After class was finally over, I noticed Jimin was the first one to leave.

Krystal and I exchanged glances as Taehyung put his arm around my shoulders and smiled at Krystal, his top lip in like a meerkat.

“Why are you smiling like that?” Krystal asked him with a disgusted expression.

Taehyung carried on making that face at her as she backed away, squeezing my hand to say goodbye.

I laughed out loud and pinched his cheeks, “Haha Taetae, only I can take your weirdness. So make these faces with me only, poor Krystal!”

Taehyung chuckled as he was watching me looking and shuffling to the door. I was playing with my fingers and desperately trying not to meet his eye.

He went serious and took me by my hand outside in the hallway.

“Minnie, what’s wrong?”

I looked up at him; his eyes became large and worried as he was my hand comfortingly.

“Tae, I thought you said you’d speak to Jimin? I know there’s something he isn’t telling anyone,” I blurted out.

I concluded to myself that Krystal misunderstood the context in which Jungkook and Jimin were speaking in.

I mean she was all the way around the corner; they were most likely speaking about something else. Besides, Jimin loved me as a friend only and it was always like that and always would be.

He was probably just upset that I was taking Taehyung away from him after all these years that I was away for, but that obviously wasn’t true.

Jimin and Taehyung have such a special relationship that not even I can try to replace or tamper around with. I wouldn’t even dream of doing such a thing and neither of them would let me do it anyway.

“Don’t worry, I spoke to him about it and it’s just some past things that are affecting him again. We actually went to the theme park the other day and had a great time. Ya, me and you should go after exams are up; I know you’d just love it! But Jimin does feel as though you don’t spend enough time with him and you guys do need to sort that out ASAP.”

Taehyung gazed at me reassuringly and I smiled back at him, glad that he was here to make me feel better.

“That better be the case because I will interrogate him in cold blood if it isn’t. Anyway, you know the talent show is next week, right? You guys have to use the name I came up with!”

I changed the subject as we were making our way outside, the bell had just gone and students were rushing out to go home.

Taehyung grinned.

 “I actually like the name Bangtan Sonyeondan. It’s different and unusual, like me. Half an hour ago, Namjoon Hyung created a group chat and they were all trying to arrange practice hours after school. Let’s quickly leave and have fun before one of them finds m-”

Taehyung spoke too soon as just then, a playful Jungkook jumped up behind him.

“V Hyung! Just where do you think you’re going?” He was laughing and fluffing Taehyung’s orange hair.

“Jungkookie, get off! I’m so tired, let’s do it tomorrow?”

“Hyung! Never leave today’s practice for tomorrow. There are some modifications we need to do so that our dance fits in with the vocals.”

Jungkook stopped smiling when he finally realised I was standing next to Taehyung.

This time Taehyung realised that Jungkook was staring at me coldly.

“Why does it look as though you’ve seen a monster? It’s only Jasmine.”

Jungkook looked back to Taehyung, ignoring the question.

“Practice in the shed is in ten minutes. You better be there.” Jungkook was about to turn back, when Taehyung stood in front of him.

“Jungkookah, answer the question.”

“What question?” Jungkook plainly asked.

Taehyung rolled his eyes and put his hand on Jungkook’s shoulder.

“What’s your problem with Minnie?” Taehyung asked in a gentle, yet firm way.

I was eager to hear what Jungkook was going to say, but it felt awkward so I took out my phone and pretended to message someone.

Jungkook’s eyes widened briefly before he shrugged Taehyung’s hand off his shoulder.

“Nothing, I’m just not used to having a girl chilling with us. Besides, we need to focus as much as possible on our performance and not get distracted by temporary things. Ten minutes.” He brushed his fringe to the side and turned back off in the direction he came.

I stared at him walking away and met Taehyung’s gaze.

He looked at me apologetically and I tried to smile and ignore that I was just called temporary.

“I’m going to speak to that boy, he needs to know how to speak to his elders properly, especially you. You’re his Noona and he called you temporary! I’m sorry about that Minnie,” Taehyung was pacing up and down.

“Why are you apologising, you did your best Taetae. I guess he’s just a more introverted guy and that’s fine, we are all different.” I tried to make things better, I was sick and tired of over analysing people.

Taehyung came closer to me and was grinning happily as he started playing with my hair.

“I’ll walk you to the train station. I wish I knew how to drive so I could drop you straight home. We would have long rides and picnics in far fields together” Taehyung said quietly as he kicked a pebble.

“Shut up, it’s fine. Train is much quicker than car! When’s your driving test?” I asked as we were now walking down the hill.

“Well I’m trying to study for the theory, but I can’t concentrate for too long. Jin Hyung actually bought me a book but I always fall asleep trying to read it. Have you passed yours?” Taehyung asked me as we were walking through the town centre.

I forgot about Jin Hyung, Eonni’s secret boyfriend or date, I honestly didn’t know much about him or what he was to her. Eonni couldn’t tell me what was going on with them properly as she was now in Seoul and has only been able to text me every so often.

From what she told me, there were so many trainees and so much practice they had to do in such little time.

She called me yesterday, saying how she and Jin might come with their agency to the Daegu High talent show.

“I passed my theory in London and I was taking a few practical lessons, but then I moved back here, so I’ll probably need to retake everything,” I answered him.

“Aigo, so you can help me then!” Taehyung excitedly exclaimed.

“Yes I could, but won’t the test be different?”

“Nonsense. Theory is the same worldwide, it’s about driving safely with common sense and sadly, that is what I lack.” Taehyung cutely pouted his bottom lip out as we were finally at the train station.

“Okay, but first we need to get the exams out of the way and then I’ll see what I can do,” I smirked as Taehyung jumped up and hugged me. He rubbed his cheeks and did aegyo for me as I squeezed them until they were red.

“So should I call you teacher now?” Taehyung winked like a ert as I laughed and decided to play along.

“Yes, you must call me teacher because you are now my student,” I replied flirtatiously.

Taehyung pulled my tie hard so I crashed into his chest.

“What happens if I misbehave? Will Seonsaengnim (teacher) punish me?”

“Seonsaengnim? I will punch you in the face if you misbehave!” I laughed, shaking my head at the cheesiness of our little role play.

Taehyung was still in acting mode and he didn’t let go of my waist and wrapped his hands firmly around my bum and started caressing my face with his nose.

“I’m going to miss my train and you need to get to practice, let go of me!” I giggled as I was struggling to escape his tight embrace.

Taehyung sighed in exasperation as he finally let go of me.

He was going to kiss me on the lips but I turned my head and got a wet kiss on my cheek.  

I rushed to the platform and looked back as I saw him waiting for me to get on the train. He looked so cute, yet tall and handsome leaning against the barriers.

He waved at me and did a little hip dance as my train was approaching. I grinned and waved back as he blew me a kiss with all his energy.

I plonked myself into a seat and stared out of the window, smiling to myself as busy Daegu city blurred into beautiful shades of green.

**************************

TAEHYUNG’S POV

“Taetae! Let’s go over the dance one more time before it starts!” Jiminie was rushing over to me, fixing his hair.

I looked around, trying to find Minnie but she was probably in the audience already. All I could see were girls getting their makeup fixed and guys practicing their singing, rapping or dancing.

Yesterday instead of practicing, I was on the phone to Minnie for two hours. I miss her already and butterflies were erupting in my belly, I think I was nervous.

“Earth to Tae, why aren’t you concentrating?” I snapped out of my thoughts and saw Jimin and now Jungkook staring at me in disbelief as I wasn’t paying attention to any of the movements.

“Joesonghamnida. Let’s do it again, come on,” I shook my hair forward as we got into formation, slowly practicing the dance.

It wasn’t a perfect song, but we had been practicing twice everyday this week and it was now somewhat performance worthy. We had a more than decent chance of being spotted.

Namjoon Hyung and Yoongi Hyung’s underground mix tape hit one million downloads yesterday under the name ‘Rapmonster and Suga- reloaded’. In their album, they had a one minute track titled ‘No more dream’ and that was the name of the song that we were going to perform today.

As Namjoon Hyung was head boy, we had the advantage of choosing our order of performance and we decided to go last.

It was a bad decision because of all of the pressure, but it was also really good because we’d be able to see what we were up against.

After we finished our short practice I checked the clock, it was 5.45pm and fifteen minutes before show time.

Other students and some teachers were talking to the groups and wishing them good luck. I scanned backstage and still couldn’t see Minnie, so I crept down the side stairs and decided to look for her.

This school week was so hectic.

Minnie was the first ever girl vice captain of Daegu High basketball team and no one dared to try and alienate her anymore; even Sooyoung was shut down by her friends whenever she tried.

Minnie had to play two away games as captain because she had to cover for Yoongi Hyung who was always practicing with us. Coach understood how much the performance meant to Hyung, so he let him practice rapping instead of playing the most important games of the year.

She was truly brilliant at basketball and whenever she was practicing by herself in the outside court, I’d sit and watch her play for hours.

I memorised her practicing times, so packed her some snacks and drinks and whenever I saw she was getting tired, I’d jump out from the grass and give them to her.

She would get so freaked out at how I was always conveniently there, but I just played along with her surprise and told her I was an alien, so of course I had to know these extraterrestrial things.

I was so happy around her that I forgot to uphold the bad boy reputation that I had. Seeing her happy, doing anything that would bring a smile on her face made me want to do good things for everyone.

I’d been getting a lot of calls from Don Lee, but I messaged him once and told him I didn’t want to sell his drugs anymore and he left me alone, for now. I knew this would bite me in the back later, but I’d deal with it then.

I just knew that if Jasmine was by my side, no way in a million years do I have to look for something else to get myself occupied with.

I was saving up for some outings that I wanted to take her on in the summer vacation, so I was currently doing a part time job at the local supermarket.

Just then, my phone vibrated in my pocket as I had a new message.

Wish you all the best of luck, my child. Manse and I are sitting in the crowd and we are too excited to see you finally perform! Kim Taehyung hwaiting! Love Eomma x

I smiled and pocketed my phone again.

Last weekend, Samchon visited our house.

He spoke firmly with Mum and Manse about the situation with her husband and he shifted them temporarily to the spare apartment until the divorce and housing matters were settled. Because of Samchon’s family influence, he could easily get Mum out of her troubled marriage.

The bastard threw a fit when he found out she had moved out, but Samchon got a restraining order on her behalf against him, so she was safe for now.

I was so grateful to Samchon for everything. Because of him, Mum and Manse were able to come today. Because of him, Mum was starting to smile again and Manse was starting to play like a normal child again.

Samchon also knew I was working part time and offered me a job at his restaurant, but I refused. I was saving money for Minnie and I didn’t want to be earning it from her Dad.

Even though the supermarket job tested my patience with all the rude and drunk customers, I made my phone’s screensaver a picture of Minnie, so I’d stare at it for a minute and calm down.

I took that picture last Sunday when I told her it was an emergency that she had to come to the forest we used to wonder in as kids. She rushed out and couldn’t find me anywhere, so I called her and directed her to my location.

I laughed my head off when I saw she was still in her slacks and sandals.  She ran over and started hitting me when she saw me lying on a picnic spread laid out by the lake. We ate chicken mayo sandwiches and mince pasties and I bought fresh cream cupcakes and strawberries for dessert.

I about being fat when she ate two cupcakes and she turned around, pretending to be sad. I rubbed cream on her nose and captured a picture of her bursting out laughing which I decided to make my screensaver as it was so cute.

We decided not to drop the bomb of us being a couple on Samchon just yet, although I think he was already aware that we’re more than just friends.

I know he wants Minnie to work hard on her studying, so I’ve decided to focus more on practice to allow her the room she needs to concentrate.

But now, I wanted to see her quickly before I take my first stage. This was a small stage and there was no assurance that we’d ever even get a contract, but I was still so nervous.

Singing was the one academia I was so passionate about. For all these years, my only true friends were instruments and musical notes.

I stopped short of the entrance to the drama hall, where I could see parents being escorted by teachers welcoming them, fellow and younger students laughing and holding banners, and groups of men in smart suits and ties taking their front row seats.

I dodged past Gyojang Yi who was dressed in a grey suit, welcoming parents as I was now striding through the corridors and hallways, trying to look for Minnie.

I saw Kai on his own walking towards me, he was dressed in pinstripes and his hair was puffed up in a quiff as we nodded to each other.

“Good luck Taehyung,” Kai patted me on my shoulder reassuringly.

“Yeah, you too Kai. Uh you haven’t seen Jasmine anywhere, have you?” I turned back to Kai who was now rushing to the hall.

“Yes, she’s in the girls toilets with Krystal,” Kai replied.

“Thank you!” I yelled back to him as he waved his hand, continuing his fast walking.

He didn’t look too nervous, lucky guy; they were all already scouted by SM Entertainment. He looked like a professional idol and I realised why they were scouted so early, they had the perfect look complimented with real talent.

I wondered how many agencies were coming to watch us as I stared out of the window.

Big, flashy cars were turning into the car park and the people who stepped out of them were being escorted in the school by security guards.

I pushed open the hallway door as I was rushing to the girls toilets.

The corridors were completely empty apart from the cleaners as everyone was already in the drama hall, watching what would be the performance of the century.

I knew Daegu High had always had a reputation of holding the best looking and talented students both academically and musically, but I never knew all the big agencies would be here all at once. At this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised if a journalist or a media channel were to do a live coverage of tonight.

Just then, I saw Krystal and Minnie coming my way.

Krystal was dressed in all black with heavy makeup and looked worried as Minnie was constantly rubbing her back.

Krystal looked like a professional idol as well. I had no doubts that her and Kai were made for each other.

When I glanced at Minnie my mouth refused to close, she looked absolutely stunning.

She was wearing black, wide leg trousers with a black oversized t shirt tucked in and her brown hair was straightened and glossy, falling down her back with her bangs styled to the side.

She was carrying a gold and black side clutch bag and her plump lips were a light shade of red. Her already flawless skin was dewy and glowing as she bent down to fix her black and gold heels.

Her style was a simple high end fashion look, but I was instantly captivated.

“Why hello Madame, fancy seeing you here!” I held my arms out as they both looked up, surprised at the sudden noise.

“Taehyunga! What are you doing here? Why aren’t you backstage?” Minnie interrogated as Krystal tried to rush past me, waving her face cool.

“Not so fast Krystal, you didn’t tell us you’d be performing!” I slid in front of her.

She looked up at me and I saw she was not in the mood for joking around.

“Ya Krystal, what’s wrong?” I gently tapped her arm, she was supposed to curse me for being weird, not look sad.

When I noticed she wasn’t replying, I turned to Minnie who had put her arm over Krystal’s shoulder, but was giggling.

“Why are you laughing at your friend’s sadness?” I asked, confused.

“Krystal isn’t upset. She is really nervous for tonight, but that’s only because she’s already been scouted by SM Entertainment and doesn’t want to disappoint them. I just helped touch up her makeup,” Minnie explained as Krystal started smiling.

I rolled my eyes and opened my mouth in bewilderment.

“What the heck, you girls are so confusing and weird!”

“Ya, look who’s talking! Mr 4D Alien!” Minnie laughed, the sun glistening off her beautiful pearls.

Oh God, her smile kills me every time.

I decided to head lock Minnie and ruffle her hair in the process because she looked too cute as she slapped my arms, trying to escape my tight embrace.