Chapter Thirteen

(Taeyeon’s POV)

“Miss Seo Joohyun, you’re unusually quiet today.” Our Theology instructor said. “Give me your opinion about the Catholic Christians’ belief in the Mary.”

Seohyun’s expression showed no emotion, as usual after her “break-up” with Luhan.

“I think that it is just right to recognize her since she was the one who gave birth to God the Son.” She replied.

“Excuse me, ma’am.” Suho raised his hand.

“Yes?” The teacher nodded at him.

“I am not very convinced. Didn’t God say in His ten commandments that we are not supposed to worship other gods? We only believe in the Triune God: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Mary was not mentioned there.” He said.

“What can you say, Seohyun?” The instructor asked Seohyun.

Normally, Seohyun would answer back right away to defend her stand and glare at Suho.

This time, she simply shrugged and said: “That’s what he believes.”

I was about to raise my hand but Chen beat me to it.

“Yes, Chen Kim?” The teacher called.

“While it’s true that Mary is not part of the Triune God, that doesn’t mean that we are not allowed to pray to her. When Jesus performed His first miracle at a wedding in Cana, it was Mary who told Him to do so and He complied. This is an implication that Jesus listens to Mary as His Mother. Thus, we could pray to Jesus through Mary since she is close to His heart. Also, the Ten Commandments were part of the Old Testament, while Mary appeared in the New Testament.”

Without thinking, I clapped, which was a little embarrassing. Fortunately, Jessica, Baekhyun, and Kyungsoo did the same. Soon, the whole class was clapping.

I looked at Seohyun and I was relieved to see her smiling a genuine smile at Chen who beamed back at her.

We hang out by the bleachers at the gym during our free time. Our official circle was complete: Baekhyun, Chen, Jessica, Seohyun, and I. I stared at my friends.

We were losing members like strands of hair falling off. First, Suho fell off, yanking Tao with him. Kyungsoo, although we still got in touch with him, no longer hung around with us like he used to. Now, it’s Luhan; Lay had no reason to stay after Luhan fell off. Lay’s chemistry with Taeyeon had barely started, and yet it was over.

We were distracted by a sudden commotion at the gym.

“You’re a traitor!” Lizzy was shouting at Chorong.

“Come on, guys!” Jessica stood up. “This is gonna be a hit.”

Baekhyun and I followed followed her to the direction of the chaos where a mass of students were crowding.

Seohyun didn’t care; Chen sat back down when he saw that Seohyun was staying.

Baekhyun, Jessica, and I pushed through the thick crowd.

“I gave you all the information you needed to know about Luhan’s relationship with Seohyun. How dare you take Luhan!” Lizzy shouted and attacked Chorong.

Luhan arrived in the scene and was quick to pull Chorong out of Lizzy’s wrath. Lay, who was with Luhan, pulled Lizzy.

“Luhan and I are mutual! You and Seohyun could both go to hell!” Chorong shouted.

“You are the one fit to go to hell, LUCIFER!” Jessica yelled at Chorong at the mention of Seohyun’s name. “Don’t you dare include Seohyun here!”

“Why not? She’s the root of all my problems! She’s a flirt!” Chorong shouted back at her.

“Please, Jessica.” Luhan blocked Jessica when she tried to advance on Chorong. “I’ll take care of this. I’m sorry in Chorong’s behalf.”

“I am NOT sorry!!!” Chorong shrieked. “That girl is a flirt!”

“Take that back!” Yoona, one of our friends from our bloc, appeared behind Chorong where Luhan couldn’t reach.

Sooyoung prevented Yoona from attacking Chorong.

“Why? Can’t you accept the fact that your bloc is full of flirts? Look at her!” Chorong pointed at me.

Faster than lightning, Sooyoung landed a slap on Chorong’s face. The people gasped. Chorong’s blocmates defended her. My blocmates were ready for them. There was a riot in the gym.

I stood frozen on my place. The crowd was pushing against me. Somebody pulled my hand and led me out of the pandemonium. It was Baekhyun. He protectively wrapped his arm around me.

Once we were away from the crowd, I saw Seohyun talking with Suho. Chen was behind her. She looked mad but listened to what Suho was saying. Chen’s right eyebrow was raised. Surprisingly, only Kyungsoo and Tao were with Suho. His girlfriend was nowhere to be seen.

(Seohyun’s POV)

I can’t believe this! Did Suho really come to me and say those words?

Thankfully, Taeyeon and Baekhyun were out of earshot. It was not yet the right time for her to know.

“Where’s Jessica?” I asked them when they reached us.

“There in the war.” Taeyeon answered.

“I’ll go get her.” Baekhyun said.

“You’ll need my help with that.” Chen volunteered.

“Hey! Let go of me!” We heard Jessica exclaiming.

She was being dragged by Lay away from the crowd.

“You’re such a war freak.” Lay scolded her.

“That’s none of your business!” Jessica snapped at him.

Lay was about to say something when he noticed us watching them.

“Err… Hey, guys. I’ll go ahead and help Luhan.” He awkwardly said and left.

After dismissal, I went with Chen to a famous bakeshop for a snack. We each ordered a piece of cake and a strawberry smoothie. We chatted and joked around as we ate.

“What’s the matter with you?” Chen suddenly changed the topic.

“Huh? Whatya talkin’ about?” I asked him.

“You’ve changed a lot ever since your ‘break-up’ with Luhan; but, when it’s just the two of us, you’re back to your old self.”

“I can’t answer that question either. I don’t know why I feel better in your company.”

“You’re being hard on yourself, Seohyun. Why don’t you try to forget and move on? I get hurt when I see you in this kind of situation.” He admitted softly.

I stared right into his eyes. He was sincere.

“Will you be back to the usual you?” He asked me. “For me? For our other friends?”

“I’ll try my best.” I promised.

From that moment, I knew I had to try. For him. For the rest of our friends. For myself.

“Oh, by the way, do you really liked eating that much?” He asked again.

“What?” I tried to sound innocent.

“Come on! Stop pretending. Baekhyun and I saw you last time… when you told us you were in a bad mood and declared that you’re going to your room and sleep…” He paused.

“And…?” I prompted.

“We caught you sneaking to the kitchen and taking out a piece of apple, two bars of chocolate, a bag of chips, and a tumbler of fresh milk from the refrigerator.”

What?! They saw that?!

“You’ve been spying on me!” I accused.

“Yes. And I might tell Hyoyeon-noona about it, too.”

“Nooooo!!! Don’t! I’ll do whatever you want!”

“That’s a deal!” He grinned.

“Seohyun? Chen? What are you doing here?” Jessica appeared with Taeyeon, Kris, and Chanyeol.

Am I seeing things?! Kris Wu and Park Chanyeol?! Seriously?!

“Are you dating secretly?” Taeyeon demanded.

I replied “Yes!” at the same time Chen said “No!”

“Yes.” I repeated.

“No.” Chen said firmly. “At least not the way you think it is.”

“And you?! Are you having a double-date?” I also demanded.

“Me? Dating Kris? No! We just tagged along with Chanyeol and Taeyeon.” Jessica explained.

“And you know that it’s you I like.” Kris said. “Remember when I said I’m going to take you when you break up with Xi Luhan?”

This Kris Wu is driving me mad. Aish! Can I bite him? What does he think of me?

“Are you still dating Chanyeol?” I asked Taeyeon to change the topic.

“It’s a friendly date. He insisted.” Taeyeon shrugged.

They sat at the table next to us.

“Can I officially court you?” Kris asked me.

“Can I officially bite you?” I sarcastically returned.

“Sure, but I bite back.” He smirked.

“Are you monsters?” Jessica asked us. “Will you stop it? You’re freaking me out.”

“That’s because Kris Wu’s a freak.” I muttered under my breath.

Chen laughed. He was the only one who heard.

“Are you sure you’re not coming in? Baekhyun’s still awake for sure.” I asked Chen when he dropped me at our place.

“No need. I’ll just have to tell you something.” He said.

“Let’s talk about it inside.”

“It’ll be quick.”

“Okay…”

“Do you remember our deal?” He paused for my answer.

“I’ll do what you want and you won’t tell Hyoyeon-unnie about my diet.” I replied.

“Here’s the deal: I don’t care if you have as many boyfriends as you want; but, promise me, I’ll be your only guy bestfriend.” He said.

I laughed. “Sure! I promise! As long as I’ll be your only girl bestfriend, too.”

“Sure! Well, that is if Baekhyun’s really a guy and prove it by having the courage to court Taeyeon.” He said.

“What?!” I suddenly became alert. “Are you saying that Baekhyun likes Taeyeon?”

“Huh? I didn’t say anything like that.” He denied.

“Yes, you did! I heard it clearly.” I insisted.

“No, I didn’t!” He argued. “Goodnight, Seohyun! See you tomorrow!”

He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and got in his car.

“Wait, Chen Kim!” I frantically knocked in his car window as he started the engine.

“You better get inside. It’s too cold out here!” I heard him say before he drove off.

“CHEN KIM!!!” I shrieked.

“Why are you shrieking, dear Seohyun?” I heard Chorong say from behind me.

I turned around and saw her with Luhan.

Why are they strolling along the neighborhood late at this hour?

“Chorong, let’s go.” Luhan stopped her.

Our gate suddenly opened and Baekhyun emerged.

“What are you doing here outside?” He asked me. “Was that Chen who sped away? Lay said he saw you dating Chen earlier. He said Chanyeol and Taeyeon were dating again. He even mentioned Jessica and Kris Wu? Is that true?”

“Aish! Lay’s really a er. Kris Wu’s a er, too. Anyway, only Chanyeol and Taeyeon were dating. And speaking of dating, Chen accidentally told me that you like Taeyeon. Is that true?”

“What?! Did I hear it right?” I heard Chorong again.

What?! They’re still here?

“I’ll take you home, Chorong.” Luhan attempted to pull her but failed.

“Baekhyun, do you really like Taeyeon?” Chorong repeated. “Did I hear it right?”

“No. You didn’t hear anything.” I snapped at her. “Let’s get inside, Baekhyun. It’s too cold out here.”

I pulled Baekhyun and entered through the gate. Chorong pulled Baekhyun back out.

“That’s good news!” She told him.

Why’s she acting like that toward Baekhyun? Are they close?

“I despise Taeyeon; but if you like her, that would totally piss Heyi.” Chorong continued. “That way, I can get back at Lizzy for what she and Heyi did to me.”

“That wouldn’t affect Heyi. She already has Suho.” Baekhyun told Chorong.

“Heyi and Suho are just using each other, just like what happened with Luhan and Seohyun. The only difference is that both Suho and Heyi agreed to use each other while Luhan-”

“CHORONG!” Luhan growled. “Let’s go! I’m begging you!”

I ignored Chorong’s taunts. I couldn’t believe Suho and Heyi were just pretending. If that’s the case, then what Suho told me must be true.

“It’s must be true.” I said loudly.

“What’s true? Are you okay?” Baekhyun asked me.

“Yes. Let’s go in. I’m tired.” I answered and went in without waiting for Baekhyun’s reply.

“Goodnight, hyung.” I heard Baekhyun awkwardly greeting Luhan.

“Goodnight, Baekhyun.” Luhan answered.