When Sooyoung was angry, it never sat well for anyone.  She was the mood maker, so to speak, and if she was in a bad mood, everyone was in a bad mood.  Seulgi blamed it on Jongin, who had the nerve to tell her what had happened the day she skipped school.  Truthfully speaking, Seulgi didn’t like the way they kept intruding in her business.  It wasn’t their responsibility to look after her as if she were a child that couldn’t function without someone to hold her hand and guide her.

The other two girls and Mark, who’d decided to sit with them at lunch, were feeling the effects of Sooyoung’s bad mood as well.  As of now, Seungwan and Joohyun still didn’t know about her family issues.  Seulgi glanced over at Sooyoung, who was furiously dunking a french fry into ketchup.  Jongin was sitting across from Mark, feigning boredom, but Seulgi could tell he was just as intimidated by Sooyoung as the rest of them.

“It’s Friday.  Are we still on for the mall after school today?” Seungwan finally spoke.

Seulgi glanced at Sooyoung who raised her head.  “No, we’re not.  Go somewhere else tonight.”

“Can you just tell us why you’re so upset?  Is it Yifan again?” Seungwan pressed.

“No, it’s not.  Just ing drop it, Wendy,” Sooyoung grumbled.  The girl went back to eating, leaving Seungwan to stare at her in concern.  

To be fair, Sooyoung was never this moody, and knowing she was the reason for it, Seulgi felt guilty.  She cleared , making Sooyoung glare at her in anger.  Seulgi gulped and worked up the courage to speak.

“Sooyoung can I talk to you alone?  Jongin, you too,” Seulgi requested.

“You want to talk about it now?” Jongin asked, furrowing his brows.

“Why do I feel like you three are hiding something?” Joohyun spoke.  She was a bit less nervous than she used to be around Jongin, but there was still caution with every movement or word she spoke.

“Because we are.  Now leave us alone,” Sooyoung snapped.

“Sooyoung, that was a bit uncalled for,” Seulgi in, growing tired of her friend’s moodiness.

“It’s your fault!” Sooyoung exclaimed.

Seungwan sighed, rolling her eyes.  “Okay, I’m not in the mood for this.  Let’s go.”

She stood up, practically dragging Joohyun and Mark with her, and the three of them hurried away.  Thankfully they hadn’t made enough of a scene for all eyes to be glued to them.  The students in the cafeteria continued to mind their own business, eating and talking to their friends.  Seulgi turned towards Sooyoung, who had covered her hands with her face.

“Can you tell me why you’re so upset?” Seulgi tried coaxing the answer out of her.

Sooyoung exhaled.  “You hallucinated.  You can’t keep doing this to yourself.  Kai’s told me everything from the first party until now.”

So that’s what it was about?

Again, her friends thought they could dictate her actions like they always did.  They wanted her to be pretty, so she dressed nicely and put on makeup every morning when she would have rather gone to school looking like a bum.  They wanted her to be popular so she put on a smile and was nice to everyone she came in contact with, even with people she wanted to punch square in the fact.  Her friends wanted her to be perfect, so she did everything she could to be that so that they would be happy.  

No one ever cared about what Seulgi wanted.  No one ever wanted to listen.  This time around she wasn’t going to care about them.  She was going to do what she wanted.  She was capable of handling herself. 

“What gives you the right, Sooyoung?” Seulgi spoke, coldly.

“Excuse me? I’m trying to look out for you here!”  Sooyoung insisted.

“What makes you think I can’t do it for myself?  If I want to smoke all the weed in the town, I ing will!  Let me ing live my own life!” Seulgi shouted.

Sooyoung paled, glancing around at their surroundings.  All eyes were on them.  A hush of whispers began to break through the silence.  Seulgi could feel lock up in panic.  The only thing that was able to escape from her were the series of rapid breaths that she absentmindedly realized was classified as hyperventilation.  Her ears rang, blocking out any other noise.  She was still able to hear a faint, muffled sound of a person speaking.

Then suddenly she was no longer sitting, she was floating in the air.  Seulgi forced herself out of her daze and focused on her surroundings.  She truly was in the air.  Jongin was carrying her, bridal style out of the cafeteria.  Her panic attack thankfully had passed as soon as it had come.  She looped her arms around his neck, making him look down at her.

“Are you alright?” he asked, stopping.

“No.  Everything’s ruined,” Seulgi whispered.  “My popularity is gone.  I’m just a loser that smokes weed now.”

“Sweetheart, popularity