some random song under her breath.
Minutes passed. The first bell had already rung. Somewhere down the hall, a door slammed.
Chaewon checked her phone. “We’ve officially been criminals for—” she squinted, “—seven minutes.”
“Wow,” Y/N said dryly. “You brought your vape?”
Chaewon laughed, opening her mouth to say something else—
BANG.
The sound was sharp, metallic, and so loud that both girls froze.
A second later, another echoed down the hallway.
Y/N’s head jerked toward the door. “Wh- What was that?" she whispered, her voice trembling.
Chaewon slid off the counter, eyes wide.