친구
2 MONTHS LATER
"I TOLD YOU to go left, not right!" Mina yelled frustratedly as she dodged a dart of venom from the villain she was fighting, alongside her partner who was disobeying her requests; like usual. They were in Marina Justice Park, fighting around the fountain, the sun nearly setting on the chaotic city.
"We don't have time to bicker, sweetheart!" Jungkook shouted back as he got a hold of the villain's long snake-like tail that was created by Shadow. His legs were completely gone, his body half-human half-snake. The man turned his head back, hissing as his tongue flared about. "You're not going to shed your skin, right? 'Cause that's what snakes do."
"Firedrake!" Mina grunted as she flew to the villain, wrapping her body around his torso to flip him onto his back, sending Jungkook flying as he lost control of the flailing tail. As soon as he realized he was flying toward the fountain, he raised his hands to use his wind power to keep him from touching the water, the pressure of the wind making the water splash.
Mina tightened her legs around the villain's torso in an armlock, tightly hyperextending his arm away from his body, something she was taught by Master Chan in her weeks of training.
"Get the shadow!" Mina shouted out. Jungkook quickly flew to the villain, rolling on the floor beside him as he grasped the shadow, ripping it off swiftly. They watched it slip away on the ground and fade away awkwardly before Mina gently let go of the villain who was transforming back into his normal body once again.
She grunted as she stood up, wiping her suit off before helping the once-again human man off of the ground.
"Are you okay, sir?" she asked gently as Jungkook made his way beside her.
"I think I'll be fine," the man rubbed his eyes. "I feel weirdly dry. I think I'm going to go take a shower. Thank you for saving me."
"Have fun and stay safe, sir," Mina chuckled.
"Stay positive," Jungkook sent a thumbs up to the man before he walked away, the sound of the fountain filling the air.
Mina stepped towards the fountain, sitting on the cemented edge as she twisted her tired body to look at the water. She traced her fingertip along the surface of the water, seeing her distorted self in the reflection.
"So..." Jungkook's voice trailed off as he sat beside her, his face being added to the reflection. He dipped his hand inside the water, only to pull out a ball of water, made from his power. He playfully tossed it in his palm, feeling it jiggle but not break. "Want to go to the movies?" he grinned.
Mina only weakly chuckled, exhausted from the tiring fight. "We can't just hang out together, Firedrake. Also, I'm still a bit angry that you went right instead of left," she joked.
"I'm sorry," he rolled his head back with a light laugh. "I was just excited. It's not every day I get to see you and fight by your side, sweetheart."
"Stop calling me that. And technically, it is," Mina sighed as she looked away, seeing a few people walk in the park again.
It amazed her how quickly the citizens grew accustomed to these random bouts of villains throughout the day, and how they would resume right after like nothing happened. The previous two months had changed the city massively, a sense of protection awning over as Raven and Firedrake endlessly provided it.
"Yeah," he sighed as well, letting the ball of water drop back into the fountain where it dissolved. "Shadow's been really active lately. Do you think he's planning something big?"
"I don't know. But even if he is, I trust we'll beat him," she looked at him with a light smile. "Together."
"You know what they say," he smirked, leaning back onto his hands as he kicked his feet. "You and me against the world."
Mina warmly nodded in response before standing up, stretching her neck a bit as she prepared to leave.
"Wait," she heard behind him before she suddenly felt a hand grab her wrist, keeping her from going anywhere. She glanced down, seeing Jungkook's hand holding her gently. She then looked up at him, seeing his pleading eyes through his mask as he displayed a serious expression.
"We really can't go to the movies?" he asked, his voice little and fragile. She let out a sigh, her shoulders dropping as she looked at his hand.
"No, Firedrake. We're business partners. We can't just walk on the street together eating ice cream, or stuff like that."
"We could," he said. "We could be more."
"No, we can't," Mina responded quickly, meeting his eyes once more. She watched as his face fell, his grip around her wrist weakening until her hand dropped. "I'm sorry. I have to go."
With that, she turned away, flying off the ground and disappearing into the distance, leaving a dejected Jungkook in front of the fountain, his heart cracking at the thought of being away from her again.
-
Mina walked down the hallway side by side with her best friend, Bitna after coming out of gym class. Bitna was red in the face, a result of the amount she had sweated during an intense round of dodgeball, one in which she won proudly. Mina was actually afraid of her, for once.
The two walked beside Jimin and Hoseok, who were both in their gym class as well, also still sweaty from their dodgeball match.
"How are you not sweating a waterfall right now, Minnie?" Hoseok sighed as he brought his palm to his forehead, wiping the sweat that continued to form. "I feel like I'm in a damn sauna."
"Don't you know, Hoseok? She's a princess, she doesn't sweat," Bitna remarked, causing Mina to nudge her with her elbow.
"I agree with that," said Jimin beside her, looking down at her with a mischievous grin.
Mina scoffed at her friend, rolling her eyes and ignoring him.
Within the two months that followed Mina's first day of school, she had the opportunity to make new friends, these friends conveniently being all of Jungkook's friends, all of them also being scattered throughout her classes. It started from that day in the mall, in which Mina was first introduced to both Jimin and Taehyung, with the former practically introducing her to everyone else by talking about her constantly. Jimin didn't hide his little crush on Mina at all---in fact, she pretty much knew he adored her. He would tell her that, anyways. There wasn't much to figure out.
Even though she had made all these friends, she wished it could be more, with Jungkook. They had gotten closer as well, though never passing the friendliness in which mere friends have, of course, but to her, it wasn't enough. She longed to be with him, every minute of every day, but she knew Jungkook didn't return her feelings. That notion would be reminded to her every time Jungkook would say, 'You're such a good friend,' which would always send Mina in a never-ending spiral of the friend zone.
"I have a bruise on my arm where Bitna hit me!" Hoseok exclaimed as he examined his arm, his lips forming a pout.
"I didn't throw it that hard," Bitna said, slapping his shoulder playfully, to which he flinched.
"I should have done what Minnie did and got out first so that I wouldn't have to play against Bitna," Jimin stated, purposely brushing his shoulder against hers.
She only lightly chuckled at his comment, unable to explain that the real reason she got out early was because she didn't want to throw a ball and have it accidentally break the wall because of her super-strength. That would be a whole complicated story to explain.
The four turned a corner in the hallways, nearly bumping into another group of people before they recognized each other.
There, Taehyung, Namjoon, Seokjin, Yoongi, and Jungkook stood in front of them, staring at them wide-eyed. Bitna felt her heart stop at the sight of Taehyung, not knowing that he was feeling the same sensation in his chest a few feet away.
"Why are you so sweaty?" Seokjin cocked an eyebrow at the three as the two groups stood in front of each other. Mina's eyes were darting to all of them besides Jungkook, already aware that if she did meet the beautiful, tall, and dark-haired boy's eyes, then she would melt.
"We just came from gym class. Bitna was a monster in dodgeball. Literally kicked all of our asses," Jimin responded, letting out a defeated sigh.
"She gave me a bruise!" Hoseok added, pointing out the small mark on his arm, identical to when he did that the first time.
"That somehow makes sense," Namjoon chuckled. "Let's go to lunch, I'm starving."
Hoseok nodded before stepping toward the bigger group, glancing back at the two as Jimin followed him. "See ya', Minnie. And not you, Bitna, especially after you almost killed me."
"I-That-!" Bitna only scoffed, a mixture of nervousness and disbelief tracing her voice. She was doing the thing again, where she could never talk when Taehyung was around.
They watched as the group of seven boys walked away, some roughhousing like the typical active boys they were.
"We really suck when Taehyung and Jungkook are around," Bitna let out a defeated sigh, dejectedly running a hand through her long hair.
"I know," Mina said before shaking her head and poking her shoulder. "Let's go eat before Heejin tries to take our table again."
"I really hate that bitch," Bitna grumbled as they began to walk toward the cafeteria. Mina laughed loudly before shushing her, carefully checking for any signs of Heejin around. Bitna joined her, chuckling a bit before the two comfortably burst into a fit of laughter, the sound echoing through the near-empty hallway.
-
Mina's hand trembled as she held a lit wood splint above a test tube full of hydrochloric acid, with a small piece of mossy zinc at the bottom of the tube. She wasn't sure if her hands were shaking because she was handling fire, or if it was because Jungkook was breathing so closely next to her, his head merely inches away from hers as he examined the test tube intently.
She slowly put the wood splint into the mouth of the tube, jumping slightly when the fire went out with a loud squeak. A light giggle slipped past Jungkook's lips as he pulled back, picking up his pencil to write down the observation. Mina gently put the wood splint down, feeling her cheeks heat underneath her goggles, clearing her throat as she wrote down her observation as well.
Mina took a nervous glance toward Jungkook, noticing his eyes focused on his paper as he chewed the other end of his pen. He was deep in thought, and it didn't seem to be from the lab experiment. It piqued her curiosity, debating whether she should ask him if something was on his mind or not.
She was speaking up before she could think. "Is everything okay, Jungkook?"
Jungkook looked up at her, his eyes slightly distorted from the goggles, yet still captivating. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine," he nodded, turning away as he nervously chewed the inside of his cheek. "I'm just... overwhelmed with school, and soccer... among other things."
He couldn't quite explain that the 'other things' included his double life in which he would fight supervillains and be constantly rejected by the love of his life.
"You can always talk to me, you know that, right?" Mina offered a small smile to mask the slight panic she was feeling in her chest.
"I know," he smiled back at her, before leaning his head into the heel of his palm, his elbow pressing into the table. "My parents are starting to train me for when I start working at their restaurant."
Mina blinked, having been previously unaware that his parents even owned a restaurant. It made her happy that she was beginning to know him a little more, alongside the fact that he was confiding in her.
"Is that something you want to do?" Mina asked, tilting her head. She tried to sit comfortably, to look cool, completely forgetting that she had on a pair of tight goggles that probably made her cheeks bulge under the pressure. For all she knew, she probably looked like a tomato that was in the midst of being smushed by a tire.
"I don't really know," Jungkook sighed. "Thinking about the future is scary."
So Jungkook does have some fears. He's human, just like me.
"Don't worry, you're the Jeon Jungkook," she smiled. "You'll figure things out like you always do."
Jungkook's eyes darted to her, feeling a sense of comfort in her smile that was somewhat familiar to him, causing a smile to grow on his face as well. "Thanks, Mina."
Her heart pounded as she heard her name fall from his lips, those beautiful lips being the only ones that would ever call her by her real name, instead of Minnie.
"You're a really good friend."
And once again, Mina felt her heart slightly crack at the too-familiar words that filled her ears, being painfully reminded that she will always be just that to Jeon Jungkook.
A really good friend.