Another tiresome and uneventful day had passed fast. Miyeon, feeling quite exhausted and sadder than ever, felt like doing nothing but staying alone. She was not in the mood to meet eyes with any of her friends, nor did she want to be spotted by anyone. Otherwise, her endless pain would only get worse and worse.

As she was sitting on her lunch table alone, she put on her jacket hood, hoping nobody would recognize her face that way. She laid her food tray on the table and stared at it absent-mindedly. That was the only thing the torturous worries that were permanently on her mind allowed her to do.

Her only true hope was for the whole situation to finally come to an end. Her deepest wish was to be herself again and return to the good old days. But she would never be able to find happiness again if Park Jimin, her other half, did not return to her life.

She was very annoyed, however, when she suddenly noticed someone sitting next to her, causing her to snap out of her thoughts. When she looked up to see who it was, she was even more annoyed, but tried hard to prevent herself from showing it as usual.

Instead, she faked a smirk towards the culprit. It was Namjoon, whom she dreaded facing the most due to the drastic changes in their friendship. She could sense he was mad at her for always wanting to be alone and never hanging out with anyone, just like all her other friends were.

Yet, his reaction did not turn out as she expected. Instead, he smirked back at her and asked, “Why are you wearing a hood?”

Miyeon opened her locker and put her textbook aside. “You do all the time and you’re a kingka. Why wouldn’t I too?” she joked, her head still inside the locker.

“I see,” Namjoon returned the joke. “You want to become a queenka.”

Miyeon looked at Namjoon and nodded her head in agreement with a wide smile.

Namjoon was surprised when he saw her face. She had replaced her old glasses with a new pair of oval, light blue glasses. When she noticed the way he was looking at her, Miyeon’s fake smile faded. Great. What is he going to say now?

Namjoon playfully pressed Miyeon’s glasses against her nose. “What happened to your old pair?”

Miyeon took off her hood and remained silent for a brief moment to think of an answer. “I got sick of it,” she lied.

“Why though?”

Hesitating to give him a straight answer, Miyeon hit Namjoon hard on the shoulder and he burst out laughing.

“Anyway,” Namjoon began, making Miyeon’s heart race a little. “Have you finished studying at the library?”

Miyeon remained silent and merely looked at him, confused. She had absolutely no clue what he was talking about. When was she at the library? When was the last time Namjoon had seen her studying?

She suddenly reached the conclusion that something was wrong. Only someone else could have told Namjoon such a lie. But then, who could that liar be?

Namjoon, noticing Miyeon’s distraction, softly tapped her shoulder and waved his hand in front of her face. “Hey, what’s up?”

Miyeon came back to her senses and fixed her glasses in embarrassment. “Well…” she stopped in perplexity. It was extremely annoying to know she had to cover up the untruths Namjoon had been told.

“You were at the library a few days ago, weren’t you?” he reminded her, but it turned out as a question, making her increasingly confused.

“Ah, yes, of course!” she exclaimed nervously. “I was… revising for a test all day.”

It was Namjoon’s turn to get confused now. “A test? But I don’t remember taking any tests recently.”

Miyeon remained mute. She had just run out of excuses. She looked away in panic and tried to avoid eye contact with him, hoping he would change the subject before long. She knew she had to leave. She could not simply sit there in silence. She had to come face to face with the person who was responsible for the whole happening.

She glanced at the girl she immediately suspected. She was sitting at a table not far from hers. She was not alone though. She was sitting close to her boyfriend, like always, and the two were kissing ceaselessly. This left Miyeon wondering, should she interrupt that happy moment of theirs instead of waiting at her own table for a while?

“Why aren’t you answering?” Namjoon insisted.

“I have to go…” Miyeon muttered, still gazing at the couple.

She hurriedly got up and left with quick steps, leaving Namjoon puzzled. Ignoring his questioning looks, she ran towards the table where the pair were sitting.

However, Taehyung and Hyejin barely stopped kissing for a split second, and did not even perceive how Miyeon was standing right behind them. She tried walking in front of them, but they did not notice this time either.

Eventually, she called out in frustration, “Hey guys! Sorry for interrupting you, but…”

Hyejin and Taehyung pulled away and Miyeon’s words were cut off by Hyejin’s sudden glare. Obviously, Hyejin was angry to see Miyeon meddle once more.

“Never mind, you can sit with us,” Taehyung said, apparently not understanding what Miyeon meant.

Miyeon rolled her eyes. She was at a loss, but she took a seat next to them anyway. She did not feel like explaining everything to Taehyung, and surprisingly, she was now wondering if she was even in the mood for any conversations.

As soon as Miyeon sat beside him, Taehyung took out his phone and the screen to look at the clock.

“How about we go back to class now?” he suggested.

“OK, if you say so,” Hyejin responded with her sweetest smile and Miyeon got up from her chair.

The three of them made their way towards their classroom. During their walk, Miyeon was mute, as she saw no reason to speak to any of the two. Hyejin and Taehyung, on the other hand, obviously did not mind, as they looked too busy having a sweet talk in the crowdy hallways of the school.

Miyeon secretly glared at the smiling couple in disgust. I hope you break up with this soon, Tae. You deserve a much better girlfriend than her. She overtook both of them, not caring about entering her class unaccompanied. After all, all three of them had better things to do each.

But shortly afterwards, when she looked backward for a second, she realized that Taehyung had left. However, she was surprised when she saw that Hyejin hardly looked like she wanted him there.

Hyejin had an idea on her mind, and Miyeon was clearly not in the mood to find out what it was.

“Where did you send him?” Miyeon asked, shooting Hyejin a death glare.

But Hyejin did not answer. She folded her arms and walked slowly towards Miyeon with an evil smile. Miyeon only carried on waiting for an answer impatiently, trying to hold her urge to leave.

All of a sudden, Hyejin grabbed Miyeon’s sleeve and her against a locker with force.

“What do you think?” she asked threateningly while walking closer and closer towards Miyeon. “You should be grateful for what I did for you.”

Miyeon was going to open and reply, but Hyejin stopped her with a punch on her stomach. Miyeon stopped herself from gasping in pain and tried not to look weak again.

“You should be grateful,” Hyejin continued, “that I didn’t tell Namjoon or Taehyung the truth. That you’re weak; that you’re always trying to act helpless; that you’re a total hypocrite. Those two don’t deserve a friend like you – no one does.”

Miyeon attempted to run away, without taking Hyejin’s mean words into account. However, she stopped when Hyejin raised her hand at her, ready to punch her.

Yet, what they both never knew, was the fact that they were not alone. Someone else’s hand suddenly grabbed Hyejin’s wrist to prevent her from touching Miyeon.

Miyeon eyed the boy carefully. She was sure she had seen him before, but she could not remember who he was. As soon as she remembered, however, she rolled her eyes in shock.

“W-who are you…?”

It was Yoongi.