Feeling Brew

~23~

"I honestly thought you'd be happier to see me," Adrian noted while raking his hands through his platinum blonde hair.

"Why are you here?" Isla shot back, dropping all the formalities.

"Ouch. I figured you'd ask. I'm here for the international swim meet happening here in Busan. Melody's swimming."

Isla bit her tongue. If she happened to run into Melody, she'd never hear the end of it.

"Still on the weak side, I see," Adrian nodded at the cast on her arm. " I was looking forward to watching you swim. I guess you were never really competition anyways, but watching you try-"

"Are you done?" Isla suddenly stood up. She wasn't the same girl she was all those years ago.

Taehyung looked on from behind the counter sadly. He had seen Taeil get rejected just yesterday, and his crush had already brought a new guy to the coffee shop. But when he saw her stand up and storm out, he realized something was wrong. The guy chased her out, and as much as Taehyung wanted to follow, he couldn't. He was tied down by his shift and continued brewing the espresso for the cappuccino he was making.

"Quit following me," Isla groaned. "Go hang out with Melody. Obviously, what you did back then didn't affect you at all. You're as mean as ever."

Not giving him a chance to reply, she trudged back to NCTU's campus to walk around and get some fresh air before heading home. The anger inside her was building up like a soda bottle, and she was afraid that if she was shaken anymore, she would explode.

Isla still hadn't gotten to tell Taeil about her true feelings. After running into her ex-best friend last night, she was reminded of those days where she felt so alone. But there wasn't much difference in those days and these ones. She had practically pushed Taeil away, and now she was on her own again. People talked about her behind her back and to her face. She had no one to rely on anymore. There was no chance Johnny would want to talk to her after everything she'd done to his best friend.

Isla was so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't realized she had walked to the Aquatic Complex. Suddenly, she heard Min Hwang's voice ring out, and she pressed herself flat against the side of the building, concealing herself.

"Can you believe Taeil hangs out with someone like her? She's so pathetic, but she has him wrapped around her finger."

Isla heard Min Hwang laugh before speaking. "Taeil's pretty strange himself. He's good-looking and all, but he never speaks. It's weird how shy he is. It's the quiet ones you have to watch out for."

The foreigner couldn't take it. She left her spot and marched up to Min Hwang, sticking her face right up to hers. "You can talk about me all you want. To my back, to my face, online, wherever. But don't you dare talk about my friends."

Min Hwang's eyes wavered for a second, but she regained her confidence when she remembered Isla only had one arm to defend herself.

"Or what?" she challenged her. "What if I make fun of your friends?" She began pushing her backwards, using more force than usual.

Isla stumbled, eventually falling while using her free arm to support herself.

"Or else I'll have you expelled and rip you to shreds myself."

Isla watched Mi Ran grab Min Hwang's shirt collar and nearly lift her off the ground.

"Try this again and see what happens. All of you." Mi Ran let go of the girl's collar, and Min Hwang gasped for air. The rest of her crew scurried off, leaving just Isla and Mi Ran behind.

The twin helped Isla up, dusting off the dirt on her coat. "How long has this been happening?" Mi Ran questioned, not meeting the blonde's gaze.

Isla's piercing green eyes pooled with tears. "I'm sorry I thought you were behind this. I don't want you to get roped into my problems."

Mi Ran squeezed the girl's arm in comfort. "How have you been facing all this alone? Min Hwang thinks she's been preying on the weak, but you're the strongest person I know."

~~~

"Holy guacamole, Geo is performing at the Busan International Swim Meet!" Mark exclaimed, dropping his fork onto his lunch tray.

"What? Really?" Johnny leaned over the table to read the Canadian's phone. And sure enough, there were articles about Geo making the big decision to reveal herself at the swim meet.

Isla took a seat in between Johnny and Mi Ran. "Wait, but this will ruin the concept, won't it?"

Taeil who was now shifting uncomfortably in his seat shook his head in disagreement. "We should respect Geo's decisions."

"Maybe she's finally ready to show her face to the world," Jooheon managed through a mouthful of rice. "I heard they're asking for people from NCTU to be back up dancers. Apparently Geo wants locals to be part of her reveal."

"I want to dance!" Irene piped up, and frowned when Jooheon started laughing at her.

"You can't dance, though," he teased.

"And neither will you be able to if you keep making fun of me," Irene shot back. That quieted him. "Mi Ran, Isla, we should sign up together. I think it could be fun."

"I'm in," Mi Ran giggled. "I want to be a part of such a monumental event. Isla, you're in too, right?"

"Sure. I'm definitely a better dance than singer," she grinned.

It wasn't long before the three girls along with some other volunteers were in the dance studio of NCTU learning choreography from the head of the dance department. They practiced around four hours every day after their classes were over.

Isla had thought herself to be a decent dancer, but these rehearsals were draining the life out of her. At least she had Irene and Mi Ran along with her. It was nice seeing the Bae twins so close these days. Before, they wouldn't speak a word to each other, but now, they seemed to be on the same wavelength. Irene had found herself and realized studying wasn't everything but had learned how to balance school with fun. Meanwhile, Mi Ran had cut out all the fake people in her life and stopped living to elicit a reaction from others. Isla had so much to learn from them.

But naturally, since they saw each other every day, they told each other virtually everything.

"Wait, so Taeil confessed to you, and you turned him down?!" Irene shrieked. "No wonder it's been so awkward between you two."

Isla rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "Yeah, I'm awful, aren't I? I should have told him right away that I didn't mean any of what I said. No, I should have just been honest to begin with. I haven't had the time to tell him, but I'm gonna try and clean all this up after the Geo performance."

Mi Ran placed her hands on her hips. "Okay, so I need some advice, as well. I think there's someone I like, but I don't know how to tell him. He thinks I'm just the girl who liked his bestie, but I don't know how to show him things have changed."

"I would just straight up tell Johnny," Irene wiped the sweat running down her forehead. "He seems like a very straightforward guy."

"How'd you know it was Johnny?!"

Irene and Isla laughed while shrugging playfully. Isla really hoped she could protect the people around her. She wished they could laugh like this for a very long time. Even when she left for Canada, she hoped the people she loved could continue to run as far as their legs would carry them. They deserved happiness even if that meant Isla had to give up hers.

---

Question of the chapter: How do you protect the people you love?