𝐁𝐨𝐲𝐬 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬 - 𝑩𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒇𝒇 (𝑨𝑴𝑩𝑾)

33: Never Yours

The morning after the drunken conversation with Hyunjin, Liliana woke up with a groan. Her head throbbed, and flashes of the previous night came flooding back. She had said some ridiculous things to Hyunjin. Rock bands, squirrels, pet rocks? She cringed inwardly. But even worse, she'd blurted out her intense dislike for Chan, the guy who had boldly asked her out in front of everyone. She couldn't believe how much she'd let the drinks loosen her tongue.

She rolled over and grabbed her phone, seeing a string of messages from Mariah, Eliška, and Chloe.

Mariah: "Feeling okay? You were hilarious last night. 😂"

Chloe: "Remember when you swore you'd never go to Lotte World with 'the stupid cucumber'? 😂"

Eliška: "Can we start calling Chan 'cucumber' from now on? I think it fits."

Liliana laughed in spite of herself. The group chat had been flooded with their reactions from last night, but then, she noticed something more serious. A message from Hyunjin:

Hyunjin: "Hey, are you okay? You seemed really upset last night about Chan. Do you want to talk about it?"

Liliana sighed and leaned back against her pillow. She wasn't ready to think about Chan and his dramatic public confession, especially not when her emotions were still all over the place. It felt like everyone around her was waiting for her reaction-her teammates, Hyunjin, and even Chan's own bandmates, if the rumor mill was anything to go by.

Reluctantly, she tapped out a quick reply to Hyunjin.

Liliana: "I'm fine, don't worry! Last night was just... intense. Let's talk soon, okay?"

She didn't feel like diving into everything just yet. Her mind was still too cloudy, and she had to figure out how she wanted to handle Chan. There was no way she could simply go out with him-he'd made her life difficult from day one, acting cocky and unpredictable. She had to stick to her instincts.

The sound of an incoming call startled her. It was Mariah.

"Hey, Liliana, how's the hangover?" Mariah asked teasingly.

"Don't remind me," Liliana groaned. "I can barely think straight."

"Well, I figured you'd want to know something before it gets out of hand."

Liliana sat up, instantly more alert. "What is it?"

"Chan's big confession? It's already circulating around the company's group chat."

Liliana's stomach twisted. "What? How did it even get out?"

"it was broadcasted all over the company?"

"How did he even have access to jyp broadcasting office. He gets credits fit the effort atleaat"

"But now that it's out there, you're going to have to deal with it. People are already speculating that you'll go on the date because I quote ' you are a desperate bitch and this is exactly what you wanted from the get go'. Trainees are pressed tho."

"They can stay pressed. I'm not even going on that date, Mariah," Liliana said firmly, pacing her room. "I don't care how public his announcement was. He can't just waltz in and expect me to say yes because he made a scene."

"Okay, okay, I hear you," Mariah said, her tone gentle. "But you need to tell him that. And you need to be prepared for how everyone else is going to react."

Liliana frowned. "They should be joyful about my response but fine, I'll talk to him," Liliana muttered. "But I'm going to make it clear that I'm not interested."

"Good luck. You know where to find us if you need backup," Mariah said with a laugh. "And hey, don't worry too much. You're Liliana. You've got this."

After ending the call, Liliana took a deep breath. She wasn't looking forward to confronting Chan, but she had to do it.