“Jaera!”

Jungkook was running as fast as he could to catch up with the girl. No matter how much he called out, she wouldn’t slow down.

“Jaera! Wait!”

Being more athletic, it didn’t take long until he finally caught up. He reached out to pull her to a stop but she avoided his grasp.

“Go away,” she choked out between sobs.

“Jaera, slow down.” He attempted to grab her again but she shook him off violently.

“I said, go away, Jungkook.”

He wanted to go, he really did. But something was holding him back from just leaving her there to cry on her own. It wasn’t like he made a habit of running after anybody, especially the girl he hated.

“Jaera, look. I was just mad... I didn’t mean to – Would you just stop?”

Instead of pulling her back like he originally planned, he swerved in front of her and held her still by her shoulders. He instantly regretted it though when he saw the tears soaking her face.

“Move,” she mumbled lazily avoiding his stare.

“Just let me explain.”

She sighed and Jungkook couldn’t help but notice how deflated she looked. It always confused him how she could be so sensitive. All he did was tell her to leave and here she was bawling her eyes out.

“Five minutes. Just let me get my story out and you never have to talk to me again.”

A moment of contemplation was all it took for Jaera to agree half-heartedly. After all, this was what she wanted, right? To find out what was wrong with Jungkook. Then why did she feel afraid to all of a sudden?

They were still a while away from home so he decided to fill her in on the way there. It was difficult for him to be so open, but he felt like this was the only way to clear the air for Jaera while also letting out some of the frustration that he’d been feeling lately.

“Do you remember when I came back from my grandma’s in Busan?”

She nodded, keeping her eyes on the ground as she walked alongside him.

“It was my second year of high school and to be fair, it wasn’t hard for me to make friends. Taehyung and Jimin were the first to help me settle in, as well as the rest of their group. Do you ever remember a bunch of seniors that I used to hang out with?”

“We hardly spoke during school, so not really.”

“Well, one of them was really close with us. Kim Seokjin.”

Jaera tried finding a face for the name but she hit a blank. She really knew nothing about Jungkook’s old circle of friends.

Jungkook smiled in remembrance, but his eyes were lifeless. “He was one of the boys. We did everything together, and he was like an older brother to us. The only thing is he was Mr. Kim’s son.”

Jaera frowned. She didn’t know Mr. Kim had a son.

“He didn’t tell anybody else about it because Mr. Kim thought it’d look like he was getting special treatment being the principal’s son. He was, after all, our school’s basketball star... Well, before I came along.” Jungkook sighed. “We were great friends, we really were. I trusted him more than anybody and he was the only person I could go to when I had stuff going on.”

“So what’s this got to do with anything?” Jaera sighed impatiently.

“I’m getting there,” Jungkook continued. “After a while, Mr. Kim started to disapprove of Jin hanging out with us. The rest of us boys were immature - we used to cause a lot of trouble, so I see why he didn’t like us influencing him. He grounded Jin all the time and kept his schedule full of ‘important’ meetings so he didn’t have time for us. He even shut down the dance club. That’s why the dance studio I was in just now is off-limits.

“We all hated him for it yet no matter how hard Mr. Kim tried to convince Jin, he stuck by us.” He glanced at the graying horizon ahead. Rain was on the way. “It wasn’t long before things started to get crazy between our group.”

He slowed down his pace, stuffing his hand in his pockets. “Jin loved two things in life. Basketball and a girl named Lee Sunmi.”

Again, Jaera had no idea who that was.

“Jin was the one who got me into basketball. At first, it was just something to pass the time and a way to hang out with him. But I started to get really good and in my third year, I was elected captain, replacing Jin.” Jungkook sighed. “I saw it straight away. He started to change. He was hardly hanging out with us, always making excuses. He also stopped showing up to training. When it was announced that I was in the running for a scholarship, Jin avoided me altogether.”

Jaera nodded slowly, almost feeling sorry for him.

“It was really hard for me. He was one of my best friends, so not seeing him for weeks on end was hard. After a few months, Jimin managed to sort everything out between us and very slowly, everything was going back to normal... Until, Lee Sunmi came along.”

“Who is that? I’ve never heard of her.”

“She was in Jin’s year. He was in love with her. They’d known each other since they were like, three, so their families were close. But for some reason, they never dated. Even though he’d talk about her non-stop, when she was actually around all his confidence disappeared. We tried so many times to get them together, but somehow or another it never worked.

“We suggested she should hang out with us so that Jin could get used to being around her. It was great at first but we all started to notice the way she treated me.”

Jaera began to roll her eyes, but Jungkook interrupted her.

“I know what you’re thinking. Typical Jungkook, always gotta steal the girl. But I literally didn’t do anything to lead her on. I hardly even talked to her but she was always way too friendly towards me. It didn’t take long for Jin to start to leave me out of everything because he saw me as some threat or whatever. So he started to distance himself from me, just like before.

“Then one day, they finally started dating. He was over the moon about it, and it seemed that once he actually got the girl, we could hang out again. I know it sounds stupid for me to always go back to Jin and act like he didn’t treat me like all those times, but it was Jin. I could never stay mad at him.”

Jaera hummed in understanding.

“That couldn’t be said for him, though. I remember it so clearly. It was a week before Jin’s eighteenth birthday. I was on my way to training when Sunmi caught up with me. I don’t know why but the girl always gave me the creeps. Something about her was off, she was just so... synthetic, and I always felt uncomfortable talking to her. She told me she was planning on making a slideshow for Jin’s birthday to highlight their time together. I thought I was doing my boy a favor so I agreed and met Sunmi in the AV room after school.

“I would do anything to erase that day from my memory.”

Jaera’s tears had long dried but she could swear Jungkook was gonna start up. She didn’t know he was so touchy about his friends but maybe they meant more to him than she ever thought. She decided to speak up since he’d fallen silent.

“What happened with Sunmi?”

Jungkook laughed, but it was obvious he wasn’t happy. “As soon as I walked into the AV room, I could feel something was wrong. She was sitting there with this smug look on her face. I was expecting to see photos all around of her and Jin but the room was completely empty. I asked her what was up but instead of answering me, she just started going on about what a ‘sweet and adorable guy’ I was. I couldn’t understand what was going on. I thought she’d gone psycho. I tried reminding her about Jin’s birthday and the slideshow, but she just came up and kissed me.

“Obviously, I pushed her away. I yelled at her for being a crazy ing and I was going to tell Jin what happened but when I found him, he was with Mr. Kim. I remember the look on Jin’s face so clearly. It was like he didn’t even recognize me. And Mr. Kim looked like he’d won the prize for Most Successful Man of the Year. It was ed up, like I was stuck in a dream but couldn’t wake up. Apparently, the AV room was always under surveillance because of all the high-tech in there. Somehow or another, they had seen the tape of me and Sunmi but instead of being mad at her, Jin was mad at me.”

“Wait, why? Didn’t she force herself on you?”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking. I’ve tried and tried to come up with a reason for why they would blame me. Maybe the tape showed it from some angle where it looked like I was in the wrong or maybe it was in quality. Whatever it was, it tore us apart.

“Jin hated me. He probably still does. I haven’t spoken to him since then. After all that happened, he moved schools and he’s probably in college now. I tried going to his house but Mr. Kim would never let me in and eventually Jin moved out of the city. I don’t know where he is now.”

“And what about Sunmi?”

“That ?” he spat in disgust. “She disappeared the next day. Some people said she was transferred to some private school in Gangnam, but who knows.”

“So you’ve never seen either of them since? What about Jimin or Taehyung? Have they kept in touch with him?”

“Nope, nothing. It’s like he never existed.”

Jaera took a breath, slowly taking in Jungkook’s story. She had no idea ‘the Jeon Jungkook’ had gone through anything like that. She always thought he’d be the bad guy in stories but turns out, he was pretty innocent in this case.

Jungkook chuckled again, but more heartily this time. He gave Jaera a look that surprised her a bit. It almost seemed friendly and a little embarrassed. “I don’t know why I told you all that.”

“Yeah, you’re being pretty PMS today. First you tell me to stay out of your life and then you spill your darkest secrets to me.” Jaera laughed. “Are you on medication for your condition or do you cope with it naturally?”

She was expecting him to insult her in return but he just shrugged.

Well that’s a first.  “So when Mr. Kim threatened your scholarship, was that his way of trying to get back at you?”

“I’ve thought about that, but it doesn’t make sense. He could’ve taken it off me as soon as that all happened, you know? Jimin reckons he’s bluffing, but I wouldn’t have a clue what he’s up to. Maybe he actually really wants you and I to be friends for whatever ed up reason.”

Jaera shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t know. I haven’t dealt with Mr. Kim much but so far my impressions of him are not very pretty.”

“Yeah... That reminds me. Has Hyesoon figured out a way to get into the security room?”

“I don’t think so. She still doesn’t know how to bypass the code. Why’s that?”

“Just wondering. Perhaps there is a story there. You know, Hyesoon exposing him might be the best thing for all of us.”

“Yeah, but it’s a long shot. She can exaggerate the details all she wants but without actual proof, all it’s gonna be is speculation.”

“Maybe I can talk to her? Tell her what I know about Mr. Kim. Would that help?”

Jaera’s eyes widened. Jungkook was going through some freaky personality change right now and she didn’t know what to make of that.

“Sure. If you want.”

“And you should help her, too. She’s your best friend and you should support her.”

“Ha. I don’t think you’re one to be giving friendship advice, Jungkook.”

She meant for it to be a joke but she could see his expression darken.

“I was kidding.” She laughed, hitting him in the arm. “Maybe I’ll call her later. Let her know the imfamous Jungkook’s on her side.”

He shook his head, chuckling. No more words were spoken as they had finally reached her house. The both of them bounded up to the front door.

Jaera immediately walked into the kitchen to grab a snack while Jungkook went to watch TV. Spotting a packet of chips, she snatched one up and after thinking about it carefully, she grabbed another one for Jungkook. Wait, what am I doing? she thought. Changing her mind, she decided to keep it for herself and headed to her room. When she passed the living room, Jungkook called out her name.

She stopped by the door. “Yeah?”

“Uh...” He kept his gaze on the TV. “Thanks for listening, you know. I haven’t really had anybody to talk to about that stuff.”

She sighed. “It’s fine.” She looked down at her snacks, inwardly scolded herself and hurled a packet at Jungkook.

“For me?” he asked, the most stupid smile on his face.

“Nah, it’s for the ghost sitting next to you, dumb .”

He just laughed and tore the chips open. “Hey, does this mean we’re friends now?” he asked eagerly.

Jaera gaped at him in disgust. “In your dreams, Jungkook.”

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