It had been officially a week since they started dating and Jihyun was already at her wit's end. She wasn't generally the type to make a huge fuss about anything and was pretty tolerable about most things, but Haemi's behavior around Taeil was starting to get on her last straw. Over the course of a few days, Haemi managed to become a huge and Jihyun was this close to lashing out at her. 

Of course, she was trying her hardest to understand Haemi, as she was her boyfriend's best friend, but every time the other girl was around her, Jihyun's skin would start to boil and the hair on her neck would raise threateningly. It was a surprise that Taeil hadn't noticed yet, but Jihyun was quite the pro at being subtle about her feelings apparently. 

She sighed grumpily as she walked to class alone. Aeri wasn't at school yet, and she wasn't in the mood to talk to Taeil with Haemi around. Just as she was about to turn the corner, she heard a deep voice call out her name. Was it pathetic of her to hope that it was Taeil? 

Despite that, when she turned around, she only saw Doyoung waving his hand at her and while trying not to show that she was disappointed, Jihyun waved back. 

"Good morning," he greeted warmly. "You good?" 

"Yeah," she replied in surprise, "I am. Why?" 

"Oh no reason then," he shrugged. "You just seemed a bit sad when you were walking."

Jihyun was caught by surprise. She didn't really expect anyone other than Aeri to notice her moods, and much less Doyoung out of all people. 

"No, I wasn't. I'm just a little tired," she lied, laughing it off. 

"Ah, I see," he nodded understandingly. "I thought it was because Taeil did something wrong, but I'm glad that's not the case."

"Right," Jihyun chuckled in reply, but she was thoroughly shocked at how perceptive he seemed to be. He barely even knew her, yet he could tell what she was truly feeling inside, and that made her feel slightly uneasy. Doyoung was not a force to be reckoned with, apparently. 

"Well, I'll see you," he smiled, ruffling her head and Jihyun was shocked at the action. Were they even close enough for him to do that? 

However, she merely waved her hand as he walked away and headed inside her classroom. There weren't very many people inside, and they all seemed to be sleeping or studying, so she sighed, and sat at her desk. 

Pulling out her phone, Jihyun saw that she had a missed call from Taeil and right under it was a text saying 'Where are you?'. Honestly, she wasn't in the greatest mood to talk to him, but she decided to push that aside and told him that she was in the classroom. Sighing once more, she placed her head on the desk and groaned silently to herself. 

Was it overdramatic of her to act this way? She wasn't sure, but she also didn't appreciate the fact that Taeil was probably messing around with Haemi at the moment, and just the thought of that made her blood boil uncontrollably. Aeri was probably right in that Jihyun had to talk about it with him earlier, since it just seemed too late to bring it up now, but she couldn't help it; she didn't want to guilt her boyfriend and start a fight in the first week they've been dating. 

Jihyun was snapped out of her thoughts as she heard someone shuffling inside, and looked up to see that it was Taeil. He flashed her a handsome smile and even though she was angry at him only a minute earlier, her heart trembled with bliss. 

"Good morning," he greeted warmly, as he approached her. 

"Morning," she replied happily, reaching for his hand. He sat down in the seat in front of her and Jihyun was glad to see that Haemi didn't follow him here. 

"Why are you in here so early? You're usually out and about," he laughed and she just forced a smile. 

"No reason. I just felt like doing something different today."

"Are you okay?" Taeil asked gently, running his fingers through her hair. Jihyun was taken aback at his sudden question, and the way he asked it made him look even softer, but she wasn't sure how to respond. What would she say? That she was angry at him? At Haemi? Or that she was absolutely fine? She didn't even know exactly what emotion she felt herself, so how was she supposed to answer him? 

"Yes," she lied. "Why?" 

"Just worried," he answered. "You seem a bit different lately."

"Really?" Jihyun tried to act like she was surprised, but she just wanted to roll her eyes and scream at him. 

"Yeah, but maybe I'm just imagining it," Taeil said, pressing her hand into his cheek. "If you ever have something on your mind, though, don't be afraid to tell me about it, okay? I'm here for you, always." 

Even though she did harbor negative feelings about him at the moment, she couldn't help but be touched by his statement. It was endearing that he knew her so well, and it made her feel even worse that she lied to him. Despite that, it wasn't easy for her to just flat out say that she hated his best friend, and even then, would Taeil still like her anymore? 

Would he have to choose between her or Haemi? 

In the back of her mind, perhaps that was what she was afraid of most. If she lost out to Haemi, how pathetic would that be? It would make her feel even more inferior than she already felt. 

And she hated herself for that.

hello!! sorry for the long wait, i've been quite busy with life and everything, but happy new year to everyone! i hope 2018 treats all of you very well hehe i'll see all of you in the next update! <3