"Um... well..." Yongsun glanced at Chaeyoung. "You say it."
"You say it!" Chaeyoung whispered back.
"How can I help you both?" Jennie cleared her throat loudly, as she rested her weight on one leg and folded her arms across her chest. "I don't think I've anymore unsettled business with you guys, though?"
"It's-" Yongsun bit her lower lip. "Um- well, you see-"
"So we were listening to Lisa's apology earlier and..." Chaeyoung said slowly. "We kind of just wanted to apologise... for being really bad friends in the past."
"Ah..." Jennie scanned the both of them from head-to-toe. "I see."
"We really realised how wrong we were over the break," Chaeyoung pursed her lips. "We reflected a lot too, but we were too afraid of apologising. But Lisa's apology kind of gave us strength."
"So now, we apologise for being so superficial in the past," Yongsun continued. "We were friends with you for the wrong reasons. We just wanna say that we're extremely sorry and we hope we can become great friends again."
"Hm," Jennie looked down at Yoojung, who was watching their conversation unfold intently. "Yoojung, what do you think? Do they make sense?"
Yoojung frowned. "Don't ask me."
"Jieun?" Jennie turned aroumd. "Jieun, what do you think?"
"Huh?" Jieun looked up from her phone. "You're asking me?"
"Oh, wait-" Jennie laughed. "Sorry, I take that back. I forgot that you're the kind who forgives people easily." Jennie turned back to face her two ex-best friends. "But I'm not Jieun, you see. I don't forgive people easily - I don't trust people easily, for that matter - until I truly see the change in you both." Jennie gestured in Lisa's general direction. "You guys said you were inspired by her apology? Then why were you both sniggering and poking fun at her during her apology earlier? Make it make sense."
"Oh-" Yongsun's cheeks flushed pink. "You see, we weren't laughing at her- it was this really funny video-"
"-of a chimpanzee-"
"-of a kangaroo-"
The two exchanged looks. "-of a chimpanzee and kangaroo-"
"-in the zoo-"
"-in someone's backyard-"
They looked at each other again. "-oh, it looked like the zoo but it was actually someone's backyard-"
"-in... um, Australia-"
"-Japan-"
"Stop it," Jennie shook her head, her arms still crossed. "Come back to me when you both have decided on what the funny video was about. Also, when you've finally truly understood why you're wrong - not for your allowance this semester. And by then, I hope you guys can apologise to Jieun, Byulyi and Seokjin too. You owe all of them one, you said horrible stuff about all of them."
"Jennie-"
"Hey, listen-"
"In the meantime," Jennie pursed her lips. "I would like to sincerely apologise for being a horrible friend in the past too. I treated you all like my servants, so in some way, I can kind of understand why you guys hated me so much. But instead of helping me to turn over a new leaf, y'all kept trying to suck up to me to leach on my wealth. So... in a way, I'm kinda grateful towards you both too. For letting me see your true colours, and helping me find my real friends - Doyeon and Yoojung. I hope you guys can one day truly understand what wrong you've done too. Meanwhile, see you- I need to go have lunch with Yoojung. Ciao~"
And with that, Jennie linked arms with Yoojung and walked out of the classroom, with Jimin following closely behind them. Yongsun and Chaeyoung exchanged annoyed glances, giving Jieun one last dirty look, before heading back to their seats.
Jieun sighed. Some people never learn.
~
"So... you said you'll give me an answer."
Jisoo fiddled with her pen. There was no one left in class, other than Taehyung and her. Even Yoongi had left the classroom today, after Hoseok had eventually managed to convince him to have lunch with him. Everything was oddly quiet - only the whirring of the ceiling fan could be heard.
"I did," Taehyung looked down at his palms that rested facing upwards on his lap. "I sure did."
"So...?" Jisoo looked at him, her eyes full of hope. "What's your answer?"
Taehyung glanced up at Jisoo, making eye contact with her for the first time. "I-"
"Wait-!" Jisoo put up her hand suddenly, closing her eyes. "I need to prepare myself." She took a few deep breaths, then slowly put down her hand and her eyes fluttered open. "Okay, I'm ready."
"You ready?" Taehyung pursed his lips. "Okay, so I-"
"Wait!" Jisoo stuffed her fingers in her ears, slamming her eyes shut and shaking her head. "On second thoughts, don't tell me, I don't wanna hear anything."
"What?" Taehyung raised his eyebrows. "Why?"
Jisoo opened her eyes slowly and unplugged her ears. "Because I think I know what your answer is gonna be."
Taehyung frowned. "How do you know before you even hear me out?"
"I just feel a rejection coming my way," Jisoo bit her lower lip. "I just feel like, these feelings of mine is gonna be one-sided again and I don't want to be hurt for the second time." Jisoo chuckled. "Because once I know you don't see me in that way, I'll have to give up on you. But if I don't know at all, I can just continue liking you from far away. So, I've changed my mind, I don't wanna hear your answer anymore. So, do me a favour, Taehyung, as my friend - don't ever tell me your answer."
Taehyung blinked a few times. "Jisoo-"
"Taehyung-ah," a familiar-looking face peeped into the classroom. "Where's everyone?"
Taehyung looked up. It was Jungkook.
Taehyung's eyes widened a little as he got to his feet slowly. "Oh- you're here..."
"Yeah," Jungkook looked like he was in a rush. "Where's everyone, Tae?"
"Oh-" Taehyung looked down at Jisoo. "They're all at the canteen, I guess. It's break time."
"Ah," Jungkook bit his lower lip, a small white envelope in hand. "Okay, thanks."
"Wait, Jungkook!" Taehyung hesitated.
"Hm?" Jungkook, who was about to run off, stopped short.
"Jieun isn't at the canteen."
Jungkook paused for a while, staring at Taehyung. "Ah."
"I think you know where she is, don't you?"
"Yeah."
"It's nice to see you again, Jungkook."
"It's nice to see you again too, Tae," Jungkook smiled a little, nodding slightly as his eyes darted between Jisoo and Taehyung. "And... thank you."
~
It was good to be back.
Jieun inhaled a breath of fresh air as she stood leaning against the railing of the school rooftop, reflecting on what had happened in the past 3 months.
So much had happened really. She still remembered the first day of school, when she was afraid of how she was going to be able to get along with Jungkook. He kind of scared her, the way he gave the impression that he hated her. And the thing Jieun hated the most was not being liked.
But how wrong she was. He turned out to be one of the most amazing people she had ever known, just burdened by his sad past. But they grew closer over time, started to develop feelings for each other... and then he helped her get over her trauma. It was such a relief, truly, that he had seen the letter in time and had been there that night.
If not, perhaps, she really would have been her own best friend's murderer.
Jieun closed her eyes, taking in another deep breath. Then there was Yoojung. Her best friend who stood by her side all the time. Be it the time when she was doubted for stealing, or the time when people threw rotten eggs at her, Yoojung was by her side to overcome it all.
She never could understand why Yoojung was so protective of her, even when Yoojung had explained that she saw herself in Jieun. Why would she wanna befriend someone that was just like her? Jieun didn't know. If she were in her position, she didn't think she'd ever want to make friends with someone as self-conscious as she was. But instead, Yoojung embraced her for who she is, and brought out the best in her.
Then there was Taehyung. An amazing guy who deserved the best in the world. Jieun remembered the first time she saw Taehyung break down - it was over Jennie. His first heartbreak - she was there witnessing it all. It was surprising, really, to see someone she thought was so cheerful and bubbly all the time, to have such a sad side. He was simply, way, too, nice. He deserved the entire world.
Jimin. The guy Jieun talked to on the first day. He was so quiet a few months ago, but getting together with Yoojung made him both change so much - it made them both grow together. It was truly amazing how Jieun had the opportunity to be there to watch them both fight and reconcile, hate and love, fail and learn.
So much else had happened. There was the anti-Jieun club who hated her with their entire guts, the weekly articles on the F5 forum that was borderline invasive, the prom night, the Seokjin-Byulyi-Jisoo drama, the Party at Hoseok's, the late night bus rides with Jungkook, the heart-to-heart talks with Taehyung, the watch-stealing drama with Lisa and Hoseok, Jennie's change in attitude, the fire during her first art project, the mugging sessions with Jimin and Yoojung-
All this happened in a short span of 3 months? Unbelievable. And Jieun still had one more year to go. She was definitely in for another rollercoaster of a ride.
Jieun smiled as she inhaled and exhaled deeply. Somi must be up there right now, watching her with a huge smile on her face. She must be so so proud of her. She must be so happy for her-
"Lee Jieun, I finally found you."
Jieun snapped to her senses as she heard a familiar voice calling her name from behind. Filled with sudden emotions of nervousness, Jieun turned around.
It was exactly who she had expected. The moment she laid her eyes on him, she realised how much she's missed him in the past two weeks. His black luscious locks of hair, his round doe eyes, his muscular built, his thin lips-
But before Jieun could say anything, she noticed how flustered Jungkook looked. His hair was in a mess, his uniform crumpled and his name tag not even pinned where it should be. His shoelaces were untied, but he didn't seem to care as he approached Jieun step by step.
"I missed you so damn much."
Jieun smiled a little. "Me t-"
"But first, you have to see this, Jieun-" Jungkook handed Jieun the white envelope in his hands. "Somi... she left you something, Jieun. I wasn't the only thing she left you - she left you something just like mine."