"Are you doing alright?" Taehee questioned.

Surprisingly, her tone held warmth and concern that penetrated to the deepest corner of her heart and made her feel more vulnerable. Jinhee bit her lips in order to hold in the rush of emotions.

"Y-yes," Jinhee answered— her tone sounding broken.

Even a fool wouldn't believe what Jinhee just said, but Jinhee did not pay mind to it for Taehee wouldn't exactly care about what Jinhee felt. After all, to Taehee, Jinhee was simply an obstacle.

"You can confide in me, Jinhee-ah. Even if it doesn't look like it, I'm still there for you. So, don't cry on your own. You can vent out and cry out to me; Don't keep it hidden inside. I'm not your enemy, Jinhee-ah."

Taehee's soft voice filled with genuine worry broke down the last wall within Jinhee, and she burst out crying.

She didn't understand why Taehee cared so much. Shouldn't she be rejoicing the fact that Jinhee is sad? Wouldn't it be bothersome if Jinhee cried to her everytime? Was this Taehee's plan to leave her exposed to her?

However, at this moment, the comfort Taehee's voice provided her was what she needed the most. She wanted someone to reassure that she wasn't alone, and there was someone to support her.

Everything around her pressurised her. Sometimes, she hoped that she could be selfish without feeling guilty, so that she'd only save herself and not protect others' from injustice. Wouldn't things be much better for her then?

However, she couldn't do that. She had to prevent Dowon's and Hyunbin's death. She had to savw Hyunki's future. She had to stop that event that would happen with Jaehyun's on their summer break. She had to prove herself to Dowon. She had to befriend Chaewon and protect her from getting treated unfairly.

No one ordered her to do so, but she had to do it. On top of all that, now she had her parents who were willing to kill her.

"Jinhee-ah, it's okay. Everything will be fine. Don't worry about other things. I'll fix them so that you can happy."

Taehee repeated those words multiple into her ear— her articulate voice delivering ease to Jinhee's stuffed heart. Something within Taehee's tone caused Jinhee's heart to beat faster, and a strange feeling rooted itself into Jinhee's heart.

°°°

"Are you done with crying now? You wasted a lot of my phone balance, so you got to treat me," Taehee spoke out— her voice sounding teasing.

Jinhee must have been hallucinating when she thought that Taehee sounded comforting earlier. This girl definitely did not know how to act properly during situations!

Sniffing, Jinhee spoke out, "Just forget what you listened to earlier, and I'll pay for that balance."

"My cold-hearted little squirrel!" Taehee exclaimed. "The comfort I provided you with— Can it be paid by money?"

"If you have nothing more to say, I'll hang up the call." Jinhee gritted her teeth; This female just irritated her.

"Sure! Just remember that I got new blackmail material on you— the recording of you crying," Taehee commented before hanging up the call.

Staring at her phone, Jinhee almost wanted to call Taehee's number and curse the female out to her heart's content. She was clearly wrong to let her emotions flow out that way.