September 2008

Dahyun was running late – literally running to catch the next bus because she woke up late. To her surprise, she found Jungkook at the bus stop. She creased her brows because Jungkook was never late. He was the one who taught her that the early morning buses would save her from the crowded ones.

“You’re late too?” Dahyun said huffing as soon as she met him.

“You still have time for small talks?” Jungkook asked back.

Dahyun turned and finally understood what he meant – the next bus was here, and the crowd of students were rushing to get in. She quickly grabbed Jungkook’s hand, and started dragging him in.

The bus was packed – everyone’s bodies almost pressed together. Dahyun wanted to curse at the people behind her for pushing her around because she almost stumbled when the bus came to a halt. But she swallowed all the curses that were about to erupt from , because it was her fault anyway. She shouldn’t have slept late.

The bus then came to another halt, and Dahyun was surprised how she was unaffected while most of the students were already complaining. She turned around, only to find out that Jungkook was using his body to shield her from the rest of the crowd in the bus.

“What?” Jungkook raised a brow as he noticed that Dahyun had been staring at him.

“Good morning,” Dahyun grinned.

He glanced down at her and realized how close they were. Their bodies were merely inches apart and her face was too close – so close that he could kiss her again in one breath.

Jungkook then turned Dahyun around so that she was facing the windows.

“I can smell your morning breath,” Jungkook told her.

“Hey! I brushed!” Dahyun retorted, but to Jungkook’s luck, she didn’t turn around to face him again.

But Dahyun was still too close that Jungkook could smell the shampoo that she used.

“Why are you late, Jungkook?” Dahyun whispered.

“Forgot my alarm,” he answered.

Dahyun chuckled, “Didn’t know you had flaws too.”

It was a lie. Jungkook would never forget setting his alarms even if he didn’t need one. His body was just used to waking up early, and his mother was also staying home to remind him of the time. It was impossible for him to be late.

But there was no way he would tell Dahyun the truth. He wouldn’t tell her how he already rode a bus going to school that day, wondering why she wasn’t there. He wouldn’t tell her how he arrived in school and looked for her. He wouldn’t tell her how he rode a bus going back to their bus stop to wait for her.

He wouldn’t tell her – because he also did not understand why he would do all those things for Dahyun. He didn’t know why morning bus rides doesn’t feel complete without her.

However, that day, Dahyun also started taking the same bus ride to go home. Jungkook didn’t know if it was luck or the other way around.

“What happened to going home with Jimin?” Jungkook asked.

They sat beside each other, with Dahyun occupying the seat beside the window.

“Jimin and Mina agreed to meet each other after school hours to study together,” Dahyun explained, “You know it’s somehow difficult when your girlfriend is from another school.”

When Jungkook first met Mina, he was stunned by her beauty too. She exemplified those ideal girls in comic books. She could even pass off as a model for a magazine. Jungkook knew that Mina and Dahyun were getting along well. It was even Dahyun who was the happiest when Jimin announced at the beginning of the month that Mina had confessed to him. It was even Dahyun who prodded Jimin to making Mina his girlfriend.

Dahyun then added, “Jimin even asked for my permission. He suggested that he can take me home, then meet Mina after.”

Jungkook saw how her brows turned into a crease. He asked, “And what’s wrong with that?”

“I don’t know. I think Jimin considers me too much,” Dahyun frowned, “Maybe I just didn’t like Seulgi, but now, I don’t want to rob the time he could spend with Mina.”

“They look good together,” Jungkook commented.

“I know, right?” Dahyun exclaimed, gleefully, “I hope Mina’s the one for Jimin.”

“They say that most high school romances don’t last long though,” Jungkook retorted.

“And why is that?” Dahyun furrowed her brows.

“You develop relationships in high school because there are so many opportunities to be together. There are many connections and intersections in your life,” Jungkook answered, “But after high school, there’s a big world out there, and you just naturally drift apart.”

“That’s a very sad thought,” Dahyun whispered, “Because it applies to friends too.”

“You think we’ll grow apart?” Jungkook found himself contemplating.

“No,” Dahyun beamed, “I won’t let that happen.”

Dahyun then averted her gaze to the window and after a while, she yawned.

“You slept late again,” Jungkook stated.

“I found a really good fan fiction,” Dahyun replied, yawning yet again, “And it’s just too hard to resist not finishing it.”

“You should spend time reading your textbooks too,” Jungkook commented.

“Now, that would make me fall asleep fast,” Dahyun mumbled.

Jungkook smiled in reply.

Unknowingly, both of them fell asleep in the bus.

Jungkook woke up in time to notice that they were near their bus stop. However, when he turned to Dahyun, he found her sleeping with her head on his shoulder. It could’ve been like those in dramas, except that Dahyun slept so unattractively. She had opened wide as she slept.

Nevertheless, the sight still made Jungkook smile.

He inched closer towards her and placed her head properly in his shoulder. The bus halted at their bus stop, and they should be getting off, but somehow, Jungkook did not want that moment to end.

He sighed because he knew that something was changing within him.

Chaeyoung’s bright orange hair turned heads. She had put on some bangs too. It gained the admiration of some, but it sent her straight to detention. When she went out of the detention, Dahyun and Tzuyu saw that she was limping. They found that she was hit too, for blatantly disrespecting school rules.

“Does it hurt?” Dahyun asked as she placed some ointment.

“I feel numb,” Chaeyoung replied, “Because the pain in my chest is so much worse.”

Despite knowing Chaeyoung for long, it was the first time that Dahyun saw her cry. Chaeyoung told them how she was rejected by Yoongi.

“He said that I am too young to be in love,” Chaeyoung said, “He said it’s not real. I just don’t know what I am doing.”

Dahyun and Tzuyu listened with tears threatening to fall from their eyes.

“If I am not in love, then why does it hurt so much?” Chaeyoung sobbed.

The next day, Chayeoung did not dye her hair back to black. She was called to the stage and was scolded in front of all the students. To set an example for others, her hair was roughly cut in front of all. Jimin and Jungkook watched with clenched jaw, while Tzuyu and Dahyun couldn’t even look. It was beyond humiliating.

To everyone’s surprise, Yugyeom came rushing to the stage, pushing the teacher away.

“It’s just hair,” Yugyeom said, disbelief in his voice, “Why are you getting so worked up?”

Yugyeom then picked up the scissors and kneeled, “You should cut my hair too. I violated the school rules so many times. I brought so much prohibited items and even sold them to others.”

“What are you doing?” the teacher, asked, dumbfounded.

“Yugyeom, stop it. Stand up,” Chaeyoung told him.

But then, to her surprise, Dahyun also stepped up to the stage. She kneeled beside Yugyeom and said, “Please cut my hair too. I was never caught for it, but I brought magazines in school and read them in class.”

Chaeyoung was about to scold the two but Jimin then kneeled in front of Dahyun.

“I was the one who vandalized the door at the bathroom and said that this school ,” Jimin confessed.

Tzuyu followed.

“And what’s your violation?” the teacher spat.

Tzuyu cursed him in every vulgar language, before smirking as she said, “That’s my first violation, teacher.”

Jungkook kneeled too and he couldn’t even explain anything because the teacher noticed how each student was lining one by one, until almost everyone was lined to get up the stage. The teacher couldn’t do anything else, so he quickly dispersed them instead, telling them all to go to their classes.

But Chaeyoung and Yugyeom got suspended for a day. Their parents were even sent letters about their disciplinary records.

Chaeyoung chose not to go home that night, because she knew how she would be met with an endless sermon. She spent hours in the convenience store, merely staring at the cup of ramyeon she should have ate for dinner.

“Chaeyoung?”

Her trance was halted when Yugyeom came to the same convenience store, and both were surprised to see each other.

Chaeyoung then noticed the cut on his lips. She asked, “What happened?”

“Dad’s not too happy about me getting suspended,” Yugyeom shrugged, “But he’s never been happy with me since I was born so it’s no big deal.”

“We should be treating your wound,” Chaeyoung said, “Sit here.”

She bought everything she needed, thankful that the convenience store had them all.

Yugyeom would wince every time she would apply some medicine.

“What did you like about him, Chaeyoung?” Yugyeom asked, all of a sudden.

Yugyeom remembered catching Chaeyoung spending time with a male older than him. At that time, he met Chaeyoung’s gaze, but the girl chose to ignore him. But seeing the bright smile on Chaeyoung’s lips that day, Yugyeom knew that the guy was not a simple friend for her.

“He’s smart and quiet. He looks cold outside but he’s really a warm and caring person. He did things that he liked. Music. Reading. He just goes with what he feels even if there’s no direction at all,” Chaeyoung explained, “I found it as a breath of fresh air. I’m so tired of people telling us what to do in order to be happy. Then there’s Yoongi, doing nothing as told, but he looks like he is having the best time of his life.”

“Did you confess?” Yugyeom probed.

Chaeyoung let out a sad smile, “And he pushed me away after.”

There was a long silence that followed as Chaeyoung tended to his wound.

“You didn’t have to do that, Yugyeom,” Chaeyoung spoke, pertaining to the scene earlier that day.

“If I confess to you now, would you push me away?” Yugyeom questioned.

Chaeyoung met his gaze as she finished applying a band aid. She was not naïve. She knew how the boy was harboring feelings for her even if she did not entertain any of it.

“Telling me that you are confessing is as good as confessing,” Chaeyoung retorted.

“Would you push me away then?” Yugyeom repeated.

“I am in love with someone else, ‘Gyeom,” Chaeyoung told him honestly.

“I know,” Yugyeom beamed, “But I can’t stop liking you.”

“I might never return your feelings,” Chaeyoung clarified.

“It’s okay,” Yugyeom continued smiling, “Just allow me to like you. Allow me to stay.”

Chaeyoung sighed as she ran her fingers to her hair. She said, “Don’t blame me after.”

Yugyeom chuckled before nodding his head. Then he digressed, “I think orange suits you, but I think you need a better haircut. Teacher Park is really bad at cutting hair.”

Chaeyoung chortled too, and Yugyeom’s heart leaped seeing her smile again.

“Fine. I’ll go to a hairdresser now,” Chaeyoung turned to leave, but then looked back at him, “Want to accompany me?”

June 2018

The ride to the hospital was quiet as Yugyeom respected the way that Jungkook avoided all small talks. But he turned the radio on, just to drown the silence, and prevent him from sleeping while driving.

But to Yugyeom’s surprise, Jungkook spoke, “What do you do now?”

“Trying to keep a family business alive,” Yugyeom replied.

“So, you’re a Chairman?”

“President. Dad’s still the Chairman, but he can barely manage because of his age so I do most of the work.”

“Is it tough?”

“Work’s okay,” Yugyeom shrugged, “But you know, some old things don’t change. I still don’t meet Dad’s expectations in whatever I do.”

“But there are a lot of things that change too,” Jungkook whispered, “How are they all dong?”

“Honestly, I don’t know,” Yugyeom replied, “I just met Dahyun and Jimin last month. But just them.”

Jungkook wanted to ask more, but it might not have been the right time to open old wounds. Perhaps, Yugyeom was not the best person to ask too.

Shortly after, they arrived in the hospital.

As they walked along the corridors, memories were flooding in Jungkook’s mind. He hated hospitals. He hated the scent of antiseptic that the air carried. He hated the white walls and the white uniforms. Everything just reminded him of the day he lost his mother.

Maybe he shouldn’t have agreed to come with Yugyeom. But thinking that death was already knocking at the door of someone he knew, he wanted to see that person.

They were nearing the room that the nurse told them to go to, when they spotted two females before the door.

It was Dahyun and Chaeyoung.

Chaeyoung’s hair was short and black. It reminded Jungkook of the hair that she had after her orange hair incident. He glanced at Yugyeom and saw how he froze at the sight of Chaeyoung.

But then, a kid bumped onto them as he ran at the corridors.

“Mom!” the boy yelled as he ran towards the direction of Chaeyoung and Dahyun.

Hellooooooo. Feeding you with some Dahkook, to convince you all that it's a wonderful ship too. Hahahaha. But Dahmin would be a staple of this story, don't worry. Thank you again for reading! Please drop a comment and upvote <3