True Beauty: An Alternate Universe

Chapter Sixteen

Jookyung:

I walked out of the bathrooms smiling with Sooah clinging onto my arm. I glanced in front of me and my expression immediately dropped. Up on the hill I saw Suho and Soojin, Suho gently hanging on to Soojin's wrist. He let go after a bit and Soojin walked away quickly, back to the cabins. I looked at Sooah, but she was distracted by the other girls coming out. She didn't see them. I watched as Suho stood up and walked off. My heart pounded in my chest, sensing a rising anger. Does that bitch like Suho or not? Why does she keep lying to me? Whether she likes him or not I can't allow him to like her back. He should be mine. I touched my wrist, where he had grabbed to pull me off the road. I risked my life today to get his attention, there is no way I'm backing down now. I promised myself before coming to Saebom High to raise my popularity, I wasn't going to live the same innocent, friendless life back at Yongpa. I started with my looks, spending all holidays perfecting my makeup skills, then befriended the most popular girl in school Kang Soojin. Now, I was going to bag the most wanted guy at Saebom.

Soojin:

I collapsed on my bed, smiling and kicking my feet, his touch still lingering. I got up and whipped out my phone, viewing the photos we had taken against the night sky. I couldn't help but giggle. I opened the messaging app and attached the photos. But as I was about to hit send the cabin door burst open and I quickly stuffed my phone under my pillow. "Ugh I'm so tired!" Sooah said, laying on her bed. Sihyun sat down at her table and started putting her stuff away. "Soojin and Jookyung are so boring they wouldn't let me put face masks on them," she huffed. I laughed, "I would have let you if you didn't choose the one with the animal print," I got up and started setting up the bed. "It was cute!" Sihyun sighed. "Come on guys let's just go to bed I'm wiped!" Sooah said. We all got under the covers and Sooah turned off the lights. I waited for a bit until everyone stopped shuffling. When I was sure everyone was asleep, I hid under the blanket and opened up my phone.

The photos were still attached to the message and I pressed send. Suho replied almost instantly, "They look great!" he said with a cute little pink heart. I smiled, "They sure do! It's super cute!" I replied. We continued to text back and forward until I could barely keep my eyes open. "I think I'm going to turn in now, I feel really tired," I texted. "Alright, get some rest," he replied, "Goodnight sleep well," I smiled at the text, and couldn't help but blush when he sent a red heart right afterwards. I wished him a good night as well and turned off my phone, setting it back on the table top. I adjusted to a more comfortable position. I stared at the ceiling, my thoughts consisting only of Suho. Wow, I've really got it bad. There is no denying it but I truly like Suho. I rolled over and closed my eyes. I have to admit, it felt lonely not sleeping in his arms. I missed the comforting hugs and him stroking my hair gently until I fell asleep. I slowly drifted off, smiling at the fact that I'll see him again the next day.

I opened my eyes and saw a faint light from behind the curtains and slowly sat up, rubbing my eyes as I did so. I looked around and saw Jookyung already awake, sitting on her bed and doing her makeup. Sooah abruptly rose from her sleeping position, slightly scaring the both of us. She blinked a couple times before looking between me and Jookyung, who had momentarily paused her makeup application. "How can you both still look pretty after just waking up," she sighed and crashed back down onto the pillow. Eventually I stood up and opened the drawer under my bed, collecting the clothes I was going to wear. Today was much colder than yesterday so I opted for a white mock neck shirt, beige flared pants, a beige oversized sweater and white sneakers. After collecting my clothes and hygiene items I walked down the hill towards the bathrooms. After getting changed I brushed out my hair and cleaned my teeth. My quick skincare consisted of cleanser, moisturiser and sunscreen. I did light makeup with concealer, beige eyeshadow, champagne eye glitter, pink blush and pink tinted lip balm.

After setting it with setting spray I packed everything up and headed back to the cabin. By then everyone had woken up and were preparing to get changed. Afterwards the teachers called everyone out for breakfast. They served everyone a steaming bowl of dried pollock soup for the cold day ahead. Once I grabbed myself a bowl of soup I followed Sooah and Jookyung to the table where everyone else was sitting. Suho looked up from his phone and smiled, patting the seat next to him. But before I could sit down, Jookyung joined him at his side and set her food down. He looked quite perplexed but I just shrugged it off and sat with Sooah on the other side. The students ate happily and slurped up their warm soups. Once everyone finished the teachers once again sent us off to roam and explore the campsite. Suho ran up to me, "Hey want to go for a walk in the woods?" he asked. I smiled and nodded. We walked away from the main area and into the trees.

I walked and chatted with him, laughing as we went along the path. "Hey let's go in there!" I pointed to the side of the path when I heard running water. I ran off down the steep slope and into the woods. "Soojin be careful! Wait up!" Suho called, chasing after me. I giggled and ran further and stopped when I saw the river. Suho ran up behind me and gazed at the scene, "It's beautiful!" I looked off to the side, "Look there's a boat let's jump in!" I grabbed Suho's hand and ran over. He chuckled and held the boat steady as I climbed on then he sat down across from me, using the paddle to push us into the river. I smiled and laughed, closing my eyes as the cold air whipped my face. I gazed at the beautiful waterfall, watching as the water splashed beneath it. I continued to talk to Suho while taking in the wonderful scenery. When the time ticked by I suggested we took another photo. Suho paddled the boat around so that it lined up with the waterfall. We snapped the picture and took another for Suho's phone as well.

When the boat was back on the shore Suho carefully got out first and grabbed my hands to support me as I stepped off as well. The time was nearing lunch and we didn't want to be late. We chased each other, smiling and giggling all the way back to the campsite. The students were starting to file into the cafeteria and we quickly followed them inside. Suho lined up behind me as we picked up our trays. They served mugwort fishcake soup, bean sprout rice, strawberries, herbs, cubed radish kimchi and crunchy potato squid rings. Suho gently put his hand on my back, leading me to the table. This time he made sure I sat next to him. Everyone else joined us a little while later. Seojun sat on Suho's left which seemed to almost disappoint Jookyung, but she quickly fixed her expression. "Hey where did you two run off to earlier?" Taehoon asked, pointing his chopsticks at us. I smiled, "Just into the woods. There is this really pretty river behind there with a cute little paddle boat and a waterfall you should check it out!" I said.

"Oh a peaceful ride on the river? How romantic!" Sooah said, raising her eyebrows. I scoffed and went back to my food as everyone at the table cheered and whistled. When lunch was over the teacher announced the next activity. "Since it's cold we thought we could play a game of volleyball to keep us moving!" Mr Han said. Everyone was quite happy about this idea and all ran outside to the court where the net had already been set up. They divided us into four different teams. I was in group three with Taehoon. First up were groups one and two. Suho and Jookyung were together in group one and Sooah was by herself in group two. The other two groups sat down towards the side as the teachers started the game. Taehoon and I laughed as we watched Sooah struggle by herself, no clue how to play the game. I watched Suho, who was actually doing pretty well. He looked oddly attractive while playing. Jookyung was trying her best to contribute as well, pouting at Suho when she would miss the ball.

I tried not to think much of it and continued watching the game. I watched as Sooah managed to hit the ball. It soared over the net right towards Jookyung. She took steps backwards in an attempt to receive it, but she tripped over her feet and fell backwards towards Suho. He quickly grabbed her by the shoulders before she could fall and she wrapped her arms around his neck. She stared adoringly into his eyes as everyone gathered around to ask if she was alright. I felt tears weld in my eyes and my heart was in pain. I quickly wiped my eyes dry and got up, walking away. Why did I have to feel so jealous? It's not like he's my boyfriend or anything. So why does it hurt so much every time he saved Jookyung? I ran into the woods, my watery eyes making it hard to see. I didn't know where I was running, but I eventually found a secluded area. It was grassy and open, with a singular tree providing shade. I crouched under it, gripping my sweater tight, and just cried.