The local gym smelled like disinfectant, rubber mats, and something vaguely metallic.
It wasn't glamorous.
There were no neon slogans about domination. No mirrors stretching from floor to ceiling. No posters screaming about god-tier genetics or destiny.
And that was exactly why it felt safe.
XH stepped inside with NS, JP, and TZ, snow melting off their jackets and pooling near the door. A few regulars glanced up, nodded, then went back to their sets without judgment or curiosity.
No one hovered.
No one smiled too hard.
"This place feels… normal," TZ said, rolling his shoulders.
JP laughed. "Careful. You'll get addicted."
NS took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I like that no one's talking."
They split up naturally, claiming benches and racks like they'd been coming here for years. The weights were older, paint chipped, numbers faded, but everything worked.
And nobody lied.
JP loaded a bar unevenly on purpose. "Bet I can still outlift you with this cursed setup."
TZ scoffed. "You can barely outlift your own ego."
XH laughed before he could stop himself.
The sound surprised him.
It had been a while since laughter hadn't felt like a performance.
NS started his warm-up carefully, focused, posture relaxed for the first time in days. No one corrected him. No one touched him without permission.
When he finished his set, a stranger nodded approvingly. "Good form."
NS blinked, then nodded back. "Thanks."
That was it.
No pressure. No weird undertones.
JP clapped his hands together dramatically. "Alright, brothers. I say we make this our new temple."
TZ raised an imaginary glass. "To honest gyms and unproblematic mirrors."
XH shook his head, smiling.
For one hour, Campus 2 didn't exist.
Rumors didn't exist.
Choices didn't exist.
There was only sweat, bad jokes, and the comforting rhythm of plates hitting bars.
Kitty: Sitting With What She Did
Kitty didn't go to the gym.
She sat on the floor of her room, back against the bed, knees pulled in, phone resting beside her untouched.
The silence felt different today.
Not heavy.
Honest.
She replayed the last few days without flinching this time.
The courtyard.The word together.The way she'd leaned into something sharp just to feel solid.
She didn't regret protecting herself.
But she regretted how loud it had been.
Kitty rubbed her palms together, grounding herself.
"I wanted to be chosen," she whispered. "Not… announced."
That was the truth she hadn't admitted yet.
Public armor worked when you didn't care what stayed underneath.
But Kitty cared.
She always had.
She picked up her phone and opened Jihye's message again.
Jihye: you sure you're okay?
Kitty typed slowly this time.
Kitty: not really. but i will be.
She stared at the sent message, then added another.
Kitty: can we hang out later? no drama. just… us.
The reply came quickly.
Jihye: of course.
Kitty let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
She wasn't alone.
She had just been loud about the wrong thing.
Standing up, she grabbed her coat and glanced at herself in the mirror.
Her reflection looked tired.
But clearer.
"I don't want noise anymore," she said softly. "I want truth, even if it's quiet."
She didn't know yet what that truth would cost.
But for the first time since the courtyard, she wasn't running from it.
Outside Pressure Doesn't Wait
By the time XH left the gym, his muscles burned pleasantly and his head felt lighter.
Then his phone buzzed.
Reality re-entered like a cold draft.
PL: emergency meeting just announced. department level. tonight.
JP groaned when he saw XH's face. "Don't tell me."
"Department meeting," XH said.
NS sighed. "Of course."
TZ shrugged. "At least we lifted first."
They parted ways outside the gym, snow crunching underfoot, the warmth of laughter fading but not disappearing.
At the meeting hall, the atmosphere was tight.
Not panicked.
Controlled panic.
Department staff stood at the front, faces composed, voices careful.
"This is not an order," one of them said. "It's an option."
Options again.
Transfer pathways.Temporary pauses.Local government tracks.
XH scanned the room.
June sat a few rows ahead.
Straight posture. Stillness that suggested listening, not fear.
When the meeting ended, students spilled out in clusters, voices rising, phones already dialing parents.
XH caught up to June near the exit.
"How are you holding up?" he asked quietly.
June didn't look startled.
"I expected this," she replied.
That steadiness grounded him instantly.
"They're pushing people to choose fast," XH said.
June nodded. "Pressure reveals alignment."
He studied her face. "And where do you align?"
June met his gaze. "With information, not fear."
XH exhaled. "Good."
She tilted her head slightly. "And you?"
The question wasn't romantic.
It was structural.
"I'm staying," XH said. "At least until facts change."
June nodded. "Then we're still standing in the same place."
Not together.
Not forever.
But aligned.
That mattered.
A Small, Necessary Collision
Kitty crossed the courtyard later that evening and spotted them talking.
She didn't stop.
She didn't turn away either.
She slowed.
June noticed her first.
She met Kitty's eyes and nodded once. No challenge. No apology.
Just recognition.
Kitty nodded back.
The exchange lasted less than a second.
But it was real.
XH saw it and felt something loosen in his chest.
Not relief.
Permission.
Kitty walked past them, heading toward the dorms, phone in hand, already typing to Jihye.
June watched her go.
"She's recalibrating," June said quietly.
XH glanced at her. "You sound like you've done that before."
June smiled faintly. "More than once."
They walked a little farther together, then stopped where the paths split.
"I'm heading to the library," June said.
"I'll walk you," XH replied.
She didn't object.
As they walked, snow began to fall again, soft this time, catching in their hair and jackets.
"This doesn't feel stable," XH said after a while.
June nodded. "No. But stability isn't the same as safety."
He considered that. "And what is safety?"
June glanced at him. "Being able to speak without fear of collapse."
XH nodded slowly.
They reached the library steps.
June stopped. "I'm still here," she said.
Not reassurance.
Not a promise.
A statement of present fact.
XH smiled. "Me too."
She turned and went inside.
Night Settles
Back at the dorm, Kitty sat on Jihye's bed, laughing quietly at something dumb on a screen, the sound lighter than it had been in days.
At the local gym, NS sent a photo to the group chat of a beat-up bench with the caption:
NS: no fake smiles.
JP replied instantly.
JP: blessed.
TZ added:
TZ: new religion unlocked.
XH set his phone down, stretched sore arms, and stared out the window.
Campus 2 still stood.
The rumors still hummed.
Deadlines still loomed.
But tonight, no one was collapsing.
People were breathing again.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
Not because the danger was gone.
But because laughter, honesty, and alignment had returned just enough to keep everyone upright.
And sometimes, that was enough to survive the next chapter.