Chapter 22 — What They Whisper
The whispers grew louder.
By the end of the week, Ji-Woo couldn't walk through the hallways without feeling them scrape against his skin.
Fragments of words followed him everywhere:
"Desperate."
"Pathetic."
"Did you hear what he did?"
He wanted to pretend it didn't matter.
But some words stick even when you don't want them to.
---
It happened between classes.
Ji-Woo was at his locker when a voice cut through the crowd:
"Guess the rumors were true."
He froze.
Min-Ho was a few steps away, books in hand, turning at the sound.
Ji-Woo didn't have to look to know who it was:
Seung-Jae. One of Min-Ho's old friends.
"Didn't think you'd crawl back to him," Seung-Jae sneered. "After what everyone says—"
"Stop." Ji-Woo's voice came out sharper than he expected.
But Seung-Jae only smirked. "Or what? You'll run away again?"
---
The words cut deeper than they should have.
Ji-Woo's fingers clenched against the locker. He felt everyone watching — waiting.
Then Min-Ho stepped forward.
"Say one more thing," Min-Ho said, voice low and dangerous. "And you'll regret it."
The hallway went silent.
Seung-Jae laughed under his breath. "Look at you. Playing hero. Always knew you had a thing for broken toys."
That's when Ji-Woo saw it — the flicker of rage in Min-Ho's eyes.
And for a second, he thought Min-Ho might actually hit him.
---
But Min-Ho didn't.
Instead, he grabbed Ji-Woo's wrist.
"Let's go," Min-Ho said, pulling him away.
Ji-Woo didn't resist.
Not because he wanted to leave — but because if he stayed, he wasn't sure which part of himself would break next.