❝𝗠𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗬 𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗨𝗘𝗦. ── 𝗝.𝗝𝗞

VIII

No, he doesn't.

"I'll be okay."

No, he won't.

"Don't worry about me."

She won't. He just doesn't want to admit it. She'll worry about herself. What his dropping out may mean for her and her image.

Jungkook hung up the phone, shoved it into his pocket and found himself in an unrecognizable part of campus. He looked around for anything he recognized through bleary eyes glossed over with emerging tears. He figured he looked ridiculous to anyone who passed him, having a panic attack in the middle of a sidewalk.

"Jungkook?"

He was scared to turn around. Just as quick as they had made themselves known, Jungkook wiped away the stray tears threatening to spill over and once again put on his display smile. "Oh– hi, Noona." He turned to face her and found her closer than he had expected looking up at him with bemusement through the squeaky clean lenses of her reading glasses she had failed to take off. Not that her proximity was unwelcome, Jungkook just hoped that she couldn't see the redness in his eyes. She did. It was very obvious. "What you crying for, Jeon?"

His shoulders pulled in and up with tension. "I'm not crying."

"You were. What happened?" Her voice remained deadpan as if asking because she would not because she really wanted to know. But Jungkook appreciated her asking regardless of how much she actually cared. He soothed a hand through his hair to calm himself, suddenly feeling rather small though he was double her size (in bulk, not height).

"I...I just left my academic advisor's office. She told me I was behind on a bunch of stuff and that I'd get expelled soon if I didn't do something about it so...I just decided I'm gonna drop out." He shrugged like it was no big deal, tried to keep the easy smile on his face so he didn't start crying again. He didn't know what he was doing, where he was going in life. He knew for certain that he'd be cut off from his mother's fortune the moment she listened to his voicemail. But Jungkook knows her. She doesn't listen to voicemails on her personal phone, she just calls people back.

Iris cocked a brow at him. "Drop out?" She doesn't know if she should be throwing a party or not. Him dropping out wouldn't make him any less her neighbor. They don't live in dorms, it's just a regular apartment. She stared at him for a moment. "Well...that's a stupid idea. You don't have a back up plan or any idea what you're going to do?"

"What more am I meant to do? I either get expelled or I drop out."

"You give up too easily, Jungkook" She grabbed him by the sleeve and began to drag him towards a nearby bench to sit down with him. "Come on. Let's talk about this before you make any rash decisions alright." She felt more like she was talking him off the edge of suicide rather than simply dropping out of college.

Jungkook sat rather feebly, his hands in his lap, knees together and feet pointed inward. You'd never believe he was sleeping with a new girl nearly every week. Iris sat shoulder to shoulder with him. Jungkook wanted to move closer if it were even possible. A small whiff of her perfume, melted chocolate and roses. Romance walking.

"Listen. At the end of the day, whatever you do won't affect me in any way, shape, or form. Personally, my parents would snatch the lips off of my face if I even thought about dropping out so you have a lot of power and privilege to just be able to haphazardly decide you don't want to do college anymore." She spoke calmly to him with more maturity than most of the other students their age. Jungkook hung on every word she said, staring at her.

"How many assignments are you missing?"

"35."

"Damn."