It was past ten o’clock when we were done with the treatment. I was right though. My right leg was sprained and if I tried to even walk, I would do more damage on it. Yuri’s, too. But hers was rather more severe since Hyosung doubled the punishment. I could see the devastation on Yuri’s face. She did definitely not like the idea of being incapacitated hours away from the competition.

I had asked the doctor who was responsible of me to not put the splinter just until the next two days. I have to pull the dance off without letting others know I’m injured.

However, my thoughts weren’t totally concerned about the injury. It was on Sunggyu. He’s probably dead worried about me right now. I haven’t even contacted him since I was in school. I told him I’d be home late but not this late at night.

Jonghyun appeared out of nowhere, apprehension tinting his face. “Are you okay?” he asked uneasily. “Do you feel better now? Are you hurt anywhere else? I can’t just take you home when you’re definitely hurt.”

I waved him away. “I’m fine,” I lied. I wasn’t definitely fine. I turned to Yuri. “Are you?”

Yuri frowned. “I’d be lying if I said I am,” she muttered. “What should I do? I’m injured, Sooyoung. I can’t dance the solo part like this. I’ll mess it up. And we’re going to lose! The principal will take away our dance privileges if that happens. I can’t… I can’t let that happen. The squad means a lot to me.”

I stared at her, feeling upset myself.

And then it hit me.

“I’ll do it,” I blurted out.

Yuri stared at me like I just sprouted a second head. “You’re injured, too, Sooyoung. I’m not stupid if you think I would let you do the solo for me. Might as well hand it over to Gyuri.”

I nodded slowly. “Maybe we can teach Gyuri the new steps?”

She frowned. “Oh, right. There were new steps. She won’t make it, Sooyoung. We can’t finish teaching Gyuri for a few hours only. One flaw about Gyuri is that she forgets the steps when she’s onstage, let alone the solo performance. She’s going to mess it up.”

I raised my eyebrows. “But I thought you preferred her more than me?”

She winced. “Since when did I say that?”

I bit my lip. “Well, I’ve always had that feeling that you…”

“Might just talk about this since we’re here now,” Yuri mumbled, not meeting my gaze. “I don’t hate you. I just hate the fact that Seunghyun chose you over me. I don’t get it. What do you have that I don’t? We’re both dancers but I’m definitely smarter and prettier than you. Boys want me. Girls want to be me or be my friend. And he fell in love with you, not me.”

I grimaced. “I… don’t know.” Jonghyun stood in front of me, ignoring Yuri and giving me an anxious look.

She fiddled with the strap of her knapsack. “I thought we were perfect,” she continued. “I’ve known Seunghyun ever since we were kids. I met him at my brother’s birthday because they were close friends. He was so… I don’t know, charming, I guess? That’s why I fell in love with him.

“When we were in middle school, I transferred to my brother’s school just to be with him. It wasn’t an all-boys school. There were some girls, very wealthy girls who know they’re pretty and who think they rule the place. I mean, don’t mind me, I’m loaded, too. I just happen to have the humble personality. But that didn’t help me.

“For the next few weeks, I didn’t have a really good life. The girls figured out my crush on Seunghyun oppa and they were really, really mad. They started to pull pranks on me and embarrass me in front of the other students. Eventually, my brother knew about this and he got those girls kicked out of the school. So I had the courage to confess to Seunghyun but he refused me.

“I reached 7^th grade when I asked my appa a favor I will never regret. I’ve heard about arranged marriages in books and stories so I thought ‘Why not try it?’. But marriage seems to be… strange for a kid like me. So when I reached 8^th grade, I told my appa to force Seunghyun into dating me. At that time, Seunghyun has been travelling a lot with his appa because of their business.

“For a year, I actually worked hard on showing that I love him. He constantly rejects, I could feel it, even if he treats me nicely. He’s nice to me but I know it means nothing. That’s why for a year, I tried so hard. And then he met you during one of his trips.

“He didn’t tell me about you or when you guys met. But because Seunghyun always keeps on meeting my brother, I had the suspicion that Jiyong knows. So one night, I sneaked outside of his room and eavesdropped on their conversation. That’s when I knew your name. I was so mad. He says your name like you’re the light of his life. He was… he looks really happy.

“When I knew you were going to SYG, I felt that something bad was going to happen. But I thought since everyone is on my side, it’ll be fine. When Seunghyun finally chose you over me, I felt… emptiness. Like the light was gone. I had to pretend I’m fine. Every day and every night, I had to put on a fake smile like I was okay but I wasn’t.

“I was so depressed. When the others knew about it, more of them began took my side. I appreciated it. Really. But the questions were always ‘Are you okay?’ and ‘What happened?’. I was getting tired of it. I wondered all the time on why they couldn’t ask me on if I need a help or a cheering from them. They just want to know what happened, that’s all.

“Of course, to stop them from nagging me all the time, I plastered a fake smile on my face and acted like a . Even to Seunghyun. But to be honest, I’ve never seen him so happy when he was with you. I’d kill to have him smile like that to me but I know that’s… it was impossible. I knew it that he was in love with you. I couldn’t blame you.

“I realized that you were suffering as well. But you were so brave. I kept thinking that maybe it was because of that Seunghyun fell in love with you. You ignored the pranks or the names they call you. You act like you don’t even care, which makes them misunderstand you even more. They think you’re a cold-hearted… when you’re not.

“Then I finally decided to move on. I decided to let you have him because he was happy. He was really happy with you. I trusted you. It took every smidgen of my strength to let him go. However, when the accident happened, all hell break loose. I was so… infuriated with you. I was so mad that every single thought of him came flooding back inside my mind.

“Those statements ‘If he was with me…’ revisited my mind and I was so mad at you. I deserved him. You don’t. I loved him more than you love him. But that I will never know because I never asked you or I never know what you’re thinking. I was so mad at you that I blamed myself for letting him go. For letting you have him.

“But I guess… things had to happen. I was meant to fall in love with Seunghyun but he was meant to fall in love with you. You guys fell in love with each other but both of you weren’t meant to be together forever.

“When he died, I was confused. I was confused whether I should be kind to you or not. But when I see those other girls treating you like when they don’t even know what really happened, I get mad at myself. I blamed myself, that’s why I helped you. Then every day, I find myself getting attached you. I came to the conclusion that maybe, just maybe, Seunghyun’s death happened for a reason.”

Yuri gazed at me. “Don’t expect me to say sorry because I won’t. I will never say sorry to you but I guess, I’ll admit it now even though Seunghyun is not here anymore. I admit my defeat.”

I forced a smirk. “I won’t. Don’t expect me to say sorry, too.”

She rolled her eyes, chuckling. “I’m over it. Are you?”

For once, I wanted to tell her about Sunggyu but then I was able to control myself. “I am,” I replied confidently.

Yuri made a pft sound. “Yeah, I can see that.” She gestured towards Jonghyun, who looked really worried. “You guys look good together anyway. I mean, isn’t it obvious? He obviously cares for you. You’re stupid if you yourself don’t even notice it.”

I shot her a confused look. “Notice what?”

She groaned. “You never really noticed it?”

I was becoming frustrated. “Notice what exactly?”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re so blind really.” She turned to Jonghyun. “And you, you haven’t told her yet? I mean, come on. I know about your feelings ever since Seunghyun and Sooyoung got together. Just because I’m months younger than you doesn’t mean I’m stupid. I know love when I see one.”

I glanced at Jonghyun, who just looked down. Wait, does Yuri know about Sunggyu? “What? I—”

“Your phone keeps on ringing,” Jonghyun cuts me off, handing my phone over. “Answer it.”

“Oh, who’s that?” Yuri interrogated. “Boyfriend?”

It was Sunggyu. I was certain of it. What kind of friend would call me in this hour anyway? And besides, I don’t have any friends. Grabbing my phone, I hesitated to answer it. I thought of the answers I was going to give away. If I tell Sunggyu where I am, he’d come here straightaway and then Yuri and Jonghyun would know.

“Hello?” I answered in a low tone.

“Yah! Jung Sooyoung!” he barked, sounding so mad and worried. I could imagine him gripping his phone so tight and glaring at it. “Where are you? It’s past ten and you’re still not home! I thought practice ends at seven!”

I rolled my eyes, wincing. “Oh, sorry, Dad,” I snapped. “I didn’t know I had a curfew.”

“It’s your father?” Jonghyun mouthed.

He scoffed. “Yeah, you’d rather hang out with your friends than you would with me.”

I groaned. Not this again. “Sunggyu, you know that is so out of the topic,” I snapped. “Why don’t you put your foul mood in a good use and leave me out of it? I’m at the hospital. Something happened. I’m sorry if I’m not home right now.”

From behind, I could imagine Yuri’s baffled expression when she heard Sunggyu’s name. “You mean, Sunggyu as in… Kim Sunggyu? Kim seonsangnim?” she gasped.

I couldn’t even look up and meet Jonghyun’s curious gaze.

All the anger and worry in Sunggyu’s voice disappeared when I mentioned the hospital. “What?” he gasped. I could hear the dangling of the keys, which meant he was bound to get inside the car and arrive at the hospital any time. “Which hospital are you in?”

“I’m at the Sinchon Severance Hospital,” I replied softly.

He groaned. “Stay there.”

I gulped. “Yuri and Jonghyun are here, too.”

I heard something click. “I don’t care,” he stated reassuringly. “Let them know. Let me lose my job. This is more important. You’re more important to me, Sooyoung. Now stay there and wait for me. I’m picking you up.”

I sighed softly. “Okay. Bye.”

“I love you,” he stated gently.

I smiled. “I love you, too.”

When I hung up on him, I could feel two curious gazes on me. I knew they were waiting for answers, especially Yuri who had miraculously transferred from her bed to mine. Jonghyun looked crestfallen. Maybe he was disappointed because I didn’t tell him.

I was such a bad friend.

Yuri crossed her arms. “Okay, so someone has some explaining to do.”

I gulped nervously.

“Are you and Kim seonsangnim dating?” Yuri wanted to know, giving me a look. “I mean, hell, I’m pretty sure you were interested with guys older than you but I didn’t expect that you’re actually interested with… teachers. But I guess, that’s alright. Kim seonsangnim is hot.”

I shook my head. “We’re not dating.”

“Then what’s with the ‘I love you’ stuff?”

“We’re married.”

so like, college sux.

;_;