Jungkook waited for Kelly at the Starbucks next to campus. He was mixing honey into his passion tea lemonade when Kelly walked in, looking like a mess. There were twigs in her hair, most of which was defying gravity and standing up in spikes.

“Jungkookie,” she said, dropping her bag next to him and flopping down on the seat.

“What have you been up to?” Jungkook muttered, pulling out a broken branch from her hair.

“A cat,” she muttered back.

“Excuse me?” Jungkook asked, his brows crunched in confusion.

“It was stuck in a tree,” Kelly grumbled. “And it was mewling. So I tried to climb the tree…”

“Wait, can you even climb trees?”

“Apparently not. Because I got to the cat, and it just scratched me and jumped away. And then I fell through the branches. Half the country saw my underwear as I tumbled down into the mud.”

“Dear lord.”

“That doesn’t even begin to cover the embarrassment.” Kelly put her face in her hands. “Why though.”

“At least the cat’s okay…” Jungkook mumbled, trying his best to not laugh. Kelly didn’t miss it.

“Go on, laugh. Everyone else did.”

“Kelly…” Jungkook rubbed her back. She leaned into his shoulder and sniffled. “Good thing Taehyung wasn’t there.”

“Why would it matter if he was there?” Jungkook asked, glad for an opening into the conversation he had meant to have in the café.

Kelly sat back up, her cheeks flaming. “I mean, I am glad you both weren’t there to see my Winnie the pooh underwear.”

“Why the hell do you have Winnie the pooh underwear?! I think that’s more concerning than your fall.”

“Jungkookie! Gemma bought them for me as a joke. And I didn’t do laundry this past week, so yeah, I had no underwear. You know too much, I have to kill you now!”

Jungkook saw no point in beating around the bush. “Kelly, do you like Taehyungie?”

Kelly looked like she had been punched in the stomach. “Excuse me?!”

“Yeah, do you like him?”

“I don’t! Not like that.”

Jungkook sighed. “You can tell me, you know.”

Kelly’s face was redder than her hair now. “I don’t know how that idea got in your head.”

“You’re kinda obvious, you know.”

Kelly sputtered. “What?! Does Taehyung know?”

“So you do like him?”

Kelly put her forehead on the table and decided not to answer.

“Kelly,” Jungkook said softly, pulling out more twigs from her head. “Taehyung’s kinda stupid when it comes to such matters. So I don’t think he knows. I just sensed something so I thought of asking you. Especially since I would try not to third wheel…”

“You don’t third wheel,” Kelly said, her voice suppressed as she refused to raise her head. “You’re our friend too.”

“Yes, but if you like him, you need to spend time with him.”

Kelly finally looked up. “Are you sure? Taehyungie would sense something’s off…”

“I can come up with excuses,” Jungkook said, smiling. “You should go for it, I don’t know how Taehyungie feels about you, or anyone for that matter, but it’s worth a shot.”

Kelly nodded, blushing. “Thank you Jungkook. It’s just that…I…” Kelly took a deep breath. “I have liked Tae for a while now. And I tried to get over it, but… I failed. But I am so scared to spoil what we have you know. I hope we can still be friends even if nothing comes out of this.”

“You’ll never know unless you try,” Jungkook replied, pulling out the last twig. “There you go, you’re all twig-less now.”

Kelly laughed, relaxing finally. “Oh Jungkookie, what would I do without you!” She reached over and pulled him into a hug. “You’ve given me courage,” she whispered. “I might ask Taehyungie to coffee or something.”

Jungkook hugged her back, smiling, but he couldn’t understand why for some reason, his happiness for her was clouded by a strange sadness.