At the age of 18, both Jihyo and Tzuyu were off to college. Much to Tzuyu’s surprise, Jihyo had refused to date anyone else for the remainder of their senior year before they’d graduated after whatever happened between herself and Doyoung. Of course, Tzuyu couldn’t help but be happy about that. It meant that they could spend more time together before the dreaded moment came where they’d part ways for college.

Tzuyu had really wanted to go the same university as Jihyo, but she knew it wasn’t going to happen. Both of their courses were in different buildings, though within the same suburb. The year started off well and the two made a mutual decision to meet on Fridays because both of their schedules were clear but as the semester progressed, that became more difficult. They couldn’t find a time to meet where both were free at the same time.

The two rarely got to hang out with Jihyo’s constant overload of assignments and practical work and Tzuyu found herself moodier than ever before. It started with the occasional no to just completely blowing Tzuyu off without giving her a reason – it wasn’t even about assignments or practical work anymore. Tzuyu knew that Jihyo wouldn’t act like that without a reason but the way she was being treated was increasingly frustrating. She would’ve rather just gone to Jihyo’s college to meet her and she’d get to see her more than she was right now.

So, she finally made up her mind to go and visit Jihyo at college instead, taking the initiative since Jihyo wasn’t doing anything. With a lot of difficulty, Tzuyu found her way to Jihyo’s class, deciding to stand outside the classroom while she waited for it to end. She was excited that she was finally going to meet her after so long (even a week is long for Tzuyu, don’t judge her).

But Tzuyu was only left surprised as Jihyo came out of the door, clinging on to some lanky guy, staring at him and giggling. She didn’t know if she was more hurt about the fact that she wasn’t told that Jihyo was obviously dating someone else or the fact that Tzuyu had been blown off for a guy all this time. This was already the sixth month of the year and the way the two were clinging seemed like they’d been dating for more than a month at least; probably around the same time Tzuyu and Jihyo no longer hung out.

She huffed in annoyance and decided to leave the campus. Tzuyu didn’t want Jihyo to know she came to look for her so she brushed off the fact that she’d taken her time to visit her. She’d never felt so defeated before; had she really lost her best friend with the start of college? Tzuyu was always the one pushing for meetings together and Jihyo was the one saying no. What if Jihyo wanted to abandon their friendship now that she was far away? She was going to have just dive into her piled up assignments and class work instead because what else could she do to take the thoughts out of her head? As much as she wanted to drink, she’d rather not go down that path yet.

Tzuyu found herself wondering if Jihyo even thought about her these days. Was she insignificant? Or did she come across Jihyo’s mind while she was at college? Who was she kidding; if Jihyo thought about her then at least she’d give her a call or contact her somehow. She laughed, feeling bitter about their situation. The times where she was prioritised were all gone.

But there was one thing she forgot and that was that she’d talked to Jihyo’s roommate earlier, to ask for her whereabouts. So, when Jihyo had come back into her room after her class, her roommate was talking non-stop about a pretty tall girl who had come to see her and left to find Jihyo at her class. Jihyo groaned as she felt the regret and guilt eating up at her. When was the last time the two of them met up? And she couldn’t believe that Tzuyu had come all the way to her college to meet her. What kind of best friend was she? She questioned herself as she looked back on their messages, noticing how Tzuyu always pushed to go but Jihyo refused them all.

She called Tzuyu immediately after, biting her nails in nervousness. Why was she nervous? This was her best friend she was talking about. Tzuyu has always been there for her when she needed her and she’s always been by her side. Jihyo was disappointed with the automatic message received, informing her that Tzuyu’s phone was switched off. Her mind was going in overdrive now as she sought a reason to why Tzuyu had her phone switched off. Jihyo just shrugged it off as her being busy and didn’t push for anything. She could always call back later.

That later never happened. It wasn’t that Jihyo hadn’t attempted to call, it was now that Tzuyu was the one who wasn’t responding or blowing off her texts. At first, Jihyo had waited for a few weeks to get a common message from Tzuyu asking to meet up but that never came. Those weeks turned into months and Jihyo started panicking. Tzuyu never picked up or her phone was switched off half the time. So, Jihyo started sending messages instead – asking to meet up or catch up but those were all left unread or not replied to.

Jihyo finally got a feel of what Tzuyu must have been going through as she failed to make the effort to meet up with Tzuyu. She didn’t know how to bridge the gap that had formed as they failed to meet each other; and it was all her own fault. She was the one who didn’t make time for Tzuyu and she was the one who didn’t chase after Tzuyu when she needed to. It was coming to the end of the year and she couldn’t even remember when she’d last seen her. She groaned, hitting her head against the table.

“You’ve been banging your head on that table so much already. Just make up your mind! It’s either you let your friendship fade away or you go to her and meet her instead. It’s that simple.” Her roommate suggested.

“It’s not that easy Sana. What if she doesn’t want to see me?” Jihyo whined.

“Look, the more time you waste, the more it’ll seem like you don’t really care. You’ve been friends for how long? You really think she wouldn’t want to see you? You know all about her Jihyo.” Sana snickered, effectively convincing Jihyo.

“That’s true. I shouldn’t let this affect us. Why am I so stupid?” Jihyo mumbled to herself.

“Because you’re overthinking like you always do. Now, go! You only lasted a little while, imagine how she must be feeling.” Sana scolded, pushing Jihyo out of the door.

Jihyo sighed, running off to sit in her car and driving towards Tzuyu’s house instead of going to her college. She hated that she screwed everything up between them. She hated that Tzuyu gave up on her when she wasn’t meant to. Why was she blaming Tzuyu at all for this? She should just accept that she’s the reason if she needs someone to blame.

She stood outside Tzuyu’s door, shifting nervously from one foot to the other as she contemplated on whether to knock or use the key that Tzuyu had given her. She was about to knock on the door when she heard a car pull up by the driveway and Tzuyu’s laughter echoing in her ears. Jihyo frowned as Tzuyu grinned at the girl who had dropped her off, and she couldn’t help but notice the tint of blush that had appeared on her cheeks. So, is this the reason she was being blown off by Tzuyu?

Tzuyu’s smile dropped when she noticed Jihyo and she could’ve sworn she felt her heart crack a little bit at the treatment. But a moment later, a smile was on her face again; the difference was that Jihyo knew it was fake.

“You have a key, you can always use it Jihyo.” Tzuyu chuckled dryly, opening the front door.

“Well, I didn’t want to assume.” Jihyo muttered, making Tzuyu freeze.

“Assume what?” Tzuyu questioned.

“That I had a right to be back here.” Jihyo admitted.

“Jihyo, you’re always going to have a right here. Why would you say that?” Tzuyu frowned, turning around to scold her best friend.

“I haven’t been around as much so–”

“I understand Jihyo. It’s okay.” Tzuyu said, cutting off Jihyo’s explanation.

“You do?” Jihyo asked, looking back in confusion.

“Yeah. College is hard and you’re really busy with a lot of things.” Tzuyu nodded.

For some reason, Jihyo didn’t completely believe Tzuyu’s response. She sensed a tad bit of sarcasm in her words that was making her feel guilty, even more than before.

“I don’t want to come off in a bad way Ji, but how come you’re here?” Tzuyu inquired, nervously looking around the room.

“You’ve been busy – so I thought I’d come to see you. I knew you came by a few months ago.” Jihyo explained.

“Months ago, huh.” Tzuyu muttered, sighing and getting up.

“Tzu?” Jihyo called out, worrying about the change.

“What? Don’t you need pyjamas? Or did you want to drive back to college instead?” Tzuyu chuckled, heading to her room.

Had she been replaced by the girl who dropped Tzuyu off? Because it seemed like Tzuyu was being standoffish towards her and she didn’t know why. The times before, the only times she acted like this was when Jihyo was dating someone. Wait, did that mean what she thought it did? Things made sense, now that she thought about it all. That’s why she was being to herself and not clingy as she usually was. She was going to grill Tzuyu when she was back.

“Here.” Tzuyu said, handing Jihyo a pair of clothes. “Is it okay with you if we watch Mission Impossible today?”

“Yes Tzu, it’s fine.” Jihyo laughed, ruffling Tzuyu’s hair and heading over to change.

By the time she was back, Tzuyu was settled on the couch with popcorn in the middle and a whole bunch of snacks.

“Are you trying to get me fat?” Jihyo mocked.

“You could do with some. You’ve lost too much weight.” Tzuyu shook her head in disapproval.

“Tzuyu, can we talk things out first?” Jihyo pleaded.

“Huh? What about?” Tzuyu asked, moving her attention to Jihyo.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Jihyo asked.

“No, the question is why didn’t you tell me?” Tzuyu frowned.

“Huh? I never had anything to say.” Jihyo replied.

“What? Ji? You can tell me? I’m your best friend, aren’t I?” Tzuyu pouted.

“What do you want me to say? You’re the one that’s dating!” Jihyo exclaimed.

“… Who said that? You’re the one who’s dating!” Tzuyu pointed out.

“The girl outside – isn’t she the one you’re dating? And no! Who told you I was dating?” Jihyo snickered.

“That’s just a new friend of mine – from college. I met her in one of my subjects and she dropped me home. And about you – when I came to your college, I saw you clinging on to some guy and showing your googly eyes at him.” Tzuyu shuddered at the memory.

“But you were blushing because of that girl.” Jihyo muttered.

“Because she has a tendency to say dirty things. I was just flustered. You didn’t deny that you’re dating, Ji.” Tzuyu sighed.

“I’m not dating anyone though?” Jihyo pointed out.

“Huh?” Tzuyu muttered.

“This was on a Tuesday – so you probably saw me coming out of one of my science classes and the only person I would cling to would be… Hakyeon. He’s already dating someone else!” Jihyo groaned.

“So, you’re not dating?” Tzuyu asked, confusion defusing.

“You’re not dating?” Jihyo countered.

“Did we both just assume we were dating?” Tzuyu snorted, before bursting out in laughter.

“Oh my god. Have you been thinking that I’ve been dating all this time?” Jihyo gasped.

“Yes, that’s why I’ve been giving you space.” Tzuyu nodded.

“You idiot!” Jihyo scolded, hitting Tzuyu’s head with a pillow.

“HEY! Don’t blame me! How am I meant to decipher that you weren’t dating when you were clinging to that guy and staring into his eyes!” Tzuyu sulked.

“Alright, alright. I’m sorry. I haven’t been there for you as much.” Jihyo sighed, shoulders hunched over.

“You can make it up to me then.” Tzuyu smirked.

“How?” Jihyo dared to ask.

“Marathon night.” Tzuyu chuckled evilly as Jihyo collapsed in fake agony next to her. A long night was ahead for her.

A/N: Hellooooo everyone - no I'm not dead (yet atleast)
There was a ton of angst in this kdhsbsdhf
I also made a dodgy poster as usual :<

I hope you liked this chapter!! I'm sorry for updating so late :(
See you in the next update c: