From the day Jongin received the journal, he acted like nothing had changed. He was still kind and smiled to everyone. Sehun tried to bring up Soojung's name, but Jongin would change the topic. When Soojung met Jongin in the halls, he would flinch and look away as he stuck closer to Seulgi. Seulgi had been worried the entire time, but after seeing his reaction towards Soojung, she felt like the journal had actually did more harm to Soojung than good. In Seulgi's eyes, she was still victorious—she was still on top in everyone's eyes.

Sehun and Soojung met privately after school. There was only one day until the Miss Inki contest. The school building was already well-decorated and students were eager for tomorrow's main event. Today would be the last day for the two to discuss their plans for tomorrow, and tomorrow would decide their fates.

"Did Jongin say anything to you about me or the journal?" Soojung asked. She was standing and looked out the window.

Sehun stood next to her, leaning against the wall. He turned his head, refusing to look at her.

"No. He keeps changing the subject," Sehun said. "What about on your end? Is he different?"

"He hates me," Soojung assumed. She let out a small sigh. "He's been avoiding me. He acts like I'm revolting and avoids me. I don't blame him. If someone did something like that to me, I'd hate them, too."

"Great. So we're back to square one," Sehun murmured.

"Hyeri's in the top two," Soojung reported. "She'll need an . It's already announced that Jongin will be Seulgi's ."

"I'm already planning to make myself Hyeri's , so don't worry about it," Sehun said.

Soojung sighed. "Well, I guess this is it. We'll just have to make the most of tomorrow and try not to screw Hyeri over."

Sehun nodded. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah," Soojung murmured. "Tomorrow…"

/ / / / /

The day of the Miss Inki contest finally came. There were several activity booths and food being passed out, but those participating in the Miss Inki contest weren't able to celebrate the joyous festival. Instead, they would have to spend the entire day getting ready with rehearsal and preparing for the actual event at the end of the day.

"You. Look. Stunning," Seunghwan said as she fixed Seulgi's hair.

Seulgi smiled when she looked at herself in the mirror. She definitely looked prettier, but there was something bitter swelling up in her chest. It was like the more she stared at her reflection, the more she hesitated and questioned if that was really her in the mirror.

She was wearing a beautiful white lace dress that made her look like a fairy princess. Seunghwan had personally picked on the color and style so that it would look good on her when she wear the silver crown. Seulgi didn't really like the dress as much, but she had went along with Seunghwan, who encouraged her to wear the dress to make a good impression on the audience.

"Don't forget the flower crown," Taehyun said. He was lazily sitting on the couch, shoving chips in his mouth as he watched Seunghwan help Seulgi gussy up.

"That's for after the rehearsal," Seunghwan said sharply. "Taehyun, what time is it?"

"Fifteen minutes until rehearsal starts," Taehyun said.

"Oh, shoot! We should get you on stage right now then," Seunghwan remarked. "We'll do your hair after you get back. You can wear your sneakers for now and head to the back of the school."

"W-Wait," Seulgi stuttered. "Where's Jongin?"

"I think he's meeting you outside," Taehyun said.

"He also needs to start dressing up, too," Seunghwan muttered. She smiled at Seulgi. "Don't worry! We'll have everything prepared." Seunghwan looked at her with sparkling eyes. "You are beautiful, Seulgi. I'm so proud to be your best friend."

"Aw," Seulgi cooed. She was about to say the same thing in response, but Seunghwan quickly pushed her out the room.

When Seulgi arrived outside at the back of the school, she saw Jongin staring at the stage with blank eyes. He wasn't smiling as usual. He looked a little pale, as if he was dreading going on the stage.

Seulgi pressed her lips. I don't have to worry about anything. Jongin saw the journal, but didn't say anything. That means that he's going to be loyal to me because he loves me.

"Jongin!" She called his name with a bright smile. Jongin continued to remain spaced out. Seulgi frowned a little, but called him out again when she was nearing him. He finally snapped out of his attention and stared at her.

"O-Oh. Seulgi." Jongin forced a smile. "You look great."

"Not yet. I still have to do my make-up and hair," Seulgi said. She blushed. "Y-You look great, too."

Jongin looked at himself. "I didn't dress up, though."

"Well, you always look great," she said. She hugged his arm, but she could feel that there was some kind of distance between the two. 

It's been like this for the past few days, Seulgi thought to herself. Jongin was still her boyfriend, but there was something off about him these days. It wasn't like she wasn't aware of why he was acting like this. Rather than confronting him, she thought that it would be better to remain silent and act like she didn't know anything. After all, if Jongin wasn't saying anything, then why should she bring up anything?

At that moment, Jongin let out a quiet gasp. He gently pushed Seulgi away from him, causing her to be surprised. She followed his wide-eyed gaze and noticed Soojung standing nearby. She was watching the two, but she didn't say anything else. Instead, she turned around and walked backstage. Jongin hesitated for a few seconds. Then, he was about to move forward towards Soojung's direction, but Seulgi grabbed his arm tighter and pulled him back.

Jongin turned his head and stared at Seulgi. Seulgi gave him an uncomfortable look, a desperate look begging him not to leave her side. He grimaced and was about to brush away her hand, but she grabbed him tighter and leaned closer to him.

"L-Let's go that way, Jongin!" Seulgi exclaimed. "I think it's about time for us to get up, right?"

"Um…Uh…" Jongin stammered a bit, but eventually gave in. "Yeah. Let's go."

The two continued to walk until one of the students working as a production assistant came by and guided them to the side of the stage. There, they saw Hyeri standing all alone. Hyeri gave them a cold nod of acknowledgement. Jongin looked around.

"Where are all the other girls?" Jongin asked.

"They dropped out," Hyeri said. "It's just me versus Seulgi."

"Where's your ?" Seulgi asked her.

Hyeri shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe he'll come later. Right now, it's just a rehearsal."

Seulgi nodded slowly. The host went through a practice round, calling the nominees' name. As soon as the girls heard their names, they each went up on the stage. They went through rehearsal in a breeze.

At one point, Seulgi was asked to make a speech over why she deserved to be Miss Inki. Hyeri and Jongin observed from the backstage. The two didn't say anything to each other.

"…Please stop looking like that. It's getting on my nerves," Hyeri finally said.

Jongin looked at her. "Look like what?"

"You have terribly obvious expression on your face," she told him. "You don't want to be here. You don't want to Seulgi." She glared at him. "You clearly look like you're just waiting for something to happen, for something to pull you away from all this. Well, let me give you a word of advice: Nothing is going to go away if you don't do anything. This time, it's you who can't expect things to go your way."

Jongin felt chills run down his spine when he heard Hyeri's straightforward words. He gulped and didn't say anything. 

They continued to resume practice. After rehearsal was over, Jongin met up with Seulgi again while Hyeri went back to put on a few finishing touches. 

"Come on, the others are waiting," Seulgi told him.

Jongin told carefully over Hyeri's words: "Nothing is going to go away if you don't do anything. This time, it's you who can't expect things to go your way."

He gulped again. He frowned. Seulgi took note.

"Jongin, are you feeling sick?" she asked him. She was about to reach for his forehead, but he pulled himself away from her.

He thought carefully about what he was going to do next. He felt like his whole mind was in a mess. He wasn't sure what he should do anymore. He was starting to walk on a path that he didn't want to walk on. Normally, if he were to just wait, then things would get better, but at the moment, if he didn't do anything, things would remain the same.

But who do I talk to? he wondered. I don't know what to do. I don't know how to clear my head. Who can— The name of the answer flashed in his head: Jung Soojung.

He pressed his lips, then looked at Seulgi. "I'm sorry, Seulgi. I'll meet you back at your dressing room. I'm… I'm going to check on something."

He ran off without waiting for Seulgi to respond. Seulgi widened her eyes, completely baffled. She had not expected him to leave her side so quickly. She looked at her hand, noticing that they were trying to reach for him. She pulled her arms close to her chest and gritted her teeth slightly.

"I guess I should just return," she whispered to herself.

She turned and walked back to the dressing room. She noticed that the room to her dressing room was slightly open. She was about to grab the doorknob and swing it open, but she heard Seunghwan and Taehyun talk behind her back:

"She's so much easy to mold compared to Hyeri. Honestly, I'm so glad that I can act as her best friend."

Seulgi stopped herself from reaching the doorknob. That was clearly Seunghwan's voice.

"I get you," Taehyun chirped in. Seulgi felt chills run down her spine. "She's got the entire school wrapped around her fingers. Just by hanging out with her, I'm the second most popular guy in school!"

Seunghwan laughed. "Oh my god. Did you see the dress she wanted to pick for this contest? Yuck! She has absolutely no fashion taste."

"I know. I saw the picture you sent me. I was like, 'What the is with that pattern and design?' She owes it a lot to you."

"Of course. I'm doing all of this just to boost my reputation. Hyeri was never going to allow me to be her best friend as long as there was Suzy," Seunghwan added. "Sincerely, she deserves everything that's been happening to her right now. My god, she was so Jongin-obsessed before. It was gross."

"Well, Seulgi's like that, too."

"I know. It's gross," Seunghwan said.

The two cackled and snickered. Seulgi quietly stepped away from the door. 

Then, she began to walk. She wasn't sure where she was going. All she knew was that she was having a hard time breathing and her heart was racing. She could hear her friends mocking her right in her ears, and she was sure that she had walked a good distance away from her friends.

I'm feeling sick, she weakly thought to herself. She squeezed her chest with her hand.

"Seulgi, are you okay?" a familiar gentle voice asked.

Seulgi looked up. She saw Youngji standing in front of her. Jackson was standing behind her, although he seemed quite disappointed with her. Seulgi straightened her posture and cleared .

"I-I'm fine. Just getting the stage jitters," Seulgi murmured.

"You look sick. Are you feeling nervous?" Youngji asked. She paused. "You look beautiful, though."

"I haven't put my make-up or anything on yet," Seulgi said.

Youngji smiled. "Still, you look pretty. Well, you always looked pretty in my eyes." She handed her a small box. "Here. I wanted to give you these as a good-luck present."

Seulgi frowned. How long had it been since she talked to Youngji? She reluctantly accepted the box and opened it. She took out the tacky hand-made bracelet. Seulgi stared at it, then at Youngji.

"It's a good-luck bracelet," Youngji said. "I made it!" She quickly noticed Seulgi's hesitant expression. "O-Oh, you don't have to wear it or anything! Don't worry. If it doesn't look good with your clothes, you don't have to wear it. I just wanted to tell you good luck."

"Thanks," Seulgi said in a small voice. 

"You'll do great. I believe in you," Youngji said tenderly. She gestured her chin at the flowers. "Well, I'm going to go over and see Hyeri and wish her good luck, too."

Seulgi's heart almost skipped a beat. You're betraying me?

"I'm rooting for both of you," Youngji said as if she was reading Seulgi's mind. "I want the both of you to do your best."

"I'll stay back and save you a spot in the line," Jackson told Youngji.

"Oh, no! You don't have to do that. I'll probably find you somewhere in the crowd. If not, don't worry about it and just enjoy the show," Youngji told Jackson. She waved at Seulgi and Jackson before heading over to Hyeri's dressing room.

Jackson had his hands slipped in his pockets. He stared at Seulgi, who still seemed uneasy. However, as she caressed the bracelet in her hands, she seemed to be more calm.

"So you two came together as a couple, huh," Seulgi said softly.

"What are you talking about? Youngji and I broke up," Jackson said.

Seulgi whipped her head up. "What?"

"Didn't Youngji tell you? We broke up months ago because she thought that you were feeling neglected," Jackson told her. He frowned. "Or maybe you were too busy playing around to not notice Youngji?"

Seulgi blinked her eyes. "Why… But you two were so happy with each other?"

"Yeah, but when you started to distance yourself, Youngji didn't want that. She thought if we went back to being friends, then things would return to normal. Of course, things didn't because you completely abandoned her." He frowned. "I heard rumors that she had been eating lunch alone for the past few months whenever I was busy. I didn't want to believe it, but from the way she reacts when I asked, it seems like it was true. It wasn't until recently when Hyeri joined her for lunch."

Seulgi instantly felt guilty. She wondered what was going on the whole time and why she wasn't informed of anything… or maybe it was like what Jackson said, and that she just wasn't paying attention to her surroundings.

"But I didn't ask you two to break up for my sake," Seulgi murmured.

Jackson made a fist. "That's not the point, you know? Youngji always placed you first before our relationship. I was okay with that because you were my friend, too, but once you started ignoring Youngji, I couldn't help but grow to hate you. We broke up because of you, you know? She thought you didn't like us dating so she called it off. She's always thinking of you and your happiness, but when have you thought about hers?" He glared. "Yeah, you didn't ask us to break up, but you didn't let us know how you were feeling this whole time when we were dating. We wanted to make you happy, too, you know? You were a good friend to us, and we wanted to treasure our friendship. I—"

"Seulgi!" 

The two looked up and noticed Seunghwan approaching them. Seunghwan smiled at Seulgi and glanced at Jackson.

"Seunghwan," Seulgi whispered.

"There you are! Taehyun and I were looking for you!" Seunghwan exclaimed. She grabbed Seulgi's wrist. "Come on! You still have to get ready!" Seunghwan smiled. "I want you to look your absolute best, you know?"

Seulgi felt butterflies in her stomach. She couldn't help but think about what Seunghwan had said behind her back, and she was shocked over how Seunghwan could act like two completely different person.

Jackson sighed. "You go on ahead. Youngji and I will probably watch from the stage…"

He left, leaving Seulgi alone with Seunghwan.

Seunghwan smiled at her. "What are you doing? Come on, let's go!"

Ah, Seulgi thought. I hate this. I really, really hate this.

But instead, she smiled, laughed, and went along with Seunghwan's act.

Just a little bit longer, she told herself. Just a little bit longer until that crown is mine…

/ / / / /

If there's one place she would be, then she would be…

The scent of old books wafted in the air. Jongin looked around the empty room, noticing that there was no one—not even the librarian—in the school's library. He closed the door behind him and continued to walk around. A sense of nostalgia overflowed his memories as he remembered the first time he had seen Soojung in this room. A small smile escaped his lips as he remembered how annoyed she was over his lack of library etiquette. He didn't think much of her at first, but as the days went by, his eyes were drawn to her slowly, eventually naively falling in love with her presence.

"…I didn't expect you to be here."

Jongin felt his heart skip a beat. His chest squeezed and he turned around. At the same secret hidden room of the library, he saw Soojung sitting, reading a book. She closed the book and placed it back on the shelf.

"The room is all yours," Soojung said. "The librarian isn't here at the moment, but she'll return soon."

She was about to leave, but Jongin called her name:

"S-Soojung, wait!" he stuttered. He felt his cheeks flush. 

She stopped, but she didn't turn around. "Yes?"

Jongin gulped. "The…The journal. Why did you show it to me?"

Soojung paused. "I thought I should let you know. I thought you would need it."

"…The journal said that I love you."

"Was I wrong?"

Jongin blushed. "No. No, you weren't wrong, but…" He nervously shifted at his spot. "Um, why didn't you say anything?"

Soojung remained silent. Her eyes grew awfully cold. Then, she walked over to the window, where she could see people starting to flood into the seats for the Miss Inki contest. 

"Jongin, let me ask you this." She looked at him, staring at him directly into his brown orbs. "Why do you expect me to say anything?"

He blinked. "U-Um, aren't you curious?"

"Are you thinking that because I didn't ask you about your feelings, then our feelings aren't mutual?" Soojung asked. Jongin flinched. He started to feel nervous. His heart raced against his chest, anticipating on Jongin's response. Soojung tilted her head. "Jongin, I do not like you, nor do I dislike you."

Jongin stared at her, confused. "Is that… a good thing?"

"It's something," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "I can care less about you." She looked down, then back up. "I can't stand people like you, yet I'm able to tolerate your presence like that. People like you think that the world revolves around them, but the truth is, there's so much more than just you in this world."

Jongin suddenly felt like it was hard to swallow. Her words were cutting him deep, bu he knew that she was being sincere. For the first time, it felt like he was actually speaking to her on her level, understanding her pains and her thoughts. Everything about the mood felt bitter and agonizing, but he still wanted to hear more.

"So, yes, I know that you love me," Soojung said, "but at the same time, I question the authenticity of it. After all, you never even attempted to confess to me and even tried to go as far as to hurt my friend to impress me. To be quite honest, you've done nothing impressive this entire time. Girls flocked towards you because you have a kind and a perfect-boy persona, but in reality, I see more of your flaws."

He didn't know what to tell her. Everything she said was completely true. It was even written in the journal. He knew that he still had a lot to make up for, that he made a lot of mistakes. He knew all this, but still, there was something inside that wanted him to just cling onto the thin thread.

"I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings," Soojung told him. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to leave to watch how the Miss Inki contest will unfold."

Soojung rotated her body away from him. She took two steps away from him, but he stopped her with his next few words:

"Jung Soojung, I love you!" he blurted.

Soojung stopped her tracks. Her hand slightly twitched when she heard his confession. Then, she let out a small chuckle.

"You know you still have a girlfriend, right?" she pointed out. "You should've listened to Hyeri's words more closely. You can't expect me to accept your confession and throw myself to you when you're still dating Seulgi, you know?"

Jongin felt completely embarrassed. His whole face was completely red. She sighed and shook her head, then left him alone in the library.

He stood still alone at the library for a good half and hour until Sehun found him standing with a dazed expression. 

"Jongin, you okay?" Sehun said, approaching his best friend. "What's up with you? You look like you saw a ghost."

He didn't pay any attention. Instead, Jongin began to stagger as he made his way out of the library. Concerned, Sehun followed him, keeping a close eye on him until they arrived at Seulgi's dressing room.

Seulgi, who was alone in the room, stood up and sighed in relief when she saw Jongin walk into the dim room. She managed a weak smile when she saw Jongin, but when she noticed Sehun staring at her, she blushed and looked away.

"W-What? Are you going to make fun of me?" Seulgi asked.

"…No. I was just thinking that you look beautiful today," Sehun said. He was about to grab her hand, but stopped when he noticed Jongin sitting on the couch, still holding a blank look. Sehun pulled away his hand and gave Seulgi a sincere smile. "I wish I was your , but Jongin will do that with no problem."

"Yeah, I know," Seulgi whispered. "He's perfect, so he'll do great."

Jongin's whole body twitched when he heard the word "perfect" from Seulgi's lips. 

"I'm heading back," Sehun said. "I'm supposed to be Hyeri's ."

Seulgi nodded. Sehun left the room, leaving the two alone in a room with only the mirror lights on.

Then, Seulgi quickly rushed back to the mirror. With a serious, straight face, she began to clip her ears and fixed her hair, making sure that it was straightened.

"Your clothes are on the chair, Jongin," Seulgi said. "Just wear that and I can probably put gel on your hair. Seunghwan said not to put too much on you and Taehyun taught me how to do it. Those two are going to stay in the front of the stage to see us up-close."

She began to ramble on, reciting the entire plan. However, Jongin wasn't listening to her. His head was occupied with what Soojung had told him earlier, about his behavior and about his flaws.

A few minutes later, Jongin finally spoke up. He was still sitting on the couch with his elbows resting on his knees and his fingers folded together.

"Seulgi, I need to talk to you," Jongin said seriously.

Seulgi glued her eyes to the mirror. She only stared at herself, admiring how beautiful she looked today. She had a straight smile on her face, but deep inside, her heart was pounding against her chest.

"We can talk later," she said. She took out her lipstick and began to apply it. "You should get ready, Jongin."

"No, Seulgi. We need to talk."

Seulgi remained silent. She finished applying her lipstick and placed lipgloss to make her lips shine.

"Later," she said. "We don't have a lot of time, you know?" She checked herself in the mirror. "Your clothes are on the chair over there. We'll be matching in color. Don't take your time because we might have to fix your hair—"

"Seulgi!" Jongin yelled. 

She flinched in her seat and finally looked down from the mirror. "I said later, okay? After the contest!"

"I can't do this after the contest," he said. "I need to talk to you right now."

"You don't have to do that—"

"I do!" he exclaimed. Without a second of hesitation, he blurted, "Seulgi, I have to break up with you right now."

Seulgi stiffened. She finally whirled around and looked at him with wide eyes. She broke into a small smile.

"You're joking," she whispered. "Y-You wouldn't do that right now."

"I have to break up with you," he repeated. "Right. Now."

Seulgi weakly got up from her chair. "No… No, you're Kim Jongin. You're nice. You're kind. You're sweet. You wouldn't do something so cruel to me right now. You wouldn't break up with me just before I have to go up on that stage. You wouldn't leave me to stand all alone up there."

Jongin shook his head. "No… It's because I am Jongin that I'm doing this." He let out a small sigh. "I… I can't keep lying to you or myself. This isn't right. I know it isn't right." He looked at her. "I only dated you because I wanted to impress Soojung."

Seulgi felt something sharp pierce her chest when she heard Soojung's name. That name. That forbidden name.

"Soojung told me that she wouldn't forgive anyone who hurts her friend. I thought you were her friend, so I only did what would please Soojung. It was never my intentions to date you," Jongin continued.

"Did you talk to Soojung? Did she say that she would date you if we broke up right now?" Seulgi inquired him.

"No, she didn't say any of that, but she made a good point about how I shouldn't pursue my feelings for her when I'm still your boyfriend," Jongin said. "I only agreed to be your boyfriend to look good in front of Soojung."

"But you changed your mind, right? You want to stay with me, right?" Seulgi asked desperately.

"I don't love you and I've deceived you. I'm so sorry," Jongin confessed.

Seulgi almost felt tears in her eyes—not because she was upset over him breaking up with her, but angry at herself for pretending to not notice how unhappy he was. She gritted her teeth, knowing that she was still pretending not to notice.

"You can just break up with me after everything, okay? I need an ."

"Ask Taehyun."

Seulgi grimaced. "I can't ask him."

"Why not? He's your friend, isn't he?"

"I… I just can't ask him. You're my boyfriend."

"Not anymore."

Seulgi stared at him. "Where did the kind Jongin go? The Jongin I knew was kind and selfless. He was perfect."

Jongin gave her a weak smile. "Kind? Selfless? Seulgi, the Jongin you fell in love with abandoned Hyeri and humiliated her in front of the crowd. He stole his best friend's crush and pretended to act like everything was fine." He stepped away from her. "I'm not kind, Seulgi. I'm not selfless. Hyeri knew that best. I was just pretending to ignore it." He stepped back again. "Seulgi, you don't love me. You loved the idea of me."

Seulgi stared at him, completely dumbfounded. He was closer to the door than she had expected. She didn't know what to say. He only lowered his head.

"I'm sorry," he said for the last time. Then, he walked out the door, leaving her stunned and without an . She collapsed on the floor, freaking out over what she should do next to overcome the newfound chaos. She let out a scream, but everyone else was too busy to hear her.

/ / / / /

"You know, you're a lot more excited that I thought you'd be, especially since you only had exactly five people nominate for you," Sehun remarked as Hyeri showed him the dress she had picked out for the contest. "I thought you didn't care about this contest."

"I don't care if I win or not, but I still have to look good," Hyeri said. She turned to him. "And only five people voted for me? Wow, I barely made it. I should be the one dropping out instead of the other girls." She looked back at the full-body mirror. "So what do you think of this dress? I picked it out because it was in my favorite color."

"You look wonderful as always," Sehun said. He smiled. "I remember earlier in the year, you were trying to pick a dress in Jongin's favorite color."

Hyeri continued to admire herself in the mirror. "Yeah, but things changed." She paused. "No. Actually, I changed."

Hyeri turned around and sat down to fix her hair. Sehun smiled at her. She was wearing a light peach-colored long dress. The top was decorated with silver beads and glistened under the light. She attached her diamond-shaped earrings and checked herself for one last time.

"By the way, where were you at rehearsal?" she asked him.

"Oh… They said that it was optional for the escorts to be at rehearsal, so I didn't go," Sehun said. "I didn't want to see Seulgi with Jongin."

"Well, that might've been a good decision. Jongin is still pathetic," Hyeri commented.

"Hey, don't say that about him. He's not acting like himself now, but he was good to you before," Sehun told her. "He's changed, you know? He was defending you in class a few days ago."

Hyeri stopped moving. She paused, then looked back at herself in the mirror.

"Whatever. He can do whatever he wants, and I'll do whatever I want," she said. She checked the time. "I guess the contest is going to finally start."

"Yeah. Let's go," Sehun said.

She got up from the chair and began walking out of the room. 

"By the way, where's Soojung?"

"She'll be watching somewhere in the crowd. She's hard to spot," Sehun said.

The two arrived at the backstage. They looked around for Jongin and Seulgi, but they saw Seulgi standing alone. She seemed to be dreading going up and she seemed way too preoccupied with her thoughts to notice anything going around.

"Hyeri! You're going on stage first like we rehearsed!" the event coordinator exclaimed.

Hyeri nodded. She and Sehun were guided to the side of the stairs, where she was preparing to make her entrance. She took a few small breaths, calming her nerves and stretching her face so that she could smile properly.

Then, she looked at Sehun, who smiled and extended his hand.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm your ," Sehun said.

Hyeri stared. "Did I ask you to be my ?"

Sehun blinked. "Did you have someone else in mind?"

Hyeri smirked. She stared up at the stage with a determined look.

"Watch," she told him. "I'll be my own ."

She took her first step on the stairs. Sehun watched her with his eyes slightly wide open. He continued to watch her ascend the stairs. She was b with confidence, holding up a smile even though people were giving her disgusting glares. Sehun let out a light chuckle.

Ah, whatever, he thought. We lost anyway. Seulgi's team is going to win for sure.

Sehun started to walk away. He was about to join the rest of the audience in the crowd until he saw Jongin standing alone. Sehun tilted his head, wondering why Jongin wasn't at backstage. Jongin lifted his head and turned around, sensing that his best friend was standing behind him.

"Hey," Jongin said, greeting him.

"Hey," Sehun said, giving him a small nod. He walked over to him. "Aren't you escorting Seulgi?"

"Oh. Uh… I have something to tell you," Jongin said. He gulped. "I broke up with Seulgi."

Sehun stared at him. "Right now?"

"Yeah."

"Just now?"

"Yeah."

Sehun wasn't sure how to feel. Was he supposed to feel angry over the fact that Jongin abandoned her at such an important time? Or was he supposed to feel elated that his crush was now single? Was he supposed to feel pity for Seulgi, who was probably wallowing herself in misery over the break up? Or was he supposed to feel proud for Jongin to follow his heart?

Jongin, noticing Sehun's confused expression, cleared his throat. "I-I'm not saying this to upset you or anything. I just think that you should know that I broke up with Seulgi for a legitimate reason."

"A legitimate reason?" Sehun repeated.

"Yeah. I broke up with her because I didn't love her," Jongin said. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I know that it was terribly for me to break up with her right before the Miss Inki Contest, but I couldn't help it."

Sehun paused. Was that why she was looking so miserable? But it seemed like it had to do with more than Jongin just breaking up with her.

"I… I think I'll go Seulgi—"

"And please welcome, Kang Seulgi!" the host cried out.

The audience erupted into cheers. The two boys looked up, noticing that there was a short delay before Seulgi finally appeared on stage. She forced a smile and waved as she walked across the stage. She stood next to Hyeri, who was still smiling and posing to her peers. The two ladies exchanged a smug look before they were asked a few questions.

"We're going to ask you a few questions and you two are going to take turns answering," the host said. "These questions were randomly selected by your peers. Are you ready?"

The two girls nodded.

"The first question is: What does the Miss Inki contest mean to you?"

Seulgi recited the exact words Seunghwan had told her to say: "'The Miss Inki contest means a lot to me because it shows how far my peers and I came. With three years of studying diligently, we are now on our way to making our dreams come true. To me, just standing on the stage means a lot to me.'"

Hyeri lifted the microphone close to her lips. "The Miss Inki contest is a popularity contest, but to me, it's to prove my worth."

There was a small moment of silence after Hyeri finished her straightforward answer. She continued to smile naturally, clearly establishing that she was here to be honest.

"The second question," the host continued. "Is there someone you like?"

The crowd "ooh-"ed and "ahh-"ed. This time, Hyeri was the first to speak.

"I did like this one guy, but he completely threw me away and treated me like trash at the end," Hyeri said. She made eye-contact with Jongin and flashed him a fake smile.

Ah, she's still angry with me, Jongin thought, pressing his lips in a thin line. He didn't blame her. She had all the right to be angry at him.

"Well, we know that Kang Seulgi has a very special boyfriend, so I don't think we need to say anything about that," the host said.

Seulgi didn't blush. Instead, she paled. Her fingers whitened as she gripped the microphone in her hands. She gulped, but she continued to smile.

"Oh, please don't embarrass me!" Seulgi whined playfully. This was something Taehyun told her to do if she wanted to up to the host a little.

"Okay, okay. Third question: Why do you want to be crowned Miss Inki?" the host asked.

It was Seulgi's turn to speak. She her lips. Her hands were beginning to tremble and she furrowed her eyebrows a little. She wasn't exactly sure what she should say in response to the third question. She was sure that Seunghwan and Taehyun had something prepared for her, but at that moment, she wasn't exactly sure if she could trust the words they had given her. 

Hyeri noticed that Seulgi was going blank. She knew that it was Seulgi's turn to speak, but knowing that Seulgi needed more time, Hyeri placed the microphone to her lips.

"I want to be crowned Miss Inki," Hyeri said, grabbing everyone's attention, "because I need to show my mother that I am strong, independent, beautiful and loved. I want to show my friends that their support means something to me. I want to show my father that I am worth being paid attention to, that people will turn their heads to face me because I can show love. I want people to know me and who I am. That's all."

There was a strong silence following her speech. The audience were quiet, but they all felt the sincerity and determination behind her words. Soon, they were starting to feel that this Hyeri was more familiar to them: a strong, popular girl who was surrounded by good friends.

"And you, Seulgi?" the host said.

"A-Ah, yes," Seulgi stuttered. "Um, I want to be crowned Miss Inki because… Well, I wanted a legacy and I thought, 'Why not try out for Miss Inki?' I just thought it'd be fun."

Her answer was lacking compared to Hyeri, but it didn't matter. People already had their hearts set on who they wanted to win, and these questions were created to increase the tension.

"Okay! Thank you for answering these questions," the host said. He looked at the audience. "Now then. Throughout the day, you all voted. We all counted. And now…"

Someone came up on stage with a beautiful pink envelope with the back reading "MISS INKI."

"…I shall announce the winner of this year's Miss Inki contest," the host said. "The Miss Inki contest is the person who is not only popular, but serves as a great role-model, has a kind heart, and is someone that most of the student body would like to award with this prestigious title."

The host opened the envelope. The paper that had the name of the winner peeped out from the envelope.

"And the winner is…"

The crowd held their breaths, anticipating on the winner. Seulgi and Hyeri both stared out at the mass of students, holding their smiles, preparing to hear the results.

The host paused for a few more minutes. He stared at the name on the envelope, smiled warmly, and leaned close to the microphone.

"Congratulations… Kang Seulgi," he said.

Everyone bursted into a cheer. They clapped, whistled, and cried out Seulgi's name. Seulgi started to shake. Her whole body trembled with incredible joy as she felt the plastic crown rest on her head. She turned and a few students working in the back came over and delivered her a bouquet of flowers. She had tears b in her eyes and she looked at Hyeri.

She felt puzzled when she saw Hyeri's tender expression. Hyeri smiled at her, clapping softly and stepped back so that Seulgi could take over the stage. Seulgi subconsciously gave Hyeri an awkward smile.

You know you don't deserve this, Hyeri's eyes seemed to say.

Seulgi quickly looked away and stared at the crowd. They continued to cheer and she continued to look out, breathless.

Her eyes fell on Jackson, who was standing far away from Youngji. He looked mad—mad at her, mad at her success. Even though he was clapping with the rest of the students, his eyes were cold and filled with anger. 

"Youngji always placed you first before our relationship. I was okay with that because you were my friend, too, but once you started ignoring Youngji, I couldn't help but grow to hate you. We broke up because of you, you know? She thought you didn't like us dating so she called it off. She's always thinking of you and your happiness, but when have you thought about hers?"

Seulgi looked away from Jackson's furious gaze. She saw Taehyun and Seunghwan clapping and jumping for her at the very front of the stage.

"She's so much easy to mold compared to Hyeri," Seulgi remembered Seunghwan say. "Honestly, I'm so glad that I can act as her best friend."

"I get you," Taehyun had added. "She's got the entire school wrapped around her fingers. Just by hanging out with her, I'm the second most popular guy in school!"

Seulgi's smile slightly fell. She darted away from her two "friends" and looked at her ex-boyfriend, who stood in the middle of the crowd. Jongin gave her a pitiful smile and clapped along with the crowd.

"Seulgi, you don't love me. You love the idea of me."

Seulgi gulped. She glanced at Sehun, who was standing next to him. He gave her a disappointed look, as if he had been expecting her to not go through with all this.

"I love you, Seulgi."

She felt sick in the inside. She left his gaze and stared at Soojung, who was standing in the far back. Soojung was not clapping. She was not happy. She had her arms crossed and she slowly shook her head. 

"Seulgi! Please make your speech!" the host whispered, snapping Seulgi out of her thoughts. "And smile, too!"

She hadn't noticed that her smile was faltering. She cleared , dying down the loud noises and cheers. She took a deep breath and leaned her pink lips near the microphone. 

Right before she was going to make her speech, she locked eyes with a familiar pair of shining brown eyes. Youngji stood in the crowd, smiling and clapping sincerely for Seulgi's success. Out of everyone she saw in the crowd, Seulgi could recognize her genuine smile. She had an expression filled with bliss, proud to have one of her closest friends stand on the stage to look down at everyone. Seulgi could tell that Youngji felt grateful for having her as a friend, even though Seulgi barely spoke to her for the past months…

Barely?

Seulgi began to recall all the memories of her ignoring Youngji, of her pushing Youngji away and letting others in her world. Even though she had treated Youngji terribly, there Youngji stood, her back straight, her face beaming. Youngji clapped for her with deep and honest eyes, wholeheartedly happy for her success even if that meant pushing her away. 

When did Seulgi ever look at Youngji like that? With pride, with happiness? When was the last time Seulgi sincerely told her that she was happy for her?

Ah, Seulgi thought. Something bitter burned in her chest. How awful.

"Seulgi? Your speech," the host whispered again.

Soojung shook her head, ashamed. She turned around, ready to leave the mess she had made. Now that Seulgi won Miss Inki, there was nothing else for Soojung to do.

She took a step away from the stage until she heard some unexpected words echo from the microphone:

"I relinquish my crown."

Soojung froze. She whirled around and stared at Seulgi with incredibly wide eyes.

The pillars of pawns finally fell, crashing down and ending the game.

Checkmate.