Chapter 8

Sumi dawdles on her way to school Monday morning. She shuffles her feet, kicking random debris she comes across. Her mind strays to Yoongi as bits of their conversation pop into her mind.

“I think you’re angry because you keep thinking about my dream to go to America,”

“I think you were waiting for something to attack me for,”

“You’ve given up on me!”

Sumi’s heart breaks a little at the thought of Yoongi considering ending the relationship, but she can’t stop thinking about it. She knows she’ll push it aside when she sees him like she always does. She knows she’ll let everything seem fine as it sits inside her, festering and brooding. But she doesn’t want to do that. It’s not healthy and it’s definitely ruining their relationship.

But why does she keep doing it?

As she arrives at the front gates of the school, she stops and looks up. Yoongi is standing next to the fence a fair distance away, his expression blank. He looks up and freezes as he spots her.

She starts walking towards him, already ignoring the thoughts. He does the same, so they meet in the middle.

“Morning,” He mumbles, his morning voice deep and husky. Sumi smiles in return, not ready to talk yet. Apparently, her thoughts aren’t fitting into the bottle.

“Listen… I’m sorry about what I said on the weekend,” He starts, looking helpless, “You were right. What I did was rude and disgusting,”

Sumi’s chest tightens, but she can’t think of anything to say. She smiles again before looking down at her shoes.

“Please say something,” Yoongi demands, stepping closer. Sumi bites her lip, trying not to cry. Yoongi places his hand on her face, lifting it so he’s looking into her eyes.

“Sumi,” Yoongi gulps, “Baby…”

Her heart melts at his words.

“I was worried…” Sumi squeaks, “That you wanted to end it,” Yoongi closes his eyes in anguish. He looks back down at her, staring intensely.

“No way,” He says. After waiting for a beat, he pulls her into his arms. Sumi rests her head on his chest, getting lost in his heartbeat.

“I love you,” He whispers, kissing her head, “You know that right?”

“I know,” Sumi smiles, breathing in his scent, her favourite smell in the world.

“Yah, this is a school!” Yoongi and Sumi look to see who is yelling at them, still clinging to each other. Hoseok and Namjoon come sauntering over.

“I see you guys made up,” Hoseok grins at them as they slowly let each other go.

“I think you interrupted them,” Namjoon mumbles through gritted teeth, “We should go,”

“Awe,” Hoseok pouts, “I’ll see you in class!” He waves as Namjoon drags him away, shaking his head.

Sumi takes a step back from Yoongi, blushing. Yoongi chuckles, pinching her cheek.

“Cute,” he murmurs, “Come on,” Yoongi holds his arm out for her to take. She slides her arm through, smiling happily.

She feels a little better knowing Yoongi doesn’t want to leave her. But the nagging feeling at the back of her mind still hasn’t gone.

She allows herself to feel blissfully ignorant for a little longer as she follows Yoongi inside.

Bottling, bottling, bottling.

Jennie slides down the wall outside the library, eating her food quietly. She has avoided Sumi all day, and so far she hasn’t had to see her. She feels the guilt bubbling inside her, like a monster provoking and torturing her.

You’re a bad friend.

Friendship and revenge don’t go hand in hand.

How pathetic.

When she’s finished her food, she rests her head on her knees, trying to ignore the urge to cry.

“Hiding out here, huh?” Jennie looks up to see Hoseok looming over her. She ignores him, laying her head down again. She hears him sit down beside her, sitting in silence.

Eventually, she looks up again, feeling a little frustrated.

“What?” She snaps, “Here to gloat?”

“No,” Hoseok smiles at her, “You’re still the same Jennie,”

“How?” She crosses her legs and folds her arms, “I sought revenge against my friend because she disagreed with me,”

“Yes, and?” Hoseok raises his eyebrows, waiting for her to finish. She frowns, feeling worse.

“I made a fool of myself in front of my friends,” She lists, “I have ruined a lifelong friendship, I have possibly permanently ruined her relationship, I…” She pauses as a tear falls down her cheek. She glares at Hoseok.
“You know what makes you different from anyone else who has done that?” He asks, leaning forward.

“What?” She sobs.

“You know you’re wrong,” He supplies, smiling, “You know exactly what you’ve done and that you were in the wrong,”

Jennie considers this, frowning to herself.

“Now that you’ve accepted that, you need to go talk to Sumi,” Hoseok says seriously, “And you need to do so today,”

He’s right, of course. Understanding that you have done something wrong is already an indicator of growth. Now, she needs to continue to grow by apologising. She needs to make this right.

Jennie nods, smiling up at Hoseok. As she starts to stand up, Hoseok follows her.

“Thanks, Hoseok,” She mumbles, pulling him in for a hug. He wraps his arms around her, allowing his warmness to fill her.

When she pulls away, she looks a lot like she normally does. She passes by Hoseok and heads to the cafeteria, hopefully, to speak to Sumi. As Hoseok is about to follow her, a thought occurs to him.

Therapist.

He has never considered doing anything medical, but after that, he feels intense joy knowing that he’s had an impact on someone’s life.

“That’s it!” He says aloud, grinning to himself. Finally, after all these years of high school, he has found the dream he wants to chase.

Excited, he follows Jennie to the cafeteria.

When Hoseok comes back to class, Jennie is still avoiding Sumi. She is sitting as far away from her as possible. Sumi doesn’t seem to really care.

Sighing, Hoseok goes to sit beside Jennie so she feels a little better. When he reaches the table, he finds Jennie talking comfortably to the student who sits at the desk in front of her. Hoseok has no idea who this guy is, but he’s glad that he can make her smile.

“Hey Jennie,” Hoseok sits at the desk next to her before looking at the guy, “Hey, I’m Hoseok!” He holds his hand out for the guy to shake. He takes his hand, looking a little wary.

“I’m Jungkook,” He smiles awkwardly. He turns to face the front again, but Hoseok engages him in conversation.

“I’m Jennie’s friend. Well, I’m a friend of Jennie’s friend’s boyfriend,” Hoseok frowns, “Yeah I think that’s right,”

Jungkook laughs, turning back around again.

“Nice and specific,” He gives Hoseok a strange smile, “We were just talking about lunch,”

“Oh! I had an awesome sandwich today!” Hoseok moans in happiness, making Jennie and Jungkook laugh.

“Speaking of lunch,” Hoseok grins, “I figured out my dream!” He cheers. Jennie claps, but Jungkook looks shocked.

“You don’t have a dream yet?” Jungkook gasps, “We graduate soon!”

“I know,” Hoseok shrugs, “Anyway… I want to be a therapist!”

“Why?” Jennie asks.

“After talking to you, I realized it felt good to make someone feel better,” Hoseok grins, “I mean, I know it won’t be that simple, but it’s something!”

“Congrats, Hoseok,” Jennie grins, “Maybe we’ll be able to go to medical school together,”

“You are going to medical school?” Jungkook asks, suddenly excited.

“Of course,” Jennie grins, “I want to be a doctor,”

“Same!” Jungkook laughs, “All three of us can go to medical school together!”

“Med buddies~” Hoseok cheers as he grabs Jungkook’s hand, swinging his arms around wildly. Jennie laughs loudly as Jungkook looks like his arms are about to fall off.

“Alright, quiet back there!” The teacher calls out as he enters. Jennie, Hoseok and Jungkook fall silent, grinning like idiots.

At this moment, Hoseok knew that Jungkook was going to be one of his good friends.

Done.

Sumi grins at her computer as she compiles all the chapters into one document, ready to send it off as a manuscript. She reads through the last chapter, double checking the grammar and spelling. She quickly makes sure all the other chapters are good and ready. She hasn’t finished writing it, but Mr Lee said they just want to read the first few, so they get an understanding of the book.

She opens her email and types in the email address Mr Lee gave her. She attaches the document and writes a little bit about the story. She has already spoken to this publisher on the phone, and he’s very interested in her work.

As soon as she hits send, she squeals. She opens her phone, ready to call someone. She pauses at Yoongi and Jennie when she realizes she doesn’t want to talk to either of them.

She puts her phone down on her bedside table and flops onto the bed. Her hands are cramping from typing for so long and her back hurts from sitting. She tries to focus on these things, instead of Yoongi and Jennie. Two important people have turned into her worries and fears.

How did it become like this?