Meanwhile, Bella was leaning against her locker, scrolling through her phone when Emily practically bounced over, eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Bella! Did you hear about the swim meet this Friday? It's going to be huge! All the top schools are coming and Yunho's expected to crush it."
Bella barely looked up. "Hmm, sounds cool, I guess."
Emily grabbed Bella's arm, tugging her gently but firmly. "Come on! You have to come watch. It'll be fun and it's a chance to see Yunho in action. Plus, I need a partner to fangirl with."
Bella hesitated, but Emily's enthusiasm was contagious. "Alright, fine. I'll come."
On Friday, after school, the two girls made their way to the school pool, the stands already filling with students and parents. Bella felt out of place but tried not to show it.
When Yunho stepped onto the pool deck, stretching and preparing for his race, he looked up and spotted Bella in the crowd. His eyebrows shot up in surprise. Bella caught his glance and quickly looked away, cheeks warming.
Emily nudged Bella excitedly. "See? He noticed you!"
Bella didn't know what to think, Yunho's look had been quick but unmistakable. For the first time, she wondered if maybe things between them weren't as simple as she'd thought.
The pool was alive with noise, girls screaming and waving banners, friends cheering loudly for Yunho as he prepared for his race. The energy was electric, but Yunho's eyes weren't caught up in the frenzy. While all the other girls screamed his name and tried to get his attention, Yunho's gaze stayed fixed on one person in the stands, Bella.
He saw her sitting there, a little out of place, trying not to be noticed. His heart skipped a beat. All the noise around him faded, drowned out by the singular focus he had on her.
Yunho took a deep breath, stepping up to the starting block, but even as the whistle blew and the race began, his thoughts remained with Bella's quiet presence.
The roar of the crowd filled the pool area, girls screaming Yunho's name, banners waving wildly. But despite all the noise, Yunho's heart was pounding so hard he thought it might burst out of his chest.
Not from the pressure of the race alone, though that was intense, but because Bella was there.
He hadn't expected to see her, sitting quietly in the stands, looking almost shy among the cheering crowd. His palms felt sweaty as he climbed onto the starting block, his nerves twisting inside him like never before. The usual confidence was replaced by a jittery awareness, not just of the competition, but of Bella's eyes watching him.
Focus, he told himself. You've got this. But the pounding in his chest refused to quiet down.
The whistle blew and Yunho dove into the water, every stroke a battle between his determination and the flutter of nerves stirred up by the unexpected presence of one girl.
Yunho hit the water clean, slicing through the surface like he'd done a hundred times before. The shock of the cold helped ground him, if only for a moment.
Focus. Rhythm. Breathe. Stroke.
But it didn't take long for his body to remind him that something wasn't right. A tightness had been building in his left calf since warm-up, nothing serious, he told himself, just pre-race tension.
He was wrong.
Halfway down the second lap, a searing pain shot up his leg. It was sharp and sudden, a full cramp locking his muscle tight like a steel cable. His kick faltered, throwing off his timing. He inhaled awkwardly, swallowing water instead of air.
Still, he tried to keep going.
The crowd didn't notice. They were too busy cheering, eyes flicking from one swimmer to the next. To them, he just looked a little off his pace.
But Bella noticed.
She had been following Yunho's movement from the moment he dove in and when his rhythm broke, when his form sagged slightly in the water, she sat up straighter. Something was wrong. Very wrong.
She saw the split-second panic in his eyes as he surfaced briefly, coughing, then tried to push forward again with only half his usual force.
Bella stood. Emily looked over, confused. "What are you,"
But Bella had already thrown off her jacket and climbed over the railing. She didn't wait for a lifeguard. No one else had seen it. No one else had been watching closely enough.
With a running start, she dove cleanly into the pool, her body instinctively cutting through the water. The coolness hit her like a shock, but she powered forward, her eyes locked on Yunho, now drifting closer to the lane ropes, struggling harder with each kick.
He was conscious, barely. Eyes wide. Panicking.
"I've got you," she whispered underwater, gripping his arm and flipping him gently, keeping his face above the surface.
The pool erupted in confusion as people finally noticed. Lifeguards rushed in, the team shouted, but Bella was already pulling him to the edge with strong, steady strokes.
Yunho coughed violently as she cradled him by the wall. His eyes met hers, wide with disbelief.
"Y-You…?" he managed between gulps of water, disoriented and shaken.
Bella didn't answer. She looped an arm firmly around his chest, using the other to guide them back toward the edge of the pool. She could feel how tense his body was, how hard he was trying not to panic.
"Stop kicking," she said calmly but firmly. "You're cramping. Let me get you out."
He did as she said, his body heavy but willing. With the help of a stunned pool staff member finally snapping into action, Bella helped hoist Yunho over the edge.
He lay there, gasping, water streaming down his face, blinking up at the harsh ceiling lights.
The crowd had fallen into a confused silence.
Bella pulled herself out of the water beside him, chest heaving, clothes soaked, hair plastered to her face. She was trembling from adrenaline and cold, but her eyes never left Yunho.
"Are you okay?" she asked breathlessly.
He nodded slowly, still catching his breath. "I think so."
Then, more quietly, more stunned than anything: "You jumped in after me."
Bella gave a small, half-smile. "You looked like you needed help."
Yunho stared at her, heart still hammering, not just from the cramp or the fear, but from the surreal, crashing wave of this girl, the one he'd spent so long stumbling around, who had just saved him without hesitation.
The rest of the world returned in fragments, teachers rushing over, teammates swarming, Emily yelling something in the distance.
But for Yunho, everything else faded.
Bella was still right there.
And he suddenly understood that she was the only person who had really seen him.