i love you 3000.

The Other Girl

The school bell rang aloud as if it was scolding me for being late for our last class of the day. I sprinted inside towards room 20, my backpack flinging from side to side with each step. As I entered the classroom... nobody really cared. Nobody even looked in my direction, besides one; my best friend. I quickly sat down next to him. We greeted each other with our secret handshake, quietly snickering.

"Taehyung. Areum. Stop messing around," the teacher gently said. We nodded in sync and faced the front of the room. Taehyung and I met during preschool. I distinctly remembered it. It was the first day, and someone had stolen my favorite lollipop, a blueberry one. I sobbed for the next ten minutes, until Taehyung brought it back for me. He had bruises and scratches from the bully's surprising strength. We had been the absolute best of friends after that, practically inseperable.

During my last year of elementary, I realized I had feelings for him. Since then, my love for him grew and grew. I never planned on telling him because I knew that he liked someone else. I watched every single day as he admired Jieun from afar. She was a gorgeous girl; perfect face features, perfect slim body, perfect social life and financial state. She had everything I wanted, mainly Taehyung's heart. I aspired to be just like her.

The final bell rang. All of the students got up, gathering their utensils and books. Once again, I caught Taehyung staring in Jieun's direction. I could see the crave to talk to her in his eyes, so I decided to do something about it. I tapped his shoulder, making him look at me.

"I can help you."

"What do you mean?"

"With Jieun. I know there's something going on in your mind for her, so I'll help."

His face lit up with a grin. "You will?"

"Of course I will." Although it hurt me to think of his happiness being with someone else rather than me, at least he would be able to love someone. I could become Cupid with things like that. I strutted over to Jieun and her small group of similarly beautiful girls. She noticed me out of the corner of her eye.

"Hi, I'm Areum. My friend Taehyung would like to talk to you, if that's alright. He's a truly amazing person and he would love your company."

I knew as soon as she reacted that this was the right decision. The glee shining from her eyes made my heart melt with emotions. I brought her back over to him, and they immediately hit it off. I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye, they were so talkative. I didn't really mind. So long as they were pleased with each other, that made me feel better. I just decided to leave the school on my own. I started off towards my house on foot. Blossom trees sprouted from each side of the road evenly, creating the perfect aesthetic. I went over to one of the trees to closer examine its flowers. The beautiful pale pink petals slowly faded into a deep cherry colored center, with their bright yellow anthers. It was so intruiging; the special patterns and beauty of each flower. Each one was absolutely magnificent. I only wished he saw me that way.

As I arrived back home, I was greeted fondly by my parents.

"Hey, Areum. How was your day?" my mother asked.

"It was pretty good. Not much different."

"Ah, I see. You've been studying a lot. Why don't you go out somewhere with a friend."

I shake my head. "They're busy tonight. Maybe some other time." I left towards my room. That was how I always answered, and I didn't plan on going out. I looked around my small, neat room. The walls were a faint cream, and the flooring was a chestnut wood. There was a large window in the front of my room, my bed facing towards it on the wall parallel to the window. It still had a slight pink and grey theme from a few years ago. I sighed and plopped down on the bed, letting my bag tumble off my back.

______________________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, Taehyung had brought Jieun over to his house while his parents were still gone. They put on a movie in the living room, keeping some space between each other. He couldn't keep his mind off of her, constantly looking at her. Jieun noticed this and spoke up about it.

"Taehyung, do you like anybody?"

A bit taken aback from the sudden question, he asks in response. "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious."

"Well, yes, I do."

"Is it Areum? I probably should've known, she's a really good person and so much better than I am," she said, sighing. She thought she was lying. She knew this would trigger a set response from him to make certain events happen.

He looked her. "What? No, of course not. She's like a sister to me. That would be really weird." Perfect response.

"Oh, well, that's good to hear. I like someone too."

He pauses, a little disappointed. "Who?' So far so good.

"You."

His heart stopped for a second. "Wait, really?"

She nodded. He just smiled widely.

"I like you too."

She returned the smile and looked at him. "So then, would you want to go out sometime?"

"Of course, when?" Bingo.

"Tomorrow?"

"Perfect."