Seated at a round table, I hide from the awkwardness behind the menu while Namjoon and Taehyung continue to be in a staring contest.

 

“Aren’t you two going to order?” I ask, waving a hand between their faces to break eye contact. As expected, neither of them budges. Sighing, I set my menu down and call the auntie over to make my order.

 

I look between the two boys as another sigh escapes my lips. Reaching out both sides and positioning my hand at the back of their heads, I push their heads in towards the centre of the table. Their skulls collide with a loud bam.

 

Taehyung immediately turns to glare at me while Namjoon frowns.

 

“What was that for?” The younger boy sulks.

 

I shrug. “Someone had to step in before you two actually kill each other.” I shake my head, failing to understand their distaste for each other – they only just met today!

 

“Have you decided on what you want to eat?” Namjoon changes the subject casually.

 

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. “Already ordered.”

 

His head snaps towards me but he doesn’t say anything. Instead, he calls the auntie over and places his order. Taehyung takes the chances to also tell the auntie what he wants.

 

“Actually,” I start, resting my elbows on the table and my chin on my palm, “You two were already acquainted before this, aren’t you?”

 

“What are you talking about?” Taehyung mumbles. “Oh, right, can I go over tonight? I need help preparing for tomorrow.”

 

I think for a moment. “I’ll go over.”

 

“You’ll be in the same class as Sera?” Namjoon asks.

 

“Yeah.” Taehyung’s response is to-the-point.

 

My eyeballs involuntarily roll a whole round in my head. “Jjun, you…” My voice trails off.

 

“I what?” Namjoon prompts when I suddenly stop short. What was I going to say again?

 

“Was that from just now?” I ask, my gaze stuck on the thin line of red along his forearm.

 

He follows my line of sight and winces as if only just noticing it. “I’ll be fine; I have a plaster in my bag…”

 

“You don’t think I have a bunch of those too?” I realise I didn’t bring a bag out but I have a couple of Band-Aids I’d squished in my phone casing.

 

I shake my head before pushing back my chair, my food coming at the same time. As I stand, I tell the guys to start eating first when their food comes and hurriedly turn out the shop towards the nearest pharmacy. It takes me about three minutes to jog over and inside, I stare at the counter person thinking of what I should get.

 

“What’s needed for cleaning cuts?” I ask, and the nice lady goes about pulling the things I need off the shelf and telling me what I should do. I return to the soup place only to see a chummy Namjoon and Taehyung happily chatting away. Their food sits in front of them but neither had started eating.

 

“Where did you go?” Namjoon asks when I sit back down.

 

I eye both boys sceptically. “What did I miss?”

 

“Taehyung was just telling me about his hometown,” he explains. “Daegu seems like a pretty nice place.”

 

Taehyung adds on, “Hyung, let’s go there sometime. I’ll show you my farm!”

 

To my surprise, Namjoon nods with much enthusiasm. I shake my head. And they say girls are fickle minded? I think boys are harder to comprehend. Then, remembering my task, I pull up Namjoon’s arm and inspect the cut on his arm. Following instructions of the pharmacist, I clean the wound with saline-soaked gauze. Applying ointment – antibiotic? – I slap a large plaster over the whole thing.

 

“Now, let’s eat.”

 

Taehyung snickers by the side and shoots Namjoon a weird look where he’s wriggling his eyebrows. I don’t miss the hint of a smile Namjoon returns before he turns to look at me. I clear my throat.

 

“Eat,” I tell him again. Without waiting for the guys, I dig into my now warm soup.

 

After lunch, Namjoon walks Taehyung and I back to our apartments. They’d spent the whole of just now talking about things I didn’t understand. Rather than interrupt their chummy conversation, I’d reduced to scrolling through my phone while occasionally stealing glances at Namjoon. Much different from when we were kids, his side profile is so much more defined now. One thing that didn’t change was that dimple that appeared ever so often, the same dimple that I used to love poking just to .

 

Walking behind the guys, I don’t realise I’m too caught up in my own thoughts until I slam my face into someone’s strong back. I rub my nose absentmindedly.

 

“A penny for your thoughts?” Namjoon’s voice seeps through cracks in my mind. I sigh.

 

“What’s wrong?” He asks again.

 

Does Namjoon really think of me as his sister? Am I really upset that he only thinks of me that way? I furrow my eyebrows. What am I thinking about! The shaking of my shoulders pull me out of my reverie completely and I look up to see a concerned Namjoon frowning at me.

 

“Huh?” I blink at him. Was he saying something?

 

He lifts a hand to my forehead and frowns. “Must be the fever getting to her.”

 

A fever? Yes, that must be it. The fever is burning my brain and messing with my thoughts. It’s not me being weird, it’s just the fever. I’ll be fine after a couple of cold pills. I-

 

“Ah!” I let out a shriek as I’m swept off my feet, literally. My arms instinctively wrap themselves around Namjoon’s neck. Wait, what?

 

“It’s okay, Ser. We’ll get you home soon.”

 

No… “Wait, let me down. Kim Namjoon, what are you doing?”

 

Namjoon raises an eyebrow at me. “At the rate you’re going, we’d freeze out here before we’re even halfway back. Now stop squirming or I’ll drop you.”

 

Pouting, I let myself be carried by Namjoon. His embrace is warm and comfortable and I subconsciously think about how I can snuggle in his arms all day and night. I slap myself mentally. Fever, stop putting strange thoughts into my head! I dare to peek at Namjoon and I see how his jaw is squared as he tightens his hold on me. His steps become wider and faster with each foot forward. Feeling weight on my eyelids, the last thing I see is his gaze fluttering down to meet mine before everything blacks out. 

 

==============================

---

---