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Day One: The First Afternoon

“Please take over the chores for me today!”

The girl in front of her clasped her hands and gave a 90-degree bow. It was Park Jisoo, or Jihyo, a rather kind and energetic girl whose eyes were big, round, and always twinkling. Yuna honestly really liked the energy Jihyo would bring to the classroom on cloudy days, but at this current moment, she really didn’t know what to think. Surprised at the sudden exclamation, just after putting her stuff away in her schoolbag, Yuna could only nod as the long haired girl rambled in front of her.

“…Ah, um, okay…?” She half questioned, half agreed.

Choi Yuna wasn’t particularly surprised when they chose her to do the afterschool chores. Always being the meek and agreeable one, she didn’t really have the heart to say no. Especially when the girl told a rather tear-inducing and heart wrenching story about her grandmother being in the hospital due to a life-threatening disease. After all, what cold and unfeeling human could turn down a fragile female whose only goal was to be with her grandmother in her most precious time of need? An idiot of course.

The girl bowed once again, giving a loud “Thanks!” before heading back to her desk to swoop her things up. Bae Yubin, otherwise known sweetheart Binnie, approached Jihyo, giving unsure looks at Yuna who was still quietly packing her school work.

“Is it okay to leave it to her?” Binnie questioned worryingly as they began to walk out.

“Yeah, she’s fine with it. I said that my grandmother is in the hospital.” Jihyo replied cheerfully, waving her hand carelessly.

“Well, isn’t she?”

“Yeah, but it’s just due to constipation.” Ah, so that was the life-threatening situation. Not really a disease, but threatening to her bowel system Yuna supposed.

“Let’s go to karaoke!” They cheered down the hallway, obviously not caring if they were heard or not. But maybe then, an idiot would be a lot smarter at judging people than Yuju would be. Giving a somewhat bitter smile, the young female sighed and shook her head. There was nothing she could do, after all, she couldn’t just go up to them and confront them. It would cause unnecessary trouble and could possibly lead to a fight and she knew better.

“Oh? Yuna-sshi?” A curious voice echoed from her side. Turning, she jumped in surprise seeing the one person she didn’t expect.

“Ah!” She peeped. “Dokye- I mean Seokmin-sshi, hello!” She gave a slight bow, hiding her reddened cheeks because she had almost called him by his nickname. A nickname she could only dream of using if she were closer. Lee Seokmin, otherwise known as Dokyeom or DK, was the class vitamin. He was the whole package of what you would look for in a man. Kind, Funny, Smart, Talented, and Handsome. Yuju could probably list more, but that would be reiterating the same perfect qualities.

“Are you staying behind to clean the class?” He came up easily, eyes clear and smile bright. Yuna felt her heart beating much faster than usual. The usual just being a skip or two when he passed by her in the hall or his laughter on the other side of the room, but this, he was actually speaking to her.

“Ah, um yeah!” She replied, clasping her hands as they began to fidget. “What about you? What are you doing-I mean, if you don’t mind me asking?” She questioned, stumbling over her words in embarrassment. The tall boy smiled and nodded, totally oblivious to her strange mannerisms.

“I’m headed to my club, we’re practicing for the upcoming festival!” He chirped happily, obviously excited. Yuna recalled that he was a part of the light-music club, where his talent was being one of the main vocals. She brightened up, excited to hear that he was going to participate in something she could watch. “Really? That’s wonder-“

“Thanks!” He quickly cut her off, surprising Yuna. “If you don’t mind, since you’re staying behind anyways, do you think you could turn in these papers to Professor Kim then?” He pleaded, taking a stack of paper out of his backpack and handing it to the young girl in front of him.

“Oh….sure. I don’t mind!” She agreed quite easily. Happy to help, happy to converse, but something in the pit of her stomach felt queasy. She ignored it as she took the papers into her hand.  Seokmin grinned, teeth white and almost blinding. He opened his mouth to say something before an arm gathered around his neck startling both him and Yuna. His expression quickly changed from surprise to happy recognition as he threw his arms to reciprocate the half-hug.

“Hey Jungkook! What’s up?” He asked, squeezing his fellow classmate who obviously did not appreciate the pressure being applied.

“Mingyu and Seungkwan were looking for you, you know.” Jungkook stated quite nonchalantly, a barely noticeable smirk forming as Seokmin paled from the news.

“Crap, are they pissed?” The now worried boy asked, eyes widening and almost resembling a scared puppy. Cute, Yuna mused, imaginary hearts floating around her. The quieter male shrugged and waved his hand as a sign for DK to get the hell out of there.

“Ah, ugh.” He looked towards Yuna and gave a nervous smile. “Thanks!” he waved, rushing out the door in a flash. Yuju stared after him, heart melted and still in a daze from the small, yet very significant conversation between the two.

He talked to me! We had a conversation!

“What are you doing?” A rather harsh and blunt voice questioned from her side. Yuna looked over with wide eyes, only to flinch as she met the furrowed brows and criticizing stare of Jungkook.

“Huh?”

Jeon Jungkook, was a rather handsome fellow, Yuna admitted, although everyone else and their mother already knew from the moment he was born. He was extremely popular in the school, particularly for his talents in dancing and singing, yet in class he was surprisingly low key and it seemed he preferred it that way as well. He was quiet unless he needed to speak, he stayed with his own small group, and he really didn’t mingle with the girls either, despite many advances.

“What are you still doing here?” He questioned once again, voice low and enunciated, as if speaking to a child. Yuna frowned a bit and held the stack of papers closer, as if protecting herself.

“What…? Oh, um. I’m taking over the cleaning duties for Jihyo…” Yuna replied, honestly confused of whether that tone was how he naturally spoke or not. Was he mad at her or something? He shouldn’t be, considering she’s never once spoken to him before. She even held her laughter at bay when she saw him run into a pole on the way to school. They made eye contact before Yuna briskly walked pass pretending to be texting on her phone to save him from embarrassment. That was kindness at its best.

“Why?” He interjected as silence filled between them.

“…She said that she had an emergency that she needed to tend to.” The young girl answered slowly and hesitantly. She started to realize that his tone really was one of distaste, rather than of anger. She wasn’t so wrong after all. But the real question was,

Was he always this cold and direct?

“Right.” Jungkook nodded slowly, turning his head to analyze the empty classroom.

“A karaoke emergency right?” He continued, eyes lazily looking at Yuna who flushed at his statement. “She was giggling and bouncing straight down the hall you know.”

“It’s fine.” She argued, voice a pitch higher as she started to show her frustration with his sharp (and unneeded) words. “I’m not doing anything afterwards, so it’s fine.” She reasoned.

Jungkook gave her a look and headed over to his desk to grab his bag. He swiped it up before turning back to face Yuna, face still flushed from her growing anger. He took a few steps closer, causing Yuna to step back, as her personal space seemed to be getting invaded.

“You couldn’t say no to two obviously selfish people.” She shrunk back, trembling a little as he took another step closer. “They had their own responsibilities that they didn’t want to deal with,” He lowered his head to meet her eyes. “so they threw them onto you knowing you wouldn’t say no.” They were direct and dark, intense and so openly criticizing.

“What an idiot.”

He took the stack of papers and turned around to leave. There were quiet steps and a graceful closing of the classroom door before the startled girl finally recognized that her legs felt like jelly.

‘What?’

Yuju lowered herself to the floor, heart racing and body still shaking. Emotions of anger, disappointment, and frustration circled within her mind as she stared after the door he had walked through.

Three specific things crossed Yuna’s mind about Jungkook as the minutes passed.

One. He definitely did not need to speak so rudely to her.

Two. He definitely did not have to invade her space.

And three. He definitely did not need to call her an idiot.

Especially for just wanting to help her fellow classmates with some insignificant favors. Yuna sighed and rubbed her head in frustration, ruining her straight locks. She looked at the chalkboard, with its smudged writings and little drawings of people. She looked over the room, where a warm orange light began to fill the space. She still had things to do.

She still had to clean.

-

Lying down on her bed, hugging her tired and old teddy bear tightly, Yuna sighed. Staring at the warm light emitting from the corner of her room on her desk, she thought what had happened in the afternoon. It was strange really, her first interaction with a classmate she had no prior relation to and he had called her an idiot. Talk about first impressions really.

“An idiot….huh.” She whispered in the air.

Apparently, she was an idiot for not saying no to people who had asked for help, her help. Sure, Jihyo didn’t tell the whole truth, but she didn’t really lie either. Maybe she was going to visit her grandmother. Maybe it was more serious than originally thought. And with Dokyeom, he had to hurry to his club to practice. Yuna was staying behind anyways, so probably to him, it was alright to ask for her help to deliver the papers.

I just wanted to help.

She wasn’t doing anything afterschool. She wasn’t busy with clubs. She didn’t mind doing their chores. She didn’t mind any of it, until Jungkook came and stared at her with those disapproving eyes. It was frustrating and it hurt her pride. His way of talking to her wasn’t very comforting either.

For a first impression, Jeon Jungkook was an .

However.

But he wasn’t exactly wrong either.

She didn’t want to admit any of it, but in the back of her mind, she knew he had a point.

“Although, it’s still none of his business.”

This was originally going to be a oneshot, because those are my specialties, but I wrote too much and I need more character developement. So, it'll be pretty slow-paced short story instead. 

Okay, so characters shown so far are usually written by their born name, so get memorizing before you get confused lol.

Park Jisoo - Jihyo (Twice)

Bae Subin - Binnie (OMG)

Lee Seokmin - DK (Seventeen)

Please comment and let me know what you think so far. Thanks for reading!

Love - Rheian