SAVING MR. PARK | PJM

十六

the students chaotically cheered in response.

jay felt a bit queasy as the other nominees lined up beside her, everybody now standing in a horizontal file, in front of the door from which they would be exiting.

she felt nauseous now, and the fact that mr. kim was still nowhere to be found only made things worse.

the ear-splitting music blasted out from the large speakers again, and its echo startled jay into gripping the left cuff of mr. park's jacket.

the blonde teacher furrowed his eyebrows at the feeling, glancing down at her instinctive tug on his sleeve, and licked his lips to distract himself from his fluttering heart.

jay, not having noticed what she'd subconsciously done, continued to chew on her bottom lip. slightly leaning against mr. park's shoulder seemed to render her some bit of comfort.

she has never really been a victim of stage fright or anything like that, but this event was nerve-wracking and intense and just plain-out unpredictable. would the audience even like her? would she get booed at? would her entrance end up killing the hyped mood instead of enlivening it?

she was stressed, and even though she was still indubitably pissed at her boyfriend, she remained close to him, absorbing the most of his snug company.

the lights of the gym turned off again and the crowd immediately activated their phone's flashlights as they screamed in excitement.

jay's stomach flipped.

"ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls," though he was off sight, the male presenter's voice reverberated around the place. "we present to you ... jeon jungkook!" and the first prince pridefully left the back room with his art professor by his side.

he had originally planned to shoot jay a quick wink before leaving, but the boy instantly froze when his eyes landed on the firm hold she had on mr. park's wrist. he internally gagged, heart stiffening at the sight, before bitterly evacuating the room.

and gradually, one candidate at a time, the number of people in the back room reduced to just mr. park and jay.

in that moment, knowing that she'd be next, jay's hands began to shake and fill with incessant sweat.

"where's mr. kim?" the blonde curiously spoke up once he noticed that his girlfriend's music teacher had failed to show up.

"i don't know." at that point, jay had completely forgotten about her hostile feelings towards mr. park. all that preoccupied her mind was that, if mr. kim did not make it in on time, she'd be forced to walk down on her own. "jimin, i'm scared," she choked out in desperation.

mr. park's eyes widened as he heard the delicacy of her voice. he'd never heard her say his first name so pleadingly before. it alarmed him. he stood there, thinking how on earth he could let her go out there all alone? it's simple. he couldn't. she'd be ridiculed, humiliated, and he could not, by any means, allow for that to happen.

his bottom lip trembled as he closed his eyes, mentally preparing himself for what was to come—for the choice that he would ultimately carry out.

he had decided, after great consideration, that he would walk her down himself.

he gulped, looking down at her pink, squishy cheeks and teary eyes with subtle appreciation before uttering out a reluctant mumble. "jay, listen–"