The first thing I ever said to Jeon Jungkook was: “Have you ever tried this with cheese?”

It was past 1AM. It was late November and the air was chilly with the beginning of winter. He walked into the convenience store wearing shorts and an oversized t-shirt. His hair was disheveled, and he had indoor slippers on. It didn’t look like he was out on a casual stroll.

It wasn’t my place to ask, and I wasn’t going to. Sure, we went to the same school and we’ve had classes together, but we’ve never had any reason to talk to each other.

Until now.

I knew he recognized me because of the way his eyes rounded in surprise when our gazes met. I knew it made him uncomfortable when he spent ten minutes staring at shelves and wandering between the aisles. For a moment, I was certain he would walk out the door and simply leave. So when he walked up to the counter with a bottle of water and a cup of instant ramyun, I was slightly unprepared.

“Hello. Is this everything for you today?” I gave him the standard greeting.

He responded with a curt nod, not quite meeting my eyes.

I realized then that I was nervous. Just a bit. My heart was beating at a slightly faster pace, and my thoughts were all over the place.

What do I do? What do I say? Should I be casual? Ask him if he’s done the essay we’re handing in tomorrow? Should I get straight to the point and tell him I wouldn’t tell anybody that he was out at 1AM looking like he ran away from home? Is that what he’s worried about? Would it be better if I don’t say anything at all?

It felt like there were countless options but no right answer. So when I grabbed the cup of ramyun and noticed that it was the same brand I liked, I muttered the first thing that came to mind. “Have you ever tried this with cheese?”

He lifted his head and gave me a puzzled look. “What?”

“Cheese. Ramyun?” I lifted the cup noodles I was holding, as if doing so would bring perfect clarity to my ramblings. “It’s really good. Really savory. It adds to the flavor but doesn’t take away from the spiciness, you know what I mean?”

Oh, no.

At that