If you don't pass this letter to three other people, then you will be cursed with misfortune for the rest of your life!

Hyeri stared at the letter with bloody red texts. Jinri took a quick glance at what Hyeri was holding before she screeched out a horrified scream. Hyeri gave her a casual glance as Jinri rested her hands on her shoulder and shuddered.

"What's wrong?" Naeun asked, looking at their direction.

"Nothing," Hyeri said quickly.

"Some psychopath shoved a letter in Hyeri's desk!" Jinri shouted. "It's all bloody and…ew!"

"How do you know it's not just red paint?" Seunghwan asked.

"It looks like blood and that's all that matters," Jinri declared.

"Relax," Hyeri said. "You're exaggerating."

"Am not."

"What does it say?" Naeun asked.

"It's not important," Hyeri declared.

Before any of the girls had the chance to say anything else, Suzy reached in and snatched the paper out of Hyeri's trembling hands. Hyeri bit her bottom lip and looked away while Suzy's brown orbs scanned through the paper. After a moment, Suzy scoffed in utter annoyance.

"Chain letters? Really? At this era?" Suzy asked.

"Chain letters are real, though," Jinri murmured.

"Forget about it," Suzy told Hyeri. "You don't need to deal with this." She began to rip the letter while Jinri screamed again. "What?"

"You can't just rip that chain letter and not respond to it!" Jinri exclaimed.

"Honestly, you should've kept the paper in whole and gave it to the principal. I'm sure he would've done something," Naeun pointed out.

Suzy looked at the paper with regretful eyes. "Darn it. I didn't think too far into it."

"Well," Hyeri said, giving Suzy a thankful smile, "don't think too much into it. You did good."

Suzy gave her friend an honest smile before looking past her shoulder. She grinned at Hyeri, who gave her an innocent look. When Suzy gestured her chin towards the upcoming two boys, Hyeri cleared and started to fix her hair. When Suzy stretched her lips a bit further than she would normally, Hyeri gave her a small nod and turned around, flashing a brilliant smile at Jongin, who "happened" to stand right behind her.

Jongin jolted backwards a bit, surprised by the sudden encounter. He quickly smiled at Hyeri, who started a conversation.

"Jongin! Hi!" Hyeri exclaimed in her usual cheery voice. "I haven't seen you in a while!"

"It's nice to see you, too, Hyeri," Jongin said, giving her a small smile. "I've been walking around with Sehun and exploring new places."

"But you went to this school for three years."

"True, but you learn new things."

"Oh." Hyeri nodded her head, trying to think of another topic. "So can I join you in this little 'exploration' event?"

"Of course," Jongin said. He looked at Sehun from the corner of his eyes, noticing that Sehun was obviously displeased. He forced a small smile at Hyeri. "Excuse us. We need to be somewhere real qu—"

"Jongin! Have you seen this?" Suzy asked, showing Jongin the shredded paper cupped in her hands. He stared at her, confused, until she began to match the piece up together. "Isn't it outrageous?"

"What is it, exactly…?"

"A chain letter," Naeun chirped in. "Isn't it awful? The letter was in red and was threatening Hyeri misfortune."

"You believe in that kind of crap?" Sehun retorted.

"It was written in blood!" Jinri added, ignoring Sehun's remark.

Jongin looked at Hyeri worriedly, who began to fake a pained expression.

"It's okay," Hyeri lied. "I get these often."

"Often? That's not good," Jongin pointed out. "Have you reported this to the office?"

"It's fine, it's fine!" she said quickly. "I can handle a little chain letter. Besides, I don't believe in anything like that."

"Still," Jongin murmured.

"You go and do whatever you have to do," Hyeri said. "I'll see you later!"

Jongin was about to say something else, but Sehun dragged him away. As the two boys left the girls, Suzy quickly grabbed Hyeri's arms and turned her around.

"Why didn't you pursue the conversation?" Suzy asked.

Hyeri shrugged her shoulders. "I want the boy to like me, not to worry about me."

"Still. Playing 'damsel in distress' is a lot more appealing to someone like Jongin," Suzy said.

"Oh, it's no big deal. Chain letters don't exist," Hyeri said. She walked over to the nearest trash can and dumped the shredded letter in the hollow black bin. She turned back to her friends and gave them a warm smile. "See? Did anything bad happen to me yet?" They all shook their heads. "Exactly. Come on, let's go."

She turned around again and began to walk away from the trash bin. Suzy and Naeun followed without a second thought, while Jinri cautiously glanced at the bin before following. Seunghwan stood near the bin a little bit, secretly showing a twisted expression. She stared at Hyeri's straightened back with mysterious eyes before following the leader back to class.

At the corner of the building, Soojung began to step closer to the trash bin and observed the shredded papers. Then, she picked up every piece she could, digging through the trash while receiving strange looks from her peers. As soon as she collected every piece of paper, she shoved them in her bag and began to walk away from the bin. Right before she walked to her class, she took out her little notebook and began to scribble in it.

The moment she finished writing, Seulgi appeared behind her, looking exhausted as expected. She looked at Soojung, who gave her a curious look.

"What's happening to you?" Soojung asked innocently. Seulgi gave her a death glare before Soojung broke into a small smirk. "Looks like you're in a bad mood."

"Hey! Kang Seulgi!"

The two looked up and noticed Taehyun waving his hand in the air. He gestured her to come to his side as he began to walk away from the entrance of the building. Seulgi groaned loudly to herself while Soojung snickered.

"How long do I have to put up with this ?" Seulgi murmured.

"Keep doing you," Soojung said. She closed her notebook and shoved it back in her back. "Whatever you're doing, it looks like it's working."

"I don't see any positive result," Seulgi complained.

"You don't because you're part of the game. When you're the player, you can't see the entire field."

"And you can?"

"Of course," Soojung said. "I'm the audience, the one who sits in the bleachers. I can see everything."

Seulgi grimaced. "Right, you're the 'holy' one."

"I never said that, but I'm grateful to hear that you think so highly of me."

"Please don't be sarcastic with me right now. I'm clearly not in the mood."

"I have good news for you, though," Soojung revealed. Seulgi's eyes began to sparkle. "Try to avoid having lunch with Taehyun today. Come to our hideout and we'll talk then."

"Finally! I can make up a good excuse to avoid him!" Seulgi cheered and pumped her fist in the air.

"You should go to Taehyun right now. He'll get mad," Soojung reminded her.

Seulgi gasped, but didn't think too negatively about the situation. She skipped away, heading towards to Taehyun before receiving a lecture from him. A small smile appeared on Soojung's lips as she saw Seulgi's childish energy reenergize her.

However, her smile disappeared when she sensed an uncomfortable aura behind her. Her dark orbs glanced over her shoulder, where she saw a man giving her a deep frown.

If I remember correctly, he's Wang Jackson, Soojung thought. Her eyes narrowed a bit. He's also the boyfriend of Youngji, who's Seulgi's best friend. What does he want from me?

"May I help you?" Soojung asked. She stepped aside a little, thinking that she was in the way.

"Can you take care of her?" Jackson asked.

Soojung furrowed her eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

"Will you be watching over Seulgi?" he repeated. Soojung kept quiet. "Seulgi is Youngji's best friend."

"I know."

"But I don't think it's like that anymore," he said. "I'm Youngji's boyfriend, so if Seulgi leaves her, then I'll be the one taking care of Youngji. On the other hand, Seulgi doesn't have anyone to depend on after she breaks her relationship with Youngji."

Is Seulgi not friends with Youngji anymore? Soojung wondered. Why is he speaking like everything is over?

"So will you be there for Seulgi?" Jackson asked.

How should I answer him? she wondered. "Sure, whatever."

Jackson studied her expression a bit longer. "You sure?"

Soojung shrugged her shoulders. A sigh escaped Jackson's lips. He adjusted the strap of his backpack on his shoulder before giving her a small, appreciative nod.

"Then if the worse case scenario happens, I leave you with Seulgi," Jackson said. He walked passed her, leaving Soojung confused and baffled.

He's talking as if Seulgi and Youngji aren't going to be friends anymore, Soojung realized. She watched him disappear in the crowd. Well, I don't really blame him. At this point, it's pretty obvious that their friendship is breaking apart.

/ / / / /

"A chain letter?" Seulgi dropped her jaws and stared at Soojung for a long time as the other girl bit into her sandwich in a calm manner. She pursed her lips before continuing: "Are you sure? I mean, Hyeri doesn't seem like she'd receive a chain letter."

"It's definitely a chain letter," Soojung said. She opened her back and reached out a messily taped paper. "I don't think it's written in blood. It just looks like red paint to me."

Seulgi took a better look at the letter before shuddering. "That's ing creepy."

"Personally, I don't believe in such a thing," said Soojung. "Do you?"

"A little." Seulgi paused. "By the way, why are you telling me this?"

"There's someone in Hyeri's group who wavers easily," Soojung explained. "I'm sure she wrote the paper."

"So?"

"Whatever we plan from now on, you are not to be related with her in any way," Soojung announced.

"Who is it?"

"I don't know," Soojung said. Seulgi stared at her, completely dumbfounded. "I have my suspicions on certain people, but nothing is confirmed. I don't have the evidence."

"Then how am I supposed to avoid the so-called 'Hyeri's betrayer?'"

"I'm just saying that if you see anything suspicious around her friends, then report it to me," Soojung said. She bit into her sandwich. "Particularly Seunghwan."

"Seunghwan?" Seulgi repeated.

"Yeah, her."

"Why her? She's so nice and loyal to Hyeri."

"Or is that what she wants you to think?" Soojung asked. Seulgi kept quiet, stumped. "Anyway, how'd you get out of the Taehyun mess? Isn't he looking for you? Did you tell you that you could leave for a certain amount of time?"

"He didn't really say much. He just asked if I was going to meet Jongin."

"Jongin?" Soojung furrowed her eyebrows. "Why Jongin?"

"Not too sure. I told him that I was going to see you, and then he laughed. Before I could ask him what was so funny, he told me to go and come back whenever I could," Seulgi explained. 

"Taehyun and Jongin… Not sure why those two would connect. Taehyun's popularity doesn't even compare to Jongin's popularity." Soojung bit into her food while she pondered on the idea. "I should do a little more research on Taehyun."

"I've been doing all the research on Taehyun. I'm practically a Taehyun-expert now," Seulgi said haughtily.

"Mhm, sure you are," Soojung muttered. She finished her lunch before getting up. "Anyway, do what you've been doing with Taehyun."

Seulgi gave her a dreaded look. "Oh, come on, Soojung! I can't stand him! He's so arrogant!"

"That's just his personality," Soojung said. "Anyway, you sticking close to him seems to be working."

"Does it? I don't really see any result."

"It is. Trust me," Soojung said. She paused for a bit. "I'm going to take care of you, so don't forget that."

Seulgi shivered. "That sounds weird coming from your mouth. Don't ever say that again."

"I won't, I won't," Soojung replied bitterly. "I'm going to find you our next target soon. Once everything is settled in, we can move away from Taehyun and go to our next target."

"Can you make that happen, like, tomorrow."

"Don't be ridiculous, Seulgi. I'm not a god."

"I know, I know. It's just so exhausting. I'm sick of it," Seulgi whined. "I wish something interesting would happen, you know?"

/ / / / /

Taehyun was combing his hair in the bathroom, making sure that his looks were perfect before heading out the door. Haeryung and Subin were both waiting for him back in the classroom, and he didn't want to keep them waiting.

But I have to, he thought. It's better to arrive fashionably late. They'll know that I've put effort in my appearance before I go in. That'll make me more attractive, wouldn't it?

He smirked and began to inch closer to the classroom. He planned on waiting behind the doors for a few minutes before making his grand entrance. However, when he opened the door a little, he noticed that Subin and Haeryung were sitting closer to the door than usual with dull expressions.

"How long is he going to be in that bathroom?" Subin grumbled. "He's been there forever!"

"Wasn't my idea to get close to him," Haeryung said with a completely annoyed expression. "I told you that clinging onto Taehyun was the worse decision we've ever made."

"Says the girl who even brought up his name when we were listing the popular guys," Subin murmured. "Gosh, I can't stand him!"

"I can't stand him, either. I mean, he thinks he has eloquence. Like, what the ?" Haeryung cried out. The two girls exchanged laughs.

"I just wish someone else would notice us," Subin said. A dreamy sigh escaped her lips. "When Sehun came over and talked to our group the other day, it was a dream come true."

"Maybe we're leeching off the wrong person," Haeryung said after a brief moment of pause. "I mean, what about that Seulgi girl?"

"Taehyun's pet?" Subin asked. Haeryung nodded. "She's not so bad. She seems equally annoyed with Taehyun like us."

"Maybe more since he practically treats her like trash."

"Yeah, but what about her?"

"I mean, it looks like she's really close to Jongin and Sehun. Did you see the way she bickered with Sehun? It's like how he argues with Hyeri."

"He doesn't really argue with Hyeri."

"I know, but still. The point is, Seulgi and Sehun has a decent conversation together."

"So…?"

"So I'm saying that maybe we need to side with Seulgi!" exclaimed Haeryung. "Maybe we're supposed to be really close with Seulgi instead of Taehyun."

"How would we leave Taehyun's side, then?"

"I'm sure he's busy with friends. He's a popular kid. He'll get through," Haeryung said.

"Gosh, that's such a brilliant plan, Haeryung," Subin said with full admiration. "I'm so glad that you're my best friend in real life."

"Same! The whole school thinks we're rivals fighting for Taehyun's affection."

"I know, right? It's ridiculous," Subin said, snickering. The two girls exchanged laughs, getting excited with the though of befriending Seulgi instead of getting close to Taehyun.

After hearing their entire conversation, Taehyun found it hard to go back in the classroom. Something choked up in his throat. His heart squeezed in a painful manner as his face crumbled into an unpleasant expression. An all-too familiar feeling swelled up in his chest. He felt like a complete fool as his cheeks grew hot and reddened with shame.

me, he thought. I'm being used again. He stopped his trail of thoughts before taking a deep breath. At least I know that Seulgi isn't part of their scheme. He closed his eyes before opening them and entering the room. Time to end this stupid game.

The moment he opened the door, Haeryung and Subin returned to their sweet smiley looks. He was disgusted with their masked expressions, but rather than pointing out that he had listened to their conversation, he smiled back at them.

"You're back already?" Subin asked. "Wow, you arrive so early! So punctual!"

"You took a little longer than usual," Haeryung said. She gasped. "Did you fix up your hair? It's wonderful!"

Taehyun kept quiet. He observed the two girls, who began to show a slightly confused look when they realized that he was unresponsive to their compliments. They tried again, praising his looks and his manners, but he didn't say a word. They made a small frown and innocently tilted their heads.

"Taehyun, what's wrong?" Haeryung asked.

"Yeah, you're so quiet today," Subin pointed out.

"Don't stand in front of the door," Haeryung said.

"Someone is going to bump into you," Subin warned him.

As if on cue, the door opened. Taehyun stepped to the side and turned around, where he saw Jongin, Sehun, and Hyeri entering the classroom. Sehun seemed a bit annoyed as he walked back to his seat, while Hyeri looked more annoyed at Sehun's behavior. Jongin glanced at Taehyun and gave him a small apologetic look.

"Sorry that we suddenly barged in," Jongin said. "Sehun's not in a good mood. He's been trying to find someone, but won't tell us who."

"He's crazy," Hyeri whispered. She hugged Jongin's waist. "Jongin, please don't go mad like Sehun! I'm worried for you!"

"I heard that, and I'm not crazy!" Sehun exclaimed. He looked at Taehyun. "Where's Seulgi?"

"Is that who you've been looking for this whole time?" Jongin asked.

"No, I'm looking for one of Seulgi's friend."

"I told you not to stay so close to her," Hyeri said, scrunching her nose.

"She's going to make her move any time now," Sehun whispered to himself. "I can sense it!"

"See? He's crazy," Hyeri said.

"He's just a little paranoid. Leave him be," Jongin told her.

"Anything for you, Jongin!" she exclaimed. "I don't really care about Sehun, anyway. He can talk or play or fall in love with Seulgi if he wants to."

"I can't believe her," Subin whispered to Haeryung.

"Disgusting," Haeryung muttered back.

Taehyun paused and stared at the two girls, as he was the only one who had overheard them. An idea popped into his head. He hesitated at first, but began to play the idea in his head. After a minute or two, he took a deep breath and smirked while flipping his hair.

"It's fine, Jongin," Taehyun said. "I, too, have a best friend like you."

Jongin stared at Taehyun, confused. He still smiled, but he was unsure of what to say. Hyeri gave Taehyun a strange eye while Sehun curiously glanced at Taehyun. Haeryung and Subin looked at him like a holy figure.

"That's me, right?" Subin asked quickly.

"No, it's got to be me," Haeryung said in a rushy manner.

"Oh, what? Well, you two are just friends. You see, my best friend knows everything about me," Taehyun said. "My best friend is always watching out for my back. My best friend knows who's using me and who's not and is willing to protect me." He glared at Subin and Haeryung. "My best friend also told me that you two are just hanging around me for the sake of popularity. You guys disgust me."

Subin and Haeryung paled, realizing that they were caught. They gave Taehyun a half-sorry and half-resentful expression.

"Your best friend told you all of this?" Subin asked.

"Who's your so-called 'best friend?'" asked Haeryung.

Taehyun scoffed and flipped his hair. "Why should I tell you? You two don't deserve it."

"I'm interested," Jongin said, trying to be nice.

Taehyun gave Jongin a strange expression, as if he was asking the popular boy, "Are you ing kidding me?" It was clear that Taehyun didn't really have a particular person in mind. He was troubled and tried to figure out who to name. He couldn't just name an imaginary friend. The girls' eyes were ready to pounce at him, prepared to ask him questions that would eventually lead to their demand to see Taehyun's so-called "best friend."

"Y-You're interested," Taehyun stuttered. He let out a small laugh before scratching the back of his head. "M-My best friend… friend… Someone who doesn't betray me…" At the spur of the moment, he named the first person he could think of that he knew: "Kang Seulgi. Seulgi is my best friend—the person who knows everything about me and isn't trying to use me for popularity."

A wicked grin appeared on Sehun's face as he knew what he had to do for his next move.