if it's meant to be | ni-ki

lingering warmth | 27

yejin blinked, her cheeks flushing faintly. "oh, i'm not that good," she mumbled, closing the book a little too quickly.

"looks good to me," he said with a shrug, leaning back in his chair. "maybe i'll get to see more of it later."

hana, catching bits of their conversation from across the room, gave yejin a teasing look, mouthing, 'art buddies, huh?' yejin shot her a quick glare, biting back a small smile as she turned her attention back to her desk.

                                          ★

niki wiped the sweat from his brow, his basketball bouncing loosely in one hand as he checked his phone. hana's message popped up on the screen: don't forget yejin!

he sighed, typing back quickly:
i know
i'm not

after finishing up his game, he grabbed his bag and made his way across campus toward the art class. the muffled hum of conversation and laughter grew louder as he approached the door.

niki paused for a second, leaning against the doorframe as he heard yejin's voice, light and teasing.

"stop! i'll get paint all over me," she said, her tone half-annoyed, half-amused.

niki's eyes narrowed slightly, peeking into the room. he spotted yejin sitting at one of the tables with the new guy—jaehyun—who was grinning as he held up a brush covered in paint.

"it's just a little," jaehyun joked, pretending to flick it toward her.

yejin leaned back, clutching her sketchbook protectively against her chest as she tried to dodge. her laughter filled the room.

niki cleared his throat loudly, stepping into the room. "yejin," he called, his tone flat.

both yejin and jaehyun turned to look at him. yejin blinked in surprise, her smile faltering for a moment. "oh, niki. what's up?"

"hana told me to come get you," he said, his gaze briefly flickering toward jaehyun before returning to yejin. "we're leaving."

jaehyun raised an eyebrow but said nothing, leaning back in his chair as he watched the interaction.

"oh... right," yejin said, quickly gathering her things. "give me a second."

niki stood there, waiting, his expression unreadable. the easy atmosphere from moments ago had shifted, and the room felt quieter as yejin hurried to pack up.

jaehyun tilted his head, looking between yejin and niki. "who's he?" he asked casually, a small hint of curiosity in his tone.

yejin glanced up from her bag, her eyes flickering nervously between niki and jaehyun. "oh, uh..." she started, pausing as she fumbled for words. "he's my neighbor. and, uh, my friend hana's older brother."

"oh," jaehyun replied, nodding slowly as he leaned back in his chair, his expression unreadable.

niki didn't bother looking at him, his focus staying on yejin. "you ready yet?" he asked, his tone clipped.

"yeah, just about," yejin mumbled, shoving her sketchbook into her bag and slinging it over her shoulder. she shot jaehyun an apologetic look. "see you?"

"sure," jaehyun said with a small smile, watching as niki turned and walked out the door with yejin following closely behind.

niki and yejin walked out of the school together, the cold air biting at their cheeks as they stepped onto the quiet sidewalk. yejin glanced up at the gray sky, her breath visible in the chilly air. "you think it's going to snow on christmas?" she asked, her voice soft.