"I'm risking myself to the same pain, reopening the unhealed wound..."

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8 years ago, Spring 2010…

“Kim Taehyung!!!” Joohyun used her very last ounce of strength to yelled at the sleeping mischief-maker after climbing the long flight of stairs to the rooftop. “Are you going to spend all your time here daily?” she panted, her chest was heaving unstoppably.

Putting on his headphones without opening his eyes despite knowing the tutor was already at her max irritation, he continued his sleep on the bench with his arms crossed and rested on his abdomen. Just by looking at his face was sufficed to irked her badly. After regulating her breathing on the bench, Joohyun took out her study notes and began to recite the names of the kings of Joseon Dynasty. She knew he wouldn’t listen to her so she decided to at least not let him sleep comfortably.

Joohyun’s voice was getting louder, “King Jeongjong, 1938 to 1400, King Taejong, 1400 to 1418, King Sejong…”

“YAH!!” Taehyung jolted up from his sleep and shot Joohyun a deadly glare. “Are you giving a history lecture here?”

“Historical lecture,” Joohyun closed her book and turned to Taehyung with a challenging stare, “it can help you sleep better, isn’t it Young Master Taehyung?”

All of sudden, he stood from the bench and pulled her up before pushing her back on a nearby pillar. By now, she could somehow read his moves and knew what he was up to. Joohyun knew he would be frightening her with his lips again. She immediately covered when he closed in in the speed of light.

Taehyung snorted, “Very clever?” in split second, he pulled her hand away and captured her lips while staring into her widened eyes.

She was struggling to push the strong boy before her. When he felt she was drumming her petite fists on his chest, he leaned in harder and tilted his head to deepen the kiss. Her hands began to tremble when his tongue on her lips. He held on her wrists and placed it above her head, locking it firmly against the pillar.

He finally released her when she attempted to bite on his lower lip, “stop trying to appear to be feisty in front of me,” he breathed heavily, affected by the hot kiss they shared. “I’m not interested with you.”

She pushed hard on his chest and stepped away from him and made sure there were a few feet gap between them. “Are you some kind of or molester? I warn you not to kiss me again or you’ll regret!!”

“Even if I am, you won’t be shortlisted given your standard,” he said whilst wiping on his lips with his back of palm. “I’m not interested with you, Bae Joohyun. Get lost!”

“What do you mean by my standard and who said that I’m interested with you!” she was offended by him. “Do you even know what a kiss meant for a girl and you kept kissing me without my permission, you idi…”

Before she could say further, he grabbed on her nape and pulled her to him again to stop her babble. She could feel his breathing hitting her. A smirk formed on his face, “you’re too noisy, do you know that?” caressing on her cheek, he said “so what does it mean to you? I’m sure our first kiss wasn’t your first.”

He could feel the fast beats of her heart and the change on her face disturbed him in some way. “This will be my last warning to you. You have spent a month plus following around without achieving something, you should give up now. I won’t co-operate with you.”

-

Trailing behind Taehyung from the rooftop to the locker area, Joohyun did not utter a word. He noticed after the mention of her first kiss, she was very quiet unlike the usual her who would not miss a chance to force him in agreeing to her request. The sound of him dribbling the basketball woke her up from the trance of thoughts.

Joohyun frowned, “Kim Taehyung, you can’t play this here.”

Taehyung did not stop and continued as she finally spoke, he wasn’t sure why would he has such feeling but the strong urge of finding out who was her first kiss, bothered him.

She grabbed hold of the basketball and almost hurt her finger as the ball was bouncing in a high speed. “Stop it!” she was shaking her hand to ease the pain.

Grabbing hold on her small hand, he frowned looking at her reddened finger “are you stupid? You could have twisted your finger.”

Withdrawing her hand from him, she was startled by his sudden caring. “It wouldn’t happen if you didn’t dribble the ball here,” she retorted. “You have to stop being a rebellious kid. Do you know that Jimin oppa cleaned the mess that you have created the other day? The girl that you slammed the ball at was the daughter of a top banker in Korea. Jimin oppa took the blame for you and had a week’s detention.”

Receiving no respond from him, she leaned her shoulder against the locker and arms crossed before her chest, watching him organising his locker. “Say something, stop being so selfish and self-centred.”

Closing the locker door with great strength, she jolted from her leaning posture and it scared her more when he walked closer to her. “Jimin oppa?” his brow raised, “how could you call him oppa so sweetly, he’s your best friend boyfriend. Stop flirting around with all the guys, such a .”

“Oh please, I’ve been friends with him for years and furthermore he’s elder than me so what’s the problem with me addressing him as oppa,” Joohyun snapped, angry with the tag he had put on her. “By the way, I never ask for those attention from those boys. I’m not a !” She may not have shown anyone how bothered she was being called as a but she knew everyone in the school has labelled her as that due to the number of fanboys she has attracted.

“Then why aren’t you calling me oppa, I’m elder than you too.”

“I would even call you appa if you’re willing to go and study now.”

Taehyung rolled his eyes, irritated.

“Kim Taehyung-shi, all the kids here came to this school for a purpose. They are the future heir, the successor to take the throne, the empire that their parents have built.” Joohyun looked intently at the boy before her, “So are you, your parents have provided you the best things on earth and all you need to do now is just walked on the paved road. It’s your responsibility, you can’t escape it. Stop being so selfish and do what you need to do instead of rebelling your parents. This world doesn’t revolve around you only. Don’t make it as though everyone owes you something and have to put up with your rich brat tantrums.”

“Stop,” he reprimanded, throwing a hard glare at her but it went unnoticed as she continued. “It’s your final year already, you need to stop being childish and act like an…”

“Ahh…” she screamed when he pushed her on the locker.

“I’d said stop!” he raised his voice. “Don’t cross the line, Bae Joohyun,” he reprimanded with the darkest voice she has ever come across. “What right do you have to say those things when you don’t even know a single thing about my parents. You know nothing on what I’d gone through so stop saying whatever you think it’s right or you’ll really regret for meeting me.”

Taehyung’s eyes were eyeing darkly at Joohyun, sending chill down her spine. Looking away when he sensed someone watching them from afar, he released her. It was the same person he had been avoiding.

“Let’s go back to the class,” he uttered and made his way towards the stairs.

Back in the class, Joohyun bowed at Mr. Leeteuk and just when she was about to return to her seat, Leeteuk stated, “today’s lecture has ended, is self-study time now. You’re late, Joohyun.”

“!”

“Hun, you’re too straightforward,” Taehyung whispered into her ear. “I’m ready whenever you are.”

“Yah!!”

Everyone stared still at the frustrated Joohyun when she shouted all of a sudden. Taehyung chuckled and walked back to his seat.

“Not bad, at least he followed you back,” Jimin clapped his hands.

“Her face colour doesn’t look good,” Namjoon commented as he watched Joohyun seated behind him and glared at the boy who had started sleeping again. “Joohyun-ah, you’ve missed quite a number of classes, how are you keeping up with it?”

“No worries, I’ll be fine…” she sighed when the person beside her started snoring.

“Bae Joohyun,” Leeteuk called. “If you brought him back just to sleep, I would not take in his attendance.”

“Yah Kim Taehyung,” she got up and kicked on his table to wake him up. “How much sleep do you need in a day??”

Her action frightened Jimin and Namjoon. They quickly pulled Joohyun back and just then the last bell of the day rang. She swung her arms off from her friends and glared at Taehyung.

“Cutie, let’s call it a day,” Taehyung pinched her nose. “Goodbye…”

“Wait,” she grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him back, “this Saturday we need to meet up and discuss on your academic plan, Spring is coming to an end we need to work on your plan for Summer till the first term examination.”

“Plan all you want,” Taehyung withdrew his hand and exited the classroom.

-

“Kim Taehyung,” Jimin wrapped his arm around his best friend’s shoulder as they walked into the arcade game shop. “How far are you going to go, is it that fun torturing Joohyun?”

“Where’s Namjoon hyung?” 

“Cleaning the mess that you’ve created,” Jimin stated before collecting the coins from the cashier. “You made Joohyun missed too many lessons, he’s helping her now.”

“Why is everyone saying that I’d created mess,” Taehyung snatched the basket of coins from Jimin’s hands and walked up to the basketball machine.

“Brother, stop bullying her. She meant good and it’s your mother that have assigned her to tutor you,’ Jimin tried to persuade him.

“You should persuade her not to be my mum puppet.” Taehyung responded before placing the basket on the machine. “If you all want her to be safe, don’t let her come close to me.”

“Why is that?”

“Yah!!! You frightened me, Jung Hoseok,” Jimin held on his tie and gently patted on his chest upon seeing Hoseok appeared behind him suddenly.

Hoseok laughed, “so why are you pushing Joohyun away when she’s only doing her job? You made her looked like a desperate woman chasing after you all over the school. Usually only the boys would do that to her.”

“By hook or by crook, she has to make sure you graduate or it would affect her scholarship,” Jimin explained.

“That’s her problem. She’s not welcome into my world so if you all want her safe, help me to get rid of her.” Taehyung leaned on the machine irritated by their over sensitiveness to his tutor. “So who is going to tell me why are you all so protective towards Bae Joohyun? Aren’t you all worried that your girlfriends would be jealous?”

“She’s our girls’ buddy, why would they be jealous and what could make them be jealous?” Jimin queried.

His brows knitted, “Namjoon hyung, he’s interested with her?”

“The person that truly have interest with her is not Namjoon…ouch…”

Hoseok kept quiet when Jimin hit on his stomach, “you’re too talkative today. The main point is why can’t you just work with Joohyun, it benefits you.”

“Park Jimin, you know me well. For her sake and my sake, don’t let her step foot into my world or you all would be regretting for her as well.” Taehyung checked on the machine scoreboard and cursed “Damn, who’s this ‘Baebae’?”

“Heol, that player broke your record again,” Hoseok chanted excitingly. “Thought you beat the record just last week.”

“Ok, your ID is Taetae…why does it look like this Baebae is mocking you…” Jimin turned to the blazing Taehyung.

Gently rubbing on his nose tip, Hoseok tilted towards Jimin’s side and said under his hand “must you add fuel to fire?”

“Don’t this machine have a maximum score?” Taehyung folded his sleeve of his shirt and loosened his tie before inserting the coin into the machine.

“That means you have not achieve the highest score yet…”

“You need to stop, Park Jimin.” Hoseok nudged his arm.

-

Joohyun was waiting patiently in the classroom. Every now and then she would check on her phone to see if there is any message from any foreign number. She had waited for almost 30 minutes but he was nowhere to be seen and she is beginning to feel anxious as the time tick by. Walking around the school, she thought of trying her luck to see if she could find him anywhere. When she walked past the gymnasium, the sound of the basketball and shoes sound drew her attention.

“Babo, of course he won’t come when today is the team selection,” she hit on her forehead before striding towards the indoor basketball court. “He’s really here,” she grasped on the door handle.

“Hyung…Joohyun-ie is here…”

“Yoongi-ah, go take care of her for me first,” the older man stated as he continued flipping on the listings on his board and looked up to the line of young boys before him.

Taking the seat next to Joohyun, Yoongi asked “Shouldn’t you be with hyung now, your annual duty.”

“How long is this selection going to take?”

“We just started with the introduction,” Yoongi replied.

Checking on her watch, her eyes darted at Taehyung “thanks to him I’ll be terribly late this time.”

“Alright, we will have a short break before we start the actual selection. Please proceed with warm up thereafter,” Baekhyun announced.

“Baekhyun sunbaenim…”

“Oppa,” Joohyun paced up to her brother before turning to Taehyung, “didn’t you hear what he said, it’s warm up time.” Holding on Baekhyun’s arm, she pulled him to aside stopping Taehyung from speaking further.

Brows furrowed, Taehyung pointed at them “what’s their relationship, she’s his girlfriend? I thought she’s with Namjoon hyung.”

The elder boy chortled, “she’s Baekhyun’s sister and you’re wrong about her with Namjoon.” Folding his arms, he added “the person that have interest with her it’s definitely not Namjoon.”

“This is the second time I’m hearing this,” Taehyung said. “I’m really curious with this boy who is interested with this infuriating girl,” his voice was laced with curiosity and annoyance while describing Joohyun.

“You’ll find out soon,” Yoongi shrugged.

“Is she trying to manipulate her brother to ban me from the selection?” Taehyung was looking at them worriedly.