That Stupid List (A Seventeen Fanfic)

Chapter 44: Wedge

Jin had her World Religions class that morning. It felt strange going without Wonwoo, but for some reason, she was actually kind of glad that he wasn't there. She wouldn't know how to act in front of him after their conversation. Normally, probably, but it wasn't that easy know that he was considering her as a girlfriend.

She figured that it would be awkward for a while, and she was glad that he had his interview today and so she didn't have to immediately face him.

Just before class started, Vernon entered. Jin had almost forgotten about him now after everything that happened with Wonwoo. She remembered that he asked her out, and suddenly felt nervous that he would confront her about it. He did say that he expected an answer after all.

He entered and made eye contact with her. He grinned, and she blushed as her eyes went down to her notes.

She was surprised when she felt someone pull a chair from beside her; this was Wonwoo's seat. She looked up, dismayed to find that it was Vernon.

"He's absent, right?" Vernon asked as he sat down.

Jin nodded, still avoiding eye contact.

The lecture started before Vernon could say anything else. Being next to him unsettled her; it felt as though he expected something from her, an answer that she was never planning to give him.

At one point in the class, he passed her a note.

Do you have an answer yet?

She looked up at him, and he looked expectant, not malicious or cheeky like usual. He motioned for her to write something on the paper.

Jin thought about ignoring it, but she didn't want to be rude because he did seem like he was waiting. She thought of the best way to phrase her response. She still wasn't sure about whether or not he was serious, and she didn't want to answer in a way that would make him think that she fell for it in the case that it was actually some sick joke.

A simple no seemed to suffice. No, she didn't want to go out with him. It would get the message across if he were serious, and it wouldn't seem like she fell for it if it was a joke.

No, she wrote.

He glanced at the answer and nodded.

It was only later when Jin looked at the paper again that she realized her mistake:

Do you have an answer yet?

No.

She didn't reject him. She just told him that she didn't have an answer. She felt too embarrassed at the prospect of correcting herself and saying: 'by the way, I meant no, I wouldn't go out with you.' She decided she would reject him the next time he asked.

-

The class was over, and she had already packed everything so that she could dash out of the class with no interaction with Vernon. Luckily for her, he didn't call after her or anything.

But as she dashed out of the lecture hall, someone else called her name.

"Jin!" came the voice of Seokmin. Jin turned and found him waiting beside the door. She knew that he was waiting for her, hoping to catch her and not let her avoid him like she had been doing the past two days. She had been ignoring all of his attempts at contacting her, going as far as skipping lunches to do so.

She stopped midway in her tracks, not sure what to do. Seeing him again somehow reinvigorated the feelings that she had tried so hard to bury the last few days. She missed him. She missed talking to him. She missed the way it was before. She missed feeling like she had a chance with him.