The Girl I Almost Met | Jeon Jungkook

My Life is a Series of Awkward Moments

I slept late the next morning, my day off. Happy in my newfound role as superhero, I saved the girl from imminent disaster over and over in my dreams and woke exhausted.

Coffee—

I needed caffeine in the worst way, so I grudgingly rolled out of bed and shuffled into the kitchen. Still bleary eyed, I reached into the pantry and grabbed the container that usually held the coffee. It felt light and I shook it, disappointed when there was barely any sound.

Damn, empty.

Okay, so I'd skip the coffee this morning. I was probably better off without it anyway.

Eggs sounded good though. I opened the fridge and peered inside—no luck there either. All I saw were grated cheese and peppers. Not enough to make a meal.

I shot a disgruntled look toward my roommate's bedroom door. It was Jin's turn to do the grocery shopping, but it had become his habit to wait until there was literally nothing left in the apartment.

I sighed and checked the freezer, also empty. The diner across the street was still an option, even though I had hoped to avoid the waitress for a while. Her chuckle had brought my self-confidence even lower than it usually was. My stomach protested loudly as I headed for the shower, over-riding any lingering embarrassment. The diner it would be.

~~~

After my usual breakfast, I walked back across the street and let myself into the apartment. Luck had been with me; the waitress from yesterday had been nowhere in sight.

I stopped short as I passed by the kitchen, shocked to see Jin standing at the counter placing frozen waffles into the toaster. On the plate next to him already lay three crispy golden cakes. The steam rising from them floated a sweet scent throughout the cramped space.

"Where did you get the waffles? I checked the freezer; there was nothing there."

Jin looked at me sheepishly, "I hid them in the ice bin last night."

"You're joking, right?" I huffed. "You're such a child, Jin."

"I'm sorry, JK, but I knew it was the last food in the apartment," I heard as I rolled my eyes and trudged down the hall toward my room.

I grabbed a notepad and sat on my bed to make a grocery list. One thing I'd learned long ago, if you wanted something done right it was best to do it yourself. It was time to go shopping.

~~~

Wandering up and down the aisles of the grocery store, I absentmindedly threw food into the cart, cringing at the piercing sound of the squeaky wheel. People turned to look my way as the wheel suddenly let out a particularly loud grinding noise and locked up.

"Oof," the handle of the cart rammed into my stomach as I kept walking.

A pretty teenaged girl walked by. "Damn, that hurt, didn't it?" she asked with a chuckle. My cheeks burned, turning their usual bright pink.

I took a moment as she walked away, waiting for the pain to subside. Realizing I needed a couple cans of chili, I headed that way. A man stood directly in front of the ones I wanted, so I waited.

He was just staring at the shelves and it was taking him forever to choose what he needed. However, I didn't want to rush him, so I remained quiet. I didn't like to bother people.

From the corner of my eye, I saw a girl at the end of the aisle. She called out, "Hey!"

I turned to look and was surprised when I saw the girl from the bus stop smiling at me. She waved and walked toward me. I swallowed hard and lifted my hand to wave back at her, a huge grin on my face.

While I was mid-wave, the man blocking the cans of chili said, "Hey yourself, what are you doing here? If I'd known you were coming, I'd have picked you up."

Too late, I realized she was not waving at me at all, but at him. I was mortified and quickly stuffed my hand into my pocket. She hadn't even noticed me. I was apparently invisible, but what did I expect? She didn't even know me.

I turned around and pretended to be searching the shelves on the other side of the aisle to hide my flaming face. 

"Hey, it's you!"

I wasn't falling for that again. I stared at the rows of canned goods in front of me, not really seeing them. I was waiting for them to leave. All I wanted was two lousy cans of chili. Was that too much to ask?

I felt someone touch me and turned around, surprised to find her hand gripping my arm.

"It is you!" Her face lit up as she looked at me, causing my heart to flip flop inside my chest. "Jisung, this is the boy I was telling you about!"

I opened my mouth to reply, but the gum I was chewing had a mind of its own and popped out, landing on top of her pristine purple and white Vans.

"Bus stop boy? This is your hero?" Jisung laughed skeptically, watching her scrape the gum from her shoe.

Could this chance meeting get much worse than this?

Yes—yes, it could.

"I-I'm sorry," I mumbled as I reached over to the cans on the shelf. "I just need to grab a couple—oops."

She gasped as my hand accidentally brushed against her chest. I jerked the offensive appendage back, humiliated.

"Did you just grab her boob? What is wrong with you?" Jisung chastised, the silly grin never leaving his face.

"No, I didn't. I— I'm so sorry!" I couldn't even look at her. The heat crept up my face, branding me with shame.

"Yes, you did! I just saw you grab her titty!" he crowed, loud enough for passers by to turn and stare in curiousity.

"I-I-I have to go," I stammered, just before I turned tail and ran, leaving my full cart sitting in the middle of the aisle.

"Stop teasing him!" I heard her scolding, her voice fading away the farther I ran, until all I could hear was Jisung's unrelenting laughter at my expense.

Finally outside, I stopped and leaned against the brick wall at the front of the store, sucking in deep breaths of calming oxygen.

How would I ever face her again? I couldn't; I just could not. No longer was I her superhero; now and forever, I would be the guy whose hand had involuntarily molested her.

I would have to find another way to get to work. Going back to that bus stop was out of the question now.