A/N: Two chapters today

Son Chaeyoung, from class 1-A, went missing last night.

Son Chaeyoung went missing last night.

Son Chaeyoung went missing.

Son Chaeyoung.

Mina stares blankly at the board, not entirely focusing on the word CHEMISTRY written by their teacher. She drones out and looks outside the window. She sees class 1-A in the track and field area. They do their laps, but not as fast as their ace runner Chaeyoung.

Son Chaeyoung, from class 1-A, went missing last night.

Mina scoffs to herself. She didn’t care about the obnoxious freshman before. Why care now?

(Chaeyoung isn’t obnoxious, but Mina wouldn’t admit that. It would make her question her hate. 

Mina had some trust issues since middle school because of backstabbing people back in her hometown in Japan. That’s why when she got into a good high school in Seoul when her family moved for her parents’ work, she promised herself not to get involved with anybody, even though the Korean crowd is different and way better than her classmates back in Kyoto.

Not with Sana, who looked genuinely happy when she said thanks to her for picking her books up. Not even Jihyo, who always had been the friendly class president. Not even Jeongyeon, her crush, who offered her a tour of the district she lives in now.

She really likes Jeongyeon, although she wouldn’t admit that either.

She resorted to doing cruel things to those who confess to her just to make them go away. Obviously, it doesn’t work, but it makes 75% of the school population afraid of her, so she’s satisfied with that. She just wants to survive high school.

Then junior year came. The school’s attention then went on the shy but friendly Son Chaeyoung from 1-A. The girl went like a whirlwind. She swept fanboys and fangirls alike with her shy smile, impressing teachers with her excellent academics. She even awed their school athletes with her insanely athletic skills and breathtaking art. It was only natural for her to join the softball team where Jeongyeon and Momo are (even with Yuna’s invitation for the track and field team) and the art club which was currently an invite-only club (It was Taeyeon, a college senior who came from their school and worked part-time as the club moderator, who invited her in. People told Chaeyoung she only invited one other person, Kang Seulgi, who was already considered one of the best in this generation.). It was also natural for her to come out on top of her batch at the end of the first trimester, with Chou Tzuyu running second by a very close margin.

Mina only knows this because of Sana’s never-ending talk, and not because she’s interested.

Besides, why would she be interested? She hates her. The first time she saw Chaeyoung, the freshman accidentally poured orange juice on her Chemistry textbook when sophomore Yugyeom “accidentally” tripped her. She knew it wasn’t the cub’s fault. Still, her never-ending apologies and snickers from the stupid sophomore annoyed her to no end. Not to mention the “C” that her research teacher gave her for no reason and the not-so-nice call she got from her father this morning. So, she did what first came to her mind.

She slapped Chaeyoung.

And she hates the way Chaeyoung looks at her; she looks at her with so much sadness. She hates the way her classmates gather to defend the freshman. She hated it when it was Jeongyeon who lashed out at her for slapping her dongsaeng. She doesn’t notice how Chaeyoung pulls her no-jam hyung away, how she tells those aggravated to let it go since “it probably wasn’t Myoui-sunbae’s day.” 

She hates herself for lashing out because of her problems, but she hates Chaeyoung more to make her a fool in front of her classmates and her crush. She hates her for making a fool out of her usually cold and calculated self. And she hates Chaeyoung for not hating nor fearing her.

She knows she’s irrational, but it’s not like she can take back what happened. Better go on with it. Just until high school anyway.)

The bell rings, signifying lunch, but Mina doesn’t have the appetite to eat, nor did her other classmates like Sana. She feels so odd without the loud girl nagging her to eat lunch with them and the said girl sitting in her chair with her head on her desk. Momo, the class’s eating machine, was picking with her food, obviously not in the mood to eat. Sooyoung and Yerin were giving her sad looks, knowing how Momo was truly upset with her not eating her favourite jokbal. Jihyo, their ever-strong class president, tries to lift the atmosphere by announcing club auditions and such. However, it was evident that she’s doing her best not to break down. She, Momo, Sana, and Jeongyeon were close to Chaeyoung, after all.

And Jeongyeon wasn’t there.

Mina looks at Jeongyeon’s empty desk in front of her. Everybody in the class knew how close Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung were, even dubbing them as the “no-jam brothers.” She sighs and looks back outside to see one of 1-A’s students (she remembers her name was Yerim) bawling while running, her classmates trying not to join her cry-fest.

Mina looks away, a heavy feeling in her chest getting heavier every second.

Lunchtime was a quiet affair with all students in a sombre mood. Almost everybody was well-acquainted with the freshman student who went missing, so nobody could think of anything why the jolly lovestruck cub would go missing the next day.

(“It’s okay!” Chaeyoung pumped her fist after Mina left. “There’s always a next time!” She had a grin that can rival the sun’s brightness if you ask her classmates.)

The police told the student body that it was a kidnapping case. 

“Hey, I called Seungwan-unnie. She really sounded distraught.” Sana plopped down beside Nayeon, who was staring at her lunch. “She’s making sure the police are doing everything they can, so she said we shouldn’t worry.” Sana’s voice, however, gives away the fact that she can’t help but worry.

“How about Jeongyeon? Did you get a hold of her?” Jihyo asks, Sana shaking her head in return.

“Where’s Momo?” Nayeon finally speaks up. She looks around the cafeteria, searching for Momo. 

“At the room, wouldn’t budge,” Sana answered, then slammed her head on the table. “This is the worst. Why did it have to be Chaeyoung?” Sana started sobbing, with a flustered Nayeon and Jihyo trying to comfort her. The other students looked at them with a mixture of pity and sadness. 

“Where’s Jeongyeon when you need her? She’s good at situations like this.” Nayeon grumbled, suddenly noticing the blonde’s absence.

“She’s absent.” Jihyo simply says, looking at Nayeon with downcast eyes. Nayeon sighs, hugging the still-sobbing Sana and Jihyo. 

“Are you happy now? Chaeyoung’s gone, and you’re on top now.”

Tzuyu continues to wash her hands even though there are no more suds left. She kept scrubbing her hands under the warm scalding water from the faucet. Her classma