𝚆𝚎 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚂𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝙵𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝙸𝚗 𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚎 | 𝐇𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐞𝐨𝐣𝐮𝐧

31

"Okay, so we have four plans on how you can enroll in the academies." The lady I was speaking to says.

She opens a drawer from a filing cabinet and sifts through the many folders, removing a few papers from here and there. She closes and locks the drawer and turns back to me.

"I'm not sure I'll need a plan, I have a note from the school explaining how I'm required to take these courses." I hand her the envelope.

She sets down the papers she retrieved and opened it. She scans through the letter and then looks back at me.

"This letter will only help in getting you assigned to these courses rather than being put on a wait list, since two of these courses are in high demand."

My face falls. She smiles sympathetically at me and puts the letter back into the envelope.

"So, back to the plans. We have one where you can pay monthly, pay half now and half later, one where you pay for it all now along with books in a packaged deal or where you apply for a loan." She says, spreading out the papers and pointing to each one that she describes.

I feel my hands start to shake as I swallow a lump in my throat. I smile nervously at her and clear my throat.

"I'll have to see what I can do." I say to her, taking the papers she laid out.

She nods her head.

"I understand, have a nice rest of your day." She says as I turn to leave.

I waited an hour for nothing. I walk out of the building, feeling defeated. I glance to my side and stop when I see someone familiar. I turn my head completely in that direction and stare. It was Soojin. She looks up eventually and notices me, glaring. I roll my eyes and start to walk away when I hear quick footsteps rushing up to me. She grabs my arm and turns me around, making me face her.

"What do you want?" I ask, annoyed.

She taps on her phone and I scoff. She faces her phone screen towards me, showing me a picture of Seojun and I in face masks. I try to take her phone in my hand, but she snatches it away.

"Are you and Seojun dating?" She asks, crossing her arms smugly.

"Yes. Where did you find that picture?" I ask.

"It's on his Instagram." She says.

"Why do you care whether or not we're dating?"

She smirks and goes back on her phone, once again facing it towards me. I glare at her before shifting my eyes to look at her screen. I feel my body tense up. It was a picture of Seojun and Jugyeong, being very close. She lets me take her phone as I scroll through the pictures, one of them even having Seojun leaning really close to Jugyeong on a couch. I manage to tear my eyes away from the screen, looking back up at Soojin. She smiles in satisfaction and takes her phone back.

"You remember when I said that Seojun and Jugyeong had a dating rumor, right?" She asks.

My jaw clenches as every muscle in my body refuses to move. I felt so angry, but also sad. Her smile grows bigger.

"I guess you do. Well, these pictures were the reason why. On the day that Jugyeong got exposed, he told me I was pathetic for trying to win over Suho and you know what I said to him?" She asks before leaning close to my face. "I told him that he was the pathetic one. Always chasing after and comforting a girl that will never like him back." She hums and leans back.

I let out a shaky breath. I meet her evil eyes.

"He said the rumor was fake."

"That doesn't mean his feelings weren't real. Surely you must have known that?" She asks in an innocent tone.

I blink rapidly, trying to make the stinging feeling in my eyes go away.

"At school, for at least a week, he made this huge deal of saying how he would only listen to her. He even gave her his motorcycle keys. And when we were on the school trip, he sang to her in front of everyone."

I feel my hands clench into fists. She steps closer to me.

"It isn't fun when someone who you thought was your friend steals the one you like." She spits.

I look at her and she just smiles. She backs away slightly before walking away proudly.

-

I wipe a few tears from off of my cheeks as I make a call to Haeun. I stop on the sidewalk, waiting for her to answer her phone. I feel my heart beat rapidly and I place the phone between my ear and shoulder. I dig into my bag and pull out my pills, opening it to take one out and swallowing it dry. The phone stops ringing.

"What." Haeun says.

"I need you to pay for my academies, I need to make up credits."

I hear her laugh on the other line. I zip up my bag and sling it back onto my shoulder.

"I'm not paying for that." She says.

"What? Why not?"

"In case you forgot, you threw hot coffee into my face, humiliated me in front of my family and made me buy you expensive new things." She says, sounding fed up. "My daughter and son won't talk to me because they think I lied to them!"

"Because you did! It's not my fault that you cheated on your husband!"

"Well then I guess it's not my fault that you had heart problems!"

I stand there in disbelief and scoff.

"Did you really just say that?"

"I did enough for you already and after the way you treated me, I'm not going to put up with your attitude."

"Are you being serious right now? You're not going to put up with me? You already left me years ago and then decide to come back to do what? Leave me again?"

"I tried being nice to you, you didn't let me."

"Why should I? Why should I have instantly forgiven you for leaving me to be with dad in a beaten up house with barely anything to survive?" I shouted. "Did you think I was going to go running into your arms once you told me who you were? Did you really think I would let all of the shit that you put me through slide?"

"I don't want to talk to you anymore. You have what you want, now leave me alone."

"I thought you said you were my mom!" I yell into the phone, streaks of tears running down my cheeks.

"I tried to be." She says before hanging up.

I look at the phone, angry and try to call her back.

"We're sorry, the number you have tried to reach is no longer ava-"

I hang up the call and scream.

"No you didn't! You never tried to be a mom to me!" I yell at the phone before beginning to sob.

My legs felt weak as I crouch down, facing my knees. I run my hands through my hair as I continue to cry.