Dove, Megan, and Hyejin were standing near the bulletin board when Stella approached, her usual air of confidence trailing behind her. She barely spared a glance at Megan or Hyejin, her focus locked onto Dove as she offered a practised smile.
"I was just looking at the competition sign-up list," Stella said lightly, flipping her hair over one shoulder. "Spots are still open. I figured if you were serious about it, your name would already be there. But I get it-singing in front of an audience isn't for everyone. Some people just... don't have the presence for it."
Megan's eyes narrowed, and Hyejin let out a scoff, already prepared to step in, but Dove didn't waver. Instead, she let the words settle for a moment before calmly turning back. Without even looking at Stella, she smiled and looked at Hyejin, giving her a knowing look.
"Hyejin."
Hyejin's smirk widened as she immediately understood. Without hesitation, she dug into her bag and pulled out a neatly folded sign-up form, slapping it into Dove's outstretched hand.
Stella's smug expression faltered, just for a second.
Dove took her time unfolding the paper, smoothing out the creases with deliberate care. Then, with a steady hand, she began filling it out, each stroke of her pen being precise and unhurried. The only sound was the faint scratch of ink on paper.
Stella stood frozen, her usual poise slipping.
When Dove finished, she capped her pen, folded the form back neatly, and handed it over to the student volunteer collecting them. Finally, she met Stella's gaze, her expression cool, unreadable.
"See you at the competition."
There it was-the faintest flicker of surprise in Stella's eyes before she quickly masked it with a tight smile. "Looking forward to it." But the slight tension in her voice gave her away.
As she turned and walked off, Megan let out a low whistle, shaking her head. "You just served her a whole five-course meal, and she didn't even see it coming."
Hyejin grinned, nudging Dove's shoulder. "Now that's what I call dramatic timing."
Dove only smiled, slipping her pen back into her bag. "I figured it was time to stop hesitating."
Megan looped her arm through Dove's, leading them away from the board. "That's my girl. Let's go celebrate with brownies. You've earned it."
-ËËââââââââââââââââââââ
Dae's
I sat at the lunch table, absentmindedly poking at my food as I listened to Megan and Hyejin bicker about whether a rom-com they'd just watched was actually good or not. Across from me, Dove quietly flipped through a notebook, occasionally glancing up to sip her drink.
It had been a weird couple of weeks. I never thought I'd be sitting here, away from the people I used to consider my closest friends. But after everything with Yuri, the tension with Kitty, and the fallout with Minho, things just... unravelled. Maybe it was inevitable. I thought I'd become a loner of some sort, but then Dove, Megan, and Hyejin automatically began sitting with me in classes, lunch, p.e., everything really and honestly... I was thankful. Really thankful.
"You're insane if you think that was a good movie," Hyejin scoffed, jabbing her fork in Megan's direction. "The second lead had way more chemistry with the main girl, and you know it."
"Yeah, but they didn't end up together, so it doesn't matter!" Megan shot back.
I let out a short laugh before finally taking a bite of myp food.
"At least you guys aren't arguing about something serious," I muttered, shaking my head.
Dove looked up from her notebook and smirked slightly. "Give it a few minutes. Last time, they nearly came to a blow over, of which K-drama had the best OST."
"Because Megan has objectively terrible taste-"
"Okay, that's slander."
I just chuckled, shaking my head as their banter continued. It was different from the group I used to sit with-less pressure, less history weighing things down. Just easy, casual conversations that didn't feel like they would explode at any second.
Dove must have noticed the shift in my expression because she tilted her head slightly. "You good?"
I hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah. Just... adjusting."
She didn't push, didn't say anything cliche like "It'll get better." She just gave me a knowing look before flicking her pen against the side of her notebook.
"You'll figure it out," she said simply.
And weirdly, I believed her.
Megan and Hyejin were still locked in their never-ending debate about last night's movie, their voices a comfortable backdrop as Dove and I talked about a song we both liked. It was nice. No pressure, no tension-just an easy conversation, something I hadn't had in a while.
Then I felt it. That shift in the air.
From the corner of my eye, I saw him.
Minho.
He was heading straight for our table, his usual confident stride a little less sharp than usual, his expression unreadable. But his focus was clear. He wasn't here for me.
He was here for Dove.
I saw her posture stiffen slightly, but she didn't look up right away. She just kept flipping through her notebook, like if she ignored him long enough, he'd take the hint and leave.
He didn't.
Minho stopped at the edge of our table, hands in his pockets, eyes locked onto her.
"Dove." His voice was quieter than usual, not as sharp. "Can we talk?"
She finally looked up, but there was no warmth in her expression. No irritation, either-just a quiet, measured indifference.
"No."
Minho's jaw tensed, but he didn't back down. "I just... I wanted to apologize."
Dove closed her notebook with a deliberate snap. "Okay. You apologized. You can go now."
Megan and Hyejin exchanged looks, but neither of them said anything. The tension at the table was thick enough to cut with a knife.
Minho hesitated, shifting his weight slightly. "Dove, come on-"
I set my chopsticks down and leaned forward slightly, cutting him off before he could push any further.
"She said no."
Minho's eyes flicked to me for the first time, his expression tightening. "This doesn't concern you, Dae."
I kept my voice even. "We're all having lunch together at this table. That makes it my concern."
For a second, Minho just stared at me, and I could see the frustration creeping into his expression. But Dove wasn't moving, wasn't giving him any ground.
After a long pause, Minho exhaled sharply and stepped back. He ran a hand through his hair, looking like he wanted to say something else, but instead, he just muttered, "Fine." Then, without another word, he turned and walked away.
The moment he was gone, Megan let out a low whistle. "Well, that was awkward."
Dove, unfazed, reopened her notebook and picked up her pen like nothing had happened. "Not really."
I glanced at her, noting the way she kept her face perfectly blank, like she hadn't just shut Minho down with barely any effort.
I didn't push. Instead, I picked up my chopsticks again and went back to eating.
If she wasn't going to dwell on it, neither was I.
"Thanks." I look up to see Dove throw me a sincere and grateful smile making my ears burn red.
"I-Its... nothing. You just seemed really uncomfortable." I say shyly, making Megan coo.
"Aww, our hero is so manly!" She said, making me get more red.
"Shut up.." I muttered, feeling embarrassed.
"Our hero." Dove said, making Megan clap in agreement as I felt my face warm up even more.
"Our hero~~" Megan repeated Dove's words.
"Our hero~" Hyejin added, making me groan as Dove, Megan, and Hyejin laughed in unison at my reaction.
-ËËââââââââââââââââââââ
Aww, frfr Dae was so manly, protecting Dove and the girls.
What if it becomes a love triangle, though? ð
Also, Stella? Girl literally got the biggest humiliation of her life lmaoo