Sleep | Park Sunghoon

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘

And I said yes.

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We planned to keep it secret for a couple of weeks. And so we did. we kept quiet about it, no kissing or hugging or walking through the hallways together during school. It seemed like a perfect plan, so how did someone find out?

I remember scrolling through Instagram late at night, nothing special. Suddenly, I got a new follow from an account with a keyboard-smashed username, no profile picture and only post. Of course, the account was a dating account for our school. Or maybe not for the school, just for one specific couple. Sunghoon and I.

It was a picture of us on our date the day before. We were at our usual spot, cuddling on the bench while watching Tiktok's together. There were thousands of likes and comments from students at my school. I called Sunghoon, freaking out. Turns out he was a lot less fazed by it than I was. Maybe I was dramatic, but still, revealing a couple to the public without their permission is such a bitch move.

Fast-forward to this morning with Sunghoon standing in my room, watching me get ready while playing with my cat. I put on a few clips onto my hair before putting on some rings on my fingers. "Come, Sunghoon, let's go," I say, grabbing my bag and his hand before walking out the door.

"Okay, darling." He says, making me choke on my own spit. "Oh god, I completely forgot about that nickname," I say, recalling the trip to Jeju where he called me darling for one night but then stopped after that day.

We get into his car and drive off to the school. My leg nervously bounces up and down until Sunghoon places a hand over my knee, making me stop. "Are you nervous?" He asks as I nod, biting my lip to stop it from quivering. "Yeah. I'm not one to totally care about what others think, but at the same time, what will my friends think of me? Will they be mad that I kept it a secret from them?"

He smiles, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "Don't worry, Scarlett. If they're true friends, then they'll understand." I feel reassured but still had that small feeling in my gut that this relationship wasn't going to be as easy as I thought. I snuggle into his arm, ignoring my body's signs of trouble and try to distract my mind.

The car abruptly stops in front of the school as I thank the driver and get out. This time, my hands were intertwined with Sunghoon's. We confidently walk through the hallways where several students look at us, gossiping loud enough for us to hear.

"I knew they were dating!"

"I wonder who releases that photo of them."

"Fuck, I'm so desperate for a boyfriend now."

"She's so annoying, walking through the hallways like that. I just want to go up to her and put her in her place!"

The last one makes me jolt my head at the voice. It came from a first-year girl who was annoyingly chewing gum while twirling her hair, just like a typical mean girl. I slightly giggle to myself. Wow, I can't believe people actually act like that in real life.

We open the doors to the classroom and all eyes turn to us. Sunghoon and I separate ways, as I sit down next to Beomgyu whose jaw, was practically sitting on the floor. "So- Wait! But- I thought... The rumours are true?" He rambles, clearly shocked.

Before I can respond, the doors burst open to reveal a girl. Wait a second! It's not just any girl, it's Minseo! For a second, I couldn't recognize her with her new haircut. her long hair had been dyed to black. She cut herself see-through bangs and her hair laid over her shoulders.

She sits down at her desk as Heejin rambles on about how good she looks. I walk over to her desk. "Minseo, you're hair looks really good." I smile at her as she does the same. But for some reason, her smile was bitter. As if she was urging for the moment I left her alone.

"Hey, Minseo now has the same hair as Scarlett!" Someone exclaims, walking into the class. It was non-other than Jay, who pointed towards me before starting to dab up all his friends. "I guess our hair is similar now," I say, starting to play with mine.

"Not everything is about you, Scarlett. Let Minseo have her moment, for fucks sake." Heejin blurts in, giving me a pissed look. "Um..." I trail off. Jinsoul notices the tense atmosphere Heejin created. "Okay, guys! Let's not fight, please. Instead, let's talk about Scarlett and her loverboy..."

My cheeks flush red as I look at the ground, embarrassed. The girls tease me as Jimin and Ningning walk towards us. "Wait, what did we miss? Who's loverboy?" Ningning asks.

"Didn't you hear? Scarlett and Sunghoon are dating now!" Olivia exclaims. "WHAT?!" Minseo and Heejin get up from their seat at the same time, their face full of fury and shock. "Yeah... Someone posted this picture on a random Instagram account of the two on a date."

"You guys look mad..." Jimin points out as Heejin and Minseo sit back down, slightly embarrassed. "It's nothing." Heejin states. I start to walk towards my desk and sit down. Ningning and Jimin stand in front of me.

"Have you noticed that Heejin has been acting like a bitch towards you?" Jimin says as Ningning nods. Looks like I haven't been the only one to notice that. Ever since the cafeteria incident, Heejin and mine's relationship has turned into some sort of rivalry where she's always picking a fight to make me look like a villain.

"I know right? It's so weird." Yeonjun says while walking past us, towering over Jimin and Ningning. "It's so weird because at the beginning of the year you and Heejin were like, two peas in a pod. Now it feels like she replacing you with Minseo."

"Speaking of Minseo, I saw a bunch of posters of Sunghoon in her locker. It seems like she's a really big fan of him. That's probably why she overreacted so much when Olivia said you and him were dating. She's probably like those delusional fans that think they have a chance to date their favourite celebrities." Ningning states.

"That act in the cafeteria where she said that you tripped her made me not like her anymore. She seems untrustworthy." Jimin bites her nails, sending nervous glances towards Minseo every second or so. "And there's no way she wasn't inspired by the least because of your hairstyle. You're the only girl in this school to even have hair like that!"

"It seems like Heejin and Minseo are plotting something against you," Yeonjun says as the two girls nod along with his statement. "I would watch out if I were you. You never know who could become a back-stabbing snake."

I scoff, trying not to believe what they were saying. "Guys, Heejin and I are just having a rocky moment in our friendship right now. And, Minseo is an innocent girl. So what if her hairstyle is similar to mine? It doesn't affect me, it's just hair. Let's, not gossip guys." I try to convince them to leave. Yeonjun gives me a sympathetic look.

"it's not gossiping, Scarlett. It's talking facts about someone who is clearly out to get you. We're only telling you this because it seems as if everyone has caught on except for Sunghoon, your friends and you."

This is unbelievable. Even if Minseo had something against me, Heejin would never conspire with her.

Our friendship is a lot more valuable than that for her to give it up so easily.

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