Chapter 3

Sweet September

 

Date: September 5, 2018

Jisoo’s POV

                “Kim JenNnieeEEE!” I belted loudly as I stepped into the student union, causing heads to turn in confusion. “I got chu some…. BA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA BATMAN! Just kidding, it’s banana milk – your fave!” I threw the plastic bag down before her, crossed my arms, and leaned against the cafeteria table – sending a sly smirk her way. A few students frowned in annoyance before resuming their meal. Jennie, on the other hand, looked up at me with a mouthful of salad and grimaced in embarrassment.


                 “Can you not be so like, I don’t know – OBNOXIOUS?” she barked, unintentionally firing a few pieces of chewed up lettuce towards my face.


                 “Geez, say it don’t spray it,” I teased before I seated myself on the bench before her, cordially conjuring up small talk. “I showed up to lecture today. Learned some pretty interesting stuff.”

 

                 “Good for you, keep that up and maybe I’ll let you talk to me from now on,” she sarcastically replied, one hand scrolling through celebrity news on her phone and the other forking more food into . “Thanks for the banana milk by the way. Great way to bribe me out of being angry at you.”


                “Yup, I know you like the back of my hand,” I answered as I sneakily swiped one of the milk cartons for myself. “You wanna go to the cafe with me today? I heard Maplestory just dropped a new job class and I really want to try it out. We can PQ together, yeah?”


                “You’re asking me to game instead of studying for my midterm that is literally two days away?”


                 “You can study for it after we game.”


                 Jennie glared at me, displeased.


                 “Dude, don’t be ungrateful. I got you banana milk. I thought we were best friends.”


                 She sighed, “Fine, I’m in. But only for a few hours – after that, I’m studying.”


                 “Deal.”


                 “Mr. Nahm, guess who I brought todaaaay?” I chirped in a singsong voice as I opened the cafe door and strided in with pride.


                 “Kim Jennie?” his head perked up from the counter and shot me the biggest smile. He was simultaneously disassembling some boxes that contained new gaming gear.


                 “Bingo!” I yelled back.


                 Mr. Nahm hurried to the door and gave Jennie a big bear hug, “It’s so good to see you here! How have you been?”

 

                 Despite her structured and almost priggish mannerisms, my best friend also loved gaming–although definitely not as much as me. Mr. Nahm and I loved seeing her here, as she truly loosens up and becomes the fun-loving girl she rarely gets to be due to her tight schedule and endless responsibilities.


                 The two continued to converse while I looked over the rows of stations to make sure my seat wasn’t taken. It wasn’t, thankfully, but a figure–wearing an uncannily familiar black hoodie–occupied the seat just beside it so Jennie and I wouldn’t be able to sit next to each other. My face heated up in anger when I realized it was the same idiot from last time. Like a child throwing a tantrum, I stomped over, ready to confront him.


                 “Hey Jimin, can you move over one seat so my friend can sit here?” I demanded after throwing a hard kick at his chair to grab his attention. He removed one side of his headset and slowly turned around, eyeing me up and down like I was a crazy woman.


                 He yawned loudly, “My name is Jin. And the answer is no. I’m in the middle of a game right now, so shut up if you don’t wanna die.” He then nonchalantly turned back to his monitor.


                 I was livid. Not only was he uncooperative, he mocked me by stealing my line!


                 “You piece of –” I raised my clenched fist, ready to deal him the biggest blow of my life.


                 “Omo! Is that a dog? Ahhh, it’s so cute!” Jennie shrieked from behind. She pushed past me and crouched under the table, observing the ball of fur dozing off as if bored from waiting around for its owner. Laying near Jin’s feet was the most majestic looking German Shepherd I had ever seen; its sleek coat was a beautiful mix of ash brown and auburn and its snout was a deep black that faded into the rest of its head. If my eyes could turn into hearts, they were now–but I tried hard to keep my cool. I didn’t want him seeing me swooning over his dog after showing such abhorrence for him. I awkwardly cleared my throat.


                 “Jennie, let’s go. You can sit on the other side of him. I’ll take my usual seat. If you need anything just communicate through the chat,” I instructed as I moved towards my station, eyes still glued to the adorable hound.


                 “Hey, do you mind if I pet him?” Jennie asked, looking up towards the despicable Jin, her eyes gleaming with joy. It was like she never even heard me.


                 “Yeah, sure,” he shrugged, unbothered to look at back at her. His fingers were briskly typing on the keyboard like he had gaming since birth. “His name is Lucifer.”


                 “Lucifer?” Jennie chimed back with excitement. “That’s such as c – “


                 “Tch, sounds like you named him when you were an angsty, emo teenager trying to fit in,” I scoffed and rolled my eyes.


                 “Grow up,” he retorted insultingly.

 

                 “What did you just say?” I raised my voice by an octave, shocked and perhaps even offended that he wasn’t afraid of me. “Say it a –”


                 “Yah, Jisoo what’s gotten into you?” Jennie interrupted as her eyes widened in dissatisfaction. She quickly apologized to Jin,” Mianhae, my friend is a complete bully. I would know best because I’ve been friends with her for eight years. Please excuse her.” She swiftly bowed at him before seating herself at the station beside him.


                 What. The. Hell. Did my best friend really just defend a STRANGER? Over ME?

 

                 Before I could berate her for selling me short, Jennie put on her headset and her screen. I sighed in irritation before following suit.


                 How could he not be intimidated by me?

 



Jin’s POV

                  A smile of victory played on my lips as I listened to her grumble to herself after being betrayed by her own best friend. Something about teasing her made me feel good – hell, maybe I was the bully. But that didn’t matter; as long as everyone else perceived me as a victim of her wrongdoings, I was set.


                 For the next few hours, I split my time between gaming and conversing with Jennie. Surprisingly, we got along pretty well. But my attention wasn’t all there. It was just mindless small talk over topics of similar interest. Other than that, the girl was too straight-edged for me. I found myself stealing glances at Jisoo every few minutes, even while Jennie was talking to me. Something about her reminded me of myself; maybe it was the way she was so evidently appalled at my indifference towards her childish attitude – or maybe it was because I could see through her. No one was ever that mean without a reason, and I knew that better than anyone else.

 

                 Eventually, I got bored of gaming; my mind starting searching for places to go – but most importantly, I wanted Jisoo to come, just to pick her brain.


                 “Hey, I’m tired. Kinda wanna get a snack or something. You wanna go for shaved ice? I know a pretty good place on Apgujeong-dong” I directed the question at Jennie while eyeing Jisoo, eagerly waiting for her to react. Unfortunately, she was still too preoccupied with her game.


                 “Sure! I’m down. I have to leave right after though; I have a midterm to study for,” she cheerfully replied. “Jisoo, let’s go! Jin’s gonna take us to a really good bingsu place.” She tugged at Jisoo’s arm, precipitously disrupting her hypnotic gaming state.


                 “What? I’m busy!” she scowled in annoyance as she recoiled her arm.


                 “Come and you’ll see!” Jennie promisingly encouraged before sweetly smiling down at Lucifer, “You’ll come too right?”



 


Jisoo’s POV

                 There was nothing more I wanted than to go home. Anywhere would be better than here, here at this hole-in-the-wall bingsu place that I was forced to be at against my will. Jennie and Jin were kicking it off so well that I probably looked like I was third-wheeling a pair of love birds. She was talking in that overly high-pitched tone that she used every time she encountered an attractive guy; I was just surprised it happened to be Jin, because the dude was probably the most hideous human being I had ever seen in my twenty-one years of life on this earth. You learn something new every day, I guess.


                 “Yeah, so my mom always tells me that it’s important to be really careful about that kinda stuff because – oh crap, it’s getting late,” Jennie interposed when her phone screen suddenly lit up with a reminder that it was time for her to study. With one hand holding her backpack and the other her shaved ice, she hurriedly rushed out the store with a spoon hanging from , stifling everything she said next, “It was nice meetung yuh Jin, hope ta see yuh again soon. Jisoo, see yuh tomorrow.”

 

                 On her way out the door, she messily patted Lucifer on the head, who was tied to a bike rack outside and obediently waiting for his owner to come and free him from the misery of his boredom. His ears perked up to the sound of the door slamming closed; with alert eyes, he searched for his owner through the windows. Jin waved him off from inside, prompting Lucifer to tilt his head in confusion; I could hear his muffled whines from indoors. I turned back and realized that my bowl of shaved ice was more than halfway full – and that meant I couldn’t leave until I finished what I could; otherwise, I’d be wasting food and I hated doing that the most. Poverty was still in existence; children all around the world were starving but yet here I am, reluctant to finish my shaved ice. I silently groaned to myself.


                 “What’s the matter?” Jin inquired, popping my thought bubble. He shoved another spoonful of shaved ice into his mouth and gently munched on it. The sound of ice crushing between his teeth sent shivers up my spine. “Are you gonna finish that?” He pointed his chin towards my bowl, implying that he wanted to finish it if I wasn’t planning on doing so myself.

 

                 What a nightmare – not only was I stuck here with a bowl full of shaved ice that I didn’t want to eat, but I was stuck eating it with my arch nemesis.


                 “You know, diabetes is a real disease. I am only here because Jennie took me here. Other than banana milk, I don’t care for sweet things,” I casually informed him as I scooped up some shaved ice and deliberately squeezed out the syrup by sandwiching it between my bowl and spoon. “If you want the rest of my shaved ice, go on right ahead. But don’t blame me when your insulin hormones go whack.”


                 He threw his head back and laughed loudly, throwing me off guard, “You’re pretty eccentric, you know that?”



                 “Uhm, thanks?” I replied back, confused as to whether his comment was supposed to be a compliment or an insult. “So, can you help me finish my shaved ice? I hate wasting food but I’m really not feeling this tonight.”


                 “For every bite that I take,” Jin started, dragging on every word as if about to announce something super important, “you have to tell me something about yourself.”


                 His idiotic grin was now replaced with an intense gaze. Those eyes were so hypnotic I almost felt like I wanted to spill every single one of my secrets out to him, but I had more self-control than that. I barely knew the guy, let alone his intentions. I didn’t owe him anything.


                 “No,” I stated, plain and simple – feeling quite violated by his bribe. “I’m good.”


                 “Don’t worry, this isn’t an investigation,” he reassured. “ I’ll tell you some things about myself, too.”

 


 

Jin’s POV

                 I patiently waited for her response. She lowered her gaze down to the floor and began twiddling her thumbs; displaying no emotions, it was hard to decipher what she was feeling, and that fueled my curiosity even more. Then, as if shattering out of some sort of spell, she snapped her head back up and looked at me with full alertness. I was eager to hear what she was about to say next.


                 “No, I have to go,” she coldly replied as she slid her bowl towards my direction, “You can finish the rest of this. If not, just throw it away.”

                 Disappointed, I watched as she stood up, picked up her belongings, and left, leaving me alone with her unfinished shaved ice. I quickly downed what was now syrup partially mixed with water and cleaned up after myself. With the thought of her frosty demeanor still lingering in my mind, I absentmindedly walked out of the store–almost forgetting that I still had Lucifer secured to the bike rack. It was only when he began to whimper that I withdrew my head from the clouds and released him.


                 “Mianhae boy,” I muttered, more so to myself than to him. “Let’s go home.”

 

 

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Meowthiscute #1
Chapter 16: I hate zombie apocalypse stuffs but still somehow end up reading it
Meowthiscute #2
Chapter 15: Now the zombie apocalypse makes sense.. You're such a good writer and this story is so unique
Meowthiscute #3
Chapter 14: Why's it suddenly Train to Busan
Meowthiscute #4
Chapter 13: Looks like i just found myself a good interesting story... Keep on with your updates
zaffria
#5
Chapter 13: oooh...a deadly flu epidemic incoming? Something worse? can't wait!
zaffria
#6
Chapter 11: awww, Jin was so sweet, taking care of drunk people (bonus for drunk Hoseok!), but really I think I melted at how he acts with Jisoo. I'm loving how their relationship is slowly developing, can't wait to read more! :)
(and no, I can't see the page dividers)
Timidkitty210 #7
Chapter 10: What a cliffhanger! Surprised Jisoo could be this ‘wild’. Contrast to her gamer-solitude style.
BpDdududdudu #8
For some reason it isn't loading on my browser. But I will read this soon!!! I have it bookmarked :D
zaffria
#9
Chapter 5: Really curious to know what's going on with Jisoo's dad...and what's behind that door!