My eyes squint over his figure to notice the black t-shirt he's wearing, a chain donned around his neck and the black ripped pants clinging to his legs. It's a casual outfit but his confidence makes him appear alluring in the crowd, one of the reasons I don't drift my eyes until Junghee taps my arm."Hey.",I return her tight clasp around my shoulders, her pompous chuckle making me burst into a smile. She's really the energetic ball that everyone needs in their life."Oh my god, look at you. You're......",she scrutinises me once again to choose pleasing words,"A bombshell.",She makes me nibble on my lips in hesitation, the smile never leaving my lips at her appreciation.

"Bless that dress and whoever picked it.",Jungkook takes his credit unabashedly as his eyes wander at every inch of my body, assessing me carefully, his arms crossed over his chest and his body leaning on the ceramic wall.For some reason, whenever his attention is constricted on me, my body reacts in some strange away which is exactly what's happening now.Hot tendrils shoot sparks down my spine and my knees feel weak. Perhaps it's the way his gaze scurries gradually towards my pupils or the way he faintly smiles that makes my heart pound but I have no control over it.

"Of course it's your choice but I've never seen you going for this type of dress. You should wear more of these.",she nudges me enthusiastically, boasting my confidence as usual and I acknowledge this purchase as one of the best decisions I have made in my life.
"Maybe now I will.",I shoot her a wink that makes her laugh cheerfully before we scurry past her brother to immerse in the crowd to enjoy the party.

I remember to hold my phone close incase I receive any message. This has been sickening to avert my mind off him because of how close our friendship was but I'm beginning to feel like I've lost it."Are you checking for his message again?",She flicks her eyes behind at me, annoyance imprinted all over her face."No.",I feign confidence but she raises her eyebrows as if my mind is transparent to her. Maybe it is, but I would like the opposite to happen.

"Quit it already. You know he's an asshole for saying all that shit he did.",She broaches the conversation that I happened to listen to outside the boys' restroom and my mind reverts back to all the words he addressed to me."Slow down, jungkook still doesn't know that I know about it yet.",I silence her and she throws an apologetic glance around to steer clear of her brother. It's embarrassing enough that he has to fight with the boy who he thought was my crush because of all the pathetic things he addressed to me. It's as if the ground was swept away from under my life when the betrayal in his words became evident. I really thought of him as a good friend all this time but I was right about half of the boys being obsessed with watching girls as sex toys.

"And when are you going to talk about it? You know it'll come up somehow.",She sips on her beverage, as we are not allowed alcohol except jungkook who is merely a year older than me."I don't know. What am I gonna say?Thank you for defending me when I was degraded by a guy who you thought of as a potential boyfriend for me?I just.....I don't know how to address this.",I give up already when it's not even important to talk about this matter. It's scary, how vulnerable he manages to make me feel and brings out the raw emotions in my heart for my heart and mind to feel bare.She answers me with silence so I choose to look at the crowd out of boredom, my mind filled with a number of things which appear helpless in this state.

"You know what? Let's fuck this and go to my room to watch some movie. I don't even know half of the people we have here.",She jolts up unprecedently and states her plan which seems perfect to me. I'd rather get hauled by her than seek unwanted stares for remaining in a corner."Start whatever you like and I'll be there with snacks.",She quips, her eyes gleaming with excitement."Let's do that.",I agree without any resistance and motion to evade the guests to take the stairs and reach her room.

The door opens with a click so I step inside, the little plushies on her cupboard coming into my sight as the lights are already turned on but the aura feels strange in her room. A different scent flares in my nostrils so I peek in her walk-in closet to trace any signs of another person in her room when footsteps tap in my direction. "Oh my god!",I gasp at his naked torso, my eyes widening at the sight in front of me.My hands come at my mouth to suppress my squeal, my eyes attempting to avert him in all possible ways.

"What the hell are you doing, jungkook?",I steal a glance at him as he stands in front of her closet, his hands clamped on his hips. I regain composure but my eyes land on his torso, the attractive colour of his skin, his waist and the abs that he has maintained consistently. I can see by how prominent they are that he works out hard for them. I withhold the desire to stare at him for the sake of my sanity but this sight makes me wonder what it'd be like to smoothen my fingers over his skin. My attention drifts elsewhere, presenting lewd images to my mind which aren't quite relative to the relationship we share.

"Do I need to tell you that? It's my home, I can go wherever I want. What are you doing here?",He moves his pupils from the clothes to look in my direction and I can feel the heat radiating from my cheeks. Is he really attractive or am I modest enough to find anyone naked, hot?"Me and junghee decided to skip the party so.... It's okay. You can do whatever you were doing.",I have no idea what I'm implying nor is my mind stable enough to comprehend anything so I rush towards the door when he steps in to stop me."It's okay. I was just searching for a tshirt. Jaesung dropped wine on my tshirt and I couldn't find the other ones in my clothes. Your little friend steals half of my clothes. You can stay here and I'll change quickly.",He explains, looking at me as if he's used to showing his body, he must be. What can you possibly be ashamed about your body if you've got one like that?

I nod, affirming him and he walks back to ruffle through the hangers while I engross in choosing movies. I nibble on my lips, pondering over the thought that crosses my mind constantly because of his presence. This might lead me through a sleepless night if I don't put it before him so I exhale a deep breath."I wanted to tell you that I heard everything that day.",my eyes swirl at him while he's putting his tshirt on so I don't stop, finally gaining the courage."I heard what Joonsu talked about me and what happened between you two in the locker gym. I'm sorry I didn't mean to listen but you guys were loud and I couldn't help it.",My face cranes to watch him pacing close to me and he takes a seat beside me, now wearing a similar black clothing as earlier. He doesn't say anything but his patient gaze on me assures me to continue.

"Thank you for doing that. At first, I was embarrassed to talk about this but I wanted you to know that I'm thankful for whatever you did. That was really nice of you. Not the violent part-",He chuckles at my words, swooping his tongue in his mouth,"But yeah for most of the part.",I keep my eyes on him as we sit a few centimetres apart.

"He deserved that, trust me. I had my doubts about him but I didn't want to hurt you incase you have feelings for him.",He licks his lips, his brown eyes diving into mine.I breathe in the smell of him which is intoxicating to such an extent it subjects my brain to a different world."I don't feel for him. He was just a really close friend to me. I never thought he'd say all those things and think of me as such.",My brain gets clouded with the words that still pain my heart. He had been the first person who behaved decently with me who was there to listen to my struggles and who made me feel special since I transferred here. I had never expected him to betray my trust which is why I still hadn't got accustomed to reminsicing this incident.

He must've sensed me drifting into my thoughts so he closes the distance between us by moving close to me, our arms colliding against each other making me glance at him.My eyes fall on his eyes, gliding down to his lips before bouncing back to those brown orbs as he does the same while licking his lips glossy. There's a wringing sensation in my stomach that speeds my heartbeat when he doesn't move away.

"Guys like him don't deserve the way you treat him because no matter what, they're only going after you for your body.They don't count your care, affection and time as valuable. It might hurt to lose a friend like him but it's for the best and it helps that you don't like him.", Although his words hurt me at first, they instil confidence in me so I nod silently before exhaling a breath.

"What if I liked him?",I have no clue why I question him but he joins along, cocking his head in deep thought and his gaze shoots behind me before landing on me."It wouldn't have worked out and you would've known one way or the other.",He stands to leave the room, subduing curiosity inside me."Known what?",I halt him from opening the door so his movements cease on the door knob, his eyes blinking at me.

His tongue swoops the inside of his cheek and he tilts his head to answer me."That he couldn't handle a bombshell like you.",As soon as these words escape out of his mouth, the knob clicks open to allow him to step outside, closing the door behind him and slowing down my breath.

It takes me a few seconds to register his words and I'm still unsure if I heard him right. Junghee called me the same thing but it didn't hasten the thumping in my chest, made me gulp down a long breath and repeat those words back and forth in my mind. My fingers curl in themselves as his words wrap my body like a wildfire, burning a tension in every vein which causes warmth in my face. This is bad.

I need to stop myself from being so petty to his words and actions to avoid awkwardness between us. Forcing my eyes towards the screen, I pick the remote to turn it on and select from an array of shows, hoping my mind wouldn't jump back to him again.

- Next Day -
Friday, July 20, 2018
11:30 P.M.

I chew the last piece of sour candies in my mouth while modifying my chemistry notes, the sound of jungkook and his friends chatting in the background, distracting me since the moment I've started revising for the test. "Can't you guys be quiet for like 5 seconds? I'm learning for my test.",I look behind at the three of them who fall in deep silence, alarmed by sudden outburst.Jaesung swirls to jungkook who exchanges a look with him and donghyun who finally speaks.

"It's been 5 seconds, so I guess we can talk guys.",He bursts into a chuckle causing his friends to laugh and I have to shove a smile back to seem serious.

"I didn't mean it l-", I'm about to explain the severity of my situation when our teacher calls for one of us."Jeon Jungkook, you've been called to the principal's office. Take your bag along with you.",He calls for him and we shoot our glances back at him. He doesn't waste another second to zip his bag and slide an arm to clutch it on his shoulder."I'll be back in a bit,guys.",He exits the row to walk in the hallway and my eyes don't leave him until I notice Joonsu accompanying him. Without his bag. Are they going to be enquired about the fight or suspended? I straighten my back to focus on my notes now that both of his friends are conversing to each other quietly but this silence is proving to be uneasy for me.

I don't like the uncertainty settling in my mind because they engaged in a fight because of me. It'd be my fault if he faces punishment or gets suspended and I want neither of it to happen.

2:45 P.M.

I shoot a discreet look in the principal's office while walking down the corridor but it's vacant which increases the tension in my mind. Jungkook didn't attend the rest of the classes which might be a sign of him facing the punishment. My fingers fist around the strap on my shoulder and I fish the phone out of my hoodie with another hand, opening his contact name. I need to know what happened with him and Joonsu. I exit the building to stand aside, opening his chat and contemplating the right words to not seem intrusive when I hear his voice.

"Hey, pocky!",He shouts from the opposite side of the road, his gaze moving toward the signal and he rushes to cross the road carefully to reach upto me. I breathe a sigh of relief when he flashes a smile at me."What happened? You didn't come back to the class.",I'm hoping for him to shrug the matter as some minor inconvenience but he doesn't give it to me straight away."When's your tennis match?", This has no connection to him being called to the principal's office, days after he almost broke someone's jaw."Why are you asking me that? It's not related to that.",I shift backwards to not block the way so he moves close to maintain the same distance again."Just answer me.",He remains persistent, his eyes dropping on me instantaneously.

"In a week.", I'm still not confident about the match but there's no way out now that I already enrolled myself after a bout of adrenaline rush."Have you bought clothes you need for the game?",I don't strain anymore when I know he's not going to stop until I answer him so I tell him I haven't."Come on, let's buy your clothes and I'll tell you what happened on the way.",He proceeds to walk further but I'm unable to move from the spot.

"No. I don't have enough money with me right now to buy them. I need to go home first.",I haven't even told my parents about the match so I need some time to tell them and shop for clothes."It's okay. I can pay. Now, come on.",He waits for him to join him but I don't. I won't.

"No, why would you pay for me? I can't let you do that.",I don't want him to spend on me when sports outfits already cost much.Even if he owed something, I wouldn't have agreed to this. His gaze gentles on me, soaking in my resistance but he's reluctant to listen to me."You kind of listened to my advice and submitted your name for the match so I can do that much for you. But if you still insist, then I'm not going to tell you what happened in the office until you come with me. You won't know unless I tell you.",He makes it impossible for me to disagree. My chest huffs a breath at his smart move which is clever enough to annoy me and he cocks his eyebrow at me, a smug smile curving his lips at his victory.

I don't say anything but join him in defeat, still feeling awkward about him paying for me but he doesn't bring it again until we turn around the corner to reach the bus stop."Joonsu reported the fight to the principal.",He confirms what I feared, causing my eyes to shoot at him."That's why they called me with the bag. To suspend me, because he made it look like I punched him out of jealousy.",I don't have the courage to walk anymore. It's going to lead somewhere it isn't supposed to, because the sole reason he fought with him was me and it'd be my fault if he's punished."Then what?",My voice almost comes as a whisper. I'm scared for him to continue but just as desperate for my heart to compose.

"They didn't know the whole story,",His eyes switch to me,"So I told them. How he was talking about you with his friends, how his friends hyped him up and how he behaved like a total dickhead when I confronted him. I'm sorry. I had to tell them what exactly he said to make them believe me and force him to confess. It's about you so I guessed you should know. I'm not suspended but he is, for 4 weeks. They just need one of my parents to come and hear everything from the school and pay a fine for engaging in violence.It took a lot of time because his parents were busy and they had to come before we had separate meetings.", I'm relieved, embarrassed and worried at the same time when he finishes. I can't choose which of these to express when he waits for me to respond.

"Are you parents going to be okay?",I don't even want to imagine their reaction to this."They're okay. Mom told me that I did well but violence wasn't the answer. Dad told me that I should've done it outside the school, at a place where there was no one to witness me beating him.",He smiles at me but I end up chuckling at his response. I knew they were understanding but this reaction wasn't on my radar, which is why they might be the coolest parents I will ever meet."I'm just thankful that you weren't suspended. I would've felt really bad and guilty.",I don't filter the words that come through my lips and his eyes find mine causing my breath to stifle in a millisecond.