namjoon walked into class, his anxiety shooting through the roof.

joon hadn't talked to jimin since their fight. he had tried calling the boy a few times, but he never picked up.

as he walked into class, his eyes immediately went to his and jimin's usual spot.

jimin wasn't there.

but, that was normal-

right?

joon always got there before him-

right?

so, without another thought, joon pulled out his phone to check the time. when he turned on his phone, he saw that he actually got to class a few minutes later than usual, probably due to nervousness.

"jimin should be here," he thought, looking up from his phone.

he glanced around the room, stopping when he finally laid eyes on the boy.

although, this time, jimin was sitting on the opposite side of the room from where they usually sit, with a few other boys their age, talking with them casually.

namjoon's mouth parted, a little shocked.

joon just stared at the boy for another minute, before jimin finally noticed him.

jimin just looked right through him, no emotion shown on his face, then went back to talking with the other guys.

namjoon just stood there for a moment, not knowing what to do or where to sit.

he felt like he wanted to cry.

so, before he gained any more weird looks from his classmates, namjoon walked over and sat down beside areum and her friend.

-

after class ended, joon left in a hurry, leaving areum behind. he didn't want to talk about jimin and he knew if he stayed, he would have to explain what happened between them.

as he was walking along the street, namjoon came across the small café that he visited almost every day with jimin. he walked to the door and grabbed the handle- stopping when he realized his mistake.

going to that café with jimin was like second nature to him. it got to the point where he would just go to that café without even thinking about it. it's the one thing he always had to look forward to. it was just one hour of him and jimin together, talking and happily snacking on their danish and sipping their drinks. it was their routine.

but that's the thing about routines; they could never last forever. life couldn't go on the same for eternity, or it wouldn't be much of a life. sure, there are things in life that are constant; showering, changing your clothes, sleeping. but nothing is ever done perfectly at all times. nothing in life is ever constant and exactly the way one wants it.

or, at least that's what namjoon kept telling himself to keep from losing his mind over the entire situation.

so, without another thought, namjoon took a few steps back from the café and continued his path to class.

though, he still made sure to take a peek through the clear windows as he walked past.

joon saw the same waiter he would usually see there every day. he saw tons of customers in line. he even saw his and jimin's table. but this time, namjoon wasn't there.

it was just jimin and those other boys from their class. they were all laughing and having fun. jimin didn't even look the slightest bit sad.

either the boy hid his feelings well— or losing joon really had no effect on him.

namjoon couldn't help but pray it was the first option.

-

"so... let me get this straight. jimin submitted your poem and now you guys are in a fight?" areum asked.

it had been three days since joon had started sitting by aruem in class and nothing was getting better between him and jimin. joon didn't know what to do- just sitting in areum's apartment, feeling awful.

he had avoided talking to areum about what had happened for as long as he could, but she was finally forcing some answers out of him.

"y-yeah... pretty much."

joon had told her what started the argument, but he failed to mention what really set both of them off.

obviously, he couldn't tell areum that part, though.

"well... that sucks. i'm sorry he did that," areum said, moving closer to joon on the couch and hugging him.

and- for some reason, the little affection made tears come to joon's eyes.

something about someone just comforting him while he was sad, made him get over-emotional.

areum pulled away from the hug, a bit surprised when she saw joon holding back tears.

"...joon," she said, sympathetically, wrapping her arms back around him, "it's gonna be okay. you guys will work it out... it'll be fine."

namjoon shook his head, pulling away, and wiping off some of his tears

"no," namjoon said, crying more, shaking his head, "he won't even talk to me."

areum just looked at him, placing a hand on his back and rubbing in circles.

"joon, why won't he talk to you? i thought you were the one who was upset with him because he submitted your poem?"

joon just kept his head low, sniffling.

he was silent for a moment, then finally spoke up.

"it... it wasn't just the poem," joon said.

areum looked confused.

"w-what do you mean?"

joon just looked up at her, a sorrowful look on his face.

and suddenly, areum's face went from confused, to settled. it was almost like she knew everything that was going on without joon having to say a word, like a lightbulb turned on her head.

"it's..," areum started, stopping for a moment to think.

joon just stared at her, waiting for what she had to say.

"...you... you don't like me, do you?" she asked, almost like she knew it all along but didn't want to admit it to herself, "that's what you fought over, huh?"

namjoon just looked at her, his eyes widening, not sure whether to finally admit it and clear his conscience or continue to deny everything.

joon didn't know what to say, so he just stared at her. he tried to form words, but nothing was being said.

"it's okay. i... i get it," areum said.

namjoon was frozen, having no idea what he was supposed to say.

"...i-i'm so sorry, areum. i-"

"don't feel bad," she said, cutting him off, "i understand. really, i do."

and at that,

namjoon knew that she knew.

they didn't need to talk about it or discuss it. she just knew.

"we've always been a shitty couple, anyways," she said, trying to stay positive, "... we'll... we'll make better friends for sure."

namjoon just put on a small smile for her, not sure how he was supposed to feel or what he was supposed to say.

"whoever you end up with, joon, is gonna be the luckiest person on earth. i swear. anyone would be lucky to be with you," she said,

"don't forget that."

_______________________________

hey guys ! 👋

hope you all enjoyed the chapter! there's a part coming up in a couple chapters that i'm rlly looking forward to writing, so stay tuned for that!

i'll try and have the next chapter up soon!