Jaera felt her whole mood deflate into nothing as she lay in bed. Tears were streaming down her face uncontrollably and she tried coughing them back, but she only ended up with an aching throb in . Why did this have to happen to her? Of all people in the world. She was the one that had been cursed with Jungkook’s presence in her life. Nothing made sense at that moment. Nothing at all. 

And for the first time in a long time, Jaera began crying for her dad. She tried to keep him out of her mind to prevent these feelings, but right now, she felt like the whole world was against her. If her dad was alive, he’d be able to make her feel better. He would have gone down to the school and forced Mr. Kim to remove his threats against her. He would’ve sung to her until she fell asleep and all her problems disappeared.

But he wasn’t there. He hadn’t been there for the last 8 years of her life. She had to start facing the facts. And start facing up to what she was being forced to do.

She had thought what her mother told her was a joke; a not-so-funny prank they were pulling on her. But it wasn’t. Jungkook had literally moved in to her house, taking the spare room across from hers. How dare he even step foot in her house after what he had done. His parents were fine with the idea; apparently Jungkook had been doing some story-telling with them, too. Jaera’s mom seemed to think that if they could spend time together with supervision by her, then they’d eventually get along. How ed up was that?

A noise in the bathroom reminded her that Jungkook was still there, probably fixing up the mess she had caused to his face. Jaera had been immediately sent to her room after the incident in the living room earlier. It wasn’t fair. He couldn’t pull something like that on her and get away with it. The image of Jungkook’s shocked face when she had tackled him into the coffee table was a little comforting for Jaera. And so was the bruise he now had on his cheek from the fight that ensued after. Jaera’s mother, however, felt anything but comforted watching her daughter ruthlessly beat up a boy she had grown up with. Jaera knew Jungkook purposefully didn’t fight back just to make her look even worse. He could be really manipulative when he wanted to be.

There was a soft knock on her door followed by her mother’s voice. “Jaera, honey.”

Jaera didn’t reply so Jaehee opened her bedroom door cautiously. Her expression instantly softened seeing her daughter’s tear-stained cheeks.

“Oh, Jaera,” she soothed, sitting down on her bed. “It’s not the end of the world. Trust me. This is for your own good.”

“How do you know that? Putting us in the same house, for god’s sake, what were you thinking, mom?” she choked out.

“I know you don’t see it from my perspective, but this is the only solution I could think of. You two were so close when you were younger, I don’t know what happened.”

“I told you what happened!” she cried. “He ruined dad’s flowers! And he made the majority of my childhood hell. I hate him!”

“That was a long time ago, Jae. You can’t hold what he did against him for the rest of your life.”

“I can,” she protested.

"Sometimes you can hate someone so much, wish they were out of your life more than anything, but only when they truly leave do you realize how much you needed them. Don’t let that happen to you, Jaera.”

Jaera frowned. She never has and never will need Jungkook in her life. Of that she was certain.

“Whatever. Don’t expect me to leave this room very often now.”

“And what’s that going to achieve, Jaera?” she reasoned. “All you have to do is be nice to him.”

“What about him? He’s not a saint, you know.”

“Well, after the beating you gave him, I don’t know what to think.”

“It’s all an act, mom, and you’re falling for it.”

Her mother eyed Jaera’s grave expression and she couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. She didn’t understand how a teenager could harbor so much hate for someone. She wished she could rid Jaera of all her hurt, but she couldn’t. Jaera would have to do that on her own.

“We’ll see, won’t we,” her mother smiled, trying to have some faith in her daughter. “Anyways, I’ve made dinner, so come down and eat.”

“Is he down there?”

Jaehee nodded hesitantly and Jaera groaned. “Count me out, then.”

“Don’t be silly. Get up, wash your face and eat. A hearty lasagna might lift your mood a bit. And there’s ice cream for dessert…”

Jaehee wiggled her eyebrows and shone Jaera a goofy smile, making her unwillingly start laughing.

“That’s my girl,” she said, leaning down to kiss her forehead. “And don’t worry, this fiasco will be over before you know it.”

With that, she left the room. Jaera contemplated her next move for a while before slowly trudging to the bathroom. You can do this, Jaera, she told herself. The only thing that made her feel better at that point was seeing the bloodied up bandages that were in the bathroom trash can. A smirk graced her lips. That’s what you get, .

***

The tension at the dinner table was thick enough to stick a fork into. Jungkook seemed to have his pretend halo on as he talked lightly with Jaehee. Jaera however could see right through his act. Whenever Jaera’s mom wasn’t looking, Jungkook would throw her a smirk. Jaera simply smirked back, admiring the reddish-purple mark she had made.

“How’s the face?” she suddenly asked, holding back a laugh.

“Fine…” Jungkook replied, trying to keep himself calm. “I still haven’t heard an apology, by the way.”

Jaera rolled her eyes and stabbed her lasagna, making a saucy mess on the plate. “That’s because you’re not getting one.”

“Jaera!” her mom scolded. “Be nice.”

“Whatever,” she muttered to herself.

She spent the rest of her meal in silence, tuning out of the phony conversation going on around her. She thought keeping shut would be the best way to prevent herself from saying the wrong thing in front of her mom. Jaehee smiled appreciatively when Jungkook started gathering their empty plates to wash.

“Why don’t you give him a hand, Jaera?” she asked as Jungkook made his way to the kitchen.

“Are you being serious right now?”

“Very serious. Go help him.”

Jaera groaned and reluctantly stomped her way into the kitchen, making her mother shake her head. How is this ever going to work out? Jaehee thought to herself as she headed into the living room. Meanwhile, the two teenagers weren’t making any progress in the kitchen.

“Move,” Jaera muttered, shoving Jungkook out of the way so she could grab a tea towel.

Jungkook clicked his tongue. “Manners would be appreciated.”

“Oh, shut the up and start washing.”

Jungkook took a step towards her, making her back into the counter. “I’d watch what I say if I were you.”

“Or what?” Jaera challenged.

Jungkook suddenly grabbed her chin harshly and held her still. “Don’t this up for me, Jaera. I mean it.”

Jaera didn’t like how close he was but managed to roll her eyes. “ you, Jungkook.”

Yet another smirk fell upon Jungkook’s lips. He stared at her for what felt like hours with an expression she couldn’t decipher.

“Well, what are you gonna do?” she urged him.

He didn’t say anything and let go of her face, confusing Jaera for a moment. She watched him carefully as he started filling the sink with water, acting as if nothing had even happened. He must be up to something, she thought, but grabbed the towel anyways and started drying the dishes.

His silence was unnerving for her. He promptly cleaned the dishes, stacking them neatly on the rack. It was all fine until he snatched the glass she was holding out of her hands.

“What the – “

Without warning, he turned around and hurled it at the wall behind him. It shattered all over the floor and the sound of the collision echoed through the room.

“What the ?” she shouted. “Are you crazy?!”

“Are you?!” he screamed, an anxious look on his face.

She gaped at him in confusion.

“What was that?” she heard her mother call.

Before Jaera could answer, Jungkook beat her to it. “Jaera tried to throw a glass at me,” he yelled, making his voice sound shaky.

Fury boiled inside Jaera. “You little , I did not!”

Her mother came running in, gasping when she saw the mess lying on the floor. “To your room.”

Jaera stared in disbelief as her mother instantly took Jungkook’s side.

“NOW!” her mother screamed.

She glared at Jungkook, her whole body filling with hatred that she never thought she could ever feel. For the second time that day, Jaera was being sent to her room for no reason. And even worse, her mother hadn’t even bothered to ask her if any of it was true. She just jumped to the conclusion that she was the bad guy. Unwillingly, tears started to prick her eyes and a stinging sensation crept along her skin. Not wanting anybody to see her break down, she rushed out of the room. Before she left, she turned to Jungkook.

“I hate you.”

***

It wasn’t long after Jaera had been sent to her room when Jungkook decided he was due for some sleep. He had spent a bit of time watching TV with Jaehee and thankfully she hadn’t asked any questions about the incident in the kitchen. Or anything else for that matter. It seemed that everyone in the house had some thinking to do.

Even though he had no idea why and he really didn’t like it, what Jaera had said kind of bothered him. Of course he’d known for years that she hated him, but he had never heard her say it with so much conviction before.  The pain that was etched on her face was unsettling. Not to mention, the emptiness that her eyes held when she had looked at him. She really, really did hate him.

There were two problems with that. Firstly, it irritated him to the point of confusion. And it also meant it was going to be harder than he thought to try to make peace with her. Couldn’t she just go along with it, pretend to be fine with him so they could both get on with their lives? He hadn’t actually planned to befriend her, he just wanted to make it seem like they were friends. Maybe provoking her wasn’t the best way to go about getting her to co-operate with him, though.

He quickly bid Jaehee goodnight and trudged up the stairs. It was pretty dark up there, so it wasn’t easy to figure out where his room was. Without thinking, he reached out to open one of the doors but stopped instantly when he heard a noise coming from inside the room. Leaning closer, he recognized the sound straight away. He had witnessed Jaera cry more than enough times in his life to know she was bawling her eyes out at that moment.

Is it because of me? That question crossed his mind for a second but he shook it away. It wasn’t his fault she was so sensitive. She’d always been the type to cry over little things. In Jungkook’s view, it wasn’t his problem. He turned around and entered the room across from hers. Diving under the covers, he felt himself falling to sleep, ignoring the tugging feeling in his chest.

---

“Make sure to take extra thorough notes on this video. Your next assignment will make up a quarter of your final grade, so I suggest you use this time wisely.”

The teacher started the film and Jaera idly grabbed her pen and tried focusing on what was on screen, despite the memory of last afternoon lingering in her mind. Media Studies was one of her favorite subjects. Mostly because all they basically did was watch movies and write about them. Today, they were watching a classic horror movie, which wasn’t even remotely scary. All the cheesy jump scares and obviously fake blood made Jaera cringe but she did her best to write about every camera angle and prop she found important.

Instead, she found her thoughts wandering. Her eyes were still sore from crying through most of the night. Her body felt weary. If she could only find a way to distract herself from the pending doom headed her way, she would be fine. But the reality that Jungkook was actually living with her kept fighting its way into focus. He was like a parasite, feeding off her happiness for whatever sick reason. All she could do was deal with it, like she did with everything.

The movie was only halfway through when the bell rang, signaling break time. Weaving her way through the crowds of students that crammed the hallways, Jaera huffed. It took her way longer to reach her locker and by then Hyesoon was already standing there with an impatient look on her face.

“Took you long enough,” Hyesoon jokingly said as Jaera threw her textbook in the locker. “How did it go?”

“How did what go?” Jaera replied, shutting her locker firmly.

“Detention…” she questioned, walking alongside Jaera as they headed towards the back field. “I thought you had to clean blackboards or something after school yesterday? How did it go?”

“Oh that… It was cancelled.”

“That’s lucky! Why was it cancelled?” Hyesoon asked curiously.

Jaera frowned, wanting to avoid the subject. “Unforeseen circumstances.”

“Okay…” Hyesoon just sighed, knowing very well that Jaera was hiding something. “Anyways, are we still up for this weekend?”

“Of course we are,” Jaera said with a slightly forced smile. “Except, can we change the venue? My house probably isn’t the best place anymore.”

“Why? I was looking forward to seeing your mom. She was gonna show me how to make her jjajangmyeon.”

“It’s just that we have a lot of visitors coming over this weekend. Stupid family stuff,” she lied. “I wouldn’t want to be there for that, so neither would you.”

“Fine.” Hyesoon pouted. “We’ll just do it at my house?”

“Sure. That’s much better, Hye.”

The pair sat down at their usual bench and Jaera listened as Hyesoon rambled on about the new movies she had downloaded. They always made time at least once a fortnight to spend a weekend together watching movies, eating junk food and all the basic stuff that comes with sleepovers. But now, with the sudden addition to her household, it seemed they’d be holding them at Hyesoon’s more often.

Jaera loved her best friend a lot, but some things she thought best to keep to herself. Maybe one day, Hyesoon will find out about the whole Jungkook situation but that’s a bridge she’ll have to cross when she gets there. For now, she’d rather not cause any more dramas.

The rest of her day continued as it usually did. Jaera attended her classes, half-heartedly listened to her teachers, scribbled some notes down, and drifted off into the occasional daydream. It seemed like the same, boring routine until lunch time rolled around. Jaera was wandering around the side of the gym, waiting for Hyesoon to finish P.E when it happened.

The area was fairly abandoned, save for the odd tree here and there. Most of the other students were already out in the quad or fields by now, so Jaera paced back and forth, savoring the silence. She was about to turn the corner, tracing her steps around the east side of the building, when a distinctive voice made her stop. Deep, rough, raspy, controlled. Why was he here? From what she could determine, there was someone else there with him. She frowned and leaned against the wall, aware that she was about to eavesdrop on something potentially important.

“Is that all?” an unrecognizable voice said.

Jaera listened closer, trying to figure out who the owner of the voice was.

“Yes, that’s all for now. You have to be patient. I know how much this means to you.”

“I know. I just thought there would have been an easier way. Can’t you do more?”

“There’s not much I can do. Even in my position, there are limitations. But I’ve been watching them for quite some time and I know this will work.”

“Okay, good. Don’t fail me on this.”

“Not a chance. Soon he’ll be wishing he never crossed us.”

With that, their voices dissipated into laughter. Jaera was still frowning, confused about what she had just heard, when she realized they were bidding each other goodbye. Crap, she thought, running off to the other side of the building. She dodged a tree and ducked behind it just in time to see the person he had been talking to emerge from the back of the gym. Her heart was beating rapidly, not only because she had almost been caught but because the stranger was dreadfully handsome.

He strolled past her, oblivious that she was watching, and she caught the perfect view of his face. For a moment, she’d thought she’d recognized him but shrugged it off. She wouldn’t know anyone associated with him, would she? Seeing that the coast was clear, she jumped to her feet and quickly rushed to see if Hyesoon was finished. There were some things that she’d keep from her best friend, but this definitely wasn’t one of them.