Broken

8

When dinner time came by, Jihyo showed up to Nayeon's as she promised. The girls decided it was better to stay at a private place, as things were certain to get out of hand. They had asked the girl if she was alright with Momo and Chaeyoung joining them, to which she only responded with a 'they are your girlfriends, it's Nayeon's house'. They knew she would draw back again, but the two had been adamant in jumping into the Jihyo team.

Jihyo knocked on the door, she knew they were trying to feel better at themselves, reaching out to her and trying to make her feel included again. So Jihyo would give them what they wanted, she would entertain them while she was there, nibble at whatever they gave her, give them half answers that would appease them and get on with her life. Go back to her routine and try to get that scholarship she had been chasing since the beginning of the year, she wouldn't tell them about that, they didn't need to know.

"You really came." Nayeon says and brings the girl into a hug.

"I said I would. I keep my word, no?" Jihyo chuckles.

"You always do. Come in, dinner is almost ready." the older starts in a quiet mumble then tries to cheer herself up.

Jihyo entered the place, she had gone home and took a shower before coming, so there was really no coat or purse she could give Nayeon to hang. Heading into the kitchen, following the host, she saw all the other girls were there, Mina and Momo had been cooking, Chaeyoung seemed to have been playing some card game, Tzuyu was just sitting by the table. They all greeted her when she entered, Jihyo gave them all a polite smile, excused herself before sitting down and remained quiet, smile still on her face.

"I can't do this. I have to speak up." Tzuyu blurted, not even five minutes after.

"Tzuyu, we agreed to talk after dinner." Mina tries to calm the girl down.

"It's okay, Mina. She must have been thinking about it since this morning." Jihyo answers, very polite smile still on her lips.

"Are you sure about it?" Nayeon asks, a bit sickened by the girl's demeanor.

"Ofcourse, I was the one who said she would have all the answers she needed." Jihyo answered, unwavering.

"I don't want answers I need. I want the truth, Jihyo." Tzuyu says dryly, hurt visible in her eyes.

"I don't lie, Tzuyu. So, go on, ask away." Jihyo answers back, still too calm.

"Why are you keeping that sickening smile up?" Momo bites, not being able to contain herself anymore.

Her and Chaeyoung had began questioning their attitude towards Jihyo from the beginning, they spent the entire afternoon learning about the relationship between their girls and Jihyo. Both found out that Jihyo had never had friends she hung out with before them, that she had been bullied here and there but never really complained, just took it. That, even though she had an almost perfect record, Jihyo would still give her free time away to help any club or association at school.

They learned that the girl would never, honestly, lean on anyone, for she was taught she could never take from anyone, she shouldn't take anyone's time or attention for herself, so she hid behind a smile and just gave everyone else whatever they wanted from her. It didn't sit well with any of them, and Momo, ironically, couldn't stomach it after seeing how the girl looked like when she stepped into the kitchen. It was way worse than she thought.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. I should just go, this wasn't a good idea." Jihyo answered and made to get up.

"You are going to sit there and talk to us." Chaeyoung said, placing a hand at the girl's shoulder and keeping her seated.