Jungkook’s footsteps started getting slower as if his feet have their own minds and a separate part of his whole frame. He suddenly became stiff, unable to move unlike what he’s supposed to do. His hands started to shake as little beads of sweat started forming on his forehead while dealing with the dilemma of using his mind or letting his feet decide.

He already had it clear, right? That he would just let his feelings be taken by the wind. Because first of all, what can he boast about? He’s merely nothing compared to all those guys waiting for her every morning. Even with all the girls. 

He is Jeon Jungkook. Just Jeon Jungkook. 

He has his glasses as thick as the books he read, brown locks which scent not even close to the strawberry smell she has. He is as if from a horror movie with his deep and creepy stares, and it seems like he’s always deprived of sleep in times he removes his glasses. That’s at least what he believes because you know, mirrors don’t lie. 

Secondly, what can he give? He has nothing to offer but his shy smiles and the way he stutters. It will be a lie if he’ll say that he wasn’t envious of what their seniors and juniors had readied. He cannot bake a box of muffins because aside from knowing nothing about baking, they only have a single gas range at home. 

Who can bake muffins with a gas range? 

He also cannot write a letter. Not that he doesn’t have time nor he does not know how to write. In fact, he is known as Shakespeare’s reincarnation with all the flowery words he use and how profound they are but, all the words seemed to be up along with his confidence if we’re gonna talk about his own feelings for that girl who is almost perfect. It’ll surely be weird and awkward if he would just write those three words. And sure, she’ll be weirded out if she ever received a letter from a wallflower dubbed as the reincarnation of a legendary playwright with just those three words shamelessly flashed on a cheap paper. 

“Cheap paper” - He can’t even afford nice supplies yet alone a pack of scented papers just for his confession about his own imaginations.

And lastly, it’s impossible for her to like him. They really just have a total of two interactions eversince he entered high school. One was during a certain music activity, and the other one was at the principal’s office a while ago. Fools won’t even fall for a guy like him with just those two (and he’s sure that even if it’ll be millions, no one would still do).

Every morning, he would watch her graceful steps as she walks from the school’s main gate, her presence alone making him shiver. He would watch how her eyes smile together with her pink lips as she receives something from their schoolmates, and with the amount of time he spends just by watching her move, he already know that she sometimes just put a facade when being showered by endless efforts. He would have to admit that he, too, is already a bit deafened with millions of ‘good mornings’ though not even a single greeting was intended for him. And today, just like any other day, is not an exception.

Hiding behind the giant post as if he’s a vampire afraid of the raging sunshine, he watched how the pool of students started forming some kind of a circle around her with all their gifts on their hands that are being extended as if being forced unto her for a little attention. Today’s number were a bit more than what he had expected for he can’t even catch a glimpse of her ‘angelic’ face. He stayed behind the lifeless post for some minutes, letting the voices die down as the bell rings. With ragged breathing slowly being turned into sighs of relief, he tried to peek at her only to be surprised that she had done the same thing. It was surely tiring having to say ‘thank you’ with all the greetings and the presents offered. 

If only he could help her say those words of gratitude..

Yuna started making her way to her classroom with her bag all bulky from the gifts she had received, and God knows how much he wanted to grab it from her and all the flowers and letters on her delicate hands (and throw them all at the trash cans), and help her carry them until they reach her destination. But, putting his gentle attitude and feelings aside, he rushed to their classroom with his ears all ready for a minute of sermons from their homeroom teacher.

...

Jungkook heaved a sigh of relief as he fixed his glasses while making his way to his seat at the back part of the room: the one farthest from the room’s glass board. He’s fortunate that their homeroom teacher, Mr. Shin, isn’t that much of an early bird. It’s ironic how he cared too much when it comes to a student’s punctuality yet he himself can’t cope up with the practice he’s trying to implement. 

His eyes roamed around the room as he felt the little comfort that his hard seat has to offer. What greeted him was a common sight to see before the classes start at morning: the geeks were focused on their notes, heads almost buried within the lines and their nicest penmanship; a group of four or five busy on their mirrors like it was what gave them their lives; petty ones were arguing about something unworthy; distracted minds averting their focus on some riddles and rubik’s cubes; some were just on their seats not caring at all; and lastly, the same group whom they can consider as the chaos makers were on their job again. The once neatly arranged chairs were spread out as if the room was attacked by a super typhoon, and stuff were on the floor as if thrown by an unexpected twister. 

Well, one could consider the chaos makers as the given disasters themselves, at least. They’re the ones who turned the room into a place comparable to a state of calamity. But amidst all these, it would miraculously turn back to its original place approximately five seconds before the teacher arrives which Jungkook, honestly, finds amazing.

He buried his head on his own desk, silently wishing for Mr. Shin to arrive a little later than expected so he would enjoy his little time he has for himself. It has been too chaotic for him lately.

Everybody thinks that the Jungkook they see is someone who has all the time in the world to bury himself on the thickest textbooks the library has to offer. The truth is, he is someone family-oriented, standing as both the father and mother of his sibling. It all happened one day in 9th grade when his parents got involved with theft resulting into a murder case still left unsolved. It has been too destructive for him and his little sister, especially when their parents were suspected to have a million worth of debt which resulted into the confiscation of their properties, with their house as their only possession he defended. With almost nothing left to continue their life, he strived to keep his scholarship and used the money he saved up to start anew. Now, he managed to buy the things necessary, including a single gas range.

His rest was then interrupted by the familiar sound of chairs clashing into each other and the whispers of his classmates about their homeroom teacher being on his way. Before he could open his tired eyes, the once chaotic classroom has turned into a decent one with the class president as the only one standing to lead the morning greeting. 

The class started up with some motivations Jungkook, as usual, finds boring. Mr. Shin had been asking some riddles to catch the attention of the students, and Jungkook doesn’t want to kill the fun with answering those without giving a single chance for others. In lieu of being active, he just stared blankly at the glass board, waiting for his classmates to finally be enlightened. 

After what seemed like hours of endless questions and debates, Mr. Shin finally proceeded with the discussion. The topic? DNA, which he, as expected, finds easy. 

“The anticodon of an incoming tRNA pairs with the mRNA codon in the A site. Then, the polypeptide leaves the tRNA in the P site and attaches to the amino acid on A site.” Mr. Shin managed to explain the lesson clearly with some illustrations, but half of the class have their mouths open with all the new informations. “The ribosome translocates the tRNA carrying the polypeptide to the P site, and lastly, the polypeptide is freed and the ribosome splits into its subunits.”

With the silence, one could clearly hear the ticking sound of the clock and the little sound of the cap being attached back to the marker. 

“Anyone who can tell what the process is?” As if on a cue, all heads turned to the person occupying the seat farthest from the glass board. 

“RNA translation, Sir.” Jungkook awkwardly stated, raising the volume of his voice a little to be heard on the front. Satisfied that even a single student had understood the lesson, Mr. Shin nodded his head with a small smile tugging on the side of his lips. Little did he know that Jungkook already read the lesson the night before, and he clearly remembers where to find it: 234th from the last paragraph to the first two of the following page.

...

Mr. Shin had mysteriously disappeared as soon as the bell rang. If Jungkook doesn’t know better, he would already be thinking that he is some kind of a wizard disguised as a Science teacher. 

Jungkook was about to bury his head at his desk again after noticing that the students also started vanishing from his sight when he heard series of loud claps which is getting louder together with a series of proud footsteps. He raised his head a little only to see three guys standing right in front of him, their heads bowed a bit towering his whole frame. 

The one in the middle is Kim Taehyung with corny jokes: standing 178 cm in height, blood type is AB, a member of the school’s basketball team since 7th grade and is sometimes called as V.

The one on the right is Min Yoongi, the cold guy: 174 cm, O is the blood type, a member of the basketball team with Taehyung; he’s the chess master, and the only son of their principal.

And the last one on the left is Park Jimin, the small one who isn’t really small: standing 5 cm shorter than Jungkook, blood type is A, the guy who is fond of singing and dancing, and the one who was crushing on their classmate, Eunha, since God knows when and is now the girl’s boyfriend.

How did he knew all their names and profiles aside from being their classmate without being close to anyone of them? 

Simply because they’re affiliated with Yuna, and he still remembers how he pasted their group photo on his diary to take note of who her friends are.

Now, they have their own girlfriends who are also his classmates: Yerin, Eunha, and Yewon. How he felt jealousy conquering his immature mind everytime he sees them with Yuna and how he stares at them behind his large pile of books during lunchtime is still fresh in his mind. No one knows how he spaces out back in the old days having the thought of one of the three guys courting his only crush, and certainly, no one knows how relieved he was when he learned that each one of them already got themselves a girlfriend.

“Jeon Jungkook.” Yoongi’s stern voice surely sent shivers down his spine. It’s the first time he ever talked to him, and he was expecting him to say a little hello instead of saying his full name sternly with his eyebrows a bit furrowed. 

But what was he trying to think? That he would greet him nicely and with a warm smile? He is Min Yoongi, the cold guy. Now, he’s wondering. How did he got himself a girlfriend like Yewon? She’s too sweet and innocent. 

‘Out of fear, maybe? Or he’s a gentle guy when it comes to girls..? Yes. That’s it.’

Jimin cleared his throat which made Jungkook blink a little then looked away. It was then that he realized that he had his eyes glued to Yoongi for a little while. Pushing his unimportant thoughts aside, he tried reducing the awkwardness by giving them a little nod accompanied by a small smile, but now that he did, it seemed like the atmosphere got a little more awkward than it was before.

“Stop it. We’re here for a little favor.” Taehyung gave him a grin. He almost got blanked but the last two words were still ringing on his ears.

Favor? Out of all the people in school, why was it him whom they’re asking for a little favor? Whatever it will be, Jungkook’s already thinking of doing his best to leave a good impression. They are Yuna’s friends, after all. If ever the time comes that he would court her, he’ll definitely go through these three first.

Wait. 

Court her? 

They aren’t even friends. 

Here goes his petty imaginations again.

“Come with us.” Is he just imagining things or did he hear it right? It wasn’t long until he got the answer because Taehyung already grabbed his arm and dragged him all the way from the classroom up to the hallways. Of course, he didn’t forget to bring his thick literature book with him.

“Where are we going?” Jungkook finally gathered himself together and built some courage to speak up. Jimin was about to wrap his arms around his shoulder but his efforts were all useless.

“Try harder, Jimin.” The youngest swore he saw a little smile plastered on Yoongi’s lips. If he was a girl, he’ll definitely have Yoongi as his campus crush. Seconds later, it was Taehyung who succeed in wrapping his arms around his shoulder, and Jungkook’s mind suddenly changed regarding his first statement. 

“We’re going to the Principal’s office.” Jungkook’s eyes widened as if he was bathed with a dipper of cold water. What are they gonna do at the office of the Principal? As far as he could remember, he hasn’t done anything against the school rules or anything stupid except hiding on the posts near the school’s main gate everyday to watch Yuna and her admirers. Is that reason enough for him to get a sanction?

“Maybe you’re wondering if you did something wrong but, no. We just want to inform you beforehand that you were chosen to be the school’s model on the school promotions.” Jungkook now felt like he’s being bathed with a pail instead of a  dipper of cold water after hearing the sudden announcement. He’s a mere nothing compared to everyone else. Are they trying to pull some kind of prank to scare him? Because if yes, it’s definitely working.

“Why is it me?” They suddenly stopped on their tracks and immediately positioned themselves in front of Jungkook. 

“You’re not ‘chosen’, honestly. Yoongi recommended you.” Jungkook swore it was more flabbergasting than the first announcement. “Don’t worry. You’re not the only one. Yuna will also be there.”

Taehyung watched closely on how their nerdy classmate would react to what he had stated. 

The truth is, the three of them are aware about the guy’s attraction towards their youngest friend. They often see him staring at her every morning, watching him from the third level and laughing at how he hides behind a post then runs like he’s being chased by a furious dog. They would often notice him meters away from where they eat during breaks and how he would stare at her from beneath his pile of books to be less noticeable. And one time when Jimin tried following Jungkook because they had been noticing that he would always excuse himself everytime Yuna has her training, he saw that the guy would make his way to the gym instead of the lavatory and stay there to watch their friend for some minutes. 

There were some instances when they caught Jungkook helping Yuna indirectly. When she had her unexpected visitor after her game and she suddenly put herself into trouble with her white shorts, he left his jacket with a little note for her to wrap around her waist until she gets home. Taehyung was aware that the jacket belongs to their nerdy classmate because he was sure he saw him wearing it before the said match.

Those are enough evidences that Jungkook has something for Yuna, and thinking about it, they had decided that he’s better than those who’s trying to get some attention from