RUTH❌

5. the problem

Rosé POV

"She finally built up the valor of courage. As soon as she opened her eyes, there he was. Her dream man—doused in that sweet vanilla bean scent from the coffee shop downtown—was only an inch from her now cherry-reddening nose. She mentally didn't know how to react to his sudden action, but physically, she lost it. Within a split second, their lips crashed-"

"Lisa shut up already!" I commanded, closing the novel in her hand that she was quoting from.

Lisa and I have been sitting on the floor at the back of the school's library, trying to find some 'unique' books with the time we had before class.

...Okay, I admit, cheesy romance novels were kind of our thing.

Don't judge me. Some romance books are sweet, like a gift basket wrapped in autumn love and filled with spring flowers and candy. However, the unnecessarily raunchy narrative Lisa had slipped between her thumbs was the exact opposite.

My ears growled, disliking every word that rolled off the blonde's pink tongue. And no matter how much I asked her to find another book or plugged my ears in routinely, she continued to go down the page to tease me.

"Can I just see what happens after the kiss?" Lisa faked a pout, temporarily closing the novel.

My head shot up from the floor. I took my fingers out of my ears, "You mean the 100th one they've had within two hours? Is it not obvious at this point?"

"Maybbbeeee. Maybe not." She said, trying yet failing to wink in my direction.

"Lis—"  I didn't realize the same Lisa had opened the book right back up to the very next page,

"Dara's POV. IT-FELT-SO-WRONG-YET-SO-RIGHT-VERY-RIGHT-SO-SO-RIGHT-IN-ALL-THE-RIGHT-PLACES-I-TRIED-TO-CONTAIN-MY-MESSY-MOANS-BUT-THE-WAY-HIS-MANHOOD-PUMPED-IN-AND-OUT-OF-ME—"

I had enough before I screamed and tackled her down to the ground with me as hard as I felt I could, "Give me the book!"

We began fighting for the book and trying to be as silent as possible with it before someone saw us.

I managed to grab it from her, using all my strength, and tried my best to fit the paperback copy of the novel in the spot Lisa got it from before the laughing girl could rise from the floor. I got it to fit, but I ended up pushing it too hard (in), causing it to fall on the floor.

It left an opening big enough where my eyes spotted a familiar-looking brunette girl, with her hair covering some of her face, sitting at a table by herself. Her head rested comfortably in her palm.

Then it easily hit me once her eyes lit up to look around the room. It wasn't just some girl.

It was Jennie. The on and off brunette and on and off raven, Jennie Kim, sat there, with the ambiance of loneliness and sadness filling the atmosphere around her. It even affected her current blank facial expression.

Why is she alone, doing nothing but staring at people, staring at the table, and repeat? I would expect her to usually have a company of guests wherever she is. Why? Because she's Jennie Kim, she always does.

I never thought she and I would ever become friends, ever. Her crowd was the popular cheerleaders and attention-grabbing wild girls. The Irene Bae's and Nayeon Im's, not the Roseanne Park's and Lisa Manoban's.

She was intimidating when she was with them. Though Irene was the one that captured most of the stares and saved numbers, I always thought Jennie had the more daunting appeal that made her stick out from the rest.

It surprised me when I got to know her—well—she got to know me. She approached me first, and she was nice to me, making sure to smile warmly every time she saw me. And just like that, we clicked like a seatbelt.