Sleep Tight, Polar Bear

"One more lap around the field, and we'll call it a day!

Everyone muttered, displeased at the man’s instructions. By the time she managed to finish her last lap on the dry and patchy field, Haekyung nearly collapsed, her breathing staggering in uneven intakes. The girl beside her giggled, shaking her head at her best friend’s exaggeration.

Oh come on, was it really that bad?

“Sometimes, I wonder why you’re taking gym. You really seem to dislike it, huh?”

Haekyung sighed heavily, patting her cheek to cool down the sweat as she parted her messy hair, fingers carelessly brushing through it to smoothen it out. Then a gentle groan escaped as she lightly frowned, bobbing her head up and down as if to completely agree with Jaein’s statement. “Just in case you forgot, Jaein. This stupid class is absolutely mandatory, remember?”

“Yeah, I know. I just wish you had an easier time, though.” Jaein smiled.

“Would you like to run all the extra laps for me then?”

“No way! I love you but, do you know how exhausted I would be? Mr. Song is really crazy.”

Haekyung’s lips jutted out, pouting as she faked a sarcastic chuckle.

“I know, I know. Just kidding. I would never make you do that, even If I hate this class.”

The other girl just grinned cutely, putting a comforting hand on her friend’s back. Just as they were both finished with the final lap, their gym teacher blew on the whistle to signal the end of class. Haekyung never felt happier, and Jaein could only laugh at her hilarious expression again. Oh, Haekyung. “Okay, are we going to stay here forever or what? I bet you’ll want to change out of this. ”Jaein pointed to the girl’s half-drenched and sticky shirt, causing Haekyung to look down at her attire and blink. Eh? Since when did all the sweat appear? Weird.

Was she really that bad at physical activities?

Yeah, of course she was.

How else would Haekyung be able to explain her horrible grades in gym, every consistent year?

“I smell bad right now, don’t I?” She sniffed her sleeves, hoping to detect any stench.

But there wasn’t really any, so thank god for that. 

“Eww, Haekyung. Don’t do that. What if the guys saw that?” Jaein laughed, her head tilting to the random male students roaming pass the vast field. “You know that I don’t really pay attention to the guys in this school, right?” Haekyung clarified, shaking her head with a grin.

“Yeah, yeah. What don’t I know about you, huh?”

Haekyung only shrugged nonchalantly at the other girl’s statement. Haha, almost everything?

“Wait for me, alright? You should go and clean up, I’ll be back with some drinks in a second. I heard they fixed the vending machine at the cafeteria.” Jaein beamed, happy that it was finally repaired. “Oh, sure. Knock yourself out.” The girl nodded, gesturing her to go on without her. 

Her best friend then smiled cheekily, jogging out of the field.

“Iced coffee, soft drink, or juice?” She shouted loudly, almost forgetting to ask before.

Turning her head towards the booming voice, Haekyung sighed with a soft chuckle at the stares they were receiving from her dorky best friend’s behaviour. “Juice, please!” She yelled back.

“Got it!”

Haekyung smiled lightly, grabbing her bag from the bench.

She then made her way back towards the girls’ change room in the main school building.

Getting access to the inside of the fresh and minty room, Haekyung placed her belongings back down, walking over to a nearby stall to get changed out of her sweaty gym uniform. Everything was quiet and peaceful, since the other girls of the class had already long taken their turns and left for lunch. But Haekyung was wrong. Before she could even lift the edge of her shirt, the click of the main door silently creaked open. She wasn’t even totally alert of the other people in the room as the girls quietly made their way around her stall, snarling.

The next second, Haekyung could only close her eyes shut tight.

Because she could only hope that it wasn’t what she thought it was.

What the-

The pail of iced-cold water splattered all over her, and the girl shivered.

Haekyung’s eyes dropped to the floor, her hands trembling along with the effect of the freezing liquid drenching down her entire body. Loud snickers and obnoxious laughs sounded from the other side of stall’s locked doors. Thinking that it was over, another round of water equally as cold as the first came attacking her the second time around. Heck…

She sneezed, her shoulders shaking helplessly.

Just why was it happening?

Haekyung didn’t do anything wrong, or at least she was convinced of it.

There was no exchange of words among the girls after, because they were busy cackling. Haekyung felt humiliated, as she eyed her body from head to toe. There wasn’t a single area that wasn’t drenched in driplets of cold water. Balling her fists, she glared through the door, knowing perfectly well that the culprits behind it wouldn’t be able to see her furious expression anyway.

But it was definitely necessary, since she felt like exploding.

“Why are you doing this to me?”

Instead of fleeing from the scene like usual, one of them actually took the chance to reply to Haekyung’s question, enjoying the latter’s embarrassment. “You should fully be aware of that.”

What the hell does that even mean?! 

Unsatisfied with that answer, Haekyung unlocked the stall to her door, almost fuming. Those girls laughed, oblivious of her level of anger and annoyance as they mocked her from head to toe. Are these people even real?! How can they be so thoughtless? Haekyung frowned.

“Oh by the way, we drenched your school uniform as well. No need to thank us.”

“I don’t see why you’re still so stupid, hopelessly clinging onto the boys for your own benefit.”

“Yeah, just give it up already. You don’t even meet their standards.”

“Tell me, what does Jungkook oppa even see in you?”

Those remarks kept attacking her, slamming her last brink of patience as Haekyung exhaled.

Are these girls out of their minds? Because they’re clearly not thinking straight. Haekyung silently glowered at them, taking in deep breaths to calm herself down. Because after the first sentence spluttered out by one of the girl’s mouth, her ears refused to take in anything else after that. Did they just say that her main uniform was drenched as well?! What. No. That is not right.

“You’re too loud. It’s hurting my ears.”

Just as if a clear wave washed over her, Haekyung remained stoic.

It’s as if those words and actions didn’t touch her at all, uselessly bouncing back off the walls. The girls gaped, eyes wide as they huffed at the girl’s reaction, stunned.

“Are you not even angry?! What is wrong with you? You’re really messed – “

Before the shorter girl could finish her sentence, Haekyung forced a small smile, cutting her off.

“I guess you could say that there’s something wrong with me. But just don’t categorize me as someone who could easily be mistreated, because of your dense and illogical minds.” She smoothly voiced out, her tone calm and relaxed. Those girls glared at her dangerously, feeling themselves shake in anger, yet no words were sprawling out. Did Min Haekyung just insult them?

Somewhat satisfied with letting out her thoughts, Haekyung sighed as she gathered her things.

“Hey, we’re not finished talking with you!” One of them practically screamed.

Just leave me alone…

The taller girl of the group just smirked deviously, hands on her hips as she held her head high.

“Now I can see why you’re an outcast. Clearly, you have no sense of shame for talking down to us. Who the hell do you think you are? Don’t think that just because you’ve got the boys on your side, we’re going to let you off the hook for this. You’re nothing but trash.” 

And then those words, it cut through her mind, wanting to break the barriers she created for herself. Why wouldn’t they understand that, Haekyung didn’t want to be a part of any of this?

How come everything was her fault, when it came down to the Bangtan boys?

Did she desperately plead for any of them to befriend her? Was she the one who held Jeon Jungkook back, as if her life depended on it? What happened to her life before all of this? Biting her lips in frustration, she turned around to face the girls.

“But I’m done talking with you. Say what you want about me, it won’t change anything. I just hope you won’t let this negative feeling take over your hopeless brains someday. It’s not worth it, you know?” Haekyung cracked a grin. It almost scared the girls to witness her doing so.

Their mouths were hanging wide open, not believing this situation one bit.

Why did it feel like their harmful deeds and pranks all this time didn’t affect Haekyung one bit?

Even when that was the outcome, it didn’t do anything other than having the girls, including most of the female population deepen their dislike and hatred towards Min Haekyung. 

It was unfair though, right?

How no one wanted to stand by her side and take a moment to think it through. Because at the end of the day, Haekyung was sure that she’d still be the one who’s right. 

She just didn’t want to care anymore.

So the only thing she could do was hold it all in, and brush the hurtful feelings away.

It was better that way.

After all, she was used to it. At least, she’ll still be able to walk out that door with an ounce of pride left, instead of falling weak and helpless. Her instincts just wouldn’t allow her to do so.

Slamming the door closed, she walked out into the empty hallways.

Haekyung was sure that they would probably prance their ways out of those doors any second and give her a piece of their mind. And so, she sighed and quickly made her way out of the school’s building, reaching the other end of the field. Oh, what a wonderful break.

No, it .

Occupying a vacant seat at the nearby bench, she sat down, allowing her thoughts to slowly drift away. A puff of wind blew past her, and she shivered while hugging her bag closely to her body.

With the season being fall, it felt cold as hell.

Really cold.

What could she do though?

Haekyung didn’t even have an extra change of clothes seeing that those cruel people decided to drench them as well. Why was she a target in the first place? Oh, right. It was because of him. It never occurred to the girl that she could blame him for all of this, because after spending literally a month with him glued to her side, Haekyung thought that the boy wasn’t all that bad.

Even though Jeon Jungkook is totally rude, annoying, confusing, idiotic, and so much more.

At least she still had a heart to care.

Ever since the first week of school, everything has only been getting worst.

Haekyung thought that if she just ignored all of the things going on around her, it would all naturally go away, and eventually fade as if nothing happened. But of course, what were the chances of her ever being correct? Yeah. At least not when she was still stuck in this stupid school. And obviously, knowing what kind of girl Min Haekyung was, her concerns and feelings were never disclosed to those around her, not even Jaein. Because it wasn’t their problem, it was hers.

She’ll just have to deal with it somehow.

Gracing a bitter smile, Haekyung sighed as she looked up at the sky. Not being able to dwell in her thoughts much longer, a voice called out to her in surprise and concern. She turned, only to be met with a pair of wide and innocent eyes.

Jaein.

“Oh my gosh. Haekyung, what happened to you?! I’m gone for one second, and then you’re all drenched!” Picking her pace forwards, Jaein quickly made her way over to her best friend’s side.

She then dug through her bag for an extra towel, rummaging through her things.

But clearly, it wasn’t enough to sooth Haekyung’s troubled heart. She hesitantly wore a small smile, one hand reaching out to grasp her friend’s arm. Jaein stopped, looking down at her. 

“I’m fine, I just sweated a lot. Mr. Song made me run another lap. Don’t freak out, okay?”

Confused, Jaein looked around, her sight discovering no hint of their gym teacher.

But then, her eyes travelled back over to Haekyung, in total disbelief. What was she even talking about? The girl was completely wet, with the exception of some parts of her hair sticking out. “Huh? But. Isn’t class over? I thought Mr. Song dismissed us long ago.” Jaein rubbed her nape, eyes wide as her head turned in all sorts of directions.

Haekyung chuckled, lifting herself off the bench. “Where’s my drink, huh? I was waiting.”

Changing the subject, the girl just didn’t want to talk about what happened. It wasn’t worth the memory and effort. Jaein only blinked the next second, slowly returning to her energetic self as she held out the plastic bag that contained what she promised.

“Oh yeah, it’s right here.”

Haekyung shifted over to retrieve one from the bag, and the girl lightly frowned, still concerned.

“You can worry about your drink, after you get changed. Do you have any idea how chilly it is? What if you catch a cold? Oh god, I really hope that doesn’t happen.” Jaein sighed softly.

Looking up at her friend, Haekyung felt herself loosen up.

Yeah, this was one of the many reasons why Yoo Jaein was considered as her closest friend.

She was simply just a very refreshing and kind-hearted girl.

It was close to what she also felt towards Sohee.

But the only difference was that the two weren’t as intimate in comparison to her relationship with Jaein. It didn’t matter anyway, because Haekyung was grateful that the two still remained by her side. Haekyung smiled, “You’re right. I should get changed, huh? If I end up falling sick, who’d be that idiot’s partner for the rest of the semester?” She wasn’t aware that she had just thought about him.

“Are you referring to Jungkook? Aww, I’m starting to think the two of you are really –“

Quickly cupping a hand over the girl’s mouth, Jaein squealed in surprise.

Haekyung groaned, “Yeah, don’t finish that sentence, please.”

“Why not?”

“Because there’s nothing going on between us. Haven’t you noticed by now, that I hate him?”

She giggled, “Are you sure?”

“Yeah? Of course I am. Do you have any clue how annoying and idiotic Jeon Jungkook is?”

Not taking her seriously, her friend just stared back at Haekyung wordlessly.

Jaein burst out laughing, and the girl could swear that her voice could probably be heard by students on the other side of the field. Feeling her hand drop back down by her side, Haekyung scrunched her brows together, perplexed. But nonetheless, she was somewhat amused with it.

“What’s so funny, Jaein? Is it really that hard to believe what I’m saying?”

Wiping an imaginary tear away from her eyes, the other girl only grinned openly, skipping a step closer. Haekyung blinked, almost wanting to bounce away from their sudden proximity.

“I-It - It’s just so hard to believe, because I think the two of you are so adorable together!”

She didn’t even know how to respond to that.

“What?! We’re just – “ Haekyung stopped, feeling herself start to cough.

Widening her eyes at her carelessness, Jaein gasped, arms reaching out to grasp her friend’s. “I’m so sorry, Haekyung. I just got a little carried away. Let’s go, before it gets worse.” Carefully dragging the other girl along with her, Haekyung sighed, putting a hand over .

From this day onwards, she had officially added something new to her list of dislikes.

Iced-cold water.

Yup.

---

Huddling over each other in front of the huge notice board, all the students scrambled ahead to collect the sheet of paper posted on the announcement section. Since the school year just started, the headmaster thought it would be the perfect time for students of all grades to possibly get to know each other a bit more, by introducing the annual trip. The poor man had no idea though, that this was never the case, for the students that were attending the school. 

Well, what did you expect when Kangnam High practically lived on mostly fame and reputation? It’s just funny how the headmaster made it even mandatory to be a part of it.

Students scattered in the halls, chattering loudly as they voiced out their opinions.

When over half of the people dispersed in the halls, going back over to their lockers or classrooms, the boys came strolling out of their classes momentarily. The notice board caught their attention, and they all turned to stop by. Was it the time of the year already?

Walking up to grab one from the huge pile, they exchanged glances.

“Yo, it’s one week from now. Are we going?” Hoseok asked.

“Camping? God, I hate bugs.” Namjoon complained, even though he remained cool about it.

“You hate everything, hyung.” Yoongi snickered.

Jimin laughed before wrapping both arms around the other two’s necks.

“Hmm?” Taehyung peered as he turned to him in response. Jungkook just yawned, not really thinking much of this whole thing. Another one? There had also been one last year, and it was boring.

Yeah, really lame.

“You guys are coming, right?”

Jungkook shrugged lazily. Taehyung nodded afterwards, “Even if we don’t want to, there isn’t really another option, is there?” He stated, folding his piece of copy before sliding it in between his notebook. “Oh yeah. You’re right. Why did I even ask you that question?” Jimin chuckled. The oldest boy of the group came sauntering out of the student council room, lighting huffing.

“Yo, Jin. Where the heck were you man?”

Pointing to the other direction down the hall, the other boys nodded at his answer.

“There was a meeting today. To be honest, it was a little uneventful if you’d ask me.” Jin replied.

“I swear, hyung. If I were you, I’d be long dead from those pointless meetings. How do you even survive?” Namjoon and Yoongi nagged. “Because it’s for a good cause? Haha.” The boy smiled.

“You guys are so rude.”

Sohee huffed playfully, appearing behind her friends.

“Hey, we have nothing against it. I just don’t understand how you two can stand those kind of things!” They pointed at Sohee and Jin, eyes wide with disbelief. Meanwhile, they just exchanged blank gazes, chuckling lightly. Sohee and Jin was a member of the student council, because they thought it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to contribute what they can to the well-being of the school. Although it meant higher authority, the two never learned to abuse it. Therefore, most students were friendly and accepting towards the two.

“Is it just me, or am I noticing that someone’s missing…?” Yoongi questioned, a finger on his head.

“Who, Jaein? I saw her earlier today. Don’t worry, hyung. She said that she missed you too.” Hoseok cackled, high-fiving Namjoon as they teased the boy.

“I don’t think Jaein said that though. She only waved at me today.” Jin pointed out, chuckling.

“Opps, busted?” They laughed.

“No man, I meant someone else. We obviously saw Jaein today.” Yoongi rolled his eyes at his friends’ jokes. The boys stopped talking, trying to remember. Oh.

Jungkook glanced upwards, looking around.

The boy was right.

Someone really was missing.

“Guys, where’s Haekyung? I haven’t seen her all day.” Taehyung asked, confused.

Even though some of the boys had Art with her, Haekyung never showed up for class today. It was kind of weird, seeing how she was always punctual. “Really? Did something happen to her?” Sohee question, worried about the girl. The other boys just shrugged, not having signs as to where she was. Sure, they were curious, but school was about to end in exactly an hour anyway.

So they only cheered.

“Just when I wanted to see her too, huh?” Jungkook sighed softly to himself, accidentally voicing out his thoughts. He then blinked, his mouth shut tight as he strolled over to his locker.

I did not just say that.

Nobody really noticed what he had just said except for one person. 

Shaking her head as she laced her hands behind her back, she walked over to join him at his locker. Sohee then gently poked his arm, “But you see her every day, Jungkook.”

He turned to her with a slight smile, “What’s your point, Sohee?”

Frowning at his cluelessness, she reached over to tap him on the head with her textbook. Even when she was making a point, the boy can still be so careless and calm about it. But deep down, Sohee couldn’t deny the fact that she was starting to grow envious of Haekyung. Because for all the years that she’s known him, Jungkook never seemed to spent so much time with someone, other than the boys and her. In fact, Sohee just began to realize this.

However, it just never occurred to her until recently.

Well, it should be a good thing, right? Haekyung had a rather interesting character, and the two were getting along just fine as well. There was really no reason for her to feel this way. Haekyung was her good friend. But, she just couldn’t help such thoughts from surfacing on her mind.

And to her, Jungkook is…

Taehyung noticed the girl’s expression before softly pulling her away from his friend’s locker.

Kang Sohee, what’s with that dazed expression?

“Stop sulking. Now you’ll just look like Haekyung.” He scolded, grinning down at her. 

It only took her a couple of seconds to brush those thoughts away, before a smile reached her lips. “I’m not sulking. I’m smiling, see?” Sohee demonstrated, a bright smile plastered on.

“Sure you are.” Taehyung chuckled.

A second later, they were called back into class by one of the teachers. Everyone halted, groaning as they had to separate back to their respective schedules. Sohee waved energetically, “See you guys in a bit, I guess?” The boys turned to her nodding, “Sure, we’ll meet after school. Later.” The two walked side by side, not really bothering to care that they were probably really late to their classes by now.

Taehyung turned to his friend, suggesting an idea that’s been on his mind.

“Should we all visit her after fourth period?”

Jungkook shrugged in response, “Do I look like I have all the time in world, hyung?”

Truthfully, the boy actually did have the time to spare. He wasn’t going to wholeheartedly admit that he wanted to see her, knowing that the girl will probably be back at school the next morning. 

Taehyung laughed softly at his sarcasm.

“Yeah you do. It’s not like you’re going to bother doing your homework.”

“Oh, yeah. I don’t, huh?”

“It amazes me how you still manage to get such good grades though.” His best friend whined.

He just smiled, giving a casual pat on the boy’s arm while they entered the class.

“You boys are late, take your seats.” The man hollered, not pleased.

They strolled to the back, nonchalant about it.

Math class is totally the best subject on earth. Nope, not really. Despite the boy’s reluctant boredom towards the lesson, he couldn’t help but smile softly, his mind shifting towards something else. He had no idea why he kept on thinking of that one person, even though the girl wasn’t even present. The math teacher tapped the board, starting the last lesson of the day.

“Okay, guys. You know there’s a test coming up on…”

Five minutes was all it took, for Jungkook to zone out, because he already knew it all too well.

Good thing he was excellent at this subject.

Who else would be there to teach Haekyung when she’s so dumb? Haha.

---

“One second, Jeon Jungkook. Are you leaving already?”

Mrs. Choi’s voice echoed in the halls, the woman quickly catching up to the other boy up ahead.

Her heels clicked as she started walking faster.

Jungkook turned, blinking at the woman’s question as he parted his lips to answer her.

“..Yeah? It’s the end of school?” He lifted a brow, not knowing why he had to in the first place.

She nodded, quickly glancing at her watch as if she was in a rush. “Oh yes. My bad, I totally forgot. Anyways, I’m kind of late for a staff meeting. So would you hand these sheets over to Haekyung? The girl was not in class today.” The woman requested, searching through her documents. He nodded blankly, one hand inching over to retrieve it from her.

Aside from the self-portrait that was to be completed in pairs, Mrs. Choi just had to introduce another individual assignment this time. Really, though, the boy already had a handful of work and projects to complete. Whatever, he just couldn’t wait to quickly graduate.

School was really in the way of everything.

“Sure, I’ll bring it over. If there’s nothing else, I’m leaving now. Bye.” Jungkook mumbled.

He whirled back around to leave the school building. Mrs. Choi chuckled at his abrupt answer, not even giving the woman a chance to reply. Jungkook was definitely one of her favourite students, seeing how talented he was. Haekyung on the other hand, was a different story though. Well, the woman just so happened to take a liking towards the girl as well.

“Why do I have this strange feeling that pairing the two up was the best decision I’ve ever made?”

Shaking her head, the art teacher smiled, somewhat proud.

---

Haekyung sneezed again.

She brought the blanket wrapped around her closer, falling into the comfort of it.

With her legs crossed, the girl reached over to grab the empty cup on the table. She was fully aware that it was supposed to be a school day, but the second she got up this morning, Haekyung just couldn’t even bother stepping out of the house since the cold was really bugging her.

Well, it’s not like skipping one day would do her any harm.

Not like her parents were home anyways, or that anyone was around to pester her. Freedom was quite awesome, right? Figuring it was just a temporary cold from what happened, she didn’t take any medication but instead dug out a couple of drinking packs from the kitchen cupboards. The delightful smell of the hot chocolate created a wonderful aroma. Oh, how she loved it.

Haekyung walked around her scattered textbooks and other things that she shrugged off to clean from a couple days ago, and plopped back down. Reaching over to grab the remote, she turned the television on. Finally, there was actually something decent to watch.

Dipping her head lower into the blanket, it was content for a small while.

But the girl lightly groaned when her coughs wouldn’t leave her alone. Had she always been that vulnerable? Looking around, she didn’t know what to do at home. It felt a little lonely.

Okay, not just a little. A lot.

Just as if her thoughts were read, the doorbell started ringing, and the person pressing the button started making a song out of it. Tipping her head in caution, Haekyung blinked, sighing.

Great, who is it now?!

The lack of enthusiasm drained from her mind, and the girl couldn’t help but felt that she was in a bad mood, mainly due to the stupid cold that was affecting her. “Okay, alright. I’m coming. Are you trying to break my door down?” She muttered. Dragging herself up, Haekyung walked over to the front door, her hand resting on the door handle. Anyone who saw her would have laughed at silly she looked right now, knowing that she literally wrapped herself with the fluffy white blanket, only allowing her face to be exposed.

She didn’t really care though, since it was comfortable.

The group brightened when the door opened, and the girl only blinked in surprise.

Being the first person to reach her, he walked over, stretching both hands to squeeze her cheeks.

Jungkook examined her, “What are you, a polar bear?”

Behind him stood all his friends, including Sohee. They barged in to the girl’s house shortly. Their loud and happy voices drowned out the once silent house. While her face was being played around with by the boy in front of her, Haekyung spaced out, not knowing what to do. 

Heck, she wasn’t even expecting them at all.

Snapping out of her trance in slight pain, Haekyung glared at him. “Let go, jerk. It hurts!”

Releasing her cheeks, Jungkook grinned teasingly. “Did you forget to slap my hands away?”

She rolled her eyes, “Sadly, yeah.”

Meanwhile, half of the boys including Jimin, Hoseok, Yoongi and Jin were busy wandering around the kitchen, looking in the fridge and storing some things there as they played around with the food. Of course, Sohee was right next to them nagging the boys to keep the place clean, because they were guests. But then being clumsy, Yoongi accidentally ripped open a bag of chips, and it scattered all over the place. Not only that, Namjoon also happened to pop open a soda can. Guess what? It ended up splashing everywhere, and the girl only could stare in silence.

Oh my god.

“What are you guys doing here?!” Haekyung blurted, dumbfounded.

She didn’t mean to sound rude or anything, but she was actually at a loss for words. Even if the Bangtan boys had already hung out at her house before, Haekyung still wasn’t quite used to their presence yet. Well, not when she had always been accustomed to living alone. 

Hearing her gasp, the boys turned to her.

“We’re here to visit you, Haekyung! Are you not feeling well?” Hoseok pointed to what she had draped around her, a frown plastered on his face. “Yeah, we’re sorry to disturb you Haekyung.” Jin apologized, shaking his head at the younger boys who were trying to fix the mess.

Sohee went back over to Haekyung, grasping a hold of her hand before glancing over at the boy who stood behind her. What was it she just saw reflecting in his eyes?

Was Jungkook worried about her?

Haekyung blinked, nodding at their answers. It’s not like she could tell them to leave anyways.

That would just be… harsh. Like how she had experienced it.

“Are you okay, Haekyung? We haven’t seen you all day.” Sohee asked, her head tilting in concern.

“Yeah. I’m fine...” She lied.

Failing to convince anyone but herself when she coughed again, Haekyung sighed, pulling her hand away while she crawled back onto the couch to cover herself up with another layer of blanket. She then noticed the boy watching her attentively, making her feel uncomfortable.

“Stop it, Jungkook.”

Not getting a response, she took a peek out of the fabric, surprised that it wasn’t him who plopped down next to her just now. Taehyung smiled, turning to the girl beside him. “Not expecting to see me as well, huh?” 

..Oh. Taehyung. Wait a minute.

She looked over to her right, wanting to face palm herself.

“I’m gone for one second, and you’re already looking for me? Aww, thanks.” Jungkook smiled.

Haekyung scoffed, shaking her head at his remarks.

“Whatever. I’m going to sleep. You guys can do whatever you want.” Shifting back into the blanket, she squealed when the boy started tickling her on the sides. What the hell? 

“I’m going to kill you, Jeon Jungkook.” 

Jungkook laughed softly at her reaction, pulling his arms back in amusement. “Oh, fine. I’ll let you sleep.” He lifted the sheet over her head.

Haekyung mentally groaned. Honestly, she probably wouldn’t be able to get any rest, since the other boys in the kitchen were so freaking loud. Their voices travelled back over to the living room, in front of the television set as they fiddled with it, dumping a collection of movies out of Namjoon’s black bag. “Yo, don’t scratch them! It’s my only one collection!” He hollered, and Jimin’s eyes widened.

So did Yoongi’s.

Taehyung just chuckled, sighing as he went over to check out what they were doing.

“Jungkook, what movie do you want to watch?” The other girl came over to his side, smiling. 

Noticing that he wasn’t looking back at her to answer, she felt a little disappointed. 

He shrugged boredly, “Anything.”

Sohee blinked, nodding in understanding. “..Really? Well, okay. I’ll just go join the others then.”

Perhaps, the only person he cared about right now, was Haekyung. Too lazy to budge out of his seat, Jungkook rested his head against the back of the couch, arms lightly folded as he turned his head to the right, watching her with caring eyes. 

She wasn’t moving one bit. 

His left hand reached over to lightly knock her on the sides of her head, and she remained still.

“Sleep tight, my polar bear.” Jungkook teased.

Thinking that he wasn’t going to get a reaction, he turned away from her.

But boy was he wrong though. Because the next second, Haekyung grabbed a pillow nearby, rapidly hitting him on the arm with it. “What. You don’t like your new nickname?” He laughed.

Haekyung frowned, embarrassed.

“Shut up! Don’t even think of calling me that, you idiot. It sounds so gross!”