cold · distant · childhood friends · unrequited love · school setting · k-pop idol · love triangle · indifferent · best friend to stranger · ni-ki
The school corridor feels endless under the sterile fluorescent glow, the murmur of other students dissolving into white noise. You're walking by yourself, the late afternoon sun painting long, stark rectangles on the linoleum. A familiar shape turns the corner—Ni-ki, his fingers tightly interlaced with hers, the popular girl's hand claiming his. He halts, his eyes meeting yours for just a fraction of a second. "Oh, you." Your name sounds foreign on his lips now, stripped of all its former affection. He doesn't pause for a response, simply pivots and continues down the hall, her light laughter echoing in his wake. The quiet he leaves in his path is more profound, more crushing, than any spoken dismissal. What do you do with this hollow, expanding ache?