The last few minutes of break had that familiar rhythm where students are finishing their drinks, brushing crumbs off uniforms and glancing at their watches, reluctantly returning to their classrooms.
Bella and Emily walked along the covered walkway between the canteen and their lecture building. The crowd thinned as students filtered inside or stopped at vending machines for a quick snack.
"That group chat's already driving me nuts," Emily muttered, tapping on her phone. "If Logan sends one more gym selfie…"
"Just mute it," Bella said absentmindedly, adjusting the strap on her simple tote.
As they rounded the corner, Emily slowed, tilting her head toward the canteen.
"Look who's got a fan club," she said with a smirk.
Bella glanced over. Near the back exit of the canteen, Yunho stood surrounded by a crowd. Juniors, teammates and girls pretending not to hang on every word clustered around him. Someone tossed him a bakery bun, which he caught effortlessly.
The group laughed easily at something he'd said.
He wasn't doing much, just eating and joking, but the energy around him shifted. That calm confidence. That slight, knowing smile. Like everything he did was the start of someone else's story.
Bella slowed her pace just slightly.
Emily noticed. "Seriously, he's annoyingly relaxed. Like he's the star of some beach commercial."
Bella tried not to look again. "He's just talking."
"He's glowing," Emily said. "Protagonist lighting." Bella laughed at the analogy.
They passed by without Yunho noticing, his laughter blending with the crowd's.
As they climbed the stairs toward the lecture hall, Bella said nothing. But the image stayed with her.
Yunho's POV
The courtyard buzzed around Yunho like usual, voices overlapping, laughter spilling out in waves. But somehow, none of it fully reached him. Not today.
He balanced the bakery bun in one hand, smirking as he caught it without even looking. The familiar faces around him joked and nudged, but his mind was elsewhere.
He'd spotted Bella earlier, walking alongside Emily, her pace as composed as ever until she caught sight of him. There was the faintest pause, a flicker in her stride that most people wouldn't notice. But he did. She didn't usually hesitate. Not even a little.
He watched how she tucked her tote tighter against her side, trying to look casual but failing just enough for him to notice.
Yunho wasn't usually one for overthinking, but Bella was different. She had this quiet strength mixed with a vulnerability that didn't quite fit the confident surface she put on.
The thought of talking to her, really talking, caught him off guard. Up until now, people had come to him. Approaching someone first? That was foreign territory. It felt strange, almost awkward.
How do you start a conversation when it's not about basketball or some joke? When it's just... you and her?
He ran through a dozen openers in his head, each sounding worse than the last.
Maybe a simple "hey"? Too bland.
Ask about class? Too forced.
Make a joke? Could backfire.
For once, he felt unsure.
So he laughed, played along with the group, keeping it light and easy, even as his eyes kept drifting back to Bella.
Maybe next break, he thought. Maybe then he'd figure out how to say the right thing.