Chapter 1

As we left the karaoke room, Selena smiled and linked her arm through mine.

"That was fun, wasn't it, Minnie?"

I pursed my lips and nodded stiffly.

"Yeah, it was really satisfying."

They didn't even notice that I hadn't sung a single song.

The microphone was always in John's or Selena's hands.

And I, huddled in a shadowy corner, could have fallen asleep and no one would have noticed.

After John paid the bill, he caught up to us from behind.

He handed us two bottles of water. The one with honey went to Selena.

"Drink some water or you'll have a completely hoarse voice for tomorrow's presentation."

Selena rolled her eyes.

"Oh, please. Even if I couldn't speak and had to use sign language, I'd still perform better than you."

Despite her words, she still took the already opened honey water from him.

My bottle was still unopened, and the rough cap dug into my palm.

My new high heels were really chafing my feet, so I slowly trailed behind them.

I tried a few times, but still couldn't open the bottle.

My palm felt sweaty, like a heart bubbling with bitterness.

John and Selena walked ahead, side by side, and they started to bicker again.

They went back and forth, unaware of my unusual silence.

"Minnie, John says I'm overreacting by asking for that fanfic in the group chat to be deleted. What do you think?"

Selena turned around, looking utterly confident.

I paused, recalling that fanfic.

It was about John and Selena, well-written and very detailed.

After causing a huge stir in our long-dormant high school group chat, Selena publicly demanded it be deleted.

[Even if every other man on Earth disappears, I still wouldn't fall for John.]

[This is disgusting. Just delete it already.]

John also replied, his tone indifferent.

[I agree, delete it.]

From start to finish, their reasons for deleting it never once involved me.

Some clueless classmates even asked me if John and Selena were bickering as a couple.

For five years, I'd always been the transparent one, overshadowed by their brilliance.

I was so invisible that apart from the three of us, no one even knew I was John's girlfriend.

I kicked a small pebble on the ground and calmly nodded.

"Yeah, I think you're overreacting too. They're right though, you two would make a great couple."

This was the first time in five years that I hadn't sided with Selena in an argument.

Her smile froze, and the muscles at the corner of her mouth twitched.

"What's with that attitude, Minnie? You were the one who wanted to go to karaoke. Selena and I specifically adjusted our schedules to come with you, and now you're acting up?"

Actually, when I said I wanted to go to karaoke, I meant going alone with John.

In the five years we'd been together, every date for two always turned into a trio.

This week, as I agonized over whether to take the work assignment overseas, all I wanted was to spend some time alone with John.

But when I arrived at the karaoke place, I discovered Selena was there too.

She was so pretty. Even though she dressed casually, there were guys hitting on her.

John warded off her admirers, and when they questioned who he was, he said, "Her boyfriend, can't you tell?"

To prove it, John took Selena's hand.

Selena didn't pull away. She just blushed and leaned closer.

Recalling that, I blinked my eyes, desperately trying to hold back tears.

"Today was supposed to be just the two of us."

Selena heard the tremor in my voice and quickly comforted me.

"I was worried John would badmouth me in front of you, so I insisted on coming along. It's my fault, don't cry. I won't come along next time."

John scolded me with a frown, his tone impatient, "Why are you crying? You're acting as if we're bullying you. You throw a tantrum every single time we go out. If you keep this up, I won't go out with you anymore. It's just no fun."

I took a deep breath and avoided Selena's hand.

"Fine, then let's not go out. I also think it's no fun."