kissing booth | jaywon ✔️

ch. 9

The science class started filling up, and Jay and Ni-ki talked until the professor came in. Jay found out Ni-ki was japanese and danced in a famous dance group. He also talked to him about his boyfriend, Sunoo. Sunoo was more similar in age to Jay than Ni-ki, but it was still weird to Jay. He indeed failed a grade or two, but it still surprised him knowing how much older he was.

They got an assignment in class, they had to pair up and do some experiments, Jay found it rather fun. The teacher went up to check on them, a tablet in his hand. He saw how Jay and Ni-ki worked hard and graded them nicely. They got a B, which was Jay's highest grade this year, besides English. He was really happy though, he thanked Ni-ki and they exchanged numbers.

"I'll see you at lunch Jay?" Ni-ki asked, leaving the classroom. "Yeah, of course, I'll find you don't worry, see you!" Jay waved, Ni-ki waving back. He was content, he made friends easily, but he just stopped getting them so this was a fresh start. He didn't care about his dad's no friends rule, he just had fun now.

He took all his other classes, he got some of his tests back and they got better. They used to be f's and d's but no they've turned into high d's and low c's. For some people that would be the end of the world, but Jay was out of this world.

He walked to the cafeteria, searching for Sunghoon and Ni-ki. Surprisingly, he found them both sitting at a table together alongside many other people. He approached them, smiling.

"Hi, guys!" Jay said and everyone at the table turned their heads. Some of them showed discomfort while others greeted him with a smile. Jay noticed that, so he felt kind of indifferent, not knowing whether to leave or not. He took a seat next to Sunghoon, looking around the table and noticing many people he did not know or ever meet.

Ni-ki introduced the nice-looking bright one as his boyfriend, Sunoo. He looked precisely as Ni-ki described him, bubbly and nice. They shook hands. He recognized Jake and muttered a small 'hi'. The guy next to Jake was later on introduced as Heesung. He saw him around quite often, but Heesung didn't seem to like him, staring unfondly at him.

Someone else approached the table, that person being Jungwon. Everyone said hi to him with a big smile, there was a big difference between him and Jay walking up the table. Everyone gave him high fives, hugs and wished him a happy birthday. "Aren't you gonna wish him a happy birthday?" Heesung said obnoxiously.

"Oh- I already did last night and on the bus... But happy birthday again Jungwon!" Jay said, putting on a fake smile. Heesung doubted him, sensing insincerity but he ignored it, still finding it weird. Jungwon looked around, trying to see if anyone reacted to what Jay said, but found that no one cared that much.

They talked amongst themselves but Jay was kind of left out. He was usually good in group settings, but the way Heesung stared at him from time to time made him go mad. He couldn't focus on what they were walking about, or who even was talking. Jungwon noticed. 'just a moment he said to Heesung, who he was talking with.

"Hey, Jay can I borrow you for a second?" Jay nodded, following Jungwon's steps.

Jungwon led Jay out in the school garden, the place where few people gathered. Jay was amazed by all the greenery and the different color flowers. Jungwon told him to sit on a wooden bench beside him and Jay listened. It took him a minute to start talking.

"Jay, are you okay?" Jay was stunned, where was that coming from? "Well, I've noticed you spacing out a lot and you seemed really uncomfortable so I just wanted to check if you were fine," Jungwon said with a sweet voice.

Jay wasn't that fine, he felt really little compared to the others, his confidence shredded. He started crying softly, not being able to get his emotions out in words. Jungwon just hugged him for a while until he was able to talk. This broke Jungwon's heart, seeing someone so helpless.

"I-i didn't mean to ruin your birthday, you should take care of yourself, not me right now. " Jay said, hiccuping in between every few words. Jungwon just looked at him softly, pity in his eyes.

"This makes me happy, helping people. So thank you, thank you for making me happy right now."