Warning: Little bit of cursing
Description: You like Haruto, but your best friend steals him from you
“Okay, wait,” your best friend, Minjung, said, interrupting you. “I want to meet this guy that you're so in love with.”
You blinked. “What?” you asked, suddenly feeling nervous. What if she didn't approve? What if she thought he was ugly or lame? “O-okay, sure. Um, you can come to my cram school session right now to meet him since we don't really meet outside of class.”
She nodded. “Okay, the class sounds awful but at least I don't have to pay attention.”
Meekly, you smiled as you clutched your books closer to your chest, leading the way. Your legs felt like jelly as you walked and your heart was pounding against your chest so fiercely you could hear it ringing in your ears. You scanned your student i.d. as you entered the lecture hall, spotting Haruto. Immediately, you smiled and went over to him.
“Hey, Y/N,” he smiled upon spotting you. You smiled and greeted him back as you sat next to him and Minjung on your right. “Who's this?”
You looked at her and then back at him. “Haruto, this is my best friend, Minjung,” you introduced. “Minjung, this is Haruto.”
“And I'm Jeongwoo!” Jeongwoo exclaimed as he sat down next to Minjung.
Minjung smiled, “It's nice to meet you both. Y/N has told me such wonderful things about you both.”
You smiled, feeling relieved for some reason. She was being very friendly, which made you feel that she approved of Haruto. Eventually, however, you felt that it was more than just approval.
“That movie was so good!” Haruto exclaimed quietly to Minjung, the two talking over you as you tried to do your assignment.
A low grumble left your mouth as you said, “Should we switch spots, Minjung?”
She looked at you. “Could we? That would be great!”
You were in disbelief that she took your offer. You had expected her to apologize and stop talking over you. In the end, however, you switched seats. It was either that or be annoyed the whole class.
“No offense, but they're being annoying as hell,” Jeongwoo quietly said to you.
“They are. I should have never brought her here,” you sighed, running a hand through your hair.
He nodded in agreement. “Especially since she's trying to take your man.”
You looked at him and blinked. “What? What do you mean?”
“I hate to burst your bubble, but she's totally flirting with him,” he confessed.
Shaking your head, you said, “No, not that. Why did you call him my man?”
He sat back in his seat. “Oh, well because you like him, right? I mean, you blush whenever you see him and all you do is smile around him, so I guess I just got the feeling you like him.” There was a short period of silence. “Am I wrong?”
“No, unfortunately you're right.”
Patting your arm, he commented, “Well, if it makes you feel better, I like you way more.”
That made you smile. “Thanks, Jeongwoo,” you said, feeling a little better but not much.
When the session ended, Haruto and Minjung were too caught up in their conversation to realize everyone was leaving. You and Jeongwoo decided to just leave them and go down to the lobby for a soda.
“Finally,” Jeongwoo said when Haruto and Minjung appeared 10 minutes later.
Haruto said, “Sorry, but you should have told us the session was over.”
“You should have been paying attention,” you snapped, feeling bad for doing so.
He was surprised. You had never snapped at him and were almost always happy and smiling around him. “Whatever, I'm tired, so let's go home,” Minjung said. “And I can tell you all about how Haruto and I are going on a date this weekend.”
That caused you to choke on your soda. Jeongwoo rubbed your back as you coughed like crazy. “A date?” Jeongwoo questioned. “You just met.”
She shrugged. “Well, how else will we get to know each other better?”
“We can't go home together, my brother is actually picking me up and we have an errand to run afterwards,” you lied. She seemed upset by that and quickly left.
Jeongwoo looked at you whilst Haruto was in the restroom. “Is your brother really coming?” he asked.
“He wasn't, but I'll call him and he probably will.”
He nodded and then he and Haruto left. You called your brother, Byounggon, and he told you he'd come and get you. “Why didn't you take the bus?” he asked when you got in the car.
“Because Minjung was taking the bus and I really didn't want to be with her,” you confessed, crossing your arms after buckling in.
Pulling away from the sidewalk, he asked, “What happened? You and Minjung are best friends.”
You huffed. “I like this boy, right? I had told Minjung all about him and she told me she wanted to meet him, so I brought her to my cram school and now they're going on a date.”
“That's not nice of her. You clearly told her you liked him, so she knows exactly what she's doing,” he said, feeling upset on your behalf.
You nodded, ready to take a shower and have a good cry.
“You didn't tell me Haruto and Jeongwoo go here!” Minjung exclaimed the next day as she entered your guys’ classroom.
“All for good reason,” you mumbled quietly to yourself. “Yeah, but they're in a different class, so sometimes I forget.”
Then, she started gushing to you about Haruto as if you hadn't done the exact same thing the day before. What the hell was wrong with her? You couldn't believe she would do such a thing to you.
Things only got worse once they actually went on their date. They weren't an official item, but a lot of kids knew about them being a thing. It was hard for you to be around either of them, so you even switched the days and times you went to your cram school. That way, you could avoid Haruto.
Jeongwoo started eating lunch with you because he was unable to stand Minjung. “She's so annoying and never stops talking,” he told you. “Everything she says sounds so artificial and staged.”
You cocked an eyebrow, “Like what?”
“When she talks about sports, it's like she just went online and read the player's stats before memorizing them word for word. With books, it's like she just searched chapter summaries. Stuff like that.”
Your eyebrows furrowed. “Minjung hates sports and reading. Why would she talk about it?”
He shrugged. “Well, Haruto likes baseball and she probably saw him reading a book for class or something,” he explained. “Are you telling me she's lying to him?
“I mean, it seems like it. I think she's lying about stuff to make him like her,” you confessed. “I can't believe her.”
“I just don't understand why you're still hanging out with her.”
You sighed. “She's my best friend.”
He snorted. “Is she?” he asked. “She literally stole the guy she knew you like from you. What kind of best friend would do that? Has she ever considered your feelings once? Or does she usually walk all over you like this and use you to get what she wants.”
“I don't want to talk about this anymore,” you told him, so he stopped and you guys started talking about dogs.
After school, you were unfortunate to bump into Haruto. “Hey, can we talk?” he asked.
You sniffled as you tucked a loose strand of hair behind your ear. “I'm not really in the mood, Haruto.”
“Why don't you come to cram school anymore?”
Okay, so he wasn't going to let you just leave. “I do, I just don't go to the same session anymore,” you told him.
His eyebrows furrowed. “Oh, okay,” he said. “Why?”
A frustrated sigh escaped your lips. “Can we not talk about this right now?”
Luckily, almost all of the students were either gone or inside, so no one was there to witness any of this. “No. I just don't understand you right now! I thought we were friends but now you've switched cram classes and don't even wave to me in the halls! I don't know what I did!”
“Haruto, I really don't want to fight with you. Just leave me alone, okay?” you asked. You heard a car horn honk and you turned around, seeing Seunghun, Byounggon, and Hyunsuk. “That's my ride, I have to go.”
He shook his head, feeling frustrated, “Fine, be like this then. Just so you know, I liked the old you way more than whoever you are now.”
With that, he stormed off and you sighed as you went to Byounggon's car and got into the back with Hyunsuk. “What was that about?” Seunghun asked, turning in his seat to look at you.
“That's the boy I like but he's kind of dating Minjung,” you told them before explaining the situation to them.
Hyunsuk huffed, “What a bitch. Sorry, Y/N, I know she's supposed to be your best friend, but she literally went after him knowing fully well you like him. No true friend would do that.”
You threw your hands in the air in frustration. “That's what Jeongwoo said! I just, after all this time, cannot believe she'd do this to me. Honestly, looking back at it, she was only using me. I'd tell her the things she wanted to hear just so it would inflate her ego.”
“Well, you said she's lying to him about things, yeah?” Byounggon asked. You nodded in response. “Then maybe you should either confront her or tell him. I'd want to know if the girl I was dating was lying to me.”
Seunghun nodded in agreement, “That would be the true test, too. If he's really a decent guy, he'll leave her and apologize to you. If he doesn't, then he's not worth it. You deserve the best boyfriend in the damn world, Y/N.”
You smiled at his words. “Thanks, guys, you're the best,” you said, glad Byounggon had brought them along. No one could cheer you up as well as the three of them.
“What the hell?” Minjung hissed as she walked over to you at your locker. You shut it and locked it. “Where were you last night? You were supposed to help me study for the quiz and I totally just failed!”
You sighed, trying to remain calm. “I forgot, sorry” you said, although it was evident that you didn't feel bad.
She narrowed her eyes at you. “You know, you've been a real bitch lately, even Haruto said so. Yeah, he told me about your little fight yesterday.”
Kids were starting to notice your argument as you could hear them murmuring about it. “So? I wasn't in my best mood and I accidentally lashed out, I'll apologize to him but I certainly won't apologize to you.”
You brushed passed her before she shouted for you. You turned around and felt something hit the corner of your mouth. It hurt and you looked down to see a book. Touching your mouth, you looked at your fingers and saw blood. Yeah, you were pissed.
“Stop acting like you're all that, Y/N,” she glared.
You weren't taking it anymore. “Me? You shouldn't be talking! You're the one lying to Haruto about who you are!” you shouted. “You don't like sports, reading, or any of that stuff! He likes the person you're pretending to be, not the real you! The real you is a mean person who puts down other people just to lift herself up!”
She realized she was screwed and you could tell. “S-shut up. You don't know what the hell you're talking about.”
“You're only friends with me to inflate your ego. You use the rich girls in our grade for shopping sprees and then use that to make other girls feel bad about themselves. You're a mean person, Minjung, who could never get a real friend unless you acted like you were nice. I thought we were friends, but I've seen the real you.”
You watched her clench her fists. “Shut up! You're just saying this shit because I'm with Haruto and you aren't! You're upset because you're ugly and no boy would ever want you!” she shouted. “They never notice you when you're with me and then act as if they're your best friend when I'm gone! Face it, Y/N, Haruto would have never liked you even if I hadn't met him.”
“Geez, what a bitch,” someone murmured. “She really does put others down for her own benefit.”
Tears welled in your eyes. Minjung knew you were insecure about your looks, especially since you had been teased a lot when you were younger. “Why not add him to the list? I told you I liked him! You knew I did and you still went after him!” you exclaimed. “Face it, Minjung, you can't be happy unless everyone else around you is miserable. You're a toxic person and now everyone knows it.”
You turned on your heels and rushed out of there. Minjung was left alone with the stares of everyone, forced to hear them whisper about what a monster she was. You went into the bathroom and called Byounggon. “Is everything okay?” he asked when he answered.
“Yeah, can you just pick me up? Just say someone's sick or something.”
He came quickly to pick you up, Hyunsuk and Seunghun in tow. You told them everything that happened. They were proud of you for sticking up for yourself but also felt bad about the situation.
“Did she hit you?” Hyunsuk asked, grabbing your chin with his hand and turning your head to get a better look.
Right, your bleeding mouth. “She threw a book at me. I completely forgot,” you confessed. “I'll have to put some ointment on it at home.”
Your mother was certainly confused when you came home so early. When she noticed your injury, she started freaking out. Of course, you had to explain the situation. Later in the afternoon, the school called. Minjung was suspended for a few days for throwing the book, which someone apparently reported. You weren't in any trouble, luckily.
“I'm gonna go get some ice cream,” you announced, slipping your slides on as you went to venture out in your pajamas. Your pajama pants were striped and stopped above your ankles and your shirt was a plain white T-shirt with a cupcake on the front.
Your mother walked over and smoothed your hair down. “Here, it's on me,” she said. She'd been treating you that way since you told her what happened.
A smile painted your face. “Mom, I'm okay, really.”
“Still, she was your best friend for a long time.”
You shrugged. “I feel better now, like a weight was lifted off my shoulders,” you confessed. “But, I'll still take your money.”
She chuckled as she said, “Be safe.”
At the convenience store, you bought some snacks and then an ice cream cone before stepping outside. The night air felt nice. It wasn't cool enough to make you shiver but enough to make you feel refreshed. “Y/N,” a voice said.
You jumped and your heart started pounding but began to calm down when you saw it was Haruto. “W-what are you doing here?” you asked. From what you knew, he didn't live extremely close to you.
“Can we talk?” You nodded and the two of you went to sit on a nearby bench. There was a period of silence as he tried to collect his thoughts while you ate your ice cream and stared at the stars. Then, you text Byounggon about what was going on because you didn't want them to worry when they realized it was taking you longer than usual. “I heard what happened with you and Minjung.”
“I figured it would spread around to you.”
He shook his head. “No, I mean I actually saw it happen,” he explained.
That made you blush. You had talked about liking him and it was embarrassing enough to do so in front of your classmates, but even more so since he had been there. “Oh.”
“I'm sorry about all of this, Y/N. I didn't know about any of that. I didn't know she was lying to me, using you, being mean to others, or that you liked me. If I had, I certainly would have never gone on those dates with her.”
You smiled and looked at him, “It's okay, Haruto, I understand.”
He smiled. “If it's any consolation, I've always liked you more than her. Honestly, it was kind of annoying how much she talked about herself,” he confessed, making you laugh. “Hanging out with you is way better. You're easier to get along with and I'm happier to be with you.”
“Thanks. I like being around you, too.” Then, you remembered something. “I'm sorry for being so short with you yesterday. I was just upset and frustrated and I wasn't exactly keen on hanging out with you.”
Shaking his head, he said, “It's okay, I get it. Just so you know, I never called you a bitch like Minjung said I did.”
That was a relief. “I was really hoping you hadn't,” you chuckled.
“Also, I have a confession to make.” He looked nervous and that made you nervous. Was he going to say they were still dating or something? “I like you, Y/N, just like you like me. When I met Minjung, she asked me on the date, so I thought you didn't like me. I mean, why would she ask me out if you liked me? I guess I was wrong to think that.”
Your heart was beating so much and you thought it was going to burst through your chest any second. You didn't know what to say because, honestly, you were too busy thinking about how handsome Haruto looked even at night. When you didn't say anything, he looked at you. “Can I kiss you?”
Well, it was official, you could finally die of happiness. With a smile on your face and a nod of your head, you quickly added, “Just be careful to not kiss where the book hit.”
He nodded and then slowly began to lean in. Your heart was pounding with anticipation. Finally, his mouth pressed against yours. He was very careful to not kiss your wound, so part of his lips were against your cheek, not that you minded.
You liked how as you kissed, he laced his fingers with yours. It was a sweet and innocent kiss, but you already knew it would be one of many when he pulled away and smiled a goofy yet adorable smile.
