When the Clock Strikes|Pi Han Ul x Reader|

(S02) Chapter 12

He laughs. "You should hang out with them more. Seems fun."

Ha-Ya wiggles her brows. "Are you free tonight?"

I kick her under the table.

Tae-Sung laughs again, shaking his head. "I'd love to, but I actually just stopped by to grab a drink. I have a meeting".

Seok Kyung sighs dramatically. "Another one taken by the cruel hands of responsibility."

"Tragic," Ha-Ya agrees.

Tae-Sung smiles at me. "It was nice running into you, Ye Na. Maybe we'll see each other again?"

I nod quickly, still embarrassed. "Yeah! Of course."

He waves and heads toward the counter, leaving me to collapse into my chair with a groan.

Seok Kyung claps her hands together. "That was painful to watch."

Ha-Ya shakes her head. "I'm disappointed in you."

I glare. "I swear I remember him now! My brain just-lagged!"

Seok Kyung snorts. "Keep telling yourself that."

Ha-Ya leans back, sipping her drink. "Well, at least now we have a potential man in Ye Na's life."

I roll my eyes. "You guys are unbelievable."

Seok Kyung smirks. "What's unbelievable is that you don't remember him. Tae-Sung was basically a campus celebrity back in the day."

I raise an eyebrow. "Was he?"

Ha-Ya nods. "Oh yeah. He was that guy-good grades, good looks, and pretty decent at sports too. The entire medical department knew his name."

Seok Kyung laughs. "Not just the medical department. You should've seen the way the nursing students would swoon over him."

I scoff. "Please. You're exaggerating."

Ha-Ya shakes her head. "Nope. I had a class with him once, and I remember this one time a girl literally asked him out in the middle of a lecture. In front of everyone."

I blink. "Wait, what?"

Seok Kyung leans in, grinning. "And he rejected her. Politely, of course, but still. It was a big moment."

I frown. "I don't remember any of this."

Seok Kyung crosses her arms. "You were probably too busy drowning in books".

"Whatever. I still don't get why you guys are making a big deal out of this."

Ha-Ya hums. "Well, it is interesting, don't you think? Because..." She trails off, looking thoughtful.

I narrow my eyes. "Because?"

She sets down her drink. "Because back then, I swore he looked at you differently."

My breath catches. "What?"

Ha-Ya nods. "Yeah. There were moments when I noticed. Like, when we were walking around campus together, and if he was nearby, his eyes would always find you."

Seok Kyung tilts her head. "Now that you mention it... I kind of remember that too."

I blink. "Guys, seriously"

Ha-Ya shrugs. "I didn't think much of it at first, but then it kept happening. He'd glance at you, and the second I noticed, he'd look away real fast."

Seok Kyung grins. "Oh, that's suspicious."

I shake my head. "You two are overanalyzing. If he liked me, he would've done something about it."

Ha-Ya sighs dramatically. "Not necessarily! Some guys are just shy, especially if they think the girl doesn't notice them."

Seok Kyung nudges me. "And clearly, you didn't notice."

I cross my arms. "I think you guys are reaching."

Ha-Ya leans back. "Maybe. Maybe not. But I remember one time-it was the week before finals-I was walking with you near the library, and he was with his friends on the other side. He was talking, but I swear the moment he saw you, he completely lost track of whatever he was saying. His friend even nudged him like, 'Dude, focus.'"

I stare at her. "That... never happened."

Seok Kyung smirks. "Oh, it did."

Ha-Ya nods. "And remember when we had that campus sports festival? He played basketball, right?"

Seok Kyung snaps her fingers. "Oh! Yeah! He was really good. Like, almost too good."

Ha-Ya leans closer. "And you remember that one match where he made that crazy shot? Right after, he turned straight to where we were sitting."

Seok Kyung gasps. "Oh my God, yes! I remember that! He was definitely looking at someone. And now that we're talking about this... Ye Na, were you sitting with us that day?"

I swallow. "I... was."

Ha-Ya slaps the table. "See?! He definitely looked at you!"

I groan.

Oh my god, seriously these girls...

Are they really in delulu world?

Then Seok Kyung sighs dramatically. "Okay, enough of this serious talk. We're supposed to be relaxing after a shopping spree."

Ha-Ya nods. "Agreed. No more old crush theories. Let's focus on the present."

I take a deep breath and force a smile. "Sounds good to me."