— Minji's POV
People always say Minji had everything.
And maybe she did.
Good skin. Good grades. Perfect hair. Rich parents. A social circle that orbit her like planets.
But that's the thing about pretty girls.
No one ever asks if they're happy.
Minji first met Aara in middle school. Back then, Aara was the girl everyone liked quietly — soft-spoken, polite, top of the class, always helping teachers.
She was boring.
Too obedient.
Too invisible.
But somehow… people liked her. Genuinely liked her.
That pissed Minji off more than she ever admitted.
She told herself it wasn't jealousy.She was just "protecting" Aara from becoming one of those weird girls who got too full of herself.
So she made little comments.
"You'd be so pretty if you wore better clothes.""You should smile more, or people will think you're depressed.""Don't you ever get tired of being a try-hard?"
Minji said it all with a smile.A hug.A wink.
And Aara always smiled back.
Because she didn't know yet.
She didn't know that not all best friends want the best for you.
The shift started when Aara's life fell apart.
Her grades got better — but she stopped talking as much. Her eyes started looking hollow. She stopped eating lunch. Stopped texting.
Minji asked if she was okay, sure. But she didn't care about the answer.
Because suddenly, Aara became interesting.
She started breaking.
And people love a girl who's breaking.
Especially when they're used to her being better.
When the rumors started — about her family's debt, about her father disappearing, about the part-time jobs — Minji didn't defend her.
She just made sure everyone heard them.
She didn't even have to say much. Just a whisper here. A smirk there.
And when people started calling Aara names?
Minji laughed along.
Not because she hated her.
But because Aara was finally beneath her.
Then Haru started looking at her.
And everything changed.
He didn't just see Aara. He watched her.
He followed her with his eyes like she was made of secrets.
And for once, Minji wasn't the center of attention.
That… was unacceptable.
So she watched too.
And what she saw — in the way Haru hovered near Aara, the way he stared, the way his hand wrapped around her arm in the hallway — made something inside Minji rot.
It should've been me.
Haru was everything Aara shouldn't have.
Power.
Money.
Danger.
Everything Aara didn't deserve — not when she looked like a stray cat and smelled like smoke and sadness.
So Minji decided she'd take it back.
She texted one of the boys from the third year. The one who liked hurting girls more than dating them.
She told him Aara "liked it rough."Told him she "might not say no."Told him she was "into older guys."
She did it with the same hand she used to braid Aara's hair years ago.
Because friendship meant nothing now.
Not when the world was watching.
And Minji needed to be the star again.
Back home, Minji stared at her vanity mirror.
Her phone lit up.
Group Chat: "She's been spending time with Haru… wtf?"
"I heard they were together last night."
"Aara the slut fr."
Minji smiled.
Later that night, she made a new post on her anonymous gossip account.
Aara's name.A blurred photo.A lie that sounded just true enough.
"New girl's getting around. Heard she sleeps her way out of debt."
The likes came in fast.
She locked her phone and whispered to herself:
"Let's see how strong you really are, Aara."