Everyone remembers the story of how they met their best friend. Whether it’s elementary school, work or family connections, there’s always a cute little story that marks the beginning of a journey into ultimate companionship.

Unfortunately, this isn’t one of them.

Lim Jaera was six years old when she met Jeon Jungkook. His family had moved in across the street from her, and naturally, her parents had to introduce themselves. Jaera really wished they hadn’t. From the first moment she set eyes on him, he’d been a spoilt, little brat. If he didn’t get his way, a fight would ensue. If Jaera was getting all the attention from his parents, he’d spill milk all over her head. If she so much as touched any of his things, he burned all her dolls’ heads off.

At the mere age of six, Jaera was convinced she had met the devil himself. But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t defend herself. Jaera was known to fight as well, almost always provoked by Jungkook. If he touched her hair, then all hell would break loose. If she found him lurking around the swings in her backyard, she’d chase him with any pointy object she could find. If he even dared to speak to her, she would attempt her own plastic surgery and rearrange his face.

The relentless dispute between the two carried on throughout their entire childhoods. Nobody else thought much of it, of course. Both Jaera and Jungkook’s parents thought it was cute to see their children spend so much time together, even if it was based on violence and arguments. One day, when she was ten, Jaera came home crying because Jungkook had thrown a rock at her, so her mother sat her down on the front porch.

“Honey, it’s okay.”

“It’s not!” Jaera sniffled. “He’s just a big meanie poop head!”

“He’s just being mean to you because he likes you.”

Jaera stuck her tongue out in disgust. “Ew. Jungkook would never like me because we hate each other.”

“If that’s what you think. But I wouldn’t be surprised if one day you two got married~” her mother sang teasingly.

“No way! Never in a million years!” Jaera protested.

“Alright, sweetie. Just remember, Jungkook’s always gonna be around, so you should just try to be friends.”

“But Mom~ I don’t want to be friends with him!”

“Just try. For me?”

Jaera looked into her mother’s sincere gaze and nodded slowly.

The next day, Jaera attempted to make peace with Jungkook. It worked for a while. They had to either stay silent or not look at each other to play together without fighting. Just one word or look and Jaera could feel all the irritation towards Jungkook building up again, so when he went to live with his grandma in Busan for three years Jaera was more than relieved. No more putting up with his stupid face, she thought to herself happily.

Oh, how the good times never last.

A few weeks after her thirteenth birthday, Jaera was sitting on her front yard reading a book and basking in the sun, when a car pulled up across the street. At first, she didn’t think much of it. She turned the page of her book and smiled, getting completely lost in the story. Until, she heard that voice.

“Yah! Ugly!”

Her mind froze. His voice was much deeper now, seeing as he would’ve been almost fifteen at the time. She slowly looked up from the book to see him strolling casually towards her, that ever-present smirk on his face.

What the hell happened to him? she thought. He was much, much taller than her now. He had lost most of his baby fat, his face was more defined and he just had a certain, mature air about him. Hah, Jungkook. Mature. Yeah, right.

“Do you have an eye problem or something?” he said, his words laced with that familiar distaste.

“Hello to you, too, Jeon Jungkook.”

He leaned against the white fence surrounding her front yard just a few meters from her and Jaera could see his single earring glinting in the sunlight. Ew, what a girl.

“You’re really creeping me out, Jaera. Why are you looking at me like that?”

Jaera just rolled her eyes and focused back on her book. Within seconds, Jungkook had dashed towards her and thrown the book over the fence.

“What’s wrong with you?!” Jaera shrieked, tackling Jungkook to the ground.

He writhed under her as she landed slap after slap on his face.

“You. Idiot,” she said between slaps. “Just. Get. Out. Of… AHH!”

She screamed as he flipped them so that he was now above her and pinned her wrists down roughly. For a split second, just one, she felt all that animosity towards him disappear in an instant. The look in his eyes was fiery and mysterious and why did he suddenly look good-looking from this angle…

“Get off me!” she demanded.

“Wow, I really didn’t miss you at all, Jaera.”

“The feeling’s mutual! Why couldn’t you just stay in Busan, you moron… Ow!”

He gripped her wrists even harder and she felt the blood circulation decrease in her hands. The whole time Jaera was struggling under him all he could do was laugh.

“You’re so mean! Get off me!” she screamed. “And stop laughing!”

Jungkook suddenly looked up when he heard a noise coming from her front porch. Before either of them knew it, Jaera’s mom had walked out, a giant smile spread across her face.

“Oh my goodness! I knew this day would come~” she cheered.

Jungkook frowned at her, and when it had dawned on him what position they were in, he quickly jumped off Jaera. Jaera huffed frustratingly and stood up, too, running towards her mother.

“Jeon Jungkook~” her mom cooed, walking down to greet him. “Look at you! You’re so grown-up and handsome!”

Jaera snorted in disagreement while Jungkook smiled. “Thanks Jaehee. It’s nice to see you again.”

Why is he acting so fake? Acting like he’s some innocent angel when he’s just Satan reborn. Jaera couldn’t stand looking at him anymore, so she turned to walk into the house when she heard her mother’s words.

“You and your parents should come over for dinner tomorrow night. I’ll make something special!”

“What?! No!” Jaera shouted suddenly.

“Lim Jaera, stop being so rude!” her mother scolded, causing Jungkook to chuckle at her. “Jungkook and his family are welcome to our house anytime, you know that.”

“Ugh!” Jaera groaned, slamming the door shut on her way inside. Stupid freaking Jungkook.

If only Jaera’s mother had realized the implications of that dinner, and the consequences her daughter would face because of that night. If only she hadn’t invited them over. Maybe Jungkook and Jaera would have been able to put their differences aside and actually become friends. But, nope. That’s not how this story goes.

It was an hour before the Jeons would arrive. Jaera was upstairs, practically hiding in her room. Her mom demanded for her to get ready for dinner, but the girl was adamant that she wouldn’t attend. No way was she going to share a meal with that idiot. Of course, when her mom started threatening to take certain privileges away – cellphone, TV, etc. – Jaera had to half-heartedly comply.

Apparently, she also had to look “nice” for dinner. What wasn’t nice about a hoodie and some jeans, though? Rolling her eyes, she found a dress her mom insisted she should wear and hair up into a loose bun.

“Don’t forget lip gloss!” her mom hollered from the other side of the house.

Jaera groaned, smothered some pink gloss on her lips and pouted. Why did she have to get all dressed up for him? There was a knock on the door and Jaera huffed, making her way downstairs. The aroma of marinated meat and fresh vegetables filled the warm air. She had to admit the dining table looked really fancy, like her mom had made a big effort for this. Might as well it up and put on a good show for her, then.

As soon as Jungkook walked in, the air dropped by a few degrees. Maybe because she hated his guts or maybe because for once he wasn’t dressed like a hood rat. He had combed his hair neatly, and he was dressed in a white dress shirt and black trousers. He actually looked… not bad, for once.

His parents greeted her mom and the three started rambling on about things that Jaera had no interest in. She stood around awkwardly until Jungkook walked up beside her. Instinctively, she took a giant step in the opposite direction.

“Why are you wearing make up? And a dress?” He scowled at her.

She returned his glare and sighed. “It wasn’t my choice. Mother forced me.”

“Yeah. My mom forced me to wear this, too.”

Jaera took the chance to examine his outfit once again and snorted. “You look…” She couldn’t finish her sentence. What could she say? That he looked nice? Hell no, that was totally never going to happen.

“It looks good,” he suddenly said, making her eyes widen in shock.

“What?” she blurted out.

He eyed her like she was retarded. “The dress. It looks good.”

She stared at him in surprise for a few moments, wondering if he was joking or not, but he did something she had never seen before. He smiled at her.

“Uh… thanks?” she replied, feeling a weird sensation rising to her cheeks.

Oh God, am I blushing because of Jungkook? Dude, no.

Jaera’s mom suddenly clapped her hands together, calling for attention. Dinner was about to begin. They all shuffled into the dining room and took a seat. Jungkook was seated next to Jaera, while his parents were across from them and Jaera’s mom was to her left at the head of the table. They all looked like a happy little family, but Jaera couldn’t help but feel that someone was missing…

Food was served and everyone dug in excitedly. The conversation was made up of small talk, comments on the food, jokes and stories. Jaera was surprised at how grown-up Jungkook sounded as he talked about his life in Busan. It was nothing compared to the little kid he used to be.

At one point in the night, both of them reached for the salt at the same time, only for their hands to brush against each other ever so lightly. Jaera immediately retracted her hand and awkwardly placed it in her lap. Don’t you dare blush again! It’s just his stupid hand.

Jungkook noticed and nudged her gently. When she looked up, he was holding out the salt for her to take. Jaera hesitantly took it from him, sprinkled some over her food and gave it back, only to see him smiling at her again.

Why is he doing that? He never does that. Jaera had discovered that his smile wasn’t a scary sight at all, in fact, she kinda liked it. Nervously, she returned him a similar smile and before they knew it, they were both laughing. Who knows why they were laughing? Maybe it was because they had both revealed a side of themselves they hadn’t before, or maybe they were just happy because of the atmosphere. Whatever it was, it led Jungkook to whisper in Jaera’s ear when dinner was almost over.

“Meet me at the swings when you’re finished.”

With that, he slipped out of the dining room, leaving Jaera to wonder if she had heard him right. His breath was still lingering on her neck and she quickly rubbed at the spot, wanting the sensation to stop. She had suddenly lost her appetite.

“I’m going to the bathroom,” she hurriedly said, heading out to the back yard.

The moon was hanging high in the sky, illuminating the green grass of her backyard alluringly. She could see Jungkook on the swings, like he said, softly pushing himself back and forth with his feet. A curious smile danced across her face as she took a seat next to him.

“What’s this about, huh?”

He stayed silent and pursed his lips, glancing up at the stars. She copied him and awed at the glittering array spread above them. Wow, who knew it could look this beautiful at night?

“You know, when we were little… we hated each other,” he chuckled softly, still gazing up.

“We still do, dumb ,” she laughed.

“Hmm, maybe… Maybe, I actually did miss you when I was away.”

Her eyes shot straight to him. “What?”

He bit his lip in a way that made her brain struggle to process anything.

“I said, idiot,” he muttered, flicking her in the forehead. “I missed you.”

“Why?” she almost shouted.

“I don’t know. I just did,” he replied simply. “You were always around. Even when I was teasing you or beating you up – “

“Or getting beaten up!” she added.

“Or that. You were always there, so not seeing you for such a long time… it was really weird. Things changed.”

She nodded, still slightly confused as to what was going on. Jungkook, the boy she hated, missed her?

“I just… hope it’s not too late… I mean, it’s been ages. You’ve probably already got a… um, I mean, maybe you…” Struggling to finish his sentence, he decided against words and pulled out what he had been hiding behind his back.

He had a nervous smile on his face while he waited for Jaera’s reaction. They were flowers. Flowers with purple petals that blurred into a vibrant yellow. Flowers she recognized straight away. Flowers that Jungkook was giving to her.

She stayed silent for what seemed like forever in Jungkook’s opinion. Finally, she opened with an unreadable expression on her face.

“Where did you get these flowers from?” she said in an even tone.

Well, that wasn’t what he was expecting. “I… From that garden over there…” he replied sheepishly. How shameful, picking flowers from her garden. But it was a last minute decision when he had walked out here earlier. He saw them and thought they looked nice. Surely, she’d appreciate that.

“You…” Jaera suddenly felt tears b her eyes. “You picked those flowers from our garden?”

He was more than confused at this point. Was it really a big deal? “Yeah… they’re for you, so….”

“I hate you.”

It was if someone had dropped a ton of bricks on his head. She what? “What do you mean?”

“I hate you!” she screamed this time so he could hear her clearly.

He jumped back in surprise as she ripped the flowers from his hand, staring at them like a kitten had died.

He scoffed. “They’re just flowers, Jaera. Jeez, I do something nice for once and you shove it back in my face.”

“They’re HIS flowers!” she yelled. “They were his flowers and you killed them! Now they’re dead, like HIM!

She was fully crying at this point, clutching the flowers in her small hands. Jungkook just sat in shock and realization hit him like a wave. His face paled immediately.

Jaera’s dad passed away when she was 9.  He was a gardener, and she had planted those flowers with him. They were his favorite; Jungkook should’ve remembered, he was there. He should’ve known how dear Jaera held them to her heart after he died. He should’ve, but he didn’t. He selfishly picked them in an effort to make her hate him less, but it ended up doing the opposite.

“I’m s… We can just plant some more, okay?” he offered, but she glared at him deeply.

“It’s not the same, Jungkook! You ruined them. They’re gone forever.”

She started tearing the flowers apart angrily and he watched the severed petals fall to the ground.

“I hate you, I hate you, I hate you,” she repeated, getting up from the swing. “I never, ever want to see you ever again. Don’t talk to me, don’t touch me… just don’t!”

She stormed back towards the house. He wanted to chase after her, explain that his intentions were good, how he didn’t mean to hurt her, but his pride stopped him. His thoughts went from surprise and regret to arrogance and betrayal. Who does she think she is? He was literally trying to be nice and she ripped his efforts all up like it was nothing.

In a way they both had been hurt.

That night, Jaera cried herself to sleep, convinced that she hated Jungkook.

That night, Jungkook lay awake in bed, convincing himself to hate Jaera.

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