His Heartfelt Comfort

 

Occupying a comfortable seat on the soft grass, she settled down, folding both her hands on top of her propped knees. Just in front of her, the girl watched as the boys enjoyed another fun round of Soccer, seemingly in their own worlds. Jaein bit her lips lightly, feeling somewhat left out.

Well, it wasn’t like she was very good at the sport anyways, so it didn’t really matter.

If not for the fact that he had invited her to hang out with them for morning break, she probably wouldn’t even be here in the first place. Honestly, she was happy that she could at least watch.

Yeah, she was.

Lips curving upwards, the girl smiled as she watched Jimin hurriedly pass and kick the ball over to Yoongi, who had sprinted all the way up to the goal post, only to have Jin easily block it.

Taehyung who was on the older boys’ team reached forward to exchange high fives with him.

“Come on, hyung. Take it easy on us!” Hoseok pouted as he complained.

The other two on his team agreed rather quickly, bobbing their heads in accordance while Jin just simply laughed in reply. Taehyung snickered, “Are you guys serious? There’s only two of us on this team.” Since the team was broken into two versus three, it wasn’t completely even.

Yoongi snorted, “Yeah, three is fair. The two of you are freaking aces to begin with.”

“Okay, we really need to win this time. How many times have we lost?” Jimin counted on his fingers, sad that the older boys were definitely great soccer players to face off. Should he just join the other team for a change? Haha, maybe not. That’d just be betraying his own team then.

“Have you forgotten that you guys are pretty amazing players yourselves?” Jin casually stated.

“Yeah, that explains why you guys are five points ahead of us.” Hoseok stated sarcastically, shaking his head as he walked over to pick up the ball that laid still for the past minute.

Jimin and Yoongi exchanged glances with a shrug of their shoulders, grinning.

During this time, Jaein had still been watching the boys having a conversation just a couple of metres away from her on the Soccer field. Twirling her fingers, she played with a strand of grass in slight boredom. Her attention was caught short when their eyes met, gazes locked.

Softly waving his hand over, signaling for the girl to join the rest of the boys, Jin smiled lightly.

Jaein blinked, hoping she wasn’t hallucinating.

Wait, is he asking me to play with them? Really? But I’m not that good though…

Seeing that it was what the boy had really meant, she bit back an uneasy smile, patting a few strands of grass off her jeans before making her way over to them. The boys noticed her coming, and waved as if they were already comfortable enough with the girl to categorize her as a friend.

Well, isn’t it obvious that she was Jin’s girl by now? Haha, no doubt.

Maybe just not according to the boy himself.

“Hey guys.” Jaein greeted, not sure as if she felt as welcomed as she was supposed to have been.

“Jaein!” Bouncing right up behind her, the girl lightly flinched when Jimin and Hoseok both said her name out loud at the same time, in a quite friendly matter that had her smiling back.

“So, are we going to play or what? Break doesn’t last forever.” Taehyung announced, checking the time on his phone for a brief second. It was the second morning of the camping trip, which meant that it was obviously the last one as well. They’d all be heading back just as night sets.

“Yeah, let’s start.” Jin replied, casting a quick glance over at Jaein.

She glanced back at him in confusion, wondering where she should be. The other team already had three, so… the girl was a bit lost right now.

“Want to join our team, Jaein?” He asked.

Contemplating within a beat, she nodded her head, “U-Um. Yeah, I’d like to play on your team.”

She just hoped that she wouldn’t completely and ruin their chances of scoring, even though the game they were all playing right now was only for fun. The other team had sly expressions.

“Oh, I knew Jaein would be on Jin hyung`s team. That`s so obvious.” Yoongi laughed.

Jimin cackled along, “Duh.”

Hoseok didn’t really say anything, as he had a teasing smile on his face either way.

Jaein just blinked, trying not to blush at their comments. Jin grinned, shaking his head as he guided her to take position on the field, while Taehyung had already been long in his at the post.

This time, he’d be the goalie instead.

Blowing on the whistle, Yoongi started the game as he ran forth with the ball, but not long before kicking it over to make way for Jimin to take over. Jaein bit her lips in concentration, eyes focused on the ball, but strangely, she had this weird instinct to turn her head. He turned to her as well.

The smile on his face never really left. Jin simply just nodded his head at her to encourage her.

She looked away a second after in a shy manner, eyes now trained back onto the soccer ball heading right in front of her. Jimin was now steadily leading the ball.

Trying to steal it out of the boy’s grasp, Jaein blinked, only to have the boy literally whirl pass her as if he was some freaking lightning bolt. Whoa. Looking pass her shoulder, he really did get pass her attempt just now. Okay, maybe she really does at this sport. Ugh. How embarrassing.

Hoseok pumped an arm up in the air, high fiving Yoongi as the ball went flying into the net.

Taehyung smiled, complimenting Jimin. “Yo, nice one.”

Jimin pouted, growing slightly suspicious as to how he scored this fast. “You didn’t let me win right?” The other boy shook his head with a small laugh, “Jeez, shouldn’t you be happy instead?”

Meanwhile, Jaein just sighed softly, kicking at the ground with her left leg. Nice one, Jaein.

Feeling a light nudge on her arm, the girl turned to her right.

“Next game, just follow me alright? I’ll guide you.” Jin stepped closer, whispering into her ear.

Suddenly realizing their close proximity, Jaein’s eyes flew right to the ground, trying not to mentally squeal right now. She just hope that the boy didn’t notice how red she grew. Jeez.

Pulling back, he rested a hand on the tip of her head, ruffling it in the process.

“Okay?” Jin smiled.

Looking back up at him, she nodded clumsily, “U-Um. Okay.”

While the two finished with their conversation, the other boy who stood at the goal post shook his head with a small smile hanging on his lips, leaning his body against the sturdy white post.

Taehyung snickered, “They are way too obvious.”

 

Five minutes within the game, Jin was leading with the ball this time. He easily ran next to the girl on his left ahead on the field, gently passing the ball over to her. However, Jaein’s eyes only rounded at the sudden pass, looking behind her to see Jimin chasing after her for the ball.

Jaein squeaked, not knowing what the hell she was even doing right now.

Oh right, Jin had just passed her the ball now. So that meant she’d only need to kick it into the net. Well, easier said than done. She quickly glanced over at the boy beside her.

Follow me, he mouthed with a quick smile.

Doing what she was told, Jaein proceeded with giving the ball a hard kick, trailing up ahead of the path as he ran along with her on the field. He then instructed her to pass the ball back to him before Jimin could sprint over and steal the ball, seeing that he was right in between them now.

The other boys who weren’t in on the action simply just watched with interest, seeing how well Jin and Jaein worked together. It was as if they were meant to play together.

“Yah!” Jimin frowned playfully, huffing as he tried stealing the ball, only to fail a couple times.

Jaein giggled out loud as the ball went back over to her side, and Jin chuckled in response. He liked seeing her like this. Her soft laughter made his heart felt lighter than usual. Just wonderful.

Yoongi sighed at the younger one, dashing forward to help out.

Right now, the two were both passing it towards one another back and forth, with Jimin stuck right in the middle trying to get the ball. It was actually a pretty hilarious scene.

Taehyung and Hoseok as the goalies just laughed at their posts, totally amused.

Nearing the opponent’s goal post, Jaein who still had the ball in her possession looked over at the boy, not sure as to what she should do. Okay, she was feeling sort of nervous for some reason.

Yeah, it’s just a ball. But this would be her first official goal, if she were to actually score for real.

Jin who had caught her staring at him for help flashed her a reassuring smile.

Go for it, Jaein.

Demonstrating how she should kick the ball, Jaein followed the boy’s movements before swinging her right foot forward, causing it to knock directly into the net with a strong force.

Holy crap, did she just score?! This isn’t real.

The ball bounced up and down after it rammed into the net, and Jaein just gaped, staring blankly.

Hoseok pretty much shared the same expression.

“Hey, you’re good Jaein! Nice kick.” Jimin and Yoongi complimented her happily.

She smiled shyly, “Thanks, guys.”

Her attention was cut short when she felt herself being lifted up mid-air, totally dazed as she looked beneath her. Out of excitement, Jin had ran to her, and placed both his arms around the girl’s waist, carrying her up in a light hug. He looked up, grinning at her, “You did great, Jaein.”

However, his smile eventually faded when he noticed what they were doing.

Jaein made no movements to push the boy away, but was rather having a mental shock as she fought with her brain to not make a fool out of herself and squeak out loud. She only blushed.

“T-Thanks Jin.” Jaein carefully smiled in embarrassment.

Her arms were limp by her side, not knowing if she should hug him back. She wouldn’t even have dreamed that something like this would ever happen with her crush. But oh heck, why not?

She did like him. Yeah, a lot.

Hesitantly bringing her arms around the boy’s neck, Jaein gave Jin a light squeeze before pulling away, while the boy blinked in surprise, letting her legs safety meet the ground as he let her go.

Sure, he liked embracing her, but for the girl to do just the same made him smile softly to himself.

The two were still somewhat quiet, totally basked in the silence.

“Oh my. Sorry, are we disturbing you two?” Yoongi coughed like an old man, totally enjoying what he just saw. Oh, was he going to tease Jin about this. Jimin snickered, “We saw nothing.”

Jaein frantically shook her head, cheeks flushed. “N-No, you guys aren’t disturbing us at all!”

Meanwhile, Taehyung and Hoseok who emerged from their posts just smiled, signaling the others that break was about to be over, so they should all head back to their respective clubs.

Jin bit his lips with a small smile, “See you later, alright?”

Heart pounding against her chest, Jaein peered up at him. “Y-Yeah. Uh, thanks for inviting me to play. I appreciate it.” He ruffled her hair yet again with that familiar smile that would effortlessly melt her heart every single time. Oh, just why was she so obvious? It was totally embarrassing to flush without self-control. The girl just hoped that Jin wouldn’t have caught on to her feelings.

Ugh, who was she kidding though?

Even the other boys knew, and was beginning to poke fun at her.

“We should play together more often, Jaein.” Jin’s voice brought her out of her own trance. The girl nodded hesitantly once more, happy that the boy wouldn’t mind her playing with him and the rest of the guys. Although, perhaps it would have been nice if it was just the two of them.

Okay, maybe that was too much to ask for anyways.

Tucking the ball underneath his forearm, Jin smiled softly before waving her goodbye as he trailed after his friends who were already ahead. Jaein happily waved back, sighing in a slight daze.

Was she dreaming? Because this was totally one of the best days of her life.

Haha. Let’s hope not.

 

 

 

---

The sunlight pierced through the thin layer, disturbing the boy’s sleep.

He grunted, reluctantly turning to his sides as he pulled the covers off his body, momentarily in a blank state as he struggled to open his eyes. Last night, he only managed to get some sleep at 6:30 in the morning. Yeah, a pretty crappy idea if you’d ask him. Totally not normal.

Reaching over for the cellphone that laid right by his side, Jungkook read the time lazily.

4:03 pm.

Well, this should be enough sleep. Rather, the boy was surprised that no one had bothered to wake him up. How strange. Pocketing the phone back into his own pocket, he stepped out of the tent, only to have a shocked and stern looking guy, including a nervous girl stare at him.

Jungkook blinked, bombarded with questions that he couldn’t even answer yet.

“Hey, what time did you sleep last night?! Do you even know what time it is right now?” Sungho lightly scolded. Jungkook mentally rolled his eyes, amazed that the other guy was clueless about his own snoring habits. Oh, he didn’t leave out the other’s best friend as well. Nope. Not a chance.

Chanhyun who arrived no later than a second later checked the time as well.

“Wow, you sure slept long.” He commented.

Meanwhile, the other girl who stood beside the two boys had a rather worried expression plastered on, her words spluttering out in a sentence rather quickly. Jungkook just stared.

Oh, it’s Jaein.

Wait, what’s she doing here?

“Hey, have you possibly seen Haekyung? I can’t get in touch with her for some reason. We were supposed to meet an hour ago, but she’s not answering her phone.” Jaein questioned.

The boy shook his head with slight confusion, “No, I haven’t seen her.”

Heck, he had just woken up. Besides, Haekyung might have just gone waltzing off to who knows where. That’s practically what every other club member should be doing right about now.

Jaein bit her lips in uncertainty, “Really? That’s strange… You two are in the same club, right?”

“Yeah, we are.” Jungkook responded nonchalantly.

Maybe it was because he had just started his day off, that he couldn’t sense the atmosphere of the situation. Right now, he was still rather calm over things, unlike the girl who looked tense.

Jaein didn’t say another word as he watched her turn her head, probably looking for Haekyung.

“What’s wrong?” He asked.

“Haekyung texted me just two hours ago. But she hasn’t replied to me at all. Do you think she’s lost or something?” Frowning in uneasiness, Jaein softly sighed as she found no hints of her best friend anywhere. The only reason she was worried was due to the fact that Haekyung’s usually not the type to ignore any notifications. So it did spark some curiosity within her.

“Well, let me try.” Slipping his phone out, Jungkook dialed Haekyung’s number.

Few rings in became a few unanswered calls.

Closing his phone shut, the boy raised his brows, wondering where the heck she could have gone off to. Okay, maybe something was wrong. But he shouldn’t be the one to jump into conclusions.

It wouldn’t be like him to.

Normally, the boy’s quite calm and relaxed. He was sure that the girl was probably out somewhere busying herself with whatever other activities that were assigned by their president.

“You should just wait it out. She’s probably out there doing something by now.” Jungkook stated.

Jaein nodded with a grateful smile, concern still evident.

Maybe she was just thinking too much. Haekyung should be fine, right? It’s nothing to worry over. She turned to him, “Well, if you do see her, could you let me know? I’d appreciate it.”

The boy nodded, signalling that he’ll do just that. “Yeah, don’t worry. I will if I see her later.”

Half an hour after Jaein headed back over to her own club area, Jungkook unknowingly scanned several directions of the area, actually hoping that he’d spot the girl out of the crowd. Nothing.

Jungkook voiced out his thoughts with a sigh, somewhat feeling his heart start to grow heavy.

“Just where the heck are you, Min Haekyung?”

 

 

 

---

“Are you guys all done with packing? It’s about time to go.” Chanhyun questioned openly, causing heads to turn his direction as a number of members nodded in response, while some of the others were still busy with packing their belongings. Sungho who took notice of his clip board continued checking off multiple names after the other, until his eyes landed on a certain name.

Min Haekyung.

Honestly speaking, the latter had not seen the girl earlier during the day at all. Had she possibly gone home already? It’s only been the second day, so the male assumed she couldn’t have.

Heading back over to his own respective tent, Sungho was met with another boy who had apparently been long done his part on packing. Jungkook just sat there with a phone in his hand.

“So there you are. I’m assuming you’re done packing, right?”

The boy looked up briefly, startled that he didn’t hear any rustling noises in the tent. Weird.

He must have been too occupied to notice.

“Yeah, I’ve been for a while.” Jungkook responded, dropping his gaze back down to the electronic device he pocketed before reaching over to grab his black bag, slinging it over his shoulder.

Exiting the tent after the boy, Sungho spoke his curiosity, “Any idea where Haekyung might be?”

Hearing her name only after a couple of hours suddenly made him feel a bit unsettled.

Jungkook quickly checked the time again. 7:20 pm.

His eyes rounded, hoping that Jaein wasn’t right about what she had informed him about.

Was the girl seriously lost?

“No clue.” He answered reluctantly, starting to grow concerned at her disappearance. This was totally not like her to just ditch camp. Surely, he knew her better than that. Haekyung’s punctual.

So why wasn’t she here? It didn’t really make any sense to him at all.

Besides, Haekyung still hadn’t picked up any of his calls either. So it only made things worse.

Deciding that he’d start to do something about it, the boy walked on ahead before Sungho could even utter another word, leaving the male to watch the other’s back in slight surprise.

The president smiled, shaking his head with a small sigh before joining the others again.

“Jeez, that kid is sure impatient to go home, isn’t he?”

 

 

 

---

8:03 pm.

That’s when he started to grow tense. After parting ways with everyone else just a while ago, he had been strolling around the area, trying to look for that one person who he couldn’t get his mind off of. Just why did he think that this was a good idea at all? It’s been hours already.

She must have gone home already.

Deciding that he was probably just thinking too much, Jungkook emitted a soft sigh.

Seriously. You better be alright, Min Haekyung. Or I might just have to glue you right next to me.

Around this time of the day, there were barely any students left hanging around, seeing that the trip was officially over. There was school the next day, so it’d only be valid that all the students would quickly rush home to prepare for tomorrow. In other words, the place was pretty cleared.

Jungkook casually walked by himself in silence for a while. He wasn’t even listening to any music.

Passing by an area with a couple of girls huddled in their own group conversing, something caught his interest as a certain name instantly appealed to him. Peering over his shoulders, he listened.

 

“Hahaha, so you ended up pushing her down the pit?” The girl laughed.

“No, but she fell on her own accord. Hah, even better that I don’t need to force her in. What an idiot.” Crossing her arms, the other girl who had a rather unpleasant smirk glued to her face responded, joining in the laughter of everyone crowded around her. This was much too amusing.

And so, the conversation continued, with one speaking after the other as the girls rattled on.

“She got what was coming for her though.”

“Who the heck does she think she is, to treat us like that? Min Haekyung’s really got the nerve.”

“Seriously, she’s a stubborn one.”

“Isn’t it absurd how she stupidly hangs around the boys all the time? Talk about desperate.”

“That’s exactly what I don’t like about her. Acting like she doesn’t even know her own place. It’s funny how she doesn’t just stick with that one loser friend of hers.” The girl snickered to herself.

“Yeah, whatever. I don’t care what happens to her this time. Let her stay in that damn hole all she likes. It’s not my problem. Not only is she stupid, but clumsy. Haha, what a combination.”

At this, the other female students started cackling at what she had said, completely agreeing.

Their laughter was halted abruptly, when a new presence spoke up.

“It is your problem, if you’ve caused it.”

Shocked at who had just appeared before them, the girl who had carelessly spluttered out her last sentence tensed up, body stiffening as she parted her lips to speak, “J-Jungkook oppa.”

He ignored her greeting, and walked up to them with a blank stare, as if they weren’t even worth his emotions at all. The other girls immediately turned rigid, sights half glued to the ground, worried about what might happen next, seeing that his appearance surely surprised them. The boy was seriously scary when he’s eerily calm and reaction-less, much less quiet.

He then cracked a dull smile, “Min Haekyung may be stubborn, but she’s not stupid.”

No one spoke up, in fear that they’d anger him more.

Jungkook arched a brow at the silence he was receiving. How hilarious. Earlier, they were cackling with boisterous laughter, and now that he was right here, these people don’t even say a word.

Truly not worth his time at all.

“I’m only going to ask you once, so you better answer me.” He calmly spoke once more.

Several of the girls who appeared to be nervous sprung their heads up to look at the boy, mentally cursing in their minds for not going back home like the rest of the students had done so earlier.

Their plan didn’t go accordingly at all.

“You know you can ask us anything, Jungkook oppa.” Another girl who smiled flirtatiously tried to ease the strained atmosphere, hoping a light talk would put an end to what they were caught with. However, the boy only rolled his eyes at her without a beat, not avoiding his intentions.

Jungkook questioned coldly, “Where the hell is Min Haekyung?”

Exchanging glances with one another, the girls were rather hesitant to answer him.

He waited rather patiently, though at the back of his mind, he could only think of that one person who he starting to grow nervous of. Her. The boy just hoped that nothing serious happened.

Or else these people are so screwed.

“R-Really. W-We don’t know.” A few of them answered simultaneously, not even ashamed of what they had done to the other girl, who apparently, was nowhere to be found at the moment.

Pissed off, he kicked hard at the large rock on the pavement, causing it to fly upwards before it came crashing down on the ground, rolling towards one of the girls’ feet as it settled near her.

It fell with a loud thud, signalling that it had a hard fall.

The girls squeaked out loud with fright, dumbfounded at Jungkook’s change in personality.

They had never seen the boy like this at all, knowing how calm and nonchalant he was supposed to be. It was as if they had just blew his last straw of patience, causing him to suddenly react.

He then looked towards their faces, an irritated glare now evident as he parted his lips to speak.

“I said that I wasn’t going to ask twice.”

 

 

 

---

The deafening silence of the entire area only made everything worse than they appeared to be.

Was she ever going to get out of this damn place?

Yeah, hopefully.

Haekyung closed her eyes with a large sigh, a palm placed over her ankle as she felt the lingering pain flow through the lower part of her leg. Right now, it seriously hurt like hell. I’m so unlucky.

Just earlier during the day, she was completely fine by herself, until she stumbled into a couple of the same girls she had once met within the gym’s changing room just a week ago.

Honestly, it was anything but pleasant.

Seriously, these people really have no limits. It bothered Haekyung to know how ridiculously unreasonable they were being with her, no matter how many times she’s tried to explain herself.

Was it so much to the point that she had to be treated this way? No, it wasn’t.

Perhaps the silence wasn’t such a bad thing after all. Because right now, her brain needed some serious shutting down. The girl just didn’t have the energy to think or feel anything right now.

She was simply too frustrated and tired of everything she’s been through.

Just within a minute of nothing but further silence, the girl opened her eyes, peering upwards from down the pit she was apparently so sadly stuck with, and her hurt ankle only restrained her.

Great, I might as well rot here. How freaking deep is this hole?!

Unfortunately, before she had even gotten the opportunity to make use of her cellphone, the batteries had already been long drained from the night before when she played around with the gaming apps on it. Looks like there really was no other way out right now.

She’d have to attempt climbing again.

Except with each failed attempt, it only increased the pain of her sprained ankle from the fall. Groaning in irritation, Haekyung buried her head over her propped knees, arms surrounding it.

It wasn’t only the pain that bothered her, but rather than the growing hunger that she had built on. The girl’s been literally stuck here for hours already. Was anything ever going to get better?

Probably not, she just didn’t want to get her hopes high.

 

Not realizing that she had just drifted off into another light round of uncomfortable sleep, Haekyung opened her eyes slowly, adjusting to the view surrounding her.

She rested her head on top of her knees once more, staring off into a blank state, emotionless.

Perhaps, this was one of those times that you just don’t want to think about anything in particular, and all those emotions that has been nicely kept hidden starts welling uncontrollably.

Really, she didn’t want to, and she shouldn’t have, but then the girl started thinking again.

Thinking about him.

Everything about him was starting to become a blur to her. She didn’t know what to do anymore.

To begin with, Haekyung had never blamed him for this. Things were just getting increasingly agitating to bear, so much to the point that she didn’t know if it was worth seeing him anymore.

Right now, I need to get you of my mind.

Just then, her ears picked at the sounds that was closing within distance, her head still over the tip of her knees as she listened on in silence. It grew closer, and the next thing she knew, someone had already been crouching down right in front of her, his fast breathe slowing down within time.

It sounded like he had been in a hurry, but the second he spoke, Haekyung immediately stiffened.

“Haekyung.” That familiar smooth voice called her name out softly.

That voice she was so accustomed to hearing have been laced with so many emotions she couldn’t precisely name all together. Just what exactly was it though?

Seriousness, disappointment, gentleness, and a touch of affection? It confused her so much.

The way he had spoken her name just now had been mixed in all together with those things, and it didn’t help her mind clear out the uncertain thoughts at all. For sure, she knew it was him.

But the girl only remained silent, as if she didn’t know what to say.

Studying the state she was in, his eyes softened by a degree that wouldn’t even have been labelled normal, in contrary to his personality. But that wasn’t what he cared about that right now. He cared about her. His face fell when she stood still, body frozen with her head still down.

He couldn’t believe what Haekyung had been going through up until now. How long had it been?

It bothered him so much that he didn’t know.

Of course, Jungkook was well aware that there were a countless number of immature and out-right cruel female students who could care less about a person’s well-being at their school.

But that didn’t necessarily mean he would have ever guessed that this girl has been affected.

Haekyung hid it so well, to the point that he had no clue.

It frustrated him to know that she’s never said anything about it. Honestly, did she not trust him enough to let her concerns out? What was it that she was so afraid of? Because, he wouldn’t ever hurt her. If only Haekyung would let him, then he’d be there to catch her when she falls.

Yeah, he was angry.

But it wasn’t like she was the one to blame, right? Everything happens for a reason.

Just as to how she had claimed his heart. By now, Jungkook most likely won’t question his thoughts and uncertain doubts anymore. He knew exactly what he felt for Haekyung, and to be clear, the boy actually treasured this feeling more than he should have. His gaze fell, troubled.

He sighed, shifting over before placing both hands on top of the girl’s shoulders, while she stilled.

“Look at me, please.” Jungkook gently chided.

His voice sounded so soft and wonderful to her ears, but it hurt her at the same time. Yes, it wasn’t his fault that she was hurt, but Haekyung just couldn’t bring herself to look at him now.

She needed time alone, to think things through that everything would be back to normal again.

But what were the chances of that anyway?

Gradually, the girl steadily positioned her head upwards, her expression reflecting nothing but frustration and emptiness. Not saying a word, the two stared into each other’s eyes, unmoving.

Why can’t I say anything?

Jungkook was the first one to break the awkward silence, “Are you alright?”

No, she wasn’t. But it’s not like there’d be any use in telling that to him, right? Haekyung nodded, her voice coming out a bit strained and quieter than she had intended it to do, “I’m fine.”

His gaze hardened.

It was that exact same line she had been telling him for as long as he had known her. Why was he so tired of hearing it? It was obvious that she wasn’t feeling okay at all. They both knew that.

“Stop lying to me, Haekyung.” He exhaled, sighing.

“How would you know that?” Haekyung defended, seemingly still frustrated.

Jungkook’s lips curved into a gentle smile, “Because anyone could tell that you’re lying to yourself, idiot.” Even at a time like this, how could he still so easily joke around with her like that?

The girl blinked, not knowing how to reply.

Perhaps he was right. She’s been lying to herself as well. Maybe it was just a habit.

If she had been fine by herself for all these years, then why couldn’t she be fine now as well? Breaking the gaze he shared with her, she looked elsewhere, biting on her lower lip in thought.

To be honest, Jungkook had to admit that he wasn’t the best person to turn to for comfort. He’s never experienced anything relatively similar, or anything that would made him crumble. However, the boy had probably been trying his best with Haekyung, because he wanted her to feel alright now, and in the future. Yeah, he’ll make sure of it from now on.

It was quite silent once again, without either of the two speaking.

Their light paces of breathe could be heard, as they were quite close to each other. She was still in the same position as she had been in before, her bottom planted firmly on the ground.

The girl’s arms were still around her knees, while her eyes focused far out into view.

Meanwhile, he was still softly glancing only at her, eyes not willing to look away. She didn’t even notice, since it seemed like she was staring off into space of some-sort, which he found adorable.

I guess old habits never really die out for you, huh?

Taking a quick glance at his wristwatch, his eyes widened at the time. By now, it was pretty late.

It’d probably be better if he could take her home, but it didn’t seem like either of the two really wanted to break the moment. He didn’t mind being here either, even if everyone had gone home.

Because she was right next to him.

Just then, the boy was caught off guard when he felt the girl slightly huddle close to him, resting her head over his left shoulder. Her face gently brushed faced-down over the outside of his jacket.

Jungkook stood still, intently listening to the thumping of his own heart.

Right now, he wondered if Haekyung could somehow hear it as well. Probably not, right?

He bit his lips, angling his head a bit so that he could get a clear view of her laying against him. Her soft hair freely flowed, caressing the frame of her face. He reached a hand out to brush it away, but just as he was about to, Jungkook decided against it last minute and smiled instead.

Haekyung, did you know that you’re really confusing?

Breaking him out of his thoughts, Haekyung parted her lips to speak for a change.

For a long time, she hadn’t known what to really say, but maybe now, she finally knew. Thanks to the silence he had respectfully given her. Maybe this boy really wasn’t as bad as he seemed.

“Thank you for being here. I’m sorry for lying to you as well.”

He blinked, not at all expecting her to say that. Really, she didn’t need to apologize to him.

In response, Jungkook placed a hand on the back of her upper-body, softly pulling her in for a hug. Taken by surprise, the girl’s eyes rounded, not knowing what was happening. His sweet scent attacked her. Seriously, it was only her second time inhaling him from such a distance, yet she was already familiar to his scent. Had there been other times that they were close like this?

Probably times that she wasn’t conscious or aware of.

Haekyung froze, blinking rapidly as she felt something strange for the first time.

Her heart fluttered lightly at his touch, questioning herself as to whether it was alright to feel this way or not. The boy then brought her closer to him, gently locking his arms around her waist, his head resting over the tip of her head, while she had hers placed right to the collar of his neck.

He had a soft smile etched onto his face, while the girl couldn’t even move at all, literally shocked.

Jungkook chuckled, “Were you always this huggable, polar bear?”

Face partially flushed, Haekyung attempted on tilting her head upwards, only to feel the bottom of his chin as he had no movements to free her from his soft embrace. She bit her lips, nervous.

“Are you seriously going to tease me again?”

He shrugged, tightening his hold as he smirked lightly, “Don’t I always?”

“Hey!” Haekyung frowned, placing both her palms against the boy’s chest, trying to get him to let go of her, but he fought back as he laughed, causing the girl to huff at him the next second.

She was having a mini fight with him as he held her effortlessly in place. To be honest, she didn’t exactly dislike his embrace, except for the fact that it was seriously embarrassing. How could he act so calm and cheerful again, right after being so serious and gentle? It was quite confusing.

“Jungkook, you’re suffocating me.” The girl coughed.

His eyes slightly rounded, releasing his hold around her as the girl burst out laughing.

It seemed like a huge change of character, seeing that she had always been a hard girl to amuse. At least for him, it was. How many times had she actually freely laughed this way with him before?

Apparently not many.

“Hey, did you just trick me?” Jungkook raised a brow at her, smiling teasingly.

“Of course, you idiot. How else would I get you off of me?” She scoffed playfully. Looks like Haekyung really was starting to open up towards him. He didn’t how to react towards that at all.

Well, he obviously liked it. But it was a lot for him to process.

But only one thing remained on his mind as he remembered the look she worn when he found her, and it wasn’t something he liked seeing at all. That look of emptiness in her eyes.

The lightened atmosphere wavered in place as their voices lowered down, eyes both locked.

She felt him closing the distance, slowly learning forward. Haekyung blinked yet again, puzzled. What’s he doing right now? Stopping at a near distance, he spoke again with that soft gaze.

“You know that you still owe me a wish, right?”

Other than understanding what was actually going on, the girl was rather dumbfounded at what he was even saying. Huh? Wait, was he referring to the time where she had lost the challenge to him at the café just the day before? Haekyung felt a silly expression take over.

Her face contorted into an amused smile, “I can’t believe you would bring it up at a time like this.”

In return, Jungkook grinned, “There’s no rules of when it can be granted, right?”

She thought about it for a few seconds, looking back over at him with a soft sigh, lightly nodding her head in response to his question. Oh what the heck. She’d rather grant it and get it over with.

Hopefully, it wasn’t anything too stupid or weird.

Jungkook then positioned himself back into a crouching position, folding his arms over the surface of his lap as he brushed his forehead against Haekyung’s, literally taking her breathe away.

It was kind of funny, cause it looked like she was about to die out of surprise and embarrassment.

The boy held back the need to laugh out loud. Because he had already thought of what he wanted for his wish. She stared at him, gaping openly as her eyes widened, “H-Hey, w-what are you – “

He smiled genuinely, an expression she’s only seen for the second time.

Not ever since the time he had to re-teach her how to solve her dumb math problems back then during her lunch break. Maybe that was the first time? She really had no idea though. Forget it.

These days, Haekyung had unknowingly started thinking too much over the little details.

But her thoughts came into a halt when he parted his lips, their gazes still unbroken, even though she was feeling a tad bit nervous and uneasy from such a close proximity.

However, she remained still either way.

Jungkook’s smile gradually faded in place, flashing Haekyung a gentle gaze in replacement. It seemed like there was something else to the wish that he might have not let her known about.

“No matter what happens later on, you’ll just have to trust me, alright?”