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It’s like whiplash to see her attitude change the moment she’s talking to Minseok.

“I should go,” Ana murmurs even though she’s clearly waiting in line to pay. She looks down at the seltzer and salad in her hands. Then pushes them into Yunseo’s arms. The other girl takes them obediently.

“Bye.” She bows to Minseok, then turns and hesitantly lowers her head toward me before hurrying out.

She can’t even be in the same room as me? Does she really hate me that much?

“Do you want us to bring these to you?” Yunseo calls, but Ana has already disappeared into the elevators.

Yunseo turns to me with an accusatory glare. I’m scrambling to think of an excuse or an apology.

But Minseok’s arm comes around me, squeezing just slightly. “Come on, Hyeri. We have to go back for that new segment.” He guides me out of the commissary.

I’m disoriented, trying to parse out my thoughts. So, I let him lead me without paying attention to where we’re going. It’s not until the door of the stairwell closes behind us that I snap out of it.

“She couldn’t even be in the same room as me,” I murmur.

“You don’t know that,” Minseok says.

“She didn’t even look at me.”She acts like I’m really a bully.I start to get heated. I’ve never done anything to her and she acts like she’s scared of me. “Thisis why people think I bullied her. She acts like an injured deer when I’m around.”

My anger flares brighter. It’s surprising and shocking. I’ve never allowed myself to feel like this before. But I’m suddenly so overwhelmed with the injustice of it all. “You know, when the first bullying rumor came out, I actually apologized to her. I was worried that it would give her anxiety to be written about on the gossip sites. But she hasn’tonceasked me if I’m okay, not even when we were in Helloglow together.”

“Wow, you’re really pissed,” Minseok says softly, and it pulls me slightly from the current of my feelings. It makes me self-conscious and defensive.

“What? Are you going to tell me that I should calm down? Or that I should be the bigger person? Or that no one will believe I’m worth investing in if I’m too messy and emotional?” I’m listing all the criticisms my mom always says to me.

Minseok lets out a laugh that echoes against the stark concrete walls of the stairwell. “No, I’m just really surprised you’re actually letting this all out. I never thought you’d be able to.” He grins as he pinches my cheek. “I’m glad.”

“Glad?” I blink up at him in shock. “You’re glad that I’m angry?”

“I’m glad that you know you’re not responsible for the bullshit narrative the media made up about you and Ana.”

“Really?” My voice is tight. I have to push it out from my constricting chest. “You don’t think I’m making it worse by showing too much emotion?”

He shakes his head. “Any normal person would get pissed at a situation like this. Whether she’s playing it up or not. You can’t change that. But I’m glad you’re not letting them convince you you’re in the wrong here.”

I laugh and it’s like a release. As if someone opened the lid of a boiling kettle that lives in my chest. Maybe, this whole time, I was just waiting for someone to take my side, no questions asked. I grip his hand, squeezing it. “You’re really surprising.”

He grins and twines our fingers. “That’s a good thing, right?”

I lift onto my toes to give him a quick peck. “I guess you could say that. At least I’m never bored with you.”

“Oh good; a life of boredom is worse than death.” He shudders dramatically.

“I’m not sure people would agree with you.”

He shrugs, tugging me after him. “That’s because most people are wrong.”

I start to laugh, but it cuts off as I realize we’re climbing the stairs. “Wait, we’re not taking the elevator.”

“You said I can’t hold your hand in the elevator,” he reminds me, lifting our joined hands to show me.

I laugh again. “You always seem to find a way to get what you want, don’t you?”

He presses his lips to my knuckles, his smiling eyes bright over our joined hands. “Usually.”

It can’t be real, right?