Chapter 2

Regret. It comes in the form of a dull banging sensation at the back of her head and restless gurgling at the pit of her stomach. It lingers on her skin like sand after the beach: annoying and relentless. With a strangled groan, Ara flops onto her stomach, which only brings about more dizziness.

“What the …” Ara grumbles as she silently curses her drinking decisions from the night before. Sloppily, without failing to knock over an empty plastic water bottle, Ara scrambles for her phone. Her eyes scan over the numerous text notifications sprawled on the bright screen. A choked cough escapes when her eyes spot an unforeseen photo from Sooyeon. One where she very clearly has her tongue shoved down Byun Baekhyun’s throat.

Sooyeon: When did this happen???

Oh yeah, that happened. The grogginess of the hangover can no longer shroud Ara’s party escapades. She very vividly recalls storming into Kai’s cheating antics, the unadulterated rage, the bitter taste of whiskey on her tongue, and the insatiable lip battle with a certain blond. Ara always regrets drinking, and this morning is no exception.

Sooyeon: Hwang Ara, leave some hot men for us too please.

Skipping classes would have been the wise choice today, but Ara was stubborn, especially when it came to school. She wasn’t paying tuition to just lounge around in self-reflection in her apartment, she could do that in a lecture hall as she also wallows over directional derivatives and double integrals. Walking on to campus with a low profile was not in her power. She was Hwang Ara: Kai’s ex and the girl who publicly made out with Byun Baekhyun. Rumors spread fast on such a gossip hungry campus and currently Ara was at the center of it all.

As an attempt to be lowkey, Ara had opted for an oversized gray crewneck, a black baseball cap, and the darkest shade of sunglasses that she owns. Anybody that was anybody could tell it was her though. She had made her presence and identity on campus, and that was not going to disappear overnight with her relationship.

“She really showed up today.”

“How embarrassing.”

“She’s nothing without Kai.”

Although Ara is the one who technically ended it, she’s the one that’s labeled as dumped. Disadvantages of being a girl, apparently. It’s as if the fact that Kai was a , cheating was not relevant. To everyone’s eyes, Ara was just some pitiful girl left for another because she wasn’t enough in the first place. She rolls her eyes behind her shades.

Ring...

Ara glances at the