We're Not Married | m.yg

FOURTEEN ; past tense

RISA'S POV

"I, uh, I'm quitting," Aoi said.

I turn my head quickly to her. "What?" I ask.

She blinks, avoiding my gaze. "I, uhm, requested to transfer. At the end of this month, my contracts expiring so I won't be your manager anymore."

"What?" I repeat. Aoi clears her throat and looks out the window. "You're leaving me?"

She doesn't respond. No. This can't be happening. Aoi is my best friend. She's been with me for years. She can't just leave me. Not like this. Not when everybody else is neglecting me.

My despair is replaced with anger. "Is this because of what I did? For christ's sake I just cut off somebody's hair. You're going to leave me because of that? I thought you would know better. You've known me for eight years and you're just going to end it all because I cut somebody's hair? Why—"

Aoi cuts me off. "It's not because of what you did but rather, because you had the idea to even do it."

She pauses for a second. I clamp my mouth shut, surprised. This was the first time she had interrupted me before or raised her voice at me.

She continues, her usual gentle voice returning. "Rise had been nothing but kind to you but just because you two like the same boy, you would do something to harm her. What you did was extremely immature. You knew that they were dating. You knew that you and Yoongi had nothing but a business relationship. Yet you let jealousy take over instead of being a kind person and did something that Rise wouldn't give permission to do. You... you acted like a bitch."

"But—" I begin to argue but Aoi already knows what I'm going to say. She's probably predicted that our conversation would go like this.

"This wasn't the first time you acted like a bitch— this was the last straw. You're so oblivious of it. You're self-centered, that's what you are. Don't you know that all of my past boyfriends, they were past relationships because of you? Every single time, they would break up with me and go for you instead. At first, it was because of your looks. Then, it was because you were openly flirting with them. Don't say I'm petty. I know you couldn't bear to see anybody giving attention to me instead of you so you flirted with them. And of course they fall for your charms.

"And you know that Yousuke Itou is one of my idol that I admired since high school. But when you met with him at an awards ceremony, did you think of me? You never even watched or listened to any of his works. And when I finally came up to him, you kept on making embarrassing remarks about me so that he thought that I was some crazy fan."

Aoi was pissed. I recoiled from her gaze this time. I felt horrible. Was I really such a bitch? I couldn't possibly.

"You need attention. You're so desperate that it's sad. It's suffocating. But the thing is, you succeed in getting attention. Which is why I have to leave. I... I met somebody who has finally noticed me and not you. I'm not letting you take that away from me."

"What? You met somebody? Are you guys dating?" I ask.

She turns her head. "None of your business. Because I know that once you hear that there is somebody that remotely casts attention to me, you're going to focus all of your energy in sweeping them off of their feet."

She turns on her phone and sticks earbuds into her ear. Aoi was clearly done with this conversation.

I swallow, sitting back in my seat on the car. I take back what I saw.

Aoi isn't my best friend anymore. She was my best friend. It's all in the past now.

YOONGI'S POV