Lee Ji-seo POV (Point Of View)
It was finally the end of our Mid-term test, with our last paper for the day being Mathematics. "This is so bad. I'm going to fail this test," I said nervously.
"The hell you're not. I spent days tutoring you in Maths. I could have used those days to do something else with my life," Taemin nagged.
"Don't worry, Ji-seo, you've got this. I believe in you," Ha-ri cheered. I gave her a small smile, "Thanks, but I don't feel confident. Oh, why did they have to put Maths on the last day?" I whined.
"They put English on the first day, but you didn't see me complaining, did you? Quit being dramatic, it's just numbers," Taemin said with an eyeroll.
I shot him a glare, "It was just numbers in kindergarten. Now they added letters and Greek symbols!"
"You'll be fine, Ji-seo. Maths is not rocket science," Dae chimed in. I turned to him, then turned to Ha-ri, "Hold your boyfriend before I land him in the hospital."
Ha-ri gasped dramatically, "Ji-seo! Where did you pick such behaviour from?!" She said in shock before turning to Taemin, "IT WAS YOU!" She yelled before stretching out her hands to his neck.
"Hey!" Min-ho yelled out. We all turned to him, "The test is about to start, you guys should settle down," he said before walking to his seat.
"What's his deal? It's not like we're the only ones causing a ruckus," I said, side eyeing him. "Ignore him, he's just a party pooper," Taemin said, shaking his head.
"He has been sitting next to Arin these past few days. That's so unlike him," Ha-ri pointed out.
"I think it's because Chaeyoung doesn't want to sit next to Arin, so he's helping her out by sacrificing himself," Dae said with a nod.
"Aww, that's so sweet," I said, placing a hand on my chest. Taemin turned to me with his face scrunched up in disgust, causing me to put my hand down.
"Let's see how long he can last," Taemin said, looking back at the couple. I sat in my seat, looking at Chaeyoung, who was staring at her desk in boredom.
'She looks so lonely. Maybe she should hang out with us after school,' I said inwardly. The teacher entered our class and began handing out our test papers, and my palms were sweaty.
'Okay, calm down, Ji-seo. Everything would be alright.' I gave myself some sort of motivation.
An hour and thirty minutes later, I had finished my test, but I continued to review my answers, and everything still looked like gibberish to me. "I'm so dead," I whined.
I submitted my paper, feeling down. Ha-ri noticed my mood and nudged my side, "Hey, everything would be alright. Who knows, you might pass the test."
I sighed, "Please don't give me false hope, Ha-ri." Taemin turned to face me, "Hey, how about we go to the arcade to boost your mood?" Taemin asked with a smile.
Ha-ri let out a gasp, "Good idea, Taemin." I sat up, "Can Chaeyoung come along?" They both looked at me like I had a loose screw.
"Are you joking? Please tell me you're joking," Taemin said in disbelief. I shook my head with a smile, "Nope. She's been lonely for days. Let her come along with us."
"Are you trying to get her killed?" Ha-ri asked with a raised brow. "What? Wait, is it because of Arin? What could she possibly do? She's not God, but the more you guys act like this would make her feel like she is God," I stated, rolling my eyes.
They looked at each other, before looking at me, "You're right. Arin has really been making us feel like we are lower than her. It's high time we chop off her wings," Ha-ri said with determination.
I nodded before getting up and making my way to Chaeyoung, who was about to walk out of the class. "Hey, Chaeyoung," I said brightly, ignoring the glare being sent my way.
"Oh, hey Ji-seo. How did the test go for you?" She asked with a nervous smile, and I could easily tell why she felt that way. After all, daggers are being sent our way.
"Not good, and that's why I want to go to the arcade today with the group," I stated. "Oh, have fun then," she said with a smile, and was about to walk away, but I blocked her path.
"And, I want you to come along with us," I finished. Her eyes widened in shock, "What?" I nodded my head, "I said that I am heading to the arcade with my friends and I want you to come along with us."
"Back off, Ji-seo!" I heard Arin yell. I rolled my eyes, "Why should I? You don't own her, and she can do anything she wants because it's her life, right, Chaeyoung?" I asked, looking at Chaeyoung with hope in my eyes.
'Please don't cower, please don't cower. Stand up for yourself. Don't let her control you, Chaeyoung," I repeated in my head.
Chaeyoung looked at me, then at Arin, "Right. It's my life and I can do anything that pleases me," she said before putting her attention on me, "I'll go along with you guys."
Arin scoffed next to us, "Okay, this is crazy. You're crazy!" She yelled. "The crazy one here is you, Arin. You think you're some kind of God that deserves some kind of worship. If things don't go your way, you throw a huge tantrum. It was so humiliating to watch, honestly. I don't know how Chaeyoung kept up with your behaviour for years," I said, glaring harshly at her.
"I'll make your life miserable, Ji-seo. Don't you dare mess with me," she spat out. "What are you going to do?" Ha-ri said, making her way towards us, "Don't forget your place. It seems you have forgotten that you don't really have much power ever since your parents' divorce, or perhaps you've forgotten about that, or you just chose to live in that imaginative world of yours where you think you are some kind of god."
Arin fumed in anger at Ha-ri's words. 'It seems like Ha-ri really hit her where it hurt,' I said to myself.
"Just face it, Arin. You don't have anyone. You're alone because of your behaviour. The moment you come to terms with that is the moment you will find peace," I said before grabbing Chaeyoung's hand and holding it up so Arin could see. "Let's go, Chaeyoung."
I pulled her out of the class, with the guys following behind. Taemin gave Arin a mischievous grin, "Bye bye, sister. We would have invited you, but we don't want our day to be ruined. Hey, Kim Min-Ho, watch over your girlfriend so she won't give herself High blood pressure. Bye." I heard him say with a chuckle.