INVISIBLE STRINGS ~ Scoups [C]

🎀14

Y/N had been doing well.

Ignoring Scoups, keeping her distance—she had mastered the art of acting unbothered. But the universe seemed to enjoy testing her patience.

"Alright, for this assignment, you’ll be working in pairs" the professor announced, glancing at the seating chart. "Dino and Y/N, you’re together."

Y/N let out a breath of relief. Finally, a normal pairing. No Scoups.

"Scoups, you’ll be with Minghao."

She didn’t look at him, but she felt his stare.

Dino leaned toward her, flashing a playful grin. "Guess you’re stuck with me, noona."

Y/N smirked. "Better than being stuck with someone else."

She didn’t mean to say it loud enough for that someone else to hear. But judging by the sharp inhale from a few seats away, she knew Scoups had caught it.

She ignored him.

For the first time, she wasn’t the one looking his way.

"Y/N, look at this" Dino said, sliding his laptop toward her as they worked in the library.

She leaned in, their shoulders nearly touching as she scanned the screen. "This is actually good. We should use this as a reference."

Dino beamed. "Knew you’d say that."

The easygoing comfort between them made
Y/N relax. No tension, no heavy stares—just two friends working together.

But the moment was short-lived.

Because across the library, Scoups sat at a table with Minghao, his jaw tight as he watched them.

Minghao sighed. "You’re staring again."

Scoups didn’t respond.

"You do realize glaring at them won’t change anything, right?" Minghao added, not even looking up from his book.

Scoups clenched his jaw. "She’s laughing too much."

Minghao snorted. "Oh no, how dare she have fun?"

"Shut up" Scoups muttered, but his eyes never left Y/N.

She looked… different. Lighter. Like she wasn’t carrying the weight of whatever happened between them.

And he hated it.

It was late when Y/N and Dino finally finished up.

"Good job, partner !!" Dino said, holding up a hand for a high-five.

Y/N chuckled and returned it. "We make a good team."

But just as their hands met, a hand grabbed her wrist.

Y/N turned, startled to find Scoups standing there, eyes burning with something unreadable.

"Dino" he said, his voice unnervingly calm. "I need to talk to Y/N."

Dino blinked. "Uh—sure?" He glanced at Y/N for confirmation.

She sighed. "It’s fine, Dino. I’ll see you tomorrow."

Dino hesitated before nodding. "Alright. Night, noona."

The moment he walked away, Scoups dropped his hand from her wrist, but the intensity in his eyes didn’t fade.

"What the hell is your problem?" Y/N asked, crossing her arms.

"My problem?" Scoups scoffed, stepping closer. "You’re really asking me that?"

"Yes, because I have no idea why you’re suddenly acting like this" she shot back.

Scoups exhaled sharply. "You’ve been avoiding me for weeks and now you’re all buddy-buddy with Dino?"

Y/N narrowed her eyes. "So what? Am I not allowed to be close to someone who actually treats me like a friend?"

Scoups flinched.

"You don’t get to act like this, Scoups," she continued, her voice shaking slightly. "Not after everything."

He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "I know I messed up, okay? But do you really think he understands you the way I do?"

Y/N let out a bitter laugh. "Understanding me doesn’t mean anything when you’re the one who hurt me the most."

Silence.

For the first time, Scoups didn’t have a comeback.

Y/N took a deep breath, stepping away from him. "I’m tired, Scoups. Just let me go."

And this time, he didn’t stop her.

But the ache in his chest told him he should have.

🎀 TO BE CONTINUE 🎀

Thank you for reading my fanfiction. I would like to apologize if there are any mistakes in my language usage and this story has no relation to anyone. This story is purely my imagination and if any part seems similar to another story, it is purely coincidental. If you have the chance, please give it a star! 🌟🌟