i'm realllllllllly sorry D': I had exams for the past three weeks ugh it was so bad but I'm back! Please enjoy this next installment!

Today had been pretty good. My father had fallen asleep in front of the television, so no morning fights or injuries.

As I strolled into class, I glanced to Jungkook. It had been what, a week since I’d apologised? Our relationship hadn’t changed much. He still didn’t talk to me at all, but he did reply me when I asked him questions or wished him good morning.

“Morning,” I nodded my head at him.

“Good morning,” he replied quietly, still focused on his manga.

I liked to think that we were allies now. I surely didn’t have any friends, after all.

Jungkook’s reactions towards me were rather… positive now. He no longer flinched when I walked in, and he was courteous always. He never used to interact with me much, but ever since I’d apologised, he was getting more and more vocal with me each day. It was rather subtle, but you can’t fault my sensitivity to such things.

Not to mention, I was feeling a lot better about myself ever since I’d done it. Maybe Superhero-sunbaenim was right. Maybe this really wasn’t the way I should solve things.

But how would I solve problems without my current methods? The only reason why that Yerim and Minho listened to me that time was because I used violence against them. How could I stop them from hurting me or people who were useful to me like Jungkook without violence?

Maybe I should talk about it with Superhero-sunbaenim.

Just then, Mirae passed me a slip of paper, winking not-very-subtly.

 I quirked an eyebrow and took a gander at the paper.

It was a list of names and addresses, along with birthdates and dating statuses. There were pictures stapled next to the names.

I pored through the paper, frowning. This was a list of… BAP members?

“I checked if they were single or not, especially since you were so intrigued by them,” she laughed at my reddening face.

“It’s not like that, idiot,” I flushed madly.

I turned back to the list.

My eyes shifted to a familiar looking face. It was the boy who had talked to me during the concert; the one I had had a connection with. Apparently his name was Yoo Youngjae, which sounded vaguely familiar. Where had I seen that name before?

I had no time to ponder as Mrs. Won walked in, ready to start our Korean Literature lesson.

---

“Is there a reason why you’re here today?” Lee Youngmi sighed, looking up from her takeaway box bento.

“Can’t I spend time with my new friend?” Hoseok grinned, drawing circles in the air.

He lay on his back, arms outstretched behind his head and watched the sky as the clouds travelled past.

Why was he here today? He’d just seen her like a week ago, professed his want of a friendship with her, and then she’d walked out on him. He could hardly believe it though, that she was willingly letting him into her presence. This was like taming the tiger. He was… a tiger tamer!

Well, he was until she decided to bite his arm off.

He’d waited 15 minutes outside the door of the abandoned courtyard like a sad puppy until she came and unlocked the door for him. She had given him a weird look then, and then continued to give him weird looks until finally she’d popped the question.

To be honest, Hoseok had kind of missed her. He hadn’t seen her in the whole week, and Jungkook never mentioned her anymore since the last time he did, which was during that day’s practice.

Hoseok had endeavoured to take Lee Youngmi’s side in this argument, but it seemed that he’d already forgiven her. Jungkook surely had a heart of gold. He also had a heart for girls apparently, or at least her, because Hoseok had caught just the faintest tint of red on his cheeks… though it could have been because the poor boy had been caught in a jam and had run all the way from school to the studio.

But still! One could never be too safe. He couldn’t let Jungkook fall for Lee Youngmi! First of all-

Actually, he had no reasons why Jungkook couldn’t fall in love with her. She was single, he was single, neither were criminals (well, that could be debated for Lee Youngmi but he’d rather think she was a misguided flower), both were pretty…

Wait nope Lee Youngmi wasn’t pretty!

And then that scene with her playing with her bird after they’d found it played in his head (like it hadn’t done so a hundred times already) and Hoseok felt his heart racing like a steroid-pumped Energiser Rabbit.

Her loud sigh broke him out of his daydreams. She was looking at a piece of paper with a troubled look on her face.

“What’s that?” Hoseok peeked over and looked at it.

It was just a list of names and addresses and… dating statuses?

“It’s… nothing,” she sighed. “Just some people I have to figure out.”

“Hey, isn’t that the guy from BAP?” Hoseok frowned and pointed at Yoo Youngjae. “He’s the one who talked to you, right?”

“Yeah,” she looked conflicted and Hoseok felt affronted for some reason.

“Why are you in contact with him?” he demanded. “He could be a creep!”

“What business is it of yours?” she replied coldly, eyes turning frigid. “Might I remind you, you have no right to even be in my company.”

Hoseok felt a surge of anger at her words.

He whirled away and stormed back to the rooftop to Namjoon and Jungkook before he could say anything stupid.

---

“And then she was all ‘what business is it of yours?’” he ranted, pacing back and forth. “Like, aren’t we friends?”

“No you’re not,” Namjoon interjected helpfully but Hoseok wasn’t having it.

“Seriously, I’ve done so much for her, but she doesn’t even care!” he complained, before sitting on the ground in a huff. “What if that guy was a creep who wanted to her or something?”

Namjoon groaned. First, Hoseok had sped off happily without a single thought about either of them. Then, he’d come storming back in the middle of lunch, ranting about Lee Youngmi of all people?! She was officially the worst person to hang out with, yet Hoseok was off gallivanting with her over and over again.

“Hyung, I think you’re just worried,” Jungkook said carefully. “But you have to realise that Lee Youngmi doesn’t really have friends aside from Hwang Mirae.”

“Yeah, she probably doesn’t know how to interact with people well,” Namjoon said. “I, for one, do not know why you’re talking to her so much, by the way.”

Namjoon exchanged a concerned look with Jungkook as Hoseok’s ears burst into a bright red colour. Those were pretty big warning signs alright…

“Maybe you should apologise…” Jungkook said. “She has a right to have her own friends aside from you, even if they’re guys.”

“… Maybe I should,” Hoseok slumped forward, the argument draining out of him as the bell rang.

The three got up and dispersed to their respective classrooms.

---

What was with that annoying boy and invading my thoughts?! I hadn’t even beaten anyone up today yet I felt guilty as .

Okay fine, maybe I was a little harsh. Superhero-sunbaenim had helped me out a lot in the past and… I probably shouldn’t have said such things to him…

But honestly, how was it his business to decide who I hang out with or check up on? It wasn’t like I was going to date this Yoo Youngjae boy or anything. I knew guys get territorial about their friends, but I didn’t know they got this territorial.

Friends.

That word was very foreign on my tongue. Who was my friend? Superhero-sunbaenim had asked me about my friends earlier this week and I’d told him that I was Zico-oppa’s friend, but actually that wasn’t true. I was more of his moneymaker. Zico-oppa was a shrewd businessman, and he knew exactly what opportunities to take, and I was just another opportunity.

“Mirae,” I turned to the girl filing her nails, “are we friends?”

She blew on her nails exaggeratedly.

“No, I only use you because you make my status look good,” she rolled her eyes.

Surprisingly, I felt stung by that. All this time, Mirae had really just thought I was a status booster. The only thing that mattered about me to her was my relation to Zico-oppa and Block B…

“Just kidding!” she burst out laughing. “Of course we’re friends!”

I blinked owlishly at her.

“Oh my god Youngmi,” she chuckled. “You really can’t be this dense. We’ve been together for so long, of course we’re friends!”

And then I realised there were actual tears gathering in my eyes at the fact that someone cared, even if it was Mirae, and that I did actually matter in this world.

“Oh my god Youngmi please don’t cry,” Mirae’s voice turned panicked. “What did I do? I’m sorry if I offended you please please don’t cry oh my god-”

“N-no, it’s okay,” I gave her a watery grin as I wiped my unshed tears away. “Thanks, Mirae. A lot. You’re my friend too.”

Mirae leaned over and hugged me, as I held in another bout of emotional tears.

“Lee Youngmi-ssi?” Jungkook’s quiet voice broke me out of my thoughts.

“Y-yes?” I turned to him and released Mirae, aware that this was the first time he’d ever spoken to me voluntarily in his life.

“Please forgive Hoseok-hyung for what he said to you,” he said. “Hoseok-hyung just cares about you a lot, though it may not seem obvious to you.”

“… I’ll think about it,” I said, trying but failing to prevent the blush from rising onto my face.

Since when did it matter that someone cared about me, let alone two people?

I sighed and turned my attention to the front of the class, missing out on Jungkook’s very confused and frustrated look.

---

All Jungkook wanted was to repay his debt to Hoseok-hyung. Hyung had helped him so many times and Jungkook just wanted to not owe him anymore.

But what were these conflicting feelings rising in his heart?

What did the thump-thump of his heart mean when she suddenly flushed red? What did the bitter taste in his mouth mean when he realised it was Hoseok-hyung that made her feel that way?

Was this… jealousy?

Was he jealous that Hoseok-hyung had a place in Lee Youngmi’s heart and he did not…?

“Be my friend,” he blurted out.

Jungkook felt his heart lurch as she turned to him questioningly.

“Be my friend,” he repeated. “… Follow me.”

And then he dragged her out of class, all the while wondering what the hell he was doing.

---

“Where are we going?” I panted as he pulled me out of the school.

For some reason, we were running for our lives even though we’d both left our bags in class and he’d dragged me all the way out of the school compound and into some… ice cream café?

I’d never been here before, but it was surprisingly near school. How did he even know it was here?

“What do you want?” he asked me as we stood in queue.

“Uh, I want an explanation?” I snapped angrily.

“Two chocolates, please,” Jungkook turned back to the counter.

What the , did he just ignore me?!

He took the ice creams and sat down at a table, gesturing for me to follow suit. I did so, glaring at him all the way.

“My chauffeur brings me here sometimes,” Jungkook muttered, aware of the questioning arrows shooting out of my eyes.

“Spill,” I quirked an eyebrow at him. “Why are we here?”

He sighed.

“I haven’t been completely honest with you.”

---

I listened quietly as Jungkook poured out his tale to me. I felt my anger at being dragged out of class dissipate as Jungkook talked about his family and his situation.

I could almost feel a ball of emotion choke my throat as he talked about how his mother had treated him. It was just like listening to someone tell me about my own father…

“Why are you telling me all of this?” I asked quietly as Jungkook finished his tale.

By this time, all that I could see was the liquid chocolate in my bowl and the liquid chocolate of his eyes as he blinked back tears. I felt a stab of sympathy looking at the poor boy, who looked so pained and so hurt by his experiences.

 “You’re the only girl I can talk to,” I could hear the pain in his voice. “You’re my only hope. I can only move on if you help me. I have some sort of connection with you, I don’t know. You and me… I feel like we’re connected with a red string of fate.”

I sighed. This was a lot of pressure, and those were a lot of words.

“… Okay,” I finally relented, as his eyes lit up like Christmas trees.

He shot me a shy grin as I shot him a wry one back. It was going to be strange being friends with Jungkook, after having treated him like crap for so long, but it wasn’t exactly unwelcome.

“So what do friends do on an ice cream date?” I asked conversationally, but he flushed bright red.

“T-this isn’t a date…” he muttered, nose bridge aflame.

I hid a smile. Jungkook actually really was quite cute, now that I thought about it. The emotion in his warm brown eyes had been replaced, from the usual acrid fear to a now almost-hopeful look, which made him look like Bambi. His lips were curved into a small, shy smile, and I felt the sudden want to see it again. His smile made me want to smile too.

“Let’s just take this as it goes,” I smiled gently at him.

He only turned redder, unable to even speak as he nodded his head slowly.

---

Hoseok hopped off the bus, box of chocolates clutched tightly in his hands. He walked cautiously along the stretch of houses, counting off each one as he arrived at the familiar red brick house.

As usual, the bin was crowded with soju bottles. If the soju wasn’t Youngmi’s, than whose was it?

Hoseok picked his way carefully around the pile of bottles littering the walkway, afraid of making a racket.

He took a deep breath as he neared the door.

I’m sorry for being an just now. Truth be told, I care a lot about you as a friend, and I want you to know that you will always have me around. I shouldn’t be so concerned about you meeting strangers, but I’m just worried that you’ll be taken advantage of. But I know now that you are more than capable of defending yourself, and that you are a strong independent girl who doesn’t need me to protect her. I really would like to continue being your friend, so please allow me to do so.

He readied his trembling nerves.

“Here goes…” he breathed in and knocked the door.

It slammed open, shocking him out of his nerves.

A tall bearded man in boxers slouched against the door, glaring furiously at him. The man was almost 6 feet tall, and he was huge. His belly protruded over the waistline of his boxers. There was greasy hair growing all over his chest, and his fingers were clutched around a glass beer bottle.

Who was this guy? Hoseok could hardly believe someone like Lee Youngmi was related to someone like this person. She was so small and this guy was… terrifying…

“I-I-I’m looking for Lee Youngmi,” Hoseok stuttered, practically wilting under the man’s poisonous stare.

“Youngmi!” he roared behind him.

Hoseok winced as the stench of sour fermented beer wafted from the man’s mouth into his nose.

There was no reply.

“Not home,” the man grunted and took a swig of his beer.

Just then, a door slammed. Both Hoseok and the man turned to stare at Lee Youngmi exiting a black Mercedes Benz. She smiled at the occupant inside before her eyes met Hoseok’s… and then they widened when she looked behind him.

“The is this doing here?” the man growled, knocking Hoseok on the arm with his beer bottle. “Said he’s looking for you.”

“I-I-I-I can explain-” Hoseok started but she interrupted him.

“Get out.”

Her voice was icy, but the warning signs in her eyes were evident.

Hoseok took his chance and ran for his life.

Oh ttttt he's met her father what's he going to do D: find out next week! Anyway my internship will be starting really soon which means MORE WRITING! So I'll be able to write more which means there will be less chance of an indefinite hiatus whoopee! :D Hope you read, comment and subscribe if you like the story!