The four of us were left, staring at one another in awe or with questions in our eyes.

“Why did you guys follow me?” Yuri asked. “You could have gotten hurt.”

“You too. You could have gotten hurt,” Nara said. “Take better care of yourself, Unnie.”

“Why did they do that anyway? They should mind their own business and not meddle with yours, Yuri,” I said, glaring after the mob of hyenas.

“Yuri, what they said wasn’t true, or?” Soyou asked, concern on her sweet face. “You don’t actually…” she couldn’t finish the sentence but we all knew what she was asking.

“No, no. Of course I don’t,” Yuri replied. “I guess you guys deserve to know the story.” Yuri sat down on the grass and patted a spot beside her. “The real story.” Nara sat down cautiously and Soyou followed. I was more hesitant.

“Are you sure? You don’t have to tell us, don’t feel obligated to or anything,” Soyou said, voicing my thoughts.

“Yeah, I want to,” Yuri said. She waited till I settled my on the dewy grass and then sighed. She began fiddling with the grass in front of her. Just when I was about to suggest we do this talk some other time Yuri began talking. “Eunji and I… we were really close in Middle School. Our fathers owned a company together. It wasn’t a really big company, but it sufficed. Our families were really close. Eunji was like the sister I never had.” She looked up at us to see if we were following.

“Yeah, and you two were the most liked in the whole school. Everyone wanted to be like you,” Nara added on. Soyou nudged her.

“We are pretty close too,” she mumbled. Nara nudged Soyou back.

“Yeah, we are the best together,” she agreed. Yuri smiled sadly.

“Well, one day our company almost shut down. Our fathers had kept the company’s problems hidden from us, so it was sudden. Our company was in debt. We needed money, fast.”

“Oh no! But how can did you get the money quickly? The only way to get to money here is either through loans or…” Nara trailed off.

“Eunji’s father was thinking the same, Nara. He was really worried. My father on the other hand… he wasn’t worried in the slightest. I should have known something was up his sleeve,” Yuri ripped the grass she was fiddling with out of the ground. “He had tricked Eunji’s father. Terribly. He had signed all of the debt off to Eunji’s family, so we ourselves had none. He then had a board meeting and kicked her father out. So Eunji’s family ended up with a ton of debts and no company.”

“What? How terrible! Poor Eunji,” Soyou whispered. “And poor you. That must have been shocking, to see such a side coming from your own father.”

“The company was saved. But my father had backstabbed our friends. My mother and I couldn’t live with that. We left him in the same month and have been fending for ourselves since then,” Yuri kept on talking. “Eunji on the other hand… She had to get engaged. To a rich household. The loan sharks were already on their heels. Her father found a nice, young man who was the son of a CEO of a big chain of hotels throughout Asia.”

“Jimin,” Soyou guessed.

“Yes, Jimin. The family gladly payed off Eunji’s family debt in exchange for a beautiful daughter in law like Eunji,” Yuri sighed. She looked up at the sky, probably remembering everything that had happened.

“So she isn’t just together with Jimin, but also engaged?” Nara was astonished. I was as well. Such a young girl had to already settle down?

“Eunji thinks my whole family backstabbed hers. She ignored me whenever I tried to apologize and make things right. She just broke off all contact. Not that I could blame her. What my father did was unforgivable,” I heard the anger in her voice.

“When was the last time you saw him, Yuri?” I asked.

“um… Last week maybe? My mother forces me to meet him every week,” Yuri grumbled. “She says I am his daughter and it isn’t healthy to not have a fatherly figure while I am growing up and all.” Soyou scoots over and hugs her.

“Everything is going to be fine, Yuri. We are here to set things right,” her voice was soft, but determined.  Nara nodded and patted Yuri’s hand.

“No worries. This was a wrongdoing on your father’s part, you shouldn’t have to suffer for that,” she said. “And besides, I think Eunji still likes you a lot. She helped us get rid of those girls just now.”

“I know! This was the first time she has talked to me in half a year. I don’t want to get my hopes up but…” Yuri didn’t end her sentence, but I could see the hope in her eyes.

“So I guess she isn’t that much of an Ice Queen after all,” I stated, unsure of what else I could say.

“Oh no, not at all! She is the sweetest person I have ever met and has a great sense of humor. She is the complete opposite of me, but we always got along,” Yuri ranted. I could see the years of friendship being remembered in her eyes.

“If you don’t mind my asking…” Soyou hesitantly began, “but what about the rumors of you going to night clubs and…?” Nara gently slapped Soyou on the shoulder.

“Of course that can’t be true, Soyou. I mean, people were so curious as to what got between the two best friends that false stories were bond to pop up,” she explained, looking at Yuri for confirmation.  

“No, um… I do go to night clubs regularly,” Yuri said. Nara’s eyes widened.

“Oh um, I am sorry. I won’t judge, I promise. I mean, I like baking and eating chocolate. We all have hobbies I suppose,” she quickly said, bringing an amused Yuri to laugh.

“I work there as a waitress. My mother can’t pay all the living expenses on her own, so I try to help out. And the nightclub has the best pay,” she said. Nara’s mouth formed a perfect ‘o’.

“Life must be hard for you, Yuri. I am sorry I didn’t know,” Soyou murmured. Yuri got up and extended a hand to me.

“You have been awfully quiet all this time,” she said. I took her hand and smiled. What was I supposed to say? “And don’t worry about it, Soyou. I never told anyone here, so how could you have known? I am fine with the rumors. I mean, people who aren’t talked about get forgotten. At least no one forgot about me,” she finished that with a wink.

“Well if you put it that way…” I began.

“Sounds like a bad reputation is a luxary,” Nara ended my thought and we all began laughing. We made our way back to the classroom, joking around and pushing each other. At our classroom a tall guy was leaning on the doorframe, looking bored out of his mind.

“Oh please no,” I groaned.

“I thought I told you to stay away from them,” Yuri sighed.

“You think I didn’t try? HE is the one not leaving ME alone.”

“Why do you make it sound like something terrible? He is hot,” Soyou whispered, a light blush cloloring her cheeks.

“Ya! What about Jungkook?” Nara . Soyou pouted and looked away.

“I can still find other guys attractive. Doesn’t mean I like them,” she mumbled. Nara grinned maliciously.

“So you do like him!” she exclaimed. Soyou covered Nara's mouth and looked around, frightened.

“Sh, someone might overhear,” she said. Yuri freed Nara and they both giggled, pointing at Soyou.

“Love is in the air,” they hummed together. Soyou complained, saying they were evil and escaped into the classroom. I hung back, not wanting to pass Mr. Highness.

“Maybe if I ignore him,” I said. Yuri snorted.

“Good luck with that. You can’t ignore such a beautiful creation by God. It is insulting,” she said. I gave her a sarcastic thank you and dragged her with me. Taehyung grabbed my elbow before I could escape into the safety of the classroom.

“Can we talk?” he asked, already dragging me with him. I released Yuri with a look that screamed for help. My dear friend just gave me a thumbs up and abandoned me. Great friend. I turned around and tore my arm away from his light grip.

“If you weren’t going to wait for my answer, why ask if we could talk?” I complained and crossed my arms across my chest.

“Because I am a gentleman,” Taehyung replied, annoyed. He blew some hair on his forehead to the side, puffing out his cheeks. I gulped. Ignore, ignore, ignore.

“So what do you want to talk about?” I said, not commenting on his lie. A gentleman? If he were a gentleman then I was a hippo with a rainbow car. Taehyung looked around, rather uncomfortable. He scratched the back of his neck and then took a deep breath.

“Could you be my tutor?” he asked.