Jiyong immediately grabbed his phone out of the cupholder to read the text, sending a sting down Sohee's chest. "Okay. Well. See you tomorrow," she awkwardly said. "Okay," Jiyong responded distractedly as his fingers typed furiously on his phone. She slammed the door of the car and quickly ran inside, trying to get as far away as she could from Jiyong. She's not even sure why she's feeling this sad. Well, scratch that. She knows why and she knows she shouldn't be feeling this way.

He's not yours to begin with, Sohee, she told herself.

"Unnie!" Hye Rim's voice jolted her back to reality as she entered her house, lively with the sound of her parents chatting and laughing by the dining table and Hye Rim's show on the TV. "Sohee-ya. You're home?" her mom greeted her without bulging from her seat, next to her dad. "How was the track meet?" her dad asked her after taking a sip of his coffee, smiling brightly even though she could see the bags under his eyes. He's been working extra for the last few days and yet he always seemed alive whenever he's with his wife. The picture perfect view of her parents' loving relationship somehow made Sohee want to crawl into a hole and stay there forever. Look at them. The real thing. While I'm in this mess with Jiyong, she thought sadly. "It was fine," she weakly answered, mustering a smile before walking straight into her room.

She spent the night staring at the ceiling, wondering how it feels to love someone the way her parents love each others and the way Jiyong probably loves Kiko.

***

"Good morning, Sohee-ssi," Jiyong greeted her cheerfully when she entered his car. Hye Rim had the day off of school because of the parent-teacher meeting. "Hey," she responded with a small smile. "What's going on? Are you okay?" he asked her after five minutes of absolute silence. It's not that Sohee is usually that chatty anyway, but he could sense that there's something off. "Yeah, I'm fine," she answered.

Throughout the ride, she kept sneakily glancing at his phone, sitting in the cupholder like last night and what Kiko may have texted him. Sitting here, in his car, frustration continue to build up within her. She's hurt and annoyed and yet she really has no right to be feeling that way because she's only his pretend girlfriend after all. Why does it matter that he's texting with Kiko?

G-d, I hate this, she sighed.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked her after breaking away from their costumary peck on the lips as he dropped her off in front of her class. She nodded and turned around to walk into her class. Jiyong lingered by the door, watching her. But not long, she caught a glimpse of Jiyong texting yet again on his phone before deciding to distract herself with her Advanced Math homework.

***

Still feeling blue, Sohee stayed as long as she could in class until there were only very few people as everyone had rushed out to lunch the moment the bell rang. Am I acting like a child? she wondered to herself. "See you tomorrow, Sohee," Nichkhun waved her goodbye. She waved back and smiled, happy that Nichkhun said something to her - even if it's just goodbye. Thinking about how much this relationship has affected her, she's definitely grateful for being able to talk to Nichkhun, even though it has been mostly about Jiyong and occassional greetings. 

"Sohweeeeee-yaaaaa..." Jiyong's head popped out from the side of the door, looking silly with his eyes widened. Sohee couldn't help but to laugh. He's not usually like this. "Ready?" he asked, beckoning her to come with him. She followed suit and found themselves at the cafetaria, sitting with Jiyong and his track teammates. They were all chatting about a new game when they arrived. The group made room for the couple and Sohee casually slid in next to Jiyong. She was just looking around the room when her eyes landed on Kiko who was chatting with her friends. "Hey," she leaned closer to him, "I'm going to queue for some food," she slid out but was stopped by Jiyong's hand on her waist, slamming her side against his. "I brought food today," he grinned proudly, nudging a bento box at her direction. "What is this?" she asked him. This was very uncharacteristic of Jiyong. He gestured for her to open the box.

She found rows of neatly made triangle kimbaps on the box and took a bite. Jiyong was looking at her expectantly, like MasterChef contestants waiting for Gordon Ramsay's comment on their cooking. "It's good," she smiled and nodd