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tuesday, soobin got up extra early to pack up the dishes she prepared last night. she planned on visiting changbin after class to give him lunch as a show of gratitude.
when she reached school, she wasn't greeted by any of her friends but she paid no mind to it as she was much too tired to pay mind to anything.
"i can't believe changbin would choose her.."
"please, have you seen her friends? her best friend is minho! and she knows minhyuk, sanha, and moonbin!"
"i guess there goes my chance with her."
if soobin had puppy ears, they would visibly perk up at the not-so-hushed conversations she heard around her.
"hello, soobin!"
her head whipped around and she saw a group of girls she didn't know. nonetheless, she politely waved.
"oh, hi!" she greeted back.
one with shoulder-length hair shyly stepped forward. "we were curious.. how is it being with changbin sunbaenim?"
soobin was taken aback but then remembered that they were "dating".
"um.. it's good, i guess," she chuckled sheepishly.
"is he secretly really nice to the people he likes?" another asked.
"y-yeah," soobin glanced around. "listen, i have to get to class, and you guys should too! it was nice talking to you. have a good day!"
then she turned back around and continued her walk to her classroom, scratching her cheek in thought.
is school life gonna be like this from now on? she unconsciously frowned.
when she entered the room, everybody stopped and stared at her for a moment before they began to wave and tell her good morning. it was weird. even if she was friends with minho (one of the top three boys, as everyone says) and the other popular dancers, it wasn't like this.
it's probably because changbin's more.. sought after?
shrugging off the awkwardness and kindly responding to her classmates, her entire body filled with relief when she saw deokhye sitting at her desk.
"morning, deokie!" she happily said, skipping over to stand in front of her.
but in return, all she got was an annoyed look as deokhye got up from her chair and went to ask another student about the math homework.
"deokhye..?"
she persisted with ignoring soobin throughout morning classes. the bell sounded to signal that lunch break began and the latter turned around.
"hey, deokhye—"
her sentence was cut short from deokhye standing up and pushing her chair in before walking off.
soobin furrowed her eyebrows. as she barely made it out of her line of vision, she got up and followed after her.
her eyes focused solely on her friend that she completely missed minho who turned the corner until they bumped shoulders.
"sorry, excuse me. oh, minho!" she blinked.
"soobin," he lightly smiled. his eyes diverted to the floor before lifting them up again. "uh, are you—"
"she's getting away.. i'm so sorry, min, let's talk later! this is super important!"
she hastily reached up to ruffle his hair and took off, running after deokhye.
they played cat and mouse throughout the entire building, soobin getting more frustrated by the minute. they eventually made it back around to their classroom and after soobin entered, she couldn't see deokhye. thus, she turned around to exit.
once she stepped out, she bumped into deokhye who was passing by the doorway. no words were said but she ran off, leaving soobin to groan in irritation and chase after her.
"yah! park deokhye!" she called out.
their rapid footsteps echoed throughout the halls and up the staircase leading to the rooftop. they were both panting as they stopped near the protective fence, hands on their knees and trying to catch their breaths.
"quit following me," the elder girl almost heaved out.
"why are you ignoring me?" soobin asked, plopping down on the bench.
"because you lied to me."
her answer made soobin blink in confusion. "what?"
"you really are changbin's girlfriend," deokhye turned to face her but kept her gaze down. "i'm not angry that you're changbin's girlfriend. i'm pissed because you lied to me and said there was nothing between you two!"
soobin kept quiet as she clasped her hands together in front of her, guilt eating her up from the fact that her closest friend is upset with her.
deokhye continued. "i know it's not easy to tell me because i'm always talking about changbin, but you and i have known each other for so long. i thought i was your best friend."
the younger felt tears well up in her eyes and it surprised her a bit. she was never one to cry in front of anyone, let alone her closest friends. besides that one time when a guy almost grabbed her that night.
she closed her eyes in an attempt to somehow make the tears go away but to no avail. she softly sniffled and it instantly caught deokhye's attention.
her heart softened seeing the girl that was always strong emotion wise crying in front of her.
"why are you crying?" she quietly asked.
soobin looked down and wiped her eyes. "sorry.."
deokhye sadly smiled and approached soobin, wrapping her arms around the younger's figure for a minute before pulling away. her hands held both of soobin's arms, looking directly at her.
"tell me everything from now on, okay? i'll tell you everything about me too."
slowly, soobin lifted her gaze to meet deokhye's. a weak grin made its way onto her lips and she nodded. "i promise."
and deokhye hugged her again. soobin's cheek pressed against deokhye's shoulder and she shut her eyes, grateful that she didn't lose her friendship.
"but just to let you know," soobin mumbled out. "changbin and i are pretending to date."
"wHAT?"
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the rest of the classes were fairly busy which meant that soobin didn't have the chance to fill deokhye or jaehyuk in on why she and changbin were pretending to be a couple.
they were walking off of the campus and soobin had finally been able to let them know.
"i've been thinking about it," said jaehyuk. "won't that cause a lot of problems?"
soobin thought for a moment. "well, nothing has happened yet."
"emphasis on 'yet'!" he exclaimed.
"i'm old enough to take care of myself, jae."
deokhye glanced at him and shrugged. "anyways. is that for changbin?" she gestured to the tote bag in soobin's hand.
"yeah, i'm gonna stop by the hospital before heading home."
"so you were up all night cooking," deokhye concluded.
"huh? how did you know?" soobin turned to her.
she pointed below her eyes. "eye bags."
soobin grumbled to herself and said, "you and minho both pointed out my dark circles.. but changbin eats a lot, so i figured i'd make him a lot."
"i'm kidding, they're not that bad," deokhye giggled. "you know, i think you like changbin."
scoffing, soobin walked ahead. "as if. i'd rather date minho, or jisung, before even thinking about him."
"minho wouldn't be opposed to that," jaehyuk commented to himself while deokhye inquired about jisung.
"i'm working with him at his dad's ramen restaurant to pay off a debt i owe."
"ooh, is he cute?"
"why do you always ask if the boys i know are cute?!"
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