checkmate. | pi hanwool

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CHECKMATE

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The walk to the library was quiet.

Not the uncomfortable kind of silence-the kind filled with unspoken tension, the kind that made her hyperaware of the boy walking beside her.

Hanwool didn't say anything, but she knew he wasn't the type to talk unless necessary anyway. Still, his presence felt heavier than usual, like there was something on his mind that he wasn't voicing.

Gaeun glanced at him from the corner of her eye. His hands were stuffed into his pockets, his usual slouched posture giving him a careless air, but she wasn't fooled. His jaw was clenched, and his eyes were sharp, scanning their surroundings like he was still on edge.

Like he was still thinking about what had just happened.

Her own thoughts wandered back to it.

To the way Hanwool had grabbed the stalker by the collar and thrown him at her feet, forcing him to confess. To the way the guy's expression had twisted from fear to something dark and obsessive when he looked at her.

She could still feel the way his hand had clamped around hers. Could still hear the desperate way he had asked her to like him back.

It made her stomach churn.

And yet...

What stood out the most wasn't the stalker's sick obsession.

It was Hanwool.

The way he had stepped in front of her without hesitation. The way his presence alone had made the guy recoil in fear. The way his grip had tightened when the bastard had touched her-like he was seconds away from throwing another punch.

He didn't have to do that.

But he did. And that unsettled her more than anything else.

Why?

Why had he gone that far for her?

The question burned at the back of her mind, but she pushed it down. She'd already asked him once, and he had brushed it off. It wasn't like Hanwool was the type to explain himself anyway.

So, for now, she let it go.

They reached the library doors, and she stopped in front of them, hesitating.

This was where they parted ways.

Hanwool said nothing, simply tilting his head toward the entrance as if telling her to go in already.

Gaeun turned toward him, studying his face for a moment. He looked the same as always-unbothered, detached.

But something was different.

Or maybe it was just her.

She exhaled, shaking her head at herself. "I can walk myself, you know."

Hanwool shrugged. "Didn't say you couldn't."

She rolled her eyes. "Then why'd you walk me here?"

"Dunno." He shoved his hands deeper into his pockets. "Felt like it."

Gaeun squinted at him. "You felt like it?"

"Tch." He looked away, irritated. "Just go inside."

She huffed, but a small smirk tugged at her lips. "Fine. See you later, knight in shining armor."

Hanwool scowled. "Call me that again, and I'm leaving you to get kidnapped next time."