J U N G K O O K
"Guys, I'm going to miss you so much." Hyemon's watery eyes looked at each of us as she spoke. "This year was special thanks to all of you. I'll miss having you around! You might not know how much it helped me. I went through some hardships, but it felt nice to be part of a group. I'll never forget you."
The art club room fell silent after our dear friend's speech. We exchanged glances, moved and proud. Sarutobi, Jay, and Hyemon were leaving for college, causing the club to lose three of its original members, including the president. A hard blow for the art club.
"A group hug would be perfect!" Solange exclaimed as she jumped from her seat. "Come on!"
As Kwon mumbled annoyingly, we gathered to share a sweet moment. Surprisingly, I didn't mind hugging my fellow members, although I was extra careful not to touch Y/n. We hadn't talked since the party, so I tried to keep my distance to avoid an awkward situation.
"Alright, that's enough." Kwon clapped his hands as he broke the hug. "Let's eat!"
"Our last meal together..."
Jay patted Solange's back, "There are still two weeks left."
Thus, we began to eat. Lunchtime was filled with laughter thanks to Kwon and Solange. As I ate, I kept smirking here and there, finding it useless to speak. I had nothing interesting to say, especially not when the only words I wanted to blurt out were solely addressed to Y/n. I would talk to her when she'd be ready to listen, not like that, right in front of our friends.
The rest of the day was uneventful, nothing worth to be mentionned. That was until I got home.
My brother was studying sitting at the dining table, examining a pile of documents I didn't recognize at first. When I reached his position, the voice of my father caught me by surprise.
"I have some great news!"
I noticed Namjoon's frown. "Nothing is sure yet. Don't get over excited..."
I stared at the both of them, silently waiting for an explanation.
My father urged me to sit next to Namjoon as a sincere smile decorated his pale face. "One of my friends, Chojae, the one who helped me with the kitchen..." He cleared his throat. "Well, his sister owns a few buildings. He told her about our situation, and she said she had four unoccupied apartments in Busan!" I stared at him, quietly admiring the light of both hope and relief in his usually sad eyes.
Namjoon flashed me a knowing smile. "Apparently, one of them is quite cheap. We have a visit planned in less than a week."
"On thursday." Dad added
I nodded. "That's great news, indeed!" I forced a smile, unwilling to disappoint my father.
A part of me was excited, especially because it would ease Dad's expenses. He'd pay less and rest more, a change that was very much needed. The other part of me, however, panicked at the thought of leaving Bangtan High and my friends. For the first time since my mother's death, I felt like I mattered, not just to Dad and Namjoon. I made genuine friends who cared for me, my true self.
And there was Y/n.
❁ ✾ ❃ ❋
The next morning, I felt like throwing up. Anxiousness was slowly building inside of me as I met my friends. Jimin was bickering with Hyemon as Solange stared in silence, uninterested. When they noticed my presence, a smile crept up their faces, making me uncomfortable.
"What's going on?"
Hyemon smirked. "I'm this close to punch him in the face."
Jimin cleared his throat, readjusting his necktie. "Very classy."
"Like you deserve classy." she clapped back, mumbling insults
"Are you done? Hyemon and I need to go to the bathroom."
With that being said, Solange snatched her friend away as she addressed me with a sympathetic smile.
"See you, Kookie!"
Eventually, my attention shifted back to the vice-president.
"Are you busy?"
"I was heading to my class—"
"Great! Come with me, I need a hand."
Turned out Jimin had a lot to do before the beginning of morning classes. The most pressing mission was to make sure every classroom had at least thirty copies of the Annual report of Bangtan High's students' council.
"The announcement for next year's members and our positions is mentioned at the end." The boy told me as we carried boxes full of booklets around the school. "By the way, are you interested in joining us?"
I bit my lip, trying to ignore the sour taste in my mouth. "I'm not sure... Politics are not for me."
Jimin chuckled, pushing the door to a classroom open. "I understand, although eighty percent of our job is mostly paperwork..."
"Ew, even worse. I'm not cut out for this. Are there any other candidates?"
He shrugged. "I was thinking of Jieun, your classmate."
I nodded in approval. "She'd be great!"
"I thought so, yes."
Before we could discuss any further, the schoolbell rang. After promising to Jimin I'd have lunch with him, I rushed to my classroom, convinced I'd be late. Instead, I arrived just in time, as Professor Choi was about to slide the door close.
As I approached my seat, a fresh scent of vanilla teased my nostrils. I sat quietly while looking around, searching for the origin of that sweet smell.
That's when my eyes fell upon Y/n's side profile. For some reason, she was sitting only a table away from mine, on my right.
R E A D E R
A few minutes earlier
"Are you kidding? He'll know I'm desperate, and I do not want that." I folded my arms over my chest to emphasize the disagreement.
Jieun and Miria exchanged a knowing look, shaking their head in synch.
"Listen, he knows you. It doesn't matter if he understands. The only goal is to make him talk to you!"
A horrid expression painted my red face as I imagined the responsible for my latest breakdown reacting to my friends' plan to gain back his attention. In short, I'd exchange seats with Miria whose desk was next to his, then I'd basically wait for a reaction. Hopeless, if you asked me.
"What's he going to say? Oh, hello, Y/n! Why the hell would you sit next to me? We're not even a couple. He'll think I'm clingy—no, this is a bad idea!" I shook my head in despair.
Once again, my friends expressed their disapproval at the same time. With a small sigh, Miria took my hand and pressed it with her own.
"You know what happened... He was jealous, that's it. He's probably cursing himself right now!"
I bit my lip, glancing at the classroom's entrance. I knew Jungkook well enough to decipher his reactions and come to a realistic conclusion. Of course, he was jealous, but that didn't mean he could lose it and hurt me each time he'd struggle to deal with his negative emotions.
Obviously, I wanted us to talk. Still, we'd keep going in circles as long as we'd maintain our current dynamic. Thus, whether the girls were right or wrong, I decided to listen and execute their very lacking plan.
As the bell rang, I sat at Miria's desk, wondering where Jungkook was, considering he was never late. He arrived a minute later, rushing towards his desk without even glancing at anyone. That was until he was properly seated. At that moment, I felt his gaze on me, only for a split of seconds—but still. My heart skipped a beat as I feigned a deep interest for whatever the teacher was saying. But after that short moment, nothing happened. Jungkook hadn't laid his eyes on me again. Until lunchtime.
"He's just a stubborn dumbass, if you ask me." Jieun spat as she took a sip of canned coffee. "He's so bad at acting unbothered. I mean, look at him!"
Miria and I followed her gaze, causing me to choke on my food as I caught Jungkook glancing at me. He looked away as fast as lightning, yet his cheeks had turned pink.
As I coughed loudly, Miria patted my back in amusement. "Wait until he comes around, he'll do it."
But a week later, I had yet to hear a word from him. Even worse; a pretty important matter had come to my attention.
"He didn't tell you?" Taehyung frowned; playing with his hands. "I thought he would! I mean, I know about your situation, but still..." he licked his lips, silently pleading for Hoseok's help as he glanced at him
"I'm sorry, Y/n. Maybe you should go and talk to him."
I stared in disbelief, trying to process what I had just learned. So, he wasn't going to tell me? I guess he really doesn't want me in his life anymore, were my first thoughts. If that was his decision, then I would gladly oblige to it.
"When is he moving?" I wasked anyway, just to fulfill my curiosity.
Hoseok scratched his head, thinking for a minute. "In less than a month, right?" he turned to his friend
The latter approved with a light nod, unconsciously rubbing in the fact that I'd probably not see him again.
"Thanks for telling me." My poor attempt of a smile fainted as a very familiar figure came out the door behind them. For a second, our eyes met. "See you, guys."
I cleared my throat and left, unable to get ahold of myself around him.
He was moving to Busan, and he chose not to tell me. Why was I wasting my time and energy for a boy who didn't give it back? It was too good to be true, I should've known he would get tired of me... Still, that fast? "What a jerk!" I mumbled to myself.
"Who's a jerk?" Suddenly, a calm voice stopped me in my tracks. "I guess that would be me..."
Blood boiling, I turned around, only to meet a pair of dark orbs I'd grown fond of in the past months. But right now, I felt like crushing them.
"What do you want?"
He sighed, taking a step towards me. In response, I took a step back.
"Y/n..." he sighed out "I was going to tell you, I swear."
"When?"
He shook his head, obviously unsure of what to say. "I don't know, before school break."
I shook my head no, snickering. "It doesn't matter though, we're not a thing, right? It's not like I deserved to know. We hadn't talked in a week and half, so that's perfectly normal." Again, he tried to approach me, but I raised a hand to dissuade him. "Don't bother."
"Come on, listen to me. My father decided to move because he can't afford our current house!"
"Oh, am I supposed to be mad at your father then?" I stared at him, confused.
"No, that's not—okay, listen. I really like you, I swear, but what's the point now that I'll be gone?"
His words weighed on my heart, breaking me in the process.
"You should've told me..." I managed to say, lips quivering out of a strong urge to break down in tears
"I'm so sorry." He sighed again, sliding his hands in his pockets. "I've been acting like a jerk, you're right. I wanted, and I still want to makeup! But, how long will it last? A week or two, nothing more... I'm leaving, and I won't be able to sleep at night if I keep thinking about you." Carefully, he took a few steps forward, just enough to be able to grab my hands. "I feel like an asshole for wasting the little time we had left together, but what's done is done. There's no turning back... I screwed up everything, and I can only blame myself for that."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" I could feel tears filling up my eyes as Jungkook's expressed nothing but sorrow. He never let my hands go, even when I lashed at him a second later, pouring my heart out.
As I spoke, Jungkook looked sad, regretful, and sorry. Yet he wouldn't budge, taking in everything I had to say.
"So, it's all over, huh?" I said as I calmed down, looking at our intertwined fingers.
He said nothing, he didn't need to.
"You'll always be my first love..." were the last words I've heard from him at Bangtan High as we stood in the hallway, unable to let go
『 ❁ ✾ ❃ ❋ 』
I'M SORRY FOR THE WAIT, LOVE YOU ♡♡♡♡
NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE THE LAST, THEN I'LL PUBLISH THE EPILOGUE 🫠