The rain pounded outside Jisoo’s room. Jin and Taehyung sat on the floor while Jisoo was fetching things from the kitchen. Jin recalled her panic attack, and he almost remembered his own attacks in the past. That stressful emotion of feeling worthless. That futility of your muscles not working. 

    He winced, rubbing the area above his heart. Why did it hurt so much, seeing her like that? He was not sure why she invited them over to her house either. 

    Taehyung had returned with hotdogs; for his new best friends, he had claimed. And they hungrily devoured them on their way to Jisoo’s place. When Taehyung excused himself for the bathroom, Jin quickly surveyed the girl’s room. 

    It was very neat. There was a poster of a handsome boy-band on the wall beside her bed. Perhaps ten teddies watched him disapprovingly, sitting comfortably on the flowery quilt. Jisoo’s study desk was neat and organised, with many folders and compartments to hold her stationary and essentials. 

    He inspected her skin care brands, lifting them in the light and watched the bottles glisten. There was even one that claimed to contain snail gel. He frowned. Girls were truly silly creatures. Who would put snail gel on their face? Her perfumes contained floral scents, much to his surprise. 

    He associated her with myrrh and sandalwood. The scents of summer.

“What’re you doing?” 

    Jin jumped in his place. His heart slammed against his ribcage. Taehyung stared at him, his expression a canvas of wonder. “Just checking if I should get the same thing,” lied Jin. He hurriedly placed Jisoo’s perfume back on her desk. “Yenno. They’re nice.” 

    Taehyung lifted the bottle and sniffed it. “Isn’t it for girls?” 

“It is?” Jin forced a laugh. He rubbed the back of his head. “Are you for real?”

    “Hey, what happened to Jisoo when I went away? Why was she so pale?” 

For someone who appeared so distant and ignorant, Taehyung was very scrutinous. “Oh, Jisoo? It was nothing.”

    The boy titled his head. “You know, you’re a strange guy, Seokjin. You can’t lie, can you?” 

Jin felt the heat rush to his face. “What do you mean?” 

    Taehyung opened his mouth to speak, but there was a knock on the door. Jisoo entered with a tray full of junk food. She caught Jin’s stare, forcing herself to stare at the ground. “Taehyung,” she said, “My mom would like to ask you about ghosts. She’s in the kitchen.” 

    Taehyung beamed with excitement. “Are you serious? Can--can--can I go now?” 

Jisoo giggled at his antics. “Yes, ofcourse! Don’t keep her waiting.” 

    The strange boy almost tripped over his feet as he scampered out of the room. Jin sighed in relief, but then the sudden awareness hit him that he was alone with Jisoo. In her room. The girl pulled back her wet strands. 

    “I sent him off so we could talk,” the girl noted. Jin figured that much out. “You’re...in touch with Seulgi and Sehun?” 

Jin forced himself to stare out the window. The droplets slithered down the glass pane. The world disappeared behind a rainy mist. “I’m not in touch with them.” 

    “They were talking to you before I arrived.” 

“Jisoo…” He forced himself to look at her. “I swear, I don’t know how they found me, and I swear, I never meant for them to see you.” 

    “The flowers,” she cut in. Her eyes sparkled, and he had to look away. “What…” 

“They were for Taehyung.” He swallowed the knot in his throat. “Yeah, I got them for Taehyung. Don’t mind what Seulgi said.” 

    “Right,” said Jisoo, with a nod. “They were for Taehyung. Of course.” She chuckled. Bitterly. “Obviously. Why wouldn’t they be for Taehyung. Right?” 

    Jin bit his lower lip. He ran his fingers through his hair. “Yeah, that’s right. I mean, he’s such a good friend and all.” 

    Jisoo nodded, as if encouraging him. She pointed at him. “Yes, exactly. That’s what I was about to say. It’s alway nice to give flowers to a friend. People don’t do that nowadays.” 

    “And Taehyung’s a great friend too. You know, he’s honest and surprisingly, loyal.”

She smiled, but it did not reach her eyes. “I’m so glad, Seokjin.” She took one of the teddies from her pile. It seemed newer than the others; soft, white coat, large beady eyes, and big enough to cuddle. 

“Actually, I bought this as a gift,” she said. “For, you know, Taehyung. Because he’s such a great friend and all.” 

    A bitter pang crossed Jin’s chest. He had to ignore the piercing emotion that drowned in him. “Yeah, it’s great. It’s really...great. He’d love that.” 

    “Yes, I wanted to show him some way that I think of him as a friend. He really did want to be my friend. So...I got him this teddy bear to show him that I accept him.” 

    They stared at one another. Jin found her eyes haunting. He understood the message they sent across the room. They were stuck between static and emotions. They could unknowingly kill one another, with the ever growing energy in the room. 

“Goldfish!” Taehyung screamed. 

    Jin and Jisoo groaned. That was possibly the tenth time that Taehyung won the game in a row. He claimed that his ghostly friend told him the secrets. He did not bring up the conversation with Jisoo’s mother, but when he returned to the suffocating room, Jin had never appreciated his presence as much as he did in that moment. It was dark, and when Jisoo’s mother offered dinner, Jin politely declined. 

“Awh why not?” Taehyung pestered him to stay. “Besides, Jisoo’s mom is cooking a big meal.”

    “Actually, I better get going,” he said. He hoped Cott