• CHAERIN'S POV •

 

"Make it quick," I said. "I broke plans for this." I looked into her brown eyes, always pleading to reconcile. She'd called me the night before, telling me we had to talk, that we had to work things out, that we could make things better. While I resented the last part, I could consent to the first two, so I'd agreed to meet her outside after school.

 

"Chaerin ," she exhaled, not knowing where to start. "I miss you."

 

I looked down, then back at her. "I know."

 

"Don't you miss me?"

 

"Jiyeon , I did care about you. We had a good time. But it's over now."

 

"But it doesn't have to be," she argued.

 

"Yes it does."

 

"Why?"

 

"It's complicated," I said ambiguously.

 

"Give me one good reason."

 

"I'm with someone," I finally admitted. "And she means a lot to me."

 

"Already?" she said incredulously. We'd broken up months ago, but apparently that wasn't enough.

 

I nodded, stoically.

 

"Who?"

 

"You don't know her," I lied.

 

"How do you know her?"

 

"I met her at a party my cousin ," I said casually, impressed by how quickly the lies were spilling out. I hadn't been expecting a full interrogation, and hadn't prepared for one.

 

"Is she pretty?" she asked, obviously checking out the competition.

 

I smiled, involuntarily. "She's beautiful." It was the first truth I'd told about her.

 

"I hope you're happy," she said after a while, quietly and bitterly, with only the slightest hint of honesty.

 

"I am," I said. "Thank you."

 

"If it doesn't work out, Chaerin ," she began, but I wasn't listening. I nodded, knowing what she was going to say.

 

"I have your number," I assured her. I wasn't so much using her as a rebound or a safety net for if things didn't work out with Dara , as much as satiating her concerns in the easiest way. Not wanting to lead her on by staying, I began to walk away. I'd played a lot of games with her, but this time I didn't want her to chase after me.

 

"You're making a mistake," she called before I was gone, but I knew her and how dramatic she could be. I didn't bother answering. I knew that if Dara was a mistake, she was one I was willing to make.

 

________

 

And make it I did. No matter how wrong I knew it was, no matter how much trouble I knew she could be in, how