Heeeeeeeeey!!!!

Guys I'm sorry it's been so long since the last update!! I was really busy with the end of the semester, and then shortly after that, I left for a one-month trip to my home country!! I'm still there now and will be coming back to Japan mid-august. I thought I'd be able to write a lot during my holiday, but my computer broke down and you know, time got away from me... anyhow. I've written you an extra long chapter to make myself forgiven! I hope you like it! plz leave me lots of comments! <3

AoH

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Chapter 26 - Friends

 

Rapmon stifled a yawn as he watched his lab partner mixing the formulas together. They’d already done this part, but the boy had insisted on doing it again just to double-check that they’d done it correctly. He turned around and glanced around the room in a bored manner, until his eyes fell on Insook, who was working alone, as usual. He suppressed a chuckle. The teenage girl sat on her stool wearing a lab coat, and those dorky protective science glasses, staring so intently at the beaker in front of her as if she was afraid it would magically combust.

 

“I’m going to sharpen my pencil” he told the boy next to him, before getting up.

 

“Sure” replied his partner, not looking at him as he got up.

 

Rapmon walked over to Insook’s work station and sat down on the empty stool, watching her with a smirk. It didn’t seem like she had noticed him, but after a moment she asked “What?” without taking her eyes away from her project.

 

“You’re very focused” he said, trying to match her seriousness, when in fact he was trying hard not to laugh.

 

“Well I don’t wanna mess up” she replied, looking away to jot something down and then back up at the bubbling mixture.

 

He chuckled and she gave him a side-eyed glance before grabbing one of the test tubes to her left and slowly dropping it into the main beaker.

 

“I haven’t been able to see you much these days,” he went on, seeing as she wasn’t saying anything, “How are you?”

 

Insook almost dropped the tube inside the beaker.

 

“Same old” she shrugged in a careless manner, putting the tube away to the side and praying that he didn’t equate his words with her clumsiness.

 

“Don’t you miss me?” he teased.

 

Insook’s heart skipped a beat at those words, but when she turned to look at him and saw that he was making a ridiculous puppy face at her, she just burst out laughing.

 

“Well, I miss you.” he added, straightening up, “Why don’t you tutor me again?”

 

Insook’s face first showed surprise, and then she frowned and punched him – lightly but still with quite a bit of strength – on the shoulder.

 

“No, I’m serious!” he chuckled, shielding himself as she raised her arm for another go, causing her to stop halfway and listen, “finals are coming up, I think it could really help us both!”

 

Insook lowered her arm and thought. “Well…… I guess…”

 

“Great!” he exclaimed, getting up. “Can you be at my house at 6?”

 

“What, today?!”

 

“Do you have plans?”

 

“Well, no, but…”

 

“Then 6 it is!!”

 

And with that, he turned around and trotted back to his own station, turning around to give her a little wink just before sitting down.

 

Insook blushed furiously and promptly buried her face in her notebook. When she looked up again a moment later, he was already chatting with his partner and she let out a small sigh.

 

“That boy is so frustrating…..”

 

***

 

Later, during lunchtime, Insook and V were sitting in the bleachers again, working on their Japanese project. This time, V was the one sitting straight with a notebook propped up on his lap, while Insook was scrolling through her phone, only half paying attention.

 

“I think we should give her a name” said the ashen-haired boy, biting the tip of his pencil in thought before using it to point at her.

 

“Let’s just use my name.” Insook replied without looking at him.

 

“No it’s better if there’s a character name,” he went on stubbornly.

 

“Why?” she asked, finally looking up.

 

“I think we should call her ‘Lili’” he continued, as if she hadn’t said anything; looking into the distance as if he could somehow see his character come to life.

 

“That’s not very Korean…” mumbled Insook, who couldn’t help a small chuckle.

 

“But it’s cute.” he retorted, turning back to look at her and smile, “I like it.”

 

“Ok fine.” she rolled her eyes and gave him a little half-shrug.

 

“And she should be cute and have her hair in twintails… and talk high-pitched like this” he said the last part in a ridiculously silly, girly voice.

 

“I am NOT talking like that in front of the whole class!” she retorted, trying to sound offended and control her laughter at the same time. He laughed at her affront.

 

“Why not? I think it’s cute! Do it!”

 

“No!”

 

“Come on!” he egged her on, pretending to poke her in the stomach.

 

“No!” she squealed, squirming away from him, but just causing him to laugh even louder.

 

It took a moment for the ashen-haired boy to recover his breath, but once he did, he went on trying to convince her, saying very matter-of-factly that if she did what he’d suggested, “the host-family oppa would think she was very kawaii.”

 

She laughed and then sighed, adding “It hardly matters” in a tired voice, wishing he would focus.

 

“Sure it does,” he argued.

 

“V, I said we are not making this a love story!!!”

 

“Why not???” he pouted.

 

“Cuz it’s 3 minutes long!!” she snapped back, though it was hard to actually sound mad at him when he was staring at her like a lost puppy with his bottom lip struck all the way out like that.

 

“Hey, some love stories last even shorter than that…” he replied with a wink, his demeanor doing a complete 180 in half-a-second and causing her to just burst out laughing.

 

He cracked a smile.

 

“Right, Kim Taehyung: great love expert” she teased, rolling her eyes.

 

“Oh, you know my name?” he said, suddenly sounding very innocent.

 

“It’s written there” she replied, tapping his uniform nametag with a finger,

 

“Oh, right, I forgot…” he said softly, looking down at the ground.

 

 Insook narrowed her eyes at him, and then shook her head softly, thinking he was so weird.

 

“You’ve just never called me that before” he added, still soft-spoken.

 

“Cuz you asked me to call you V.” she said, pointedly.

 

“Oh that’s right” he said again, as if remembering something that totally made sense, and she shook her head again.

 

“Well, if you want, you can call me that. If it’s you, I don’t mind.”

 

He said it as if it was just some offhand comment, but he didn’t look at her as her did, plucking at some invisible lint on his pants.

 

“Do you not usually want people to use your name?” she wondered, surprised.

 

V nodded.

 

“Only people that I care about.”

 

***

 

Jin was sitting alone at the big table in the drama clubroom when Jimin walked in around 5pm on Thursday afternoon. He looked up from the pile of books and papers in front of him to see the younger boy walk over and take a seat next to him.

 

“Jimin, what are you doing here? Didn’t you get the message?”

 

“What message?”

 

“Club’s cancelled until after tests…”

 

“Oh that…” replied Jimin passively, “yeah.”

 

“So… why are you here?” asked Jin, raising an eyebrow.

 

“Oh I thought, no one would be here….” went on the younger boy, staring at his fingers. “hyung, what are you doing?” he asked, changing the subject as he looked at the mess on the table in front of his usually neat friend.

 

“Oh, I’m just looking at some scripts for the next play we’re gonna do.”

 

“In September?!?” exclaimed Jimin, wide-eyed, making his elder laugh.

 

“One can never start too early…” retorted Jin, wagging his finger, and Jimin shook his head.

 

“If you were looking for a quiet place to study, you can stay here. I won’t bother you much.” offered the pretty boy, with a kind smile.

 

Jimin gave him a little embarrassed smile and nodded, “If you don’t mind…”

 

“Sure, I’ll make you some space,” said the eldest, moving several papers away from one side of the table so that his friend would have a place to work.

 

Jimin thanked him and dumped his backpack unceremoniously on the table. He pulled out a history textbook, along with a notebook and his pencil case, and settled down to read the chapter he’d been assigned as homework while Jin went back to his screenplay.

 

They read quietly for nearly half-an-hour, after which Jin looked up to find Jimin staring at his book, but obviously not reading, his eyes glazed-over as if lost in thought. He chuckled quietly, but that small sound seemed enough the make the younger boy snap out of it. Jimin looked at his hyung and then tried to focus on the text again.

 

“History boring, huh?” asked Jin, a smile in his voice.

 

“Aaah… no… well, yes… I’m just having a hard time concentrating…” replied Jimin, rubbing the back of his head and flashing his typical Jimin eye-smile, as if he had something to apologize for.

 

Jin nodded and went back to his text.

 

After 5 minutes though, he was disturbed again as Jimin spoke up softly and asked, without taking his eyes off his book, “Hyung… do you have a lot of dating experience?”

 

Jin let out a small surprised laugh and answered, “Some?”

 

Jimin stared at his book quietly. When he didn’t go on, Jin asked him, “Why?”

 

“Have you ever…” the younger boy started, weighing his words out carefully, “Have you ever had feelings for someone that… you really never thought that you’d ever be attracted to?”

 

“No… can’t say I have…” Jin shook his head, confused by the question.

 

“Ok, well… hum… have you ever kissed someone that you didn’t like?” Jimin went on, trying a different approach.

 

“Like in a kissing game?”

 

“No, not like that… like when you were drunk?” Jimin asked, hopefully.

 

“Well I don’t really drink very often so… no…” answered unhelpfully.

 

“I see…” mumbled Jimin, looking down at his hands and getting lost in his thoughts until Jin asked, “Did something happen?”

 

Jimin looked up, “Ahh, no… just wondering.”

 

He replied with a cute smile, though Jin could obviously tell that he was lying.

 

“Well… you know… I don’t really think it’s possible to kiss someone you don’t like…” Jin started, in what he hoped was a helpful manner, “I mean, somewhere deep down, there must be something about that person that you like, no? Because why would you kiss someone you hate?” 

 

“Deep down, huh…” whispered Jimin, staring a his fingers again. And he got so introspective that Jin decided not to press him further.

 

***

 

At 6 o’clock on the dot, Insook was standing on the doorstep, ringing Namjoon’s doorbell. She had expected her tall blonde friend to come bursting through the door, flashing her his famous dimpled smile, so she was surprised when instead, she was greeted by his mother, in a chic little navy day dress, her hair wrapped up in a bun, looking like she was off to have afternoon tea at some country club.

 

“Oh hi!” she beamed at the teenage girl, ushering her in. “Come in, come in!”

 

“Uhh… I’m here to see Namjoon?” Insook announced herself, uncomfortably.

 

“Oh yes, yes, he’s here…” the pretty older lady prattled on as she led the embarrassed girl into the living room, “but he was so filthy after his practice today I forced him into the shower.” She finished her speech by physically sitting Insook down onto the couch, smiling brightly, and adding, “what kind of mother would I be if I let my boy show up to a date in that kind of state??”

 

“Oh, this isn’t a date!!” Insook argued furiously, but Mrs. Kim had already vanished inside the kitchen, so she wasn’t sure if she’d heard her; though she suspected it wouldn’t matter much to the older woman, who seemed to walk to the beat of her own little drum. Indeed she came back a few moments later with a tray of tea and little cakes that she placed in front of Insook, urging her to eat up.

 

Namjoon picked that moment to walk down the stairs, in grey sweatpants, a white oversized sweatshirt and a small white towel thrown over his still wet hair. To Insook’s innocent eyes, this was probably the most seductive outfit he could have chosen. There were still little beads of water pearling up on the back of his neck, making it look ridiculously attractive, and the pristine whiteness of his shirt made his dark skin look golden in contrast. Insook took a sharp intake of breath as he saw her on the couch and smiled. Lucky for her, her little gasp was eclipsed by his mother’s strident voice suddenly shouting out,

 

“Oh my goodness!  Boy, what are you wearing?!”

 

“It’s fine, mah” replied the boy, in a voice that said he was used to his mom’s drama. He climbed down the last few stairs and pulled the towel behind his neck, smiling at his mom.

 

“How do you expect your date to be impressed if you can’t even look presentable?” sulked his mother.

 

Insook was so mortified she wished she could vanish inside the sofa and disappear, but Namjoon just replied, nonplussed, “I told you it’s not a date, mah. We’re studying.” Then he patted her shoulder and walked passed her towards the couch.

 

Mrs. Kim let out a little exasperated huff and shook her head before leaving them alone.

 

The blonde boy came over and plopped down on the couch next to her. “Sorry about that.”

 

There was that dimpled smile again. For some reason, seeing him in like this, with his wet hair and in clothes that looked like they could be his pajamas, he looked so young to her; like he didn’t have anything to hide, and he was really just a high school boy. Kim Namjoon, not Rap Monster. Insook swallowed and tried to push back the butterflies that were rising in the pit of her stomach.

 

“Oh that’s ok…” she managed to mumble.

 

“She wants me to get a girlfriend…” he said, pointing back towards the kitchen, “so she pretty much harasses me every time she sees me with a girl.”

 

“So you mean it happens a lot, huh?”

 

“Well not that of-… hey!”

 

Rapmon cut himself off midsentence, noticing the jab too late and Insook cracked up.

 

“You told me yourself there were sooooooo many girls…” Insook went on, putting dramatic emphasis on the word “so”.

 

“Yeah yeah, well it’s not like I’d ever be caught dead around my mom with any of them…” replied the blonde boy with a little shiver, which made Insook laugh more.

 

“Oh, so I’m special then?” she smirked.

 

He paused and looked at her rather intensely, like he was pondering something.

 

“Yeah.” he said after a moment, “Yeah I guess you are.”

 

The smirk fell from her face and appeared on his.

 

After a few brief seconds, she cleared and said they should probably get started. He nodded his assent, secretly pleased with himself at her discomfiture, and they got to work.

 

They actually managed to get quite a bit done over the evening – Insook only slightly disturbed by close proximity of a freshly scrubbed, fluffy Namjoon – and they could review two whole units before he finally threw in the towel (or in this case, his pen), exclaiming that he couldn’t take in anymore.

 

Insook smiled at him and looked at her watch, “Oh wow, it’s already 8:30!”

 

“D*mn, did I really just study that long?!” exclaimed Rapmon before chuckling at his own joke.

 

“I guess we should call it a day, then.”

 

He nodded and got up as she finished packing her things.

 

“Let’s do it again next week” he smiled, lending her a hand to get up.

 

“Next… oh, right. Tomorrow’s Friday. I guess you’re too cool to study on a Friday, huh?” she joked.

 

“That’s not it, we have a live tomorrow.” he explained.

 

“Oh with BTS?”

 

“Yeah.” he paused and then looked up as if he’d just had a bright idea, “Hey! You should come!”

 

“To a club?!”

 

The boy laughed. “Don’t sound so horrified…”

 

“I’m not!” she protested, trying to hide her embarrassment, but Namjoon kept on laughing, and only stopped when she pulled a sulky face.

 

“I’ve actually been really wanting to see your live performance” she mumbled quietly, starring at the floor because it was somehow less nerve-wracking than looking into his eyes.

 

Rapmon bent down to look straight into her eyes and smiled. “Then come.”

 

Her eyes went wide in surprise and she went bright red. She mumbled a small “ok” and he straightened up, satisfied, trying not to chuckle at her reaction.

 

“Deal. Alright, you better get on home, it’s getting late.” he said, opening the door for her.

 

“Right, I’ll see you tomorrow then!” she smiled as she walked out and waved him goodbye.

 

He stood waving at her and watched a little while she walked away, and nearly ran straight into his mother as he stepped back into the house.

 

“What are you doing?” she asked him, with a stern expression.

 

“Uh… coming back in?” answered the boy, unsure of what she wanted from him.

 

“Your friend just left.” stated his mom.

 

“Yeah…?”

 

“Why didn’t you walk her to the station?!” asked Mrs. Kim, her voice growing more strident with each sentence.

 

Namjoon exhaled, finally, understanding what she was getting at. “Mah, how many times do I have to tell you, this wasn’t a date!!”

 

“Still!!” exclaimed the older woman, putting her hands on her hips, “I raised you better than that! It’s dark out! She’s a young girl!!”

 

“Maaahhh…. she’ll be fine…”

 

“NOW!!!!!!!!”

 

Namjoon groaned but knew there was no arguing with his mother when she was in such a mood. So he slipped on his sneakers and ran out the door.

 

His mom watched him go through the window with a satisfied smile on her face before walking back towards the kitchen.