It was prom day.

The school’s atmosphere was at an all-time high as the girls squealed excitedly over their outfits for the night while the guys discussed the girls whom they were bringing to prom.

Everyone was excited, and Jihyun couldn’t help but anticipate it as well. She was never really into prom, but this year felt different, and she knew the large part of the reason was because of Jeon Jungkook.

The boy had picked out his suit earlier this week, and had urged her to show him her dress. But Mina and Yoona had insisted that he waited till prom night to see, after all, it was only a couple of days away. He tried to retort, but eventually gave in when Jin and Namjoon said that they were in the same predicament - bringing laughter to the entire group.

Class had ended early that day, and she was just about to head home with Jimin that day since Jungkook said something had cropped up earlier.

So the duo was definitely surprised to see him looking like he had just ran a marathon to get to their class.

“Jungkook, what are you doing here? Didn’t you say you had something on?” Jihyun asked curiously while Jungkook tried to catch his breath.

“Ji, I-I need to talk to you.” He gulped nervously while Jihyun looked confused. She turned to Jimin who merely gave them a smile and told her he’d wait for her at the entrance before she let Jungkook pull her away to a deserted part of the corridor.

“You’re not going to see my dress till prom, I’m insistent on that.” Jihyun teased when they were finally alone. Jungkook didn’t seem to have found it funny as he forced out a small grin before casting his gaze to the floor awkwardly.

“What’s wrong?” Jihyun asked worriedly when she saw the tense expression on Jungkook’s face.

“Ji… Is it okay if one of the guys brings you to prom instead?” Jungkook asked timidly, and Jihyun could feel her heart sinking when she heard the words that left his mouth.

“W-Why?” She stuttered, muddled by what had just happened. It was only last night when Jungkook and her were texting on how they’d conquer the buffet table once they arrived at prom, and Jungkook promised to guide her on the dance floor since the girl had two left feet.

“I-It’s Hyorin.” He said softly, but she had caught it. Park Hyorin.

“Jaebum dumped her last night, cheated on her with some freshmen. She was upset and called me up, asked me if I could bring her to prom this year since it’s her last year in school. She said that I was the only one she could count on. I really need to be there for her, Ji.” He said with guilt evident in his voice.

She was upset - hadn’t he considered her feelings at all? He had asked her to prom, she had picked out a dress, and on the very day of prom he ditched her because of his ex, the ex who broke his heart.

On the other hand, she was also disappointed. She felt a lump in as tears started welling up in her eyes. Jungkook was still hopelessly in love with Park Hyorin, and she’ll always be second choice to him.

Breathing deeply to calm herself down, she looked up against the ceiling to will her tears back before turning to Jungkook who was looking at her expectantly.

His puppy-eyes and apologetic expression told her that he had already made his choice and merely wanted her to approve it to make him feel better. Nodding her head slowly, she managed to breathe out the words, “Y-Yeah, for sure. Go ahead, I’m sure the guys wouldn’t mind me tagging along.” She forced out a small smile, and he heaved a sigh of relief.

“Thanks so much Ji, I owe you a ton. And I’m really sorry for this, I’ll make it up to you soon.” He said as he let out a wide smile, ruffling her hair. He didn't seem to have caught her crestfallen expression as he gave her a quick hug. “I’ll buy you dinner soon!” He said before running off without waiting for her to answer.

The moment he left, the tears that she had willed back had spilled out of her eyes. She kept her head low as she passed by the crowd and made it to the entrance where Jimin was waiting. Upon seeing her best friend, tears streamed down her face quickly as she let it all out, and Jimin was taken aback to see Jihyun’s tear-stricken face.

“Oh my god, what happened, Ji?” He asked worriedly as he tried to wipe the droplets away from her eyes but it continued flowing down, staining his jacket as he pulled her into a hug.

--

Jimin was livid.

This was probably the first time that Jihyun had seen him so upset as he punched the sofa angrily when they arrived at her house. Jihyun merely stayed silent after she had recounted the happenings of what had happened, hoping that Jimin would calm down.

“What the  is Jungkook thinking?” Jimin muttered under his breath, and Jihyun merely sighed. “You’re his girlfriend, not Park Hyorin!”

Jihyun still hadn’t told him about the love contract, because it seemed that Jimin’s anger had reached an all-time high. Wiping her tears with her sleeve, she didn’t know why she was so upset too.

She wasn’t supposed to feel this upset since it was just a transactional relationship with Jungkook, but her heart was hurting, and she couldn’t help but feel upset that Jungkook had chosen Hyorin over her.

Jimin seemed to have softened when he saw a fresh wave of tears spilling from her eyes, and crouched next to her as he pulled her into a hug.

Jin and Namjoon had come in right on time, and were taken aback to see their sister’s face wet with tears as she clutched onto Jimin tightly.

“What happened?” Jin asked with concern as he kneeled in front of Jihyun, raising her chin gently so that she would talk to him. The girl merely shook her head before burying her head in Jimin’s chest again, and the boy held onto her as he shooed them away.

“I’ll explain later, you guys should go and prepare for prom.” Jimin whispered softly before the boys nodded, shooting one last worried glance as they realised that Jihyun wasn’t in the state to speak.

After what seemed like ten more minutes of crying, Jihyun separated herself before pulling out a tissue to wipe her tears away. “Come on, let’s get you ready for prom.” Jimin said softly while the girl shook her head. “I’m not going.”

“What do you mean you’re not going? We didn’t pick that amazing dress for nothing!” Jimin exclaimed.

“I don’t have anyone to go with.” She argued and Jimin rolled his eyes, “You can come with Sohee and I, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.”

“Chim, I know you like this girl, I don’t want to play gooseberry and ruin your chances. Go ahead, I’ll be fine.” Jihyun argued, knowing that if she was Sohee, she would be totally turned off if her date brought his best friend to tag along.

“You guys are looking de