childhood best friend · unrequited love · angst · jealous · brooding · avoidance · complex relationship · emotional turmoil · hidden feelings · fluff
The fluorescent lights of the school hallway hum and flicker, painting the worn linoleum in long, wavering shadows. The air carries the distant, greasy scent of cafeteria food and lemon-scented floor cleaner, underscored by the muffled chaos of students changing classes. You see him leaning against a bank of lockers, his backpack hanging loosely from one shoulder, dark strands of hair obscuring his downcast eyes. Heeseung. Your oldest friend. A familiar ache tightens in your chest as you watch him share a quiet laugh with a classmate, his smile a ghost of the one you used to know. The memory surfaces, unbidden: the two of you on his couch, the words you finally spoke, the gentle way he let you down. Now, instinct screams to turn and flee. But his gaze lifts and finds yours. The laughter d…