JEON JUNGKOOK'S POV
"Okay, do you think you're finally ready?" Ji-won asks, looking deep into my eyes with a serious expression. I take a shaky breath and nod.
"I'm ready."
She got her timer out. "THREE! TWO! ONE!!!!" She pressed start.
I instantly began working furiously on the math problem, reading and processing the situation. It's already 7:15 pm, and even though that sounds early, we're both extremely exhausted, her from teaching and me from actually learning. It's been hours, but she won't let me leave until I correctly solve a problem within 5 minutes.
I worked from equation to equation, determined to beat the clock and solve the multi-step problem. I had to, otherwise I would never be let out of this prison. So, so close to freedom, I just need to find the answer...
I was practically finished, mere seconds away from solving it. I smiled as I was sure I was going to finish, but just then I heard the timer go off.
"TIMES UP!!!" Ji-won yelled. "And you're still not done."
"NO!!" I yell, standing up and throwing my textbook to the ground. "I was so fucking close! I swear to god I-"
"Jungkook, language, and don't give me excuses, you're still stupid and there's no hiding it. You can't leave yet."
I flopped down backward on her bed and groan in frustration. "You can't make me stay here this long, my parents won't let you."
"Seeing that your parents haven't even sent you a check-in text, they seem perfectly fine with it." Ji-won smiles.
"God damn, can you at least gimme my phone? For a 5 minute break??" I beg helplessly. She took it away and hid it somewhere so I would focus.
"If you can't solve a simple math problem in that time, why do you think you deserve a 5 minute break?" She snaps. Then, she sighs pitifully. "Okay, let's try another problem without the timer. Maybe if you're not pressured you'll do better."
She picks up my textbook and places it in my lap. I sit up. "Focus and really think about this one." She says as she yawns. She walks to her desk and picks up her book, reading it as I do my problem.
No matter how hard I think about the problem, I genuinely don't understand. For 3 minutes I just sit there, trying to make sense of it, but I give up. "Yah, Ji-won, I really need help. Just explain this again."
No reply. "Ji-woooonnnn, please"
She continues to read, as if I don't exist. It feels weird being ignored, because usually I'm surrounded by a crowd of people talking to me. Huh.
"Yah!" I call.
"Ji-won!"
"I need help."
"Please?"
"For fucks sake," I mutter as I stand up and walk to her. I spin her chair around so she faces me. I place my hands on either side of her and lean over her. She looks small below me, and shocked.
I stared into her eyes for a few long seconds. I never really noticed their color, I thought they just were a simple average brown, but now that I look a bit closer, I notice they're more of a golden-caramel, almost mesmerizing to stare into. She was looking at me with a sort of confused and nervous look, it was kinda cute. Most girls would look back at me with smug and flirtatious expressions, but this was different and refreshing, in a way.
After some silence that was surprisingly comfortable, she asks "Um, yes?"
"Did you not hear anything I just said?" I ask, leaning a bit closer for an intimidating effect. She blushes, to my satisfaction, and looks away to avoid making eye contact.
"I-I was really caught up in my book, what were you-"
I hold my textbook up right in front of her face. "Be a good tutor and explain this."
She takes the textbook from my hand and briefly reads the problem. Without sighing or calling me stupid for once, she nods and stands up, walking past me. She sits down on the floor against the wall. She pats the space next to her so I go and sit down.
She goes through how to do the problem and why I would use a certain method to solve it. I pay close attention, desperate to get out of this house. I glance away from the book for a moment and look at her, noticing that her eyes are only half open. She looks really tired, and I now realize that it's probably pretty exhausting to have to work with someone as dumb as me.
It hadn't occurred to me that perhaps she wasn't keeping me here to piss me off, but maybe for my actual benefit. Did she genuinely want me to get a good grade on the test tomorrow? She didn't necessarily look like she was enjoying herself right now, so maybe she's really doing this for me?
But then again, why would she care?
She runs a hand through her hair and looks to me. "So, you think you got it this time?"
It also hadn't occurred to me that she kinda looked cute when she was tired. It's weird seeing her hair down, since she always wears it in tight low ponytails. It was better this way, though.
She snapped her fingers in front of my face. "Yah, were you even listing?"
"Oh, um, yeah, I'm ready." I said, pushing the awkward thoughts out of my head.
She yawned again. "Okay, do it." She said as she closed her eyes and leaned her head on the wall.
I worked on the problem slowly, recalling everything she's attempted to teach me. I worked through the whole problem, and ended with an answer I was confident with. Just when I was going to ask her to check it, Ji-won's head softly fell on my shoulder. I looked at her face to see her breathing was even, she was asleep.
This fucking bitch, if she gets to take a break, then so do I.
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JI-WON'S MOM'S POV
I filled two bowls with ramen, feeling obligated to bring them both a big dinner after working so hard. I was so proud of my Ji-won, using her time to help a struggling student.
Even though my husband thinks completely opposite of me, I think it's great that our daughter finally has another boy over. It's only healthy for her to have a crush, or better, to finally get a boyfriend! I've tried to tell her that on many occasions, but she always says she doesn't have time for it.
Of course, I've always dreamt that Hoseok and her would start dating and get married someday, but having another option couldn't be so bad. I was a bit weary of him by the way he acted towards the principle the other day, but earlier he gave such a respectful greeting. I'm sure he's a nice boy, and I grin to myself as I wonder if he could perhaps ever be Ji-won's lover.
I walked upstairs and into her room to bring them their food, but before I could say anything I saw them both sitting against the wall, asleep. Ji-won's head was on his shoulder and his was leaning back on the wall. Textbooks and scratch paper and pencils lie in front of them. I smile happily at the sweet sight.
I end up putting the ramen in front of them, not wanting to ruin the romantics. As I walk out of the room, I sigh with joy. I pull out my phone and snap an adorable brief photo of the two.
Even though I had a good feeling about this boy Jungkook, I knew that I'd always have a better one about Hoseok. Him and Ji-won were just meant for eachother! I giggled as I thought of what their future children could possibly look like.
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SONG JI-WON'S POV
It was seriously awkward when we woke up at practically the same time. We quickly cleared out throats and separated, but when we noticed the bowls of ramen in front of us the tensions floated away and was replaced with happiness. I'm sure he was starving as much as I was.
He started stuffing mouthfuls of it without even saying anything, that mannerless pig. I rolled my eyes and began to slowly eat my noodles.
And then suddenly he spilled some on my floor. I gasped. "JUNGKOOK OH MY GOD!!!"
"Chill, it's not a big deal." he said after swallowing his mouthful.
"I mopped literally just yesterday! These floors were spotless."
He rolled his eyes. "I swear, you're so dramatic. Just get a bounty and wipe it u-"
"Hold up, what did you just say???" I asked furiously. "You think I'm cleaning this up??"
"It's your house."
"It's your ramen."
"Its your bounty that's gonna wipe your floor."
"It was your mistake!"
Jungkook suddenly cocked his head to the side and smirked. "Tell me to clean your fucking floor or you'll slap me."
"I already did."
"No you didn't!"
"I implied it."
"Say that exact sentence Ji-won, and then I'll willingly clean up my mess."
"Clean my frick fracking floor or I'll lecture you about bad manners."
"Damn, that's even worse than a slap. But no, you didn't say it right. Fucking, Ji-won, fucking."
We stared at each other for a few moments, before I groaned loudly in defeat, stomping out of the room and coming back with paper towels.
I cleaned my damn floor.
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JUNG HOSEOK'S POV
I face timed Ji-won, feeling bored and hungry. She picked up almost instantly.
"Hobi, he's finally gone!!" She yelled happily. I laughed.
"Was he that bad?"
"The bitch made me clean up his fucking ramen when he spilled it and he's so damn stupid I almost slit my wrists trying to explain the same concept over and over. I mean, you're a dumbass too but not as much as him."
"You'll get used to it." I said. She rolled her eyes playfully. "Halmeoni's?"
"Sure."
We always went to this diner together named Halmeoni's Kitchen, it was the usual. It was a walking distance from our house so me and Ji-won stayed on face time as we walked there.
When I was almost at the diner, she says "Oh, I see you now." I look around.
"Where are you??" I ask. She giggled as she starts running. "Yah, I don't see you!" I say to her on the phone.
"I'm close by." She said while she ran. I looked right, and when I did I heard her squeal and saw her run on the camera. I ran that way, assuming she was over there.
I heard her running footsteps now but still couldn't see her. I followed the noises and spoke into the mic. "Yah Ji-won don't make me run when I'm hungry!"
"Still don't see me?" She asked playfully. I ran around the small building, me and Ji-won at an interesting little chase.
Suddenly, I feel someone jump on my back, in a piggy back form. I screamed from how sudden it was and she laughed hysterically. She wrapped her arms lightly around my neck.
"Oh my god!!" She said while laughing. "You screamed even higher than usual."
I pushed her off my back and wrapped my arm around her neck in a playful choke hold. "You think it's funny?? Little bitch!"
We walked with my arm around her into the diner and sat in our usual spot, a booth in a corner. "I already ate so I'll just get a milkshake." She told me.
"You say you're not hungry now but when I get my food you steal it." I said, hitting her head lightly. We sat there and talked while we waited for our food. Since it was already dark and pretty cold, Ji-won cuddled close to me and I kept my arm around her, that made my heart beat quickly.
No matter how many times we've been in this same position, I'll never get used to it, will I? But that was the thing about being around Ji-won- I never get bored of it, that feeling never goes away.
2 twelve-or-thirteen-year olds were walking by when one of them whispered loudly to the other. "Aww, look it's the cutest couple!"
They were giggling as they walked away and I chuckled, already knowing Ji-won was blushing. I looked down to her, and I was right. "We do kinda look like an old married couple right now."
She scrunched her nose. "Old? Are you insulting my skin? Is it wrinkly already? Ugh, babysitting you all the time has aged me."
Usually I would agree with her about being ugly or wrinkly just to mess around, but tonight I found myself doing the opposite.
"No, you look pretty." Understatement. Her hair was down and messy in a nice way, her cheek looked squishy against my shoulder, and the dim lighting reflected in her eyes. She looked beautiful, in fact.
"No way, I have bags under my eyes from tutoring for so long." She said, ignoring my rare compliment. Not even noticing. It's kinda sad, if you think about how many signals I've sent, and how many signals are ignored.
Sometimes I wonder if she already knows I like her. Ji-won is incredibly smart, so it seems unlikely for her to just be entirely oblivious. Does she know and choose to ignore it because she doesn't feel the same?
Ji-won chuckles. "What?"
I hadn't noticed I was staring, I blinked and looked away. "Nothing."
My cheap food and Ji-won's milkshake arrived quickly. She said she wasn't hungry but, as expected, she kept taking my food.
"Stop stealing my fries, you hoe."
She smiled sweetly and popped one into her mouth. It occurred to me that even if I tried to tell her what to do and what not to do, she would do it anyway. She controlled herself, yet she also seems to control me.
We shared the fries. We shared the milkshake too. But why couldn't we share my feelings?