Hey again! I decided to divide everything into three chapters because I kinda got carried away and wrote too much, but second chapter, there you go. I hope you like it!! I'm gonna post the last chapter either tomorrow or the day after. Thank you for all the support! You guys are all so kind, it really cheers me up.

Solji didn't go to school the next day. She figured she needed some peace and lots of sleep. Solji brushed off her mom trying to wake her up, which made her feel a little guilty, but she could talk to her later. Solji woke up again way past lunchtime. She sat up, yawning, before drowsily taking notice of a little tray of food on her nightstand. It made Solji's heart warm up a little and she made a mental note to buy her mother some flowers later.

After eating she finally decided to check her phone. There were a few messages from her class chatgroup and some relatives, but she went straight to Heeyeon's messages. The girl sent her little hearts and get well jokes and it made a small smile bloom in Solji's face.

Solji spent the entire day lazing around eating snacks and watching television. Her family realized she needed space, and stayed out till night doing something, but not without leaving a heartfelt note stuck on the fridge. Solji decided it was time to finally continue her 3000 piece puzzle, and after that she sang her heart out to sad songs in the shower. It was good to be by herself for a change. Solji was able to properly rest before Heeyeon arrived at night with some take-out and they had dinner together.

It would be a lie to say she had a renewed determination the next day, but at least she was feeling fine. Solji was able to put on her makeup with a light heart and pick her favorite clothes to feel cute and nice.

It would also be a lie to say she was fine with Hyojin being all over Hyunwoo. She felt rather jealous and bitter. Solji spent more than 24 hours at home to get to the conclusion she was ing pissed at Hyojin's guts, no matter how beautiful she was and how cool she was and-

Focus. You are pissed at her. Focus on the problem.

Solji was either going to secure her place in the food chain or overcome everything and move on.

The last thing Solji expected when she went to school was to be confronted by Hyojin.

Solji walked in the classroom, which was empty except for a seat in particular near the back.

Hyojin was distractedly scrolling down her phone, but put it down when she noticed Solji. She stood up with a pinkish red object in hands. Solji froze in her spot next to where she was gonna sit, watching warily as Hyojin made her way to her and handed the object to.

"You forgot it. I was gonna give it back yesterday but you didn't come."

Solji felt slightly envious of the nonchalant chick expression Hyojin had in her face. She took the notepad with a mumbled thanks. Unexpectedly, Hyojin smiled at her (oh, she looks pretty when she smiles) before walking back to her seat and sitting back down.

It took a moment to sink in that Solji had just witnessed a truly kind moment from the one person she currently despised the most. And it was infuriating in a way. She always had a hard time hating people that were nice to her.

Pouting slightly, Solji also sat down and rested her chin on her desk.

Maybe she isn't so bad…

Solji shook her head to get rid of that thought.

me and my good heart.

… …

Solji wrote a love letter. It was the least embarrassing way she found to confess her feelings. Extremely cheesy, very cliche, and honestly a bit cringy. But it was so herself that Heeyeon could barely bring herself to friend. Solji was resolute. Even if he didn't accept her, he was a nice guy and wouldn't tell anyone and would keep it a secret. What did she have to lose?

So on a Sunday night she took out her flowery stationery paper, picked the prettiest color of pen she owned and put herself to work. Solji was careful to choose soft and meaningful words and to punctuate everything accordingly, then signed at the end of the letter. She reread it at least four times before finally putting the paper in an envelope and closing it with a shiny sticker.

Solji stared at it for a few moments, satisfied. She poured all her feelings in that letter, it would work.

Solji kept repeating that to herself every time she thought of backing off the next morning. She arrived at school extra early, looking around nervously as if someone was about to jump out a bush and rip the envelop from her fingers. The paper seemed to weight too much in her hands.

The corridor of Hyunwoo's locker was empty when she turned the corner, so she hurried to throw it inside before anyone else arrived. Solji let out a deep breath she didn't know she was holding when she heard the soft thud of the envelope hitting the bottom. It felt like a huge weight was lifted from her poor heart.

Humming out to herself the first melody that came to mind, Solji walked away from the locker. She kept looking to the floor, giddy and barely containing a smile. How is he gonna react? I really wanna be there to watch when he opens it.

Solji was so absorbed in her happy thoughts that she almost bumped into someone. She absent-mindedlly apologized, feeling so soft that nothing could bother her, and continued walking. There was this small sting of nervousness amidst the fantasies of finally being accepted by the boy of her dreams.

Now she just had to wait.

… …

Three classes had come and gone and at this point Solji was 100% sure Hyunwoo had already seen her letter.

She could barely contain herself when she plopped down on the seat next to Heeyeon, squealing a hey. Heeyeon lifted an eyebrow at the girl's behaviour.

"What's up with you? I mean, I'm glad you're feeling better, but this feels like a little too much."

"I did it" Solji whispered, leaning closer to her friend.

"What?" Heeyeon whispered back.

"The letter. I gave it to him."

Heeyeon stared blankly at her for two seconds, before it finally clicked what she was talking about. Her face lighted up in a smile.

"Oh! And what did he say?"

"Shhhh! Not so loud. I don't know yet. This is the first period I'll have with- there he is, there he is, oh my god. How do I look? Is my hair nice?"

Solji straightened in her seat, watching as Hyunwoo walked closer with his friends. Solji squirmed, waiting for him to look at her, which didn't take long. Her heart could probably be heard from the other side of the room when Hyunwoo turned his head in her direction.

Just to go right past her and back to his friend.

Solji felt as if someone had dropped her off a cliff, with the icy cold that gripped her heart. Hyunwoo didn't even look awkward, he just acted like he did everyday: by barely acknowledging her. She was a bit shocked, but soon recovered. Heeyeon already caught on to her internal turmoil and looked very worried. Solji smiled softly at her, before sighing and looking down at her lap.

She only raised her head when she felt the tears stopping prickling at her eyes. With a very tired expression, she raised her head. Her eyes locked with sharp ones and she felt herself stall. Hyojin saw it all.

Hyojin was standing near the door, arms crossed and face unreadable. She immediately adverted her eyes when they crossed gazes but the damage was done. Solji knew it, Hyojin was waiting for her, waiting to see her reaction. And then she realized.

She must have stolen the letter. Hyunwoo hasn't even gotten to read it yet.

By the way Hyojin made a point to completely ignore the space Solji was existing in as she walked past, it was almost a guilty plea. Before Solji could react in any way, the teacher gently called for silence before closing the door. Solji clamped shut, eyes fixing on the board in front.

For the entire class she could feel a pair of eyes boring into the back of her head.

… …

After the whole locker fiasco Solji tried to think of other ways to confess. She tried placing another letter on his backpack, another on his car, and even tried sending it to his house. She tried sending him a text message, tried writing an e-mail and even tried making a cake and putting it on his doorstep.

All the letters vanished, the text message and e-mails were completely ignored and the cake turned into thin air. Solji was beginning to think the entire universe wanted her to fail, but every time she walked inside her classroom Hyojin analysed her for solid three seconds before going back to whatever she was doing.

Hyojin was on the brink of becoming Solji's most hated person. It was obvious she was getting in the way of her confessions, however fate probably wanted her to think otherwise because nothing ever went the way she expected.

Solji and Hyojin were paired up in PE for stretches and Hyojin was probably the laziest person she has ever met. Hyojin half assed through the stretches, but their small talk wasn't all that awkward. Hyojin laughed of this funny story Solji told about her childhood on sports, and Solji found herself smiling too. They continually followed the teacher's instructions, and after each exercise Solji slowly forgot what she was so angry at Hyojin for. But after PE ended there was this small awkward silence between them while Solji stared at her feet, until-

"Race you to the locker room?"

Solji looked up, surprised. There was a small, playful smile on Hyojin's lips. Solji hesitated for a moment.

Did she want to be friendly with her enemy?

The prolonged silence made Hyojin grow awkward, and it showed in the way her smile dimmed a little. She opened , probably to dismiss her idea.

"Loser pays lunch?" Solji interrupted, a small smile also playing on her face.

Hyojin stopped for a moment, registering what she heard, before her smile got bigger. Without warning, she suddenly bolted towards the double doors on the back of the court.

"Hey! That's cheating!" Solji yelled, running after the other girl.

Hyojin laughed but didn't slow down. Hyojin ended up winning, Solji arriving two seconds after her. Solji leaned against the wall and scowled at Hyojin. The girl laughed again, doing a small victory dance.

"C'mon, let's get changed" Hyojin said, slightly out of breath, walking towards a locker. "You own me some crepes."

Heeyeon's eyebrows shot up so high they disappeared under her bangs, when she saw them both eating together, but decided not to ask. She whisked Hyerin away from another girl nearby ("Excuse you, we were talking" "Talk later, come on, don't make me eat between those two") so they could sit together on another table. The day ended on a fairly nice note, although their goodbye was very awkward on the school gates.

Then another day, on the same week, they happened to sit side by side in the chemistry lab and it wasn't that bad, considering Hyojin saved Solji's by discreetly slipping her a note with all the answers for the surprise quiz they were having. Solji shot her a grateful smile while Hyojin feigned ignorance, but she could see the corners of her lips pulling upwards.

Also one other time Solji and Heeyeon were walking around the shopping mall near their houses and by chance they encountered Hyojin and two friends of hers. Hyerin (also known as Heeyeon's only other friend from school) from their year was her childhood friend, and the other girl was named Junghwa. They all walked together until they reached the game avenue and decided to play billiards. Hyojin lost on rock, paper, scissors and had to sit on the side.

Heeyeon was Solji's duo. They bet on food again, and Heeyeon royally at billiards but they magically won. With the high-pitched whines of a frustrated Junghwa, they all headed to the food court. Somehow, even though she won, Solji ended up paying for Hyojin yet again.

So after all this time (a solid four months had passed since Hyojin entered the school) Solji found herself not hating Hyojin as much as she probably should; She could almost say they got along, but it didn't change the fact Solji was still hella frustrated from having her attempts at having a love life intercepted again and again. But enough was enough. Solji was going to get a ball in this time. Even if it had to be the way she dreaded the most.

She was going to call Hyunwoo aside and confess to him. As simple as that. But there was also the chance of her receiving a big, fat "no" in the face.

Well, a girl has to do what a girl has to do.

Hope you have a great day!!! o/