"Absolutely not," I tell the girl in front of me, this being my third time denying this.
"Why not...?" The girl questions once again, irritating me that she isn't willing to understand where I'm coming from. "You don't have to do much, why can't you do this for me?"
I slam the locker shut, aggravated with the way she's acting right now. I don't have to explain anything to her and yet she's asking me to tell her why I won't do this as if my words aren't enough for her. I make eye contact with her, my eyes narrowing. "You don't realize what you're asking, Yuna. There's no way in hell I'm talking to him. That's final."
I walk away, going to my next class, knowing she's following behind me like a puppy. Jesus. I try to ignore her, but her stomping footsteps are echoing in my head continuously. I continue to ignore it and turn to enter the classroom and sit in my seat. Yuna follows and sits next to me, despite this not being her assigned seat. I know she doesn't understand why I'm rejecting her request but she could at least show some decency when I'm telling her I don't want to do this... But again, she doesn't understand, so I don't think I can really blame her.
I sigh, turning to face her. "Is there something you need? Class is starting soon," I say bitterly.
"Y/n, please just talk to Jungkook for me... All you need to do is ask him to tell Jimin I'm interested in him. I promise I won't ask this ever again, but please, just this once!" She holds her pointer finger up in front of her face, her posture lowering in a bow to beg me. She's incredibly desperate, I can't deny. She must really like Jimin. And that little twinge of sympathy in me is screaming at me to say yes because of it. But that means I have to talk to Jungkook, and I never want to talk to that asshole ever again. As I continue to think about this, and how unreasonable it is, I remember this is Yuna we're talking about. She would only ask me this if she really needed it, and she's not the type to take advantage of me. She hasn't in the past two years I've known her, despite the fact we haven't been close.
I think of all that can go wrong if I do what she asks. What if Jungkook laughs in my face? What if he thinks this is an open invitation to be friends again? And what if he thinks that I've gotten over what happened? I should stop overthinking... One simple question won't do much, will it? God, I hope not. Or else I'm going to be angry at someone, and that person just might be Yuna.
"Alright." I answer, holding back my urge to take it back. Yuna lifts her head with a gasp and smiles. "But I will only ask him to tell Jimin, and that is all. Am I understood?" I say with a stern voice.
She nods instantly. "Yes, thank you, thank you, thank you!" She hugs me tightly, nearly knocking the air out of my lungs in the process. She suddenly realizes and backs off, muttering an apology. I mentally roll my eyes watching her smile brightly at something so frugal. "I'll see you after class. Thank you, again!" I watch her walk to her spot near the front of the classroom, sitting in her spot.
I don't exactly know what I just got myself into, but I don't feel confident about it. Nevertheless, I already agreed. There's no way out of this now.
The students file in while I sit at my table, getting ready for class. I don't talk to anybody, but stay occupied with getting my items out. I avoid making eye contact with people in general. Making conversation with people isn't my strongest suit, so I don't have many friends. Except Yuna of course, though she really just looks up to me most of the time. I like to keep to myself because so many people are pricks ready to turn on me. I've had to learn it the hard way.
"Get to your seats, class is beginning," the professor says at the front of the classroom. Students follow his instructions, but I notice my table mate has not entered the classroom. I start to wonder if he's gone today. The teacher closes the door, and the class goes silent as he begins. There's a small ounce in me that hopes he won't be here so Yuna won't nag me about this and she might forget about it. But I highly doubt it considering her begging this morning. But still there's hope in me that I'll be able to work by myself today, with no disruptions or disturbances.
I brush it off and look down at my page and start writing some notes, like the date. "Today we're discussing—," the professor is interrupted by the door. "Ah, Jungkook. You're late," he says. My eyes pry up and I see the tall man, one hand pushed into his pocket as he walks in like nobody is watching. I complain to myself, feeling disappointed as I thought I'd be off the hook today. But I refuse to show that it's frustrating me.
He bows, pushing his other hand into his pocket. His dark black hair sits neatly on his forehead, styled as though just a few minutes ago, and a nice pair of jeans and a shirt on him. He looks casual. And that's what annoys me is that he looks professional, when he's not. "I apologize. I got caught up talking with another professor. I hope you will understand," he says, smiling at the teacher.
"Of course, I do. No worries. You can take your seat." He nods and looks to my desk, making eye contact with me. I sigh quietly, looking back towards the front. He's the perfect guy. He never gets into trouble, he never does anything wrong. It makes me a bit irritable. Ever since I've known him he's been everyone's favorite, the golden boy that everyone looks at. I despise all of it. Perhaps I'm jealous, but I don't care. The only thing I'm jealous of is how everyone likes him without him even trying, and he doesn't deserve it.
Jungkook takes a seat next to me, placing his bag down and pulling his notebook and pencil out. I notice his staring at the side of my face, making me wonder if he's going to ask me something. I mentally prepare myself for that so I don't say the first thing that pops into my head, which would probably be rude to the point of him saying something. Being emotionless is the best reaction.
"Did I miss anything?" He whispers.
I shoot him a subtle glare, answering, "No." He nods, being silent after that.
I focus on the class the entire time, not giving him a second glance so that I won't miss anything. I take notes diligently, not looking for trouble, until something moves in the corner of my eye, making my eyes move. Yuna's waving at me, trying to get my attention. I furrow my eyebrows, wondering what she's doing. She starts making hand motions, pointing towards Jungkook and mouthing something, and then stops. Her eyes look to the left of me, stopping, making me look over. Jungkook's head is up, watching her as I am, and then when I turn my head to look at him, he looks at me, the both of us making eye contact. I turn my eyes back to the young girl, waiting for her to continue.
Yuna places her hand on the side of her mouth, trying to be sure no one can see her mouthing words, though it makes everything more noticeable. I try to read her lips, and she says, "ask him about Jimin!" When I understand, I deadpan at her, watching as she smiles cutely.
"Y/n, eyes up front, please," the professor says, making me look towards the front of the classroom. I'm about to respond, but another voice does it before I can.
"Sorry, sir, that was my fault," Jungkook says, making me look at him. I furrow my eyebrows. Why is he lying? And more importantly, to get me out of trouble.
"Oh, alright. Then I'm sure it was important." The professor turns back to teaching, making the fire ignite a bit inside of me. I roll my eyes again, focusing on what I missed on the board and jotting it down.
"You're welcome," Jungkook whispers.
I try not to scoff, but I fail partially when a little harsh sigh comes out. "I didn't ask for you to do that."
"Well, if you and your friend would stop talking from across the room, I wouldn't need to," he says, burning holes into the side of my face. "What was that about anyway?"
I sigh, leaning back in my chair. "She wants me to ask you to talk to one of your friends, or something. The short one, Jimin," I say, glancing at him. I'm not scared to look at him nor make eye contact with him, and frankly, I don't know why I refuse to look at him. I just notice that when I look at his face, seeing it only softens my heart and feelings, and he doesn't deserve that. Not after all that he said and he did to me.
"Jimin? Does she like him?" He asks to confirm. I nod, glancing back at the board. He nods in response. "Sure, I don't mind. But I don't know if she's really his type, though. Jimin likes party girls. Especially ones who like to get their hands dirty, if you understand... But sure, I'll talk to him."
I nod, leaving the conversation at that.
"What about you? Want me to talk to someone for you?" I immediately stop what I'm doing and glare at him with furrowed eyebrows. For fucks sake, what the hell is he saying?
"If I did, it wouldn't go through you. Trust me."
He chuckles quietly. "Alright, but don't act like I won't know if it happens. I know a lot of people..." His words are so cocky and annoying, that if I could walk out of this classroom, I would. He is seriously intolerable.
"Really? Thanks for letting me know," I reply in a snarky tone, writing down everything from the board and trying to listen to the professor. I hear Jungkook's laugh one last time, and then he doesn't speak another word, letting me live in silence finally.
...
"Class is dismissed."
I immediately pick up my things, trying to rush out of the classroom as soon as possible to get away from him. I signed up for this class, but not for sitting next to him. I dread the class now and it's all because of him. He ruined it, even if it wasn't his intention.
I pick up my bag, ready to walk away, but I'm stopped. "Y/n, hey," Jungkook says. I realize the voice and ignore him, continuing to walk away and acting like I'm oblivious to his calls. It works until I feel his strong hold grab my wrist. I turn around, my eyes stern as I see his soft ones. Something goes off in me when I see them. I don't like how they make me feel, so I try not to look too much at them.
I snatch my wrist away, muttering, "Please, don't touch me."
He sighs. "Alright... Can I talk to you?"
I give him a confused look. "I'm a little busy," I say, trying to act unbothered by this whole exchange.
"You can't give me two minutes? I know your next class isn't for another fifteen," he insists.
"Why? Is it for your community service?" I retort, my patience running out for him and his stupid questions.
"No, Y/n..." he replies, slightly hurt. "I want to talk. We used to be best friends, what changed between us? I have a right to know," he says, irritation flowing through my body when I hear this sorry excuse for attention. I don't want to have this conversation here, and certainly not now. He can't just randomly call for me and ask why I stopped being friends with him, as if he doesn't have a clue. This is what I was worried about when talking to him. I knew he would come after me and ask questions, but I didn't think he would be brave enough to do it right now, and certainly not like this.
"I'm not doing this here, Jungkook."
"Then when will you tell me? Why all of the sudden do you hate me? Why all of the sudden do you barely look at me, or talk to me?! I loved you, Y/n, you were my best friend and then one day you just left!" He says, his anger growing, but so is mine simultaneously .
I bite my tongue, holding back all the words I wish I could say to him right now. "I said I'm not doing this here. I'm not going to do this so I can look like the bad guy, alright?! Now give me a fucking break." I finish with that, releasing myself from his grip and walking to my locker to get my things for my next class. I don't know who he think he is, but he can't just come up to me and talk to me after what he did. He's an asshole. He thinks he will always have the upper hand, but I won't succumb to it anymore.
As my raging thoughts swarm my head, I quickly grab all the materials I need without thinking much of it. The thought of Jungkook thinking he can speak to me the way he did pisses me off. But I have to calm myself down from all of it, hoping I can keep it together for the rest of the day.
"Hey, Y/n," a man's voice comes from behind me. I turn my head and immediately feel the need to walk away. It's one of Jungkook's friends and I have no idea what they want. I just hope it's nothing about earlier, if he even saw that.
"What do you want?" I ask, not in the mood for games.
"Listen, I've heard you haven't been seeing anyone recently, have you?" He asks, throwing me off for a second. "Because if not, maybe you and I could get together...at my place? What do you say? You won't regret it," he says leaning on a locker to speak to me. It's been a few weeks since anyone has asked me that. I thought I escaped it, but I guess I never will. That disgusting taste in my throat settles back in as I feel the disappointment seep into my head. I attempt to brush him off, not wanting to be rude, but it's tempting.
"I don't do that stuff anymore, Taehyung, find you someone else to sleep with."
"Come on, why not? We can grab dinner before, too, if you're into more old school shit," he laughs when he speaks, still trying to make me budge. I don't know how to make him understand that I didn't like that life, so I don't do it anymore. It was depressing, and insecure for me. I had sex whenever I wanted, with whoever offered, just to heal myself from all the problems in my life. And now people view me as a good fuck. A whore. I can't live like that anymore. I have a bit more self respect than that.
"I'm sorry. No." I walk away after slamming my locker shut.
I don't mean to be rude, but I'm also not the type to sugar coat something. I hate lying. If someone is being a bitch, I'm going to tell them, and it won't be nice. I prefer being straightforward and I hate when someone is vague about what they want. But the hard part about this is if someone actually is being nice, I don't want to acknowledge it. Which is partly why I don't understand why Yuna is so adamant about being friends with me.
"Y/n!" Speaking of... I turn around, seeing the bright smiling girl run towards me.
"What?" I ask. I'm hardly in the mood after Jungkook's spontaneous interrogation and Taehyung's offer.
"How did things go? Did you two talk? I don't mean to bother you, but I saw you two chatting after Mister Kang called you out. Sorry about that, by the way..." she says bashfully, as well as embarrassment because she got me into trouble. I try to ignore the soft spot I have for Yuna forming, and put her out of her misery and answer her question.
I shrug, trying to be unbothered. "It doesn't matter. And yes, he said he would talk to Jimin, but he mentioned how Jimin likes party girls. I'm assuming you aren't that way," I say, walking in front of her as she tries to catch up.
"Not really. Can you help me? You've been to parties, right?" She asks, grabbing my attention.
My eyebrows furrow as she lets those words out. "What's that supposed to mean?"
She opens her mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. Fuck, she's definitely heard things I'm not proud to be responsible for. And things I thought I lived past. "Nothing, I didn't mean it like that. People have talked, but I don't believe them. Please, understand I didn't mean to make you think I meant it like that."
I watch her face for any sort of lies, seeing if there's any signs of discomfort, or a twinge of judgement. Part of me also wonders if it's just paranoia that leads me to inspect her reaction like that. Nevertheless I sigh, readying an explanation. "I've attended a few... I encountered many things that weren't easy to be rid of, but I don't do that now. You can do whatever you want... I did it as a coping mechanism and it wasn't healthy, so I stopped... And frankly, I don't know if I can get near that again, so you may have to figure that out for yourself."
She nods, seeming to understand what I'm getting at. It feels slightly uncomfortable for her to be so understanding like that, as many people I encounter don't react that way. "Thank you, Y/n. I know that talking to Jungkook isn't your favorite thing. But, why is that?"
I sit there for a moment, thinking over everything. I don't want to talk about it. I've never told anyone about it because I'm terrified of it getting out. I don't want people knowing how fragile I am, how fucked I can be, or all of the embarrassing things he said about me. It's not worth it.
"I should get to class," I say, giving her a small and fake smile, and I leave the girl there. I think to myself as I'm going, and I don't know why all of the sudden I started tolerating her. She pushes my buttons, she follows me, and asks questions she shouldn't, she gets me into trouble... But I feel like I get to take care of her.
I have no idea why Yuna is an exception.