somewhere between almost and always [so junghwan treasure completed]

Chapter 15: The Rumor Game

It started with a whisper.

The kind of whisper that slinks through corridors and burrows into lockers, woven through smirks and side-eyes, until it becomes something too loud to ignore.

And unfortunately, Ji-eun was at the center of it.

On Wednesday morning, the hallways were unusually tense.

People glanced her way, then looked away too quickly. A few girls in her chemistry class leaned in and muttered behind their palms as she passed by. Even the junior from the art club, who barely knew her, giggled when Ji-eun dropped her pen during roll call.

At first, Ji-eun thought she had toilet paper stuck to her shoe. Or maybe someone drew on her backpack. She checked twice. Nothing.

But then Soo-ah slid into her seat during homeroom with a look of restrained fury.

"Did you hear what they're saying?" she hissed, eyes narrowed.

Ji-eun frowned. "No. What?"

Soo-ah looked around, then leaned in. "Apparently, you cheated on Junghwan."

Ji-eun blinked. "I what?"

"With some college guy. From the café you studied at last week."

"What the—?!"

Soo-ah's eyes burned. "And that you only dated Junghwan for clout. Because he's popular and has 'a face like a K-drama lead.'"

Ji-eun's jaw dropped. "Who started it?"

Soo-ah's expression answered before she said it.

"Yuna."

By lunch, the rumor had grown legs and started running laps around the entire school.

Some said Ji-eun had been dating both guys at once.

Others claimed Junghwan had caught her red-handed and they had a dramatic breakup behind the gym.

A few even believed she was already dating the new guy—some fictional upperclassman named Minho—and Junghwan had been the temporary placeholder.

Ji-eun was so furious, she could barely taste her food.

Soo-ah, ever the ride-or-die, stared across the cafeteria like she was plotting Yuna's slow downfall. "We should publicly call her out."

"No," Ji-eun muttered. "She wants a reaction. I'm not giving her one."

"She's sabotaging you. Sabotaging your relationship."

"I know. But if we make it messy, it'll just give the rumors more fuel."

"You're too calm for someone being character-assassinated."

"I'm not calm," Ji-eun snapped. "I'm containing."

Junghwan found her after school, by the vending machine, arms crossed and scowl firmly in place.

"I heard," he said, voice quiet.

Ji-eun glanced at him. "That I'm dating a fake college guy named Minho?"

He snorted. "Yeah. That one made me laugh."

Her expression softened. "You don't believe it, right?"

He gave her a flat look. "Do I look like I believe it?"

"No. But still. It's embarrassing."

Junghwan stepped closer. "I don't care what they say. I know you. That's all that matters."

Ji-eun searched his eyes. "She did this on purpose."

"I know."

"She's trying to make you doubt me."

Junghwan's voice dropped. "But she underestimated one thing."

"What?"

"I trust you."

Ji-eun blinked, momentarily speechless. The words weren't poetic, but the sincerity in his tone hit her straight in the chest.

Then he added, "Also... I might've called her out."

Her brows shot up. "You what?"

Flashback: An hour earlier.

Junghwan had found Yuna outside the library, laughing with a group of juniors. He didn't hesitate. He walked straight up to her and said loud enough for them all to hear:

"Spreading lies doesn't make you interesting, Yuna. It just makes you pathetic."

Yuna's face froze mid-smile.

The juniors gawked, their heads swiveling like they were watching live drama unfold.

"I didn't—"

"Yes, you did," Junghwan interrupted. "Next time you feel like making up stories, try fiction class. At least there, it'll be graded."

And with that, he walked away.

"You actually said that?" Ji-eun gaped.

Junghwan smirked. "More or less."

"That's so... savage."

"I was mad."

"You're usually so quiet when you're mad."

"Well, you're not the only one who can go full tsundere."

Ji-eun laughed, shaking her head. "I can't believe this is happening. Like, I thought we left high school drama in middle school."

Junghwan leaned back against the vending machine. "You know what's funny?"

"What?"

"I think this whole thing—Yuna, the rumors, the chaos—it actually made me realize how serious I am about you."

She blinked.

"Because the second someone tried to mess with us, my first instinct wasn't to question it. It was to protect it."

Ji-eun stared at him, stunned silent. Her heart did that weird, fluttery thing it always did when he said something unexpectedly vulnerable.

"You're... kind of amazing," she muttered.

"Yeah, well. You bring it out of me."

They walked home side by side, backpacks brushing, the silence between them no longer heavy—but easy.

And while Ji-eun still burned at the idea of someone trying to ruin what they had, she also realized something important:

They were stronger than rumors.

Because when you really know someone—when you really trust them—the noise fades.

And what's left is the truth.

Still, as she reached her gate, she couldn't resist turning to Junghwan with a half-smirk.

"If Minho ever shows up, though..."

Junghwan raised a brow. "You'll drop me for him?"

"No," she said. "I'll let you beat him at basketball. For my honor."

He grinned. "Deal."

And just like that, the tension of the day melted into laughter.

Yuna might've started a fire.

But Ji-eun and Junghwan?

They were fireproof.