Yes, I heard you. But I was not asking if what I heard was true. I was just repeating what you said for lack of a better thing to say.

Me: Yes, I heard you.

JK: Did you miss me?

Me: Kinda.

JK: Oh. Same then.

Me: Yup.

JK: It’s been a while.

Me: Duibuqi.

JK: For?

Me: You shouldn’t have been hurt.

JK: I healed fast, you know.

Me: I mean…if it wasn’t for me...

JK: Well…

Me: I’m really sorry.

JK: It’s okay.

Me: I still feel bad until now, actually.

JK: Hajima.

I wasn’t able to say what I wanted to say after that. The attendant had served our ice cream. Jungkook’s eyes lit up as he saw a rather large bowl of ice cream in front of him. He picked up his spoon and started eating. He nudged my bowl of ice cream and nodded at me. I smiled and picked up my spoon.

We ate in silence for a few minutes. I let my eyes wander around the shop. Taehyung’s family owned the place and named it after his little sister. I haven’t seen Aein in person, though. I only saw her in pictures that the Min brothers posted on their sns accounts. I smiled to myself. Jungkook looked at me as he dipped his spoon into his bowl of ice cream.

JK: You’re smiling.

Me: Who? Me?

JK: No. That ice cream girl over there.

Me: Where?

JK: Paboya.

I knew he meant me. I snorted and made a face. He chuckled and glanced at me sideways, muttering, “Paboya…pabo…pabo…”

Me: Are you bullying me?

JK: Hm? I didn’t say anything.

He looked away, chuckling. When he faced me again, he looked straight in my eyes and stared. I dropped my gaze and pretended to concentrate on stabbing my ice cream with the spoon. I counted to twenty before I raised my head again. He was still staring at me. I mustered all courage to ask him a stupid question.

Me: Do I have some kind of dirt on my face?

JK: Hmm…

What he did next didn’t prepare me from almost having a heart attack. He reached out a hand and wiped something off the side of my lower lip.

Did I really have dirt on there?

JK: There. All clean again.

I grabbed a tissue and looked away while covering my face with it. Damn you Jungkook. I could hear him chuckling and a snort at the end. I faced him again and crumpled the tissue. He was laughing silently at me. He looked so amused and I got a little annoyed and awkward, so I threw the crumpled tissue in his face. He leaned back in reflex, still laughing. The tissue fell on the floor.

JK: No littering. Pick it up, miss.

Me: Aishhhh!

JK: We might not be invited here again if we leave this place dirty, you know.

Me: Taehyung won’t do that.

JK: But Taehyung’s not here.

Me: Why. Are. You. Bullying. Me?

I huffed. I was slowly getting red in the face. Not because I was pissed off, but because I was suddenly too conscious of his presence. It just hit me that he just touched my face. He looked worried all of a sudden. I guessed he mistook my red face as being annoyed. Deep inside, I was relieved.

JK: Ah, mianhae. I’m not bullying you, Yinzi-ah.

Him, calling me by my complete first name made my heart beat a little faster than normal. I took another tissue and rolled it. I flicked it at him.

Me: I am not pabo. You are pabo.

JK: Okay. I’m pabo.

Buzz…Buzz…Buzz…

I quickly checked my phone. Chanyeol was calling.

Crap!

I raised a finger to my lips to hush Jungkook as I answered my phone. He just nodded and finished his ice cream.

“Wei, Yo oppa.”

“Xiao Yi, where are you?”

“I’m out.”

“I know you’re out, otherwise I won’t ask where you are.”

“I mean…I’m having ice cream.”

“With who?”

“A friend.”

“Nugu chingu?”

“Jungkook.”

“You have ten minutes to come home.”

“Why?”

“Don’t make me come get you.”

“You don’t even know where I am.”

“Don’t make me call papa, then.”

“Yo oppa, I’m seventeen.”

“So?”

“I’m legal to go out without your permission.”

“Fine. But you have 30 minutes from now.”

“Oppa…”

“Ahhh…Fine. Fine. Fine. Give the phone to Jungkook, juseyo.”

I handed Jungkook the phone and he gulped loudly. I watched him as he started talking to my brother.

“Yeoboseyo. Hyung. Ne. Ne. Ne. Okay. Okay hyung. Arrasseo. Arrasseo. Ne.”

What?

Ne. Ne. Ne.

Huh?

I raised an eyebrow at Jungkook and he wiggled his eyebrows at me. I slapped his arm. He snorted once and grunted a final “Ne,”  before he handed me back my phone.

“Yinzi..Are you listening?”

“Yes, oppa.”

“Be home before seven.”

“Okay.”

“…or else.”

“Kamsahamnida oppa.”

“Tch..”

“Saranghae Yo oppa.”

“Shut up.”

“Hahaha.”

“Wu Yinzi.”

“Arrasseo. Byebye.”

I didn’t wait for him to respond. I pressed the end call button and pocketed my phone. Jungkook was drumming his fingers on the table. His ice cream bowl was empty. He was eyeing me with amusement.

Me: What?

JK: I am obligated to bring you home in one piece. Not a limb out of place, or else, your brother will skin me alive.

Me: Right.

JK: Kai would poke my eyes out. Chanyeol hyung would skin me alive. I wonder what your other brothers would do to me if I didn’t bring you home?

Me: Better start praying for your soul as early as now, Kim Jungkook.

JK: Ouch.

Me: *snorts*

JK: That’s what I like about you. Even though you look like a girl now, you still act like a boy

I slapped his arm again. He rubbed the part where I hit him. I had slapped his arm a little bit harder this time. It looked red. And it wasn’t the only thing I noticed. On his wrist, he wore the jade bracelet I had given him a long time ago. My hand involuntary went to grab his wrist and looked at it properly.

JK: Oh, yeah. I still wear it until now. Here…do you see this? It has a crack in some of the jade beads already. This was when…you know…that time…. It saved me from that bad luck.

There’s a saying that jade repels any bad luck to the person who wears it. The stone will either fade in color, crack or even break whenever something bad happens.

He held my wrist. I was also wearing the bracelet he had given before. He checked for cracks. He smiled when he found none.

JK: Still good as new.

Me: I haven’t been wearing it always, you know.

JK: Paboya. What if something bad happens?

Me: I’m back here, anyway.

JK: And…

Me: You’re here…?

JK: Well… Aish.. You know what I mean.

I laughed. He looked so frustrated that he looked cute.

Jungkook and Xiao Yi’s first melody of the song is just starting to play. So far, so good.

Chanyeol, go easy on Jungkook juseyo. LOL.

吴愛你們。我愛你們。♥♥♥