Love, Betray & Crash (Jeonghan)

𝔸𝕔𝕥 𝕆𝕟𝕖: 𝕊𝕔𝕖𝕟𝕖 𝟙𝟛

"Uhm."

"Why did he do that?" Nana asked, "That was so..."

"Flirty?" Jia offered, "Seductive? Sexy? Secretive?"

"Um yeah. All of those, I suppose," Nana said. 

"I don't know," Emily said, "Joo-hyuck is like that. He likes to live life like a...-"

"Playboy? Charming prince?" Jia suggested. 

"No-" Emily shot her a look, "He like to live a little...dangerously. Or...carefree. He doesn't really care about public attention."

"So...does that mean he just publicly declared he liked you?" Nana wondered. 

Emily feels her face flush red, hotly too, and she stuttered, "N-no! That d-d-does not mean he likes me. Joo-hyuck does not like me. It's just who he is. He's friendly by nature."

"I hate to break it to you," Soyeon interjected, "But nothing about that looked very friendly to me. The first thing he did as soon as he came out of the water was scan the crowd for you. It's exactly what Seungcheol does whenever he scores a goal."

Now Jia blushes red. 

"I'm just a good friend," Emily explains, "He's been having a rough time recently and I knew about it and he did a good job today so I guess that's why he was looking for me. It's not a big deal."

But Soyeon only shook her head and said, "Emily-I seriously think-"

"Look guys, it was just a wink! A wink! A stupid, dumb wink. We wink at each other all the time. Doesn't mean we are into each other," Emily said, feeling frustrated now, "Just. Just leave it, alright? I'm telling you. He's a really good friend of mine. And he thinks of me as same."

Soyeon looked like she wanted to say something more but Jia nudged her by the elbow, trying to be subtle but failed, and Soyeon sighed. 

"Fine. Whatever you say," Soyeon finally said, "Do you guys want to go into town and get something to eat?"

Emily shook her head first and said, "Can't. My match is at nine in the morning tomorrow."

Nana frowned and said, "Aren't you still going to eat something?"

"I will," Emily assured, "But I just don't have a large appetite and I get very nervous the night before and I just want to sleep earlier than usual and wake up on a decent time to make sure I'm fresh and healthy for the swim."

"Alright. If you're sure then," Nana said, still sounding a bit wary of Emily's evening plans. 

"I am," Emily spoke firmly and left her friends behind as she made her way to the dormitory. 

By now Emily had long forgotten about Joo-hyuck's little antic at the pool and is now overcome with nerves for her upcoming match for tomorrow. 

It has suddenly dawned upon her that following her very successful swim at the pool yesterday, it will be expected of her to swim even better and stronger for her next swim. Her mother had made that very clear on their very brief phone call last night, especially considering how the next race is supposed to be her best distance. So much for relaxing. 

Reaching her room, she unlocks the door and lays herself onto her bed without bothering to change out of her clothes. Today had been a rather busy and filled up day. From classes, to club meetings, to giving out an interview for the newspaper which she isn't even sure is going to make it, to studying for her upcoming midterms, Emily feels mentally exhausted. 

Closing her eyes, she lets out a little breath, enjoying the peace and quiet. 

The next thing Emily hears is her phone shrilling loudly.