Chapter 26

Tutor Wars

IMPORTANT: I've updated a lot in the past day, so make sure you've read the previous chapters! :) 


 

It feels as if a huge weight has been lifted from Mirae’s chest.

 

Suyeon is utterly shocked.

 

Mirae explains how she was scared to tell her, scared that she would not treat her like the same old Mirae anymore. She reveals that the reason she met Jongin secretly is because he discovered her disorder.

 

However, Mirae does not reveal that Jongin’s father has bipolar disorder. She feels as if it is not her place to tell.

 

An overwhelming sense of guilt burdens Suyeon. How could she have been ignorant of Mirae’s struggle this entire time? She misinterpreted Mirae’s effort to hide her illness, and ended up ditching her for the cheerleaders.

 

What is wrong with me?, she asks remorsefully. I’m a horrible friend!

 

The night is filled with tears and hugs. Mirae wishes she had explained this all to Suyeon earlier. It would have been easier getting through this with a close friend.

 

“If you need anything at all, please, please, please tell me,” Suyeon urges. “I’m always here for you. I will help you with anything.

 

“Thanks,” Mirae says in a thick voice, and buries her head in Suyeon’s shoulder again.

 


    

    “Hey,” Sehun nods to Suyeon. “How’ve you been?”

 

    “Wonderful,” Suyeon smiles. “Here, let me go buy my ticket. What movie do you want to watch?”

 

    “Big Hero 6.”

 

    She looks at him confusedly. “Isn’t that a kid movie?”

 

    Sehun shrugs. “Jongdae watched it the other day, and he said he cried like a through the entire thing.”

 

    “Damn,” Suyeon whistles. “Alright, Big Hero 6 it is.”

 

    “So is Mirae doing better?” Sehun inquires.

 

    She nods slowly. “Yeah. I mean, we talked everything over, and she told me a lot. I think Mirae’s feeling better now, although she’s still not her usual self again.”

 

    “I think Jongin’s completely obsessed with her,” Sehun informs Suyeon. “We haven’t hung out in weeks. He’s stayed in for two weekends in a row. And every time I do see him at school, the only thing he talks about is Mirae.”

 

    Suyeon’s eyes widen. “Seriously? What does he say about her?”

 

    “Something about saying sorry to her. His strange behavior started that day the two of them found us at my house. Remember?”

 

    Suyeon recalls the way Jongin abruptly cut himself off after revealing that Mirae had attended a “therapy party” of his father’s. It hits Suyeon: he almost told Sehun and Suyeon Mirae’s secret. She clenches her jaw. What a scumbag! No wonder Mirae is so angry at him!

 

    “What’s wrong?” Sehun asks, noticing the disgusted expression on Suyeon’s face.

 

    She shakes her head. “Nothing. I just remembered the day you were talking about.”

 

    “Well, anyway, Jongin said that he’s going to reveal what he’s been working on on Mirae’s birthday. I’m not sure what it’s going to be, but knowing Jongin, it’ll definitely be interesting.”

 

    “I look forward to seeing it,” Suyeon laughs.

 

    Sehun leads her into the theater, which only has 3 other people inside. After picking out a prime seat, Sehun stands back up again.

 

    “Where are you going?” Suyeon asks, puzzled.

 

    “I’ll go get us some popcorn.”

 

    She smirks. “No need.” Suyeon reaches into her bag, and- like magic- pulls out 3 packs of Sour Strings, a jumbo box of Skittles, one party size bag of potato chips, and a box full of popcorn.

 

    “I came prepared,” she gleams, chuckling at the astonished expression on Sehun’s face.

 

    “You would make a great Boy Scout,” he jokes, grabbing a handful of chips.

 

    “Why?”

 

    “The Boy Scout motto is ‘Be Prepared’. You’re obviously amazing at that.”

 

    “Thanks,” Suyeon beams.

 

    During the movie, Suyeon becomes aware of an overwhelming sense of deja vu. This reminds her of another day when she watched a movie with a guy. There’s the same heightened awareness of his presence next to her, the same tingly feeling in her stomach. When he accidentally bumps elbows with her on the armrest, there’s the same feeling of electrocution racing through her nerves.

 

    Except instead of Jung Hoseok sitting next to her, it’s Oh Sehun.

 

    No way, Suyeon thinks disbelievingly. It’s not like I like Sehun or anything. I must feel this way because we’re alone together. Nothing else.

 

    Sehun hasn’t stopped staring at Suyeon out of the corner of his eye since the movie started.

 

    Do I make a move on her? Should I make a move on her? Will she hit me? Or reject me? That would be awkward.

 

    Half the movie is over, and Suyeon is getting rather irritated. Okay, I’m not saying that I want him to make a move, but I’m just saying that he should. What’s wrong with him? What’s wrong with me? Oh my god, do I smell?

 

She surreptitiously whiffs the corner of her shirt, and catches the scent of her vanilla body spray. Nope, I smell fine. , maybe my eyeliner’s messed up!

 

    The of the movie approaches. it, Sehun thinks. I’ll just try it.

 

    He yawns widely, stretches his arms back, and proceeds to “subtly” drape his arm across Suyeon’s shoulders.

 

    Seriously? Suyeon thinks, cringing. That’s the cheesiest move ever! But fine. Let me just lean in a little bit...

 

    Suyeon throws her body to the side, accidentally hitting Sehun in the face with her hair. “I’m so sorry!” she exclaims, clutching her face with her hands.

 

    “No, you’re fine!” he shouts in an equally embarrassed voice.

 

    “Shut up!” someone calls from the other end of the movie theater, and Suyeon and Sehun both whisper, “Sorry!”

 

    This is the most mortifying situation I’ve ever been in, Suyeon gripes. She and Sehun are now sitting on the far ends of their seats. Why do I always end up in these awkward situations with Sehun?

 

    “This was, uh, fun,” Sehun tells her when they exit the theater. “Except for that one moment- er, never mind.”

 

    “We should do this again some time,” Suyeon blushes.

 

    “Definitely!” he replies, a little too quickly.

 

    The two depart, feeling a rather light-headed.

 


 

    Meanwhile, Jongin lets out a cry of triumph. “I’ve done it!” he screeches in an abnormally high voice. “It’s perfect!” Dark circles gouge the area under his eyes. His face is painfully thin and pale due to sleep deprivation. The man standing next to him is intentionally keeping a good distance from Jongin; he has not changed clothes in days.

 

    Jongin is about to pass out. But it doesn’t matter.

 

    His plan will definitely succeed with this.

 


 

    “Mirae, you look like an angel!” Mrs. Hwang squeals, throwing her hands around her daughter. “Let me take a picture!”

 

    “Mom, wait until we get to the arboretum,” Mirae groans. She tucks a curled piece of dark brown hair behind her ear. For once, Mirae decided to wear her hair down. It took an eternity to fix up.

 

    “Your dress is beautiful!” Mrs. Hwang sniffs, rubbing her eyes. “When I saw this white dress in the store, I just knew it would look amazing on you. The ruffles look so pretty. Oh, my baby’s 17 already!”

 

    “Thanks.” Mirae smiles wanly.

 

    When she arrives at the arboretum, Mirae discovers that everyone is there already: Suyeon, Jihae, Yura, a few family friends, several school friends, a handful of people from Dr. Yoon’s office, and, surprisingly, Sehun.

 

    “Happy birthday!” Suyeon shrieks, tackling Mirae in a hug. “You look hot!”

 

    “Thanks, Suyeon!” Mirae laughs. “Hey, Sehun. Uh, what are you doing here?”

 

    Sehun and Suyeon both blush. “Uh, well, Suyeon just, uh, invited me-,” he mumbles, but Mirae cuts him off with a knowing smile.

 

    “Oh, you’re her date, right?” Mirae laughs at the flustered looks on their faces. “That’s cool! Hope you enjoy the party!”

 

    “Mirae!” someone cries. Kim Jaesun walks over to her, grinning from ear to ear. “Happy birthday, dear!”

 

    “Thanks, Jaesun,” Mirae responds, smiling. Her eyes quickly dart behind him. No Jongin. Good.

 

    “I got you a great present,” Jaesun informs her. “I took care of the cake! Now, before you say that’s a small matter, just wait. It’s going to be huge! Fabulous! And delicious!”

 

    “Aww, thank you!”

 

    The party proceeds, and Mirae feels herself loosening up. She is paid many compliments, well-wishes, and greetings. Dr. Yoon and his staff all pitched in to buy her a gilded heart-shaped locket, with a tiny clasp. When Mirae opens it, she sees that there is a small picture of her therapist and nurses secured inside.

 

    “Wear this to remind yourself that you’re never alone,” Nurse Hyeri smiles. “We’ll always be with you, supporting you.”

 

    Dr. Yoon pats her on the back. “You’re a wonderfully strong patient, Mirae. We love having you at our clinic.”

 

    “You guys,” Mirae says, her voice choking with tears of gratitude. She embraces all of them, trying to convey her appreciativeness through the strength of her hug. “You’ve all done so much for me, no matter how difficult I’ve been. Thank you so, so much.”

 

    “No problem, sweetie,” Nurse Jangmi glows.

 

    Suyeon gave her a comprehensive scrapbook filled with pictures, memories, and quotes of themselves through the span of their friendship. “One day, we’ll look back at all this and remember how we stuck with each other the whole way,” Suyeon murmurs. “I love you, Mirae. No matter what, we’ll always be together.”

 

    Mirae looks straight at Sehun. “Sorry, man, she’s mine.”

 

    The girls giggle at Sehun’s flabbergasted expression and squeeze each other tightly. Mirae catches Sehun’s eye over Suyeon’s shoulder and playfully mouths, You wish you could get some of this.

 

    “Hey!” Sehun protests, laughing.

 

    Suddenly, Mrs. Hwang announces, “Alright, everyone, time to cut the cake!”

 

    Suyeon pulls Sehun back for a moment. “Hey, didn’t you say that Jongin was going to give Mirae something on her birthday?”

 

    “Yeah,” Sehun replies in a low voice. “But I don’t know where he is. What could he possibly-,” His jaw drops.

 

“What?” Suyeon asks, but Sehun merely points into the distance.

    Suyeon claps her hands over . “Holy .


 

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PrincessVivi
u can thank the power of nicki minaj songs for these last few updates btw

Comments

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nehaosta_05
#1
I read it quite some time ago wen i was new to aff. It was so light-hearted and fun story. That time I could not upvote it but here I am . Keep it up authornim
vanillaexo
#2
Chapter 15: the playful banter is throwing me off a bit because well they both dislike each other and it just seems weird to me to be joking around with the one you so called hate maybe it’s a me thing i wouldn’t with those i hate
WholesomeRain
#3
Chapter 32: This story was so cutttteeee!!! And reading about Mira’s OCD was so interesting- I think her and Jongin had such an interesting dynamic. And his dads friendship with Mira was so cute!!! But seriously this made me want to find more fics that have similar relationships to her and Jongin! Of course Suhyun and Sehun were also so cute~~~~ I really enjoyed this^^
Justinediamonds #4
Chapter 31: Ah I’m so late but wow this fanfic was really fun to read and it was hilarious and cute! I really enjoyed reading it :)
nekochibi-chan
#5
Chapter 32: This is really fun to read. It's quite light even with the mention of OCD which is something I'm grateful for cuz I'm in the mood for some fluff in my life (o´ω`o) totally enjoy reading it ꉂ(ˊᗜˋ*)
Hayleyfields
#6
Chapter 32: So , I hope you don't mind choosing a story for me to read next???*puppy dog eyes*
Hayleyfields
#7
Chapter 32: I was actually fasting during reading this story , and I would always end up busting my dry lips from laughing so hard. I think it's gonna take a while for them to get how they used to be.
Hayleyfields
#8
Chapter 32: Wow , I finaly finished it , it was amazing , I first started reading CAoAH and that was and is and will be my best experience here on aff , (i've read it 3 times already) , and after that I decided reading ur other stories , and tutor wars happened to be the first one , and I don't regret it at all .
I really love your writing style , all the puns , the funny comedies and every amazing comebacks the characters give , their thoughts and EVEN the small notes you leave at the end of every chapter .
I thank God everyday , for making you , and your parents , for bringing you to earth to make it a little less boring.
Hayleyfields
#9
Chapter 29: OMG , CAKE NIRWANA???? *Puking everywhere from laughing so hard*
Hayleyfields
#10
Chapter 24: I'm dead , it's either from the chapter , or from the AN at the end *dying from laughter*