Yerim didn’t show up the next day.

“Where is she?” Seulgi mumbled mostly to herself.

But Joohyun answered with a shrug. “I don’t know.”

Seulgi just eyed her quickly then turned her back against her as she laid there on the floor, as usual.

Joohyun just looked at her then quietly sighed.

Joohyun pursed her lips, couldn’t help herself from imagining how right now, she’s inside Seulgi’s bubble—her aura—protecting her from every monster there is that has come to get her.

She couldn’t help then to think back and wonder. If that’s how Seulgi’s aura is with her, then why was she like that before? Was it different before? Or… perhaps, Seulgi was all the same as now and Joohyun just didn’t know it? Like how she’s trying so hard to cover herself in this pretense—

“What?”

Joohyun heard Seulgi’s irritated voice, cutting her off from her thoughts, making her flinch.

“Why are you staring at me?” Seulgi asked, voice impassive.

Joohyun looked down and gulped. “N-Nothing…”

Seulgi scoffed and turned her back again.

Joohyun bit her lips and cleared after a long pause. “Seulgi…”

Seulgi turned. “What?”

Joohyun darted her eyes around. “I just… uhm, I thought back when we were in middle school—I mean, I just wanted to ask why you were—”

Seulgi scoffed then chuckled sarcastically. “Oh, no, no, no. You’re not going to address the elephant in the room now, are you, Bae Joohyun?”

Joohyun shrugged as she shook her head. “Well, I think it’s okay? We’re already friends now—”

Seulgi laughed, like guffawed. Loud. Mockingly loud. “We? Friends? No, Joohyun.” She stood up, towering over Joohyun who was frowning in confusion. “Just because I had no choice but to let you in in our club and that we’re always together because of that, doesn’t mean that I consider you as a friend already.”

“Huh?” Joohyun muttered. “That’s weird. Because I still clearly remember you saying you wanted to be friends.”

Seulgi scoffed. “I changed my mind.” She started to walk out of the room.

Joohyun watched her. There was this fear creeping in slowly because Seulgi was about to leave her in that room and the sun has long set, but she didn’t let it tear her gaze away.

And then Seulgi paused and turned to her with her usual fierce and penetrating eyes along with that cold expression in her face. “What I said before? Like, long before? Do you still remember that?”

Joohyun perked up in remembrance.

“I still feel that way.”

Now, Joohyun wasn’t sure anymore what to believe. Is it that slight pause, slight hesitation she briefly saw before Seulgi totally leave her all alone in that room?

Or her words long, long before?

“I hate you, Bae Joohyun. I ing hate you.”

“,” Seulgi mumbled as soon as she stood there outside their clubroom’s door. But , she had to do it.

She had to push Joohyun away.

She stomped away from the clubroom but then stopped, hesitating if she should really leave Joohyun all alone in there.

But somehow, she remembered Yerim’s words from way back saying,

“You have to bring this person here, unnie. I can help.”

And weirdly, Seulgi trusts Yerim.

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