The rooftop was quiet, a soft breeze carrying the distant sounds of students still cleaning up the mess from the festival. Chenle and Jaemin leaned against the railing, watching as Karina and Winter stood near the edge, lost in their own thoughts.
For weeks, something had been off about them. Jaemin had seen how Winter disappeared whenever things got too overwhelming, and Chenle had noticed how Karina seemed to shrink away anytime family or personal matters were mentioned.
They weren't just cold anymore. They were hurting.
Jaemin exhaled before speaking. "You know, if you two keep acting like ghosts, we might actually start believing you died."
Karina's jaw tightened. Winter scoffed. "What do you want?"
Chenle didn't bother sugarcoating it. "Answers."
Winter's fingers twitched at her side, and Karina looked away.
"Not just about what you did," Jaemin added. "But why."
Silence stretched over the rooftop.
Finally, Karina spoke, her voice quiet. "Why do you even care?"
Chenle shrugged. "Maybe because I know what it's like to hide things." His voice softened. "And maybe because I think you want to talk about it. You're just scared to."
Karina bit her lip.
Jaemin leaned casually against the railing, tone firm but gentle. "Look, we're not here to force anything. But if you're done pretending you don't have things to say, we're listening."
Another silence, but this time it felt different, like something was shifting.
Winter finally broke first. "I don't know how to fix it." Her voice wavered, fingers gripping the hem of her sleeve. "I don't know how to fix any of it."
Jaemin and Chenle stayed quiet, giving her space.
Winter swallowed hard, eyes darting between them. "I used to be different. I used to... I don't know, try to be good. But things kept getting worse, and I got tired of losing. So I decided that if I had to be miserable, I wouldn't be the only one."
Karina finally turned to face them. "And I followed."
Her voice was full of self-blame. "I thought if I pushed people away first, they wouldn't get the chance to leave me behind."
For a moment, no one spoke.
Jaemin sighed, running a hand through his hair. "You guys are idiots."
Winter blinked. "Excuse me?"
"Idiots." Chenle repeated, crossing his arms. "You think we haven't all been through something? You think we don't know what it's like to be scared of people leaving?"
Jaemin's voice softened. "You hurt a lot of people. And that's not something you can fix overnight. But if you actually want to fix things, you have to start somewhere."
Karina and Winter exchanged uncertain glances.
Chenle shrugged. "So... are you starting?"
There was a long pause.
Finally, with a quiet nod, Karina whispered, "Yeah."
When Jaemin and Chenle told the others, the room was filled with tense silence.
Ningning had her arms crossed. Giselle stared at the table. Mark's jaw was tight.
Renjun scoffed. "So, what, we're just supposed to forgive them?"
Jaemin shook his head. "No. But we are supposed to listen."
Ningning let out a harsh laugh. "You want to know what I heard? That they're sorry now. But they weren't sorry when they were treating us like we were nothing."
Giselle nodded. "Some things aren't easy to forgive."
Chenle's gaze flickered toward Ara, who had been quiet the entire time. She sat with her hands folded in her lap, thinking.
Finally, she sighed. "I don't know."
Ningning raised an eyebrow. "You don't know?"
Ara hesitated. "I don't know how to feel. I'm angry, but I also understand why they did it. I don't know if I can just... pick a side."
The room remained tense, but Jaemin didn't push. It wasn't about choosing sides. It was about understanding that things weren't black and white.
In the end, some were willing to forgive. Some weren't.
But what mattered was that it was finally out in the open.
While everyone else dealt with the drama, Ningning had a different problem.
Danny.
He had been everywhere lately... annoying her in class, cutting into conversations, acting like they were best friends when she had made it clear they weren't.
And every time he got suspended, he just came back.
Ningning slammed her locker shut, spinning around to find Danny already there.
"God, do you just appear out of nowhere?" she snapped.
Danny smirked. "You make it sound like a bad thing."
"It is a bad thing." Ningning stepped around him, but he blocked her path.
"You know," Danny said, tilting his head, "you've been awfully busy lately. New festival, new drama, new friends." His smile darkened. "But don't worry. I'll make sure you don't forget about me."
Ningning's stomach twisted. There was something in his tone that sent a cold shiver down her spine.
She felt genuinely uneasy.
Danny wasn't just annoying anymore.
He was planning something.
And Ningning had no idea what.
But she knew one thing for sure...
She needed to be careful.
A.N -
- I almost forgot about Danny T-T
