It’s a wonder

How we’re put together

Each made differently

Yet fit so perfectly

july 17, 2019

Momo must be out of her mind.

The seven of them stood apart from each other in the deserted classroom. It was half an hour past dismissal, and most of the students have already left the school to go home or hang out at McDonald’s. Except for them. For some reason, Momo gathered all of them there to discuss something.

Earlier that morning, Chaeyoung was contemplating whether to attend classes or skip the day. She ended up going to school because she had a project to submit. That moment, she’s definitely regretting that decision. It’s not that she didn’t like these people, there’s only one among them that she’d rather fail her project than meet again.

“What is this for?” Sana finally broke the awkward silence.

Momo put on a sheepish smile. “Yes, thanks for asking. The atmosphere’s so tense I don’t know how to start.”

At a corner of the room was a Chaeyoung sneakily sliding backwards. She’s been itching to bail out of the scene for too long. Hopefully, she was just by the door. She could just creep out of there quietly. Just a couple more steps…

This has got to be her unluckiest day.

As she was about to take the last step to escape, she bumped into someone who seemed to be rushing to enter the room. The person yelped in surprise, while Chaeyoung almost stumbled. She closed her eyes and anticipated the pain she’d get. Thankfully, she was grabbed by the arm before she could hit the floor.

“Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry.” Jeongyeon helped the poor kid stand straight. “You okay?”

(The voice sent shivers to Mina looked more like she was the one who flipped upon coming too close to an angel.)

Chaeyoung saw that all eyes were suddenly on her. Her hopes of leaving the place were already gone.

“Yeah. Thanks,” she said, trying to conceal the sarcasm.

The older one scanned the whole room, wondering what might be their meeting is all about. She’s curious, of course, she always is about almost everything. But that time she did not dare to ask. It looked serious and… clandestine?

“Since you’re already here, come join us.” Momo told her.

Jeongyeon had already forgotten the reason why she went in there in the first place, so she might as well know what these people are up to.

“So,” Momo clasped her hands and began to discuss her agenda.

She started by reminding everyone about Jihyo, who is connected to everyone in the room. She’s basically the common friend, although there might be some who aren’t quite in good terms. However, she transferred to another school because she says Gyeonggi High School is too problematic for her, which is kind of true. But truth be told, she was kind of expelled for having low grades.

 Now Momo has peaked their interests. She carried on by mentioning that Jihyo was dealing with family problems, and that she’s been having depressive episodes (that sometimes ends up with self-harm). What Momo plans to do is surprise her on her birthday by taking her out to have fun somewhere, and of course make her feel special even after that day to cheer her up.

(At the other end of the room, Dahyun was thinking if her overly strict parents would ever let her leave the house to hang out with them.)

“Jihyo needs friends to lean on right now, so I really hope you, uh…” Momo glanced down for a moment to think of a proper word. “…participate?”

-//-//-//-//-//-//-

 june 2, 2019

“Oh,” was all that Chaeyoung can say after hearing those words.

She already knew this time would come. She already expected this to happen someday.

Of all the possibilities, this is how it all ends.

She let out a bitter laugh to cover up for whatever emotion is blaring in her chest. Her fingers instinctively ran through her hair, as she shifted her glance away.

“Okay, I guess…” Chaeyoung tried her best to calm down. She mustered all the energy she had left to keep her voice from shaking. She doesn’t want to sound affected or hurt. She shouldn’t be.

“Don’t expect to see me again, then.” 

Heart in hand, she walked away without a goodbye.

Even after that day, she never cried about it.