𝐒𝐓𝐔𝐂𝐊 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐔 ♡ 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐊 𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐆𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐍

♡16

Hyemin slowly hummed Make A Wish under her breath as she put some of her books in her locker. She seemed to be having a good day so far, even though he best friend wasn't here.

She felt her stomach grumble, letting out a noise. She was absolutely hungry right now. It was a good thing that it was lunchtime right now. Sunghoon was nowhere to be found so she assumed he had already left for the cafeteria.

Suddenly, her locker was closed shut as a small yelp escaped her lips and she flinched.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't you." Areum spoke up, her minions right next to her.

Hyemin has heard a lot of stories about Areum, not-so-good ones at that, but she'd never interacted with her before. She and Jiwon always tried their best to avoid Areum because the last thing they needed was someone ticking them off.

So you can imagine the confusion when Areum suddenly came up to her. She could see that Areum looked slightly irritated.

"Hey..." Hyemin muttered. This was the last thing she wanted to happen. She just wanted to finish up and go to the cafeteria.

"I heard that you and Sunghoon were dating." She smiled fakely.

Hyemin had slight confusion written on her face before she remembered.

"Oh. Yeah, we are." She simply answered.

Areum hated it. She hated the way Hyemin was acting so nonchalant as if this were normal. She seemed so unbothered by it and it bugged her. A lot. A scoff escaped her lips as she rolled her eyes.

"Do you really think he likes you?" Areum fake-pouted while her friends laughed.

Hyemin shifted from one foot to another, she felt really uncomfortable and very badly wanted out of here. She didn't understand what Areum wanted from her.

She figured she must've done something to piss Areum off for her to be acting this way to her. But they've never even talked before.

Hyemin spoke up, "I don't—"

"Sunghoon is so good looking and he literally could date anyone he wants," Areum mentioned, "Yet he picked you."

The moment Areum said that she felt her heart crack. That felt like a stab to her heart. Sure she'd felt self-conscious before, but never in her life did she feel so bad about herself. She couldn't even say anything to defend herself as her mouth had run dry. 

She muttered, "And I thought Im Chaeyeon was ugly."

Areum looked at Hyemin up and down, as if she was judging her and let out a small snicker. She whispered something to her friends and they all burst out into fits of laughter.

Hyemin had never felt so small in her life, she shifted her gaze to the ground as she gulped. She played with her fingers, a habit she did whenever she felt uncomfortable, as she thought of what to do next. 

So much for wanting to have a good day today.

She really wished the ground would just swallow her up, or that she could disappear away from here. Hyemin always found a way to reply snarkily especially if it was to Sunghoon but why was she so quiet now?

"I really don't know why he picked you out of everyone here but you go girl or whatever." Areum rolled her eyes.

As if God himself was answering her prayers, they heard a familiar voice in the distance.

Sunghoon said as he walked to her, "Hey bozo, let's go eat—"

He stopped abruptly when he sensed the tension around Hyemin and Areum. 

"Oh, you're here..." said Sunghoon, referring to Areum. The disappointment in his voice was very evident and a small frown displayed on his face. 

"I was just asking your girlfriend about you." Areum smiled sweetly. 

"Oh... What did you ask?" He eyed Areum suspiciously. He knew that wherever Areum went, chaos, trouble, and mischief also followed. 

Areum opened her mouth to speak but Hyemin had cut her off. 

"Let's go eat." She muttered ever so quietly that if Sunghoon weren't next to her, he probably wouldn't have heard it. 

Nodding hesitantly, he held Hyemin's wrist gently, ushering her to the cafeteria. He noticed her somewhat being quieter than usual. He thought maybe it was because Jiwon wasn't here today. 

She was okay this morning though... Was it because I ate her waffle?

He frowned at her rather unusual behavior, having a bad feeling that Areum must've done something. And he wasn't wrong. 

Hyemin obviously lost her appetite after that interaction with Areum. While she was deep in thought, she gazed into the distance as she couldn't get Areum's words out of her head. Her mood was totally ruined now. 

Throughout the whole day, Hyemin didn't talk much, only answering the questions her teachers asked during class. She wished very much that time would pass quickly so she could go home.

When the bell rang, Hyemin was more than delighted. She packed her bags as fast as she could and practically bolted out of there. 

Sunghoon treaded to her classroom as he looked around for her. The plan was to walk home after school together but when he entered her class, he found that she wasn't there.

"Have you seen Hyemin?" He asked one of her classmates, Karina.

"She left right when the bell rang," said Karina and he nodded. Muttering a small thank you, he left the classroom. 

poor hyemin :((