[No-Ah]
Morning lectures always felt colder than they should.
No-Ah stepped off the bus with one hand tucked into the sleeve of her hoodie, the other holding a coffee she hadn't touched yet.
The campus stretched ahead beneath a pale gray sky, students crowding across walkways in tired clusters.
Too loud.
Too early.
No-Ah adjusted the strap of her bag slightly higher on her shoulder and continued toward the main building.
Her phone buzzed once in her pocket.
She ignored it automatically at first.
Then paused.
A strange instinct made her pull it out anyway.
One unread message.
From Kei.
Survived the hangover barely.
No-Ah stared at the screen for a second.
Then typed while walking:
Unfortunately.
Almost immediately:
Wow cruel way to speak to the injured
Did you drink water yet
no
i'm choosing suffering
I can believe that
No-Ah looked forward again before she could accidentally smile at her phone like an idiot.
She locked the screen and shoved the phone back into her pocket.
The warmth from the conversation lingered annoyingly anyway.
☆☆ ☆
By the time she reached the lecture hall, most seats were already occupied.
No-Ah stepped inside quietly.
And immediately noticed something wrong.
Yun-Ra was sitting farther away than usual.
Not beside her.
Not even near her.
No-Ah slowed slightly.
Strange.
Normally Yun-Ra treated personal space like a personal insult.
But today—
Yun-Ra kept her eyes fixed on her notebook even after No-Ah entered.
No greeting. No dramatic complaints. No "you're late."
Wrong.
No-Ah frowned faintly before sitting down anyway.
The lecture started.
Yun-Ra never looked at her once.
By lunch, it became impossible not to notice.
Yun-Ra answered every question too quickly.
Too flat.
Too controlled.
"Did you finish the worksheet?"
"Yeah."
"You okay?"
"Fine."
"You're weird today."
"So are you."
That last answer came sharp enough to make No-Ah pause.
Yun-Ra immediately looked away afterward.
No-Ah frowned slightly.
Very strange.
Normally Yun-Ra's emotions were obvious.
Annoyingly obvious.
If she was irritated, everyone knew. If she was excited, everyone knew. If she was upset—
No-Ah studied her quietly across the classroom.
Yun-Ra refused to look at her once.
That unsettled her more than it should have.
By the end of the day, Yun-Ra practically disappeared the second class ended.
No waiting outside the door. No dramatic complaining about homework. No grabbing No-Ah's sleeve while talking.
Just gone.
No-Ah stood in the hallway for a moment, staring after her retreating figure.
Then irritation slowly replaced confusion.
What exactly was this behavior?
No-Ah shoved her books into her bag and followed.
She found Yun-Ra near the back staircase.
Quiet area. Almost empty.
Yun-Ra was leaning against the wall scrolling through her phone with the kind of focus that screamed avoidance.
No-Ah stopped in front of her.
"What's wrong with you?"
Yun-Ra didn't look up.
"Nothing."
Bad lie.
No-Ah's eyes narrowed slightly.
"You've been acting strange all day."
"I said I'm fine."
"You also said the cafeteria noodles tasted good once. I don't trust your judgment."
Normally that would've earned an immediate reaction.
A laugh. An insult. Something.
This time Yun-Ra only locked her phone quietly.
Still not looking at her.
Something cold settled uncomfortably in No-Ah's chest.
"…Did I do something?"
That finally made Yun-Ra look up.
And the expression on her face caught No-Ah off guard immediately.
Hurt.
Not anger first.
Hurt.
Which somehow felt worse.
"You seriously don't know?" Yun-Ra asked quietly.
No-Ah frowned.
"Know what?"
Yun-Ra laughed softly.
Except there wasn't anything amused in the sound.
"That's crazy."
"What is?"
"You."
No-Ah's irritation sharpened.
"Can you stop speaking in riddles for five seconds?"
Yun-Ra looked away again immediately.
Like even looking at her was difficult suddenly.
The hallway felt too quiet.
Students' voices echoed faintly from farther downstairs, distant enough not to matter.
Then Yun-Ra spoke again.
"…I went to your apartment yesterday."
No-Ah blinked once.
"For the project?"
"No answer." Yun-Ra swallowed slightly. "No messages either."
Guilt flickered briefly through No-Ah's chest.
Right.
"I was busy."
"I know."
Something about the way Yun-Ra said it made No-Ah still.
A pause.
Then:
"I saw you."
No-Ah's expression shifted slightly.
Yun-Ra finally looked directly at her again.
"At the ramen shop."
Silence.
Then more quietly:
"You were with Kei."
Everything clicked together instantly.
The timing. The weird behavior. The avoidance.
Ah.
No-Ah exhaled softly through her nose.
"…You followed me?"
"I was trying to find you."
"That didn't answer the question."
Yun-Ra's jaw tightened.
"No-Ah."
"What?"
"You were with him."
No-Ah stayed quiet.
Not because she was hiding it.
Because she genuinely didn't understand why this conversation suddenly felt so tense.
"You were with Kei. "
Yun-Ra laughed again softly.
Still not happy.
"You really weren't going to tell me."
"There wasn't anything to tell."
That answer landed badly.
No-Ah realized it immediately.
Yun-Ra stared at her like she'd been slapped.
"…Wow."
"What?"
"You don't think that mattered?"
No-Ah frowned slightly.
"It was ramen."
"It clearly wasn't just ramen."
The words came out too quickly.
Too emotionally.
Yun-Ra seemed to realize it a second afterward and looked away immediately.
No-Ah felt the atmosphere shift sharply.
Dangerously.
"…Why are you upset?" No-Ah asked carefully.
Yun-Ra let out a short breath.
"Because you hid it."
"I didn't hide anything."
"You didn't tell me."
"There's a difference."
"No, there isn't."
The response cracked slightly at the end.
No-Ah froze.
"I thought you helping Kei was a one time thing. Maybe it was just a coincidence. But who knew? "
Yun-Ra pressed the heel of her hand briefly against her eye in frustration before crossing her arms tightly.
"You tell me everything."
The quiet honesty in her voice hit harder than yelling would've.
No-Ah looked at her silently.
Because normally—
she did.
Yun-Ra knew things other people didn't. Small habits. Thoughts. Bad days.
No-Ah searched for an answer and came up strangely blank.
"I didn't think it mattered," she admitted finally.
Yun-Ra's expression tightened immediately.
"That's the problem."
No-Ah's chest tightened slightly.
The hurt in Yun-Ra's face was becoming difficult to look at.
Students passed distantly at the end of the hallway without noticing them.
Neither moved.
Then Yun-Ra spoke more quietly.
"You've been different lately."
No-Ah frowned immediately.
"What does that mean?"
"You know what it means."
"I actually don't."
Yun-Ra held her gaze for a long second before answering.
"You look at your phone more now."
No-Ah stilled slightly.
"You leave faster after class, You zone out during conversations, You disappear at night."
Yun-Ra swallowed once before continuing more quietly.
"At first I thought you were just going to work at the café, but…"
Her voice trailed off briefly.
Then:
"…you stopped feeling here even when you were here."
The words landed harder than the others somehow.
No-Ah's chest tightened slightly.
And the worst part was—
she couldn't immediately deny that either.
Yun-Ra noticed.
Of course she noticed.
Her eyes lowered briefly before she looked away again.
"That's what hurts."
The quietness of it made No-Ah's stomach twist unpleasantly.
Not dramatic jealousy.
Not possessiveness.
Just someone realizing distance had appeared without warning.
And not knowing when it started.
No-Ah took a slow breath.
"…Yun-Ra."
"I'm not asking for details," Yun-Ra interrupted quickly.
Too quickly.
"I don't care about that."
Another lie.
No-Ah recognized this one easier.
"But you do care," she said quietly.
Yun-Ra's composure cracked immediately.
"Of course I care!"
The words echoed sharply through the stairwell.
Both of them froze afterward.
Yun-Ra looked away instantly, breathing uneven now like she regretted raising her voice the second it happened.
No-Ah stared at her.
The silence afterward felt fragile.
Dangerous.
Then quieter, Yun-Ra asked:
"…Why didn't you tell me?"
No-Ah opened her mouth automatically.
Nothing came out.
Because the truthful answer sounded strange even inside her own head.
She hadn't hidden Kei intentionally.
She just—
kept not mentioning him.
One ramen dinner became walking home together. Walking home became texting.
Texting became—
No-Ah stopped the thought immediately.
Yun-Ra watched her expression carefully.
And somehow looked even more hurt
afterward.
"…You really thought about this."
No-Ah blinked once.
"What?"
"You paused."
"I—"
"You paused like there was actually something to explain."
The words came out quieter now.
More wounded than accusing.
No-Ah's chest tightened again.
"…I didn't know how to explain it," she admitted softly.
Yun-Ra went still.
And No-Ah realized too late how honest that sounded.
Because it was.
The atmosphere shifted immediately.
Heavier now.
Yun-Ra swallowed once before looking away.
"…So it is serious."
"No," No-Ah answered too quickly.
Yun-Ra's eyes lifted back to her immediately.
"You answered too fast."
No-Ah frowned.
"It's not like that."
"Then what is it like?"
No-Ah went still.
Because—
she didn't know.
And the terrifying part was realizing that answer no longer came easily.
Yun-Ra watched the silence settle between them.
Then very quietly:
"…Is he important to you?"
No-Ah's breath caught slightly.
Tiny reaction.
Easy to miss.
Yun-Ra didn't miss it.
Neither did No-Ah.
The pause that followed only lasted a second.
Maybe less.
But it was enough.
Enough for Yun-Ra's expression to finally falter.
Not dramatically.
Just sudden disappointment she couldn't hide in time.
No-Ah felt it immediately.
"…Yun-Ra."
"You hesitated."
The words came out barely above a whisper.
No-Ah took a step forward instinctively.
Yun-Ra stepped back just as quickly.
That hurt more than it should have.
"I don't even think you realize you're doing it,"
Yun-Ra said quietly.
"Doing what?"
"Choosing him already."
Silence.
No-Ah's chest tightened painfully.
Because she wanted to deny it immediately.
But Yun-Ra was looking at her like she'd already seen the answer.
And suddenly—
No-Ah wasn't completely sure herself anymore.
☆ ☆ ☆