Today was the University’s annual dance party and Sulli grunted at just the thought of going to the party. Krystal noticed that for the past few weeks, Sulli was unlike her usual self. She moped around when walking, dragging her feet as if she hated the mere idea of picking her feet up. She would groan at every homework problem she ran into, or throw her pencil in frustration when something was not right.

Had it not been for Krystal, Sulli would have locked herself in her room for the remainder of the day. To Krystal’s power as her best friend, they would be going with Taemin, but what Sulli despised the most, was that Choi Minjin had forced her supposed future husband to join the annual dance as well. Sulli had retaliated against the older male, but his response was always the same––a slap on the face. Sulli gave up fighting against her “father” for something as trivial as a dance party.

Sulli sulked even more as she stared out the window, her mind clouded with thoughts, thoughts of not just anything or anyone, but of only one person. Recently, only this one person would surface to her mind. She began noticing little details about this person that she never noticed before, the way his cologne smelled, the way his hair was gelled upward revealing his tan forehead, and the way he laughed with such animation and hand gestures. Sometimes, she just wished that the laughter would be directed towards her, but what use was that when she knew he hated her. All of her problems arose because of that one person, Choi Minho. With exasperation, Sulli covered her face, rolling the temples of her forehead to release the tension. She reflected on herself, on how she used to behave around Minho. She recalled their first encounter, and how she spat at him as if he were some mouse roaming on the streets.

Her phone rang, breaking the foreboding silence laying in the air. She rolled her eyes at the caller ID, Oh Sehun. Minjin always found ways to pair up Sulli and Sehun, no matter what. Even after interacting with Sehun for two more weeks, Sulli did not love him. If anything, she learned how much of a jerk he was. Of course she couldn’t forget that Sehun’s father had paid him to kiss up to Sulli. He was just a lump of dirt greedy for more money when he already had enough. There was a small voice inside of her that feared Sehun, however. He became violent when he didn’t get his way, and Sulli hated this. She hated it with all her guts because it reminded her of her dark place, the place where she cried alone when no one could hear her, the place of hurt, harm, fear, practically anything but comfort and happiness.

Sulli held her phone in her hands waiting for the ringtone to continue ringing, finally deciding to pick up, dreadful of what Sehun had to say. When he greeted her through the phone, his voice sent chills down her back, not chills of desire, but that of anxiety.

“Tonight, remember, you’re staying with me, and only me.” Sehun relentlessly demanded through the phone. His tone could have scared an entire class of students away. That was all he had to say, because without waiting for a goodbye, he hung up.

A lump formed in as she set her phone down on her bed. She pulled her legs up to her face, allowing her tears to land in her lap. She hated to admit it, but she wanted Minho’s warm embrace. She missed the way he smelled, the way he held her, when he saved her from Sehun. But, that was weeks ago, and he most likely had forgotten already, yet she never returned his athletic jacket because they never crossed paths to talk to one another. So, it sat on her desk for her to shamefully stare at and reminisce.

Her dorm room door opened after the sound of jingling keys unlocked the door. Krystal frowned at Sulli who still seemed attached to the athletic jacket. Although Sulli did not hint anything about her feelings towards Krystal, Krystal was able to see it all. The deep lines drawn on her face of frustration and confusion, the aura of comfort and relaxation, all present on her face when she stared at the jacket. Krystal made sure not to annoy Sulli, but hoped to get her off her bed and change. The annual dance was happening in an hour and Sulli had made no efforts at even trying on a dress or doing her makeup.

Sulli finally glanced up when Krystal sat down adjacent to her, pulling Sulli close to Krystal’s chest. The pale skinned girl took all the comfort she could from her friend as she allowed her tears to endlessly roll down her face. She was truly hurt from within, but no one knew.

The soft voice of her friend was enough to ease her pains and worries. Krystal Sulli’s hair as a way to calm her down. “Sulli, have you picked a pretty outfit to wear?”

At that, Sulli glared at Krystal for changing the mood. She wanted nothing to do with choosing her dress so she flopped herself onto the bed, ignoring the question. Her friend worriedly peered at Sulli who now seemed to stare blankly at the ceiling.

“You’ll look beautiful tonight, Sulli. Trust me.” Krystal got off from the bed and searched through Sulli’s closet for a dress that would match the occasion. Her eyes settled on a sparkling light pink dress with a ruffled bottom. She knew this would bring out Sulli’s flawless skin and her crescent shaped eyes. Krystal carefully placed the dress on Sulli’s bed, urging Sulli to try it on. After numerous attempts, Sulli reluctantly grabbed the dress and changed. Despite her recent lack of sleep and copious amounts of crying, her beauty still seemed to shine. Krystal marveled at Sulli’s natural beauty and envied how she could look like so without any makeup on. After voicing her optimistic opinions to Sulli, Krystal sat her down in front of the mirror to do her hair, but in the end, both settled with keeping her hairstyle simple and just leaving it down.

“Krystal,” Sulli quietly murmured. It was the first time she spoke since Krystal entered the room. “Tell me honestly, do you think Sehun is going to make a show tonight about us?” The fear was evidently present in her voice as she shakingly waited for an answer.

“Sulli, don’t worry about Sehun.” Both were leaving their dorm room to walk to the party located near the other side of campus. Sulli struggled to keep her arrogant facade on with her confident smile. She could feel her lips twitch downward everytime she attempted to tug them upward. Sulli knew Sehun was around waiting for her and dreaded the moment of meeting him.

“Krystal! Sulli!” Sulli heard Taemin’s voice call. She smiled at the recognition as she turned around to wave, but instead of just Taemin, Minho and Yuri were there as well. Her breath hitched in as she looked at Minho. “You guys know my hyung, right?”

Sulli neither nodded nor shook her head at the question. Instead, she directed her eyes to anywhere but Minho.

“This is hyung’s girlfriend, Yuri.” Taemin introduced.

Sulli couldn’t help but have her frown deepen at those words. As if her emotions couldn’t get worse, she felt someone tap her shoulder.

“So you’re her girlfriend?”

Of course, it was Sehun. Sulli froze at his voice, wondering how she should act. She knew exactly what her future husband was referencing. The pale faced girl looked up at Sehun’s face, seeing that Sehun recognized Minho’s white lie from two weeks before. Sehun laughed, but instead of livening up the mood, it seemed to send sirens in Sulli’s head. The subtle glare was apparent in his face, and it was directed right at Minho. The tan male staring back at Sehun shared the same expression.

Taemin sensed the intense change in moods, so to break the tension, he clapped his hands together and awkwa