Yuna's smile faded as she glanced down the crowded high school hallway just in time to see a pretty blonde girl with a flirtatious smirk hand Nick a small perfumed envelope before scurrying away giddily. From the prominent blush on the unknown girl's cheeks, the content of the note was obvious.
Yuna's stomach instantly dropped with dread. She and Nick had only been dating very secretly and cautiously for a few short weeks since privately confessing their true feelings after that impulsive kiss at the party. They were both still hesitant to go fully public with their new relationship status so soon.
But clearly another girl here at school had boldly set her sights on Nick now that he was one of the most admired guys in their grade after publicly standing up to Tina and her mean girl posse to protect Yuna.
At lunch period that day, Yuna noticed the mystery girl - who she quickly learned from chatting with friends was named Rebecca - kept gazing dreamily over at Nick from across the cafeteria. Rebecca constantly whispered and giggled with her group of popular girlfriends, all while keeping her flirtatious eyes locked on an unaware Nick.
Yuna glumly picked at her food, her appetite suddenly vanished. She felt extremely uneasy about this potential new pretty and feminine competition for Nick's attentions and affections.
Could he be swayed by Rebecca's confident pursuit of him? Yuna still struggled with insecurities from her traumatic past, while Rebecca embodied everything she was not - beautiful, outgoing, and comfortable in the spotlight.
That coming weekend, Yuna overheard Rebecca gushing excitedly to one of her friends at the mall about her bold plan to publicly confess her passionate feelings for Nick next Friday on his birthday in front of everyone.
"Once he knows how strongly I feel, he'll totally ask me to be his girlfriend for sure," Rebecca squealed confidently to her shopping companion. "I just know we're meant to be!"
Yuna's pulse pounded anxiously as she quickly formulated her own counterplan while still hidden from view around the corner. She would anonymously spread convincing rumors that Nick already had a serious long-distance girlfriend at another school across town. That would surely halt Rebecca's public confession scheme in its tracks.
Putting her scheme into motion early Monday morning, Yuna casually dropped subtle mentions of Nick's fictional mystery girlfriend, who she named Jasmine, to a few of the school's most notorious gossipers that she knew word would spread fast from.
By Tuesday at lunch, the fabricated news and details about Nick's alleged super pretty, longtime girlfriend had already spread through the school's grapevine like wildfire. Everyone was chattering about this supposed Jasmine and how serious she apparently was with Nick.
Yuna hid a small smug smile of satisfaction to herself as Rebecca and her circle of popular friends all shot puzzled, disappointed looks at Nick from across the cafeteria, whispering urgently about this sudden gossip surrounding Nick's love life that threw a wrench in Rebecca's plans.
Rebecca stared forlornly down at the large, perfectly wrapped gift bag Yuna noticed she had already prepared for Nick's birthday, likely containing presents and a confession note inside. Rebecca was now clearly extremely hesitant about boldly approaching Nick on Friday after all, given the new rumors swirling around about his heart possibly belonging to another girl.
On Nick's birthday that Friday, he greeted Yuna happily in the morning before classes started, still completely unaware of the wild rumors and gossip storm brewing around him thanks to Yuna.
Yuna finally confessed to him everything she had secretly done all week to subtly sabotage Rebecca's romantic plans. To her immense relief, Nick just laughed good-naturedly when she was finished explaining her scheming.
"While I don't love unnecessary gossip, I have to admit I'm very flattered you went through all that clever effort this week. But Yuna, you really have no reason at all to ever feel jealous or threatened by anyone else. You own my heart, completely," Nick reassured her sincerely.
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her with such tender passion that all Yuna's lingering doubts and insecurities instantly melted away. In that beautiful moment, she knew with certainty no other girl could ever weaken the powerful bond she shared with Nick.
From the corner of her eye, Yuna noticed Rebecca watching their intimate embrace from down the hall, her pretty facial features crumbling into dismay and shock as the painful truth became clear to her that the rumors had been correct.
Yuna couldn't help but feel just a small spark of satisfaction at this total crush of the potential rival's campaign to win Nick's affections for herself. When Nick headed off to class, Yuna saw Rebecca quickly turn away down the hall, clearly blinking back bitter tears of humiliation as she angrily shoved the gift-filled bag she had prepared into the nearest trash can with more force than necessary.
A slight pang of empathy and guilt flashed through Yuna at the sight of the dramatic reaction her scheming had caused. But that momentary regret faded within seconds as Yuna refocused. As far as she was concerned, all was fair game when it came to affairs of the heart.
She had absolutely no intention of naively giving up her long-awaited shot at true love and happiness with her precious Nick after everything they had been through. No other girl would ever manipulate or steal him away from her if Yuna had anything to say about it. For once in her life, she was going to fight for what she wanted most.
And what she wanted was Nick. Yuna planned to cherish and savor every beautiful moment of finally being with her soulmate after so many years kept apart by circumstance. No rival could or would stand in the way of their destined love. Of that, Yuna felt powerfully certain down to her core.