20; Chase

Humiliation.

Cold, biting humiliation was the only thing Moon Jihye felt then, having been escorted back into the school building by the principal himself who'd been summoned by the ruckus moments prior. Her shirt was completely soaked with diet Coke; an awful, cold coating of light brown seeping straight into the measly cotton of the school shirt she wore.

However, the ruined shirt wasn't what bothered her. It was how she'd attained it that did.

Jihye felt a painful throbbing in her chest, but bit back the impending tears. She could tell the principal; as he escorted her to the restrooms where two burly security guards stood guard; watched her carefully from the side of his eye. His eyebrows woven into a sympathetic frown and lips pursed with concern.

'Oh, here we are,' he said, breaking the silence with an awkward clearing of the throat.

'Well then, get yourself cleaned up. In the meantime, I’ll have my secretary arrange a change of... attire for you.'

Jihye smiled weakly despite the trembling of her lips. She didn't even know how she was capable of words then, yet a measly 'OK' escaped her.

She could tell the headmaster clearly had no idea what to say to perhaps make her feel better. He looked incredibly out of place standing beside her, but after a moment, simply offered the girl an encouraging smile. His phone rang in that instance which signalled his cue to leave, and with a waving hand, Jihye watched the headmaster's back disappear down the corridor before she slipped into the female restroom.

The room at this particular time of day had a surprisingly ephemeral look about it. The walls and floors – which followed a creamy colour scheme – shimmered in the rich, invading afternoon sunlight like rippling sheets of water. She'd been to the restroom countless of times before, however the vicinity held a different charm towards the evening she was unfamiliar with. Everything glowed marvellously and perhaps on any other occasion, the girl would have stopped to take in the details in their full glory.

Yet the only thing that caught her attention was the contrasting reflection of herself in the mirror. She stood in front of one of the many marbled basins and stared at the hideous brown clot in her white shirt that; at this point; soaked through it completely, sticking to her skin in the most uncomfortable of ways. Her skirt had barely managed to escape the spillage and she could see stray dribbles of the drink over the front with the more she assessed the damage. Her hair had also been subject to the chaos – the front layers at least – and were clumped together in sticky, unsightly locks she couldn't stand to look at.

And all for what? As Jihye stood staring with mild disgust at her own reflection, she couldn't help but recall the events leading up to the disaster with a wavering heart.

If there was a day that Moon Jihye's hair set meticulously without thorough grooming, it was today. Like every other morning, she'd risen to a handful of rituals while readying herself for school. However, on this particular morning, one of them this time wasn't her hair.

Jihye lost count of how many compliments she received. In fact, after school – as she made her way towards the parking lot with confident strides – she couldn't help but toy with the walnut and blonde locks, delighted by the remarks such a simple action got out of every second student she passed in the corridor. She smiled to herself smugly, barely stopping to acknowledge the stunned looks she received when she heard someone call out to her from behind.

'Jihye...'

The voice was so soft she almost doubted she heard it. The girl stopped; her body angling in the direction of the voice; and stared at the student responsible, waiting for – what she was certain would be – just another gawking onlooker. However, what she saw was far from her expectations.

Jihye's level look slowly accommodated a pair of wide eyes and parted lips. 'Tae...? What are you doing here?'

She immediately regretted asking such a question considering he had every right to be there. However, the truth was that he never hung around after school... at least not where everyone else did, anyway. And the fact that he was now; not to mention even speaking to Jihye of all people; startled her.

'H...,' he started; his voice so low she could barely hear him despite having closed the distance between them towards a more secluded area of the corridor.

'Hey.'

The closer she got to him, the more she took note of how nervous he really was. In fact, he looked anxious and on-edge with his shifty dark eyes and tensed shoulders, as if he were anticipating an ambush of sorts. Yet the small crowd of students present in the hallway at the end of the day were either on their way out, or lingering uninterestedly for their peers. In turn, the two weren't spared a single ounce of attention.

'Hey...,' Jihye swallowed. Her heart thumping a fraction of a second faster than usual at the sight of him. 'Um... what's up?'

For reasons beyond her, the stupidest of questions were flying out of one after the other. She instantly regretted asking something as awkward as she did yet again, and laughed nervously at herself... which was something she never did. In fact, there were a lot of things she was doing around Taehyung she otherwise would never have even dared to.

'Listen, I would—we should—you and me...'

Jihye blinked at Taehyung who fumbled with his words, directing his hands in the air nervously, and watched as he came to an abrupt halt upon registering his own incoherent babbling. After a moment, he stopped talking entirely, breathed in and out calmly, and when he opened his eyes again, Jihye unconsciously held her breath.

His eyes were suddenly trained on her; a steady sort of grounding in them that funny enough, in turn shook her core. She'd known Taehyung for a long time. But the look he offered her in that instant was so serious, she couldn't believe it was the same boy. It was as if whatever anxiety and uncertainty he exuded just moments prior morphed into a sturdy wall of confidence and resolve.

'I need to ask you something, Jihye.'

Her heart pounded uncontrollably at the low, deep voice that rumbled in his chest. She'd almost forgotten what his voice truly sounded like. In fact, she'd almost forgotten just how—well—attractive he was upon further inspection; windswept orange hair that was growing out at the roots, narrow almond eyes filled with shimmering sincerity, and the powerful, square line of his jaw… Jihye gulped at the sight of his charming looks surfacing gradually.

Ever since they'd entered high school and drifted apart, Jihye conditioned herself to stop thinking about him. However, the action proved futile. Despite having a new group of friends, a completely different environment, engrossed in a world entirely different from his, there wasn't a day where she didn't feel a pang of regret for letting go of their bond as thoughtlessly as she did. She felt terribly at fault and all sorts of guilt plagued her. She didn't even hesitate to think Taehyung most likely despised her existence at that point, which explained why he avoided her like the plague since.

And yet here he was. Talking to her. Actually being the first to initiate conversation with her, which was too good to be true.

'Oh...,' Jihye swallowed nervously; manicured fingernails tucking a wayward strand of golden hair behind her ear. Her lips formed a simper and she struggled to fight back the burning in her cheeks. She couldn’t help but feel like she was in middle school again with the ridiculous reactions just being within a two feet radius of the boy enticed.

'W-what is it...?'

Eyes still sharp and unmoving from her own, Taehyung's neon bangs brushed against his dark eyelashes; head inclined to accommodate for the striking height difference between them.

'If you're free tomorrow night, do you...'

The girl's eyes widened in utmost surprise at the possibilities of what he was going to ask her. Her heart pounded even more fiercely at the thought of him making the first move to repair the rift between them, and a handful of butterflies tingled the lining of her stomach at the prospect. She could almost hear herself saying yes, however the moment was after all – to her horror – too good to be true.

She should have known better than to think she'd ever get the chance to be in such a position. At the most crucial moment – Taehyung finally mustering the courage to ask her the much anticipated question – a form blocked her view, immediately wedging a clear-cut path between she and Taehyung. Taken aback by the rude interruption, Jihye blinked a few times in confusion before placing the straightened, layered brunette hair she laid eyes on.

'Baek...?' she began softly; eyes still wide with surprise as she advanced around him. 'What are you...'

'I'm getting really tired of this, carrot,' Baekhyun muttered; eyes fixated on Taehyung who almost instantly shrunk beneath the hostility in his narrowed eyes.

'What are you still standing around for? This is the part where you scram.'

'Baek, wait!'

Jihye chided, however her eyes darted warily between her boyfriend and Taehyung. The latter – to no surprise – looked incredibly uncomfortable, and she was positive the distance he managed between them in such a short span of time since Baekhyun's unexpected arrival meant he was prepared to disappear at any moment now.

But Jihye couldn't let him get away. It had been ages since they'd even had a decent conversation. And considering what she imagined he'd ask her, she wouldn't miss this chance for the world.

'Look, we were just talking about something. I'll...'

'Talking?' Baekhyun's face scrunched up so fiercely, one would imagine he just tasted something awfully bitter with the word. 'To him? Are you being serious right now? Like—I know he has a thing for you, but—you're OK with that?'

Despite the fact that they were close to a relatively secluded area of the hallway, the heated situation didn't take long to spread. Jihye watched from the side of her eye as more and more students turned their way, throwing them curious looks, and that was never a good sign of anything. At this rate, she'd never get to hear Taehyung out.

Baekhyun sighed. His lips pressed together in a thin, disapproving line, and he glowered mercilessly at Taehyung who now had his nose in line with the floor. Whatever determination he exhibited just moments prior seemingly evaporated into thin air.

Baekhyun held up a single wrist; fingers curled around a can of diet Coke, and somewhat hovering over the expensive broach on his blazer, as if pointing at a textbook specimen.

'God, I really hate these kinds of guys, who go around chasing girls they'll never have. It's disgusting. You're really spoiling my image, you know? Come on. Let's go, Jihye.'

Satisfied by the pain that streaked across the latter's features, the corner of Baekhyun's lips upturned. Taehyung at this point didn't hesitate to leave; his back met with an equally hurt expression from Jihye.

'Tae, wait!'

Yet her cry was in vain.

Noting he was finally out of the way, Baekhyun his heel, prodding the girl to follow behind him with his free hand, however his grasp was only met with a violent shrug. He stopped mid-stride and stared back at her in shock, which was an expression she responded to with furrowed eyebrows. Something moulting hot blazed in her dark ey