“Rise and shine,” a frustratingly bright voice chimes as your covers are swiped from over your head and an unbearable light crawls into the room through the slits in the shutters.

“Get out of my room,” you grumble, your arms shielding your eyes as you attempt to fall back asleep.

“Get up, we’re going to be late,” the male groans playfully.

“I don’t have classes on Saturday morning,” you coldly spit back at the male. Jongin didn’t think your words could have been any colder, but he realizes he is wrong as he hears your grumpy morning persona.

“But I have somewhere to be, and I’m not leaving without you,” he smiles.

It’s after a whole hour of Jongin’s irritating nagging and cursing the male under your breath until you’re dizzy from the lack of oxygen in your lungs that you find yourself standing in front of a large building, his arm latched tightly on yours, your gaze hardening into that of anger.

“Who told you that you can bring me to a stupid club without my consent?” you bitterly hiss at the male.

“You said you would trust me,” Jongin urges, tightening his grip on your arm. “The people here are great, and I’m trying to expose you to others.”

“I said I would trust you, not some strangers I don’t know,” you say. “Let me go, Kim Jongin.”

“No,” he childishly whines. “Trust me, the people in the writing club are really nice.”

It’s before you can get away that the male sighs and simply tugs you into the room, a large place arranged neatly with not so neatly organized papers strewn over desks, computers flashing, and students casually resting against desks or walls with warm coffees in their hands.

“Hey Jongin,” a few students wave, and Jongin shouts back a cheery “Hey!”

You attract a few curious stares from the members of the writing club- your reputation does not accredit you to be friendly, and you’re not one to simply barge into a club one day because you have sudden interest.

You want to turn away and walk out, until you hear a familiar voice call your name and ask, “Is that you?”

You whirl around on your heels, and relief floods your buzzing mind when you make out the male to be Minseok, your senior and another person you perhaps trust. You haven’t seen the male in a while, but it’s only after meeting the male do you realize there is another person beside Kyungsoo who hasn't you. Perhaps Minseok isn't your best friend, but he’s reliable.

“Minseok,” you murmur in disbelief.

“Did Jongin bring you here?” he asks. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.”

“Yeah, I came with Jongin, and it's been a while,” you say, the corner of your lip twitching slightly into what is supposed to be a smile. Jongin chuckles at your efforts to open up.

“See, you do know people here,” Jongin laughs. “Now, you can accompany me here every Saturday.”

Your eyes shift into a angry glower, and your lips part to make another cold remark, until you hear the squeak of the door opening and Minseok chuckling, “Jongin, your best friend’s here.”

Jongin's always bright, but you’re surprised when you see how his eyes light up even brighter than they usually do, if that's even possible. His lips curl into a megawatt smile and he excitedly turns you around to face a tall girl with long chestnut locks and a slender figure. Her almond eyes are sharp, and her features rather defined. Her sharp jaw locks into a stoic expression, softening when she sees Jongin.

“Jinhee,” Jongin exclaims. “I need you to meet someone.”

Jongin gestures to you in a rather exaggerated manner with a swoop of his arm.

“Remember that roommate I was talking about?” he smiles. “This is her.”

Jinhee stands perhaps an inch above you, and she becomes a bit more intimidating when her expression hardens into one of disapproval.

“Your roommate is a girl?” she spits, as if she’s the misanthrope whose miserable and isolated life is suddenly turned upside down by a stranger suddenly moving into her apartment.

You wonder if Jongin can become any more oblivious when he doesn’t catch the abhor dripping from every word and simply asks, “Is there something wrong?”

“You just never told me,” Jinhee mumbles. “I assumed your roommate would be a guy.”

“Come on,” Jongin laughs, “it’s not like we sleep in the same bed or something.”

Jinhee becomes red in the face, especially when Jongin begins teasing her.

“Are you just jealous because you don’t get to spend as much time with me?” Jongin jokes, landing him a punch of the shoulder from Jinhee. You stand awkwardly for moments, taking note of their closeness.

Jongin seems more comfortable when he’s with Jinhee than when he’s in his own room.

“Jongin, if this is all you brought me here for, I’m leaving,” you announce.

“Wait,” Jongin whines, “you have to stay for the whole thing.” His fingers wrap around your wrist, and you notice the almost menacing spark that glows in Jinhee’s eyes.

There's an odd blend of jealousy, disbelief, and anger seething from her eyes.

“We just share our writings, get feedback, you know, the usual,” Jongin smiles. “I want you to engage.”

You almost scoff at his last word.

“You should read my writings,” he exclaims.

“I'm just going to butcher your papers,” you coldly snap.

“It would be an honor to have my papers butchered by you,” Jongin laughs, leading you to a desk.

Your head glances back when you feel a pair of eyes glaring at you, and it's no surprise when you see Jinhee glowering angrily at you.

Jinhee is jealous of you.

And for some odd reason, you feel rather proud of it.

It's after what seems to be hours that you sigh, “It's time to go.”

The myriad of students pour out from the room, while Jongin glances at the watch on his wrist and begs, “Jinhee and I always stay for another hour. I really want to finish this.” He points to the unfinished document blinking on his screen.

“I have to go, Jongin,” you tell the male. “I have exams to study for.”

“How are you going to get back?” he asks. “Why don’t you stay with me and Jinhee?”

“I’ll walk or catch a bus,” you tell him. Though your eyes are focused on your bag, you can tell Jongin’s lips are pulled into a pout.

Though Jongin may be oblivious at times, he’s quite observant and catches the cold way you look at Jinhee. You’ve already made it clear to the male that you don’t open up easily, and although you’ve agreed to trust him, you know you can’t trust Jinhee. You've began to notice the disapproval on his countenance each time you speak coldly and refuse to trust in others.

But no matter how much Jongin begs, you’re not going to associate yourself with Jinhee, who probably wonders why Jongin would waste his time on someone like you.

You’re dreading the walk all the way back to the apartment, until Minseok catches you and asks, “Need a ride?”

You simply nod.

Jongin sullenly watches as you walk out the door. He's not sure whether the sullenness weighing him down is because you’ve left or because you’ve left with Minseok.

You’re sure you aren't in your right mind when you let Jongin drag you to the writing club again.

You notice how Jinhee tenses when you enter with Jongin, his hand gripped tightly around your arm as he almost heaves you into the room. You ignore her and simply take a seat, attempting to brush off the weird looks the others give you. You hear the hushed murmurs of “Why is she even here?” and “Why is she so cold to everyone?”- something you’ve gotten quite used to.

You end up slightly dozing off as Jongin sits beside you, chatting to another student. You feel another presence slide into the seat next to you, and you turn to find Minseok with warm coffee and a messy pile of papers.

“Coffee?” he offers. “Just came back from work at the cafe.”

“Sure,” you murmur, taking the latte from his hands.

Once again, an eternity passes before you realize that people are leaving, save Jongin and Jinhee. Jinhee has already assumed the position across from Jongin as her steely eyes dart quickly back and forth over Jongin’s papers.

You wordlessly get up, until Jongin’s head whips to you and he leans forward, about to get up.

“Are you leaving?” Jongin asks.

You nod.

“Want me to walk you back?” Jongin queries further. His words are urgent, as if he’s silently pleading for you to ask him to walk you back.

“I’ll have Minseok drive me back,” you reply tersely. You once again catch Jinhee’s lips pursed and her eyes in a glare as Jongin’s attention is suddenly diverted to you. “You said you always stay late.”

“But I could take you back,” he insists. “Are you sure you’re going to leave with Minseok?”

“Yeah.”

Jongin can’t tear away his eyes when he sees Minseok take your bag and smile at you brightly. For once, Jongin’s bright smile falters and he actually becomes disheartened- a rather unusual event.

And for some reason, he can’t help but feel jealous.

~~

Note: I've been really concerned with the quality of this fic, but I hope it's nevertheless enjoyable! Thank you for supporting this fic, and feedback is greatly welcomed! <3