“Which kind of cake do you want?” Chanyeol hums, tapping the glass case excitedly. “I’ll get the strawberry shortcake. No, the mocha cake. No, the tres leche!”

“Uhh... I’ll get the green tea cake.” I tilt my head. “It sounds interesting.”

“I have an idea.” Chanyeol fishes out a Platinum Amex card from his wallet and hands it to the wide-eyed cashier. “Let’s buy some of everything!”

I’m taken aback by his flashy credit card as well. Somehow his goofy, well-meaning personality made me forget that he was filthy rich like everyone else at our school.

Judging by the fact that he wants to buy all the cake here, however, I doubt he knows how to spend that money wisely.

“Hey, that’s alright,” I quickly say, shaking my head. “Don’t worry about it-,”

Chanyeol slaps my hand away. “I insist!”

The 20 plates of cake which we ordered barely fit on the tiny cafe table. “Let’s dig in!” Chanyeol hands me a fork. “Let’s start with the double chocolate cake.”

We work our way to every plate, sampling every single flavor. I pick my favorites: green tea (it really is unique), vanilla bean, and coffee bean. Chanyeol seems to be in love with every single flavor.

For the first time since the school year’s began, I find myself loosening up. This is actually really fun. Park Chanyeol isn’t the rude, preppy guy I thought he was at first. He’s a lot sweeter than I could ever imagine.

“Sojin, you’re smiling.” His throaty voice interrupts my thoughts. I look at him. There’s a pleased grin lighting up his features.

“This is the first time I’ve ever seen you smile,” Chanyeol tells me. “You... lookprettywhenyousmile.” His face turns the exact shade of a plum.

I stare at him for a moment and then burst out into laughter. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Chanyeol,” I joke. “I always look pretty.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He spears a piece of green tea cake onto a fork and hands it to me. “Here.”

“Thanks.” I chew the sweet treat. “Mmm, yum-,”

“Well, well, well. Look who we have here.”

Chanyeol and I look up.

Kai is glaring at us, his lip curled. Behind him are a group of the school’s most popular people: Oh Yuna, Do Kyungsoo, Wu Kris, Min Jaemi, Lu Han, and Kim Suho. My stomach churns in apprehension.

“Wow, you’ve really lowered your standards, Chanyeol oppa,” Jaemi tsks, eyeing me with distaste. “Park Sojin? Wow.”

“Dude, just ditch her and come with us,” Suho sniggers. “Superhero Suho to the rescue!” he cries in mock solemnity, and the entire group titters.

“Nah, that’s alright.” The playful look has disappeared from Chanyeol’s face. “You guys can go eat.”

“Chanyeol, it’s alright,” I say in a low voice. “You can-,”

“I’m staying,” he says firmly.

“Good luck dealing with her,” Kai sneers. “She’s a really picky eater, did you know that?”

I look up at him in shock. What is he trying to-?

“Sojin was over at my house the other day, and she was having such a hard time eating the fruit I was feeding her,” he sighs in mock pity. “It’s a shame, really. But it's alright; I loved the feeling of her sitting on my lap."

There is utter silence. My face burns with humiliation. Did Kai really just say that in front of Chanyeol? In front of everyone?

“,” Kris fake-coughs, and everyone snickers again.

“Hey, Chanyeol, I’m not feeling too well. I have to go.” I grab my purse and shoot up. Don’t cry, Sojin. You’ve never let your emotions show. Don’t let it happen now-

“I’m coming with you.” Chanyeol grabs my arm. I freeze, not turning around.

“It’s okay,” I whisper, a lump in my throat forming.

“No, it’s not.” And Chanyeol takes my hand and gently guides me to his car.

Through my blurry vision I am able to discern Kai’s reflection in the windowpane.

He looks crushed.

“I’m sorry they had to come and ruin our night,” Chanyeol murmurs as he pats my hair. I sniff, wiping my eyes.

“Yeah, it’s no big deal. Nothing I’m not used to.” I say, trying to conceal the fact that I’m crying. “But Chanyeol, thank you. I really appreciate how you helped me.”

“You weren’t doing anything wrong, yet they were so mean to you,” he mutters. “I always followed along with whatever they did because they were my friends. But... this has to stop.”

“Only a few more months till we graduate. I’ll be fine.” We drive in silence for a few more minutes, until Chanyeol pulls up to my apartment complex. “Thanks for the ride. I’ll see you in school tomorrow.”

“Yeah. Thanks for the English help again. And... I had a lot of fun.” He gives me a kind smile which makes my insides feel warm again.

“Me too, Chanyeol.”

When I get to school the next morning, the entire student body is buzzing with accusations of me being a total .

“I heard she went to Kai’s house and had with him,” one girl whispers behind her textbook. “And she’s totally hitting on Chanyeol too!”

“Ew, no way? I wouldn’t expect the valedictorian of the senior class to do that!”

“No kidding. I hate Park Sojin.”

“Sojin, what happened?” Victoria screams as soon as she sees me. “I had to beat up, like, 9 underclassmen because they were saying horrible things about you! Well, not beat up beat up but-,”

“What happened?” Krystal cuts Victoria off, a worried expression on her face.

“You know how I was tutoring Chanyeol Friday night?” I recount miserably. “Well... we went to a cafe later...,” I proceed to explain everything that happened. By the time I’m done talking, all 4 of my friends are blazing with fury.

“How... how dare they,” Sulli hisses. “No, you know what, I’m done. My mom is Suho’s parents’ boss. He’s going down. Now we just need a way to destroy all of them-,”

“It’s no use.” I shake my head. “If we were to try and ruin the lives of everyone that talked crap about me, the entire school would be in trouble. I just- I just really want to get Kai.”

“One day...,” Krystal groans. “That boy has it coming to him, I swear.”

“At least we know that Park Chanyeol isn’t bad,” Luna says.

“Yeah.” The corner of my lips tugs up.

Amber launches herself at me and wraps me in a bear hug. “Stay strong, Sojin. We’ve got your back.”