Jungkook thinks it's unfair for Chaeyoung to have bragging rights for being able to speak English well. The girl was born in New Zealand and visits Australia yearly - during which Jungkook would raid her house because she gave him the key to take care of her puppy, Snickles, and eat whatever leftover food was in the fridge. He also tried to sleep in her room a few times but decided against it because her bedsheets always smelled like her and gave him weird dreams.

“I think you miss her,” Jimin had said to him when he brought it up. Jungkook nearly choked on his water laughing. “Whatever, man, but we both know you're ridiculously attached to her.” 

That was something he couldn't deny. He wanted to say that Chaeyoung was like his sister but that wasn't entirely true - his dreams told him otherwise. He knows Jimin has always had something of a crush on his best friend, and practically everyone in every grade who knew them made it apparent that they thought those two were meant for each other. Chaeyoung is at the top of her grade, Jimin at the top of his. They had both been part of the school's choir since Chaeyoung's freshman year, in which Jimin would text Jungkook a series of how the hell do i talk to her??? texts while he was at practice. But as the years went on, Jimin's attempts to advance their relationship grew scarce. He says it's because he doesn't want to make things awkward with Jungkook if Chaeyoung decides she likes him back. 

“The hell are you talking about? Why would I care if you date her?” Jungkook scoffed.

“I know you say you don't like her but it's just... it feels weird, okay? Let's just drop it.”

And that's the last conversation Jungkook remembers having with Jimin right before he graduated. They still keep in contact but he isn't sure whether Jimin still keeps in contact with Chaeyoung. He finds himself glancing over at Chaeyoung at the front of the class in the midst of his thoughts and sees that she's at it again, actively participating in the lesson. She's the sole person in the class who communicates with the teacher in full, perfect english. But to Jungkook, it all sounds like gibberish. He's never been good at english, even less so with french, but they're mandatory classes and he chose the two languages because he knew Chaeyoung's notes were his gateway to success. 

“Jeon Jungkook,” the nasally voice of his english teacher bursts the little thought bubble that separates him from the class. 

“Yes?”

To his distaste, she asks in english “I don't know if you were paying attention, but we're summarizing the chapter that was assigned last night. Can you tell us something about the protagonist's relationship with Jane?” She speaks slowly for Jungkook to catch on, but he still doesn't pick up on a single word other than the pronouns. 

He swallows hard, his eyes nervously darting to the book in front of him that he didn't bother attempting to read or translate into korean for a basic understanding because quite frankly, he didn't give a . His usual cocky demeanor fades because he simply doesn't know how to pull himself out of this awkward rut. Had it been history class, he would have sassed the teacher about how all history is the same - the world was at peace until America came and ed up. But how would he get out of this? Make up some words that sounded english?

Just when he's about to admit defeat, out of the corner of his eye, he spots Chaeyoung holding up a piece of paper behind her back with the words (in korean, thank god): She's asking you about the romance between the main characters. Say (in english) 'He likes the colour of her eyes'.

In an instant, his characteristic smirk returns to his face as he looks up at the teacher, now leaning against the podium and a bored look on her face as she awaits his usual 'sorry, I don't know.' Then, taking a deep breath, he says, “H-He raikes th-the colour of her...” he squints at the scribbly writing on Chaeyoung's sheet and thinks the hell do you say that?, “her...ah...”

“Her what?” she blinks.

“Her... ?”

There's a wave of silence that washes over the class, then an erruption of laughter as the teacher looks at Jungkook wide eyed and redfaced. Jungkook feels like he's supposed to be embarrassed, though he has no idea what he just said, but he gets an inkling that it wasn't correct when he sees Chaeyoung softly banging her head against her desk. He can't help but smile at her secondhand embarrassment. 

“You're an idiot,” she tells him at the bus stop, and tries to kick him in the shin when he simply shrugs at her, but misses by an inch. “I don't know why I bother helping you.”

“Because you loooove me,” he grins, cradling his face in his hands. 

If she could roll her eyes any harder at him, they'd be permanently glued to her brain, she thinks. When she continues to scold him about his horrendous study habits and frankly, his lack of cleanliness when she notices the huge knot at the back of his head, he slips on a pair of headphones and starts blasting songs to tune her out. “For 's sake, you're such a brat,” she groans.

“Sorry, can't hear you!” he shouts, loud enough to startle some of the nearby students. She immediately stops talking, feeling a blush spreading to her cheeks again, and he grins when he sees her turning away from him, angrily biting her lip. 

The bus finally arrives, luckily only partially full today, which meant they could probably get seats if they hurry. But Chaeyoung is adamant about letting the elderly passengers get on first, which pushes them back a bit as the seats get filled up. Jungkook tries not to groan with his impatience, but he still can't stop himself from nudging her hip with his finger, causing her to knee him in the thigh. “Can you not,” she hisses, and he would have said something about her going too slow if he hadn't noticed the way colour is returning to her face again. She says her frequent blushing is a weird genetic condition, but Jungkook never bought it. He thinks it shows how much he affects her, but then again, he picks at anything that would feed his ego. 

When they finally get on board, every seat is occupied so they stand, and Chaeyoung pretends not to see the I told you so glance Jungkook shoots her way. Right when the bus is preparing to depart, another passenger hurriedly jumps through the doors. If he had been a second later, he probably would have been awkwardly sandwiched between them. The boy bows gratefully at the driver for waiting just a second for him and deposits his fare before turning to look around for a place to stand. That's when he notices two familiar faces standing at the back. 

“Kookie! Chaeyoung!” he waves excitedly as the two turn to look at him in disbelief. 

“Jimin?” they say in unison, and before they know it, he's standing in front of them with a wide smile. He hasn't changed at all, still dressing in clothes a size too big for him because he's always had a small physique. The only noticeable difference is his hair, which he's dyed a neon orange. 

“Whoa, hyung, did you dye your hair that colour to distract people from your height?” Jungkook jokes, then dodges Jimin's foot. “Hey, man, not in the crotch,” he laughs. 

Then, Jungkook remembers that there was a time, around sophomore year, when Chaeyoung wanted to dye her hair for the first time because she was getting bored of plain black, but she was afraid she'd look ridiculous so Jimin jokingly offered to dye his hair the exact same colour so that she wouldn't be alone. Fortunately, her orange hair came out just fine, enhancing her appearance, even. Jimin's face had lit up when he saw her for the first time with the new look. Four years later and here he is, finally daring enough to join her.

“Not quite the colour I have, but...” she lifts a stand of her own hair for comparison.

“I know, I couldn't find that shade so I settled,” he chuckles, “did it turn out okay though? Some friends from university say it looks fine but I hardly know some of them so they might just be lying to spare my feelings.”

“I think it looks good,” Chaeyoung beams, running her hand through his hair. “It's soft, too!”

Jimin feels a blush creeping into his cheeks at the feeling of her warm hand in his hair and her chest pressed against his arm as she reaches up. “Y-yeah, I condition.”

“Pffft, what a girl,” Jungkook scoffs. 

“At least he cleans himself once in a while, unlike someone,” she retorts, and he pokes his tongue out at her. 

Jimin smiles at the two, amused that they haven't changed at all since he left. Except he thinks Chaeyoung has gotten prettier, but that's something he wouldn't admit, not in front of Jungkook. The last time he mentioned it, he remembers the way Jungkook walked straight into the girl's bathroom unknowingly mid-sentence because he didn't want to hear it. He wonders if that aspect has changed at all. 

“I miss hanging out with you guys,” he admits, and they nod in agreement. “We should go somewhere. There's an amusement park that just opened up a few blocks from the school. You guys in? We can go tomorrow since it's a Saturday.”

The way their faces lit up with excitement makes Jimin's stomach turn with nostalgia. Boy, did he miss this. 

“Jimin, I didn't know you take this bus,” Chaeyoung comments after a while.

“I don't. I was actually going over to visit Jungkook.”

“Really? And you weren't planning on seeing me?” she pretends to pout, but it still catches him off guard and he trips over his words for a moment. His eyes dart over to Jungkook who's staring idly out the window, but Jimin knows he's actively listening. They both know damn well why Jimin nearly cut off contact with Chaeyoung.  

“I- um- you two are always together so I figured I'd run into you eventually,” he lets out an awkward laugh.

“Ah, that makes sense,” she buys it, nodding without a hitch, and Jungkook almost laughs when he sees Jimin sigh in relief. 

The bus comes to a steady stop - Jungkook's stop - and he shifts and turns his body past other passengers to get off. Jimin quickly follows behind him, waving and mouthing a goodbye to Chaeyoung as they near the door. Just before they get off, Jungkook turns to look at her with a grin and says in english, loud enough for her to hear, “see you tomato!” and hops off. 

“Oh my god,” she buries her face into her hands, feeling warmth spread to her cheeks again.