The familiar sensation grasped Chaeyeon once more as she rushed to cover instinctively - the varying sizes of pale pink flowers fluttering down like snow until about a dozen of them were scattered on the floor. It was as if life was mocking her; every time she thought she was over it returned like a storm.

Uncontrollable, destructive and insane.

Yes, Chaeyeon would’ve agreed after all this time that she was going insane as she coughed out another batch of petals.

“2 months.” Her mind began with a tone of irritation that was unlike normal - but then again was anything normal for her these days? “61 days of this torture.”

The flowers that accumulated on the ground further irritated her mind as her thoughts wandered to the delicate flower girl which caused this mess.

In the time span of 2 months, the older-yet-shorter girl had stolen her heart. Chaeyeon found it ridiculous whilst her friends called it love. Even Yujin and Yena - notably the craziest in their small group of 12 - had noticed it before the girl herself.

“So, what if it was just a small crush? I’ll get over it in time.” Chaeyeon said to herself multiple times whilst staring at the ceiling of her room - fading glow-in-the-dark stars staring back at her.

Only if she knew what she knew now.

A slight rap at the door broke Chaeyeon from her thoughts - the next spoken words were barely above a whisper as Yena spoke from the other side.

“Is it happening again?”

Her voice was laced with worry as it trailed off. Chaeyeon replied with a faint “Hm,” before cough once more and allowing more to break out.

The door creaked open at an agonisingly slow pace - the tension almost rising as Chaeyeon made a quick break to reverently kick the scattered petals out of sight. Even if Yena knew about her secret, it didn’t hide the embarrassment of someone else knowing her feelings. Catching Chaeyeon halfway through the action caused Yena to sigh - a look of pity stitched on her face even though she knows it’s wrong.

“She’s been asking about you, you know.”

Of course, she wouldn’t know - that much was obvious ever since she avoided her that she knew nothing about her group or her anymore.

“They all ask about you.” Yena continued, Chaeyeon could almost taste the desperation in her tone.

“Then again it could just be the bitter feeling left behind from the petals.” The girl thought solemnly.

Indeed, it had been 2 weeks since she’s seen anyone from her former group - quite frankly she’d like to keep it that way.

The flower spitting disease had already been taking its toll. The dancer’s eyes seeming dimmed and done with life; the once healthy skin looking pale - almost akin to a ghost’s paleness but most importantly, her spirit was drained. There was barely any of the old Chaeyeon left - Yena noted. The Chaeyeon before all of this mess began.

“They’re coming over this weekend.” Yena said casually as her eyes roamed around the room. She tried her best not to stare at the petals as were more noticeable on the dull blue carpet,

"But some things are just inevitable." Yena thought. Chaeyeon following the line of Yena’s sight could only sigh in frustration. 

“All of them?”

Chaeyeon wanted to seem disinterested. She wanted to seem as if she was over all of it - the tears, the friends and the flowers but Yena wasn’t dumb (at least not as much as people thought). She heard the slight optimism in her voice, the way her eyes sparked up for even just a few seconds before returning to be dim.

Yena just dumbly nodded, a giant grin on her face as she skipped out of the door - not before shouting saying “Good night!” as she skipped down the hall way.

·   

The days passed by quicker and Chaeyeon could feel her mentaility stoop to an all-time low as the weekend drew nearer. She rushed any unfinished work and confined herself within the small recess of her room with everything almost pitch black - bar the small amount of light that seeped through the bottom of the door frame.

Chaeyeon huddled further into her blanket as she tried not to make a sound. Attentively, she listened to the way the doorbell rang at 10am sharp, the way Yena’s rushed footsteps stomped on the ground and a loud “I’m coming!” echoed from down the hall. Then a moment of silence - only filled with the faint jangling of keys that Chaeyeon had imagined.

The tense atmosphere - that Chaeyeon didn’t even know settled in - dissipated as the hallway was filled with the loud chatter of their visitors. She even released a shaky breath as she heard several footsteps pass by her door.

At first Chaeyeon thought she was fine, the darkness around her acting as her companion. Slowly, the loneliness trickled in. Her gut began to concave as she began to feel a sickness unlike when the petals came. She knew what it was, yet the brown-haired girl refused to believe it.

Lee Chaeyeon was jealous of the fact they were having fun. Jealous of the fact that they didn’t seem to care - of the fact that they had not even bothered to check on her. The more she thought, the worse she felt as in the end she knew it was her own fault for running.

“I need some fresh air...” She muttered after her mini-breakdown. Traces of tears still visible and slight redness forming around her nose and eyes.

Slipping on her shoes and put on her black cap, she made careful steps towards the door and pushed it open with the gentlest of shoves. She crept down the hallways but not before giving a brief glance to the living room where the noises were coming from. With a heavy heart, she carried on going to the exit, hand twisting on it with a slight tremble before almost running out the door.

Or so she had thought.

The slight “Eep!” that came from the person in front as Chaeyeon slammed into them. Luckily, neither fell onto the hard cement but the two were locked in an intimate position where Chaeyeon almost didn’t want to look down to the person in front of her - her mind reeling at the thought of her one nightmare to come true.

It was a voice Chaeyeon recognised well. Almost too well in fact as her body reacted quicker than she had thought.

In the time span of two months, Sakura had become prettier than before. The effects of her beauty hitting Chaeyeon for thrice as much as it did before. The outfit she wore was simple but Chaeyeon thought she looked like a goddess. was left agape - she was pretty sure if Eunbi-unnie saw, she’d be told she was catching flies.

She didn’t even realise her mistake until she felt a lone flower brush past her lips. Chaeyeon watched in horror, eyeing Sakura’s movement in fear and trepidation before breaking out into a full sprint - escaping the scene entirely.