Not Perfect Night, Doomed Night -[BBANGSAZ AU]

4.) Hanni is OUR Mortal Enemy

Minji's POV:

"MinMin!"

I didn't even have to look up to know who was barreling toward me. That voice, full of way-too-much-energy-for-1-AM, belonged to none other than Danielle, my roommate, and the human equivalent of sunshine after a night of no sleep. Before I could react, she enveloped me in a hug that squeezed the air out of my lungs.

"Nice to see you too, Dani," I managed to huff, trapped in her iron grip. She finally let go, beaming at me like I'd just brought her a dozen puppies.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love Dani. She's like a walking, talking energy drink—without the crash. But we couldn't be more different. While I was dragging myself through life like an extra in a zombie apocalypse, Dani was busy living her best life, probably with a soundtrack of upbeat pop songs playing in the background. She had this uncanny ability to juggle everything—parties, sorority events, and somehow, her grades too. I was convinced she had a time turner or something. Or maybe she just wasn't human. Yeah, probably that.

Dani is the embodiment of a paradox: the bad girl with straight A's, the party animal who never seems hungover. It's almost annoying how perfect she is. Almost. But then she'll flash that megawatt smile, and you remember why you don't mind having a Disney princess for a roommate.

"Sooo, how was your day? Tell me alllll about it -she elbows me while wiggling her eyebrows-, and don't spare the details," Dani chirped, dragging me to her room. If you've never seen a pastel explosion before, you should visit her room. It's like walking into a cotton candy factory, but, like, in a good way.

"As usual, Dani: class, gym, caffeine crash at the campus café, Haerin scolding me, and studying," I croaked, flopping onto her bed. The mattress was soft, like everything else in her room. I felt like I was sinking into a giant marshmallow, and honestly, I didn't hate it.

Dani frowned, her nose crinkling like she'd just smelled something bad. "Bummer, huh?"

"In a nutshell, yeah. That's my life!" I said, throwing my hands up in mock celebration.

"Well, I know what'll cheer you right up!" She did this little air drumroll with her fingers, which was as adorable as it was unnecessary. "Pastries!"

Before I could react, she shot up like a rocket and sprinted out of her room, leaving me alone with the pastel décor. I barely had time to blink before she was back, holding a box of baked goodies like it was the Holy Grail.

"Okay, okay, they're a little stale," she admitted.

"But hey, I snagged them when I clocked out of Bambina. Perks of the job, right?"

She plopped down next to me on her marshmallow of a bed and opened the box. "So, you in for some slightly crusty carbs, or what?"

"K." I couldn't help but laugh. The girl had more energy at 1 AM than I had after three cups of coffee. Seriously, where did she store it all? In those curls of hers?

We sat on her bed, munching on the pastries. I tried to ignore the way she kept looking at me like she was waiting for something. Eventually, she couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Soooo, what's new with Jake?" she asked, elbowing me like we were in middle school and she just found out who my crush was.

I groaned. Dani was the worst kind of enabler. She was the only reason I kept this crush alive. It's like she saw my doomed love life as some kind of twisted rom-com, and she was the audience rooting for the star-crossed lovers. Spoiler alert: not a rom-com, just a tragedy waiting to happen.

"Allllrightt, soooo?" Dani's grin was practically ear-to-ear.

"I fell face-first into the treadmill while oogling Jake," I blurted out, my cheeks burning. It wasn't my finest moment, and I knew she was going to have a field day with this.

For a moment, she just stared at me, lips pressed together like she was trying to hold something in. Then the corner of her lips started to twitch. And then she lost it. The laughter that erupted from her was loud, boisterous, and utterly contagious. Before I knew it, I was laughing too, even though I was the butt of the joke.

She was punching the bed, tears streaming down her face, while I stared at the cookie in my hand, wondering if it was worth finishing. We laughed so hard that my stomach hurt, the kind of laughter that makes you forget everything else, even if just for a moment.

When the laughter finally died down, and we were both clutching our aching bellies, she managed to speak, her voice raspy from all the yelling. "L-ok, it w-wasn't, th-at, h-ha."

"Pshh, it's in the past. It's all good," I said, waving it off like it was nothing. But honestly, I was just glad she wasn't making it a bigger deal than it was.

"But y'know what? Jake was talking to some girl behind me." I hushed my voice, feeling the weight of the confession. "I didn't know Jake had a girlfriend. I thought he was single all this time."

Danielle looked at me like I was the innocent little lamb that had just wandered into the wolf's den. "Oh, my innocent MinMin, you seriously didn't know?"

I shook my head. Was it that obvious?

"You didn't know?" she asked again, eyes wide with disbelief. When I shook my head again, she sighed, patting my knee like I was some tragic hero. "That bitch was short with black hair, wide doe eyes, she laughed, and then she was so happy with—"

"Hanni," Dani finished for me, her voice a mix of exasperation and sympathy.

I gasped. "You knew her?!?"

"Yeah," Danielle answered with her head in her hands. "She's like my mortal enemy."

"I mean, how could you not? Besides sororities, sporting events, parties, campus social events. She's like...everywhere." Danielle sighed again, leaning back against the headboard. "She's the campus queen bee. In other words, she's like every other ABG that's on campus."

Now, my eyebrows furrowed, and my lips pursed. "Sooo, that means she'll dump Jake soon, right?"

Danielle looked toward the ceiling as if she was consulting with some higher power. "Yeah, I-I guess so. I mean, look at her dating record." She pulled out her phone and swiped through photos. "Here, she is with Jungwon—" She swiped again. "Then within three months, she's with Ricky—" Another swipe. "Now she's with Jake. She's so clearly a manipulative—sorry, Min, I have to agree with you—bitch. She'll probably toss Jake out like a used condom after what? I give it six months this time. Hanni is a priss; no matter what, she always gets what she wants."

After some more chit-chat and small laughs, I excused myself, finally heading to bed. Sleep was a necessity if I didn't want Haerin to go full psycho on me tomorrow. Last thing I needed was to show up on campus looking like death warmed over. Though, knowing my luck, that's probably inevitable.

Damn Haerin.