Chapter 19

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Hana arrived at the school parking lot and took a deep breath before exiting her car. She had purposefully arrived later to avoid running into Baekhyun. When she pulled up, she saw Baekhyun’s car in his usual spot, so she made sure to park in the back of the lot. She pushed up the oversized frames on her petite face and clutched onto her backpack straps as she hurried into the school building. Instead of going through the front, she cut through the courtyard and entered through a side entrance near the gymnasium.

She sighed in relief when she didn’t spot Baekhyun anywhere. Instead of going to her locker, she headed straight for her classroom. At the entrance, however, Baekhyun was leaning against the wall with Sehun at his side. He was anxiously looking around, and Hana quickly hid behind a locker. She peered over the wall and listened carefully to the boys’ conversation.

“I don’t think she’s coming, hyung,” Sehun pouted, “The bell’s about to ring.”

“Are you sure she’s not in the classroom already? It’s not like her to be late.” Baekhyun worriedly frowned, glancing back into the classroom. He ignored the girls who were batting their eyelashes, sighing when he saw Hana’s seat still empty.

On cue, the bell rang, and Sehun tried to persuade Baekhyun to go to class. However, the older was adamant, “You go first. I’ll wait a little longer.” Sehun sighed and crossed his arms, leaning back against the wall in defeat.

Hana’s homeroom teacher opened the door and gave the boys a stern look, “The bell rang. Go to class, boys.” Baekhyun opened his mouth to explain, but the teacher pointed towards their classroom’s direction, “Now, Byun Baekhyun.”

The boy sighed in defeat, and Sehun led the dejected boy away to their classroom. When the coast was clear, Hana raced into her classroom. The teacher raised an eyebrow at her, “Park Hana, you’re never late. What an interesting morning this is. You’ll be staying back to clean the classroom today, then.” Hana nodded without a word, bowing to her teacher before heading to her seat. She sighed and ignored the curious stares around her, quickly taking out her supplies for the lecture. 

//

At lunch, Baekhyun and the other five boys were sitting at their usual table. The space for Hana was empty, despite fifteen minutes having passed since the beginning of the period. Suho looked around worriedly, “I haven’t seen Hana all day. Is she really not gonna join us today?”

Sehun shrugged, “She wasn’t in the homeroom this morning when the bell rang, either.”

Kai frowned, “Baekhyun hyung, didn’t you guys resolve your fight from yesterday?”

Baekhyun guiltily poked at his rice, “I texted her this morning, but she never replied.”

Kyungsoo gaped at him, “You’re telling us that you never apologized to her? You didn’t even try to talk to her last night?”

“I was still upset,” Baekhyun admitted, “I was waiting in front of her classroom all morning with Sehun to apologize, but she wasn’t there. What else am I supposed to do now?”

“She’s obviously avoiding you,” Chanyeol pointed out, “She saw me across the hall earlier and booked it in the opposite direction.” Sehun awkwardly chuckled while patting Baekhyun’s shoulder, “So she probably waited for us to leave this morning before going to class.”

His face fell and he put down his utensils. She’s really that upset at me? She probably got in trouble for coming in late. But she still risked it because she didn’t want to talk to me that badly? He smoothed his face and groaned, “I messed up.” Suho nodded and popped a piece of kimchi into his mouth, “Yeah, you did.”

Hana was studying in her classroom with her headphones in her ears. She took a bite of her sandwich that she had packed in the morning and sipped her banana milk. As she was reading a sentence off of her English worksheet, she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She curiously took it out, but paused when she saw Baekhyun’s name on the screen. She cautiously opened the message.

Baekhyun [6:25 AM]: Good morning, I hope you slept well. I’ll see you at school.

Baekhyun [12:27 PM]: I know you’re avoiding me. Can we talk?

Hana’s face fell as his message, and she didn’t know how to respond. She typed in a lame excuse about studying for an exam and sighed, staring out the window with a dejected expression. Considering that she didn’t feel her phone vibrate again, she hoped that Baekhyun accepted her excuse. 

Murmurs were heard around the classroom, and Hana glanced around before her gaze landed on a familiar face at the doorway. It was Hyunwoo, the sophomore who had confessed to her previously. He was awkwardly standing at the entrance and motioned for her to come out. All eyes were on Hana, and she reluctantly followed him into the hallway.

“Hi, Hyunwoo.” She gently greeted, “What can I help you with?”

“Is it true that you’re dating Baekhyun sunbae?” He asked immediately. Hana paused before nodding, “Yes, it is.”

His face fell, “But you said that you didn’t have time for a relationship.”

“I didn’t… at the time.” Hana admitted. “I’m sorry.”

Hyunwoo furrowed his eyebrows, “I heard about how Hyeri treated you yesterday, too. Is he worth all of that, noona?” Hana narrowed her eyes at the younger boy, “I don’t think that’s any of your business, Hyunwoo.”

Hyunwoo continued, “Baekhyun sunbae’s family isn’t even part of the social circle! What’s so great about him? I could’ve done so much for you too, noona.”

Hana gave him a stern look, “His family’s status does not say anything about his character. If this is how you really feel about it, I’m glad that I didn’t accept your confession. I don’t date people who rely on status to get everything they want