Jihye dashes down the stairs to the third floor

and stops in front of Nari's door.

she raises her knuckle to knock on the door

but stops before her hand can even touch the surface of the door.

how will Nari react when she sees me?

she doesn't hate me, right?

she threw her puzzlement and uncertainty out of her mind,

to put on a confident, brave face,

and gave the thin door three firm knocks.

Jihye stands outside,

trying her best to convince herself

that she made the right decision

and shifting her weight from one foot to another

when an older woman with short hair

and dressed in a sleek suit

and heels with a bag slung over her shoulder.

"oh, it's you Jihye! how are you?"

the older woman,

though surprised by the younger girl's sudden appearance,

greets her warmly,

as a bright smile spreads on her face.

"oh, good morning Mrs. Song, i'm good, thank you. i was wondering where Nari is, she didn't meet with me today."

Jihye politely inquires with a small bow.

"oh, she left already left. maybe she went to meet with a teacher and just forgot to tell you. aish, that forgetful girl is always leaving things behind, i'm sorry,"

Nari's mother says with a sigh of disappointment.

"it's fine, i was just curious. well, i'll be on my way now! thank you, have a great day!"

Jihye exclaims before waving and dashing back down the stairs.

"you too, Jihye dear!"

Mrs. Song brightly waves back

before heading the opposite direction towards the elevators.

+++++

Jihye sprints into the classroom,

seconds before the teacher walks in,

and scrambles into her usual seat next to Nari by the windows.

as she's pulling out all of her needed stationaries,

Jihye took a discreet peek at Nari,

who has her chin in the palm of her hands,

staring lazily out the window down on the bustling city.

Jihye concerned and regretful

pokes Nari in the shoulder,

but she didn't react,

so Jihye poked her again,

and again,

and again

until Nari violently spins around to face the other girl.

a clear scowl glares viciously at the frozen Jihye.

"look, Nari, i'm sorry for bringing that up yesterday. i didn-"

before Jihye can complete her sentence,

Mr. Oh stands up and swiftly begins their lecture.

Nari turns away from Jihye,

opens up her notebook,

and start taking notes.

defeated, Jihye reluctantly opens her books

and half-hearted listen to the lecture.

+++++

"alright class, homework is to finish your project, remember it's due by the end of the day on Friday. have a great rest of your day!"

Mr. Oh waves off,

as the entire class rush out of the door and outside.

Nari quickly packs her bag

and rushes out of the room,

with Jihye hot on her tracks.

Jihye quickly catches up with her

and grabs Nari by the wrist,

dragging her to the side of the hall to avoid

being trampled by the massive flow of students

stampeding down the halls.

Jihye tries looking into Nari's eyes,

but she has her head down.

'Nari!"

Jihye shakes her friend by the shoulders,

and Nari's head snaps back,

eyes wide open in shock,

"please, just talk to me! i'm sorry if i made you mad, just please tell me why you're mad, please and stop ignoring me!"

Nari looks up

but avoids Jihye's eyes

and just beats around the bush.

she lifts up her head to look past Jihye.

her eyes widen

and jaws clench

in what Jihye could only assume is a shock.

Jihye turns around to see what caught Nari's attention

and catches the Bangtan Boys strutting down the hall

as if they own the place.

Jihye scans all seven of the handsome boys,

but only one catches her full attention.

brown, curly-haired Hobi

with his glistening smile and shining eyes,

the eyes that caress her's sweetly.

"hi Jihye!" he exclaims and waves frantically at the two gawking girls.

Hobi separates from the group of boys,

who've all stopped a distance away from the duo,

and jogs over to the girls.

"hey, how've you been? are you free today?"

he casually brings up.

"y-yeah. we d-don't have to go to the academy today so we g-got nothing to do,"

Jihye flusteredly lets out,

completely unaware of the awkward tension between Nari and Jimin.

"well, i was gonna ask you about the project and if we can work on it together, so if you two don't mind,"

he looks from Jihye to Nari,

"wanna come to hang with us at the library?"

"yes! of course!"

Jihye excitedly blurts out,

maybe a bit too quickly,

while Nari grumbles a monotonous 'sure'

as she continues to stare Jimin down

as a predator does to prey before they're about to strike.

"alright, then what are we waiting for, c'mon let's go!"

Hobi enthusiastically shouts,

gripping Jihye gently by the wrist

and pulling her along,

which caught Jihye completely flustered and off-guard.

as they make their way out of the building

and down to the library,

the pair chatters cheerfully

as Hobi introduces Jihye to the boys

and Jihye attempts to get Nari involved in their chatter,

but it seems as if she lost all her charm and energy.

while the pair lead the way in the front,

Jihye notices out of the corner of her eye

that Nari is always trailing in the back,

keeping a constant, sizable distance between herself and Jimin,

which further confuses Jihye,

but she just brushes it off like it's nothing.

-

be sure to vote and comment! tysm for reading and stay hydrated! ilyasm! ♡