"I actually still can't believe you both tried keeping it a secret from us!" Taehyung lamented on the way back to class after lunch.
Yoojung and Jimin exchanged grins.
"We said sorry," Yoojung said, trying to pacify him.
"Sorry ain't enough, Choi Yoojung," Taehyung groaned. "If I ever get a girlfriend, you guys would be the first I'd tell."
"Promise?" Jieun piped in from the back. "We better be the first ones you tell!"
Taehyung's smile vanished slightly at the sound of Jieun's voice. "Yeah, of course."
Jieun smiled.
"Jieun-sunbae!"
The group of them stopped short as they heard someone call Jieun "sunbae". No one had ever called her that before, it was stunning not just for Jieun, but for all of them. They all spun around, looking for the source of the voice.
There was a group of kids- alright not kids, but possibly students one to two years younger than they were, which they always referred to as "kids". The group was made up of four guys, with three of them egging on a brown-haired round-eyed kid who stood ahead of them. He hesitated, but eventually stepped forward away from the group and walked up to Jieun.
"Me?" Jieun was one step behind.
"Mm," the boy was evidently holding something behind his back, unable to make eye contact with Jieun.
Jieun raised her eyebrows, glancing at Jungkook next to her, as if he could answer her questions. But he just eyed the boy intently, not taking his eyes off him.
"Um..." The boy was still unable to look at Jieun directly. "Well... err..."
Jieun frowned. "May I help you?"
"Well..."
"If there's nothing," Jungkook grabbed onto Jieun's arm, as if he was ready to walk away. "We'll make a move."
"Wait!"
Jieun shifted her eyes from Jungkook's hand on her arm, to Jungkook's face, then back to the boy who was still looking at the ground, but had reached out his hands, offering what he was hiding behind his back to Jieun.
"Please accept this, Jieun-sunbae!"
Jieun looked down. It was a packet of banana milk - her favourite.
"This is... for me?" Jieun furrowed her eyebrows, not sure if she was supposed to accept it or not.
"Yes!" The boy finally looked up, making eye contact with Jieun. "Please accept my heart, sunbae!"
"Your... h-heart?" Jieun spluttered.
The other F5 members watched on excitedly - well, except for Jungkook - his expression was unreadable.
"Yes!" The boy continued. "I've had a crush on you since the day you joined the school - the whole time you were suspected of cheating and stealing, I stood by you! I knew you would never do such a thing! I really like you, sunbae! Please accept me!"
"W-What?" Jieun laughed, before catching herself.
It wasn't funny. Someone was confessing to her right now. She shouldn't be laughing. But everything was so random. Just a random junior coming up to her at the most random of times, telling her he had a crush on her.
Well... it kinda felt good, she had to admit.
But that didn't mean she was going to accept him. That was the problem. How was she gonna turn him down? And if she did turn him down, was she supposed to accept the banana milk or not? She did kinda like banana milk-
Jieun, now's not the time to think about that!
Should she accept it, or not? If she accepted the milk, then rejected him, that would be kinda odd. But if she rejected him and the milk... that's kinda... rude. And mean.
Urgh.
"Oh!" Jieun smiled, looking at the boy kindly. "That's really... um, nice of you to buy me my favourite banana milk but- um, I don't think I can... I mean, well... first, I'll accept this banana milk you so kindly got for me-"
Jieun reached out her hand for the packet of banana milk, but Jungkook grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand back before she could even lay her hand on the packet of banana milk.
"Hey!" The boy frowned, glaring at Jungkook. "Can you not interfere, please? I'm trying to confess to Jieun-sunbae right now, can you please stay out of it?"
"No, I can't," Jungkook's hand was still on Jieun's wrist and Jieun stared at Jungkook, in complete shock.
Yoojung was clinging on to Jimin so tight that her fingernails dug into his arms it kinda hurt, but Jimin was so concentrated on the drama as well he didn't seem to notice.
"Why?" The boy stepped forward, chin in the air. He was about a head shorter than Jungkook, but was obviously not afraid to challenge him. "Who are you to interfere? Are you her boyfriend?"
Jieun let out a flustered laugh. "What? No, we-"
"Yeah, and what about it?" Jungkook raised an eyebrow, muttering into the boy's face nonchalantly.
Yoojung and Jimin let out a simultaneous gasp.
"You-" The boy's darted between Jungkook and Jieun. "Wait- Are you serious?"
Jungkook let go of Jieun's hand, but wrapped the same arm around Jieun's shoulder, pulling her close. He raised his eyebrows, not saying a word, but his expression screamed: dead serious.
Jimin and Yoojung were once again, at the back, freaking out internally, thinking that the boy was going to punch Jungkook in the face and Jungkook was gonna retaliate and a fight was gonna break out but... that didn't happen.
The boy took one step back and... smiled. "I knew I didn't stand a chance. I should have believed those articles about you guys. Especially the way... you guys looked at each other on prom night. I'm sorry for the disruption, Jieun-sunbae. You guys look great together. Also... keep this banana milk, it's on me. I'll be rooting for you guys."
He shoved the banana milk into Jieun's hand, sighed deeply, then walked back into the comforting arms of his friends who were waiting a few metres behind him.
When they finally disappeared round the corner, Jieun finally unfroze, pulling herself away from Jungkook, staring at him open-mouthed.
"What was that?"