I MISSED ALL OF YOU ; 3 ;

Taehyung would never have imagined that Seul would be the one asking him for advice. He knew her as an independent girl who often took lead and therefore could easily make decisions for herself and the people around her. So for her to ask him for this favour, out of the blue, he was needless to say slightly taken aback. Because he wasn't sure what he could say to her. 

"Tell me what's up. Based on my guess, it's about that offer isn't it?" Taehyung placed two cups of ice blended juice on the table for them, taking a seat opposite from her. "I'm not sure if my advice is going to be good though  "

"Shh!" Seul frowned, a gesture that told him to shut up. "Just keep quiet, and listen."

Taehyung nodded and made a zipping motion across his lips to tell her he wouldn't talk. He had a good idea about what she wanted to say, it was probably going to be the offer she had received from 'TrendPop'. He could say he knew her well enough to know what was on her mind, although Seul may not have been one to agree that she was close to him. But right now, with her sitting in front of him like this, with her choices depending on his words, he felt that maybe they were getting a little closer.

"About the offer I got, I don't know what to do... I'm serious, Taehyung. 'TrendPop' has been a brand I've been looking up to for years and it was my dream to work there, but why do I feel so conflicted? Back then, if I was in middle school, they would've gotten an easy 'yes' from me. Now, I have no idea." Seul took a big sip of her drink and Taehyung's eyes landed on the volume of the drink that was falling ever so slowly. She sighed, "I don't want to upset any of my friends. I know that Seungcheol, Bobby, Joshua, Sana and even Bambam, they really want to continue on this path with me even after they graduate. I'm not sure about Hanbin though, since he's only been here for a few months... W-What I'm saying is, if I were to say yes, then they would think of me as some sort of betrayer, wouldn't they?"

"Real friends are going to be hard to come across again, Seul. I remember how much you always said you wanted to write articles for 'TrendPop' in middle school. Heck, you even mentioned them in your graduation speech and people in the crowd were rolling their eyes at you because they'd heard it from you countless times already." Taehyung grinned at the memory where he recalled he was the only person who was smiling widely once she'd given her speech. "I don't know if this will sound like the right choice for you, but to me, it does. I wouldn't risk it. You can create your own magazine in the future, and I'm sure you'll surpass 'TrendPop'."

"Hold on..." Seul said, the expression on her face looked like she was trying to figure out what Taehyung meant.

"Hey, dummy," Taehyung reached his hand out to lightly knock his fist on her head, "I'm telling you to not accept the offer. Don't do it. You'll do better than them after you finish your studies, trust me."

"Watch what you do, my hair doesn't always look this good in the evening." Seul patted her head before shooting him an unsure look. "You really mean it? You really believe that I'll do better?"

"Do I look like I'm lying? I already told you, Seul, I believe that you'll do better."

"Then," Seul cleared and stuck her pinky out, "promise me."

Taehyung stared at the girl's hand which was balled up in to a fist except for a lone pinky finger sticking out. His eyes trailed up to stare at her in disbelief because honestly, was she five? The last time he remembered ever doing this sort of thing was in elementary school, but this must have been something girls liked to do. It was true, he'd seen girls in their school doing this with their other friends all the time. He guessed making this sort of promise did provide a sense of reassurance.

He grinned and hooked Seul's pinky finger with his before he looked up at her. "See, I promise."

"Then, it's a promise now. You can't go back on your words and say something like Oh see, I told you this idea would fail or these magazines are way better than yours, that type of stuff. Just try saying those things in front of me and you'll see what happens, Kim Taehyung." Seul told him in the same tone of voice she would speak to him when she was making threats. The explanations were soft but when the threats came, she would raise her voice a little.

Taehyung didn't really find it intimidating.

Seul and Taehyung stood in front of Mr. Park who was going through the sales of both teams. As the man was examining the results Seungcheol and Kento had made sure to arrange together, they could see a look of slight discomfort on his face. This was a good sign for them. Seul met eyes with Taehyung and upon seeing the girl smile, he ree almost automatically. 

Outside, their members watched anxiously. Hayoung had her faced pressed against the window of the staffroom along with Sana and Joy. The boys were behind them watching the scene with full attention. They knew this would go well, but for some reason they couldn't help but come to see anyways because they wanted to make sure the plan would work.

"Looking at these... the sales of both teams have pretty much the same amount of sales. I don't think I can disband anyone when one team doesn't have more or less sales than the other. It's completely the same. I never though something like this would happen, and this is the official result at that." Mr. Park eyed the both of them in suspicion. "But still, I have to come to a... decision. 'It's Trending' and 'The Hanguk Gossip' will not face disbandment. Dismissed."

"Thank you sir!"

Once Taehyung turned around, he felt Seul nudge him on the shoulder. There was a triumphant expression on her face and it didn't need to take a genius to tell that she was overjoyed and ready to celebrate. He brought his face close to hers and whispered, "hey, if you act so happy right now Mr. Park might think this whole thing was forged. When we're far away from the staffroom, we can celebrate."

Quietly, they made their way out of the staffroom which was slowly starting to feel suffocating to them. Once they were outside, Taehyung saw s start to open their mouths but he placed a finger on his lips, directing it to both members of the two teams. He gestured for all of them to follow him and he led them to the school's field. They must have been wanting to scream their lungs out and badmouth Mr. Park, and to be truthful, he sort of did too. 

"CHEERS!"

The sound of banana milk cartons knocking against each other, mixed with the booming laughter of the boys, signified freedom. All of them fell back on their butts as they poked their straws in their cartons. The grandstand of the field was the best place to enjoy afternoon snacks, and it felt much better when sharing it with friends.

"We don't need to worry about anything anymore!" Jimin exclaimed, stretching his arms in the air. "Taehyung-ah, do you know how good this feels? Do you? Especially since it's a Friday, I wonder if it's just good luck on our side."

"Park Jimin, you do know t