"Psycho. Psy. Cho," she clearly enunciates each syllable with a bitter tone. "Do I need to spell it out for you too?"  

Song of the Chapter: Monsta x - Dramarama

 

---

 

"Kang Sooyeon! You have exactly thirty seconds to get your lazy out of bed before I drag you out!" Eunjin's annoyingly loud voice called, pulling her friend out of a much-needed sleep.

 

Sooyeon gave a half-hearted swat at the hand that was attempting to pull the pillow out from under her head and snuggled deeper into the mattress. This made Eunjin huff and she started counting down, which Sooyeon just ignored. It wasn't like it was going to hurt anyone if she slept a couple more hours so whatever the crazy woman wanted, it could wait.

 

The crazy woman, however, disagreed.

 

'I warned you' is the last thing Sooyeon heard before her body was literally pushed off the bed. She hit the floor with a thud, but much to her friend's dismay, opted to lay there instead of actually getting up. This meant Eunjin had to resort to physically pulling the smaller girl up into a sitting position and Sooyeon finally opened her eyes. She rubbed at them in order to see clearly, but the bright rays of sunshine pouring in through the open blinds didn't help the problem.

 

"Why...:" Sooyeon began as she slowly collected her thoughts "why the actual heck are you waking me up this early in the morning?"

 

Eunjin scoffed, "it's noon, you fool."

 

"But still."

 

It made no difference to Sooyeon how late it was. The point was that she was rudely woken up, and on a Saturday at that. She was somewhat used to it as Eunjin woke her up in the same way quite often during the week to keep her from being late to class, which Sooyeon appreciated, but on the weekend?

 

"Wash up, get dressed." Eunjin demanded, "we're going out today."

 

"Why?" Sooyeon whined. "You know I can't socialize."

 

Eunjin left the room with a roll of her eyes and a muttered 'drama queen' under her breath before the other girl could protest any farther.

 

Sooyeon reluctantly grabbed the bedpost to pull herself up onto her feet and picked up the pillow that had fallen to the floor, courtesy of Eunjin. She then looked at her bed and breathed a sigh of relief as it wasn't in that big of a mess. Since she typically slept on top of the blankets rather than underneath them, it only took a second to put everything back into place.

 

Her strange antics had their perks every now and then, thank you very much.

 

Half an hour later, Sooyeon was ready to go and in a surprising turn of events, waiting on Eunjin. Did the other girl actually wake her up before she was even ready herself? Sooyeon let out an annoyed groan and sat down on one of the chairs at the kitchen table, propping her elbows up on the wooden surface. She then rested her forehead on an open palm, trying to will the throbbing in her head to stop.

 

"You look awful, Soo." Eunjin bluntly stated when she eventually came into the room and took notice of how her friend was slumped over on the table.

 

She sighed and walked to the sink to fill a glass with water, then to the medicine cabinet where she took out a bottle of painkillers and poured a couple into her hand. Sooyeon didn't thank the girl verbally and only nodded when the items were sat down in front of her. However, Eunjin knew she was grateful when she popped the pills into and downed the water faster than she probably should have.

 

Eunjin took a seat across from her and Sooyeon kept her eyes focused on the table, refusing to look at the other girl.

 

"Did you get drunk again last night?" She asked, voice laced with something Sooyeon couldn't decipher. Concern, maybe? "And don't even bother with lying. I know there was beer in the fridge before I went to sleep last night and it was gone when I got up this morning."

 

Sooyeon bowed her head in shame at the accusation. Of course Eunjin knew; she always knew because Sooyeon had a way of making it quite obvious.

 

She didn't mean for it to happen, honestly. Unfortunately, though, the temptation was always too strong. Drinking helped her not to feel anything, but she couldn't exactly explain that reasoning to Eunjin.

 

At this point, she was running out of excuses and Eunjin was thankfully running out of ways to help. What her friend didn't realize was that trying to help only made things worse. It made Sooyeon feel like she was crazy. And she wasn't crazy, she just wanted to be numb.

 

"Yeah, so?" Sooyeon questioned, practically begging to start a fight. She honestly had no defense this time, but she was sick of being treated like a child. "I'm an adult, I can make my own decisions. You're not my mother, Eunjin so stop acting like you have authority over me."

 

Instead of waiting for Eunjin to respond, Sooyeon pushed the chair away from the table and stood.

 

"Hey, Kang Sooyeon! Don't you walk away from me!"

 

Sooyeon grabbed her bag and quickly walked past Eunjin and out the door, slamming it for good measure.

 

She could hear the sound of footsteps coming from behind, causing her to run as fast as possible to get to the elevator before Eunjin. Luckily, the doors shut just in time and Sooyeon leaned against the wall, breathing a momentary sigh of relief.

 

When it reached the bottom floor, Sooyeon hurriedly stepped off, continuing with that same fast pace until she made it to the only place she knew to go. Her hands found their way to her knees and she bent over slightly to catch her breath as she stopped in front of one of the benches.

 

She was going to kill Eunjin for putting her through this again.

 

When she sat down, the wooden surface seemed to welcome her like an old friend and her breathing finally regulated. It had to have been at least a week since the last time she'd been to the park.This was her first time coming back since she'd met that strange man. Hoseok, was it? Sooyeon wondered if she'd ever see him again (or if she even wanted to). However, she didn't get a whole lot of time to think on that one because as soon as the thought had crossed her mind, someone cleared their throat behind her.

 

Sooyeon's eyes went wide when she turned towards the noise because wow, this guy had to be some kind of mind reader.

 

"Kang Sooyeon, right?"

 

Sooyeon nodded slowly in confirmation, still totally creeped out as Hoseok smiled and awkwardly made his way over to where she sat.

 

Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

 

"Kang Sooyeon!" Another voice interrupted before she could even respond to the boy.

 

...Or she because that was definitely Eunjin.

 

It's times like these that Sooyeon really wished she had a slightly less psychotic best friend. She should have known it wouldn't take long for Eunjin to track her down, even though it had been made clear that she was in no mood for talking things over. Sooyeon was never in the mood to talk, really. However, the term 'anti social' didn't mean very much to Eunjin as this was how it always went down between them.

 

Sooyeon was tired of it.

 

"Why am I so popular today?" she said, letting out a dramatic sigh. "Must be the new shirt."

 

She motioned towards the shirt she'd bought the last time Eunjin had pulled this 'socializing' crap on her, and laughed. It wasn't anything special; just a plain yellow t-shirt (with a schnazzy pocket of course), which was what made the statement so funny.

 

It was hilarious and she would gladly prove anyone wrong who dared to say otherwise.

 

"Popular? Last time I checked, I'm your only friend." Eunjin said.

 

Sooyeon glared at the other girl, eyes narrowed into slits. The tension in the air was thick enough to be cut with a knife as the girls stared each other down, all the while Hoseok looked back and forth between the two of them, probably wishing he hadn't walked up.

 

It didn't take long for Eunjin to notice him standing there and direct her hostility onto him instead.

 

"What are you?" Eunjin demanded, raising an eyebrow in question.

 

Hoseok turned away from her icy stare, refusing to watch the spectacle anymore now that the attention was directed at him. At the same time, Sooyeon clenched her hands into fists to keep calm as she knew the situation was about to get much worse.

 

"Oh my god Eunjin. He's a who, not a what."

 

Eunjin ignored Sooyeon's remark and proceeded to ask her next question, not even giving Hoseok the chance to answer the first one, "Why are you defending him? Are you two secretly dating?"

 

"Seriously, Eunjin? Have you lost your mind? I've spoken to this guy like once, and let me tell you, it wasn't pleasant. I really don't know what your problem is, but you're taking psycho to a whole new level right now."

 

Eunjin went silent at her friend's choice of words, obviously affected. However, she maintained an eerie calmness to her voice as she whispered, "What did you just call me?"

 

Sooyeon stood up and took a step closer to make her point more clear.

 

"Psycho. Psy. Cho," she clearly enunciated each syllable with a bitter tone. "Do I need to spell it out for you too?"

 

Eunjin's face twisted into a hurt-filled expression. Sooyeon knew very well how sensitive her friend was, but she felt no guilt whatsoever. This whole thing was started because of Eunjin anyway, so why should she?

 

"So that's what you really think of me? Psycho? Psycho?!" At this point, the dam had burst and the words were flowing out of Eunjin's mouth uncontrollably. "How could you say such a thing to your best friend? I can't even look at you right now, or I might slap you."

 

"Do it then," Sooyeon commanded, looking her right in the eyes.

 

She was expecting the usual response, a 'Don't tempt me, Kang Sooyeon. You know I will.' To which she'd laugh and Eunjin would angrily stomp out of the room, dramatic as always. That's how it always happened.

 

This time however, Sooyeon got what was coming to her and the sound of it echoed around them.

 

The force of Eunjin's open palm was enough to knock Sooyeon off balance and send her falling back onto the bench. She held her hand to her cheek, in shock rather than pain. The stinging feeling it left behind wasn't totally unpleasant, but the fact that her best friend was the cause did not sit well. This was a very unwelcome change in their dynamic.

 

Sooyeon wondered if she should try to force herself to feel guilty for what she said and make herself apologize.

 

"I'm-" she began.

 

"You're what?"
 

Sooyeon tried, she really did, but it just wouldn't come out. The weight of the one small word was heavy on the tip of her tongue, making it impossible to speak. Apologies required too much emotion, something Sooyeon was severely lacking in.

 

Eunjin cleared to get the other girl's attention back, arms folded across her chest to show she was waiting for an answer. This girl really had no patience.

 

I'm sorry is what Sooyeon wanted to say.

 

"Nothing," is what she actually said.

 

Eunjin rolled her eyes at the unimpressive response, "Okay, Sooyeon. I don't have time for this. I actually had fun plans for us today, but since you'd rather spend time with whoever this is," she nodded her head in Hoseok's direction, "than your best friend, then whatever."

 

And with that, she left.

 

Sooyeon huffed and threaded her fingers through her hair, tugging at it in annoyance. She didn't notice that Hoseok was still standing there until a comforting hand was placed on her shoulder, and she immediately pushed it off. Hoseok sighed and sat down next to her, trying to find the best way possible to comfort someone who was practically a stranger.

 

"Are you okay?" he finally asked.

 

Sooyeon turned towards him, fingers still tangled in her hair and voice void of any emotion when she spoke, "I'm fine. Why are you still here?"

 

"It's a public park, isn't it?" was his snarky reply.

 

The still ill-tempered girl only shrugged her shoulders and the two of them fell into a comfortable silence. After being enveloped in the quiet for several minutes and sneaking a few glances at the (admittedly good looking) man beside her, the anger seemingly started to evaporate from her body.

 

Once again, she didn't understand what was happening.

 

"You know," Hoseok broke the silence, smiling when he caught the now flustered girl sneaking yet another glance at him. Sooyeon quickly turned away, red faced. "From what I've seen, Eunjin seems a lot like my friend. He's so immature, but he tries to boss me around like some kind of overprotective mother. I know it's annoying, but I think they mean well. They just have a funny way of showing it."

 

Sooyeon laughed, one phrase in particular standing out to her.

 

"Overprotective mother? They sound perfect for each other," she joked, surprising herself. "We should set them up."

 

"Let's do it," Hoseok agreed, completely serious.

 

"Wait what? You've got to be kidding me."

 

She had expected him to smile at the joke (honestly, it didn't look like that was something this guy stopped doing for very long), maybe nod to show he agreed, not really meaning it. But this? This was a bit out there and she regretted saying even replying to him.

 

So much for thinking she'd be able to have a conversation like a normal person without freaking out.

 

"Not kidding. Just think about it," Hoseok began making motions with his hands in an attempt to get the skeptical girl to see the big picture. "This could really work. If we get the two of them to start talking to each other and they become friends, maybe more who knows, then they'll be off our backs. Not to mention I'd be helping you with your problem like I said I was going to do. It's a win-win, Sooyeon. She seems like she's really hard on you, don't you want her to stop?"

 

Well, when you put it that way...

 

Hoseok's smile got even bigger because he knew he'd won when he saw the change in Sooyeon's expression. At this point, Sooyeon was convinced there was no way this guy was human. He was overly happy; it was strange, but it didn't matter as her interest was currently in if this plan would actually work rather than whether or not Hoseok was from another planet.

 

"Okay, okay. It's true that I could use a little more Eunjin-free time. But how do you expect this to work?" she questioned. "She'll ask way too many questions about your friend that I won't be able to answer because I don't know him, I don't even know you."

 

Hoseok shrugged "Lie?"

 

Sooyeon scoffed as she already knew how that would turn out. Eunjin's tolerance for lying was very low, and the probability that she would explode if she found out her best friend had done so was high. Therefore, she shook her head at Hoseok to show that she wasn't in agreement with that. This kind of threw him off as what he'd had in mind wouldn't work without some bending of the truth.

 

He'd been trying to find a way to get his friend off his back for a while, but an opportunity had not presented itself until now. However, this opportunity wasn't going to work without a lot of effort and an ingenious plan, especially if Sooyeon didn't fully agree with his way of thinking.

 

The girl beside him seemed very mysterious and she was clearly intimidated by Eunjin; could they really make a good enough team to accomplish this?

 

"Maybe.." he began, trying to gather all his thoughts. "Maybe you shouldn't tell her. We can come up with an idea that'll make them end up at the same place, same time. Like do something to piss them off enough that they won't let it go. Based on what I know of my friend and what I just saw of Eunjin, this'll work."

 

Sooyeon looked at him like he'd lost his mind.

 

"Are you crazy? Clearly you didn't see enough to know that's a terrible idea. A mad Eunjin is not a good thing for anyone. There's no way she'd talk to him when she's like that anyway because she'd be too busy yelling at me..."

 

"Really? I don't see it that way." Hoseok contradicted. "It's honestly our best bet. If they're both standing there yelling at us they're bound to notice some similarities between them."

 

Sooyeon disagreed. No, she strongly disagreed. However, the small possibility that it could work was tempting. Even if it failed, worst case scenario she'd end up having to deal with a pissed off Eunjin, which was nothing new. As long as they went back to their usual way of settling arguments, she could handle it. Besides, they could always come up with a different plan later on if they were desperate enough.

 

Screw it, she decided.

 

"Fine, whatever." the words were out of before any kind of doubt could make her change her mind. "But if anything goes wrong, you get to deal with Eunjin and explain how it's all your fault. I won't be held responsible for this."

 

Hoseok looked at her and held his hand up to his chest in mock hurt. "You'd put a stranger through that? I'm offended."

 

He broke into a fit of laughter at his own actions, causing Sooyeon to jump at the sudden noise. However, though she'd never say it out loud, Sooyeon found it cute. To keep from even thinking it, she cleared to get Hoseok to stop.

 

"Sorry, sorry," he said when he'd calmed down. "So what do you say, sweetheart? Partners?"

 

A hand was held out for Sooyeon to shake, but she glared at the (shockingly) smiling boy instead when she heard that awful name again.

 

"Did I not make it clear enough to you what would happen to your face if you called me that again?" she asked, faking her annoyance a little.

 

His smile faltered for a second, but he quickly regained his composure and looked at Sooyeon, then down to his hand and once again asked "Partners?"

 

"Okay, Okay." she gave in and reached out to shake his outstretched hand before quickly pulling back. "Partners."

 

"Ah, Kang Sooyeon. I think this will be the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

 

He nudged her shoulder with his own and Sooyeon couldn't help but feel that same warmth spread throughout her again at the promise in his words. She even smiled a little, unadmittedly hoping it would turn out to be true.

 

The beginning of a beautiful friendship indeed.

 

---

 

a/n: this chapter is drama drama drama lmao, but I hope it was decent. As always, comments/thoughts/constructive criticisms are always appreciated! Thanks for reading :) -tay