The First Symphony Chapter 28: Unnecessary Worrying

*Soo Jin's POV*

As we trudged to the camping spot, Jungkook would NOT let go. He held my hand tightly and me, being the pitying Noona, I let him. Well, he said that he snuck into the bus so he could spend the trip with me. Jungkook just got lucky that they allowed him to stay and as my partner no less. Jimin didn't stray too far behind. Even if he had to risk Suga getting dragged in the process, he managed to stay beside us. Him and Jungkook were giving each other death glares while Suga and I talked about the history of Jeju. We looked like a circus act. Two people fighting and bickering and in the middle, another pair calmly discussing.

Now for Taehyung. He was suffering. Jessica would take him behind the group sneakily. That's what she thought. Anytime she was close to stealing him away for herself, I'd glare at her with such disdain that she had no choice, but to return. Taehyung never complained, though. Being dragged away didn't seem to be the problem for him. It was the fact that if he got too far away from me, Jessica may take advantage of him. Other than these simple facts, the trip was pleasant. It was sunny, but not hot and there were so many pretty sights and animals to watch.

So far, so good.

*Jungkook's POV*

Soo Jin's company had me basking in the glory that is my genius. Had I not snuck into the field trip, we wouldn't be sharing these precious moments. And by precious moments I mean I've been cuddling her at every opportunity. I don't want to seem like a girl stealer and I really did try not to let myself fall for her, but TRY is the key word. My attempts were unsuccessful and now it was a battle between Jimin and I. He suddenly pushed me, causing me to bump into Soo Jin and she fell. She got a face full of dirt. Oh no. Soo Jin picked her head up and glowered at us. Suga helped her up and shot his hands up in defense. 

"Not my fault," he pointed at us, "Ask them." Behind me, I saw Taehyung and Jessica coming closer. Jessica stopped to watch, steadily holding Taehyung's arm. The gears in my brain were already turning in thought. Perhaps, if Jessica did something crude, Soo Jin would forget all about the accident. What I didn't expect was when Soo Jin sighed.

"It's okay. Forget it. It was an accident," Jimin watched her in worry. Normally, she would give us a nice flick on the forehead but now…I glance at her and see that she is glaring at Jessica. There is so much disdain and venom in her look and I wonder why. Soo Jin wasn't the kind to judge one on their history, so what was wrong with her? It was only for a second, but I catch her staring at Taehyung with an unreadable look. Did she…like him? My mind crosses that out of my head automatically. Just thinking about it makes me jealous.

Not being able to handle the heavy air, I drag my partner to go see a lizard perched on a tree.

*Jimin's POV*

"Alright, everyone. Let's begin setting up tents," Mr. Lee clapped his hands and started assigning tasks for groups to do. Soo Jin took Jungkook's hand and I gawked at them. Jungkook happily walked with her.

My mouth was pushed closed, "Close it before a fly goes in." Suga crosses his arms and points somewhere in the distance. Guiding my view, I see that Taehyung is struggling to pick up a log while Jessica cheers him on. She was being useless just standing there. I can't handle seeing him being made a fool of. Suga raised his brow as I jog off to help him.

"V!" He suddenly drops the log he has spent so long trying to pick up. Taehyung jumps away, startled, and I facepalm. Come on. You couldn't possibly be this weak! I pick up the weight by myself and Jessica bites her lip. Did I mention how much I didn't like her?

"Hey…what's your name?" She sashays to me and runs her finger on my jaw.

Lightly slapping her hand away, I answer, "Jimin. Nice to meet you." She giggles, covering .

Crossing my arms, I ask rudely, "Why didn't you help him?" Jessica's mouth gapes, as if I should know the answer. Her attitude does a complete 180 as she grimaces.

"He's a guy. If he isn't strong enough to pick up something this light, then he just isn't man enough." She shrugs and I want to strangle her. Man enough?! What a-

"Maybe it isn't him that needs to be 'man enough'. Maybe YOU just have to be more considerate." Soo Jin appears in front of Taehyung with Jungkook gripping her arm beside her.

Jungkook nods and adds, "V is the best. If you don't like him, go fix your opinion!" He yells in her face and Jessica collects tears in her eyes. She sprints off somewhere and I see remorse in Taehyung's gaze. He looks back at me and I shrug. Running off, he goes to find where she went. Why? Wasn't she the one that just made him look like an idiot? Soo Jin sighs and slumps her shoulders. I applaud her internally. She was always looking out for Taehyung, but he didn't seem to realize that. Jungkook's arm gets flung off of her as she flips it away. She goes the direction that Taehyung was going previously, huffing the whole way.

I hope she will be safe.

*Taehyung's POV*

I ran after Jessica. They took it too far. So what if she hurt my feelings? I'm used to it, but seeing a girl with her feelings hurt broke something inside of me. It felt like it was my fault. When I reach her, she is sitting by a small pond. It was already sunset and soon it would be dark. The sun reflected it's light onto the water, illuminating the area. It's orange glare made everything look like a dream. Jessica turned to me, mascara running down her face. She sobbed and gasped when I sat next to her. I pull her towards my chest and allow her to sob into my white hoodie. All her make up was rubbing into me, probably creating a stain. But all that mattered was that she would feel better afterward. Patting her back, her sniffles become less and her face becomes dry. 

I clear my throat and murmur soothingly, "Don't cry. This isn't worth tears." My hands her back more and she snuggles into my chest. Surprisingly, I feel nothing when she does this. I expected to blush and become awkward, but none of the sort happens.

"Tae?" I hum and she looks up at me, blush on her face.

"I'm sorry."

She rubs her hands nervously, "I didn't mean it. I love you just the way you are." My brain processes that and I smile gently at her.

"Thank you." She loved me? I thought love was something that happened over time. We just met? That was impossible.

"Tae? I'm going to go pee. I'll be back." Jessica stands up and I watch as she leaves me.

"Wait for me?" Nodding, she grins and runs off into the distance. The sky was dark already and only a small sliver of the sun was peaking. Hopefully, she wouldn't take too long. I check the time, 7:48. It was worrying me. Should I just leave? No. I promised I would wait.

The sky becomes dark within ten minutes and I can't help, but become anxious. Did she get lost? What was keeping her? Finding my footing, I get up and look for her. It was almost pitch black, the only light coming from the moon. Did Jessica just return? I would have gone back to the camp, but the possibility that she was lost or scared had me guilty. There was a noise behind me and I drop to the ground in fear. My eyes water and I stay deathly still. I try to control my gasping breaths.The shadow appears to be a human's. It inches towards me and my tears stream freely down my cheeks. Suddenly, a bright light flashes in my face. I'm enveloped in a hug. 

"T-Tae?!" Soo Jin. I visibly relax as she holds me, feeling completely safe. Words don't formulate and I'm a gasping, sobbing mess before her. She rubs my back and I hear her sniff. That was strange. Why was she crying?

"I'm so happy. I'm so so so happy." She shakes her head as she squeezes me to her.

"When I saw Jessica back at the camp by herself…" she starts laughing as she wipes her tears. Soo Jin places her hands on my cheeks to make eye contact with me.

"Ashley had to hold me back from beating the living s*** out of her."

Her face twists into worry, "I ordered Mr. Chung and Mr. Lee to send out some students and teachers to search for you." My mouth gapes. Was she crazy?! Yelling at a teacher?!

"You can't imagine how desperate I was. My little baby boy was somewhere in the dark woods scared for his life. That alone was enough for me to keep searching for you." She embraces me and I sob again, but this time they were tears of happiness. To think she sent a whole search party into the dangerous forest just so she could find me…It was baffling. Never in my life did I think I would meet someone so unique. Soo Jin was her own species.

A little bit like me.