ksj: what kind of flowers do you like?

lhj: cacti

As I see them melt into each other, their lips fitting together perfectly like it was meant to be, I know that I don’t belong here at all. Tears prick the corners of my eyes and I swallow harshly.

I’ll never be as good for him as she is.

    I slip away quietly.

    “Chaeyeon, you’re first in class, you did really well on the test this time. Great job! As for Haeju… well, you’re second, good work but you should continue to learn from Chaeyeon!”

    “Haeju-ah, why can’t you be more like Chaeyeon? She’s so pretty, she gets good grades, she’s so polite and sweet… My, if you were a little more like her I’d be such a proud mom. I bet her parents are really proud of her.”

    “Woah, Haeju, your friend is so pretty… Introduce me to her sometime, okay?”

    Though I’m used to staying in the shadows and I gave up a long time ago trying to be as good as Chaeyeon,

    Sometimes it still hurts.

    “Yah, Lee Haeju,” a male voice calls out, startling me from my between-class nap.

    “What do you want?” I snap.

    “When are you going to give me Chaeyeon’s number?” Kim Seokjin demands rudely, folding his arms across his chest.

    I huff and go back to resting my head on my arms, ready to resume my nap. “Get it from her yourself, Kim Seokjin. Unless you don’t have the balls to ask her.”

    “Look, Lee Haeju, the only reason why I didn’t protest when Mrs Hwang assigned you as my table partner was because you’re Chaeyeon’s friend. There’s no other reason for me to want to sit with someone like you.”

    I glare at him, my fists clenching. “I’m not a tool you can just use to get close to Chaeyeon, Kim Seokjin. I want you to know that I have way more self-respect than that, and you’re really a for saying such a thing.”

    I slam my fist onto the table, punctuating the end of my sentence. Then I pick up my bag and storm out of the class.

    Fifteen minutes later, I’m sitting on the rooftop and breathing in the fresh air, savoring the feeling of the wind whipping through my hair and caressing the strands.

    Finally, I begin to feel better as the jealousy and anger in my system begin to abate.

    My phone vibrates with a text. I look at it.

    chaeyeon: hey, where are u?? saw u storming out of class

    chaeyeon: did u fight with kim seokjin

    Great. The last person I wanted to hear from.

    I switch off my phone and zip it up securely in my backpack.

    Unfortunately, my peace is disrupted a second time when I hear an annoyingly familiar masculine voice break the silence.

    “Lee Haeju.”

    It’s Kim Seokjin. I roll my eyes, sling my backpack over one shoulder and walk past him hurriedly.

    But he grabs my wrist, preventing me from leaving.

    I look up at him and sigh. “Look, I’ll give you her number, okay? It’s not that big of a deal.” I say as I begin to fish through my backpack for my phone.

    “It’s not that, it’s just…” He runs a hand through his hair as he struggles to find the right words to say. “I just wanted to say that I’m sorry. That was a thing to say.”

    I shrug. “At least it was the truth, though. And don’t worry about it, you’re definitely not the first person to say such a thing to me. You definitely won’t be the last either. I don’t even know why I reacted so violently.”

    Seokjin’s gaze softens; I think I can detect a hint of pity in his eyes. “Haeju…”

    “See you around, Seokjin,” I say tonelessly as I slip past him.

    The next day, I see Seokjin cornering Chaeyeon against her locker, talking to her in a suave, gentlemanly manner. Way more gentlemanly than he’s ever spoken to me.

    Chaeyeon smiles her billion-dollar smile, the one that makes all the guys go crazy. From the way Seokjin gazes at her with plain adoration in his eyes, I can tell that he’s falling hard and fast for her.

    Chaeyeon suddenly catches sight of me. “Haeju! Over here!”

    I go over to her and the adoration in Seokjin’s eyes vanishes in an instant.

    “Haeju,” he says monotonously, all traces of excitement gone.

    For some reason, my heart is encased in bitterness.

    “Seokjin,” I acknowledge him.

    Chaeyeon doesn’t seem to sense the awkward tension between the two of us. She squeals excitedly, “Seokjin’s just asked me on a date! Haeju-ah, you should come too. It’s this Saturday. Seokjin, Haeju can come too, right?”

    Part of the reason why everyone adores Chaeyeon is because of how lovingly innocent and oblivious she is. But at this point, it just makes my blood boil.

    Seokjin’s smile falters at Chaeyeon’s request. “Uh, I was kinda hoping it would be just-,”

    “Nah, it’s fine. You two go ahead. I have something on this Saturday.”

    Seokjin looks visibly relieved. Thank you, his eyes seem to say.

    you, I try to convey back to him.

    Friday night, a text pops up on my phone screen.

    Seokjin: haejuuuuuuu

    For some reason, butterflies begin churning in my stomach.

    Seokjin: what kind of flowers does chaeyeon like?

    The butterflies die out immediately. I want to smash my phone against the wall.

    Seokjin: pls tell me, i need to get them before our date tmrw

    Haeju: get her roses

    Seokjin: she likes roses?

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