NINE

After Taehyung ran off, Maeri received a call from Anri telling her that she wanted to meet up at a nearby coffee shop. Maeri looked at the time and it was still early so she told Anri that she was on her way, when she arrived, she saw Anri by the counter and slowly walked towards her

“Boo!” she proclaimed but Anri turned to her with a straight face and said “You know how that doesn’t work on me”, Maeri pouted and Anri laughed at her then she also ordered a drink and they both settled down at the table near the entrance.

“So how are you? I can see that you’re living normally now” said Anri

“Of course, I mean I don’t have any other choice” Maeri responded and laughed at her own response. Anri also laughed and after that, an awkward silence came. Maeri was hesitating if she should straightly ask Anri if she was dating Jin but then again she didn’t want to be told as a ‘nosy’ person since Anri never mentioned anything about dating anyone before.

“Umm, Anri…” she said, trying to ask her already.

“Yup?” Anri responded while she was scrolling through her phone, trying to see any latest news in her twitter.

Maeri released a huge sigh and asked “Do you remember Kim Seokjin?”

Anri paused for a while, she almost dropped her phone but good thing she was able to calm herself down immediately, she turned to Maeri and smiled “Hey, do you want some chocolate cake? My treat” then she stood up and went to the counter. Maeri was surprised as to why Anri suddenly changed the topic

“No way, so they are dating” Maeri thought, when Anri came back, Maeri suddenly asked “So are you really dating Jin-sunbae!?” Anri’s face couldn’t be drawn, her expression was filled with shock and disgust “No way!” she immediately answered.

“Eh?” Maeri wondered, “Where the heck did you get that idea from in the first place!?” she added, Maeri looked at her for a while and asked again “So you’re not dating Jin-sunbae?” “YES!” Anri proclaimed.

Moments later, Maeri told Anri the reason why she assumed that she and Jin were dating, Anri released a sigh and said “Maeri, the one I like is Jimin, not Jin-sunbae. Okay?” “Really?” Maeri asked and Anri nodded her head “Then... Anri isn’t that girl…” Maeri thought as she recalled the picture. Anri was looking at her while spacing out then “Why were you so curious? By any chance… do you like Jin-sunbae?” Anri asked but Maeri quickly denied. “Rather than liking him, when I thought that you were dating I was curious as to why you want to go out with a frivolous guy like him” she added.
“Like I said, I’m not dating Jin-sunbae” Anri said as she took a sip of her drink then she turned to Maeri “Frivolous huh? Is that how you look at him?” she asked. “Yup” Maeri answered with no hesitation and Anri somehow felt bad for Jin. “But despite him being frivolous, I guess it’s not a bad trait of his plus he’s also kind and can be serious when he wants to” Maeri added.
“Oh? What’s this? Are the two of you that close?” Anri continued to ask
“Well, I can’t say if we are close but I guess it’s safe to say that we’re on right terms… or something like that” Maeri responded
“I see, well I think that’s not bad” said Anri
“By the way Anri, can I ask you something?”
“Sure, what is it?”
“Have I dated anyone before?”

Anri’s eyes widened, she almost spit her drink out after hearing what Maeri asked. “W-Why did you suddenly ask that question?” Anri responded

“Well, I was just curious for some reason…” said Maeri

“I see… ah, well you never dated anyone back in high school” Anri answered. Maeri went “Hmm” then she looked outside the window, staring at some couples that passed by. “Why? Did you feel like you went out with someone?” Anri asked “You know, lately I’ve been ‘remembering’ things” said Maeri. Anri asked her what she meant and Maeri told Anri about how from time to time, Maeri would ‘recall’ a part of her memory wherein she’s with a high school boy.

“I thought at first that it was just my own imagination but that boy continued to appear and I began to wonder if those were really parts of my memory” she added. Anri became quiet all of the sudden, Maeri noticed it and asked “What’s wrong?” “Eh? Nothing” Anri answered and she took a sip of her drink and looked outside. After that small talk, they parted ways but before Maeri was about to leave, Anri told her to be careful of those around her. “See you next time Maeri” she said and immediately left. Maeri wasn’t sure what Anri meant and wanted to ask but Anri was already gone.

            Two days have passed and it seemed like Taehyung was feeling uneasy, “Hey” “GAH!” Taehyung was surprised with Jungkook who greeted him from behind, Jungkook raised his brow and asked “What’s wrong with you?” Taehyung looked around to see if there was anyone else and when the coast was clear, he faced Jungkook and told him about the incident with Maeri. “So in other words, the reason why you look uneasy and jumpy right now is because you left Maeri all alone that day and have no excuse as to why you suddenly ran away?” Jungkook rephrased and Taehyung nodded his head. “Hmm” Jungkook said then he noticed Maeri walking towards them, “Sunbae!” he called out. Maeri heard him and turned to him, “Oh, good morning!” she greeted. Taehyung flinched when he heard Maeri's voice then Jungkook patted his shoulder and said “Good luck” and after that, he walked towards Maeri

“Good luck on your exams today” he said as he passed by, “You too” she responded. Taehyung was still standing by the hallway. He was hoping that Maeri would just pass by him but then he felt someone smack his back

“Oof” he groaned, “What’s wrong with you? Did you get weak all of the sudden?” Maeri asked as she turned to him. “N-Nope” he responded “Get a hold of yourself Kim Taehyung!” “By the way Bora told me to give these notes to you, well I’ll see you around” Maeri said as she gave the notes to Taehyung and she left. “Eh? That’s it? She didn’t even bother to ask what happened to me two days ago?” Taehyung said to himself then he released a sigh and he somehow felt lonely.

Time passed by so fast and exam weeks were already over, Maeri and the rest of her co-members continued to shoot for their film at the university grounds. “Alright you guys change into your school uniforms while we set up” said Baekhyun. He went near Maeri who was setting up the lights by herself, “You should ask for a guy’s assistance you know” he said “Well the other guys are also busy with carrying the props and all while you on the other hand… well, never mind” Maeri said and she continued to adjust the lights. They were going to shoot at a vacant classroom for the classroom scene; while Baekhyun was busy rereading the script, Maeri decided to check out if the other actors were ready. She turned to Jiyoung and she was still busy with her make-up. She decided to check out the guys and it seemed like Jin was the only one who hasn’t come out after changing

“What’s taking him so long? It doesn’t take a long time to change into a guy’s uniform” said Maeri

“Oh? Have you tried to change into a guy’s uniform before?” Dongho asked

“I don’t know, I don’t remem- ah, I mean kind of” she answered then “My old uniform doesn’t fit me you know” Jin said as he entered the classroom. Maeri turned to him and her eyes widened when she saw Jin wearing the high school uniform of their alma mater. Jin noticed her and suddenly felt embarrassed, “W-What are you staring at me for?” he asked. Maeri was lost for a moment since after seeing Jin in a high school uniform, she felt nostalgic. “T-There’s no need to wear that blazer since all you need is the white shirt and neck tie” she said “Eh? But I had a hard time putting it on!” Jin whined, Maeri sighed and went near him to help him take the blazer off. It was tight just as what Jin said, “Jeez did you gain weight or something?” she asked as she was still trying to take the blazer off. “I did not and for your information, I gained muscles!” Jin denied, Maeri was able to pull off the blazer but she lost her balance and was about to fall, luckily Jin was able to get a hold of her waist and caught her. Their faces were an inch closer once more and still, they were surprised.

“Ehem!” Jiyoung proclaimed as she came from behind, Jin quickly let Maeri go and Maeri immediately went to the side where Baekhyun was “Are you okay? That was quite a scene” he asked but Maeri didn’t mind him and she just told him to start the filming. Moments later the filming started, Maeri's eyes were on Jin who was doing well with his role. Jungkook noticed it and found it a little bit suspicious, right before the first scene was about to end, Maeri decided to go buy drinks for the actors. Youngjae suggested that he should buy them instead but Maeri refused to since she didn’t want to disturb the filming.

On the way back, Maeri recalled what happened back at the classroom. When she saw Jin wearing their high school uniform, she couldn’t help but blush since it looked good on him. “What the heck am I thinking about?” she asked herself suddenly her vision started to get blurry again “Uh?” she said as she stopped walking then a figure of a high school boy appeared in front of her. She couldn’t clearly see his face but she can tell that he was smiling at her and was trying to say something to her

“W-What…” but then the high school boy ran ahead of her, she found herself trying to chase him but she couldn’t catch up. “Wait!”

“CUT!” Baekhyun proclaimed and they stopped filming, “That was great acting you guys. We can move on to the next scene which will be outside, please gather your things” he said and he turned to Jungkook and asked him where Maeri was. “She went out to buy drinks for the actors but looks like she’s not yet back” Youngjae inserted. “Eh? The satellite canteen isn’t that far…” said Baekhyun, Jin overheard their conversation and he felt that something wasn’t right; he suddenly rushed out of the classroom. It took Jungkook a few moments to realize what Jin was thinking, he followed after Jin but when they arrived at the hallway, Maeri wasn’t there.

Jin looked around and there was no sign of Maeri then a few students passed by and he overheard their conversation

“Hey what do you think happened to that girl that orange-haired guy was carrying?” “I think she passed out or something” “Really? How unfortunate…”

Jin clenched his fists, “Hyung” Jungkook said. Jin turned to him and said “Jungkook, tell the others to go ahead with the filming. I’m not included in the next scene right? I’ll catch up”, Jungkook sighed but he told Jin that he’ll do as he says and after that, Jin quickly left.

“Wait!” Maeri cried as she immediately sat up “Uh?” she wondered as she looked around and found herself inside the infirmary. “Why am I here?” she asked then the nurse answered “You suddenly passed out in the hallway, don’t you remember?” “Eh?” Maeri wondered “Good thing that orange-haired kid found you and took you here” the nurse said “Taehyung…” Maeri said to herself then she remembered the drinks “Oh no, I still have to deliver those drinks-” “If you’re worried about those drinks, that kid said that he’ll be the one to deliver those for you so all you need to do now is rest since you’re anemic” the nurse said as she tucked Maeri in. “Okay…” Maeri said but she couldn’t believe that Taehyung carried her all the way to the infirmary, she even told herself that she would thank Taehyung next time.

She closed her eyes and was about to go back to sleep when someone entered the infirmary and was looking for her “Jin-sunbae?” she wondered. The nurse pointed to where Maeri was, Jin saw her and immediately went near her

“Are you okay?” he asked

“Yeah, I don’t think I hurt myself or something” Maeri answered. Jin felt relieved then he faced Maeri and pulled her bangs up then he flicked her forehead

“Ouch! What the heck was that for!?” she cried

“You are an idiot. If you’re not feeling well or something, you shouldn’t push yourself too hard” he said “But it’s not like I saw that coming, besides it was that high school boy’s fault that I-” but before Maeri could finish what she was saying, she stopped and realized that the high school boy was probably just an illusion of hers and that Jin might think that she’s crazy if she continued to explain to him the reason why she passed out but then

“High school boy?” Jin wondered, Maeri noticed that he seemed curious but she refused to continue further “Never mind, the important thing is that I’m fine” she said as she turned her back from him, “Yeah… you’re right” he said “Good thing Taehyung found me and brought me here, remind me to thank him next time” she said but there was no response from Jin.

“Huh? Why is he quiet all of the sudden?” she asked herself then

“Maeri…” he said “What?” she responded, still facing the other way “Go out with me” he continued.