I yawned, tiredly entering my apartment and sluggishly trudging into my room. It was at least 11 o'clock already and I was ready to collapse after spending several hours studying with Joohyun. I couldn't be bothered doing any more work- I was far too tired. I blinked to see Sehun fast asleep on the bed, laptop balanced precariously on his lap and lighting up his face with a dim glow. I frowned, walking over and gently shutting his laptop, putting it on the bedside table before carefully adjusting the pillow under his head to make sure he was comfortable. Flashbacks of our first night after moving in together flooded my mind and I sighed, gazing at his innocent expression. A sudden feeling of sadness and regret welled up inside me - we'd grown so distant and I'd just thrown away the chance to mend that. Closing my eyes tiredly, I sighed again. Impulsively, I ran a hand through his soft blonde hair, before leaning down and giving him a soft kiss on the temple before trudging to the bathroom. 

As tired as I was, I couldn't sleep that night.

************************

"You look tired, Areum," Taehyung commented with a concerned frown as we sat on the roof of the building for lunch. I didn't feel like sitting in the noisy cafeteria today and asked him to sit with me on the roof - where it was much more peaceful. "You're going to get sick like this."

I sighed and shook my head. "I'm fine."

"Areum."

"Taehyung, please. I'm fine," My voice was more aggressive than I intended it to be and it surprised him. He fell silent and I sighed again, rubbing my temples where an ache was beginning to build. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped."

To my relief, he gave an easy grin as he crossed his arms lazily. "It's fine. I know finals are intense - I've been here for barely a week and I'm almost snowed under from homework."

Giving him a grateful smile, we continued to eat. He finished before me and threw it in the trash can before sitting crosslegged, looking out at the view with a distant, peaceful expression on his face as the wind blew by, gently touselling his hair. He closed his eyes, looking like he was a model in a professional photo shoot. "Would you like me to give you a massage?"

I blinked as he cracked open one eye to give me a mischievous grin. "A what?"

"A massage. You'll feel a lot better afterwards, I promise." Seeing him roll up his sleeves, I held up my hands. 

"I'm good thanks," I said quickly. "I'm happy with just eating peacefully-"

"Aw, come on!" he grinned, before reaching out for my shoulders. I yelped, feeling incredibly ticklish, and tried moving out of the way. Unfortunately, I slipped and lost my balance so I instinctively grabbed his arm. He reached out to catch me but my sudden unexpected weight caused him to lose his balance too, resulting in the both of us tumbling over, him landing on top of me with his arms catching him on either side of my head. 

My eyes widened as his face landed almost inches from mine. His own eyes widened as he stared at me. "S-Sorry-"

The door opened. "What are you guys doing?" A familiar voice asked flatly, voice cold. I blinked as my head snapped to the side to look at the newcomer. Sehun was staring at us with a raised eyebrow, barely veiled irritation in his eyes. My heart sank at the cold expression on his face as I opened my mouth to explain. Taehyung beat me to it, however. 

"Sorry," Taehyung smiled, standing up and extending a hand for me to take. I grabbed it and he pulled me up before turning to Sehun and saying smoothly, "I was goofing around and accidentally slipped and fell onto Areum. My fault entirely."

He was silent for a few moments. "...I see," Sehun blinked, expression inscrutable. I gazed back levelly as he stared at me, refusing to apologise. He did all kinds of things with Joohyun that would be considered crossing the platonic line, but I never said anything. This was an accident - he had no right to be angry. "I was just coming up to tell you that Taeyeon is looking for you."

With that, he turned and walked away, shutting the door to the staircase with a quiet but solid thud. My eyebrows furrowed angrily at his cool, uncaring tone of voice, scowling. 'Who the does he think he is?'

"Areum? Are you okay?" Tae asked quietly, watching me carefully. "I'm sorry-"

"It's not your fault," I cut him off, my tone firm. I rolled my eyes. "He's being a . It was an accident, so don't apologise."

I sat back down and grabbed my unfinished lunch, continuing to eat nonchalantly. He sat down next to me warily. I looked away, trying to act like it didn't bother me as much as it did. I could tell he knew though, because a moment later his hand gently grabbed mine and intertwined it with his. I looked up, unable to hide how upset I was any longer. He merely gave me a comforting smile and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his chest as I closed my eyes, struggling not to cry. 

"Shh, it's okay. I'm here, it's okay," he whispered, rubbing my back soothingly. My lower lip trembled as I dropped my lunch, hugging my knees to my chest. Maybe it was the stress, maybe it was the exhaustion, but sobs soon began to rack my frame. 

It felt, oddly, like something had punched me in the chest repeatedly. 

Unlike the past few times I'd felt this, however, this time I knew the reason behind it. 

**********************

I was in the bathroom, freshening up after that small crying session with Taehyung as my emotional support up on the roof. Splashing my face with cold water and taking deep breaths, I forced myself to calm down. My eyes were sill slightly red and puffy, but there was nothing I could do about that. Suddenly, the bathroom door opened and in stepped Joohyun. 

I froze, a sudden feeling of dread filling my insides. 'No, please, anyone but her, please....' Her own eyes widened when she saw me staring at her with wide eyes, tears suddenly threatening to break again. 

"Areum?" she called out, shocked. "Are you- oh my gosh, are you crying?" She frowned in concerned as she noticed my delicate emotional state. She crossed the bathroom to reach me, faltering in confusion when I unconsciously took a step back. "...Areum? Are you okay?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but somehow I didn't trust my vocal chords. Instead, I merely nodded. "Yeah..." I muttered hoarsely. "I, uh, accidentally hit myself in the nose and s-so..."

Her perfectly shaped eyebrows furrowed further as her pretty face scrunched up in concern. "Did you and Sehun have an argument, by chance?"

I blinked, glancing at her strangely. She had a small, sympathetic smile that made me feel uneasy once again. Slowly, I gave her a small nod and looked away. I felt her place a delicate hand on my shoulder and rub it comfortingly. I bit my lip, trying not to cry again as I gripped the rim of the sink. I forced myself to give her a smile. "I'm fine. It was just a bit of a misunderstanding."

She nodded. "It's okay. Sehun's an idiot, anyway. You don't deserve him," she winked playfully and I gave a forced chuckle. 'I don't... deserve him?'

Suddenly, the door opened again and, to my surprise, Hyuna stepped in. She gave us an odd glance, eyeing Joohyun's hand on my shoulder, before approaching the mirror and pulling out a tube of lipgloss, ignoring us.

"Hey, why don't we go out for ice cream later on to cheer you up? Who needs Sehun anyway?" Joohyun offered sweetly. "I know this really nice place-"

Suddenly, Hyuna scoffed, giving Joohyun a small, judgemental, side-eyed glance. The latter raised an eyebrow. 

"Uh, can I help you?" She asked pointedly. Hyuna merely rolled her eyes, glancing at her reflection in the mirror once more and stowing her lipgloss away before turning to us, a hand on her hip. 

"Yes you can, Joohyun. You can help me by dropping that act," she replied, narrowing her eyes. I blinked in surprise. Did Hyuna know Joohyun? "It's so fake it's annoying."

"Excuse me?" Joohyun raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

Hyuna smirked. "Please, you may have everyone else fooled, but I know what kind of person you really are. Do us all a favour and drop the 'nice girl' act, Joohyun. It certainly doesn't suit you."

Joohyun blinked, looking offended. "I don't know what you're talking about," she scoffed, looking away. She seemed to tense, however, and I spotted her clenched fists. Hyuna merely rolled her eyes. 

"I'm sure you do. Either way, it's none of my business, what you decide to do - whether it'd be sabotaging Areum's annoyingly sweet relationship with her annoyingly attractive boyfriend, or trying to emotionally manipulate Areum out of her friendship group," she shrugged. "I wouldn't trust her, Areum - but it's your call."

I blinked, before turning to Jooh