Imperfectly Perfect (MiChaeng SaTzu)

44 : Apart

It is a Wednesday late afternoon in the last week of January.

Midterm exams just finished last week, right after the ending of the Collegiate League. Except for the graduating students who are busy with their thesis, those who are in their lower years are relatively free.

—— Sophomore Dormitories ——

"It is a mystery to me why Pres isn't blocking your number yet."

"Hey! Watch what you say!" Chaeyoung throws a pillow from the couch to her roommate who is writing some lectures on their study table.

Jeongyeon chuckles as she catches the poor pillow. "Don't you think she should be annoyed by now? You are bothering her way too much."

Since the drama between Chaeyoung and Mina happened on the day of the awarding ceremony of the Collegiate League, the soccer ace has been non-stop messaging and calling the council president.

Every morning, the soccer player sends a lengthy message to Mina reminding how she should not skip her meals and be careful all the day.

Every hour, she sends short messages like she misses her and that she is sorry and she hopes that the council president would talk to her soon and give her a chance.

When the late afternoon starts, that is when Chaeyoung begins to try calling Mina. She calls her number almost every other hour until around curfew when she thinks that the council president is already taking her evening rest.

Finally, before going to sleep, the soccer ace leaves one good lengthy message again. This time about how her day went and how she hopes that Mina also gets a good night's sleep.

All of those messaging and calling has been Chaeyoung's cadence of activities for the past two weeks.

"Bro." Jeongyeon calls out. "You know that I'm not on your side here, right?"

Chaeyoung simply scoffs in response.

"Hey! You should know that you're the one who's in the wrong here!" The council treasurer throws the pillow she caught earlier back to her roommate on the couch.

"I know, I know. You don't have to tell me that!" Chaeyoung ruffles her hair. "UGH! What the hell am I supposed to do now?"

"You're screwed, Son Chaeyoung."

The soccer ace glares at Jeongyeon. "I hate you."

Jeongyeon simply chuckles at her. "Chaeyoung."

"What?"

The council treasurer shifts into something serious. "Do you really want to win Pres back?"

"Of course, I do! I really do!" Chaeyoung beats her thigh with her fist in frustration a couple of times. "I was so stupid! How could I hurt her like this? She's the most precious person on earth and I hurt her like this. I'm so stupid! Ugh! How could I be this stupid?"

Jeongyeon is now watching her roommate's monologue with pure amusement in her face.

"What is wrong with me, Jeong? There must be something that's wrong with me. I should've given her the explanation she wanted. I should've thought about her feelings more than anything else. I should've—" Chaeyoung abruptly plops her body on their dorm's couch. "UGH! Minariiii. I can't leave without you, Minari! Please forgive a dumb person like me!"

"Bro." The council treasurer stifles a chuckle. "The room next to us might think someone's losing their mind here."

"But I really am losing my mind!"

"Deserved." Jengyeon starts to laugh again while teasing.

"I really hate you!"

—— Junior Dormitories ——

"And there it goes again." Sana comments from their dorm's couch as the council president's phone starts to vibrate on top of their bedside table.

Mina just glances at the mobile device to check the caller ID. After confirming who it is, she nonchalantly looks back at the book she has been reading comfortably on her bed.

"Wow. I lost count of how many times that is just for this week." Sana continues to speak, "And it's just the middle of the week."

"Well, not that I care." Mina answers flatly while flipping some pages of her book.

Sana shifts her position on the couch to face her best friend's direction. "Mina."

"Hmm?"

"Tell me the truth. Why don't you just block her on your phone? You never answered her calls, nor replied to any of her messages anyway."

Mina puts down the book that she is holding and also shifts on the bed to face Sana's direction. "I already thought about it and... I don't want to."

"Because...?"

"Because..." The council president lets out a sigh. "To be honest... I don't know why but— I still feel like I want to know what her messages say and I somehow still feel relieved when my phone rings and I see that it is her trying to contact me."

The cheer captain is attentively staring at her roommate. A faint smile is slowly forming on her face.

"Sana, I think something is wrong with me. I— I should be mad at her, right? After all that she did, I should just push her away, right? In fact, if I'm logical enough, I shouldn't have let her talk to me that very day when she transferred here. I— Sana... why am I like this?"

"My dear sweet Mina..." The cheer captain stands up and walks to her best friend's bed. She sits beside the council president and looks at her with concern. "Nothing's wrong with you."

"You think so?"

"Of course! Look, you were hurt. The feelings you have right now are valid. No one's going to point a finger at you for getting angry at Chaeyoung and saying those things to her."

"Sana... am I not being selfish?"

"Come here." Sana pulls Mina in a hug. "I assure you, Myoi Mina. Nothing's wrong with you. You're not being selfish. You're not putting Chaeyoung in a bad position. You're just... in love. Someone who is in love and is also in pain at the same time."

Mina genuinely smiles. "Thanks, Sana."

"But seriously, how can Chaeyoung be so lucky with you?" The cheer captain scoffs. "If not for Tzuyu, I would've wanted to be reincarnated as that soccer player. She's way too lucky to be loved by someone like you."

Mina simply chuckles at her best friend. "You're overemphasizing it."

"No! She really is one hell of a lucky girl! Mina, I swear I'm going to kill that cub for you if she doesn't fix this mess. You don't even have to move a finger! I will do all the hunting and the shooting and the burying and the hiding of the evidence."

The council president now shows her gummy smile. "Don't worry. I won't report you to the police."

Sana giggles brightly. "Good!"