On a particular chilly day in February, Jieun took out a book and pretended to read. Yoongi had disappeared a while ago to avoid getting caught by the boys, leaving her to eat lunch by herself. As she read her book and quietly ate her meal, she heard someone bring over a chair in front of her. She slowly raised her eyes, only to meet the eyes of an unfamiliar classmate.

"Hey, Jieun," the boy said. "Mind if I sit here and eat with you?"

Jieun stiffened a bit. She watched him carelessly put his lunch on her table, forcing her to share the space with him. He looked up at her, grinned, then went back into digging his own meal.

Damn, she thought. I totally forgot his name.

"You know, you shouldn't eat alone so often," the boy said. "The teachers get mad at me for that." He looked up when she didn't say anything. Seeing her confused expression, he let out a small sigh. "I'm the class president, remember? Minho?"

Jieun blinked, but snapped her fingers. "O-Oh… That Minho… Sorry, there's just a lot of guys named Minho, so I was a bit confused."

"Ha, ha, ha! That makes sense!" Minho exclaimed. Jieun cringed when she heard him laugh. It was unbearable to hear such a fake laugh from him. It was clear that he was only eating with her out of pity. "So, what book is that?"

Jieun glanced at the book. "It's just a book… It's nothing big—"

"Can I see it?" he asked.

She was about to lend it to him, but stopped when she saw—at the corner of her eyes—a group of girls scoffing and glaring at her. Jieun slowly shook her head at Minho and tucked the book in her backpack.

"I'm sorry," was the only thing she could think of. When she saw his frown, she quickly made up an excuse: "I don't like to lend books until I actually read everything first. Sometimes people can figure out what the book is about just by looking at a few pages, and I don't like spoilers."

The boy's face brightened. "Oh, okay! That makes sense!"

It doesn't, Jieun thought. "Of course. Definitely!"

"Anyway, Valentine's Day is coming up. Are you planning to give chocolates to someone?" Minho asked.

Yoongi came across her mind, but she didn't say anything about him. "I don't really do Valentine's Day activities—"

"Why not? It's a great time to express your feelings. Plus, it makes the guy happy to know that they get sweets,"

She faked a small laugh before looking at the girls once again. They gave her a look of determination, ready to pound her against the wall or something. Jieun looked away from them, then abruptly met eyes with the class president. He quickly hid his grim, burdened expression with a flashy smile, which Jieun could do nothing but give him a grin.

"You know," the boy said, looking down at his food, "we should eat together more often. I'll introduce you to some of my friends. How does that sound?"

You don't even want me there. Heck, you don't even want to be here! she cried out in her head. Nevertheless, Jieun forced another smile and gave him a soft laugh.

"That would be lovely," she lied. The boy smiled and continued to eat his meal, while Jieun looked down at her lunch, which was barely touched.

• • •

Crap, crap, crap.

Yoongi was flying through the halls, trying to lose the two guys who had caught sight of him. His initial plan was to hang out somewhere quiet and isolated, but it seemed like the guys had other ideas. He stopped abruptly in front of the girl's restroom. His sneakers squeezed, snapping his temporary thoughts.

No, Yoongi, he told himself. There's absolutely no way that you're going to hide in the girls' restroom—

"He ran that way!" someone shouted.

—On second thought, girls' restroom it is! He quickly skidded into the bathroom and ran into a random stall. He locked it and held his breath.

"I swear he ran this way!" a faint voice outside cried out.

"You can't tell me that he suddenly disappeared," another voice said.

"He probably took his shoes off and ran somewhere. Sneaky bastard. When I get my hands on him, I'm going to make sure that we play a nice, rough game."

"Come on. He probably jumped down the stairs or something."

"Wish he'd jump off the roof."

The sound of cruel laughter echoed in the halls. Yoongi listened to the fading sound of their foot steps. Once he believed that they were gone, he let out a shaky sigh. He was just about to leave the restroom until he heard a pair of girls enter the bathroom. He widened his eyes and bit his tongue.

God damn it, he thought bitterly. He quickly climbed on top of the toilet and kept quiet.

"So are you finally going to make chocolates and give it to Minho?" the first girl asked.

"I'll do it only if that doesn't get her hands on him," the second girl stated.

"…? Oh! You mean Jieun!"

Yoongi's eyes widened when he heard his friend's name. Since when did Jieun complete the definition of a ""?

"Yep. Did you see her during lunch? She was all clingy with Minho! I'm so pissed off!" the second girl exclaimed. Yoongi heard her throw an object against the wall. "Like, how many times do we have to beat her up to tell her to stay away from him? He doesn't even like her!"

I found you, Yoongi thought, realizing that these girls were responsible for Jieun's wounds. 

He was able to step out, but stopped when he heard the second girl speak: "Doesn't that mean Jieun likes him, though?"

Yoongi frowned. Since when did Jieun ever like someone?

"I'm not entirely surprised. After all, Minho is good looking. I heard that she was going to make Valentine's chocolate for him and put drugs in it so that she could take him home."

Okay, that statement is not true, Yoongi wanted to say. The only part he couldn't quite convince himself to say that the statement was a lie was the part where the girl said that Jieun was going to make chocolates. I kind of wanted one…

"Oh god no. We better throw away those chocolates. I should tell the other guys in case they get chocolates from her."

"You definitely should." There was a brief pause before the girl groaned again. "I ing hate Jieun! I wish she'd die already!"

"I'm so sorry you have to suffer so much," the second friend said, trying to comfort the first one. "I hope things work well on Valentine's Day!"

"I hope so, too. I just hope Jieun doesn't make those chocolates and give it to Minho. Minho's a nice guy. He'll create a misunderstanding. He's only doing his job as the class president," the first girl said, sympathizing the boy. The two girls finally walked out and left the bathroom.

Yoongi took the chance to escape. He went down from the toilet seat and unlocked the stall. He quickly scurried out of the bathroom, but bumped into someone just before he managed to leave. He groaned in temporary pain, then looked up with wide eyes, getting ready to shut the girl from screaming.

However, to his luck, Jieun was the one who had just entered the bathroom. She groaned and rubbed her forehead, but when she looked up, she stopped and stared at Yoongi with wide eyes.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Jieun asked, shocked.

"…No reason," Yoongi said after a moment of thinking.

She frowned. "Yoongi, don't tell me that you've turned into a ert."

The boy's ears turned red. "I-I didn't, okay? I was just running away from the guys and happened to see this bathroom as an escape!"

There was a short pause before Jieun smirked. "ert."

Yoongi rolled his eyes. "Like I said, it's not like that!"

"Then what you still doing in here?" Jieun pointed out.

Realizing his surroundings, Yoongi quickly went for the exit and stood outside of the bathroom. He sighed when he heard Jieun laugh at him, but he decided to wait for her. 

A few minutes later, she came out of the bathroom with wet hands. He frowned and pointed at her hands, but she only gave him a playful grin and started flicking the drops of water from her fingertips to his face. 

"Hey, hey! Quit it, Jieun!" he demanded.

"Not until my hands are dry!" she declared. She giggled when he finally gave up and stood still, taking in the drops of water.

"This is gross," he complained.

"erts are already gross."

"Jieun, I said it's not like that—"

"Oh, let this holy water from the mountains cleanse your erted mind!"

"Jieun, now that's just being ridiculous," Yoongi muttered. Jieun laughed, then began to wipe her hands against her blazer. As he watched her do that, the memory of what the girls were talking about flashed in his head. In a small voice, he asked her, "Jieun, are you going to make Valentine's chocolate?"

Jieun froze. Her cheeks turned red at the thought of handing Yoongi chocolate.

"I-I-I don't know!" she said a bit too forcefully. 

Noticing the strange behavior, Yoongi pressed on. "Do you, um, think you're going to make those chocolates out of love?"

Her heart pounded against her chest. "I-I don't know…" She shyly rubbed the nape of her neck. "I-I mean, do guys even want chocolate anymore? I-If I was making chocolate, then I would prefer to do something more…" She glanced up at him. "W-What would y-you want if you were getting something from a girl? H-Hypothetically, of course."

Yoongi scowled at her response. So she is making chocolates for that guy. 

"I don't know. I wouldn't want anything," he said bluntly. 

Jieun played with her hands. "Would you want something special…?"

"I don't know. Ask the guy what he likes," Yoongi told her.

Jieun blinked. "What?"

"Ask the guy what he likes. Think about what the guy likes and do it," he said. Why the hell am I even helping her?

She kept quiet for a long time. As of now, she could tell him that he was misunderstanding the situation. She could tell him that he was mistaken and that the guy she had a crush on was him. However…

Let's just play a long a bit, she told herself. "Well, if the guy was you, then what would you want?"

Yoongi pondered on that question for a few minutes. Then, he gave her a quick glance of guilt before looking away.

"A song," he declared. "It doesn't even need to be the whole song. It just has to be a self-composed song."

Jieun dropped her jaws. "Yoongi, how the hell am I supposed to do that? I'm not the composer! I just sing it!"

"Guys will love it if you compose a song for them," Yoongi lied. "It's one way of winning their heart." 

It would certainly win mine, he thought. He turned and left her in the hallway with a dumbfounded expression.

Jieun scratched her head and turned to the other direction. A song? What kind of song? How do I tell Yoongi my feelings? He likes hip-hop, but I feel like those songs are going to be too difficult to write… She sighed, then took a deep breath. Well, whatever. One song, coming up!

• • •

When the romantic day arrived, the whole school was filled with the scent of chocolate and possible high school romance. While the girls held tightly onto their chocolates, Jieun tucked away her MP3 player and headphones in her pocket.

Today is the day, she said, taking a deep breath. I'm going to show Yoongi my song today.

She had worked hours and hours on the song. She could've even remember the past twelve days; it was a complete blur to her. She could only remember recording her voice until ached and playing her father's guitar until her fingers hurt. Needless to say, the process of making the song was long and difficult, but when she finally finished making a minute of a song, there was a sense of pride and accomplishment filling her beating heart.

I'm meeting Yoongi at the empty classroom during lunch, so I'll give it to him then, she told herself. She anxiously looked at the clock. Just a couple of hours left!

The wait was painful, but lunch time eventually came. Once the bell rang for lunch, Jieun quickly put away her belongings and grabbed her lunch and the MP3 player with its headphone. She started making her way up the stairs until she arrived at the empty classroom. To her surprise, Yoongi was already sitting down, eating a piece of bread and writing down lyrics for a new song.

Her heart skipped a beat as her cheeks turned red. It was only now until she was conscious of the way his face furrowed when he was writing his song. She had always admired the way he focused on music, but today seemed different. She figured that it was because she was going to confess her feelings towards him, especially since her heart was racing much faster than usual. Taking a deep breath, she stepped inside the classroom and closed the door.

"Y-Yoongi?" Jieun stuttered nervously, watching the boy scribble his pen against a napkin. She slowly approached the boy with cautious footsteps.

"What is it?" Yoongi asked, his eyes still on the paper. Did she give him his stupid chocolate yet?

"Um, well, um…" She took a deep breath. "I didn't make the chocolates"—his face brightened up—"but I did make a song, and I was hoping that you'd listen to it before I give it to the guy I l-like."

If he likes the song I wrote, then I'll tell him that the guy is him, she mentally declared.

"…So what?" he asked her in a bitter voice. "Go give it to him."

"W-W-Well, I wanted you to listen to it," she murmured. "You know, since you're the e-expert…"

Yoongi stopped writing. He looked up at her with a frown.

If it , I'll let her give it to the guy she likes, he told himself. "Fine. Let me listen to it."

Jieun beamed and handed him the MP3 player and a pair of headphones. He annoyingly plugged the earphones and listened to the one song on the device.

To his surprise, the song had a rather catchy acoustic tune. It was sweet and filled with love and curiosity, and he could feel it. A sharp pain poked through his chest as he started to understand how much Jieun was in love with her crush.

, he cursed. This is a really good song.

A few minutes had passed. Jieun, remembering that her song as a total of a minute, cleared and quietly spoke up.

"H-How is it?" Jieun asked him.

He was quiet. Very quiet. It wasn't odd for him to be quiet, but he was giving off an unpleasant vibe. The way he furrowed his eyebrows at the lyrics and the way he kept glancing from her and back to the sheet of paper only made her more nervous. Her heart race, anticipating on his response.

I hope he gets the message, she prayed. I really hope he does.

Yoongi took off the earphones. Jieun hitched her breath and stared at him for a long time. Her eyes shimmered with hope and her heart only paced faster. He stared, examined her expression for a brief moment, then landed his eyes back on the piece of paper.

In a blink of an eye, he ripped the sheets in half, much to her horror. Jieun stared at him with wide open, her lips trembling at the sight of her feelings being torn apart.

"What is this piece of crap?" Yoongi said flatly. He threw the earphones on the ground and tossed the paper in the air. The white sheets fluttered down, falling like slow, white rain. He gave her a cold glare. "Are you joking around? Quit it."

Jieun slowly made a fist. "T-This isn't a joke, Yoongi. I'm serious about this."

Yoongi gave her an offensive look. "You're serious? Are you ing kidding me, Jieun?"

"I'm not—"

He got up from the floor. He gave her a deep, crossed expression, which only caused her heart to break.

"After all the times we've been through," he muttered under his breath, shaking his head. How could you just leave me for some other guy like that?

Jieun bit her bottom lip. "Is it so wrong to love someone? Yoongi, I need you to understand that this isn't my fault. I can't control my emotions!"

So you fall in love with some other jerk? You're going to leave me for some other guy? Yoongi wanted to say. However, he kept his mouth shut and only spoke in hostility. "No, it's not wrong to love someone. I just think you made a big ing mistake."

She looked at him in despair. How could you say something like this? How could you, the one who should understand me the most, say something like this? Her eyes turned cold. How could I fall in love with such a narrow-minded jerk?

"Just stop writing these lyrics," Yoongi told her. "I don't want you to embarrass yourself again."

"Fine," Jieun muttered. She gathered up her shredded paper. "I definitely won't be showing you anything like this again."

"Good," he mumbled back. "It's best if we keep things as it is."

"Definitely."

"Yeah."

"Right."

They looked at each other for a brief moment before looking away. There was an uncomfortable atmosphere between the two; they couldn't even look into each other's eyes anymore.

The two didn't know then, but as the weeks passed by, they started to see each other less frequently. Jieun was constantly hanging out with other guys just to get herself dragged away from Yoongi and to be beaten up by the girls. For her, getting into aggressive cat fights were more comforting than being near Yoongi. As for Yoongi, he was called out to "play" with his "friends," and he often allowed the boys to throw him around like a punching bag for long periods of time just to find himself an excuse to why he couldn't be wherever Jieun was. It was a petty decision the two decided to take, but it seemed to be a mutual decision. A couple of months later, Jieun had transferred to a different school without telling Yoongi anything about her departure.

On one particular night, when Yoongi found himself running away from the boys, he found himself in Jieun's neighborhood, nearly about to ring on the vacant house. He looked down at his clothes, noticing that he had his pants on. He ran his fingers through his hair, then let out a loud, shaky sigh before putting his hands over his face.

She left, he realized. He yelled out in frustration before turning back with his hands hidden in his pockets.

His biggest fear had come true, and he was in completely lost of what to do. He could only take a deep breath, look up at the blank night, and quietly walk home to start his dream.

Author's Note: I'm going to start the entertainment era in the next chapter. If it wasn't clear, I had planned to write Yoongi's and Jieun's relationship in a high school year, but had them part before anything romantic could happen. The next chapter would fast-forward to when Yoongi and Jieun are both idols and graduated from high school.