The next day, I woke up early. I was still sleepy. But because Chen and Yo oppa were leaving for Japan around lunch, I forced myself to get out of bed. I still hasn’t gotten used to waking up with my surroundings quiet. I was sort of disoriented when I opened my eyes. I waited for a few minutes before I sat up. I looked around me and expected a shout from Luhan for Baekhyun and Sehun to move faster. There was none. Of course. Luhan was still in France with Kris and Xiumin for their one month vacation after graduation from university. Baekhyun was in France, too. He chose to study there for his college degree. And Sehun was probably taking a bath already. The rest of the boys, were probably sleeping, thanks to different timezones.

I had gone down to see Chanyeol sitting in the little nook under the stairs. He was reading the morning paper. Hmmm… Weird. It reminded me of papa who would always have a newspaper in front of him every morning.

Chanyeol barely looked up from the paper to acknowledge me. He just called after me with, “Xiao Yi, I’m driving you to school okay.” I replied with a “Hmm…”

I didn’t see Kai, Sehun or Chen downstairs. I ate my breakfast in silence and got back upstairs to prepare for school.

Chanyeol hadn’t asked papa to buy him a car on his eighteenth birthday. He said he would buy his own car after he graduated from college. He just kept his birthday fund in his account. Since he had said that he was driving me to school, he took the keys of the Sienna.  I sat in the passenger seat. I noticed that Sehun and Kai’s cars were no longer in the garage.

 

Chanyeol: They’re already in school.

Me: Oh. Chen oppa?

Chanyeol: Still sleeping.

Me: Bummer. I wasn’t able to wish him a safe travel for later.

Chanyeol: I’ll take care of it, mei baobei.

Me: Will you?

Chanyeol: Yep.

Me: Okay.

Chanyeol: Papa called. He’s coming home next week.

Me: When?

Chanyeol: By Wednesday or Thursday. If Sehun starts work in Namjoon’s ice cream shop when papa arrives, we may have a problem.

Me: We’ll go with plan B.

Chanyeol: I’m the one who fears for Sehun’s life.

Me: I don’t think papa will ship him to military school at this time anymore. He’s already eighteen.

Chanyeol: He’s the youngest son, you forget that.

Me: Papa won’t know.

Chanyeol: I sure hope so.

 

That kind of conversation carried on until we arrived in school. Since it has been a while since the Sienna has been used to school, we didn’t have a school sticker, so Chanyeol couldn’t park the car inside. He slowed down on the sidewalk and parked carefully. I unbuckled my seatbelt and got off the car. Chanyeol wanted to walk me to the gate but I told him that it wasn’t necessary. I waved at him and grinned. He snorted and dismissed me with a wave of his hand. I wished him a safe travel before I walked toward the school gate.

 

 

I had classes in the senior campus that day. It was fortunate that my class was before lunch, so I had time to walk back to the main campus after. It was also unfortunate because I noticed Cho Seungyeon and Wang Yibo walking behind me. They were seniors but they preferred to have lunch in the main campus cafeteria. Or they just wanted to follow me.

I overheard them talking about me as I walked through the gate. I turned my head to look at them and saw Seungyeon flash a mischievous smile. Yibo looked away, but a smile had formed on his lips. I didn’t stop to talk to them, though. I faced front again and walked a little faster toward the path leading to the cafeteria.

Unfortunate. Why am I so unfortunate?

My friends were nowhere to be found too. I wasn’t able to reach any of them by phone.

I decided to eat lunch alone. I fell in line at the counter waiting to pay for my food. I looked for an empty table and sat down. I placed my backpack on the table in front of me, so no one would dare to sit there. I smirked to myself, thinking about my brothers.

Before, I ate lunch with them and I didn’t have to do such things to avoid people. No one dared to bully me in school in front of my brothers. I mean, who would have dared though?

I started eating and not caring about my surroundings. I had plugged in my earphones and turned the volume high on my iPod. I sent a text message to my friends telling them that I already went ahead with my lunch since they were nowhere to be found.

“Hi. Is this seat taken?”

Who would dare…

I looked up from my food and saw Wang Yibo’s sheepish grin in front of me. He was holding a tray of food in both hands. His backpack was dangling from one of his shoulders. Cho Seungyeon wasn’t in view though. Where was that goof?

 

Me: Oh…well…no.

Yibo: Mind if I share?

Me: Uh…

 

I had wanted to say no, but I forgot. Yeah. I forgot to say no. I quickly took my bag off the table and placed it under my chair.

 

Yibo: Thanks.

Me: No biggie.

Yibo: Uhm, you’re eating alone.

Me: Yeah.

Yibo: Your friends bailed out?

Me: Nope. Couldn’t find them.

Yibo: I can help you go to the lost and found corner…

 

He snorted, realizing what a lame comment he made. I eyed him for a second or two, then proceeded to eat. He must have realized that I wouldn’t be replying him, so he just started eating. I felt guilty all of a sudden. Why was I acting like a snob?

Pshhhh…

I looked up from my food and collected my thoughts before speaking again.

 

Me: No need to go to the lost and found. They’re probably just stuck in an island or something.

Yibo: In that case, a search and rescue party is needed.

 

He had chuckled. I had to smile at that.

 

Me: Where’s Seungyeon-ssi?

Yibo: Oh. He had to drop by the library first.

Me: Oh..

Yibo: Ah, yeah. Don’t mind him too much. He’s just a little more hyper than your usual hyper guy most of the time.

Me: Hmm…okay.

Yibo: He’s an only child, so he’s close with me.

Me: I heard that you two are…cousins. Is that right?

Yibo: Yup. My dad and his mom are siblings.

Me: Oh.

Yibo: I’m an only child too, so…yeah. We get along pretty well.

Me: Your house must be so quiet.

Yibo: Hahah, yes. It’s boring. You’re Sehun and Kai’s sister, right?

Me: *nods*

Yibo: So, I can assume that your house is the complete opposite of mine?

Me: You can say that again. Except now, though. Most of my brothers are overseas with their university education.

Yibo: Ahhh…Do you miss the noise?

Me: Believe it or not, yes. I miss the noise. Hahaha.

 

Wang Yibo proved to be a nice guy. He could carry a conversation well. I felt comfortable talking to him. Maybe because his hyper cousin was not in sight, so it wasn’t awkward. I had to laugh at his jokes. He sort of reminded me of Taehyung. He effortlessly made me laugh. I noticed he had a habit of laughing with his mouth closed and looking away if he couldn’t control his laughter anymore. But what I didn’t notice was that someone was standing beside me. If not for Yibo suddenly looking up at this someone, l wouldn’t have noticed. Yibo had smiled and nodded in acknowledgement. At first I thought it was Seungyeon. But when I looked up, I almost choked on my food.

Jungkook.

He looked at me with an eyebrow raised. Then he cleared his throat.

Me: Hi…

Him: Yinzi.

Me: Hmm?

Him: What time’s your next class?

Me: Why?

Him: I just wanna know.

Me: Oh. Uh…fifteen minutes from now.

Him: So, finish your food. I’m walking you to your next class.

 

And he walked away. I thought he would wait for me outside the cafeteria, but he came back dragging a chair. He placed the chair beside me and sat down. He eyed Yibo while he spoke to me.

 

Him: You know each other?

Me: Huh?

Him: You and Yibo.

Yibo: We’re classmates in anthropology.

Him: Hmm…

Me: Yeah, we are.

Yibo: I didn’t know you know each other, too.

Him: Ah…I know her family too.

Yibo: Hmm. Yeah, of course.

 

Jungkook turned to look at me. I had finished my food and was stuffing my iPod and earphones back into my bag.

 

Him: Yibo’s part of the skateboard team, you know.

Me: Really?

Yibo: Yup. Me and Seungyeon, actually.

Him: What we call “hoobae” in Korean.

Yibo: And you’re a “seonbae”.

Me: I’m done eating.

Him: Okay. Let’s go?

Me: Okay.

 

I stood up. I smiled at Yibo and told him I’d go ahead. Yibo nodded and raised his hand. I started to walk away. Jungkook smirked at Yibo before saying out loud:

“I hope you haven’t forgotten you’re coming with me later.”

I know he was addressing me, but I also knew that he wanted Yibo to hear that. I reached out my had to slap his arm. He winced.

 

Him: What?

Me: You’re being a brat.

Him: *snorts*

Me: Stop it.

Him: What?

Me: Aishhhh…

 

He snorted again and stopped walking. We were already at the corridor of the building of my next class. I stopped walking and rolled my eyes at him. He gave me that side smile of his and ran his fingers through his hair down to his nape.

 

Me: What are you stopping for? I’m gonna be late. I’ll go ahead.

Him: Uhm, I’ll pick you up later, okay?

Me: Okay.

Him: Okay.

Me: Okay.

Him: Okay.

Me: I’m going.

 

I turned around and started walking toward the direction of my next class. I heard footsteps behind me. I stopped walking and turned my head to see him walking behind me. He was chuckling to himself.

 

Me: Don’t you have a class?

Him: Aniyo.

Me: So, are you going to follow me to my next class?

Him: Ne.

Me: Stop following me.

Him: Ouch.

Me: Come here. Walk with me.

Him: *snorts*

 

And he stepped beside me. He had both his hands in his back pockets.

 

 

So yeah. Jungkook walked me to my next class. He had claimed he didn’t have a class on that period and I selfishly believed him. I had wanted him to stay until the end of my class. But I knew that he had a class on the last period.

At the time when the bell rang after the last period, I hastily stuffed my things in my bag and hurriedly went down to my locker and kept my books in.

I was on my way to the parking lot when I made a beeline for the girl’s comfort room to check my reflection. I had texted Sehun and Kai that I’d be going out with “a friend” so they didn’t have to wait for me. My friends were all briefed, that in case Kai or Sehun asked them, they knew what to tell them.

I don’t know why I wasn’t too excited to tell my brothers that I was going out with Jungkook. It wasn’t as if he wasn’t their friend. But then I remembered that there was that time when they weren’t on speaking terms because of what happened.

I looked at my reflection in the mirror. I slowly brushed my hair and stared at my face.

You look like you’re too excited, Wu Yinzi. You sure have been waiting for this moment. That last time wasn’t considered a date, you know. But today, it’s definitely a date. He looked like he was jealous of Wang Yibo. And you enjoyed that, Wu Yinzi. You’re so mean.

*giggles*

You’re starting to get crazy. Stop it. Just finish brushing your hair and put on lip balm. Your lipslooked cracked. What if he’d try to….kiss…you? Ahhhhh….Stop! Look at your cheeks. They’re naturally pink because you’re blushing so much. Jungkook will notice, you know. And when he does, he’d know that you’ve been thinking of him. And because of that, you are going to faint. Remember that one time? You fainted in front of him. Phuket. And you blamed it on the hunger. Liar.

 

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz…

 

.

 

Jungkook was calling. I had placed my phone on top of the sink and it vibrated vigorously. I picked up my phone and answered his call. He was already waiting at the parking lot. I told him I was on my way.

…to die.

 

…because I was dying.

 

…I could feel it.

 

…my heart was beating fast.

 

But if I was dying, wouldn’t my heart be beating slower until it stopped, though?

 

Paboya.

 

I pocketed my phone and looked at my reflection one more time. I held my breath as I applied lip balm, fighting the urge to laugh at myself, because in my mind, I was still imagining him leaning in to kiss me. Just like back in Phuket.

Shut up, Xiao Yi.

 

I walked out of the girls’ comfort room. I took a deep breath and proceeded to the parking lot.

He was waiting for me by his car. He was leaning on the hood of his car with his hands in his pockets. He smiled as he saw me walking towards him. In my head, I was pretending that he was picking me up from work and that he would be driving us home to our kids. I wondered what he was thinking.

 

Him: Hi.

Me: Hi.

Him: Let me guess.

Me: Guess what?

Him: You’re thinking of something right now.

Me: I’m always thinking.

Him: I mean, something specific.

Me: I am.

Him: Wondering where we’re going?

Me: Yup.

 

He walked to the passenger side and opened the door for me. He took my backpack and placed it in the backseat. His stuff was also in the backseat. I slid in the passenger seat and he waited until I was comfortably seated before he closed the door and walked over to the driver’s side.

He looked at me as he slid in the car. I was about to ask him what he was looking at me for when I remembered.

Seatlbelt.

I buckled up. He buckled up. He looked at the rearview mirror before he started the ignition.

 

Me: No ice cream today?

Him: Nope. Just you and me.

Me: Uhm..

Him: *chuckles*

 

He glanced for a bit at me. He looked away. And I knew he was smiling to himself. He drove through the exit gates.

He drove in silence. I looked at him from the side mirror. He wasn’t even humming a song. The only noise in the car was his fingers drumming on the steering wheel from time to time. I realized he was driving towards a park. I didn’t ask him why he was going that direction. I had assumed that we were going to eat somewhere, but I guess I was wrong.

He parked the car under the shade of a tree. He unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car. I unbuckled my seatbelt and found the door opened on my side. He was standing by it, waiting for me. I climbed out of the car.

He bit his lip as he closed the door and pressed his remote keys to lock the car.

He had dimples.

Damn.

Why did I just notice it now?

There were a few garden benches along the cobbled stone pathway just a few meters from where he parked the car. We sat down. He looked around. Then he chuckled to himself again. I looked at him. He was acting weird.

He cleared his throat again.

 

Him: Hmmm…nice weather.

Me: Yeah.

Him: Not too bright, and no sign of rainclouds.

Me: Right.

 

He shifted in his seat and faced me. He had that look in his face that reminded me of a kid about to tell his mom that he had the most brilliant idea ever. I got caught off guard, though, when he suddenly reached out a hand and:

 

“Hi. My name is Jungkook. Kim Jungkook.”

 

What?

I stared at him. He still had his hand out as if to shake mine. I slowly took his hand and shook it.

 

“Yinzi. Wu Yinzi.”

Him: Nice meeting you.

Me: Uhm…yeah. Same.

Him: Aren’t you gonna ask why?

Me: Why…?

Him: I’m just doing this, like we are starting again, so you’d forget about what happened before. So you’d stop being guilty. I know you still feel guilty about before. I’m here  and I’m okay. But no matter how many times I tell you I’m okay, I know it won’t erase the memory of you seeing me hurt and blaming yourself for what happened. So now, I’m trying to re-create the first time we met. In Florida.

Me: Jungkook…

Him: There’s no beach near, so this is the nearest place to a beach I can think of. No sea, but the atmosphere is almost the same.

Me: Mianhaeyo.

Him: Wu Yinzi, remember that day?

Me: The first time I met you?

Him: Ne.

Me: You helped me with my bike.

Him: Yes, I did. Jimin hyung was with me that time…

Me: Is…he…here now…too?

Him: *snorts* No, of course not. He’s in California.

Me: Oh. Right. Mianhae.

Him: Why are you saying sorry?

Me: I forgot.

Him: That’s no big deal. Don’t say sorry for things you didn’t do.

Me: Sorry.

Him: Xiao Yi…

Me: Oops.

Him: So, yeah. I just really wanted to make you feel that you didn’t do anything wrong. Things happened as it should have. If there was someone to blame, it was Choi Siwon, and he’s in jail now.

Me: I didn’t listen to you. That time.

Him: You were just concerned about your Luhan ge. It was natural for you to worry. If it had been my Jin hyung, I’d have done the same thing you did.

Me: I felt stupid when I came round after three days. Then I found out you were out, too. I blamed myself.

Him: Don’t.

 

He took my hand. I froze on the spot.

 

Me: And…I didn’t tell you that I was being punished by papa, so I had to leave for London. I should have told you.

Him: To be honest, I felt bad. Why you chose to keep it to yourself. I’d have understood right away, you know.

Me: I’m sorry.

Him: Shhhh…

 

He pulled me into a hug. I could feel tears in my eyes and I had to blink to prevent them from falling. I realized a little later that he was hugging me. I blushed and hid my face in his chest. The sudden rage of my emotions changed to awkwardness.

 

Damn.

This was better than ice cream.

He wasn’t allergic to this, I hope.

And  I sure wasn’t allergic to this.

Then I heard him chuckle and mutter.

 

“Crybaby.”

 

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JungYi shippers, here we go. ^_^ The ship is sailing.  吴愛你們。我愛你們。♥♥♥

Please vote for BTS and keep watching the official "Dope (쩔어)" MV. I want them to win again ㅠ.ㅠ