isla found herself examining every angle of her body as she stood wearing a beautiful white dress that stopped just above her knee. the dress code for taehas banquet was strictly white and even though isla dreaded going, she couldn't help but applaud the girl for her fashion choices.

elijah, who was sprawled out on his sisters bed after she forced him to help her find something to wear, turned to her. "if you change again i'm honestly gonna throw out all your clothes."

isla huffed and death-glared him through her mirror. "i'm not. this is the only decently cute dress i have that's white, and i'm not about to wear jeans or something. is it cute though?"

the younger hummed in response, but wasn't fully paying attention to what she was wearing before going back to scrolling on his phone. isla decided that it was good enough, slipped on her shoes, grabbed her phone and left.

doyoung had only just pulled up to her house with jungwoo in the passengers side and vei in the back, jungwoo rolling down the window as they stopped. "you look so pretty!"

isla smiled and waved him off, denying the compliment but appreciating it, and got inside. they chatted amongst themselves as doyoung drove off to the hall. as much as the thought of being around rich people didn't sound appealing, isla was thankful she wasn't doing it alone. it wasn't long until they approached their destination and went inside.

"holy fuck," vei cursed at the sight of the banquet hall, the fancy tables, and lights, decorations. everything looked like it costed one million dollars each.

"took the words right out of my mouth," jungwoo agreed, his mouth slightly gaped open. there was already a good amount of people inside, but luckily not enough for isla to feel too nervous. that was until taeha practically tore their ears off with her screech when she spotted them.

"hi!" she exclaimed, pulling doyoung into a hug that was way too tight. "i'm glad you all could make it! there's a snack and drink bar over there, and i gave you guys the best seat here. follow me."

she lead them to a table that had a small sign that read 'kim doyoung,' it was quite upgraded from all the other tables in the place with it just a bit bigger and more clean than the rest.

"make yourselves comfortable, i still have some stuff to get done so i'll catch up with you in a bit." she smiled before she walked off.

the energy had shifted after the interaction. "reminder to remember we are here for the food, not her." jungwoo said only loud enough for the four of them to hear as they sat down.

"isla," doyoung called, gesturing to the seat next to him just as she was about to sit down across for him. she felt her cheeks heat up as she moved to the chair next to him and sat down. they sat there and listened to the faint music playing, watching people walk in one by one until eventually the place was full.

"i'm starving," vei complained, dramatically holding her stomach and nudging jungwoo. "there's a chocolate fountain, come on."

jungwoo practically jumped up at the sound of a chocolate fountain and they left arm in arm, looking like two kids in a room full of adults.

doyoung turned to isla, "go with them, if you're hungry."

isla shook her head quickly, her nerves had yet to simmer and she couldn't eat just yet. "i'll wait until the main dish comes out."

"you sure?"

"yes."

"positive?"

"mhm."

"one hundred perce—"

"doyoung, i'm fine. really."

the older boy nodded with a slight grin, seeing how she seemed to be so nervous that even the slightest things were ticking her off. he grabbed her shaky hand and pulled it onto his thigh so he could comfortably hold her hand with both of his hands. he didn't seem phased, but isla was internally screaming at the small gesture. surprisingly she felt herself calm down from it.

jungwoo and vei came running back with plates full of snacks they took from the snack bar.

"you guys will be too sick to eat an actual meal," doyoung nagged.

"mind your business," jungwoo shot back.

the two ate and isla nervously sipped the glass of champagne in front of her to get some sort of buzz to ease the nerves that wouldn't fade. the lights dimmed and a big light focused at the front where there was a small stage.

"hi everyone!" taeha spoke through a mic, "i want to thank you all for coming, and congratulating me on my achievements. and i want to thank my parents for arranging this for me."

the words she spoke eventually began to drown out as isla zoned out, not super interested in anything she had to say. it wasn't until she turned to doyoung who seemed to have slightly upturned lips as he watched her speak.

how can you hold my hand but look at her as if she's your whole world?

she didn't know if it was because they had a past, that was most likely it. it seemed like they really could never actually leave each other alone, even as exes, and that was enough for isla to gently remove her hand from doyoungs grasp. his smile faded instantly and he turned his head to her, but she kept looking straight ahead.

once taeha's speech was finally finished and the lights came back on, isla stood up. "come with me to the bathroom, vei?"

the girl nodded quickly and stood up, linking her arm with isla's as they made their way to the bathroom.

"god this is so boring. like we get it, you're obsessed with yourself, can we go now?" vei huffed as she fixed her hair in the mirror.

isla laughed, "i keep trying to like her but it's so hard."

"don't. she gave doyoung such a hard time and literally cheated on him. she's a nightmare, she's self-centered, and i hate everything about her."

"why does it feel like he still has feelings for her?" isla asked, looking down at her hands.

"she was his first love. completely broken when it all happened, and even considered getting back together with her. he doesn't really know what real love is, isla. he may still be trying to figure his feelings out, but i know for a fact he really likes you. what he feels for her is just him being nice."

isla sighed and nodded, not knowing why she was so stressed over it.

"men are stupid. i like to think doyoung isn't, but i don't know. maybe he's worried because he knows how much you like jeno and doesn't want to step in right after." vei said.

"yeah, sure."

"don't sweat it, babe. doyoungs a good man and he won't hurt you. are you... do you hear that?"

"hm? what?"

vei put her pointer finger up to her lips and quietly lead isla to the door, opening it oh so slightly just enough to see doyoung and taeha chatting it up.

"oh fuck no." isla mumbled.

"i'm happy for you, doyoung, but we loved each other," taeha said, "i made mistakes and i owned up to it. all i'm asking for is another chance. i mean come on, do you really think you two will last? what does she have that i don't?"

"taeha..."

"she's not going to college, all she has is a little job at your restaurant. you don't think your family won't be embarrassed seeing you two together? it's embarrassing even telling people that that's who you're dating now. an immature brat who doesn't know any better."

"taeha, seriously? she's more mature than you ever were, and do you honestly think i care what everyone else thinks? that's your problem. you're so fucking concerned about what everyone else is thinking, you don't even realize that you're the problem. i knew coming here was a mistake."

"doyoung—"

"you have some nerve talking down about someone who has been nothing but nice to you. that's so low, taeha. don't ever talk bad about isla, ever again."