⇉ the one where he asks her out (kinda).
part twenty-three
"You've gotten really strong."
"Nah, don't flatter me." Juno's hands swing languidly at her sides as they walk, determined not to pay attention to the way her arms brush against Jeno's every so often. "I've got a long way to go."
"Maybe, but you should be proud of where you've gotten so far." He shoots her a bright smile, and her heart stutters. "You've improved really fast."
"Thank you, Sensei." She stops walking to bow to him, and he just shakes his head.
"No, I'm serious. Your strength has increased astronomically. Almost alarmingly fast." Jeno squints at her. "You aren't doing anything... extra, are you?"
It takes her a few seconds to catch his drift, and then she throws her hands up exasperatedly. "Do I look like a druggie?"
"No, I was just kidding." His eyes are crescent moons when suddenly, he swings an arm over her shoulders, and her feet stall. Jeno must catch sight of her expression because he glances down at her. "You okay?"
"Yes, I'm great." Goddamn, this is embarrassing.
They manage to make it through the infirmary doors when her legs decide to start cooperating again, and the nurse immediately shoots her a judging glance. She gives him a toothy smile, and he sighs.
"You're in here too much for my liking, Baek Juno." Nevertheless, Moon Taeil rises and immediately starts preparing bandages and salves for her injuries.
"I can't help it, sir," Juno replies, sheepish.
But Jeno isn't smiling anymore. "Wait, how often are you in here?" Juno can see the precise moment he puts two and two together, disappointment creeping into his tone. "You've been training without me, haven't you?"
She doesn't look at him. "Yeah. The others help out sometimes."
"Who?"
"Jaemin, mostly. His powers are kind of similar to mine, so." It's true, even if they haven't trained together for a while due to their argument in Psychology the other day. Juno does miss him, but her proud side won't allow her to admit that she has anything to apologize for.
Jeno glances away, irritated by the foreign feeling in his chest. It's so stupid that he should feel betrayed over this, and yet he does. Her training with somebody else really shouldn't matter... and yet it does. He refuses to think about what it means that he's feeling this way, and just looks on impassively as the nurse cleans her up.
When he's finished, Nurse Moon wisely leaves the two alone as Juno stretches out on a cot, evidently sensing the heavy atmosphere. Juno now tries to catch Jeno's eye, but he's staring resolutely at everything but her. "Are you angry at me?"
"No." His monosyllabic answer is accurate. He couldn't get angry at her even if he tried.
She sighs. "I was just really annoyed with myself, you know? Literally everyone else is stronger. I didn't want to bother you to train more - you've got your own things to do, I can't expect you to be available whenever I need." Juno pauses, then musters up all her courage to reach out and take his chin in her fingers, gently turning his head in her direction to make him look at her. "I am really thankful for you, you know. But I was a weak and impatient bitch, so please don't hold it against me."
The twinkle in her eye and small smile upon her lips soon has all the tension dissolving from his shoulders, and Jeno hopes she doesn't notice the flush creeping up his neck. "You know I would've helped immediately if you'd told me you wanted more practice," he says.
Juno inclines her head in agreement, taking her hand away. But her touch still lingers ghostly on his skin. "I know."
"But if it's so important to you, we can step things up," he muses. "We can start doing more exercises, get up earlier so we have more time-"
A loud groan leaves her lips as she collapses back onto the bed, stretching her arms out like a starfish. Jeno gazes down at her, amusement on his face. "Are you trying to kill me?" Juno wails dramatically.
But just as he opens his mouth to reply, someone swishes the curtain aside and pokes his head in. "Hey, guys."
"Marco!" Juno sits up. "What are you doing here?"
"You said you'd be training, so I went upstairs. But you guys weren't there, so I figured you'd probably be here." He eyes her bruises with uncharacteristic displeasure. "You should take it easy, Juju."
She doesn't notice Jeno stiffen at the nickname. "No, I want to get strong like you."
"You flatter me," Mark replies, but he has on that grin she adores. "Anyway, are you done here? I kinda wanted to talk to you."
Her eyes widen. "Shit, am I in trouble?"
"No more than you usually are."
"Oi!"
"Hey, you sound like me," he laughs.
"I know, you're a terrible influence."
Jeno's eyes bounce back and forth between the two during their exchange and his jaw clenches, feeling more than a little forgotten as they speak. He clears his throat. "We just finished training, so-"
"Can I actually steal her for a bit?" Mark turns to Juno. "I can walk you back to your dorm if that's where you're headed after this."
"Sounds good." She rises, tossing a gaze at the other boy. "Thanks for today, Jennie."
"Jennie?" he questions, lips pursing with amusement. It's ridiculous; he just cannot stay pissed. He shouldn't be, anyway. It's just this heart of his that is determined to mess him up. "My last name isn't Kim, though."
"Yeah, but you needed a nickname. Besides, she's so fine, you should be honored."
"Ready to go?" Mark cuts in softly.
"Yeah!" They turn to leave, and Juno wiggles her fingers at him. "See you later."
Jeno still standing there for a while after they've left, and Taeil approaches him with a mug of coffee in his hands. The nurse gazes in the direction of the two who just left and then shifts his eyes over to Jeno, shaking his head in disappointment before taking a sip. "Both of you are so goddamn obvious."
"What are you talking about, hyung?" Jeno questions tiredly, as if he really has no idea.
Taeil doesn't buy it, of course. "You're lucky she's the type that doesn't notice shit, otherwise you're screwed." He gestures with his cup in the direction of the machine. "Coffee?"
Jeno shakes his head, declining the offer. "I'm okay."
Taeil cocks his head to the side, examining the boy. As the school nurse, he is all too aware of all the drama that happens within the students - and it's not like he asks, they always just volunteer the information willingly. "I thought you swore off girls after what happened with Livi."
Jeno bites his lower lip. "I did."
"Well, keep that energy," Taeil grumbles. "It's your last year. Just focus on getting out of here."
Meanwhile, the other two are striding through the hallways, gaining looks from other students who are milling around. They whisper to each other as they pass, and Juno sighs. Is this what dating one of these boys would be like? Constant scrutiny and gossip? She has to give them credit; having everyone's eyes on you always is much more difficult to deal with than it seems.
"Juju." The cheeky smile that usually accompanies the nickname isn't present now. "Do you wanna..."
Her gaze snaps to the boy beside her. "Do I wanna..."
"Um."
"Spit it out, boy."
"Go to the dance with me," Mark blurts out, all in one rapid breath.
Her feet halt. "Me?" she inquires dumbly. "But you're like, known for always flying solo." This she knows from the girls she eavesdropped on from her stall earlier that morning in the washroom. One of them apparently had an astronomical crush on Mark, and even though her friends kept encouraging her to ask him out, she eventually decided against it because everyone knows he's notorious for staying single (to the disappointment of very many) and she didn't want to get humiliatingly rejected.
Mark's eyes widen, and he hurries to explain as they resume walking. "No, I meant to come with me as a friend."
That is not what he meant, but she doesn't have to know that.
"Oh, I see." Juno's brow clears, and her relief causes the corners of his lips to turn down. "I wasn't really planning to go," she says, but a mischievous grin dances on her lips. "But since the Mark Lee just asked me, I guess I have no choice."
"That's right," he replies jokingly. They finally come to her dorm, and he stops. "I'm not letting you sit in your room and be a loner."
"Boo."
"So?"
"Mhmm." Juno nods as she unlocks her door. She's smiling softly when she turns back to him. "It's a date."
Just that word sends his heart into overdrive. "Okay. But get some rest, alright?"
"Sure," she answers easily. "Later, gator."
"In a while, crocodile," Mark replies playfully, and Juno laughs before entering inside. He stares at the door for a bit, then starts walking away. He shakes his head. "As friends? Seriously?" he mocks himself, sighing. "What is wrong with me?" Maybe it's because he's always the one getting confessed to, as opposed to actually doing the confessing. Now maybe if he was more like Lee Haechan, he'd be confident enough to tell her exactly how he feels.
But he's Mark Lee, and he's a bit more of a coward.
▸
"You didn't tell me she was going to be here."
The fierce sneer on Reina's face catches Juno off guard before she quickly puts two and two together. Now that she thinks about it, someone like Reina would definitely have been a victim of Livi and her friends' misdeeds, which explains the suddenly frigid air in an otherwise warm room.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know..." Juno trails off guiltily. "I just thought it would be nice to hang out with both of you for a change. I should've been more sensitive."
"I don't get why you'd want to spend time with her anyway," Reina mutters, but she steps fully into the room anyways, tossing her towel onto a lounge chair. "Having two of your best friends murdered by some psycho doesn't suddenly make you a saint."
"Rei," Juno scolds, uncrossing her legs. "That was mean."
But Livi doesn't seem to care as she continues to stretch out in the hot tub, rolling her neck a little before turning to face the pink-haired girl. "Fair point, though," she concedes.
Reina eyes her distrustfully, and Juno sighs. She slowly gets up from the chaise and walks over to the tub, resting her elbows on the top edge as she glares at the two girls. "None of us have to be best friends, but I was in need of some company." Juno turns her gaze to Reina. "And Livi's trying, kinda. You don't have to forgive her for whatever she did, but can you please try to tolerate each other when I'm around? For me?"
At her beseeching tone and gaze, the other two soften almost immediately. Reina nods, albeit a little hesitantly, before heaving another sigh. Livi glances away. "Whatever, get in already," she grunts, but Juno knows she'll try.
"Yay!" And they both can't help but smile at her enthusiasm.
"Seriously, what are you both doing just standing there?" Livi cocks a brow. "Take your clothes off." As their eyes widen, she chuckles. "What, are you shy?"
Juno folds her arms. "Why would you put it like that?"
"Come on, you know I meant to get in with your bathing suits." Livi smirks, cocking a brow. "Unless you guys want to skinny-dip? I'm down."
"Wait, what?" Reina's eyes are still wide.
"She's just teasing, Rei." Juno takes off the sweats and top she's wearing on top in favor of a one-piece underneath, coming forward to dip a toe into the scalding hot tub water. And then she goes in all the way, beckoning for Reina to join. "Come in."
"Okay." And the other hesitantly pulls off her own clothing. Livi picks up on her reluctance and thoughtfully averts her eyes.
"Mark asked me out," Juno blurts when they're finally all inside.
That gets the girls' attention immediately, and their heads snap to her. "What?" Reina screeches.
It shouldn't be a big deal. It's not. And yet it's all Juno has been thinking about ever since she got back to her dorm. "He asked me to the dance, but just as friends."
"Oh, sure," Livi snorts.
"Mark? Interesting." Reina is contemplative as she relaxes even further into the water. "What about Jeno?"
Juno stiffens. Livi glances up.
The redhead narrows her eyes at Juno. "What about Jeno?" she repeats. Reina winces, realizing her mistake. But as Juno struggles to sputter out an explanation, Livi just laughs. "Calm down. You're allowed to like him, you know. We ended a while ago; I don't care."
Juno doesn't necessarily buy it, but she's still relieved. "Why did you guys end things?" she questions cautiously.
Livi reaches over to take a sip of her sparkling peach juice before answering. "I cheated."
"What? Why?" Reina's shocked, despite herself.
Livi chuckles sardonically. "Because I'm a terrible person who only felt validated by the attention of someone who actually couldn't give a shit about her."
"Who?" Juno asks quietly.
"And yet he wasn't ever even pissed at me, just sad. I know I didn't deserve it." Her lips stretch into a thin smile as the question remains unanswered. "Jeno was devastated. All his friends hate me, and I can't blame them." Her gaze switches to Juno, hard and forcedly impervious. "And so should you. You made it clear that we're not friends, and you're going to find that it's better that way."
"No." Juno meets her eyes head-on. "Don't try to push me away now because you're scared you'll screw up. Yes, you were a terrible bitch. But you can't change what you did. So suck it up and start working hard to not be such a terrible bitch in the future."
Livi is speechless for a moment. "So I can still be a bitch, just not a terrible one?" she wisecracks eventually, smiling a little.
Juno shrugs, stifling a grin of her own. "But I'll ask again. Who did you cheat on Jeno with?"
A pause. Livi finally meets her gaze, swallowing hard. "Yoon Jaesu."
A/N:
i am: hungry
also tysm for 1k! if you're reading this i hope you have a wonderful day (or night idk)