Stranger | Jikook/Kookmin

39 | Always

"Thanks, Dokyeom-ah," he extends a hand which his friend grabs without hesitation. "Make sure to transpose my voice well please. Don't want anybody recognizing me."

"Of course, brother, have no doubts," he gives Jungkook's hand a squeeze, opening the door of the studio. "I'll see you at the library later tomorrow. Will you be able to make it?"

"Mmmh. I should. Our study session are always useful. You have a great way of explaining things. Seongsaengnim should learn from you."

"Exactly. Tell the school to hire me."

"I'm not that powerful," Jungkook jokes and they both laugh, exchanging waves before Jungkook heads to the elevators, the click of the studio's door echoing behind him.

His ears absorb the silence of the hallway as he waits for the lift to arrive, silence replacing dialogues. His attention diverts to the various pamphlets stuck to the doors of the elevator, some about final week's schedules and others club events. The one that gets him to smile is the campus Starbucks' announcement about offering discounts on all drinks during the finals week.

MS Hall memories.

One recollection sways a train of such, and Jungkook watches bubbles of beautiful memoirs he made throughout the year surrounding him. This is his second semester in Gidae, but never would his first get close to being as amazing as the last. There is just so much that he is thankful for, that he feels ashamed of himself for complaining about things being hard for a moment. At the end of the day, look at everything he has gained. Look at the lessons he learned, the friends he made, and the person he has become. 

His ended up as the good guy again. And to be fair, he likes it better this way too. The pressure of being bad isn't something he thinks he can handle.

He gets a call from his sister on his way out of the Clubs Building. They have a greeting in high spirits, and the conversation on-goes with equal enthusiasm until Jinju tells Jungkook that his parents are expecting him to be in Seoul by the 28th of June. The phone is passed to his mom, who fervently announces that they are going on a family trip to Europe, something they have been planning for years but never had the chance to execute due to the busyness of his parents' schedules. His dad is next on the call, telling Jungkook to do well on his exams so that he can enjoy their summer to the fullest, and just like that, the line goes off.

Standing in the middle of the campus with no idea what to do with all this information, the first emotion that visits Jungkook is anxiety. It's buzzing through his veins ever so slowly, letting him know that he won't renounce this time even though Jungkook will try shoving it down his system again, ignore the coming of a more evil visitor: panic.

What is Jungkook gonna do?

The moment he is fearing is approaching, and he wasn't even ready to bring his worries to awareness levels, let alone dealing with them on top of everything. There are still two more weeks for schools to close, and he won't even have the chance to stay an extra week in Gidae after the exams to sort his relationship.

He has thought about summer countless times recently. He didn't want to bring up the "our future" talk because what if Jimin shows a negative reaction? He won't be able to handle such a discussion at the crucial period of his exams! He wanted to address things one at a time, take his exams, and then talk about summer with Jimin after the finals week. 

But... now that he'll have to leave right away... 

He closes his eyes, squatting on the ground and bracing head in his hands. 

He is not adult enough to handle this.

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