Minji watched from a distance as Danielle chatted with Jake, their loud laughter echoing around the crowded hallways filled to the brim with a sea of students. She had no problem is Danielle wanted to just get along with Jake, after all having a constant feud with someone you see every day isn't exactly the best thing ever, but Minji knew Danielle too well.
This wasn't a simple 'I just want to be friends' scenario, this was beyond such boundaries. It was just too obvious that Danielle was using Jake as a way to get over her unexpected yet expected break up with Haerin. Minji being her best friend wasn't going to let that happen, because she knew it would only cause catastrophe for both Jake and Danielle herself.
"What are you doing watching Dani like a hawk for?" Taesan suddenly came up beside her. He followed Minji's line of sight and he felt his heart leap a dozen hurdles at a time. He rubbed his eyes in pure disbelief, trying to gauge whether he was hallucinating or the sight in front of him was real. "Is Dani getting along with Sim Jaeyun??!!!" he exclaimed loudly.
Minji clasped her hand over her cousin's mouth, earning annoyed protests from him. Luckily Danielle and Jake were far enough away from them so that they couldn't hear any of their conversation, however some students nearby heard them and they were giving the pair weird looks as Minji awkwardly smiled at them, with her hand still clasped on Taesan's mouth.
When the prying eyes finally dissipated, Minji removed her hand and gave Taesan an annoyed glare.
"I'm sorry! I thought that by the time Dani and Jake would be getting along, pigs would be flying!" he protested.
"I can't blame you, but it's a lot more complicated than you think," Minji sighed, wishing it was just a simple positive change in her best friend.
"Is it something to do with Haerin?" Taesan deadpanned, his expression dropping.
"Yep, definitely, she doesn't look like she's enjoying her time with him," Minji replied, crossing her arms as she watched Jake plant a kiss on Danielle's cheek, and the one receiving it clearly seemed to not like it.
This meant is wasn't too late. Minji walked over to Danielle, pushing through the sea of students. When she finally reached her best friend, before the latter could say anything she pulled Danielle away from the lockers she was leaning against and took her to a random empty lecture room, with Taesan following behind them.
Danielle raised her eyebrows as she leant against the wall, giving them both a 'What the fuck was that?' look. She was coming to terms with Jake, he was a nice and sweet guy when he was not attacking her with sappy lovey dovey remarks, and perhaps you could say she saw a potential more than just friends relationship between them. But she could tell just from the bitter demeanour radiating from her friends, that they had something to say about it.
"Let's get straight to the point, do you actually like Jake?" Taesan broke the icy cold silence when he sensed Minji was hesitating to start the conversation. He spoke for both of them in this moment. Minji held her breath, trying to gauge what Danielle was feeling from the look of surprise and confusion on her face.
"What do you mean?" Danielle finally spoke up, her hands slightly shaking. She didn't know why but the entirety of this conversation gave her a feeling of unease.
"You've been acting all lovey dovey with Jake ever since the bar, letting him kiss and hug you and even doing it yourself somewhat, but do you actually like him in that way?" Taesan reiterated, crossing his arms and raising his eyebrows. He somewhat gave off a detective vibe.
Danielle felt her breath hitch in her throat. That was never a question that crossed her mind in anyway. She was just adamant about getting over Haerin as soon as possible, and clearly that wasn't going to happen when she is single. The question swam around her head, each splash making her feel more dizzy and lost than ever. She looked up and Taesan was still looking expectantly at her for an answer, while Minji seemed to suddenly be quite interested by students dawdling outside.
She didn't know. But all she knew was that she didn't love Jake the same way she loved Haerin, and she still had those feelings for the cat eyed girl. Perhaps she was using Jake as a way to distract herself from her break up despite it being an unrequited love situation. It was more of a situationship than a relationship. She knew that but something about this whole thing made her really frustrated. If this was her way of coping with a broken heart, so what? Minji and Taesan hadn't experienced a conflicting break up, so how would they know the pain she was feeling?
"I don't see why this is any of your business," Danielle scoffed, rolling her eyes in annoyance.
"Oh please Dani! I can read you like an open book! You don't love Jake, you're forcing yourself to love Jake as a way to revert your love life towards him! You're using him and you know very well that won't end well for either of you! He will get hurt and you're just digging yourself further into the ditch! I understand that you're finding it awfully difficult to cope with your break up considering you're the one who initiated it with good intentions despite your feelings, but using Jake as a coping method is not the right way! Come on, you're better than this Dani!" Minji suddenly broke her silence and erupted like a volcano, her shouting echoing around the room, shocking both Taesan and Danielle. They had never heard her raise her voice in this way before, nor express her thoughts and feelings like this before too.
"Dani, as your best friend, I need to be honest with you and that is that you're being a bitch right now, instead of hooking up with boys, talk to me! Talk to Taesan! Talk to Hanni even! You have so many people around you who care for you and you need to stop degrading yourself, thinking that we don't give two fucks about you! Because we do!! I give a whole lot of fucks about you!!!" Minji's throat was starting to hurt from her screaming, tears were running down her cheeks. She wiped them away, looking away from Danielle who stood as still as a statue, taking in the outburst that she had just witnessed. Minji just ran towards the door, swung it open and slammed it roughly, leaving Taesan and Danielle alone.
"What we're trying to say is that it's ok if you want to give Jake a chance, but we can tell that's not at all what's on your mind, so please reconsider this, we don't want you to get hurt. Minji really cares about you a lot, and I do too, so please think this through first, in the end the decision is ultimately yours, but do what's good for you, not what's bad for you," Taesan said softly, walking towards the door as well. He gave Danielle one more cryptic look before exiting the room as well, leaving the girl to stand in the aftermath of her own earth quake.
Haerin played around with the rice in her bowl. She looked like a ghost, her skin as pale as a white sheet and she hadn't slept properly in days, it was like her soul had wandered off somewhere, leaving only her physical body to fight for itself. She was still reeling from everything, it already has been a few months since they broke up, but the wound was still as fresh as morning dew, like it was just yesterday.
Hanni herself was starting to follow in her sister's steps. She couldn't sleep because of the guilt that was constantly following her around and towering like a shadow over her, threatening to engulf her in its toxic embrace, slowly suffocating her until she succumbed to it.
Joshua sat at the table, looking between the two girls, not really sure what to do. He took a deep breath before attempting to light up the mood by telling a funny story that happened during work today. The siblings laughed and smiled along with him but it was a futile effort considering they were probably just forcing it to be polite. He knew of Haerin and Danielle's break up and being honest it wasn't exactly something that was new to him.
The door bell suddenly rang, disturbing their somewhat awkward dinner. Haerin immediately got up, glad to have an excuse to escape the atmosphere that was slowly suffocating her to no end. She felt like she was drowning at the moment, struggling to stay afloat and coughing up water that seemed to have a never ending flow.
She trudged to the door and opened it, expecting to see a delivery person. But her heart dropped to her stomach and her jaw hit the ground, eyes wide as saucers. Her hand that gripped the edge of the door started to shake. She couldn't tell what she was feeling, was she happy? Or sad? Was she relieved? Or horrified? Her emotions were a huge mushy mess.
"Hey Haerin,"
"D...Dani??"
YOU ARE READING
Metro {DAERIN}
FanfictionDanielle is struggling with her mental health and was plotting to take her own life. But her plans were interrupted when a certain girl by the name of Haerin sat next to her on the metro to her death. NOTE: This story is purely fiction and does not...
