About a year ago, in the confines of a very small cafe, the loud patter of rain against the window stifled the cries of a young girl whose arms wrapped around herself like a protective shield from rejection. Across from her sat a man, maybe a year or two older than her, who looked around the shop nervously, as if he were trying to protect his ego. 

"Wh-Why," the girl hiccuped miserably, wiping the wetness off her nose with the back of her sleeve. "Why are you doing this?"

"I already told you, Mina," the man answered in an over-exaggerated tone. "With my soccer scholarship, I'll be away a lot more now. Going to university is a large commitment. I can't always be here to take care of you."

"B-But," she stuttered, lifting her round eyes. "I thought you said we'd be forever."

"Forever?" he reiterated. "Please, Mina. Nothing can really last forever. Who fed you that fairytale garbage?"

"You did," she replied brokenly. She could hardly convince herself this was happening let alone keep herself from choking on words. "You did, Minho. You told me that night we were taking the subway home together from Hongdae, that you knew we'd last forever."

"You're only making stuff up because you're sad," he sighed patronizingly, bringing his hand forward to ruffle the girl's dark hair askew. 

"No I'm..." Mina shook her head quickly, but inwardly, began to wonder if she did. No, it wasn't possible. She had fiercly remembered that night because that was the exact night Minho confessed his love to her. She couldn't have made a memory that strong up.

It was pure silence for a moment as Minho pulled his hand away. She felt dead without his tender touch and loving voice. She couldn't move, or breathe, or even blink in her seat. This was not the Minho she knew and loved. This was someone completely different. She could only stare ahead at nothing in particular and in her head, replayed each and every time Minho had told her he loved her. With that, the other memories came flooding back - she thought of every time Minho had kissed her, held her hand, hugged her from behind, surprised her with a gift, or protected her from Kibum. 

When her eyes flicked up to focus on Minho, she noticed the gaze was no longer returned. In fact, he seemed to be staring (and checking out) a figure behind him. When Mina sniffled and turned her head back, she saw a rather curvaceous foreigner with dark hair spilling down her back like a waterfall and a face caked with a hefty amount of makeup. The crying high-schooler immediately sneered and snapped her head back to her boyfriend. "Minho!" she growled, kicking him underneath the table. 

He grunted and rubbed his legs, refocusing on the broken female in front of him. "Baby..."

Short lived, because the second the foreigner turned in his direction, he lifted his eyes towards her with a smirk. "Baby sister," he falsely corrected, standing up.

Mina squinted his eyes at him. "Is he joking right now?" she thought in disbelief. "Is he actually trying to impress this tart right after breaking up with me?"

He bent down beside Mina and enveloped his arm around her back, rubbing slowly. "I know you'll miss oppa, but I'll always think of you, my sister." He repeated "sister" again and Mina froze, staring out into the window. This is what her life led up to. This is the man she dated for a whopping two years. An endless array of emotional abuse and manipulation had kept her from seeing his true colours. Mina wouldn't be fooled again, not this time. 

She took one last glance at Minho and saw him looking up at the female with a small smile. "Ever since she was a baby I've taken care of her. Father left and she has a hard time with me leaving for my scholarship," he said in fluent English.

"Oh, that's so sweet..." the foreigner cooed. 

What a joke. Mina flew out of her seat and smacked Minho's arm away. Taking the promise ring off her finger, she placed it in the foreigner's hand and said in broken-English, "Have my piece of boyfriend. CHOI MINHO IS ."

With that, she ran out of the cafe and promised herself never again - never again will she fall for this type of man.

When she got home that night, she decided to spoil herself for one last time and curled up in Minho's t-shirt.

Falling asleep, the memories came flooding back.

 

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"Mina loves Choi Minho sunbae!" 

"What a joke!"

"Does she actually think he'd notice her for even a brief second?"

"She's way too ugly to catch his attention!"

"Look Kibum, here she comes!"

With a thick throat and hands that wouldn't stop shaking, the said female yanked the diary out of Kibum's hands, holding it to her chest. "Don't look at things that aren't yours."

Kibum scoffed and leaned down, flicking her temple between his forefinger and thumb. "Don't bring your diary to school."

Angry, squinting eyes lifted to return the glare. "Diaries aren't meant to be read by anyone but the writer." 

"Little attitude problem this one's got," called out Jinki, lifting himself from the classroom wall. 

"Shut up. I only have attitude towards those who deserve it," she answered, cowering away to her locker. 

"Aigo," Kibum teased, tsking and shaking his head. "Bite off more you can chew, Mina? Scared?"

Mina averted her gaze and instead, looked down at her diary with the words "I love Choi Minho." She blushed profusely and gritted her teeth. "Leave me alone."

"Why should we? Giving us attitude in front of our peers.. We oughta-"

"Leave her alone," a familiar sound called out. It was Minho, and he had made his way in front of Mina, standing in front of her protectively.

"Minho!" Kibum smiled light-heartedly, giving him a gentle whack on the shoulder. "It's nice to see you again. I saw you at your game the other day, you were great-

"Shut up," he said sternly, shrugging him off. "What's all this fuss about someone loving me?"

Mina froze and spun on her heels, burying her head inside the locker. Right before she could place the diary back, Kibum yanked it from her hand and offered it to Minho. The girl squeaked and became frantic, turning around and yapping at the students to return her book. Her cries went unheard, and before she knew it, Minho had opened the diary and his eyes scanned over the words written inside. Words that praised him and him alone. Words that professed nothing but love towards him.

"What is this?" he asked, lifting his eyes from the book.

"M-Minho sunbae..." she blushed, chewing his bottom lip. "I'm sorry. You weren't supposed to see."

His eyes softened and he leaned forward, ruffling Mina's hair askew. "Have it back," he murmured, placing the diary in her hands. With his free hand, he took her by the wrist and gently led her out of the classroom. He didn't bother to aknowledge the cries and gasps of the students around them. Instead, he focused on taking Mina out of the spotlight which was something she'd always be grateful for.

"Where are we going?" Mina asked, finding it difficult to keep up with his pace. His legs were longer, stronger, and faster than hers. A brisk walk to Minho was a jog to Mina and already, she was panting. "Will we back before class starts?"

"Don't worry and just trust me," he answered. Something about his voice made it easy, so the young girl nodded and followed her instincts.

And Mina found that, without a doubt, it was never easier to trust Minho than in that moment. 

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Author Note: Short (unedited) chapter because I'm currently on a hiatus! Expect another chapter up in about two weeks or so. Thanks for reading! C.