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[Music Room, School Building]
"Jungeun, beat them all!" Sarang's voice echoed across the massive music room, even though she was simply standing by the entrance to accompany her friend inside. “Shh!” Sarang's remark embarrassed Jungeun, so she turned back to her to cover her mouth.
As a music club, they have to be included in the next Valentine's Day event, where there will be special performances, and several members are waiting inside to audition. The members were too eager to perform, but the club can only deliver one performance. This made the atmosphere in the room scary, and Sarang couldn't read that.
"Jungeunie, fighting~" Sarang said in a hushed voice before shutting the door. Turning around, Jungeun headed in the direction of the other applicants, who were waiting for the judges to come while they sat in silence. By the wall, in the corner of the room, she discovered Jiyoon, who appeared to be practicing the song they had been given. Jungeun started to get nervous as she watched Jiyoon from afar.
“Jungeunie!”
Another individual arrived and was unable to sense what was happening in the room. It was the music club president, Fuko. After Fuko called her name, Jungeun was so surprised that she nearly sprung out of her seat. When she looked over to see her side, Fuko was seated next to her. As soon as Fuko noticed Jungeun's stiff appearance and motion, she reassured her, saying, "Don't be nervous; Fuko unnie is here with you." She then gave Jungeun a side hug, briefly placing her head on the younger's shoulder before letting go.
Jungeun started to miss someone.
Someone who treats her in the same manner.
[Hallway, School Building]
"Achoo!”
As Sarang was leaving the building, she suddenly let out a sneeze. Is she sick, or is she on someone's mind?
[Music Room, School Building]
The time for the audition has arrived. The applicants were instructed to sing the song that had been assigned to them separately before being instructed to perform the same tune on a piano. Everything went well until Jiyoon's turn.
As soon as Jiyoon looked at Fuko, who was seated in the front row, she forgot the lyrics of the song. Throughout the song's remaining seconds, she was unable to make up for her mistake. For Jiyoon, it was absolutely not fine. Her thoughts had taken over, and it didn't help that Jungeun was sitting next to Fuko.
“I apologize, but may I start over?” Jiyoon halted her performance and requested permission from the judges to start performing again. She didn't want to make a mistake in front of Fuko.
The judges' expressions indicated uncertainty over whether or not to permit Jiyoon to repeat. Fuko, who was seated close by, approached the judges and begged them to allow Jiyoon to sing once more. Jiyoon was still having trouble focusing. The image of Fuko and Jungeun in front of her filled her head with memories.
-
"I'll take care of that!” Jiyoon encountered Fuko in the hallway, holding two boxes containing their class assignments. She hurried up to Fuko, who was struggling right away, and grabbed the box that was stacked on top of the other box that she was holding. "Jiyoonie, thank you." Fuko smiled at her, causing Jiyoon to smile back.
"Shh! Fuko is sleeping; she might wake up!” Jiyoon reprimanded their classmates who were playing around the classroom, tossing papers. She turned to face Fuko, who had been dozing off in her seat with her head resting on top of the desk. Then, unintentionally, a crumpled piece of paper fell on Fuko's head, annoying Jiyoon, who was seated next to her.
Without saying anything, Jiyoon grabbed the paper that had struck Fuko and threw it back, firmly, at those who were playing around. After observing how their classmates don't even take Fuko's position as class president into consideration, Jiyoon mumbled, "Try being the class president for once." In addition to her duties as president of the music club, she had to handle all of the issues in the classroom. Fuko is exhausted, and Jiyoon is making every effort to safeguard Fuko's little period of relaxation.
"You really waited for me." Fuko discovered Jiyoon sitting on the floor next to the student council office door. Even though there were already very few students inside the building when Fuko concluded her meeting with the council and all club presidents, which lasted until dusk, Jiyoon continued to wait outside. Jiyoon got up from where she was sitting and shook off the dust from the back of her skirt. "You should not go home alone in the dark," she replied. It was only seven o'clock at night.
“Jeemin gave this to me!” Fuko happily told Jiyoon while they were hanging around outside the convenience store. Even though Jeemin had produced an ordinary bracelet, Fuko's happiness was beyond measure. She was bouncing around as if she had won the lottery in front of Jiyoon, who was watching her with an unfathomable expression on her face. With a false smile, Jiyoon said, "It suits you," glancing at the bracelet that Fuko was carefully holding in her hands. Fuko finally put the bracelet on her right wrist and proudly told Jiyoon, "I'm going to wear this every day." She had no idea that Jiyoon had gotten one as well. Although Fuko believed Jeemin's present had a deeper significance, it was only a friendship bracelet.
“Someone gave me a letter.” On their walk home, Fuko showed Jiyoon an envelope. "They slipped this inside my locker; I still haven't read it yet." Fuko examined the envelope to look for any clues as to who had given it to her. “Should we read it together?” She offered, but Jiyoon instantly shook her head in disapproval. "It must be personal; you should read it on your own," Jiyoon answered and continued, "I'll be resting at home; I'm not feeling well," in an attempt to put an end to Fuko's persistence in reading the letter along with her. Fuko at last decided not to read the letter, at least from what Jiyoon was aware of.
“Fuko unnie, Fuko unnie!” Jungeun joyfully skipped her way to Fuko in the music room. She stated, "You've been with Jiyoon unnie a lot lately," which made Fuko chuckle as she organized the forms that the incoming first-year students who wish to join the music club had submitted. "Mhm~ Your Jiyoon unnie always looks out for me," Fuko cracked a smile in response.
“Has she confessed to you already? It seems like the two of you have already started going out. You know that she really likes you.”
Everything between Fuko and Jiyoon took a turn for the worse after just one talk that didn’t even occur between the two of them.
Unaware of the topic that her two close friends were currently discussing, Jiyoon entered the room. "Fuko, the head is already searching for the application forms," Jiyoon stated, walking up behind Fuko. The responsible and hard-working president of the music club handed the documents to Jungeun rather than Jiyoon.
With the application forms in hand, the younger girl exited the room, having obediently followed Fuko's order. "Bye, Fuko unnie! Bye, Jiyoon unnie!” During the early days, Jungeun was similar to Sarang. Jiyoon waved her hand in response, smiling, and watched Jungeun depart from the room.
“Jiyoon.”
Jiyoon became anxious the moment Fuko called in an unusual tone, even though Fuko hasn't explained why she called Jiyoon's name yet. In return, Jiyoon hummed and lifted both of her innocent eyebrows. "Are you going to say something to me?” Fuko questioned, leaving Jiyoon perplexed as to what she was attempting to convey to her. “I have something to say?” With hesitation in her voice, Jiyoon asked herself the same question again. Fuko just looked at her.
“Is that a trick question?” With a frightened laugh, Jiyoon moved away from Fuko in secret. “Are you going to say something to me?” Fuko asked the same question again, sounding equally serious. That was not how she usually spoke to Jiyoon, and it alarmed the latter. Jiyoon said, "Give me a minute, Fuko," and she did her best to come up with an idea in that exact minute. Jiyoon has only been thinking about one thing, and she has only ever told Jungeun about it.
Her expression clouded swiftly as she realized.
"Did Jungeun mention anything to you?” Jiyoon enquired to get confirmation of her initial assumptions. Fuko answered, "Let's keep her out of this," which Jiyoon took to be a veiled affirmation. Jungeun did tell Fuko something that was meant to remain a secret. Jiyoon would have been able to prevent it if she had arrived sooner. "I want it to come from you, Jiyoon," Fuko said, but Jiyoon was already internally consumed by the sense of betrayal at that very moment.
"Fuko, I have no idea what you're talking about."
Jiyoon felt afraid.
"You already know, Jiyoon. I just want an answer; I'm not asking for anything more," Fuko stated, but Jiyoon refused to talk about it. Jiyoon started to avoid looking at Fuko and tried to laugh off her anxiety. "F-Fuko, I don't know what Jungeun said to you, but maybe she's just messing around," Jiyoon replied.
"The letter."
Jiyoon's eyes widened as she looked down at the floor.
"Isn't that from you?” Fuko requested confirmation, recalling the previous letter she had received from her locker. "You're the only one who can write something like that about me, Jiyoon." Fuko was correct. The letter she read was exactly the same as what Jiyoon had done to her and what she had done to Jiyoon.
Jiyoon wrote the letter, and based on her current conversation with Fuko, she knew she was being turned down, but she had become fixated on a single thought.
Everything was Jungeun's fault.
Jiyoon replied, almost silently, "I'm sorry."
"Huh?" Fuko was confused as to why Jiyoon had suddenly started apologizing.
“I’m sorry for liking you.”
Following that confrontation, Fuko and Jiyoon have stayed apart. Their awkwardness made it impossible for them to stand close to one another or even gaze into each other's eyes. They act like everything is alright between them whenever they are around their close common friends. But they are strangers to each other when they are alone.
Jiyoon is very hurt by it. It hurts her so much that she wishes she could just vanish whenever Fuko is around. She couldn't get them back to how they used to be.
After everything, Jiyoon is still blaming Jungeun.
The music room was empty of students and silent. In that room was Jiyoon. She is inside, together with the person she believed to be the cause of everything. Inside the space where everything between her and Fuko fell apart.
Jungeun was facing Jiyoon’s back. The younger girl had no idea what was going on because she couldn't see the expression Jiyoon was making. "Jiyoon unnie, what is it?" With her head cocked to the side, Jungeun questioned.
Jiyoon remained silent.
"I don't see you very much with Fuko unnie these days. Did you get into a fight with her? I’m close with her; I can help you—” Jiyoon interrupted Jungeun's attempt to guess why Jiyoon had called her to the music room, yelling, “You can’t fix something you already ruined!"
Jungeun had never witnessed Jiyoon acting that way toward her before. She was at a loss for words.
“Tell me the truth, Jungeun. Have you told her?” Jungeun grasped Jiyoon's intention without needing any additional clarification. She recalled that she had once told Fuko that Jiyoon liked her. As Jungeun can't lie very well, she answered Jiyoon’s question honestly. "I thought Fuko unnie liked you too, so I told her about it. I’m just trying to help—”
“You are not helping at all!”
Jiyoon addressed the younger one once more, raising her voice. Both Jungeun and she were on the verge of tears. "Fuko starts avoiding me because of you. I found myself no longer able to do the things I used to do with Fuko because of you. Fuko treats me like she doesn't know me at all when we are together because of you. I mean, really, why did you have to tell her? I'm not even seeking for your help! She likes someone else, so I already know I have little chance of getting together with her. Not only that, but Fuko is unaware that the person she likes already likes someone who isn't her. I feel like a fool because I couldn't even do anything about it because I am afraid of hurting Fuko's feelings. I'm already fine with simply being by Fuko's side but you really just have to end it all!" Jiyoon wrapped her arms around herself and shouted to Jungeun, whose hands started to shake severely when she realized what she had done to Jiyoon's relationship with Fuko.
As Jungeun listened to Jiyoon, she realized her mistake. Things wouldn't have happened this way if she hadn't talked about the matter with Fuko before. However, she wasn't prepared for Jiyoon to react this way. Jiyoon took it personally to such an extent that Jungeun felt Jiyoon was implicitly cursing her entire soul.
"Jiyoon unnie…" Jungeun called Jiyoon's name with shaking lips and tears in her eyes. She felt afraid. When Jiyoon turned to face Jungeun, the younger girl gradually started to back away. The moment Jungeun saw Jiyoon open her mouth to speak, she covered her ears with her hands and even firmly shut her eyes. She tried to avoid hearing things from Jiyoon, but it was ineffective.
“Don’t talk to me again. Don’t show yourself in front of me anymore. Just disappear alre—”
Not only did Jungeun hear Jiyoon's awful statements clearly and loudly, but those words stabbed her heart so deeply that she almost forgot how to breathe. If someone hadn't come in to break up their one-sided dispute, both their situation and Jiyoon's remarks would have been far worse. Jungeun was pulled out of the room by Mai and Jeemin.
“Jiyoon.”
Mai and Jiyoon were left inside the room. She has a disappointed expression on her face as she looks at Jiyoon. "Really? So I'm the evil one now?” Jiyoon scoffed, thinking that her current situation was excessively absurd. Although she had her own reasons, she felt like everyone was working together against her. It was unknown to Jiyoon that Mai, who heard her remarks directed at Jungeun from outside the room, would give her a long reproach.
“What did you do to Jungeun?” Feeling insulted by Mai's questions, Jiyoon extended her hands in the air. “What exactly did Jungeun do to me, you mean?” Mai said nothing, waiting for Jiyoon to respond to her initial question. Jiyoon let out a frustrated sigh and chose to disclose to Mai the reason behind her conflict with Jungeun.
“She told—”
Jiyoon halted.
She can't reveal the reason to Mai.
Muttering swears, Jiyoon attempted to leave Mai by herself in the room, but the older girl moved ahead of her, obstructing her path. Attempting to stop her from moving forward, Mai grabbed her by the shoulder, but the younger girl’s response surprised her. Jiyoon shoved her hands away. Both Jiyoon and she were taken aback. Mai maintained her coolness despite being treated in such a manner.
“Jiyoon, let’s talk, please.”
A week prior to the audition, Fuko struck up a conversation with Jiyoon when they were alone in the classroom. Jiyoon had anticipation. She turned to face Fuko right away, as ever since that day, she had thought that Fuko talking to her was so unusual.
“Jiyoon, is everything fine between you and Jungeun?"
It was all about Jungeun again.
Jiyoon remained silent and pretended to be organizing her things in her bag. She expressed no desire to discuss or hear about Jungeun from anyone. Whether it was directly or indirectly, she was determined to stay away from Jungeun at all costs, though she sometimes finds herself looking for the younger girl subconsciously.
Fuko explained, "I don't see you very much with Jungeun these days. Did you get into a fight with her? She looks a lot gloomy these days." Those words were so familiar to Jiyoon, but she could only wonder: Why won't Fuko notice her in that state too? Not only does Jungeun seem unhappy, but she does too. Jiyoon has yet to respond to Fuko. Since Fuko was also watching Jiyoon for a long period of time, it was becoming increasingly hard for her to appear to be fixing her belongings. Fuko instantly gave up trying to question Jiyoon.
"I hope you work things out with her if that's the case."
Even though Fuko was also attempting to mend their relationship, Jiyoon's ignorance gave Fuko the sense that the other girl didn't want to speak with her.
“Yo!” Someone appeared from the doorway, grinning brightly and carrying a volleyball. It was Jeemin. “Let’s play.” They couldn't resist Jeemin's invitation to a casual volleyball match after class.
Pretenders.
-
The performers for the Valentine's Day event were selected by the judges as soon as the auditions concluded. Fuko was selected to sing, so Jiyoon was hoping to be selected as the pianist to accompany Fuko during her performance, but that hope vanished shortly.
“And lastly, Choi Jungeun will perform on the instrument. That concludes our session for today. We appreciate your participation.”
Jiyoon was about to raise her hand to protest their choice when she heard Fuko speaking to Jungeun off to the side. "See, I told you! We'll perform together,” Fuko said joyfully, grasping Jungeun's hands. Conversely, Jungeun was unable to fully celebrate. She sensed Jiyoon's desire to perform with Fuko. Jungeun would have offered Jiyoon the position if she had the chance, but she was unable to since Fuko was already overjoyed that she had been selected as the pianist.
While some of the auditionees packed their belongings to leave the room, Jiyoon observed them from a distance. After what had transpired between them, she started to wonder why Fuko had decided to remain close to Jungeun. Oh, right . The one-sided confrontation that had occurred months before between Jungeun and Jiyoon was undisclosed to Fuko. Only four people knew about it. Jeemin, Mai, Jungeun, and Her.
Gazing at them, she narrowed her eyes. Jiyoon believed that Jungeun should’ve been avoiding Fuko as well, being aware of what she did before. "Oh?" Fuko saw a well-known face squinting through the door's small glass window. “Sarang is still here, Jungeun!” Fuko told Jungeun right away and had a joyful expression on her face. "She still hasn't gone home?” Looking at the doorway to see if Fuko was lying, Jungeun questioned. Sure enough, someone who looked a lot like Sarang was staring through the glass pane.
Jungeun was about to go in her direction when she felt herself being pulled away through her backpack. "Yeah, you're not going anywhere." Jungeun was stopped from leaving the room by Jiyoon. "Fuko, tell Sarang to stop waiting; I'm going to talk to this kid, and it might take some time," Jiyoon instructed, and Fuko nodded. She wouldn't have allowed Jungeun to be alone with Jiyoon if she had known the truth about their previous dispute, but she didn't, so she's letting Jiyoon have her way.
"Goodbye, Jungeun~" Fuko said, waving at Jungeun as she and the other students left the room. Though she didn't say goodbye to Jiyoon, she did purposefully look her in the eye before shutting the door.
Jungeun was left inside with Jiyoon. It was as if memories infiltrated her mind. Her first instinct was to turn away from Jiyoon. She could claim that, as a result of what had happened previously, she became afraid of being left alone with Jiyoon.
Jiyoon continued, "Jungeun," but she remained staring down at the ground while fidgeting with her fingers. Jungeun did not respond.
“You like Sarang, don’t you?”
In surprise, Jungeun gazed up at Jiyoon, her eyes widening. An unexpected question slipped out of Jiyoon's lips. She was unable to speak. “Have you already confessed to her? On Valentine's Day, you're planning to go out with her, right?” Jiyoon calmly flooded her with questions regarding Sarang. Jungeun was unable to discern if Jiyoon was merely posing questions or if she was still upset with her.
“You can’t even answer my questions.”
It wasn't as though Jungeun was incapable of responding to the questions. It was only that Jiyoon wasn't even allowing Jungeun to pause and gather her thoughts before speaking. Jungeun said, "I don't know, Jiyoon unnie," but Jiyoon didn't accept her incoherent response. "What?" Talk louder,” Jiyoon replied, not raising her voice, but her words somehow made Jungeun uneasy.
After taking a deep breath, Jungeun repeated, "I don't know." She turned her head away from Jiyoon, fully expecting her to say something hurtful to her once more. "How would you feel if I asked those questions to Sarang rather than to you?” Jiyoon asked, trying to put Jungeun in her shoes in their recent argument. Jiyoon added, "She's just outside, and frankly, I could tell her about it now," which made Jungeun even more concerned.
"Stop it, Jiyoon unnie," Jungeun said again, her voice barely audible, as though she were mouthing the words. "What? You're going to cry again, and the others will see, and they will think I made you cry again." It has been months, and it looked like Jiyoon would never get over it. Jungeun didn't say anything, doing her best to contain her emotions. To stop herself from yelling at Jungeun, Jiyoon sighed. Having already taken a lesson from Mai, she didn't want to let her down again.
"Koko likes Sarang, and Sarang likes Koko. Except for the two of them, everyone is fully aware of that. You’re aware of that too, aren’t you?” Even though Jungeun was already aware of the truth, Jiyoon's words still hurt her. Even so, Jungeun doesn't realize that her puzzling thoughts for Koko and Sarang are merely pain. She's not aware of it because she's having trouble discerning her real feelings for Sarang.
"You now know how I felt when I found out that Fuko liked someone else. If I tell Sarang about this, you would understand how I felt when you told Fuko that I liked her. You fell for her actions toward you, but you’re scared of acknowledging your feelings for her because you're afraid of losing your relationship with—” Jiyoon continued to hit Jungeun with reality until she couldn't take it any longer.
"Jiyoon unnie, please stop it." Jungeun wiped away the single tear that had fallen from her left eye right away, making sure Jiyoon wouldn't see her cry ever again. It was a sorrowful tear. She is still perplexed as to why Jiyoon is speaking to her so composedly at this point, given their previous confrontation. She feels like crying even more now, but she's suppressing the need to cry. The room was still, and Jungeun didn't want her sobs to add to the stillness. Jiyoon observed her in silence.
She noticed Jiyoon's shadow moving toward her. She moved aside, fearing that Jiyoon would harm her. But Jiyoon just walked by her, saying, "I was like that too." For a split second, Jungeun sensed Jiyoon's empathy for her. She was finally able to release the pent-up emotions she was holding. Turning around, she approached Jiyoon and firmly grasped her hand.
"I’m sorry, Jiyoon unnie."
Finally, Jiyoon has heard the words from Jungeun that she has been waiting for a long time.
An apology.
Deeply regretting what she had done to Jiyoon, Jungeun continued to repeat her apology under her breath. Her cries filled the previously silent room as she was unable to stop the tears from streaming down her face. Though Jiyoon wouldn't easily forgive, she might now offer Jungeun another chance.
Jiyoon withdrew her hand from Jungeun's grasp. Jungeun believed that Jiyoon still detested her and refused to be touched, at least not until Jiyoon replied, "Let's just talk again next time."
Though they were still not fine, their relationship took a significant turn for the better.