Unexpected friendships are the best ones.
In Jisoo's case, it was hard to believe. Despite the two months she had been in Seoul, there hadn't been much progress in forming new friendships at college. It was difficult and being Jinyoung's rival partner drained her of energy. It was lonely not having a roommate to talk to or share a meal with at the end of the day, but seeing Mark's misery always made her shrug the thought off with a lingering hope of finding good friends or a peaceful roommate.
At first, that beautiful wish sounded impossible. On a beautiful sunny day painted with fluffy clouds, Youngjae proposed a picnic near Han River. Jisoo felt the refreshing wind brushing against her face and the sweet fragrance of flowers that swept away all her worries. The atmosphere seemed perfect until she opened her eyes to see him.
The man, with fair skin, was wearing a pristine white shirt and olive green shorts with an aesthetically pleasing camera casually hung from his neck, looking like he was ready for a beach party. The intensity of his gaze behind the dark glasses made her shiver. They had been brought together by fate again so soon after the failed flirtation attempts fight from the day before.
"Vintage beret suits you, pretty Jisoo-ya." Jinyoung's wicked grin showed his enjoyment of getting on her nerves. "With your toffee-colored autumn dress, it looks like a date."
She rolled her eyes, taking a step closer with a flirtatious smile. "Too bad you are the only one falling,"
"Are you sure? Your red ears say otherwise." His index finger pointed at her warm ears.
"Don't flatter yourself. It's cold." With her slender fingers, she tried to conceal the blush in her deer-like ears by ruffling her hair.
"Jisoo, can you help—Oh? Jinyoung, Hello!" Youngjae smiled brightly, approaching the man with open arms, who dodged them perfectly. "We aren't friends. Stay away." Jinyoung greeted him back with a glare.
"What do you mean? You are here, so starting this moment, we are." The otter's pout turned to a mischievous smile, capturing the man in a tight hug.
"We will never be. Get off me, kiddo!" Jinyoung's huff made Tom step out of the blue tent. His eyebrows creased in annoyance when he saw Jerry, completely taken aback by the fuss. "Why are you here?"
"Why are you here, Mark?" He mimicked his roommate's question. "Don't start. I don't want to ruin the day."
"Well, good for you. Because mine is already ruined by your presence. Where's Jaebum?" Jinyoung's lips curled inwards.
"Jinyoung, you came!" Upon turning around, he saw his friend with a big grin, carrying two boxes of pizza. "I can't believe you tricked me into joining this!" Jinyoung whispered, not so quietly.
"It isn't like we are dying to have you here. Go to your lame parties!" Mark was ready to begin their daily dispute, hissing in anticipation.
"Tom and Jerry. Did you lie about your truce? The sight of the blonde-haired girl caused Mark to stop his angry pouting immediately, replacing it with pleasant smile lines.
"What's she doing here?" The fight and Jinyoung's confusion were forgotten, leaving him lost.
"Rose, hey..." Mark greeted the girl warmly, removing the red checkered blanket from her hands.
"Hey... Thank you for the invitation." Mark, feeling a bit nervous, shook his head lightly and began rubbing his neck with one hand. Sensing their friend's awkwardness, Jisoo and Youngjae walked closer to the girl.
"Hello, Rose. It's nice seeing you again. I'm Jisoo and this Youngjae." Instead of accepting Jisoo's handshake, Rose shocked her with a friendly side hug.
"Of course, I know you. I have always wanted to become your friend, but we never had the chance."
"I'm glad that you are here, then!" Jisoo hugged her back, throwing Mark a knowing look with a wink.
"Jaebum, I thought we would hang out alone, no strangers." They rolled their eyes, ignoring Jinyoung's whines to Jaebum to get everything ready.
A red-checkered blanket was put down on the grass, n, where a selection of pepperoni and chicken pizzas was in the center. Side-by-side with them, mini club sandwiches formed a part of the spread. Boxes of donuts, fresh fruits, along with chips and crackers surrounded it as drinks filled up the space between all the food items.
"Jinyoung! Are we late? Wow, Aren't you cold?" Jinyoung saw someone familiar approaching them with two other people, who then joined the group.
"I'm good, Yugyeom. Ever since BamBam dyed his hair silver. He acts like he is an ignorant, famous idol. Yah, Let's go. We shouldn't be here." Jinyoung's stubbornness confused his friends.
"Why? We brought snacks. It looks fun." They sat on the blanket, almost completing the circle.
"I guess luck isn't on my side." Jinyoung let out a sigh, kneeling to fill the empty spot.
"How did the entire guest house end up in an expected hangout?" Rose initiated the conversation with a light spirit.
"What?"
"I'm not pulling a prank. Is this your first meeting?" Rose asked the surprised group, who nodded in synchronization.
"I know Jisoo. We share the same classes." A silver-haired guy mentioned next to the unfamiliar new blonde short-haired girl who locked eyes with Jisoo. "Hi, Jisoo~" she cooed.
Jisoo smiled and waved back hesitantly, feeling a bit overwhelmed by the unfamiliar faces. The awkwardness between them hadn't fully gone away yet. "Why don't we introduce each other? I'm Jisoo Kim from LA, a second-year biomedical engineering student."
"I'm Yugyeom Kim from the water incident." The tall guy pointed at himself and then his silver-haired friend. "This BamBam, the son of Bhuwakul restaurant owners. We both study with Jisoo and Jinyoung"
"I'm Lisa. BamBam's bestie and Rose's roommate, a first-year art student."
"You know me. I'm Rose, a third-year medical student, and your annoying supervisor."
"Mark Tuan from LA, a second-year engineering student."
"Youngjae, a first-year computer science student along with Jaebum. I'm also Jisoo's and Mark's childhood friend. I'm happy to be with you all~," Youngjae's loud positive voice was like magic, making them cheer for the unexpected new friendship.
Never in a million years, Jisoo would have imagined that happening, being with Jinyoung in the same friend group. His determination to make her fall for him hadn't wavered for two months, so it was impossible to change within seconds. A part of her feared the possibility of falling for him to have her heart break twice harder of losing him and her new friends. On the other hand, she couldn't give up on her wish and the nice people to him. She wouldn't lose to the competitive guy who had his eyes pierced at her.
"Jisoo, are you comfortable?" Mark asked in allow-tone, pointing at her side-sitting position. "Would you mind sharing the jacket with Rose to cover your legs?"
Jisoo looked down at Rose's knees covered with Mark's navy blue jacket. "We will end up half-covered. I'm okay."
"Should I get you a jacket from the dorm, it won't be comfortable to eat or sit longer like that." He whispered to avoid the other's attention.
"I will be fine. Take care of Rosie." She whispered back in a teasing tone.
"Jisoo-ya, this from Jinyoungie." Youngjae passed the white shirt of her enemy who was in his plain white t-shirt, hands wrapped on his knees, hugging them to his chest, with sunglasses on top of his head.
"Jinyoung hyung to you, Kiddo. We aren't friends." He scolded Youngjae as he looked at her with an unreadable expression, mouthing, "What?" like it wasn't a big deal.
Mark nudged her side lightly while shooting fire glares at Jinyoung. She held her friend's hand to calm him down. "Let it slide. We are having a fun time."
The fabric was gentle against her skin - it was so lightweight. The vanilla and light floral fragrance with the slight smell of spice created a refreshing combination in the cool air. Her fingers lightly moved around the collar as she paid attention to nearby conversations, taking part in some when necessary.
The warmth and kindness of everybody truly touched her. When Youngjae interacted with Yugyeom and BamBam, the mood became even more upbeat. Their energetic vibes were almost overwhelming.
Jisoo gripped a slice of almost chilled pizza in her free hand, biting it eagerly. Mark added the customary hot sauce and ketchup to Jisoo's pizza for extra flavor and improved the savory feeling.
"Tell me one reason why we never cooked together in the kitchen, at least for dinner?" Rose whined lightly.
"Unnie, a movie night on the weekends or playing games in the playroom will be more fun, especially on the weekends," Lisa suggested with excitement.
"Let's create a group chat and whoever is free can join the fun," Yugyeom added, before biting the blue donut on his hand.
"You know what's amazing? Youngjae and Jaebum are the ones who made today happen and probably the start of this blooming friendship." Rose commented in amusement.
"Their new bond is still unbelievable to me. They are polar opposites." Jinyoung sulked.
"Honestly, I was shocked. Because we have known Jaebum before Youngjae and he is really hard to approach but seeing Youngjae, I now understand why."
"Really? Why Mr. smart in silver?" Jinyoung teased BamBam.
"Are you blind? His laugh is contagious. Who can resist his charms? I have met him today, yet it feels like I have known him for years." BamBam argued.
"I agree, he is already my homie." Yugyeom joined the light argument, tossing his coke against Youngjae's.
"Aww. Thank you Yugyeomie and Bamie, I love you~," Youngjae cooed, throwing finger hearts in their direction before looking at Jaebum. "Is this real, hyung? Why are they so amazed at you enjoying a simple picnic?"
Jaebum gulped down a sip of his fizzy drink. "I look cold and intimidating. I also took a gap year, which isn't common here, so people avoid me and it's hard for me to approach people as well. What's funny is you didn't see any of this like a kid who I need to act soft and worry about."
"What do you mean, cold? You are the kindest on earth!"
"I agree. No one is patient enough to wake Youngjae up every morning. It was my nightmare back in the States," Jisoo chuckled.
"Oh, that is nothing. Believe me, I have dealt with worse." His eyes glanced at Jinyoung, teasing him.
"What do you mean, worse? Yah, Jaebum-ah." Jinyoung scoffed in disbelief. "Why is everyone ganging up on me today?" He whined.
"I'm not my forever best friend Jinyoung-ah. We love having you here." Jaebum shook his hand in denial jokingly.
"The best Jinyoung. If only you stop whatever you have going on with Jisoo."
Yugyeom's words choked Jisoo, causing the pizza toppings to drop onto the plain shirt on her lap.
"There's nothing between them. Choose your words." Mark corrected coldly, patting her back with a hand as the other wiped the ketchup smudge on her cheek.
"My bad. I meant their rivalry thing." Yugyeom stressed the word he missed. "They fight for the highest scores and their projects are top-notch, which makes us suffer because they set the standards so high."
"It isn't our problem. You are dumb and BamBam is dumber. Jisoo, have you just stained my favorite shirt?" Jinyoung drew everyone's focus towards Jisoo, who was desperately attempting to erase the red stain with cleaning wipes.
"It wasn't intentional. I will clean it and give it back to you brand new."
"Let's buy together a new one," Jinyoung demanded with a sly smile.
"We aren't going on a shopping date." Jisoo denied with a tight smile, vigorously wiping the stain.
He faked innocent blinks, tilting his head a little. "Who said it's a date? We are friends now. Friends hang out, right?"
"I don't do hangouts. Stop being childish."
"You don't do hangouts, but you let your friend wipe your cheek and hold hands?" His gaze was directed towards Mark before shifting to her tangled hands. She clenched her jaw, intensifying her grip. "He is different, and I don't need to explain anything to you."
"Jinyoung, I'm running out of patience. Don't test me." Mark's harsh words filled the air with tension, anticipating Jinyoung's response. Just before Jinyoung could respond, Jaebum stepped in to intervene. "Stop. He is just teasing you. Ignore it and don't ruin this beautiful day."
"That's right. When will you host our movie night?" Rose gave Mark a gentle tap on the shoulder to indicate that he should just let it slide and comply with the situation.
In contrast, Jisoo could not bring herself to look up as the others talked about different subjects, doing his best to resist the desire to flee.
'Is everything going to be okay?'
Hello 🤍🌷 Early update because I will be busy on the weekend 😭🤍 What do you think about this chapter?🤍
In the mid of your chaotic life, remember to breathe and rest🤍 remember to enjoy the little moments with your loved ones🤍🌷