"I relinquish my crown."

The entire crowd froze in silence. They gasped and stared at Seulgi, who was trembling alone on the stage. The host of the contest smiled awkwardly and cleared his throat.

"Um, can you repeat that?" he asked.

"I relinquish my crown," Seulgi said. Her eyes were still glued on Youngji. She finally shifted her gaze at the host. "I…I don't want this anymore."

"What?" The high-pitched shriek came from Seunghwan, who clawed the stage at the front row. She angrily glared at Seulgi, gritting her teeth. Everyone stared at the furious girl. "What the , Seulgi? Take the crown! It's yours!"

Seulgi looked at her with empty eyes. "I… I don't want it."

Seunghwan glared at her and whispered in a low voice, "Kang Seulgi, I swear—We can talk about this later, but you better accept that goddamn Miss Inki trophy or else."

"Yeah, what are you doing, Seulgi?" Taehyun added. "You're embarrassing us."

Seulgi didn't say anything. She just stared at the two of them, a bit surprised with their sudden urge to convince her to accept the Miss Inki position…or perhaps they were always pushing her to be Miss Inki, but had manipulated her in a way that made them sound like they were her friends. All she knew was that they wanted her to take the prize, even though she didn't want to take it.

A queasy feeling returned in her stomach. She gulped uneasily, then took a deep breath.

"I don't want it," Seulgi said. This time, she sounded a bit more confident with the decision she made. She turned around and faced the host properly. Then, she pushed the bouquet of flowers and the crown on top of the flowers. "Give it to someone else. I don't think I can take it."

She looked back at the audience. She saw the entire crowd remain silent. This crowd had once cheered for her, chanted her name, desired support her in every and any way they could.

That was just a few minutes ago. Now? They were all cowering back, unsure of what to do. They didn't see the point in cheering for her, in saying that she did a good job for stepping down from the contest.

"Is she trying to act humble? Because if it is, she's acting pretty obnoxious…"

"What the ? If she was going to drop out like this, I would've voted for someone else!"

"I shouldn't have dropped out. I should've known that Seulgi didn't deserve it."

"What? Is she expecting us to beg her to take it? She's so stupid."

Seulgi shut her eyes for a brief moment. She tried to block out the nasty whispers, but it was hard, especially when she saw the same scorn on the host's face when she returned the items. Seulgi pressed her lips, then glanced back at the audience one last time. She locked eyes with Youngji.

She was still in the crowd, standing. She was the only still smiling. She clapped her hands quietly, showing that she supported her decision, regardless of her motive.

Seulgi smiled at this. Then, she looked away and skipped down the stage.

"W-Well," the host said. "Then that leaves our second and only runner-up to take the crown… Lee Hyeri!"

There were a few awkward claps at the beginning, but as Hyeri stepped up to take the crown and the flowers, the claps became louder. Several students were still confused as to what just happened and why Seulgi was no longer accepting the Miss Inki title. Hyeri stepped in front of the microphone and beamed. She pressed her lips, smiled, then looked at the crowd to make her small and petty speech:

"I just want to thank—and only thank—the five people who nominated me for this position…"

/ / / / /

After school, when all the students were done cleaning up the venue, Seulgi stood back. She was sitting in the same abandoned classroom where she would scheme her next moves with Soojung. She ran her fingers across the window, staring down at all the students who were going home. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then opened her eyes again.

The door opened behind her. She turned and saw Soojung staring at here. There was a moment of silence between the two. Neither felt angry seeing each other after all the drama, but neither felt pleased to see each other. Slowly, they began to feel awkward, trying to figure out what to say after the mess that they had been through.

Soojung cleared . "Hey."

Seulgi nodded. "Hi."

There was another silence. Soojung kept looking away while Seulgi rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. They refused to let their eyes meet, afraid that they might make a mistake.

Then, Soojung was the first to ask: "Why did you do it?"

"Huh?" Seulgi blinked.

"Why did… Why did you relinquish the crown?" Soojung asked. "You had it. You won. Why did you give it away? Isn't that what you wanted? Popularity? Fame?"

"Oh. Yeah." Seulgi paused. She thought carefully about Soojung's question. "I wonder why…"

"You don't know?" Soojung asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's not like that," Seulgi said. She kept quiet for a few more minutes. "I guess… Well, when I saw everyone, I kept trying to avoid their eyes, but when I saw Youngji… I realized that being popularity wasn't worth all the things I had to throw out." She let out a sheepish laugh. "I think I realized that I wanted a friend like Youngji. I mean, I wasn't happy in the past with her, but I think it was because I didn't know how to appreciate my friendship with her. Being with her made me less smiley and giggly before, but now the distance made me more honest with myself and with her. I don't know. I'm not sure how to explain myself. I know I screwed up, but…a part of me kind of wants to try again. Just, not the same way. A different way."

Soojung stared at her. Then, she gave her a small nod of approval.

"I'm…impressed," Soojung said. "You're the last person I thought would say such a thing." She gave her a small smile. "Well, it looks like you have a lot to clean up now that the contest is over."

Seulgi chuckled. "Yeah. There's a lot of things I have to do before I can comfortable resume my remaining days as a senior here."

There was another silence, but this time, it was a warm mutual silence. It was the type of silence where both were comfortable with staying quiet, knowing that there was no need for words.

Seulgi cleared . "So, um, what are you going to do now?"

"Me?"

"Yeah."

Soojung thought about her question, then answered with a shrug. Seulgi pursed her lips and nodded.

"Um, Soojung?" Seulgi said in a small voice.

"Yeah?"

"Can I… Can I still talk to you after graduation?" Seulgi asked quietly. She meekly glanced up at her. Soojung seemed genuinely surprised at her question. She thought about it for a few minutes, then said:

"Depends on what you want to talk about."

Soojung smiled at her and left the room. Seulgi exhaled softly and nodded her head.

Things were okay with Soojung.

Seulgi began to gather her belongings. She took her time, carefully making sure to pick up all her stuff before leaving the room. When she stepped out of the classroom, she noticed that Soojung was already gone. She closed the door behind her and walked down the halls.

Eventually, she ran into Hyeri, who was still wearing her Miss Inki crown and holding her flowers in her hand. Seulgi looked down, ashamed. She tried to pass her quietly, but Hyeri spoke before she could leave:

"This crown didn't belong to you in the first place," Hyeri flatly told her.

Seulgi grimaced. "Yeah. I know." She took a deep breath, then turned to face her properly. Then, she bowed at her. "I'm really sorry for all the terrible things I've done to you."

"Sorry? For what things?" Hyeri asked coldly.

"I'm sorry for ruining your reputation. I'm sorry for stealing all your friends and manipulating them, too. I'm sorry for all the drama and chaos that I've caused and for publicly humiliating you in front of everyone in order to make Jongin my boyfriend," Seulgi explained. She continued to keep her eyes glued to the ground, her back hunched over to show that she was sincerely apologetic.

Hyeri stared at her for a few more minutes. Then, she nodded.

"I'll accept your apology," she said, "but that doesn't mean that I'll forgive you."

"I know. You don't have to," Seulgi replied. 

Before Hyeri passed her, she whispered, "And I'm sorry, too."

Seulgi looked up. "Huh?"

"I know that I'm the reason that caused you to act like this. I know that I was the reason why you wanted to be popular." Hyeri thought about her mother and her family's situation. "I understand humiliation the most. I understand how it feels when people start ridiculing you from behind or in front of your face. I… I understand how it feels to be in a situation where it feels like a you-versus-them circumstance." She gave Seulgi a sympathetic smile. "I just forgot that others can feel like this besides me."

Seulgi remained speechless. She wasn't expecting Hyeri to apologize for anything. She didn't think that Hyeri had done anything wrong. 

"I should've been more kind to you when you approached me that day in the cafeteria," Hyeri added. "I'm sorry."

Hyeri lowered her head, then lifted it up. She smiled brightly, her crown sparkling through the lights coming from the window. The flowers made her smile look more radiant. She truly looked like the rightful Miss Inki at that moment.

Seulgi remained baffled, unsure of what to say. Hyeri turned and walked away before Seulgi had the chance to forgive her; Hyeri didn't need Seulgi to forgive her. After all, the damage was done. There was no reason to reconcile and act like nothing had happened.

Seulgi pressed her lips. She turned and continued to walk down the stairs. As she climbed down the steps, she heard a familiar voice call for her from the top of the stairs:

"Kang Seulgi!"

Her heart skipped a beat. She turned and saw Sehun waving at her. Jongin was standing behind him. The two walked down the stairs until they reached her level. Sehun smiled at her, making her blush. 

"I can't believe you actually relinquished your crown," Sehun remarked. "I totally didn't expect that to happen."

Jongin elbowed his ribs. "Stop it, Sehun. You're going to make her feel bad."

"Oh, no! I don't feel bad at all!" Seulgi insisted. She let out a small laugh. "Honestly, it feels a bit surreal that all this happened."

Sehun wanted to talk to Seulgi more, but he saw Jongin giving him a look to leave the two alone. Sehun only nodded and excused himself as he walked down the stairs. Jongin and Seulgi stood alone at the stairs in silence.

"I'm sorry," Jongin finally blurted. "I'm sorry for a lot of things. I'm sorry that I broke up with you at a critical time and I'm sorry for being unable to return your feelings."

Seulgi acted flustered. "Oh, don't feel bad! Honestly, I feel like I kind of deserved it." She let out a small chuckle. "I mean, I was in complete shock when you broke up with me last minutes, but I totally understand. I was way over my head and all…"

"You deserve someone better than me," he told her. "I'm really sorry."

"I-It's fine. I mean, I knew that you love Soojung and I totally took advantage of you in the situation," she said. "So don't apologize because I know that you were never in love with me in the first place. I'm fine. Really. I am."

Jongin gave her a sincere smile—a first that she had seen directed towards her.

"Thank you," he said.

Seulgi pursed her lips. "A-Are you going to tell Soojung that you love her?"

"Um… Not sure yet," Jongin said. He wouldn't dare tell her that he already tried. "I don't think we share mutual feelings."

"I mean, she doesn't, uh, hate you," Seulgi informed him. She wouldn't dare to tell him that Soojung wasn't interested in him at all. "So I don't think it'll hurt to be a little honest with your feelings."

"I'm pretty sure she hates me…"

"Hey, take it from me! Confess to her. Even if you might get rejected, just tell her that you love her. It doesn't hurt to tell someone that you love them. If you think about it, a confession means to tell the person that you love them, right? I think it's okay to let someone know that you love them and that they can be loved," Seulgi said. She rambled on for a few minutes, earning his chuckle. She didn't realize that she was making him feel a bit hopeful over the idea that he could potentially start a relationship with Soojung.

"Maybe. I'll think about it," he said. He smiled. "Thanks for everything, Seulgi. I learned a lot." He recalled seeing her relinquish the crown on stage. He let out a light chuckle and scratched his cheek. "Even though I know all the things that you've done, seeing you reject the crown at the Miss Inki contest made me see a new side of you." He jokingly added, "My heart kind of skipped a beat when you took off that crown. I wasn't sure if it was because I was surprised or from pure admiration."

Seulgi blinked rapidly. All this time, she had been yearning for Jongin to say the last few sentences. Now that she was hearing it, they didn't seem to have a huge impact on her. She bursted into a laugh and wiped away a tear. She beamed at Jongin.

"Yeah… Thank you for being a good ex-boyfriend, Jongin."

He nodded and walked down the stairs with her. At the bottom, they both saw Sehun waiting for them. Sehun looked at Jongin, gesturing him to leave him alone with Seulgi this time. Jongin smirked and patted Sehun's shoulder.

"Good luck," he mouthed. Sehun's ears went red as Jongin snickered and walked away.

The two stood in front of each other. They were both awkward and nervous, their face heating up. They weren't sure what to say or who should start saying something.

"The, uh, Miss Inki contest," Sehun stammered.

"Oh, um, yeah! I refused the crown," Seulgi clumsily added.

"Yeah, I saw."

There was another minute of silence. Sehun took a deep breath, calming himself down before gazing down at her with a tender expression.

"Well, the crown never looked good in the first place," he said. "I can't understand how Hyeri's still wearing that."

Seulgi giggled. "It looks fantastic on her. Not so great on me."

The two laughed in harmony. Then, Sehun blushed and cleared his throat.

"Um, do you, uh, want to hang out later or something?" Sehun stammered.

"Are you asking me out?" she teased. 

Sehun blinked, then looked away shyly. "Maybe…?"

She giggled. "Well, I'll have to check my schedule, but I need some cleaning-up to do."

Sehun grinned. He knew exactly what she meant and he was going to respect her space.

"Give me a call, okay?" he said.

Seulgi nodded. With a lightened feeling, she continued to walk out of the school building as the two boys went in the opposite direction.

The second she was about to step outside of the gates, she saw Youngji and Jackson waiting for her outside. Youngji's eyes widened and she rushed over to Seulgi's side.

"Seulgi, are you okay? Have you been crying?" Youngji asked worriedly.

Huh? Seulgi realized that her visions were slightly blurring. She smiled as she wiped a tear.

"Oh, no. I wasn't crying," she insisted. She smiled. "I was just doing some self-reflecting."

Youngji furrowed her eyebrows. "Why did you give up the Miss Inki contest? Isn't that what you wanted?"

Seulgi paused. She stared at Youngji, who was genuinely concerned over the fact that she gave up the crown. She broke into a smile as she looked down at her hands, noticing that Youngji was firmly grabbing onto them. Seulgi closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then opened her eyes.

"I would've lost something more valuable than the crown if I had accepted it," Seulgi told her, staring straight into Youngji's eyes. "I gave up the crown to get what I lost back."

Youngji seemed puzzled at first, but slowly realized what she was saying. She had a look of dread on her face.

"So it's my fault?" Youngji asked. She was about to take a step back, but Seulgi grabbed her hands tighter, preventing herself from escaping.

"No, no, no! It was never your fault!" Seulgi cried out rapidly. "I realized that I was treating you terribly and I wanted a wholesome friendship. I didn't want a fake friendship where people were using me and up to me."

"But I feel like it's my fault that you're not popular anymore," Youngji mumbled. 

"Don't worry about it. It's not your fault. Nothing was ever your fault," Seulgi told her. She glanced at her and Jackson. "So are you two just friends or…?"

"Just friends," Youngji said. "I told Jackson that we should just stick to being friends."

"But you two love each other," Seulgi said.

"I don't want you to feel neglected again," Youngji said.

"You never neglected me. I was just being selfish," Seulgi told her. She looked at Jackson. "Can you make her happy?"

"Definitely," Jackson replied, eagerly nodding his head. 

"You better. If she comes to me crying, I'll show you exactly what happens later," Seulgi said, raising a fist.

Jackson smirked. "You're finally back, aren't you?"

Seulgi smiled. Then, her smile faltered a bit.

"Um… would it be fine for me to join your group again?" Seulgi asked.

"Of course!" Youngji exclaimed.

However, Jackson scowled. "Youngji…"

"What? Seulgi's our friend!"

"Be patient," he told her. "Seulgi can't just join us immediately." He stared at Seulgi. "She probably has a lot to clear up and needs to tie a lot of loose ends. What about her old friends? The people she hung out with or associated with? She needs to apologize to them and properly make amends."

Youngji huffed at him. "But Seulgi's our friend! I'm not going to leave her and abandon her—"

"No," Seulgi interrupted. "Jackson's right. I need a lot of cleaning up to do." She paused. "Can you guys wait for me until graduation? I'll have everything settled down by then."

Youngji and Jackson exchanged looks. Then, Youngji nodded enthusiastically while Jackson gave her a nonchalant look. Seulgi smiled and hugged the two before she watched the couple leave the school for a small date.

Seulgi let out a sigh. Right when she was about to turn around and leave, she saw a familiar figure only a few feet away from her. Surprised, she walked over to Soojung, who had been waiting for all this time. She was leaning against the walls with her arms and legs crossed, casually waiting for Seulgi to come out of the building.

"You took forever," Soojung remarked.

Seulgi let out a small laugh. "I had a lot of people to talk with and apologize to. I still have more to do throughout the next few days before we graduate."

Soojung nodded. "Do you need help amending those ties?"

Seulgi blinked. She knew that if she had Soojung's help, things will probably unravel faster and smoother.

However, she shook her head. 

"No," Seulgi said. "I think I'm going to do this by myself this time."

Soojung smiled at this, knowing that Seulgi was seriously reflecting on her actions. Soojung kicked herself off the wall and smirked.

"Well, if you ever need company, you know that I'm available at any time," Soojung said. She waved. "See you at graduation, Kang Seulgi."

Seulgi giggled and exchanged high-fives with her. "Good bye, Jung Soojung. Thanks for everything."

- THE END -

Author's Note: WHAT. A. JOURNEY. Thank you to all my subscribers, upvoters, commenters, and readers for sticking with this story for a whole three years! I think I can safely say that I am proud of this story and have enjoyed writing it a lot! I had a few writer's block here and there, but it wasn't as bad as most of my other stories. I'm sincerely going to miss writing this story because I just loved the characters and how deceptive everyone was in this story.

I can't believe that you guys would stick with this story when it updates once a month lol. As I'm getting older, I can tell that I'm getting busier and I'm unable to write on AFF as much as I hoped. It for me and I always feel bad for having my readers wait for a long time, but I feel more grateful that people are willing to wait for my updates. I seriously appreciate you guys and am thankful from the bottom of my heart to have such a supportive community as you all. YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!

With that in mind, I usually advertise another fanfic of mine with a similar plot or ones that have the same characters, but none of my current fanfics apply to that this time around. However, if you are interested in my two other fanfics, I will leave the links below. Timepiece is a game, action genre featuring the '97 idols. Mythos: Cries of the Kreo is a fantasy drama genre featuring IU (my bias) as well as the '97 idols. I have two other story ideas in mind, but I don't know if I'll want to publish them any time soon, especially considering my busy schedule.

Once again, thank to everyone who have been supporting this story for the past three years! I hope you've enjoyed the story and I wish you all the best! Thank you!