Jihye flies down the stairs towards the lobby of her apartment,

leaving for school without Nari again.

a blast of cold air hits her face like a swarm of knives the moment she walks into the brisk,

bitter february morning.

Jihye shutters momentarily,

before wrapping her thick navy-blue jacket tighter around her torso

while desperately trying to pull her short,

plaid uniform skirt to cover her shivering,

exposed legs.

i should've worn my longer jacket.

ugh, if only i knew it'll be so cold today.

Jihye abruptly stops fixing her uniform

as she nears the intersection and stops at the crosswalk to pull out her phone.

7:15, i got some time.

she hastily shoves her phone back into the warmth of her pockets

and stand there waiting for the lights to change color,

swaying from side to side.

out of the corner of her eye,

she spots Hobi walking out of his building towards the same intersection she's at.

he spots her, and his face lights up like a light bulb,

a friendly smile stretches onto his face and waves at her.

Jihye shyly smile and wave back at him

as he walks up and stands next to her, easily towering over her.

"hey, Jihye! how ya doing?"

Hobi asks, stopping himself next to the quivering girl.

"i-i'm good. how 'bout you?"

he notices Jihye's slight tremor from the cold

and digs through his pockets looking for something.

"i don't understand why the school came up with these uniforms, it's freezing,"

he sighs, "here take these,"

he throws 2 small hand warmers into Jihye's open hands.

"th-thanks," she quivers out of either cold, girlish jitters, or both.

the light changes to green

and the pair walks side by side to their destination.

Jihye let the older boy do most of the talking,

periodically answering with a nod or short answer,

while her mind races again,

this time with amplified anxiety and jitteriness.

i'll tell him after school today!

+++++

"meet...me...in room...411,"

Jihye mutters under her breath

as she scribbles her name at the bottom of the blindingly fluorescent pink sticky note,

before ripping it off of the pad

and smacking it on the door of Hobi's locker.

Nari reluctantly stands over her,

tapping her foot feverishly with her arms crossed.

Jihye looks over her shoulder

just in time to see the boy in question,

strutting around the corner surrounded by the rest of the Bangtan boys.

"alright, i'm done. let's go get food now,"

she nervously stammers,

before dashing away from the scene, leaving Nari in the dust.

Nari shakes her head in slight disappointment

before reluctantly sprinting after Jihye.

+++++

"hey, Nari?"

Jihye nudges the girl sitting next to her

eating a sandwich while copying down notes into her notebook.

"hmm," she looks up from her notes,

her cheeks stuffed with ham and tomato.

"do you think he'll meet up with me after school?"

an awkward, tense silence fell upon the pair seconds after she let the words slip out.

"mmm, probably. whatever you're planning on doing, just make it quick. we can't be late to the academy again,"

Nari monotonously replies,

before returning to her notes and lunch.

Jihye slouches back into her seat

and takes a long sip of boxed orange juice.

it feels as if a heard of a million elephants are trampling in her stomach.

a wave of anxious nausea almost knocks her out

when she spots Hobi and the rest of the boys enter the cafeteria laughing and joking around.

a shy, almost childish grin blossoms on her face and a bit of confidence sparks in her like a lit match.

you can do this Jihye.

just tell him.

+++++

the routine screeching of the bell signals to Jihye

that it's time for her to face her biggest fear of potential rejection.

she swings her bag over her shoulders,

and sprints to the front of the room,

following the stream of students exiting the room.

instead of blending in with the crowd that's slowly trickling out of the building,

she flies up the stairs 2 at a time, to the fourth floor.

the fourth floor is completely vacant,

as it's normally only used for clubs or storage

when she reaches the opening leading down to a corridor of dusty doors.

Jihye hurries down the hall,

her heart beating uncontrollably

either from the adrenaline of running across campus

or from her increasing anxiety.

her head spins from left to right

almost at the speed of light,

as she scans the number next to each door,

looking for room 411.

finally, she reaches her final destination.

Jihye stands in front of the door,

just out of view from the small window on the door,

and tucks a stray lock of ebony hair behind her ear and cracking her knuckles.

this is it.

there's no turning back now.

with one last pep talk to herself,

she turns the doorknob cautiously

and enters the deserted room.

the light of the slowly setting sun

makes the dust particles floating lazily around in the air appear like delicate snowflakes.

Jihye carefully peers into the room,

spotting Hobi standing in the far corner of the room, looking out the window

with his hands pressed to the dusty glass.

oh god, he looks like an angel, a real angel.

"oh hey there Jihye!"

he exclaims with his heart-shaped smile,

shaking her out of her dreamy trace,

"was there something you wanted to talk to me about?"

he asks, his voice dripping in genuine sweetness,

as he makes his way towards her near the door.

"umm, uhh,"

she stutters,

overwhelmed by the deafening thumps of her heart.

the words she wants to say are lodged in her throat,

as if letting them out will result in her either pass out

or throw up on the spot.

"Hoseok, you're very special t-to me,"

Jihye stutters, mentally facepalming herself for how stupid she must've looked,

"and even t-though we've only known each other f-for a bit, i-i-"

she pauses and looks down at the chalky and cracked linoleum floor.

you've already come this far.

there's no turning back now.

"i really like you,"

she spits out suddenly,

swinging her head up to look him in the face.

the boy's face drops from a bright, carefree smile

to a confused and dazed look.

"w-what? Wait, what do you mean?"

he questions, confusion infused in his voice.

"i like you. like, i have a crush on you!"

she repeats, desperation apparent in her voice.

for what feels like hours,

they just stand in front of each other,

anticipating some sort of movement or action from the other,

but it never comes.

with each passing second,

Jihye can feel her eyes well up with tears,

and it becomes harder to breathe.

it feels like the room is suffocating her.

what scares her the most is looming upon her,

like a lion about to strike its prey,

and she can do nothing to escape.

and as if on command,

Hoseok opens his mouth to stammer out the words

she's been fearing all along:

"i'm sorry, b-but i don't feel the same about you."

-

a/n; :0 woah. bit of a long chapter, but hope you like it! the story's coming to an end, only a couple chapters left! tysm for making it this far! ♡‎♡