That Stupid List (A Seventeen Fanfic)

Chapter 14: I Hate Him

Jin took a deep breath as she left her room to go to class. She was extremely nervous about seeing Vernon and about what he could possibly do. She prepared herself for the worst, stuffing her bag with tissues in case it would end in tears.

She also brought her diary. After the incident, she had reconsidered ever taking it out of her room, but she needed it. Especially today. Especially now. Especially when she had no one else to talk to about it.

She didn't want to walk with Sena, in case she ran into Vernon. Confronting him with her around will lead to disaster. She went out early, telling Sena she needed to go check out a book from the library.

Mingyu would be at the library then, as was his custom. Jin wanted to thank him in person for sticking up for her that day. She also knew that Wonwoo was watching, and that she would owe him an explanation as to why she was talking to his crush.

As she walked to the library, her eyes scanned the parameter around her. She wanted to be alert if Vernon was lurking about, if she would run into him before she was ready to. She was so nervous about it. Her heart beat every step she took. When she finally arrived at the library, and saw no sign of him inside, she let out a sigh of relief.

Mingyu and Wonwoo were there. Mingyu was sitting in his usual study place, and Wonwoo was in his usual far off corner of the library, watching.

She went to Mingyu first. She approached him from behind and gently tapped his shoulder. He turned his head, and when he saw her, he looked happy.

"Pajama girl!" he said with a bright smile.

"I just wanted to thank you in person. And to apologize for any inconvenience I caused..."

"Don't be silly! You apologize too much," he told her, "are you holding up well?"

"I'm okay." Mingyu looked happy to hear that/

"My name is Mingyu, by the way," he said to her, holding out his hand.

Jin had forgotten that they had not been properly introduced, that he had not yet told her his name, nor she hers. She thanked God she had not called him by his name before this, because he would have wanted to find out how she knew it. She could not have explained what was happening with Wonwoo.

She shook his hand, "my name is Jin," she told him.

"Nice to meet you, Jin. It's a pretty name."

"Pretty? It means demon in Arabic," she told him jokingly.

Mingyu laughed at the random comment, "how did you know that?"

"I speak Arabic. I lived in Jordan for most my life," she explained.

"That's pretty awesome," Mingyu looked impressed.

Just as Jin was about to respond, she felt Wonwoo's penetrating gaze on her from where he usually sat. She realized that she should probably explain to Wonwoo what was happening before she socialized excessively with his crush.

"I need to go do some work now," Jin told Mingyu, "and I'll leave you to yours."

"We should hang out some time," Mingyu told her, "I would love to hear about your adventures in Jordan."

Jin nodded, though she didn't quite understand if "hang out" meant only hang out, or if it was something else she would never agree to because of Wonwoo.

"I'll text you," Mingyu told her before they exchanged bows and goodbyes.

Jin made her way to Wonwoo's table. Wonwoo's eyebrows were raised and his arms were crossed. He didn't look particularly mad or anything, much to Jin's relief.