Jihyun was awoken by a loud ringing that came from her phone and she groggily saw that it was almost nine, judging by the vibrant red numbers that displayed on the clock beside her. She pawed at it with half-lidded orbs, wondering who it could've been and nearly dropped her phone when she saw that it was Taeil. She immediately answered his call, and croaked a hoarse "hello". 

Although she blushed red with embarrassment, Taeil just laughed on the other side and greeted her back. "Did you just wake up?" 

"Yes," Jihyun cleared shyly. "I took a nap when I got home." 

"Well, I'm glad that you slept well. Good morning!"

"Haha yes, good morning Taeil," she replied, feeling her heartbeat quicken at the sound of his voice. "What have you been up to?" 

"I just missed you and wanted to talk. I have been telling Haemi all about you today!" 

Jihyun's heart latched when she heard his best friend's name and gulp silently to herself. "Oh really?" She asked, seemingly unfazed. 

"Yes," Taeil replied with a small chuckle. "She seems to like you, but how could she not? You're so precious." 

She wondered if it was wrong to blush, yet feel a bit annoyed at the same time, but Jihyun pushed if off, just stating it as regular jealousy - which she shouldn't even be feeling because obviously, if Taeil had feelings for Haemi, he wouldn't even be dating Jihyun right now! Despite that, a strange feeling lingered in the pits of her stomach, and she wasn't sure what to do. She hadn't really been involved in a real relationship before (her middle school relationships were peculiar), and she had never really faced this type of an issue before. 

"Thank you," Jihyun just said, pushing her thoughts away. "I could say the same for you." 

Taeil merely laughed. 

They continued talking, and he didn't mention Haemi for the rest of the night, but for some reason, she was still the only thing Jihyun could even dare to think about that evening.

*

A few days had passed, and while Jihyun and Taeil's awkwardness together was less apparent, they still felt shy with one another from time to time. It happens especially when Taeil's friends are around the pair and also when random girls will glare at Jihyun intensely, but the point was that it felt odd being around him; it wasn't the type of odd that was uncomfortable, but it was just... odd in a way where it was very weird. Jihyun wasn't sure how to act or what to do because she didn't want to embarrass herself around him, but Taeil seemed to just accept her wholeheartedly, and she was certain that he was the sweetest boy she had ever met. 

So sweet that it was absolutely sickening for her whenever she saw him around Haemi. 

Of course, she knows that he doesn't hold any feelings for his so-called best friend, and she knows to just trust him on this, but it's incredibly hard when that 'best friend' slides up to him at all times and tries to hold his hand or be extremely touchy towards him, which only irks Jihyun to no end. 

"You need to talk to him about this," Aeri mumbled one day, as Jihyun was complaining about her problems to her while walking to school. "That is so annoying. Taeil is so oblivious."

"I know right!" She bursted out with annoyance. "I don't wanna seem annoying though! I would also hate it if Taeil told me to stop being friends with someone..."

"Okay true, but your friends don't hold your hand randomly and act super friendly with you," her friend reasoned, and Jihyun sighed in defeat, knowing that what Aeri said wasn't wrong. 

"Well, I don't know... I'll just see how it plays out," Jihyun mumbled quietly, unsure of herself.

"Alright, but... just take care of yourself, okay?"

Jihyun gave a slight nod as the pair had reached their school. Taeil was waiting at the front gates, waving animatedly as he saw his beloved girlfriend approaching him. 

"Good morning!" He greeted happily, and she returned the smile. 

"Good morning Taeil," Jihyun said, reaching for his hand. He eagerly enclosed it into his palm, and she felt her heart race at that small interaction. Despite that, before she could say anything else, another voice had called out to Taeil - and she didn't like it.

"Taeil!" 

Jihyun turned to see Haemi running quickly towards them, and even tackled Taeil, which made Jihyun gasp in surprise. Taeil, on the other hand, merely laughed and caught Haemi by the arms, somehow also managing to drop Jihyun's heart while doing so. 

"Hey Jihyun!" The other girl greeted her with a large smile, but Jihyun could only smile back feebly, before Haemi turned back to Taeil excitedly. "Aren't you proud? I've woken up early all day this week!" 

"Of course! I told you that it's much better being early than having to rush to school," Taeil laughed. 

"I guess," Haemi rolled her eyes, before letting out a long sigh.

Jihyun wasn't sure what to do during this exchange, but she felt like such an outsider. Of course, she had heard about the close friendship between Taeil and Haemi, but she didn't know that they were that close. It felt almost sickening to watch and never in her entire life had Jihyun felt more degraded than in that moment. 

With a gloomy heart, Jihyun awkwardly coughed and said, "I have to get to class. Aeri said she needed homework help." It was a poor excuse because Aeri happened to be one of the smartest girls in their class, but that was the only excuse that she could think of. 

"Oh of course! Wow, my girl is so smart," Taeil praised, patting her head proudly. 

Jihyun smiled weakly and said her goodbyes, before walking to class with droopy shoulders. She felt disgusted; of course, she wanted to spend more time with him and get closer to her boyfriend, but seeing him act so touchy and close with Haemi made her feel absolutely disrespected. In any instance, she knew that it wasn't normal for friends to be extremely touchy (or at least for people to be as touchy as Haemi is with other people), and perhaps, that was what was causing the heavy feeling in her stomach. 

While walking back to class, she let out a heavy sigh and didn't notice the strangely tall guy rushing in front of her, until she felt her face collide into his chest. 

"Ouch!" Jihyun yelped, feeling her tender nose. 

"Oh, I'm sorry, are you okay?" 

"I'm fine," she mumbled. "It was my fault anyways." 

"No, no, I should've paid attention. Hey, wait, aren't you Taeil's girl?" 

This time, Jihyun looked up and recognized the person as one of her boyfriend's closest friends, though she couldn't remember his name. After mulling over it for a minute, she guessed, "Jaehyun?" 

The other person let out a soft chuckle and replied, "Wrong. I'm Doyoung." 

"Oh," she said, feeling her face turn red from embarrassment. "I'm sorry." 

"Don't worry about it!" Doyoung ruffled her hair affectionately. "I can't expect you to know my name if I've never introduced you to myself."

Jihyun just laughed awkwardly and cleared after a moment. 

"Well, I'll be going now," she declared. 

"Oh of course. Sorry to hold you up!" Doyoung replied, and went off his own way quickly, leaving Jihyun to walk to class by herself.

Aeri was reading her biology textbook quietly... that was, until her best friend had plopped herself in the seat next to her and yelped "Aeri!" in panic. Jihyun had shaken the other girl's hand, and Aeri looked up, unamused at whatever Taeil had done. 

"What happened now?"

It didn't even come off as a surprise when she had heard Jihyun groan loudly. 

"I don't know..." She mumbled, nuzzling her head into her palms. "I hate feeling this way, but I just don't know what to do." 

Aeri stared at the other girl sympathetically, before patting the top of her head. 

"There there Jihyun... it'll get better." 

Hopefully.