Taking an antagonistic role turned out to be easier than what Joohyun had used to think. In fact, it was easier than maintaining her "perfect"-ness as a heroine. With envy and jealousy being her closest comrades whom she listen to, being "mean" to the supposedly female lead--Hyoyeon--became as natural as breathing to her. Of course, Joohyun didn't end up being that usual annoying villain in cheap soap operas. Her higher than average intelligence helped her craft the best ways to torture Hyoyeon--mostly mentally but sometimes also physically--without rising any suspicion. No one at school--not even Chanyeol or Hyoyeon herself--had ever suspected that there was an evil mind residing behind Joohyun's angelic smile. In fact, Hyoyeon naively confided on the younger girl about the sudden emerge of troubles in her high school life. Being a master in the art of deceit she was, Joohyun faked concern and empathy whilst actually making Hyoyeon's days more miserable.

It didn't mean that Joohyun had totally forgotten about her own conscience, though. Despite of her utmost effort to oversee it, she was still bugged with the fact that she had purposedly hurt such a sweet girl like Hyoyeon. Nevertheless, love is a much stronger emotion than guilt so Joohyun kept on going with her role. Who knows, maybe if she tried hard enough she could end up becoming that rare antagonist who won the heart of the male lead--she desperately wished. 

However, sometimes she secretly hoped that Hyoyeon would just simply disappear from her life. She could easily charmed Chanyeol afterward and the best part was: she didn't had to hurt Hyoyeon anymore. Little did she expected that such innocent thought would end up hurting her more than anyone else.

It was another warm afternoon after school; the sun was hanging low, smearing orange color on the bluish sky. Two teenagers were walking down the street: one of them was a skinny and tall boy while the other was a petite pale girl. A poorly suppressed foolish grin was plastered on the face of the taller between the two as he swung his awkwardly long limbs excitedly.

"So... How do you feel about winning the election?" He--Chanyeol--asked the shorter girl, Joohyun, for the nth time that afternoon while grinning like a madman. The result of the student council president election had just been revealed and Joohyun had won.

"Oh my God, Oppa, can't you stop asking that?" Joohyun sighed in exasperation but a shy smile fought it way to her thin lips. He had been repeating the same question again and again but it failed to tick her of as she was still submerged in the euforia of victory.

"Oh well," Chanyeol chuckled his infamous deep laughter, "I'm just a little bit too ecstasic for you." He ruffled her hair affectionately, causing Joohyun futilely tried to stop herself from turning redder than a ripe tomato. Damn him and his skinship.

"Stop it. It's not something to celebrate, right? Didn't you tell me that this is only a beginning of a tough year? You're the one who should be celebrating: you're finally off duty," Joohyun pretended to be calm but her arguments ended up sounding like a childish whine. Joohyun never whine; she was too mature and too poised to do that. But when she was with Chanyeol, sometimes it was inevitable as she felt really comfortable around the older guy. Chanyeol patted her head lovingly.

"Ah, you're really mature, Joohyun-ah. I'm proud of having you as my favorite candidate," he cooed her. Joohyun turned a couple shade redder than before after his compliments.

"Oppa, Jongin will be really disappointed if he heard you say that," she warned him jokingly. Chanyeol was still the student council president at that moment so he wasn't supposed to take side in the election, especially when both of the candidates--Joohyun and Jongin--were his closest subordinates. However, Joohyun had long known that Chanyeol supported her more than he supported Jongin so she wasn't surprised at all with his little revelation. Chanyeol laughed loudly before he responded.

"Oops, my bad. Let's keep it as secret between us, okay?" He attempted a playful wink but ended up twitching instead. She giggled at his failure, triggering Chanyeol to erupt into another fit of boisterous laughter. Chanyeol's cheesiness was something that could always humor her.

When the laughter had died down, Chanyeol took their conversation into a more serious topic: the future of the student council. Joohyun didn't really pay attention, though. She took notice of his charming figure instead: how his eyes shone as he excitedly shared his view, how his limbs moved animatedly along with his fiery explanation, and how she sometimes got a glimpse of his sparkling neat white teeth as he spoke. Chanyeol wasn't exactly handsome for her standard, but for some reasons she couldn't fathom--or she simply denied to acknowledge--everything about him was breathtaking for her.

Joohyun started to wonder, if she confessed to him right this moment, would he accept it? She was his favorite candidate for student council president, why couldn't she be his favorite girl as well? Joohyun knew that confessing to Chanyeol would be a major harm to her pride and her image since she used to firmly believe that guys should always make the first move in relationships. However, if she could stoop as low as being the antagonist who made a kind girl like Hyoyeon suffer, why couldn't she swallow her enormous pride for once? So she gulped down her saliva nervously as she prepared for her first ever confession. Her heartbeat accelerated rapidly when she inhaled right before she opened . Unfortunately, Chanyeol beat her to it. 

"I'll see you again next Monday, okay?" he said, not realizing that he was interrupting an upcoming important confession from Joohyun. He was referring to 'the transition week', where the previous core team of the student council--the president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer--would help the newly elected one in establishing the new cabinet while finishing all their leftover paperworks. She quickly closed and nodded. She had been spacing out during their walks and she had just realized that they had arrived at the intersection near her house: where Chanyeol and her always went separate ways. She cleared before she bid him goodbye and took a left turn to her house. Her heart was still beating crazily but she ignored it.

Some parts of her was glad that Chanyeol made her cancel her confession as she was afraid if she would ended up embarrassingly fainting out of her anxiety and more importantly, she was also dreading the possible reply Chanyeol would give her. Another part of her was disappointed because she missed a chance to convey a feeling that had been bothering her for months and she was seeking for a relieve from it.

Next time, Joohyun chanted in her mind, trying to ease herself, next time I meet him I will definitely confess. Little did she know that there was no next time for her.

Because when you miss on the first chance, you don't always get a second chance. 

TBC

AN: Hello! himalayancat here with another update. Wow, thank you so much for the comments, votes, and subs, I really appreciate them. I'm really surprised with the amount of comment for the previous chapter. I'll be replying them soon, probably somewhere this afternoon. And wow, 52 subs and 10 upvotes. T_T I just can't thank you guys enough. Please give this chapter much love as well. I really love reading your thoughts about the story.

on another note, I'll also be updating 'Circle' somewhere within this week. Please look forward to it. 

With many-many thankful love,

himalayancat.