Yoongi was pissed – pissed to the point he just wanted to pour a bucket of ice-cold water over some innocent passer-by’s head. “Whose idea was it for us to spend the Saturday at Jimin’s house?”

“Jimin’s.” Namjoon rang the doorbell as both of them stood waiting outside of Jimin’s house. They were the first two to arrive.

“I could’ve slept in today,” Yoongi grumbled. “You guys are lucky that I’m in a decent mood.”

“We didn’t know where else to go that was open, so Jimin suggested we just go to his house.”

Why Jimin? Why? Yoongi clicked his tongue impatiently as a few minutes passed without someone answering the door. “Is anyone even home?”

His hand hung in the air as he was about to push the doorbell again, when it was swung open. Jimin’s mom smiled at them. “Sorry to keep you waiting boys.”

“Good morning Mrs Park,” they greeted, bowing courteously and she did the same.

“Good morning Namjoon, Yoongi. Jimin is just upstairs, you can wait in the living-room. Feel free to turn the T.V on.”

Mrs Park sauntered back to the kitchen after they stepped inside and took their shoes off, then headed to the living-room. Namjoon remained standing as he walked around, looking at the family photographs displayed on the walls. Yoongi however, collapsed leisurely onto the couch and put a hand over his eyes. It was a few minutes until Jimin eventually went downstairs and greeted them.

“You guys are early,” he said when he entered and went straight to the mirror to survey his reflection.

“I’m so tired,” Yoongi complained.

“You didn’t have to come today if you didn’t want to.”

“Nah,” he uncovered his eyes and looked languidly at them. “I’m alright.”

Namjoon sat next to Yoongi. “Jimin, didn’t you say you invited Hyunjung? Does she know about the change of plans?”

“I told her to just go to Jungkook’s house and then they could walk together. Jungkook knows anyway so everything will be fine, she’s not going to wander off into the city looking for us.”

Yoongi sat up and for a moment it looked like he was in thought. “Do you think Jungkook –?”

Namjoon glanced up from his cell phone and grinned. “I’m glad to know I’m not the only who’s noticed.”

“He makes it so obvious doesn’t he?” Jimin said, laughing with gusto. It was funny to see his best friend get a little flustered from time to time at school, and he couldn’t wait for the day when he could finally rub it in his face.

“Jimin!” his mom called, coming into the living-room and grabbing her handbag. “I’ll be going out today. Your dad will be home at five, okay?”

“Yes, mom.”

“Bye,” she said, pinching his cheeks and speckling his face with kisses. “Be a good boy, okay?”

“I will, mom.”

“And don’t trash the house.”

“I won’t, mom.”

“Isn’t he a handsome lad? He’s grown taller, don’t you think?” She pinched his cheeks together and turned it to face the baffled expressions of Yoongi and Namjoon.

“Yes Mrs Park,” Namjoon said, nodding politely.

Yoongi, on the other hand, wasn’t as composed; he looked like he was about to detonate into a fit of laughter. “I agree Mrs Park,” was his strained answer. “He’s grown very tall.”

“See you later Jiminnie. Have fun boys!” Mrs Park waved goodbye and they did the same.

“Bye Mrs Park!”

They heard the front door close and Yoongi’s mouth twitched into a mocking grin. “Jiminnie…” he cooed.

“Ha-ha,” Jimin scowled while rubbing his cheeks where his mom had pinched him. “Shut up, we were on the same page just a minute ago.”

*  *  *  *  *  *

Should I knock?

Hyunjung was contemplating what to do. She was told by Jimin to go to Jungkook’s house on Saturday around ten o’clock so that they could walk together to the destination they planned. And so, she now found herself awkwardly dawdling outside of Jungkook’s front door, debating whether or not she should knock.

Why am I getting so worked up? She thought, and after a few moments of standing around she finally mustered up the courage to knock the damn door.

Nervous anticipation overwhelmed her as the handle clicked and slowly turned to reveal a rather tall woman, with a pleasing sophisticated-looking physiognomy; Hyunjung believed her to undoubtedly have been a beautiful girl in her younger years, it was evident in her classic features that made even Hyunjung feel small. She then recognized instantly the familiar eye smile, and the refined nose that was a little too tall to be perfect, but balanced out the rest of her appearance almost seamlessly – this was Jungkook’s mom. 

Hyunjung quickly bowed. “Good morning, Mrs Jeon.”                                                

The older woman’s lips extended to an elusive curved smile as she recognized her as the girl who her son usually walked with in the morning. “You’re Jungkook’s friend?” she asked, making it seem less obvious that she already knew about her.

“Yes, Mrs Jeon. My name’s Yoon Hyunjung.”

She opened the door wider and urged the girl inside. “Come in, come in!”

Hyunjung did as she was told and took her shoes off, placing them side by side on the doormat. She took the chance to take a quick look round. They say that a family is sometimes determined by how well they look after their house. What Hyunjung gathered of the Jeon family was that they were a fairly ordinary family, nothing peculiar that would scare anyone away. Their house was very neatly furnished with plenty of family portraits hung on the walls, and some of Jungkook’s trophies and other achievements were displayed in a wooden cabinet in the hall leading up to the living-room. Jungkook was a well-respected student that participated in many sports, and it seemed that his parents weren’t afraid to show that.

Mrs Jeon closed the front door and led her closer to the bottom of the stairs. “Jungkook hasn’t even woken up yet.”

“Am I too early?”

Mrs Jeon shook her head. “No sweetie, I think he just overslept, I’ll go wake him up for you.”

“It’s okay Mrs Jeon, that’s really not necessar—”

“JEON JUNGKOOK IT’S TEN ALREADY! I’VE ALREADY TOLD YOU THAT GOING TO BED LATE AND WAKING UP LATE ISN’T BENEFICIAL FOR YOUR HEALTH!”

A muffled and groggy, but distinguishable voice drifted from his room. “Alright mom!”

Not a while later, Jungkook was trudging down the stairs, and it was obvious he still desired a few more hours of sleep. His hair was tousled and disarray like a nest of fluffy feathers and he was attired only in black sweatpants that looked one size too big for him. He yawned, blinking and rubbing his eyes, still recovering from morning drowsiness.

“Seriously, mom? You always let me sleep after ten on Satur…” his voice trailed when he saw Hyunjung staring at him wide-eyed. “- days.” 

They blinked bewilderedly at each other. Hyunjung quickly turned her head to the side to avert her eyes but the sudden glow in her cheeks gave her away. It took Jungkook a while to register the situation before he finally realized the little clothing he had on, and his face immediately tinted to the same rose-pink hue as her that made even his mother chuckle. Now he was fully awake.

“Uh…” He rubbed the back of his nape, suddenly remembering. “I’ll go get a shirt.” He sprinted back to his room. Even from downstairs, they heard him curse to himself and his bedroom door slamming loudly as he rushed to find a shirt.

“Bless him,” Mrs Jeon began. “I think he forgot you were coming, otherwise he would’ve woken up earlier.” She couldn’t help but add; “And worn a shirt.”

The pinkness from Hyunjung’s face was almost gone. “He probably did forget.”

“A lot was on his mind.”

“It does seem a lot has been on his mind for some time now.” The words involuntarily left and she suddenly wished she hadn’t said them.

But Mrs Jeon looked at her thoughtfully and the corners of her lips tugged into a slight smile. “Jungkook’s a rather sensitive boy, despite how talkative he sometimes is.”

Hyunjung bit her lip in thought. She was about to reply when descending footsteps were heard. It was Jungkook, this time wearing a creased white t-shirt that looked like it was barely used and had been neglected in some remote corner of his bedroom. Mrs Jeon sighed at her son disapprovingly and took a step back to look at his clothing. “Is that the only home shirt you could find? Remind me later to buy you more.”

“Mom… you know I don’t like wearing one when I go to sleep,” he quickly murmured in a barely coherent voice, making sure Hyunjung wouldn’t hear. Too bad for him that she did – but for his sake she stared down at her feet and pretended not to hear what he said. 

“Go quickly eat breakfast then. Hyunjung, do you want to grab something to eat too?” Mrs Jeon asked her.

“It’s okay, I’ve already ate breakfast.”

“Okay, you can wait in the living-room or go with Jungkook in the kitchen if you want.”

Jungkook looked at her from behind his mom’s back and shot her his notorious bunny smile – that smile that so many girls in her class would give anything to see. She looked at him; he was making typical bunny gestures and other actions of aegyo directing them to her behind his mom’s back, and Hyunjung just continued to stare at him blankly as he did so. She then looked back at Mrs Jeon. “Uh…I’ll go in the kitchen, if that’s okay.”

Mrs Jeon smiled and nodded, moving aside to let her pass. Hyunjung followed Jungkook to the kitchen. He got out a bowl and spoon from the cupboards and turned to her, grinning. “You know, you can sit down.”

“Um, right. Thanks.” She sat at the table and Jungkook sat across her, pouring an excessive amount of cereal and milk in his bowl.

He looked up. “You sure you don’t want anything to eat?”

“I’m fine.”

“If you say so,” he shrugged with a spoonful of cereal in his mouth.

They sat in silence for a couple of minutes, the spoon clinking against the bowl as Jungkook tried finishing his breakfast as fast as he could, and Hyunjung sat there fidgeting with her fingers to distract herself. “Sorry for uh, arriving while you were still sleeping.”

He looked up again and stared at her momentarily. “Don’t apologize, it’s my fault I overslept. I even forgot about today.”

“Yeah but, you looked so tired.”

“Ah, I stayed up later than I should. Again, that’s my fault.” He rose from the table and put his bowl in the sink. Hyunjung watched him as he stopped to stand by the doorway. “Um, I’m just going to quickly brush my teeth and get changed. Do you mind waiting here a little longer?”

“Yeah, yeah I’ll be fine waiting.”

“Thanks,” he said, and with that he went upstairs.

Hyunjung was left by herself for a couple of minutes, tapping her fingers on the surface of the table. She heard rapid footsteps descending from the stairs and she turned to the doorway of the kitchen; Jungkook was now wearing fitting jeans and a plain black t-shirt. He leaned on the doorframe. “Ready?”

“Yep.” She stood up and followed him to the hallway so they could put on their shoes.

“Mom I’ll be back by five!” he hollered from the bottom of the stairs.

“Bye! Have fun you two!”

Jungkook unlocked the door and stepped aside. “Ladies first.”

Hyunjung smiled widely, stepping outside. “Such a gentleman, thanks.”