“You don’t have to come here if you’re busy, you know?”

You and Jimin are at your school’s mini arboretum, walking along the paved path hand-in-hand, eyes wandering around the rows of trees decorating at the sides of the way. It’s refreshing to have a walk in here after getting your morning bath, after having long torturous hours under the supervision of your coach. And it is more invigorating when you get to have a morning stroll with Jimin abreast.

“I want to, y/n. And, I don’t have to meet you only when I’m not busy. I miss you all the time, I can’t help it,” Jimin voices, eyes occasionally shifting on you while admiring the resplendent shades of green and brown on his side.

You can feel your cheeks getting warmer, crimson starts to dust on your face.

“Are you this sappy or?” you eye him with a skeptical manner, trying to conceal the fact that your heart is jumping out of your chest.

“Shut up, sweetie. I know you enjoy my sap,”

“Who says?”

“Your blush says,”

You roll your eyes playfully, trying your best to look annoyed but your lips are now curving into a big smile. It’s hard to keep your titters at bay when you’re with Jimin. It’s hard to contain your grins from appearing when Jimin’s around. The fact that Jimin exudes positivity and manage to extract all the exhaustion out of your body dawns into you, making you beams even brighter. Jimin is your moodmaker, you deduce.

Is this what couples do? Meet each other even though they’re one hour drive away? Call each other everyday despite the hectic schedule they have? Ambling leisurely with fingers entangled in spite of the busy day they have? You don’t know if this what couples do, to be honest.

But whatever you’re doing right now, it feels right.

“So, that’s how addressing my boyfriend to other people feel like, huh?” you murmur timidly, gaze travelling around the flowers on the ground.

“You… have never done that before?”

When Jimin sees your smile fades, he quickly regrets asking you the question. Jimin knows even how much he wants to talk about your past love life, how much he wants to delve into your history, he still needs to give you time to comfortably speak about it. He swears he does not intend to open the topic without you initiating it.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked that. You don’t have to answer that, y’know-”

Before he can ramble more apologies of his mouth, you pull him along to the nearest bench and take a seat. You tap the empty space, signaling the puzzled guy to take a seat too. Jimin’s face is still evidently troubled, probably feeling guilty by touching the sensitive topic even though he has no intention on doing it. Beaming softly, you place your unoccupied hand on top of both of yours, putting a firm yet gentle press, reassuring him that everything’s okay.

“Yeah. I never got the chance to do that. It’s just... He said it would be better if we kept the relationship just between us? Like, we had to keep it a secret for some reasons that I didn’t know why at first,” you say bluntly. Your eased expression worries Jimin a bit, but he gets the hint that you don’t want to ruin the mood.

“He’s a , isn’t he?”

A fond chuckle escapes your lips, shaking your head lightly with the sudden comment from the guy.

“Enough talking about dickheads. The fans seem like to really enjoy Promise. That’s the only thing that has been playing on in my dorm for the past week,”

“It marvels me, too. Never have expected it would even surpass a million views,” Jimin’s chubby fingers fiddle with each other, smile gracing on his full lips while the final moment of releasing his first ever single plays on the back of his head. He was excited and anxious at the same time, and almost about to bail on the mission. Nonetheless, after receiving earful of nags and also encouragements by Bangtan, he succeeded to upload the single on his channel. It is both baffling and enthralling to Jimin, to receive such positive reactions from his fandom, especially when the song hits 50 million views in just a week, and still counting.

“Oh, shut up. You’re a good singer, and that is an uplifting song,”

“Enough with the compliments, honey,” his chubby cheeks puffed out cutely, dusted with hue, shoulders brushing with yours.

“Praise kink?”

“Stop exposing me,”

…

Three times. Three consecutive times in two hours.

That’s how much you were aim and point out to answer the questions on board in Chemistry class today, and Mr. Shin’s face looks menacing every time you get all of the answers correctly. You can’t even get to do your readings and lab practical work serenely because Mr. Shin isn’t being subtle at all with those glances everytime he ambles at your place, which is for like every 5 seconds.

“Yo, what’s wrong with him? Eyes going all over you?” Rina asks, hanging the lab coat back to its hanger followed by you and Heeyoung along.

“I mean, he is weird. But this is borderline creepy,” Heeyoung adds, grabbing her stuff of the table.

You lift your gaze, trying to take a glance on the old man but just to be met with his disturbing eyes already pinning on you, sharply and almost deadly. Averting your gaze right away, you pull your friends out of the lab right away and walk to the cafeteria to have your lunch meals before your school schedule begins again.

“He talked to me weeks ago,” you profess after three of you settling down onto a table and start consuming your food. Rina and Heeyoung exchange glances, giving each other a bewildered look before focusing their attention back to you.

“About my sports activities,”

And that when they drop both of their jaws and spoons together, shocked with the new information that they have to register in.

Because both of them know how that thing can affect your life.

“No offense, but, how does he even know you? Like, come on, your homeroom teacher is the only teacher that knows your existence,” Heeyoung addresses the fact bluntly, receiving a silent playful sneer from Rina and a glare from you.

“Heeyoung! You are sitting right beside a top Chemistry scorer. How can you be so impolite?” Rina taps her head with the spoon, eliciting a painful groan from the others.

“Well, undebatable,” Heeyoung voices while rubbing the beaten spot softly.

“But,” Rina adds, going silent for a moment to chew down her food before proceeding, “What’s the point of worrying over you? You won’t flop in your academic, especially Chemistry,”

“Yet. He thinks you haven’t flopped yet, isn’t it?”

Neither a yes nor no, neither a shake or a nod is needed for Heeyoung and Rina to know the answer. You inhale deeply, irritated by the thoughts that someone is trying to take control of your life, telling you what to do and what not to do. And it’s kinda because that someone does has the authority to hold you from doing things that you love.

You shift your gaze to your left, fixing it on a girl that is eating silently, and lonely at her table. Heeyoung and Rina follows your eyeline and then shift their gazes back, realizing that this problem is making you a little distraught.

The girl, Jia, shares the same year with them. Back in the golden days of hers, she was the school’s top notch netball player, had collected innumerable trophies and awards ever since in her elementary years. She was an accurate shooter, goaled in at least a dozen for every game and recorded triumph for the school’s team most of the time.

Until Mr. Shin brought her down and stripped her off the netball team, just because her Chemistry got a B once.

It was hard for the school’s netball team to have to let go for someone that was with a flair in the game, but the coaches and the players had been given no choices since the school was being unfathomably strict with each student’s academic performance, especially the board of trustees of the school had always given in to Mr. Shin’s antics, as the old man always uses the seniority card to them.

It is disconcerting to see someone is being forced to stop pursuing one’s passion just because of a trivial flaw that all humans do. Ever since Jia stopped involving herself in sports and endeavoring to maintain her academic result that conforms the school’s standard, she looks like a living corpse. Frown never leaves her lips, dark circles getting blacker every day, her cheeks are getting hollower thanks for the lack of appetite and she’s just not… alive.

And you can’t imagine if you’re about to share the same story with her.

“y/n, you’ve been doing this since you’re 13. It’s even impossible for you to get lower than A,” Rina takes your hand into hers, giving reassuring presses with hope you are soothed.

“Even if you would get lower, we know you’ve always done your best. Grades don’t write your future, darling,” Heeyoung adds, gazing onto you with a furrowed brow and bitter smile, looking like a mother trying to comfort her daughter.

“It’s not my grades that I care the most,” you retaliate without missing a beat, feeling a little offended by your friends’ words.

“We’re sorry. And we know that, y/n,”

You nod as a sign of acceptance and turn to your right, pinning your gaze on the gymnastics leotard that is peeking out from your ped bag.

…

“I have good news,”

“Well, I have good teas to tell too,”

“Let me guess. You’re pregnant?”

“At this point, I’m not even surprised that that even would come out of your mouth, sweetie,” Jimin speaks in between his chuckles, sweet giggly voice resonating from the other side of the phone.

“Come on. You go first,” you say after done with a long laughing burst.

“I…. was approached by a record label via email yesterday. And they are looking forward to meet me face to face and have a discussion at their company,” Jimin spills the bean (or actually tea) apprehensively, giving you time to comprehend the thing that is going on and about to happen in his life before eliciting a shock gasp from you.

“Jimin I- Wow. This is- Wow. Wait, give me a minute,”

Jimin breaks into a laughing mess when he can clearly hear your faint ‘GIRLS, I GOT HOT TEA FOR YOU,’ shout from the phone. He shakes his head as he feels a foreign warm blooming in his heart every time you manage to make him laugh. You are being more open and outgoing with him, that’s what Jimin can pinpoint about the progress both of you have made for almost four months by now. And he is totally happy to be someone that you are comfortable to joke around with.

“Nah, I’m kidding. They’re not in the room now. I won’t spoil anything,” you get back on the phone, reassuring him that your friends are nowhere near by earshot before adding more.

“I’m so proud of you, babe. Like, really really proud. Look how far you’ve gone in your career. You’re doing so great,” a sigh that involuntarily escapes your lips at the end of your words catches Jimin’s attention.

“I heard that sigh, sweetie. What’s that about?”

Another sigh is audible, and that one is unintentional. You thought you could hide the thoughts you have when you’re on the phone, considering that Jimin can’t see your face and your usual anxious habits. But, as always, Jimin notices your worry from your sighs instantly.

“Nah, nothing big. It’s just…” I wish I could be there to celebrate it with you, “... School’s exhausting. Typical day,” you say, hoping that he would buy it.

“Oh… Well, it’s your last year and then you’ll be done with everything. Just hang in there for a while, babe. I know you can do it,”

Phew. Thank God Jimin buys that.

“By the way, I thought you have great news to share?” Jimin adds, and you thank all the deities cause this guy decides to not drag on the topic much.

“Ah…” you breathe out, “Guess who’s participating in a national competition?”

“No way,”

“Yes way,”

“When is it?”

“Erm… Three months by now?”

“So, I can come and watch you?”

Probably, you don’t see that coming.

The mere thought of Jimin sitting at the bleachers, wearing that smile that could light up the whole stadium, cheering and rooting for you is amazing. Isn’t it great having your spirit booster close to you at times you need support the most? You really would love to see him in every single event possible.

But, for some reasons that you’re not even sure why, you are not fully agree to the idea. You should be overjoyed with the idea, but you don’t. It is strange. Yet you really can’t help the uneasy feeling you’re having in your heart. You can’t avoid the silent voices inside your head. You can’t ignore the tangible disturb blooming in your mind.

“Sweetie? Are you there?”

The voice snaps you from your monologue, getting back into the conversation as usual and try your best to mask any sign of anxiety in your chord throughout the call. After what it feels like 10 minutes or more, both of you hang up, and you a deep exhale escapes your lips. Your mind is agitated, and you need to comprehend with these feeling that you’re having.

Your eyes are shifted to the pile of worksheet and assignment given by teachers strewn all over your study desk, and your gaze stuck on a particular paper sheet with a 14/15 mark score at the very top corner, the numbers are bold and a little smudgy, since Mr. Shin loves to use red sharpie to mark. His quizzes are getting unnecessarily tougher, acquiring you to borrow some reference books from the school’s library to get some advanced knowledge.

Everything is happening all at once, and this is the first time you have ever felt so done with school. You’re currently juggling with anxieties and problems in time management, academic pressure, commitment in sports activity and relationship all simultaneously. On this Saturday night, you’re not sure if it’s even worth to dwell into these topics, considering it’s a weekend.

When you are trying to make a decision whether to continue lingering over those thoughts or to just ditch them, the door is flung opened and your two mutuals walk in with giddy smiles plastered on, cheeks a little flushed and ambiguous looking bottles in their hands.

“Snuck in some good stuff here. Wanna join in?”

Alcohol isn’t your thing. But tonight seems like an exceptional.

---------------

[A/n]

If you're here and it hasn't been 24 hours after Boy With Luv MV is released...

WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE, GO STREAM THAT MV RIGHT NOW.

(Btw I'm writing a thank you letter for BTS' stylist for making Joonie wears a white fedora)