→ Chapter 004

"To whoever wrote Euthanasia," Mina tore apart the piece of paper, "Are you deaf? I told you we're not doing class subjects anymore."

A wave of snickers and displeased sighs echoed through the classroom. The leader's mocking tone and stoic face were enough to make Choi Minho blush; He only signed up for the debate club to avoid doing his work, like most students.

"If you don't like it," She pursued, playing with the ends of her braid, "You can leave."

Her challenging glare held them in place, turning them to stone. Nobody dared to move, to which Mina smiled and held up the last piece of paper from the colored box.
A certain group watched as her smile faded into a confusion-clouded frown. She remained in her position for a few seconds before twisting her lips into a slight smirk.

"Listen here, folks." She mused, "I have found this week's winner of debate subjects."

Curious whispers flooded the room, it wasn't every day that Mina was quick to decide a winner. It usually took hours before the big announcement, sometimes even days.

"Somebody had the genius idea, now hear me out." She paused, letting out a small chuckle, "Do you think Jung Ilhoon is guilty?"

The earlier buzz died down at their president's words. Shock dawned on everybody's features, gaping at how unfazed Mina acted at the attempt of embarrassing her. The debate club president glanced at each and every one of them, her brown eyes settling on another pair peering back at her. 

"What an interesting subject to suggest," She said, marching from side to side, "It must've taken you a lot of courage to write that down, Bae Irene."

At the sound of her name, the girl with the beautiful brown eyes perked up from her chair. The club's members turned their heads to the far back where she stood, cheeks red and lips slapped shut. Who could've guessed Mina was this good at reading handwriting? 

The shapes of the letters are remarkably strong, written with expertise in symmetrical lines. The are rounded, thin and hesitating; sometimes, they join letters with a slight triangular terminal. Mina went around a few of her classmates' papers when helping Miss Nam, and the only person to write in such manner is Bae Irene.

Nobody heard her voice, for she was shy to speak up in front of an audience no matter how small it was. Mina first met her when she approached her for help; the quiet girl had to deliver an important speech. A silent friendship bloomed between the two, so what happened?

Two words: Park Chanyeol; jealousy can destroy even the strongest bonds sometimes... let alone a paper thin one like theirs. And just like that, Irene's number jumped from a white one to a turquoise two. Sometimes the two would twist in shade, going from a blue hue to a green one. Mina always wondered why and ended up doing a little research. Maybe the colors had different meanings that she had yet to discover, and they most likely symbolized different things. White signified purity and innocence, blue signified peace and quietude and green definitely stood for jealousy. 

"I applaud you for it." Mina grinned, a mischievous glint in her eyes, "You finally learned how to speak up."

Irene bolted out of the room and soon, the students heard quiet sobs coming from the hallway. Mina gulped, guilt swallowing up her mind. She was too harsh on her, wasn't she? Her eyes soften and she finds herself following the crying girl.

Irene leaned on a random locker, her hands covering her damp face. It was a miserable sight for Mina who was used to always seeing her calm and collected.

"Why are you crying?" The club's president murmured with a honey-like voice which made Irene look up.

Mina widened her eyes when her ex-friend breathed, "I tried to break you down, but my own stunt me instead. I embarrassed myself instead."

Before Mina could reply, she laughed, "Stupid Irene. Stupid, stupid Irene, why did I even do that to you? I never hated you, you know that? I feel so, so bad, you know that?" Wiping her tears, she said more to herself, "How ing childish."

"I know." Mina sighed, "This is because of Chanyeol, isn't it?"

"No!" Irene gasped, "No, no, it's not Chanyeol. Chanyeol? What made you think that?"

"I notice things." Mina bit her lip, her hands playing with her braid.

"I like Chanyeol, but it's not about him. No, not about him." She shook her head, "I was just too desperate, yeah, desperate for attention and what other way to get it than using you? So stupid, right? But then you started avoiding me, and I raged. I was so, so mad at myself for losing a friend like you. So mad."

Mina brought her arms around the shaking girl, "I understand."

Irene sobbed even more onto her shoulder, throwing random apologies here and there. Caressing her ponytail, Mina demanded, "Go wash your face, and join us when you're ready."

She never joined them.

Lunchtime arrived, and Mina found herself once more in front of a bubbly pink-haired giant.

"I heard." He stated, a grin playing on his plump lips.

Mina puffed and huffed, "That girl is an emotional rollercoaster, except it's stuck at the top."

"Which girl? I'm talking about Byun Baekhyun." Chanyeol furrowed his brows.

"What about Byun Baekhyun?" Mina leaned forward, her eyes shimmering with interest. She held the table with a hand while the other one stopped her toothpick from falling. 

"Not 'til you tell me about the girl." Chanyeol crossed his arms, leaning back. 

"Irene threw a fit because I exposed her stunt to the whole debate club, now tell me what is it about Byun Baekhyun." Mina singsonged. She shot Chanyeol another pleading look, silently begging him to tell her about Baekhyun. What could it be? A dark secret he's been trying to escape from? Or an embarrassing picture from middle school? Whatever it was, Mina wanted to know.

"Just kidding, I mean, the legend Park Chanyeol not knowing about that? What a shame." The giant stalled. His eyes were looking everywhere but her small face, something that Mina hated. 

"Just tell me, god damn it!" Mina said through gritted teeth, her hand leaving the table and directing itself to catch on Chanyeol's curly locks. In that very moment, Baekhyun entered the cafeteria.

Chanyeol and Mina both look up at the same time to find him walking through the crowd, a group of friends following him. His raven-colored hair was quite messy, set in clumps that stick up handsomely and is parted unevenly in the middle to show a bit of his spotless forehead. Mina didn't quite believe how a seventeen-year-old like him didn't have his fair share of acne, or may