"So Naeun likes Jongin, right?"

Seulgi almost spat out her coffee. She swallowed and stared at Soojung, who was casually sitting down with her legs crossed, drinking a cup of warm black coffee.

"Naeun likes Jongin?" Seulgi cried out. "Is that why you tried to make me talk about about Jongin?"

Soojung gave her a disappointed frown. "I was expecting that you would be able to extract that information out of her. I'm disappointed that you didn't."

"Well, stuff happened, but I found out about some other information." Seulgi leaned close and covered one side of her face with the back of her hand. "According to Seunghwan, Naeun likes to eavesdrop on people. She'll use whatever she hears to her own advantage to make her look better, especially in front of her peers. That's why she keeps up that 'nice girl' image."

Soojung gently placed her cup down on the table. She exhaled through her nose with her eyes closed before lifting them open and staring down at Seulgi.

"Seulgi, we're the only ones here in my sister's café. You don't have to whisper like that," Soojung told her.

Seulgi blinked her eyes. She looked around, remembering that the café was actually closed since it was late at night. She sheepishly grinned while Soojung crossed her arms. Not too far from them, Soojung's sister began to laugh and approached their table.

"Aw, this is so cute," Sooyeon said, grinning. "You two are doing some sort of spy stuff, aren't you?"

"It's none of your business," Soojung said, annoyed. "Rather, are you sure you're okay with us staying here this late? I'm only here because you own the place, but if you need me and Seulgi to leave, I don't mind moving to another location."

"I would rather have you two here and know that you're safe at this time of the night," Sooyeon said. She looked at Seulgi. "Do you need a ride? I have a car."

"Oh, no thank you. I can take the subway."

"Are you sure? You two can talk a little more."

"Nah, drop her off at the subway," Soojung said. "She said she's fine."

Sooyeon and Seulgi both stared at Soojung. Then, Sooyeon turned back to Seulgi and smiled.

"I'll drop you off," Sooyeon said.

Soojung scowled. "But she doesn't need—"

"Soojung, don't be rude," Sooyeon said. "Now, I'm going to finish cleaning up on the second floor. By the time I'm done, I want you to finish your coffee, okay? I still need to wash the dishes."

"Fine," Soojung mumbled.

Sooyeon went upstairs to finish her task.

Soojung and Seulgi faced each other, focusing on their earlier conversation. Soojung took out her little journal and flipped a few pages until she arrived at a section where she made notes about Naeun. She pursed her lips and frowned.

So Naeun likes Jongin, but Hyeri likes Jongin. In order to keep her 'good girl' image, she doesn't pursue him. So why does she try to make Hyeri look bad to him and only him? Soojung wondered.

"Are you two finished with your drinks?" Sooyeon asked as she was walked down the stairs.

"Yes," Soojung said, quickly chugging down her drink. She urged Seulgi to hurry, which she did.

"Cool. I'll be taking those," Sooyeon said, putting the empty cups on a tray.

"Unnie, can I ask you something?" Soojung asked, preventing her sister from leaving.

"You want to ask me something? Wow, I'm a little shock. It's been a while," Sooyeon said, smiling.

"Let's say you and your best friend have a crush on the same guy."

"Woah, so it's a love question," Sooyeon murmured. "Are you okay with that?"

"Yes, yes. Anyway, let's say you two both loved the same guy. Your friend has this 'good girl' image and you have a 'popular girl' image. Your friend lets you pursue the guy, but she talks bad about you in front of him. What's the point of that? Neither of the girls would get the guy," Soojung explained.

"Wouldn't that be the point?" Sooyeon asked. "So that neither can get the guy? My 'friend' has this good girl image that she can't afford to put down. A direct confrontation might show that she's an awful girl because then, in a way, she'd be viewing the boy has an object."

"An object?" Seulgi repeated.

"Like a prize. Something you can own. 'This guy is mine, I liked him first, so you can't flirt with him' kind of scenario. You know? That kind of thought would definitely ruin her image," said the older woman.

"And what would happen if you get the guy and she doesn't?" Soojung asked.

"Then the bad-mouthing would stop. There's no point."

Which would mean that Naeun would side with Hyeri and not go against her anymore, Soojung thought. "That's a good point. Thanks."

"What's all this about?" the sister asked.

"Nothing," Soojung said. "We were just coming up with hypothetical scenarios."

"Do you both have a crush on the same boy?" Sooyeon asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, but she has a crush on a guy that literally every other girl at our school likes," Soojung said, rolling her eyes.

"Well, I just hope that he's not playing around with you," Sooyeon said to Seulgi.

Seulgi made an awkward chuckle. But I'm kind of playing around with him so that I can get him to like me.

"He's a good person," Soojung said, "but his friend isn't."

"Sehun?" Seulgi blurted.

Soojung pointed at her with her pen. "Yeah. That guy."

"He's probably being very protective, especially since you said that literally all the girls like his friend," Sooyeon reasoned.

"He's too protective. It'd be great if there could be some kind of distraction so that he's not there all the time interrupting you two," Soojung complained.

"Like what?" Seulgi asked.

"I don't know. Like, maybe we can hook him up with a girl he might like. I don't know. It's already hard enough to get Jongin's attention, especially since both of you are in different classes. I wish there'd be some kind of magic where we could somehow get into the same class as them. Although I'd be more exposed, it'd be more efficient," Soojung said.

"Well, more than romance, you girls should be studying," Sooyeon said. "I'm going to clean this, then I'm going to grab my keys, okay?"

"Okay," the two high school students said. Sooyeon left and disappeared into the kitchen.

Seulgi turned to Soojung, who began to pack up. "What was all that about?"

"What was what?" Soojung asked.

"Like, why did you ask your sister those types of questions?" Seulgi asked.

"My sister is better at dealing with romantic situations, whether they happen in our imaginations or in real life. Trust me, if you ever have a messy break up or drama with your friends, she's the first person you want to talk to. She's reasonable, yet she can empathize," said the younger sister. 

"Was she popular?" Seulgi whispered.

"Very," Soojung said.

Seulgi paused. "Were you popular?"

Soojung stopped packing. Her stoic expression crumbled into a hateful expression. She started to shove her items in her bag, remaining silent for a very long time. Seulgi hesitantly began to pack her belongings, assuming that she had touched a landmine.

"Okay, then," Seulgi mumbled.

"Just pack and get ready," Soojung said. "Go to school tomorrow, but don't do anything crazy until I tell you what to do, okay? Just keep a close eye on Naeun."

Seulgi nodded. A few minutes later, Sooyeon came out with her purse and keys. She smiled at the girls.

"Ready?" Sooyeon asked. The two nodded and followed her to her car.

/ / / / /

The next day after school, Seulgi was inside the girl's restroom, washing her hands and preparing to go home. She had planned to spend some time after school with Soojung, but she had told her that she needed some privacy for research. Her only instruction was to keep quiet and observe, but before Seulgi knew it, there wasn't much to observe at the end of the day. She had watched Hyeri and her two friends from afar, but kept a close eye on Naeun. Occasionally, Seulgi noticed that Naeun had disappeared from Hyeri's and Suzy's side for brief period of time throughout the day, but that was all she could find out.

Seulgi sighed and looked in the mirror. She began to contemplate on her thoughts for a few minutes in the empty bathroom.

I wonder if this is the right thing to do, she thought, remembering Sooyeon's words. I mean, Jongin isn't the type to be playing with people for his own content. Do I even deserve him? I'm not even originally popular. I'm pretty pathetic. It's only now that I have real friends. She checked her phone. Which reminds me, Seunghwan said that she had a few things to do and Taehyun is probably out drinking with Jinri until I make the final decision. I really need to observe Naeun more closely so that I can get rid of Jinri from being too close to me.

The door opened. Seulgi glanced to her side and saw Hyeri enter the bathroom. The two girls looked at each other with surprise, but Hyeri looked away and walked over to a sink. She twisted the knob and began to wash her hands before fixing her hair. Seulgi watched her gussy up, partly admiring her physical features, yet at the same time, feeling bitter that there were people born beautiful like her.

Life is so unfair, Seulgi thought. She reminded herself of last night, especially when Sooyeon talked about the love scenario that Soojung had given her. She continued to stare at Hyeri with curiosity until Hyeri finally felt uncomfortable.

"Do you need anything from me?" Hyeri asked.

Snobby, Seulgi thought. She pursed her lips. "No, nothing."

"Are you sure? You've been staring at me this entire time," Hyeri said.

"No, I was just thinking a little…" Seulgi stopped herself. She paused for a few minutes, then looked back at the popular girl. "How long have you been friends with Naeun?"

"Me? With Naeun?" Hyeri's eyes rolled over the ceiling. "We knew of each other in elementary, but we didn't get close until middle school. Why?"

"What do you think of her?" Seulgi asked.

Is she trying to get me to say bad things about Naeun? Hyeri wondered. "A precious friend. She's someone I'd like to keep close."

"Why?" Seulgi inquired. She's the one who likes the same person as you and is talking bad about you in front of Jongin.

"What do you mean 'why?'" Hyeri asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Is it, like, keep your enemies close, but keep your friends even closer? Is that what this is?" asked Seulgi, partially thinking aloud.

"I keep her close to me because we're friends," Hyeri said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"But friends don't backstab each other."

Backstab? Did Naeun do something? Well, even if she did… Hyeri stopped her trail of thoughts to reply to Seulgi's comment. "What are you, crazy? We're all human beings. We all have flaws. As friends, you accept each other's flaws and have to figure out a way to deal with it."

Seulgi seemed a bit dumbfounded. Hyeri frowned at her, obviously displeased with her way of thinking. She turned off the water and walked over to get a paper towel. She wiped her hands with the towel. She stared at her hands for a bit longer before shaking her head and letting out a sigh.

"You're incredibly narrow-minded," Hyeri blurted. "Do you even have friends?"

"I have a bunch—"

"Real friends. Not just a bunch of es who want to up to you," Hyeri said, cutting her off. She finally looked back at Seulgi. "Real, honest friends who want to look out for you. Friends who want to keep you safe, but also give you room to breathe and take risks. Friends who don't flatter you even when you're wrong. Friends who know how to tell you you're wrong and how to get you to listen. Friends who know that you're full of flaw but will stick with your bull because you, in some way or some form, have been good to them and they want to be good back to you."

Hyeri broke into a pitiful smile when she found Seulgi silent. She shook her head again and threw away the used paper towel into the trashcan. She walked over to Seulgi until their shoulders were only inches away from each other. She coldly looked over her shoulder, staring at the baffled young girl.

"What? Cat got your tongue?" 

Hyeri's provoke made Seulgi react. Seulgi glared at Hyeri, pushing her away so that she would have some space. Hyeri wiped her shoulder. Her large eyes were glued to Seulgi's mono lids. 

"I'll be bigger than you!" Seulgi declared. "I'll win the end-of-the-year popularity contest! I'll win it and make you regret your words!"

"Try me," Hyeri taunted.

They exchanged looks for a good minute before Hyeri broke off and walked out. Seulgi stood still for several minutes. Then, she curled her fingers into a fist and seethed her teeth, trying to compose herself.

God, I hate her so much! She thinks she's all that, but she's nothing! Seulgi thought furiously. She turned back to the mirror, staring at herself. This is so stupid!

She let out a frustrated yell and walked in circles. She was about to pull on her hair until she heard the door swing softly. Whirling around, she was shocked to find Naeun poking her head inside.

"Is everything okay?" Naeun asked quietly. "I heard a scream from the halls."

"I-I'm fine," Seulgi stuttered, running her fingers through her hair. "Where's Hyeri?"

"She went home," Naeun said.

"Alone?"

"Today she went back home with Jongin and Suzy," Naeun said.

"Why didn't you go?"

"I'm staying back to help the teachers with something. Anyway, are you sure you're okay?" Naeun asked.

"It's just—How do you stand her?" Seulgi asked, exasperated.

"Stand who?"

"Hyeri! She's such a—" Seulgi refused to continue. Seunghwan's words started to echo in her head, and she became wary of Naeun's presence. She took a deep breath through her nose and exhaled. "You know, never mind. I'm being to irrational."

"I know she's a bit of a handful to handle, but she's a great person," Naeun said, trying to defend her friend. "She's caring and considerate."

"Does shunning a friend sound 'caring' and 'considerate' to you?" Seulgi asked. She raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure if you remember, but you three used to have a friend named Jinri."

Naeun bit her bottom lip. "W-Well, Jinri is a different case…"

"Which is really funny, you know? Like, you would think that Naeun, who's sweet and kind to all, wouldn't shun someone like Jinri," Seulgi ranted.

"I'm still kind—"

"Your 'kindness' is just making her miserable," Seulgi pointed out. A sudden idea popped into her head. She looked at Naeun straight in the eye. "Are you being bullied by Hyeri, Naeun?"

Naeun's eyes grew awfully wide. "What! How could you even say something like that?"

"I don't know. I mean, think about it. I would never imagine that a kind girl like you would ignore a single pitiful soul out there, right? The only possible reason that you would ignore Jinri is because you're being forced to do it."

"I-I'm not, well, being bullied, but I just go with Hyeri's flow—"

"You don't have free will against Hyeri?" Seulgi pretended to look horrified. "Oh my god, you poor soul!" She threw her arms over Naeun, who felt extremely awkward. "This whole time, I thought you were part of Hyeri's mean crew, but you're actually a victim, right? You're the one who's suffering, right?"

"Well, yeah. I-I guess I kind of was the victim?" Naeun said with uncertainty. "I guess I never saw it that way."

"I feel so bad for you," Seulgi murmured. "You should just tell her that you're not going to follow her little rules anymore. You can make decisions. Besides, you're the nice girl. A little confrontation is a nice thing, you know?"

"Well, maybe I can talk to her," Naeun said. "Although, I wouldn't say that it's to the extent of bullying."

"Honestly, I bet that Jinri could report you three for treating her like an outcast," Seulgi blurted. This time. Naeun remained still. "Think about it. You four created a scene at the lockers and basically threw Jinri away. Plus, everyone knows that Hyeri sent that chain letter to Jinri."

"Was it really Hyeri?" Naeun asked, flabbergasted. "But Hyeri wouldn't do such a thing!"

"She's literally the one who had it before Jinri. I don't know why she's denying it," Seulgi said. "Think about it. I got it and Yezy even got it. The whole school knows that she hates the two of us."

Naeun began to feel more uncomfortable. She didn't give it much thought beforehand until now. The more Seulgi kept talking, the more reasonable it sounded. The gentle girl bit her bottom lip, unsure of what to say. She wanted to defend Hyeri, but with the current situation, especially with Jinri's involvement, it seemed too much to try and defend the popular bob-headed girl. Yet, a major part of her believed that she really was the victim. 

Maybe Seulgi's right. Maybe Hyeri's doing all this and trying to exploit us all, Naeun thought. Plus, if the head department hears about how the three of us outcasted Jinri…

Her skin went pale. Her heart began to race and she looked at Seulgi with worry. She could clearly see Jinri complaining to the teachers about how the three her ostracizing her. She began to feel sick in the stomach. A small whimper escaped her lips.

 "W-What should I do?" Naeun asked, trembling. Was her good girl reputation going to waste?

"Talk to her," Seulgi encouraged. "It's not a bad thing to talk to your friend. Besides…" She made a sneaky smile. "Friends know how to tell you you're wrong and how to get you to listen, right? If Hyeri's a true friend, she'll listen and fix her mistake."

Naeun made a small smile. "Yeah, that sounds like something Hyeri would say. Thank you, Seulgi! I'll talk to her tomorrow in the morning!"

Naeun stepped out of the bathroom. Seulgi continued to have a snarky grin on her face. She pulled out her phone and looked through her contacts. She quickly texted Taehyun for Jinri's number, which he gave after a few seconds. Without a moment of hesitation, Seulgi dialed the number and pressed her phone against her ear.

"Hello? Hi, Jinri! This is Seulgi! Listen, I just want to say that I think Naeun's in trouble. You see, I'm pretty sure Hyeri's bullying her…"

/ / / / /

Soojung came to school the next morning, but she started to notice that something was awfully strange. People were whispering to each other and they were staying at the shoe lockers for a longer period of time. While Soojung changed into her indoor shoes, she couldn't help but follow the eyes of the students. Her gaze finally traced to Naeun, who stood at the center of attention with a terrified expression. Curious, Soojung quickly blended in the crowd and carefully listened to the whispers.

"Dude, I heard Hyeri's bullying Naeun."

Soojung's eyes went wide, bewildered. What the ? Who started that kind of rumor?

A few minutes later, Seulgi came into the room with Seunghwan and Taehyun standing next to her. The trio were laughing happily until Naeun caught sight of Seulgi. She quickly rushed over to Seulgi's side and grabbed her by her arms. Soojung slid through the crowd to get a better listening spot.

"Seulgi! Did you tell them?" Naeun asked in a small voice.

"Tell them what?" Seulgi replied innocently. "Naeun, are you okay?"

“Seulgi, I don’t know what to do,” Naeun said in a terrified voice. “Everyone knows.”

Seulgi made a shocked expression, but Soojung could sense that she was smiling in the inside when Naeun came up to her for advice. Seulgi removed Naeun's hand from her arm and gently placed her hands on her thin shoulders.

“If you’re scared, then confront her publicly,” Seulgi suggested. “I’ll jump in and defend you. I can’t defend you if you decide to talk with her privately, but if you talk with her privately, it’ll draw less attention. Either way, it’s your choice. I’ll see how to do and follow your flow.”

What the hell is going on? Soojung wondered. Didn't I tell her to sit still and keep quiet?

She’s so nice, Naeun thought, eternally grateful. I don’t understand why Hyeri keeps putting her down.

As if on cue, Hyeri walked into the building. Seulgi quickly backed away from Naeun, but stood close enough to jump in if necessary. Hyeri looked around and noticed that people were giving her looks—looks filled with bitterness and disgust.

Looks like the whole school knows about it, Hyeri thought. She was well aware of the absurd rumors spreading around the school. Suzy and Sehun had both sent her a message about the situation after they had heard about the news. She had tried to call Naeun that same night, but Naeun didn't dare to pick up her phone. Hyeri took a deep breath and started to walk over to Naeun, who refused to look at her until they were only a few inches apart.

“Hey, Naeun,” Hyeri said, greeting her in a tight voice. “Can we talk?”

Naeun pressed her lips. She eyed at Seulgi, then back at Hyeri.

“Let’s talk here,” Naeun stated. “I don’t have anything to hide.”

Hyeri raised her eyebrow. “Here? In front of everyone?”

“Why? Scared?” Naeun taunted.

Why is she acting like this? Did I do something wrong? Hyeri wondered. “No, I’m not. I just felt like this should be a more private conversation—“

“I have nothing to hide anymore,” Naeun said, interrupting her. “It’s either here or nowhere.”

Hyeri sighed. “Fine, okay. Let’s talk here then.”

“Fine,” Naeun said, almost glaring at her.

“What did I do to make you feel like I was bullying you?” Hyeri asked, heading straight to the question.

The corner of Naeun’s lip twitched. “You forced me to ignore Jinri when I didn’t want to. I wanted to forgive her, but you didn’t want to.”

Hyeri’s eyes quickly narrowed. “I didn’t force you to do anything. In fact, ignoring Jinri was only for me. I never told you to ignore Jinri for me.”

“Lies!” Naeun accused. “Everyone was there when you first told Suzy and me to ignore her.”

It was Suzy who said it, but I don’t want to drag Suzy into this, Hyeri thought, frowning. “Naeun, I think you’re being incredibly childish right now. If not childish, then you’re being a jerk.”

“So you admit it? You’re avoiding the topic,” Naeun snapped.

“What’s gotten into you? Naeun, if there’s something troubling you, just tell me!” Hyeri said, raising her voice. "We both know that me bullying you is just some stupid rumor!"

“Stop yelling at me!” Naeun shouted frightfully. The whole room became dead quiet. It was the first time they had heard such a passive girl like Naeun yell so loudly. “I’m so sick of it, Hyeri! You act like you’re the leader in this group, but you’re not! You’re a bully!"

Hyeri crossed her arms and dangerously looked down at Naeun. This is enough.

“Naeun, I don’t like how you’re treating me right now. I think you’re acting irrationally. This isn’t like you.”

“You don’t know a thing about me,” Naeun said.

“I know that you’re nice. I know that you’re the nicest girl I’ve ever met, and that you wouldn’t do this without a good reason. I know that you treasure loyalty and friendship. I know that you’re a wonderful, well-mannered lady who’s always thinking about others first. I know that you’re sweet and caring, and you wouldn’t just accuse of people being bullies unless you sincerely felt like it.” Hyeri glared at her. “Tell me what’s going on or else.”

“Or else what?” Naeun inquired.

Hyeri studied her expression a little bit. “Does this have to do with Jongin?”

Naeun’s face quickly changed into one of surprise. She timidly looked around, catching sight of Suzy who had been listening to their very-public conversation the whole time. Suzy looked conflicted, unable to find the right timing to say anything.

So she knew? She knew that Naeun had feelings for Jongin? Soojung thought, slightly shocked. So she was just playing dumb?

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Naeun stuttered. She paused, then frowned. “In fact, I don’t like how you keep clinging onto Jongin like he’s an object. You can’t claim a guy like he’s a toy. That’s messed up.”

Hyeri dropped her jaws. She clenched her teeth and glared at Naeun with hostile eyes.

“I only told you that I like him,” Hyeri said. “The whole school knows that.”

“Yeah, and you prevent every other girl from approaching him. There are other people who wants to have a chance with him, but you force Jongin to kneel down and submit to you, even though you’re not officially together,” Naeun barked. “You never consider other people’s feelings. I hate that the most about you.”

Hyeri finally snapped. She scoffed and crossed her arms.

“Oh yeah? Well, at least I’m not a coward like you! What do you do? You just look and stare, pretending to be a good girl when you’re just running away from your feelings. I didn’t ask you to keep quiet about your feelings for Jongin! I didn’t ask you to treat him as some kind of object that I claimed. In fact, I never said ‘Hands off, he’s mine’ or anything like that!” Hyeri yelled, completely fed up with Naeun’s behavior.

Naeun stared at her friend with teary eyes. Suzy awkwardly stood between the two, unsure of whose side to take and what she should do. On one hand, she thought that Hyeri was being insensitive, but on the other hand, Hyeri was right: She never asked Naeun to keep quiet. In fact, if she recalled properly, there were many moments in their conversations where Hyeri would indirectly encourage Naeun to talk about her feelings.

But Naeun’s nice so she kept quiet, Suzy wanted to say. Instead, she remained silent on the issue, knowing that Naeun had to make the next move.

Naeun, cheeks hot and heart beating, couldn’t believe her ears. She nervously glanced behind her, seeing Jongin quite surprised. He was speechless, but he knew that he was completely involved with the conversation.

Then, he slowly approached Naeun, gently tapping her shoulder. She hitched her breath and jolted. She carefully turned her body, barely meeting his eyes.

“Naeun?” he called softly. She finally looked up and felt her heart stop when she saw a painful expression across his face. “I’m sorry, but I can’t accept your feelings. I have someone else I like.”

No, Naeun thought, feeling her heart break into a million pieces. No, this wasn’t supposed to be like this. It’s not supposed to be—

She looked behind her shoulder and glared at Hyeri. Hyeri was genuinely shocked to see such a hateful expression on Naeun’s face. It was the first time that she saw Naeun actually get angry at someone. The sweet, calm and composed Naeun was actually frowning, seething her teeth in pure anger and distress.

Her despiteful expression quickly turned into a look of brittle hope. Her tears started to spill and her lips quivered. Hyeri felt a stab of guilt pierce her heart. She wanted to take her words back to make amends, but she knew that it was impossible. She had already said too much—too much to take back.

In seconds, Naeun bumped Hyeri’s shoulder, running past her and heading to the bathroom. Jinri, who had been watching, stepped up and glared at Hyeri.

“You’re such a ,” Jinri snapped.

Hyeri shamefully looked down as Jinri went and caught up to Naeun. Suzy rubbed Hyeri’s shoulder, whispering that things were going to be “alright.”

Instead of returning to class or crying, she looked up and locked eyes at Seulgi, who was the only one in the room with a strange look on her face. Her lips were awkwardly curved upwards, as if she was trying to force herself to remain a straight face. Any fool could tell that Seulgi was laughing at her—laughing at her pathetic and miserable situation.

“We should get together and talk,” Jongin said to Hyeri. “You, me, and Naeun.”

Hyeri continued to stare at Seulgi, who finally turned away and started to talk with her own group of friends. She slowly shook her head, then looked at Jongin.

“No,” she said firmly. “I’m done talking to Naeun. I don’t want anything to do with her anymore.”

Jongin widened his eyes as he watched Hyeri turn. Suzy hesitated, but followed her, asking her to wait for her. He scratched the back of his head while Sehun put his hand on his shoulder.

“Well, you’re popular,” Sehun said in a light-hearted tone. “You still think you’re not that popular?”

“Oh, come on, Sehun. Don’t be like that,” Jongin murmured. He walked to class with Sehun following behind him.

Right before Seulgi left the scene, Soojung grabbed her shoulders. Seulgi turned, then made an awkward smile.

“Oh, Soojung. Hi,” Seulgi said. Instead of greeting her back, Soojung pulled Seulgi away from her group of friends until they arrived at a more private area.

“What the hell did you do?” Soojung whispered.

“What?” Seulgi repeated, trying her best to act innocent.

“That wasn’t part of the plan. That wasn’t part of anything. Things weren’t supposed to go down like that. What. Did. You. Do?” Soojung repeated.

“I didn’t do anything,” Seulgi said, snapping at her. “Maybe Sehun did something. I don’t know. Stop accusing me of doing everything.”

“I thought the goal was to make you as popular as Hyeri, not to destroy her ing life,” Soojung said. “We agreed to use Naeun to keep Jinri away from you.”

“And we did that,” Seulgi whispered back. “Jinri went after Naeun. They'll be friends again.”

“Not that way. That right there? That’s humiliation, a form of mockery,” Soojung said. “I didn’t want her to completely severe her relationship. I just wanted it to be like… ‘We used to be best friends, but now we’ll just be friends and talk to each other here and then.’”

“I don’t understand why you’re getting so riled up,” Seulgi said, scoffing. “I did this before! Didn’t we do this with Jinri?”

“You didn’t do it like this,” Soojung hissed. “Seulgi, I’m getting worried that you’re getting over your head. I know that the Miss Inki Contest isn’t far from here, but—“

“I get it, okay? I get it!” Seulgi snapped, glaring at her. Soojung kept awfully quiet. “Just leave me alone, okay? If you want to talk, then make an appointment with me or something.”

Soojung narrowed her eyes. “An appointment? Seulgi, I won't hesitate to step out of this popularity program. I seriously won't.”

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. I probably went a bit too far this time," Seulgi said quickly.

"You damn right did," Soojung muttered. "You're going to explain everything that happened some time this week, okay? No exceptions."

"Fine," Seulgi grunted. The two girls glared at each other for a few minutes before Soojung left and disappeared into the crowd. Seulgi sighed and rejoined her two friends, who had asked her where she had went.

/ / / / /

Naeun barged into the restroom with tears streaming down her face. She sobbed endlessly and leaned towards the sink. There were a few girls in the bathroom, but once they saw her crying, they quietly left. Jinri walked inside the bathroom and quickly tried to comfort the heartbroken girl.

"You poor, poor thing," Jinri whispered, hugging her. "I can't believe Hyeri did something like that! That's unforgivable!"

Naeun sobbed even more. She cried on Jinri's shoulder, who could only rub her back and say a few words of comfort. The fragile girl continued to cry a bit longer before she gathered her train of thoughts. She looked at Jinri in distress.

“Give me a cigarette,” Naeun begged.

Jinri, without hesitation, handed her a stick. Naeun nervously placed it on her lips while Jinri lit the other end. With tears streaming from Naeun’s eyes, she tried to inhale the smoke from the other end, but ended up coughing and gagging. She dropped the cigarette on the bathroom floor, with Jinri quickly picked up and glared.

“You can’t just drop it on the floor! These things are expensive!” Jinri scolded.

“I thought this was going to relieve my stress!” Naeun exclaimed with a croaky voice.

“It’s never good the first time. You kind of have to get used to it,” Jinri said. “Anyway, I don’t have any of the flavored ones right now. If you want, I’ll pick some up for you.”

“No thanks. I just wanted to clear my head. I thought smoking would help. It always seemed to have helped you,” Naeun said.

“What really helped me was having a close friend,” Jinri said. “Taehyun helped me out a lot when you guys were ostracizing me.”

Naeun looked down. “Sorry. I didn’t want to, but I was forced to.”

“I understand,” Jinri said, handing Naeun the dropped cigarette. “Hyeri’s a bully. Someone needs to put her down and show her that she’s not the queen of the world.”

“Exactly,” Naeun said, nodding her head and taking the cigarette.

Right then, Minzy and Yezy walked into the bathroom. Jinri and Naeun gasped, surprised. They both had their hands behind their back while the two other girls frowned.

“Someone’s been smoking,” Minzy muttered.

“Yuck,” Yezy added, grunting. “I’ll open the window.”

“Yeah, let the wind in. It’s nice and breezy today,” Minzy said. Yezy walked over to the window and opened it. Minzy turned and saw Jinri and Naeun carefully look at them. “What do you want?”

“N-Nothing!” the two girls exclaimed. They quickly rushed to the door while Naeun threw away the unfinished cigarette in the nearest trash can. Jinri dumped a few dry paper towels over the cigarette and left the bathroom with her new best friend.

Yezy and Minzy looked at each other, then sighed.

“Let’s go to the other bathroom,” Yezy said. “I can’t stand this smell.”

The two girls walked away, not noticing that the cool autumn breeze caused the burning cigarette to glow brighter, catching fire and growing with pure excitement.