THE TRANSFER STUDENT

The Party, Pt. 16

"I guess I've really misled you all this while, huh."

"It's okay," Jieun was literally fighting back her tears at this point, at the same time trying to maintain her smile because she'd hate to show him how invested she was in him when he was literally just seconds away from rejecting her for real. "You don't need to explain, I get it-"

"No, I don't think you do-" Jungkook's facial expression softened, but his body was still tense as it was moments ago. "Let me explain-"

"It's alright-" Jieun forced herself to smile wider. "It's something wrong with me, I just misinterpreted too many things-"

Jungkook was frustrated at this point. "Have I not made it clear enough?"

Jieun looked up, confused.

"Look-" Jungkook let out a frustrated sigh, glancing uneasily in Jieun's direction. "I like you, Jieun. I like you so, so much. I care for you so much I feel like I've never cared for anyone else more than I care for you."

Jieun was even more taken aback by this sudden plot twist. "So... you do?"

"Yeah, I do..." Jungkook sighed. "The truth is... I really, really like you - no, I think I love you."

Jungkook bit his lip, looking more shocked than Jieun was, that such a thing had come out of his mouth.

"I finally said it," Jungkook chuckled at the glimpse of Jieun's widened eyes and gaping mouth. "I know I told you in the past I'd tell a girl if I had feelings for her... but I guess I was wrong at that time. I hadn't actually fallen for a girl before, but I thought that when I actually did, I'd be brave and confess immediately." Jungkook let out a laugh. "I was wrong. When I began falling for you, I got so nervous and uneasy sometimes I didn't know how to act around you."

Jieun blinked, unable to process what was going on.

"Look-" Jungkook pulled up his pants, stretching out his barren leg to Jieun.

Jieun hesitated, wondering what he was up to, but looked down anyway. What she saw made her almost let out a tiny gasp, because there around Jungkook's right ankle, was the couple bracelet they had won together.

"I kept my promise," Jungkook laughed, letting go of his pants and letting it cover his ankle once again. "I wore it everyday since the day we won it together. I mean, how could I not?"

"Why'd you-"

"Wear it around my ankle?" Jungkook shrugged. "It was hurting my hand when I wrote, so I decided to wear it around my ankle. It fits better there, too."

Jieun was flabbergasted. All this while... Jungkook had kept his promise afterall, and she had thought this whole time that it was just an empty promise.

"Talking about bracelets," Jungkook laughed nervously, scanning Jieun's wrists. "Where's yours?"

"I-"

Jieun didn't want to answer. She didn't want to tell Jungkook that she hadn't worn hers because she was mad that he hadn't worn his. She had been so petty... and now she was a fool.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Jieun swallowed, trying to get rid of the lump that had formed in her throat. "That... that you liked me? And all those mixed signals... they were really throwing me off."

"Ah... mixed signals. You see, I'm actually really inexperienced with girls," Jungkook laughed. "I don't know how to convey my feelings well. In fact, I was never used to expressing myself... until I met you. When I started developing feelings, I tried showing it to you sincerely by dropping hints here and there... but I just couldn't take the huge bold step of confessing. I guess, I kept hesitating to tell you because..." Jungkook sighed. "I didn't know how you felt. The thing is, when we hang out, you often talk about Taehyung so I thought- I thought maybe the person you actually liked-"

"I like you, silly!" Jieun's face turned beet red after randomly blurting out her true feelings without even thinking of the consequences.

Jungkook's body seemed to relax all at once, as the corners of his mouth twitched slightly. "You do?"

"I mean," Jieun swallowed. "Well, I..."

Was she really ready to date him? He was a great guy, he liked her, he was always there for her, and she liked him too. The only thing that was stopping her from moving forward was her past, which she had promised herself to let go of... was now really the time? Jieun glanced up at Jungkook. His sincere round eyes stared back at her, as a small smile played at his lips. She hadn't felt this way towards anyone before.

"Yeah," A small smile spread across Jieun's face, as she instantly made a decision that she couldn't make in the past countless number of sleepless nights. It was there and then, in front of the guy who made her heart do a thousand backflips yet made her feel stable and safe, that she knew, now was the time. "Yeah, I do."

A smile of relief and pure joy spread across Jungkook's face. "You may not know this, but what you just said makes me really, really happy."

Jieun broke into a huge grin at that very moment, trying to process everything that had just happened in the past few minutes. They had mutual feelings after all... and that made her happy, probably even happier than Jungkook. But yet, a part of her still wondered, still doubted.

Did she deserve to be this happy?