"What are you doing?"
Lisa jumped at the sound of someone approaching, dropping the whole box of cigarettes onto the floor. She stepped on them to keep them out of whoever was approaching's sight, looking up in surprise.
"Lisa-?" Yoojung was standing in front of her, her jaws hanging open. "You smoke?"
Jieun stood behind the pillar, watching intently. Yoojung had asked her to stay put, and she had complied willingly. She hated confrontation, anyway.
"What?" Lisa looked frantic. "What are you talking about? I have no idea-"
"Lisa-" Yoojung frowned. "I saw- You and your mom-"
"You were eavesdropping?" Lisa realised that her cheeks were still tear-stained, and she wiped them away hurriedly. "You were eavesdropping on me?"
"I-" Yoojung stammered. "I didn't mean to. I was looking for you, then I happened to see-"
"I don't know what you saw, Choi Yoojung," Lisa breathed heavily. "But you had better not tell anyone what you saw."
"I won't..." Yoojung said quietly. "But Lisa, you really shouldn't be smok-"
"You saw wrongly," Lisa snapped. "What ever you saw, that's not true."
Lisa glared at Yoojung as she walked past her, but Yoojung placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her from leaving.
"I won't tell anyone... if you tell me what this is about." Reaching into her pocket, Yoojung pulled out the blacklist from earlier, shoving it into Lisa's face. "What were you doing at the cafe that day?"
Lisa froze, as she saw her name - "Lalisa Manoban" clearly written on the paper with all her details next to it. "H-How did you get this?"
"Don't forget, I was there that day," Yoojung looked at the paper casually. "Jennie passed this blacklist to Jieun soon after, but none of us scrutinised it carefully enough to notice your name was there. But answer me, why were you there? Do you really hate Jieun that much?"
"Fine," Lisa swallowed hard. "Since the proof is already in your hands, I shan't lie to you anymore. I hate Jieun, I hate Jieun so, so much."
Ouch.
Jieun, who was listening from behind the pillar, already knew that was coming since the moment she saw Lisa's name on that paper. Yoojung had been preparing her since a long time ago, telling her that Lisa probably had something against her, but hearing it directly from Lisa's mouth really, really hurt.
Lisa's eyes literally burned with hatred. What on earth did she do to make Lisa hate her so much?
"I knew it," Yoojung hesitated. This was always what she had expected, but it still felt unreal. Jieun was always so kind-hearted, what did Lisa hate about her?
"I hate her so much I could die," Lisa took a deep breath. "My life was already bad, but when she came, it became living hell."
"What?" Yoojung frowned. "How on earth-"
"Lisa," Jieun finally stepped out from behind the pillar, unable to bear it anymore. "Say it to me, please."
Lisa looked up in surprise. "You-"
"I was here all this while too," Jieun swallowed hard. "Say it to my face. I want to know what I did to make you hate me this much."
Lisa gritted her teeth, not saying a single word.
"What is it?" Jieun was trying hard to fight back tears.
Lisa looked away, tears beginning to stream down her face again.
"What is it?!" Jieun yelled and her tears finally fell. She was used to being disliked, but knowing that someone, who she actually thought of as a friend for a short period of time, hated her - it hurt like hell.
"Jieun-" Yoojung held on tight to her. "Jieun, control yourself-"
Jieun swallowed hard, trying to maintain her cool. She had hardly ever gotten upset, but knowing that Lisa could actually be the reason why she had been suffering all this time in this school- "Why?! Answer me! Why?!"
"I..."
Then Jieun recalled all of a sudden. The time Lisa glared at her in class, when she had returned to her seat after lunch break. Next to Jungkook. The time Lisa hit her hard with the ball during PE lesson. When she was on Jungkook's team. The time when they came back from lunch and Lisa was smiling like she never had at someone.
That person was Jungkook.
Everything clicked in Jieun's mind at once. She looked up at Lisa, with a look of disbelief and pain written all over her face. She swallowed hard.
"It's because of Jungkook, isn't it?"