Jennie’s analysis of Goodbye Road, Hanbin’s most cherished song, left a lasting impression on Hanbin. Her words were quite accurate and so there was a certain heaviness that Hanbin felt for not being able to repay her for her support and admiration. The disappointed look on Jennie’s face when Hanbin revealed it was an incomplete song also contributed to his sense of guilt. And, he was also curious about what she thought about his other works. 

So after much contemplation and as an expression of gratitude, Hanbin decides to compile a few of his earlier unreleased works that he never planned on officially releasing onto an old MP3 player. 

They were his unpolished songs he wrote during his training years ago. 

That very next day, before sitting down at his own desk, Hanbin cautiously walks towards Jennie’s desk. He walks towards the desk number he consciously made note of after their meeting yesterday, where to his surprise, he finds that her desk was quite close to his own.  

Hanbin carefully places the MP3 player and an attached sticky note right at the centre of the desk before walking around back to his own, and like usual, he unlocks the windows, opening it wide before comfortably laying down on his desk. 

//

The very night of their first interaction on the rooftop, Jennie comes home in a half daze. She washes up before collapsing onto her bed in her pyjamas, laid spread across her bed as she goes over every single interaction and moment she had with Hanbin that day. She tosses and turns, roughing up her hair and contouring her face into grotesque-like expressions as she painfully realises how embarrassing she was, and how creepy it must have been for Hanbin at certain moments. And as she goes through their dialogue and his every expression, Jennie hugs and smiles into her pillow as she gives it a tight squeeze. 

She quickly falls to sleep hoping that the next day would come sooner...

Little did Jennie know that the very next day, she would be treated to such an unexpected surprise. 

When Jennie arrives to her classroom, she heads straight towards her seat as she eyes the form of a sleeping Hanbin. She smiles as she sees him tucked in his arms like usual. Despite seeing Hanbin sleeping everyday, to the point where his image has imprinted in her mind, the striking real life sight of him had no comparison. Seeing him in his own comfortable space gave a sense of gratification to Jennie. As she directs her attention to her desk, Jennie spots a peculiar device and note on it. She picks up the note and it reads: ‘if you have some spare time, these are some of my works’

There was no note regarding who it was from but she instantly knew that it was from the only other figure in the room. 

She brings the device close to her line of sight, inspecting it closely. Despite it being an older model, it was in well-kept condition. 

Jennie swiftly shoves the device in her pocket as soon as she hears the sound of her classmates piling into the room. Her heart begins beating ever so quickly as she still stiffly grasps onto the MP3 player in her pocket, holding onto it as if it would disappear if she ever let it go. She continues holding onto it, even when Jisoo comes into the class to greet her and starts telling her how horrible her day was yesterday. As the homeroom teacher enters and her classmates scramble to their seats, Jennie turns her head around to take one last glance at Hanbin, who was still lying flat on his desk and shyly smiles at the familiar sight. 

//

Three days later: 

The courage Jennie had when she followed Hanbin all the way to his secret hide out immediately became nonexistent in the following days. Jennie was a planner. And as she had Hanbin’s songs on repeat, she wanted to ensure that she would appropriately express how much she loved the songs and how grateful she was that he shared his songs with her. She kept replaying the foreseeable scenario over in her head, enough that she had memorised how she would say her thanks to him. And as it turned out, one day turned into two, two days turned into three, before she finally musters her courage to visit Hanbin during break.

Climbing up those stairs, she nervously runs through all the key points she wanted to tell Hanbin. But as soon as she sees his back at the fence around the rooftop, all her thoughts vanished. Her heart begins beating profusely as she contemplates whether she should do this another day, but before she could, Hanbin turns his head around, as if he was waiting for her. 

//

Hanbin was never one to be nervous. Nor a person that created certain expectations for other people, because he was well aware of how cruel the world could be. 

How unforgiving the world could be. 

How restricting it could be.

But when he found that Jennie would inadvertently avoid him in the two following days after he gave her his songs, he certainly felt disappointed. 

Disappointed that she may have never even listened to the songs in the first place. Disappointed in himself for hoping that in her boredom, she may have wanted to listen to his songs, songs that were not officially released under the name of ‘B.I.’

Other than the new morning greeting that she initiated before homeroom call started, Jennie would avoid his gaze as he set out to lunch. As much as he had enjoyed independence and his own solitude, Hanbin was quite curious of what Jennie thought of his older tracks. 

Perhaps the songs were not her taste, he thought in his mind.

Or maybe she never listened to them altogether.

As Hanbin comes to terms with this, on the third day, whilst looking down at the students who were bustling around during lunch behind the barbwired fence that surrounded the borders of the rooftop floor, he hears the slight shuffling of a pair of footsteps in the distance. He turns around expectantly, to see his number one fan staring right back at him. A wave of surprise and slight relief goes through him as he scans the person in question, he sees her tight grip on a familiar looking device that could have only belonged to him and a pair of headphones that were still swinging back and forth from her hand. Hanbin looks back at her face and sees a panicked expression on Jennie’s face and a slight chuckle escapes him, as he greets her. 

“… Hi, again.”

//

As if Hanbin’s voice was the magnetic force that attracted Jennie towards him, before Jennie knew it, she had already walked towards him and were standing face-to-face to each other. Jennie searches her mind for any fragment, any piece of the essay that she wanted to tell Hanbin as her way of thanks, but fails to retrieve anything from her stunned brain. A puzzled expression forms on Hanbin as they stand there for a good 10 seconds, in silence; before Jennie suddenly and rapidly raises her hand with the mp3 in it and shows it to Hanbin.

“Uhm.. um. .this…” Jennie emphasised as she looks up at his face with determination - she spoke as if it had not been clear why she was invading his private space once again. 

“Yes” Hanbin replies expectantly, with a small grin on his face.

“I… er … I …. Thank you” were the only words that Jennie could formulate.

This isn’t the time for your brain to malfunction Jennie. Get a grip. Jennie chanted in her head as she scrunches her face in embarrassment. Breathing large deep breaths, she tries to clear her mind. Looking back up at Hanbin, she tries again. She decides that being truthful and honest was the best way to go now. She had embarrassed herself far enough.

“I’m sorry, I’ve been meaning to tell you how thankful I am and how great the songs are in the best way possible. I ran through it over and over again, and somehow I’m now three days late. And I’m so sorry for that” Jennie truthfully tells him while staring at the device in her hand, hoping that her sincerity was felt. 

Hanbin says nothing for a while, before slowly taking a seat on the ground with his back leaning against the fence. He stares at the space next to him with a slight crease in his brows, as if contemplating about something serious, before he eases up and begins ing his blazer. He takes it off and lays it on the ground next to him before looking up towards Jennie and patting the blazer spread across the ground next to him, gesturing Jennie to take a seat.

Jennie slowly registers the small gesture and takes the seat next to Hanbin, thanking him in the process. She quickly notices the close proximity between her and Hanbin, and becomes conscious of how suddenly her breathing began to seem like it was so loud. She starts holding onto her breath and tries to ignore the heat radiating from her cheeks, as she plays around with the mp3 in her hand

How did I do this three days ago? She begins questioning herself internally, shocked at the random bravery she possessed just earlier on in the week.

“So, what did you think?” Hanbin interrupts her train of thought, as he turns his head towards her. She looks up towards the other figure and sees his head nod towards the mp3 in her hand. 

“Oh,” she unconsciously replies, “they’re all really great. I think you have true talent for this” Jennie replies earnestly.

“These are older works aren’t they?” She inquisitively asks.

Hanbin’s eyes perk up with intrigue, before slowly smirking at the corner of his lips.

“Why do you think that?” Hanbin asks, as he eyes her from the corner of his eyes. 

Jennie looks towards the entrance of the rooftop before subconsciously thinking how insane it was that the beginning of her interactions with Hanbin, all began there. 

“It’s not that you sound younger in the tracks.” She pauses a bit before continuing. “This may seem strange… and I may be overstepping some boundaries here, but it seems like you were a different you when you made these pieces.” 

“You seem.. you seemed happier” Jennie turns towards the latter now, looking at his alluring, round dark orbs. Jennie always felt that there was a sense of sorrow to his eyes, but up close, the depth of it was strikingly more prominent. 

As if the sorrow could engulf her as well, Jennie silently thinks. 

Hanbin stares into the curious eyes that were looking at him. The same pair of eyes that were reading through him like a book. Stunned by her interpretation and flustered by her inquisitive gaze, he clumsily forces a grin before breaking eye contact. Hanbin deliberately fixates on nothing in particular in front of him, before replying…. 

“You’re right, they’re older works.” Hanbin replies as he smiles bitterly to himself. “You’re always quite right” 

There is a long silence as Jennie continues staring, analysing the boy beside her. 

“The current you, and I’m sure your current songs.. are beautiful too” Jennie accidentally blurts, as she looks at Hanbin. Jennie’s eyes widen as she digests the words she had just said. Before she could start internally cussing herself again, she hears: 

“Thank you for saying that” Hanbin turns towards her, as he gives her a smile. A smile which at first glance, would have seemingly been perceived as a tender smile, but to Jennie, she saw sad and bittersweet undertones as well. 

Jennie warmly smiles back, as if it was her way to give him comfort. 

Their conversation was brought to an abrupt stop when the school bell siren begins echoing throughout the open space, indicating that break was over. Jennie slowly picks up Hanbin’s blazer and dusts it off, pre-occupied with thoughts about how this would probably be their final interaction before Jennie simply becomes just another classmate to him once more. 

“Thank you for this” Jennie regrettably says as she hands the dusted blazer and the mp3 player back to him. Her voice solid as she forcibly swallows down the lump in . Avoiding all eye contact, she focuses on Hanbin’s hand and sees his hand reach out towards the blazer but he pauses mid-air. 

“If you don’t mind…..” Hanbin begins to say, as he looks down at the smaller girl in front of him. 

“If you’d like….” Jennie hears him add.

“If you have nothing else to do.. and are bored...”

“I’d like to hear your thoughts on other songs that I’ve written” Hanbin abruptly finishes. 

In shock, Jennie everts her head and looks up at Hanbin.

“I’m quite a boring person, but if you don’t mind… I’ll bring more songs next week” Hanbin shyly expresses, as he begins scratching his neck with his other hand , whilst making an effort to avoid looking directly at Jennie. 

“Of course I’d love to!” Jennie suddenly blurts out in a half-yelled outburst, excitingly clenching both hands into tight fists and brings them both to her chest, including the hand that was still holding onto Hanbin’s blazer and MP3 player, as she physically expresses how honoured she would be. The outburst makes Hanbin slightly flinch and he looks at Jennie who is now smiling widely at him, exuding a child-like innocence. He awkwardly retracts his hand that was still in mid-air as he drifts his attention to his blazer and device that were now tight within her embrace, both well within off-limit zones of his reach. He then again re-focuses back to her beaming smile. 

That child-like innocence is one a kind, he thinks to himself and before he knew it, his shoulders began shaking as he covers his face with the same awkward hand and a fit of silent laughter erupts. As he gradually removes the hand covering his face, Jennie’s smile unconsciously drops and slightly parts in surprise. 

She sees the familiar radiant eye smile, with one eye closing slightly more than the other. 

She sees an all too familiar deep dimple form on one side of the vivid smile that had been engraved in her head ever since the first day she saw him. 

“Then it’s a plan” Jennie hears Hanbin belatedly say, in his amusement.

After multiple attempts to contain himself, Hanbin bashfully points towards his blazer and MP3 player that Jennie was still embracing and says: 

“We’re going to be late for class” as he continues chuckling to himself. 

It was only at this point that Jennie realises that she had been hugging his blazer, and apologises before returning both items to the smiling boy. Still overwhelmed by the events that just occurred, everything that followed was a blur to Jennie as Hanbin accompanies her back to class and they both walk back to class together, side by side. 

Upon entering class, Jennie stiffly walks towards her desk, and nearly stumbles into it before settling down into her seat. She pinches her forearm to test if it had all been a very good dream, but the stinging pain she felt was undeniably there. With resolve, Jennie looks back towards Hanbin’s desk and somehow catches his attention. 

Hanbin smiles back at her gesture and slightly waves the MP3 player that was now in his hand, as if reminding her that she was welcome any time to see him. 

Jennie blushes at the idea and tries to ignore the curious looks of Jisoo from the opposite table.