Oops, Love in Progress

Chapter 18: Cracks in the Facade

Hyunjin wasn't sulking.

At least, that's what he kept telling himself as he scrolled through his phone, sprawled on the floor of an empty practice room. The dim glow from the screen cast shadows on his face, but the mirror across the room reflected the truth he didn't want to admit.

He looked... annoyed.

Tch. Ridiculous. He had no reason to feel this way.

So what if Haneul had lunch with Sunwoo? She could eat with whoever she wanted. It wasn't like it mattered. He had better things to focus on—his evaluation, his debut.

Then why did the image of her smiling at Sunwoo keep replaying in his head?

"Ugh." He let his head thunk against the wall.

Later that night, Hyunjin found himself staring at his reflection in the practice room mirror, jaw tight.

He didn't get jealous. He wasn't that type.

So why the hell did watching Haneul with Sunwoo make his chest feel so damn tight?

Before he could spiral further, the door creaked open. He barely glanced up, expecting one of the other trainees. Instead, it was Haneul.

"Oh." She blinked, surprised to see him there. "Didn't think anyone would be here this late."

Hyunjin arched a brow. "Since when do you avoid people?"

Haneul sighed and walked over, plopping onto the floor across from him. "Since people won't shut up about me."

Ah. So she had heard the whispers after all.

He watched as she fidgeted with the hem of her sleeve, releasing a slow exhale. She was frustrated.

"Does it bother you that much?" he asked after a beat.

She shrugged. "I mean, I know I should just ignore it... but yeah, kinda."

Hyunjin smirked. "Kinda?"

She groaned dramatically, throwing her head back against the wall. "Fine. A lot. Happy?"

He grinned. "Mildly entertained."

She shot him a half-hearted glare before sighing. "It's just... exhausting. No matter what I do, someone always has something to say."

Hyunjin drummed his fingers on his knee. "That's just how it is here. People love building you up just to tear you down."

"Yeah, well, it sucks."

He huffed a laugh. "Yeah, it does."

A silence stretched between them—not awkward, but comfortable. The kind that didn't need to be filled. Hyunjin found himself watching her, the way the tension in her shoulders finally eased, the way the dim light softened her expression.

Then, before he could stop himself, he said, "You know, you don't have to deal with all this alone."

Haneul turned her head slightly, eyes searching his. "What?"

He cleared his throat, then smirked slightly. "Or, you know, you could always go cry to Sunwoo. He seems to have all the right answers, doesn't he?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, catching the bite in his words. "What, jealous?" Then, as if deciding to let it slide, she smirked. "Careful, Park. I might just do that."

Hyunjin grinned, but underneath the teasing, there was something else—something neither of them were ready to acknowledge just yet.

Chapter 19: The Space Between

Sunwoo leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, his usual unreadable expression in place. The air in the room shifted instantly, thickening like the tension before a thunderstorm.

Haneul straightened instinctively, her heart hammering against her ribs. She wasn't doing anything wrong, but something about the way Sunwoo looked at her made her feel like she'd just been caught sneaking out past curfew. Guilty? No. But definitely caught.

Hyunjin, naturally, was the first to break the silence.

"What, did you install a tracker on her phone or something?" he drawled, shifting lazily on his hands. His smirk was in place, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

Sunwoo ignored him, his gaze never leaving Haneul. "You good?"

Haneul blinked, thrown off by the question—more so by the fact that Sunwoo had asked it in front of Hyunjin.

She cleared her throat. "Yeah. Just needed some air."

Sunwoo flicked a glance at Hyunjin before nodding. "Manager-nim's looking for you."

Hyunjin sighed dramatically, stretching his arms behind his head. "Of course he is." He turned toward the door but not before tossing one last glance at Haneul. As he passed Sunwoo, he clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Try not to bore her to death."

Sunwoo didn't react. Just waited until Hyunjin's footsteps faded before finally exhaling, like he'd been holding his breath the whole time.

Haneul raised an eyebrow. "That was unnecessary."

Sunwoo cocked his head. "What was?"

She gestured vaguely. "The whole brooding act. That 'leave now or suffer' vibe. You didn't have to scare him off."

His lips twitched slightly. "I didn't make him leave. He just hates it when I tell him what to do."

She huffed out a short laugh. "That, I believe."

Sunwoo studied her for a moment before stepping further into the room. "I wasn't kidding, though. You okay?"

Haneul hesitated. "I'm just... tired."

His gaze softened, which was rare. "Of what?"

She let out a humorless laugh, leaning back against the wall. "Everything? The whispers, the stares, the feeling like I have to prove myself every single time I step into a room?"

Sunwoo hummed like he understood more than he was letting on. Then, without a word, he reached into his pocket and tossed something at her.

She caught it instinctively. A small, wrapped piece of candy.

She frowned. "What's this?"

He shrugged. "It's what I give my sister when she's stressed."

Something about that made her chest tighten. She rolled the candy between her fingers, hesitating for a second before unwrapping it and popping it into her mouth. The sweetness melted on her tongue, comforting in a way she hadn't expected.

Sunwoo sat beside her, leaving just enough space to be respectful but not distant. He didn't speak, didn't try to fill the silence—just let it settle between them, calm and unhurried.

Haneul glanced at him. "Do you ever feel like you don't belong here?"

Sunwoo exhaled slowly. "All the time."

She waited for him to elaborate, but he didn't. Somehow, though, she felt like she understood him more in that moment than she had in the past few weeks of knowing him.

"Hyunjin does too, you know," Sunwoo added after a pause. "He just hides it differently."

Haneul snorted. "Yeah. By being the loudest person in the room."

Sunwoo's lips twitched. "It works, though."

She nodded because it was true. Hyunjin was like a wildfire—unpredictable, sometimes reckless, but impossible to ignore. Sunwoo, on the other hand, was the steady, unwavering calm before the storm.

"I'm not saying you should ignore everything," Sunwoo said after a while. "But you don't have to let it eat you alive, either."

Haneul studied him. "And you? Do you take your own advice?"

A flicker of something crossed his face, gone too fast for her to catch. But then he smiled faintly. "Sometimes."

For once, she didn't push.

She unwrapped another candy, popping it into her mouth. It was sweet. Comforting.

And maybe, just maybe, so was the unexpected warmth sitting between her and Sunwoo in that quiet, stolen moment.