My Best friend?

Chapter 12

Song- 2easy by Nlve ft HEIZE

Jiyoon's POV

It had been several days since my meeting with the Dean's daughter, and restlessness had settled in. Lying on Soyoung's bed, I thought about the decision I made to move in with her because of everything that was going on. I didn't want to hurt her with my presence because I know she hasn't fully moved on from what I did but I had to make that choice. Well simply to minimize my encounters with Reagan, especially with the fact that I was her roommate; I know Soyoung said she'd come around but I'm not so hopeful anymore. Avoiding her had become paramount, especially since being on the team meant seeing her at every practice. And Reagan's hostility towards me was very obvious even on the court, making our interactions on the team incredibly challenging.

My thoughts were interrupted by the buzz of my phone. It was the email I had been eagerly waiting on, from Stephanie.

From: Stephanie To: Jiyoon

Good morning and sorry for the delay. I would like to meet up at the library to continue our discussion on your situation. Please be there by noon.

I replied quickly, informing her I was on my way, and then headed to the library with a skateboard I borrowed... well stole from a student outside to ensure I arrived on time. I was out of breath but upon reaching the library, I checked the time and found I had a few minutes to spare. Uncertain if Stephanie was already inside, I decided to wait outside the front doors.

A few minutes later I got another email from Stephanie

From: Stephanie To: Jiyoon

Stephanie- Hey I've been waiting at the checkout station; you should have been here by now.

Me- Sorry I wasn't sure exactly where you were and I forgot to ask before I left my dorm so I've been waiting outside for you

Stephanie- Oh, alright I'm waiting for you

"I'm sorry, I should have asked where we would be meeting before I left." I said sheepishly.

"That's fine, well, let's find an empty table." She said motioning for me to follow her.

Once we had settled down, she began. "There's no easy way to say this, but you're being kicked off the team."

"Really? Oh, thank goodness! I was so sure I'd be expelled. How did you manage it?" I asked shocked.

"Never mind that, Thanks, I owe you bigtime." I added scratching the nape of my neck.

Stephanie smiled sympathetically at me. "I can't imagine how stressed you must be. This must be really tough for you. But hey, if you need someone to hang out with to take your mind off things, I'm here for you."

"You want to hang out with me?" I asked, a bit surprised

"Yes, you seem like an interesting person. Plus, you shouldn't define yourself by your mistakes, It's the recovery that matters more." Stephanie replied.

"Thanks, Stephanie. I really appreciate that. Umm also, since we're going to be hanging out, I'm going to need your phone number. Of course, that's if you're cool with giving it to me." I said, a bit nervous.

"Yea, of course. Email communication isn't that efficient, so here," she said handing me her phone.

After we exchanged numbers, I left to spread the good news with Soyoung. I wasn't ecstatic about being off the team, but it definitely made staying away from Reagan easier.

Once I got to the dorm, I saw Soyoung but she was talking to someone. Jiho? I thought he got expelled.

"Noona, what's she doing here? What are you doing here?" He asked redirecting his question towards me. "I swear if you try to hurt her again, I'm going to kill you." He stated, pointing his finger towards me.

"Oh, I'm definitely here to hurt her." I said, waving my hands in the air sarcastically. "And aren't you supposed to be expelled?" I asked, but Soyoung kicked my shin. "I mean, I and Soyoung are friends again, and I'm kind of crashing with her right now so... Also sorry for the whole blackmailing issue, dude. That was definitely unnecessary on my part."

Jiho looked at Soyoung, clearly not convinced by my explanation. Soyoung quickly stepped in, "Jiho, it's okay. We've sorted things out. Jiyoon is staying with me temporarily." Jiho relaxed a bit but still eyed me warily. "Fine, just don't cause any more trouble," he warned before walking off.

I turned to Soyoung, rubbing my shin where she had kicked me. "Thanks for that," I said sarcastically.

"No problem," Soyoung replied with a smirk. "But seriously, he has every right to be upset with you, you know."

"I know, but have you seen what he's done to other girls. Soyoung he's kind to you because he sees you as his sister, and well, your dad is a very powerful man. One of the girls I used to be with told me a bit about him and how he was into drugs. So, I wasn't making it up when I said he was a drug addict; he still is. She used to be a friend of his, but because she was bisexual, he forced himself on her. I know that because I caught him. Now, I'm not saying I know everything about him, but just be careful around him. I was actually hoping he was expelled." I explained, and Soyoung looked shocked.

"Are you sure about all this?" she asked.

"Yea, I'm very sure." I replied.

"Then it looks like you need to talk to the dean again," Soyoung said, determination flickering in her eyes.

I sighed. "I don't think the dean will listen to me, but I'll try. But for now, let's not dwell on it. Want to order some food and binge-watch something on Netflix? I have a lot more free time since I got kicked off the team."

"Really?" Soyoung asked, surprised.

"Yea, I'm just happy I'm still in school." I said laughing and she joined in after.

"I think we should binge-watch something since you have more free time. We can always deal with Jiho later." She teased.

We ordered some food and settled in for an afternoon of Netflix, temporarily forgetting about the drama with Jiho and focusing on enjoying our time together.