Everything was dark. It was silent. Calmness spread in Hyuna’s body. There was the soft chirping of the birds and she could faintly hear the chatters from the children at the bottom level. She felt the wind blow her face and hair. It was nice, quiet and cool.

Then, a voice she hated spoke, “What are you doing here all alone? Being emo?”

It was meant as a joke but Hyuna wanted to scream at her for teasing her like that. It was her fault she felt like this. But, she only glared at her and looked away.

Jiyoon sighed, “Look. Are we still friends?”

What is that supposed to mean? Of course, we are.

It took a few long seconds before Hyuna replied, “I think so..”

“Then, can I have a hug?” Jiyoon expectantly asked.

Tears flooded Hyuna’s eyes almost immediately hearing that. She nodded and pulled Jiyoon into a hug, burying her face in her best friend’s shoulder. Oh, how she missed her.

The last time this scene took place was during the retreat where they were told to reflect on their mistakes. The best friends were crying so hard that they had to hug each other to calm down. Nearly the whole hall of people were crying and hugging with their friends.

But, this one was different. It wasn’t the same hug anymore but Jiyoon was too clueless to even notice. Hyuna sobbed, wetting her best friend’s uniform.

They pulled away from the hug and Jiyoon sighed, “You wet my uniform.”

Hyuna’s eyebrows furrowed hearing that. Was it so wrong? She was crying. Her best friend isn’t supposed to complain.

“Why did you ignore me?” Jiyoon asked, not sensing the silence in Hyuna.

“I think it’s quite obvious. You got a new friend. I wasn’t happy. You didn’t come to me to cheer me up. The whole cold war started,” she said, leaving out the part that she knew Jiyoon had ditched her.

“So, this is about Jihyun?” Jiyoon raised an eyebrow.

Hyuna slowly nodded.

“Look, even if I did get a new friend, I don’t replace my old friends,” Jiyoon told her.

But, Hyuna couldn’t buy any of her words. From what she has seen, she definitely has been replaced. She just couldn’t stop the hatred growing in her.

While she had been tearing and hating herself for what has happened, she knew oh-so-perfectly well Jiyoon was alright the whole time. Hyuna doubt Jiyoon even cried a little about the whole misunderstanding. All she knew was that Jiyoon had spilled their problems to nearly half the class. What wasn’t there to be mad about?

“Yeah, I should’ve known,” Hyuna lied, not wanting to say anything.

“I miss you.. It’s been weeks,” Jiyoon sighed.

But, before Hyuna could respond with an “I miss you too”, another voice she despised called out for her best friend.

“Hey, you want to come and practice dance or what? We’re all waiting,” Jihyun asked Jiyoon, eyeing Hyuna a little.

“Ah, yeah. I almost forgot. Hyuna, you wanna come?” she asked, turning to her best friend.

She felt as if the whole making up session had been forgotten and dumped carelessly aside. So much for missing me, huh.

“No thanks. You guys go ahead,” she said, looking down.

“Oh, okay then. Bye,” Jiyoon said and left with Jihyun.

Hyuna was alone again. So much for trying to patch things up. She really didn’t enjoy talking to her best friend again but at least she tried. Again, she realized how her best friend really didn’t care. All she cared about was her passion for dance with that new friend of hers.

Hyuna found herself feeling even worse than before she had spilled the reason for the misunderstanding to her best friend.

Ouch. It hurt.

She felt a tear slipped down her cheek as she stared at the floor. I thought Junhyung said it would be okay. This is far from okay. This hurts.

She bit her lip hard and clutched her head, crying even more. It hurt her so much. Her heart was beating so fast. A voice kept on repeating in her head, “Nobody cares about you! Nobody cares about you! Your best friend doesn’t care about you!”

She wanted to scream at it to shut up. She felt like she was going crazy.

How can that pathetic girl who she calls her best friend drive her to become like this?

Again, all the questions she had asked and wondered about entered her mind.

Why does it hurt so much?

It was like she had totally lost her friend.

The scene she had just experienced was like showing how her best friend would pick the new girl over her any time. It was showing how something had lured her best friend away from Hyuna and her best friend actually willingly went for it. It was like showing how anything would be better than sticking to Hyuna. It was especially showing how her friend had chosen the path she wanted and it definitely didn’t include Hyuna inside.

I’m only a second choice. And to someone who’d be first to me all the time.

It wasn’t any more about her best friend. No. It was more than that.

The insecurity was taking over her again.

I am nothing to people. I’m so pathetic even my best friend would ditch me and lie to me so that she wouldn’t have to deal with me. She’d go to heights I can never imagine just to avoid even going home with me.

But, everything felt like it disappeared when she felt someone embrace her. She felt the squeeze of need and comfort. It was exactly what she needed. She didn’t have to guess who it was. She knew it was him.

The hug was like telling her that she has what she thinks she doesn’t. It was like telling her she didn’t need anything else because she’s gotten what she wanted. It was like pointing to her the right choice.

The truth hurts, but Hyuna knew right then that transferring schools might be the best solution. It wasn’t running away. No. She felt like Junhyung was giving up making her stay and just telling her to go away; like he didn’t want her to feel any pain anymore. She felt like he was telling her to dump all the useless problems and live her life. She’s only 16. She shouldn’t be torturing herself.

A friend like Jiyoon can come anytime. There wasn’t anything that special about her. It was just an eye-opener to Hyuna to show that life isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Sometimes, you need to leave the things that hold you back. Don’t torture yourself just because you want something. If it’s really something meant for you, it won’t hurt. If Jiyoon was really a friend, she’d be there, hugging Hyuna, instead of a guy she barely knew. And if she was really a friend, she’ll come back eventually, no matter where Hyuna would run to.

It might not work out this time; it would next time. She shouldn’t spend so much time trying to mend what’s gone. Instead, she should just leave.

Maybe this was running away. Just maybe. But, again, she’s only 16. You can only run so much. At this age, responsibility isn’t everything yet. It was the time to make mistakes. This might be a mistake but that wouldn’t matter.

Because even if she left, everything and everyone would still be okay. She just didn’t belong here; not yet. In future, maybe. For now, it’s much, much better to do something that will benefit everyone.

---

That day, an important decision was made. Maybe things would still be fine, although different, if she hadn’t made that decision. But, it certainly wasn’t something to be regretful of because from that day onwards, there was never a day a smile wasn’t evident on her face.

The whole drama with Jiyoon wasn’t all that bad. At least, it had helped matured Hyuna a little bit.

What’s the problem now is how the friendship between Junhyung and Hyuna was turning a titsy bit complicated.

---

sequel anyone?