Against the Odds | DAERIN

Chapter: 8

d a n i e l l e

"I have a double bed."

Why did I say that? I bit my lip, rethinking what I said in my head. I noticed how her eyes flickered down to my lips as I bit them. She probably got the wrong idea from that.

"Are you sure?" she asked, running her hand through her wavy brown hair and yawning.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

My head hurt slightly from crying and my eyes stung. All I wanted was to sleep now. I went into my wardrobe to get myself some pajamas. I turned around to Haerin. My clothes wouldn't fit her.

"It's okay, I can just wear this," she said, reading my mind and gesturing to her t-shirt.

I nodded and made my way to the bathroom, leaving her in my room. I quietly shut the door and sighed, looking at myself in the mirror. My mascara had smudged, and my eyes were red. God, I looked awful. I splashed my face with cold water and looked in the mirror again. Why am I even crying about this?

Jungwon treated me so badly, and I gave him everything. It was just never good enough for him. He never cared or actually loved me. As I thought about it, I realized he wasn't the only reason I had cried.

I don't know what happened in the club, but... I liked it. She was flirting with me, and I felt more in that moment than I did throughout my whole relationship with Jungwon. She has a way with words, makes me feel like I'm more than just an object. My encounters with her have always ended up with me feeling confused afterward—confused as to why I was feeling like that whenever she laughed or whenever our eyes would meet. Confused as to why my boyfriend's sister treated me better and made me feel more special than my actual boyfriend.

Well, ex-boyfriend. My feelings for her and what I had seen Jungwon do had overwhelmed me in the club, and I couldn't help but cry. I had needed to get away from it, but when I heard her voice call for me, I didn't want to go. So I turned around and let myself be comforted by her, and now she's going to sleep in my bed.

I got changed and walked back to my room, taking a deep breath before walking in. I couldn't help a soft smile take over my face when I saw Haerin sitting on the side of my bed, fiddling with her hands.

"Which side is yours?" she asked. "I didn't want to get in 'cause I thought maybe I'd take your side accidentally."

I laughed and shook my head. "I don't have a side. I usually just sleep in the middle, so go wherever." I shrugged, walking over to the bed and getting in next to her.

After a couple of minutes of silence, I heard Haerin speak next to me.

"You know, I'm kinda glad this happened."

"What?" I asked. Why is she happy that my boyfriend cheated on me?

"Not that you got cheated on, obviously, 'cause that sucks, but it caused you and Jungwon to break up."

"And why is that good?" I asked again, turning around to face her.

She turned around too, and our eyes met again. I love her eyes.

"Because now you don't have a boyfriend that treats you like shit, and you can find someone better," she said, and opened her mouth to say something but didn't.

"Say it," I said, intrigued by what she was going to say.

She shook her head. "Nah, it doesn't matter."

"Why not?"

"It's not the right time, that's all."

I nodded my head, understanding that if it's meant to be said, then at some point, it will be. We looked at each other for a couple more seconds before she spoke.

"Goodnight, Dani."

"Night, Haerin."