JEON JUNGKOOK'S POV
I was just minding my own business during History, staring off into space, when Ji-won nudged me. She's been doing that a lot since Ms. Lee randomly moved us to sit next to each other. It was cute, but I act annoyed.
I turned to look at her and she leans in to whisper something to me. "Since you skipped history last week, we're behind on the project."
I chuckle, finding it funny how she has to tell me this now. "And?" I ask.
"It's due tomorrow."
I cock my head to the side. "And?"
She rolls her eyes. "And we need to finish it today! I'm not doing the whole thing on my own so we have to meet up after school, I don't care if you have a date to go on. My house is messy at the moment, so your place. Alright?"
I peered at her. I should say no, make her finish it herself, but she was being so demanding, in an interesting way. "Fine, Whatever."
"Ji-won and Jungkook!!" Ms. Lee suddenly yells, but her face doesn't look all that angry. She seems to be hiding a grin. "I'm sick of you two not paying attention and whispering during my class. Detention after school for the next two days."
"What?! But Ms. Lee I was just explaining to him that-"
"Don't wanna year it. I'm utterly ashamed of you." She said, smiling a little. Ji-won's face fell. The hell?
"This is bullshit, we barely started talking like 5 seconds ago." I ask, but not being as defensive as usual.
"Jungkook! Watch your fucking language." She snapped. A moment later, she started yelling again at two kids using a phone. "Yah! You think you guys are an exception? Detention next week, since I'm too full this week."
Me and Ji-won share a glance. This whole thing seemed pretty off, but we weren't about to question our teacher. I guess I'm having detention with Ji-won after school.
Ironic.
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SONG JI-WON'S POV
I've never had a detention in my life. Ever! And by some curse of Satan if I ever was to get one, I never expected it to be from Ms. Lee. She's one of my best friends, how could she do this to me? For such a stupid reason?!
I tried talking to her about it after class, but she ignored me, so I sighed and walked to a seat. Me and Jungkook were sitting at completely opposite sides of the room, since there's no longer any obligation to sit next to each other. Everyone left the classroom, and we waited silently for other detention students to fill the room.
But they never came. I thought she said she was too full this week...?
Jungkook must've been thinking the same thing, given the confused expression on his face. It wasn't the main issue on my mind though, so I didn't pay much attention to that.
Ms. Lee quickly fell asleep on her desk, and I tried to read as I worried about my permanent record. Out of nowhere, something hit my forehead, snapping me out of my trance. I looked down to see it was a paper airplane. I look to Jungkook, who was staring off into space, acting innocent. I roll my eyes and shamelessly crumple the plane.
A few minutes later, Jungkook gets up from his seat and moves a few desks closer to me, yet still fairly far away. I was suspicious but didn't say anything. Seconds after that, another paper airplane hit me, though this time with a message written on the wing.
Should I skip? She's asleep anyway. It read. I look up, make firm eye contact with him, and rip the plane. He chuckles. Why he was being so friendly all of sudden was beyond me. I guess he's just as bored as he was that Saturday, and he has nothing else to do.
He moved closer again, threw another plane, and this time I threw it back. The next time he moved, instead of only a few desks, he sat in the one directly in front of mine. He sat backwards in the chair, facing me.
I ignored his presence and kept reading, but he threw a crumpled piece of paper right at me forehead. He watches as I uncrumple it and read the message.
Hi.
I look up at him, allowing myself to smile. I shake my head as I chuckle. "You're so annoying."
He giggled, a cute little laugh, and held his head in his hands. He stayed there in his seat, just watching me.
Every now and then I'd look up at him to see if he was still staring, and he always was. I bit the inside of my cheeks to hide a smile.
He's confusing me- one day he acts like a complete jerk, and the next he acts like the guy I actually like hanging out with. Is he just messing with me?
Why does he do that?
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JEON JUNGKOOK'S POV
I'm kind of fucking up my master plan, but I can't find the will to care.
Last week, being an ass to Ji-won and dating Sana seemed like the genius way fix my issue, but now it seems kind of pointless. Was there really an issue in the first place?
It's making me feel bad, ignoring her so much. I don't have to be that harsh. I'm starting to lose sight of why I started this in the first place, so I decided to ease up during detention. I've just kinda been staring at her for a while now, probably 20 minutes, but she doesn't seem to mind. She just looks cute, with her hair like that and all.
Fuck you Jungkook, you have a girlfriend.
A timer suddenly goes off and Ms. Lee wakes up with a start. "Who's there?!" She yells as she sits up straight, but then notices our presence. "Oh, right! Detention! You're time's up, you guys are free to go!" She said happily. She then got up and picked up a camera on her file cabinet, turning it off.
"There's a camera in here?" I asked hesitantly.
"Oh sure, just to let me see if you skipped or anything." She said, then leaning in to Ji-won's ear and whispering something.
Ji-won's mouth fell open and she blushed as she slapped Ms. Lee's arm. The teacher laughed wickedly.
"Um o-okay then let's get going Jungkook bye Ms. Lee!" She said quickly, grabbing my wrist and dragging me out. "Your house, lead the way!" She said while chuckling awkwardly, not meeting my eye.
"Jesus Ji-won, what did she say?" I ask, eyeing her suspiciously.
"It's nothing."
"You're blushing a lot. Tell me, I wanna know!" I pressed.
She bit her lip. "I mean, it just clears up a few things, like why she randomly moved us to sit next to each other..." her voice trailed off.
"Ah, I think I get it." I said, nodding and laughing a little. Does Ms. Lee ship me with Ji-won or something? That was a middle school thing, but it was still pretty funny.
We arrive at my house. My parents are both still working, so it's just us. We waste no time, take our folder with the project stuff in it, and get to work.
Ji-won checks up on my work every couple minutes to make sure I'm doing everything right. We discuss as we work, but also trail off to other random conversations. It was all going smoothly, and it kinda felt like a burden was taken off my shoulders.
We worked hard, eating snacks and talking throughout. "Oh, Jungkook," Ji-won starts. "I didn't mention this for a while, but that Saturday we went to the mall, I kinda just shut the door on you..." She bit her lip. "It was rude, I'm sorry."
I gazed at her.
That's really what I got pissed about? It seems so insignificant right now.
"Yeah, you were pretty rude that day." I teased, shaking my head.
"I'm sorry! I felt really bad about it cuz you took me out to eat and bought me so much stuff and it was fun and then I just closed the door on you without even-"
I laughed at how flustered she got. "It's fine, really." I said. "I'm sorry too." I didn't specify what for, but I think she understood. "I'm going to the bathroom." I said, excusing myself.
When I get back to the dining room, Ji-won is gone. Confused, I go to the living room, and there she is, looking at framed pictures above the fire place. My jaw clenched.
"What are you doing?" I asked, sounding more angry then I intended. She gasps softly when she sees me and steps away from the pictures.
"Ah, sorry, I was just looking..." she said quietly. There was some silence, and she spoke again. "Um, so, who is-"
"We should finish the project." I said quickly, walking back to the dining room. She rushed after me without a word.
It took another 30 minutes to finish, and the tension mostly floated away. We reviewed the whole thing again to make sure it was perfect, which it was. I smiled. "Not bad," I said, high-fiving her.
She packed up the project, but I didn't really want her to leave yet. Before she put on her backpack, I cleared my throat and spoke.
"It's my brother, by the way." I said, surprising myself.
"Sorry?" She asked, slowly putting down her back pack.
"The guy in the photos, my big brother." I said, getting quieter. My stomach tightening.
Why did I have to bring it up again..
"Ah..." Ji-won said, nodding. "If you don't mind me asking, where is he? College, I guess?"
I hesitate, and smile sadly. "He would've been, if it weren't for me."
She gazed at me with a concerned expression. "It's none of my business, but I'm sure whatever happened isn't really your fault."
If only she knew.
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SONG JI-WON'S POV
I got back home from Jungkook's,
feeling happy that he seems to be going back to how he was, but also concerned. I didn't want to press for information on his brother, since it was obviously a difficult topic, but I couldn't help but wonder.
I pull up on my driveway, noticing that it's already getting dark outside. As I walked to the entrance, I saw a figure sitting in front of the door. Confused, I jogged up to it, to see it was Hoseok, asleep against my door. I smile, he must've been waiting for me.
I squat down in front of him, looking at his sleeping form, his breathing very even. I part some hair away from his eyes and gently cup his face in my hands. I lean in closer, our noses only an inch apart.
"Hoseok" I whisper. He doesn't wake up. I look down at his lips, recalling when we kissed. "Hoseok" I say again, just to make sure.
When he doesn't move, I lean in and kiss his cheek. A slow, gentle peck. I pull away, but only a tiny bit, my nose still touching his cheek, my eyes closed. I want us to kiss again, but who knows how that will end? It's weird, being scared of liking someone. A friendship on the line, a relationship just across it. If the decision was easy, I would've already made it.
I finally pull all the way back, but when I see Hoseok's face, his eyes are open, his expression unreadable.
We remain there unmoving and silent, our faces close, our hearts beating fast, his head in my hands. I could kiss him right now.
And right as I swear he started to lean in, I heard a voice from behind me.
"What's going on?"