The Foolproof Plan

Chapter 22: EXPLANATIONS AND OTHER WORDS

The rest of my Sunday devolved into a bad day, and I was in no mood to answer any of the guys' texts. They had made it very clear that they believed the worst of me. To be honest, maybe I did, too.

My biggest fear was that Bella also thought the same. I hoped she had not heard what the others were saying. But even if she did, I hoped that she would give me the benefit of the doubt and not condemn me without listening to me.

I decided to turn off my phone and do some online research. By the time I glanced at the clock, it was past midnight, so I called it a night.

It was not until Tuesday evening when I finally decided to answer my phone. It was Minda. She was in tears because everyone was angry at her. She said that she had insisted that she and I were just friends, but Cori and Allie kept blaming her and accusing her of throwing herself at me. She said that she ran into Jimin on campus, and he also accused her of terrible things.

"He pretty much called me a prostitute. He said I was selling myself for clothing and gifts from you. He was horrible."

I inhaled through my teeth. "Don't pay attention to him. He's just trying to spread rumors so that Bella won't want to talk to me. I knew he'd be the one to keep spreading these lies."

"Why is everyone being so horrible? They're just making up stories about you and me. You know I'd never do what they're accusing me of."

I decided to let her explain herself, so I asked her about the pictures that Hoseok saw. Minda cried again and said that she never talked about the pictures of us at the mall. She had just wanted to remember the fun day. As for the lingerie pictures, she took them to play around with a photo editing app on her phone. She never even implied that I was with her while she was undressed. And the photo of my bedroom? That was an accident. She hit the wrong button when she was trying to text. She had no idea people were going to make up stories about those photos, and she had already deleted them.

"You believe me, don't you?"

"Of course," I replied. "I know that we didn't do anything wrong. I just can't believe my friends. Or yours. Why would they think such things? They didn't even doubt or question any of it. They just assumed we were sleeping together."

"I think everyone just believes I'm some cheap slut because I've made some mistakes in my past. They just assume the worst."

"I'm sorry about that," I said in a softer voice. "It's none of my business what you did in the past. All I know is that you've been a good friend to me these past few weeks, and it makes me angry that everyone is saying bad things about you. I will do my best to stop all of that. Not for me because I've heard just about every disgusting and disturbing thing being said about me before. I don't want your name to be dragged through the mud for something that you didn't do--or didn't mean to. Try not to worry about it. I won't let them talk about you like that."

"Th-thank you, Seokjin. You are a real gentleman and not at all like people said you were. How are things going with Bella?"

I sighed. "I'm not sure. She hasn't called me, and I don't know if it's because she's heard the stupid rumors. There's no way she knows anything else, right?"

"No. You should just tell her about it. Don't hide. Tell her everything. If she really loves you, she'll understand. Don't wait until she calls you. It's better if you tell her first. You need to tell her to talk to me as well so that I can explain."

"You might be right," I said, still feeling unsure. "I guess I should call her. Maybe I'll ask her to call you. Thanks." I was about to say goodbye, but something compelled me to continue. "Hey, if you're still feeling down, we can have lunch tomorrow. I have a late class, so I'm free."

"Oh, I would really like that. Text me tomorrow. Bye!"

Then I texted Bella to ask if I could go over and talk. She replied, saying to give her an hour to finish her homework. I needed to tell her everything, just like Minda advised. Yet, a part of me wasn't too sure if I should.