For the next few days, Seojun couldn't get that conversation out of his head.
What did that even mean?! Did she want to really kiss him?
Every time he thought about it, he had the uncontrollable urge to shake Haneul by the shoulders and demand a better explanation.
But the worst part?
She acted completely normal in class.
Not even a hint of awkwardness. No sign that she'd barged into his secret café, casually dismantled his entire self-image, and left him questioning his life choices.
Meanwhile, Seojun was suffering.
Because now, he kept noticing her.
Before, she was just some quiet, glasses-wearing girl who blended into the background.
But now?
Now, every time he glanced around the classroom, his eyes involuntarily landed on her.
She wasn't doing anything special—just writing notes, reading, staring out the window—but his entire being was suddenly hyper-aware of her presence.
And she knew.
He could tell.
Because sometimes, when she caught him looking, the corners of her lips would twitch just slightly—not quite a smirk, but close.
She was enjoying this.
That evil little—
"Seojun-ah," a voice interrupted his inner suffering.
Seojun blinked and turned to see his friend, Jinho, leaning toward him with an expectant look.
"Huh?"
Jinho frowned. "Are you even listening? I asked if you're coming to karaoke later."
Seojun quickly plastered on his usual easygoing smile. "Ah, sorry. I spaced out."
Jinho gave him a weird look. "You? Spacing out?" He narrowed his eyes. "Wait a minute. Don't tell me—" His expression morphed into one of horror. "Did you get a crush?!"
Seojun immediately choked on air.
"WHAT?!"
The entire row turned to look at him.
Haneul, sitting two seats away, lazily turned a page in her book.
Jinho gasped dramatically, smacking the desk. "You DID! Oh my god—who is it?!"
Seojun violently shook his head. "I do NOT have a crush, you idiot—"
"Then why are you acting weird?"
"I'm not acting weird!"
"You are definitely acting weird."
Seojun was about to strangle him when Jinho suddenly gasped again.
"Wait." He squinted. "Don't tell me—" He lowered his voice to a whisper—"is it because of Haneul?"
Seojun froze.
His reaction must have been too obvious because Jinho immediately gawked at him.
Before Jinho could speak, Seojun abruptly stood up, his chair scraping against the floor.
He turned to Haneul, heart pounding.
"Come with me to karaoke," he said, voice a little too tense.
The classroom went dead silent.
Haneul finally looked up from her book, blinking at him.
Then, slowly, she tilted her head.
"…Why?"
Seojun had no idea.
But now, everyone was staring.
And Jinho was grinning like a madman.
He was doomed.
Haneul finally lifted her gaze from her book, blinking at him as if he'd just asked her to commit a crime.
Seojun realized too late how sudden and out of character that was.
The classroom was dead silent.
Jinho's jaw was on the floor. Their classmates stared, whispering.
Haneul adjusted her glasses, studying him for an uncomfortably long moment. Then, slowly, she tilted her head.
"Why?"
Seojun was completely unprepared for that question.
His brain blanked.
Why?
Why did he say that?
Why did he ask her of all people?!
He could feel Jinho's eyes boring into his soul, absolutely thriving off his suffering.
Desperate to not look like an idiot in front of the entire class, Seojun forced himself to recover.
"It's fun," he said, trying to sound casual. "You should come."
Haneul blinked again. Then, instead of answering, she leaned back in her chair, resting her chin on her hand.
"You're acting weird," she murmured, echoing Jinho's earlier words.
Seojun twitched.
"Am not."
"You are," she said simply, turning another page.
Seojun gritted his teeth.
Jinho, meanwhile, was shaking with silent laughter.
"Forget it," Seojun muttered, about to sit down.
But just as he turned away—
"…Alright."
Seojun stopped.
He turned back.
Haneul was still looking at her book, but the corners of her lips twitched slightly.
"I'll go," she said.
Seojun had no idea whether to be relieved or terrified.
After school, Seojun seriously considered pretending the whole thing never happened.
Maybe if he just went home, everyone would forget about it by tomorrow.
Unfortunately, Jinho was not about to let that happen.
"Come on, lover boy," he chirped, slinging an arm around Seojun's shoulders as they walked out of the classroom. "You invited her. You can't back out now."
Seojun scowled. "I'm not backing out."
Jinho gasped dramatically. "Oh? That means you actually want her to come?"
Seojun shoved him off. "Shut up."
Jinho only grinned. "Man, this is the best thing that's happened all year."
Seojun groaned and rubbed his face.
What was he even doing?
Meanwhile, Haneul had already left the classroom ahead of them, walking at her usual unhurried pace. She didn't even glance back, as if the whole situation was no big deal.
How could she be so calm about it?!
Seojun followed after Jinho, his brain still an absolute mess.
When they arrived at the karaoke place, most of their group was already there. Jinho and a few others immediately claimed the mic, loudly arguing over who would sing first.
Seojun took a seat, hoping to just blend in and disappear.
But then—
The door opened again.
Haneul stepped inside.
The room went silent for a second.
One of the girls whispered, "Wait, she actually came?"
Haneul ignored them, casually making her way to the corner of the room, where she sat down right next to Seojun.
Seojun went rigid.
He didn't even look at her, but he could feel the shift in attention.
Jinho, of course, was watching everything with the biggest grin on his face.
Seojun clenched his jaw.
Haneul, meanwhile, acted like nothing was unusual.
Then—
She turned slightly toward him, adjusting her glasses.
"Sing something," she said.
Seojun blinked.
"…What?"
Haneul leaned back against the seat, resting her chin on her hand. "You invited me," she said. "So sing something."
Seojun stared at her.
She was enjoying this.
That evil little—
Jinho practically howled with laughter.
"Oh, this is gold."
Seojun clenched his fists, glancing at Jinho, who looked like he was about to combust from sheer entertainment.
This was a trap.
If he refused, Jinho and the others would never let him live it down. But if he sang…
Seojun swallowed. No. He couldn't.
He was good at many things—sports, studies, even running a secret café without getting caught—but singing?
Absolutely not.
Unfortunately, the entire room had picked up on Haneul's challenge.
"Yeah, Seojun! Sing something!"
"Oh man, this is gonna be great."
Jinho was practically crying. "Dude, you have to do it. You invited her. Show her your talents."
Talents?! Seojun wanted to strangle him.
He turned to Haneul, who was watching him expectantly. Her violet eyes, framed by those glasses, held the tiniest hint of amusement.
She knew.
She definitely knew.
"You're doing this on purpose," he muttered.
Haneul gave him an innocent look. "You invited me. This is part of the experience."
Jinho wheezed.
Seojun exhaled sharply. Fine. FINE. If that's how she wanted to play it—
He stood up, grabbed the mic, and scrolled through the song list.
If he was going down, he was going down dramatically.
He picked the most ridiculous, over-the-top ballad he could find—something full of high notes and heartbreak.
Jinho gasped. "No way. No way. Are you really—"
The music started.
Seojun took a deep breath.
And then—
Absolute disaster.
The moment he opened his mouth, it became painfully clear that his talent did not include singing.
He was off-key. His voice cracked. He tried to hit a high note and ended up making a noise that sounded like a dying animal.
The room exploded.
Jinho was on the floor.
Someone else was crying from laughter.
Even the normally reserved girls were covering their mouths, struggling to breathe.
And Haneul?
Haneul just sat there, watching him, her lips slightly parted—
And then, for the first time, in front of everyone—
She laughed.
It wasn't loud. It wasn't dramatic.
But it was real.
A quiet, genuine laugh.
Haneul laughed—then clapped a hand over her mouth. Her eyes burned. Why did this feel like the hundredth time she'd heard him sing that song?
Seojun, mid-butchering the song, nearly dropped the mic.
The room blurred, the noise fading into the background.
For a second, all he could see was her.
Haneul, covering her mouth slightly, shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter, her violet eyes crinkled at the edges.
…Oh.
Seojun's heart skipped a beat.
'Why...? Does her laughter…sound kind of nice?'
Seojun barely caught himself before he completely lost his place in the song. His voice cracked again, but this time, he barely noticed.
Haneul was still laughing.
It wasn't mocking. It wasn't smug. It was just—genuine. Like she had forgotten, just for a moment, to keep up that distant, unreadable expression she always wore.
And somehow, that was worse.
His face felt hot.
What the hell?
Before he could think too hard about it, the song ended—thank god—and the room erupted in applause, whistles, and exaggerated cheers.
Jinho was wiping away tears. "That… was the worst thing I've ever heard in my life."
One of the girls wheezed, "But it was amazing."
Seojun groaned, handing the mic off to the next victim. He collapsed into his seat, feeling like he had just been through a battlefield.
And then—
"You did well," Haneul said.
Seojun turned his head slowly. She was looking at him, her expression calm once again, but her lips still twitched slightly.
He stared at her.
Was she serious?
Before he could respond, Jinho leaned in, grinning like an idiot.
"Ohhh, 'you did well'? That's practically a confession, man."
Seojun kicked him.
Hard.
Jinho yelped and fell back, but his laughter didn't stop.
Seojun rubbed his face. He needed to regain control of this situation. Somehow.
But as the night went on, and the group moved on to other songs and other jokes, one thing stuck in his head—
Haneul's laugh.
It was rare. Too rare.
And for some stupid, unfathomable reason—
He wanted to hear it again.
The karaoke session ended with everyone still chuckling over Seojun's tragic performance. As they spilled onto the streets, the cool night air did little to soothe his lingering embarrassment.
Jinho slung an arm around his shoulder, grinning ear to ear. "Man, I'm framing that moment in my brain forever. Seojun, the legend, the myth, the absolute worst singer alive—"
Seojun shoved him off. "Shut up."
"Don't be like that! You gave us a memory to cherish."
"I'll cherish your funeral."
Jinho cackled. "Man, I really wish Minjae was here to witness that masterpiece."
Seojun groaned, running a hand through his hair. He was never living this down.
A few steps ahead, Haneul walked with her hands tucked into her pockets, the streetlights casting a soft glow on her black bob. She hadn't said much since her parting shot in the karaoke room, but every now and then, Seojun caught her glancing at him.
Like now.
Their eyes met briefly.
She didn't look away immediately.
That alone was strange enough to make his stomach twist.
Jinho and the others split off, calling out their goodbyes. Soon, it was just him and Haneul walking toward the station.
It was quiet. Not awkward, but—different.
Seojun stole a glance at her.
He didn't really know why, but he felt like saying something.
"…You really set me up back there," he muttered.
Haneul tilted her head, feigning innocence. "Did I?"
He scoffed. "You knew I couldn't sing."
She paused before replying, "But we've never met properly before, so how would I know that?" Her voice was light, but there was an edge to it. "Besides, you invited me out of the blue. I don't like that. I just wanted to teach you a lesson."
Seojun clicked his tongue. "Ugh."
They walked a few more steps in silence. Then, just as they reached the station entrance, Haneul suddenly said, "It wasn't bad."
Seojun blinked. "What?"
"Your singing." She glanced at him, and this time, there was no amusement. Just something unreadable in her violet eyes. "It wasn't bad."
Seojun stared at her, trying to figure out if she was messing with him.
He had been horrible. Objectively.
But she was looking at him like she meant it.
His throat felt dry. He looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. "…Yeah, well. Don't expect an encore."
Haneul hummed, stepping onto the platform. "Pity."
Seojun almost tripped.
He snapped his head toward her, but she was already walking ahead.