FALSE HALO Chapter 10
726 Words
Chapter 10 – A Strange Feeling
The next afternoon, the members gathered in the practice room after finishing rehearsal.
Youngjae stretched.
"I'm starving."
Jihoon laughed.
"You've said that at least ten times today."
"Because I am."
Kyungmin looked at Hanjin.
"Hanjin, can you help me check the choreography later? I keep missing one part."
Hanjin smiled warmly.
"Of course."
"Really?"
"Why wouldn't I?"
Kyungmin grinned.
"Thanks."
The two of them sat down together, watching the practice video on Kyungmin's phone.
Hanjin patiently pointed at the screen.
"Your timing here is a little early."
"Oh..."
"And if you turn your shoulder a little more, it'll match everyone else's."
Kyungmin nodded.
"That makes so much more sense."
---
Across the room...
Dohoon glanced in their direction.
"..."
Youngjae noticed.
"What are you looking at?"
"Nothing."
Dohoon answered immediately.
But a few seconds later...
His eyes drifted back again.
Kyungmin laughed at something Hanjin had said.
Hanjin smiled in return.
Dohoon frowned slightly.
They seem... close today.
The thought came so naturally that he didn't even question it.
A minute later, Hanjin lightly patted Kyungmin's shoulder after finishing the explanation.
Dohoon's fingers tightened around his water bottle.
...Why is that bothering me?
He looked away.
They're teammates.
There's nothing strange about it.
Yet the uncomfortable feeling refused to disappear.
---
On the other side of the room, Shinyu was organizing tomorrow's schedule.
He heard Jihoon's voice.
"Hanjin!"
Hanjin looked over.
"Yes?"
"Come here for a second."
Hanjin walked over, and Jihoon happily threw an arm around his shoulders.
"Thanks for helping Kyungmin."
"It wasn't a big deal."
"It was."
Jihoon smiled.
"You're always helping everyone."
Hanjin laughed softly.
"I'm just doing what I can."
Shinyu looked up.
His eyes stopped on the two of them.
Jihoon's arm was still resting comfortably on Hanjin's shoulder.
For a brief moment...
Something tightened in his chest.
"..."
He quickly lowered his eyes.
What's wrong with me?
It's completely normal.
He repeated those words to himself.
Again.
And again.
But when he looked up once more...
His gaze returned to Hanjin.
---
A little later, the members headed toward the dorm.
Youngjae naturally walked beside Hanjin, chatting excitedly.
"...And then the manager looked so shocked!"
Hanjin laughed.
"I wish I had seen that."
Youngjae laughed too.
"You would've been laughing with me."
Dohoon quietly watched them from behind.
Without thinking, he quickened his pace until he was walking beside Hanjin instead.
Youngjae blinked.
"Oh... okay."
Dohoon cleared his throat.
"Hanjin."
"Hm?"
"About tomorrow's practice..."
He already knew the schedule.
He didn't actually have anything important to say.
He simply...
Wanted Hanjin's attention for a moment.
As soon as the conversation started, the strange heaviness inside him eased slightly.
...Why does this feel better?
The question lingered in his mind.
---
That evening...
Shinyu walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water.
He stopped.
Hanjin and Jihoon were standing near the counter, laughing over something on Jihoon's phone.
Hanjin's smile looked genuine.
Jihoon couldn't stop laughing.
Shinyu stood silently in the doorway.
For reasons he couldn't explain...
He wanted to walk over.
He wanted Hanjin to smile at him the way he was smiling at Jihoon.
The thought startled him.
He quietly turned away before either of them noticed him.
---
Late that night...
Dohoon lay awake, staring at the ceiling.
Why did I keep looking at him today?
Why did it bother me when he spent time with Kyungmin?
He let out a slow sigh.
"...This is ridiculous."
He closed his eyes.
We're just friends.
That's all.
But somehow...
The words didn't feel convincing anymore.
---
In another room...
Shinyu sat by the window, unable to sleep.
He remembered seeing Hanjin laughing with the others.
For some reason...
His heart had felt unexpectedly heavy.
He rested his forehead against the cool glass.
I shouldn't feel like this.
They're all my teammates.
So why...
...did I wish he would look at me instead?
No matter how many times he searched for an answer...
None came.
Neither Shinyu nor Dohoon realized that they were struggling with the same unfamiliar emotion.
And in the room across the hall, Hanjin quietly closed his notebook after writing down observations about each member.
A small smile appeared on his face.
The changes were subtle.
Almost impossible to notice.
But they were there.
Exactly as he had expected.
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