"I don't think I can do this."
The plan had been to act friendly with Lee Jeonghyeon when Yena and Junghyun were around, but in the two days since starting, she was ready to call it quits.
Yena forced her lips into a pout as she eyed her best friend. Ahram sighed. The younger girl always used her cuteness to her advantage, and Ahram was unfortunately susceptible.
"Yena, you know I love you, and I love that you and Junghyun are getting along, but I can't do this."
She did feel bad. It wasn't like she wanted to let her best friend down. They'd only known each other since the start of the year when Yena joined as a freshman, but they instantly clicked. At first, she would only follow Ahram around like a duckling, but once the elder invited her to lunch, they became inseparable.
That's why Ahram wanted nothing more than for Yena to be with her first love. Well, maybe not anything. Beating Lee Jeonghyeon with a Rubik's cube did sound quite tempting.
Still, she could understand why Yena looked away to try and hide her glassy eyes. "No, you're right. Why would I be with someone who can't accept my best friend? I mean, it's not even Munjung," she sighed. "No wonder you hate Leejeong!"
Her words were lighthearted and bubbly, but they made Ahram's heartache. Maybe... Just this once. For Yena.
Ahram rubbed her forehead once before dropping her hand and smiling at the younger. "Yena?"
Yena gave a distracted hum. Ahram chewed at the corner of her lips. "Go tell Junghyun that Jeonghyeon and I will be studying together later." She spat the following words through clenched teeth. "To talk."
The bitter taste in her mouth didn't go away, not even when Yena jumped up and down, laughing and thanking her profusely.
What have I gotten myself into?
✯
"I knew you'd come around," Jeonghyeon greeted when he saw Ahram approaching his table. She'd managed to get ahold of him through his school email and asked him to meet her at the library after lunch since she knew they both had a free period then.
The girl dropped into the hard plastic chair with a harsh exhale through her nose. She shot a glare at the grinning boy across the table. "Trust me. I wouldn't be here if not for Yena."
A smirk danced across Jeonghyun's face, pulling his already grinning lips into a smile. "You don't need to use excuses with me, Acorn, I get it. You love my presence."
"Ugh," the girl groaned. "You're so full of yourself it's disgusting."
How she'd managed to put up with this boy for three years was impossible to explain, yet Ahram was oddly satisfied to have lasted this long. She was ready to graduate and prepared to do that without "Leejeong" overshadowing her.
"Hey, Acorn Head," Jeonghyeon snapped his fingers in front of Ahram's face a third time, finally grabbing her attention. She swatted his hand away and shot a nasty look that made him chuckle. "Just making sure you didn't fall asleep or something. You were daydreaming about me, hm?"
Ahram gagged. "You wish."
"So, what's your plan?" He suddenly asked, leaning back in the chair and folding his hands on the table. The girl across from him thought for a long moment. She didn't want to say anything that might trigger his teasing, but there wasn't any good way to say it.
Taking a breath, Ahram copied his posture but leaned forward instead of back. "I don't want Yena to worry about our relationship in hers. She deserves to experience the joys of her first love, and if that means I have to get along with you, I will."
Jeonghyeon's face looked briefly thoughtful before twisting back into its usual smugness. "Who was your first love, Acorn?"
Once again, Ahram's insides twisted. She could feel the tips of her ears burning as if they'd just been set on fire. This is what he wants. She reminded herself. He intends to fluster you.
"I'm proposing a temporary pause on our..." She wasn't sure what word to use. Arrangement? Relationship? Mutual hatred? "Feud."
The corner of Jeonghyeon's mouth twitched. "Feud, huh? Alright." Ahram was ready to release a sigh of relief when the boy perked. "But I want to know what's in it for me."
"For you?" Ahram repeated dumbly. "I'm not even doing this for me. You will do this for Junghyun because he's your best friend."
Jeonghyeon shrugged and picked mindlessly at his nail. "I have lots of friends."
This boy... "Fine." The girl exhaled through clenched teeth. "What do you want?"
"Well, I'll leave it up to you." He smiled, but it was in no way friendly. "First option: publicly admit that I outrank you in mathematics and that I'm best at solving the Rubik's cube."
"You're already first. And everyone saw me lose in our first-year Geometry class."
Jeonghyeon waved her off. "So what? It means nothing when you pretend you're better than me."
Ahram's cheeks flushed.
"Or," the boy leaned forward, tipping his head to the side to catch her hesitant gaze. "You can tell me about your first love. The choice is yours."
The air thinned around Ahram. She could feel the greenery outside the library windows dying, the world burning beneath Lee Jeonghyeon's devil smile.
"I'm not doing that. Neither, I mean."
With a bored sigh, Satan's son fell back into the chair. "Well, I guess Yena won't get to go on that date with Munjung, then."
He is terrible. "You're being such a manipulative bastard." Ahram spat. The two were constantly at each other's throats, but the boy she called "Chameleon" had never made her feel this helpless. It was awful.
"He was a foreigner," she eventually muttered under her breath, staying quiet in case anyone around them was eavesdropping. "My first love."
Jeonghyeon's eyes widened. He was probably expecting her to pick option one. He must have underestimated how determined Ahram was to earn the top student spot.
"He only stayed at my school for a year before moving away. We were in the same friend group but never hung out as just the two of us."
"Why did you like him?" Jeonghyeon asked, sounding genuinely curious. Ahram shrugged. "He had a nice voice. He was easy to like. Funny." She mindlessly picked at the skin around her pointer fingernail. "Then he moved, and I never saw him again."
It was quiet for so long, causing the girl to shift uncomfortably in her seat as she waited for Jeonghyeon to say something. He looked lost in thought as if he was still processing the fact that Ahram willingly told him about something as personal as her first love instead of admitting he was better with a Rubik's cube.
Finally, Jeonghyeon slid his open hand across the table. "Okay. I'll pretend to be your friend until our best friends tell us they're dating. Deal?"
Ahram wanted to get out of there so badly that she didn't hesitate before grabbing and shaking his hand. "Deal."
•
totally did not forget munjung wasn't a 03 liner.. totally didn't.. 😅