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━━━ " 📂  " ‍..⃗. ༉

𝙍 𝙊 𝙈 𝘼 𝙉 𝘾 𝙄 𝙉 𝙂

! chapter one hundred
& twenty nine ─── ʚĭɞ

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The strangeness of Mr Han's behaviour had worn off by lunch, and after Miyeon had practically forced Seojun to sit with her whilst she ate and stole all of his tonkatsu, they once again settled in the classroom.

Miyeon's knee brushed against Seojun's as she sat forward a little, scrolling through her phone and jumping out of her skin when she felt herself being pulled out of her seat. "Huh?" The girl breathed out, feeling the Han boy reach out and grab her wrist on instinct. "Sooa?" Miyeon asked, the Choi girl's eyes filling with tears.

The Hwang girl glanced at Seojun and nodded slightly, and her wrist was released. "I need to talk to you." Sooa said, words filled with urgency.

"Yeah - okay, sure." Miyeon replied, letting Sooa pull her out of the classroom and down the corridors, ending up in a rather empty classroom. Which was the second time someone had done so today, but mentioning it would only confuse the girl in front of her.

"Hwang Miyeon, why didn't you tell me about Soojin?" Sooa asked, Miyeon freezing in response, spluttering to try and come up with an answer - how did Sooa know? "When you and Han Seojun pulled Soojin out of the classroom I followed you.. and I heard it all.

"All of it?" Miyeon repeated, eyes wide and full of fear. "Everything?"

"Why didn't you tell me about Han Seojun kissing you?" Sooa asked. "It's almost as bad as Jugyeong not telling me she was dating Lee Suho? And you didn't even mention what Soojin had done! How could you do that to me - I thought we were friends."

"Sooa - I'm so sorry.. I knew you would've hated me for kissing him because of Hyunwoo and we didn't know if you should tell you about Soojin because you were friends with her!" Miyeon replied, standing up from where she had been leaning against the desk.

"And what about you and Hyunwoo ending it?" Sooa continued, tears leaking out of the corners of her eyes. "I thought you were my friend.. thought you would trust me with this thing."

"I'm so sorry." Miyeon was beginning to tear up as well. "I'm so sorry for not telling you everything Sooa! I thought you would be too hurt by what you found out about Soojin and.. well I didn't want you to be in that sort of pain." The girl sniffled, raising her hands to wipe away the falling tears. "We've been friends for years.. but you've known Soojin for so much longer and I know it would hurt at all - I'm so sorry Sooa."

"I'm sorry too.. sorry to Jugyeong.. sorry to pushing you to do things." Sooa replied, smiling weakly as Miyeon held out her arms and hugged her, the two girls clutching each other as they cried, and when they finally pulled away, there was a slighty damp patch on the shoulder of Sooa's jacket where tears have fallen.

"Please don't mention the Seojun thing to Jugyeong." Miyeon asked, as they began to walk back, heading towards a bathroom before to class so that they could wipe away any remaining tears. "I want to tell her myself when the time is ready."

"Of course.. I just need to figure out what to do about Kang Soojin." Sooa sniffled, pulling Miyeon down a corridor. "There's one here..." Her voice died off as they heard the conversation within, voices instantly recognisable.

"Have you suddenly become brave now that you're dating Suho?" A voice that so clearly belonged to Soojin spoke, and the two girls hovering outside the door didn't even hesitate to push it open.

"Kang Soojin!" Sooa shouted, eyes filling with tears once more as they stood inside the bathroom, Miyeon meeting Jugyeong's eyes. "Are you serious?" Sooa asked, stopping in front of the Kang girl. "Kang Soojin. You're the worst. You should be apologising to her on your knees. But what did you say? Did you seriously just say that to her?"

Sooa's confrontational style with Miyeon was so much different to the one she was using with Soojin. Now she didn't care so much about being careful, tones in her voice levelling with anger and complete upset.

"Why should I apologise?" Soojin asked, eyes wide and in a tone of confrontational protection that Miyeon recognised all too well.

"Because you're the one who uploaded her photos and video!" Sooa replied, voice filled with tears and emotion. "At first I tried to understand. I figured you might've gotten angry because you had feelings for Suho. So I thought at least you'd be regretting it by now. Jugyeong wasn't coming to school, so I thought you'd feel bad about it and be worried about her. So, I waited for you to apologise to her. Were you always such a horrible person?"

"Yes." Came Soojin's reply, something that Miyeon was genuinely shocked by. "It turns out I was."

Sooa sniffed, eyes filling with tears as she twisted out of the bathroom, past Jugyeong and Miyeon, who glanced at each other before following after the running girl, leaving Soojin alone in the bathroom.

The two of them followed Sooa down to the gym, Miyeon hanging back as Sooa and Jugyeong pushed through into the middle of a basketball game, stopping right in the centre of the court. This was their moment to talk about everything, even if it was through a blur of tears.

Sooa and Miyeon had thankfully already made up, and now it was time for Jugyeong to talk to her, after neither of them speaking for a number of days. It ended in a tearful exchange, Jugyeong and Sooa hugging and not moving out of the court.

"I was so eager to help you get a boyfriend." Sooa cried, Jugyeong's arms wrapped around her. "But you didn't even tell me that you were dating Suho. Did I have to find out about him through the online school community?" She continued.

"I'm sorry Sooa." Jugyeong replied through tears, Sooa finally hugging her back as the two cried together.

After a short while and Miyeon being subjected to several pointed gazes from the basketball players, the Hwang girl stepped forward to pull the two girls along to the steps up to the bleachers, where they could talk without interrupting the game.

Tears were wiped and Jugyeong was seated between her two friends, all three of them sniffling from the tears shed on various occasions. "What do you think made her become like that?" Jugyeong asked, eyes watching over the players in the court below them.

"Nothing made her become like that." Sooa replied, voice monotone. "She just chose to be that kind of person. How could she do that to you?"

"Jealousy." Miyeon shrugged, sitting up a little. "Combinations of things, but mostly jealousy. Like Sooa said, nothing made her become that. That jealousy could have been directed elsewhere.. like studying harder or setting goals or starting a physical activity.. but she chose to do that with it."

Jugyeong let out a dejected sigh, and Sooa turned further towards her, glancing at Miyeon as well. "Soojin let go of our hand. I guess we didn't mean anything to her." All three girls mirrored expression at this, but when Sooa saw Jugyeong's even more upset one, she placed hands on her cheeks. "Let me look at you properly." She said. "Why did you try so hard to keep it a secret... you'll become prettier once you take care of your skin." Sooa advised.

"Sooa!" Miyeon gasped, Sooa shrugging in reply.

"Start going to the dermatologist." The Choi girl continued. "Drink a lot of water and start to take vitamins. Then it'll get better. Don't worry." Jugyeong nodded with a smile, only for it to fade as Sooa pinched her cheeks. "And you better tell me everything from the start.. and you better as well. Everything you did when Jugyeong wasn't here, and anything you want to tell me.. us." Sooa looked over at Miyeon, who nodded.

"I will." The Hwang girl promised, and Sooa's gaze returned to Jugyeong.

"When did you and Lee Suho start dating each other?" She asked. "Who was the first person to confess? Is he nice to you? Is Lee Suho - that sociopath - mean to you?"

"No." Jugyeong giggled. "He's not mean to me."

"You have no right to smile yet?" Sooa pinched her cheeks once more. "You need to tell me every little detail. We'll have to stay up all night - let's have a sleepover, Miyeon we're having a sleepover."

"My apartment's always free?" Miyeon offered.

"Apartment? What apartment?" Sooa's eyes widened, letting go of Jugyeong's cheeks and reaching over to pinch Miyeon's. "You have to tell me everything!"

And then Miyeon knew that everything was going to be just fine. At least with the three girls. With her other friends, not so much.