Kingdom Come

Smile more.

While the final bell had ruptured every student in the class's ability to hear, including my own, I settled into class with the distraction of that specific thought. It reverberated in my mind, channeling above and beyond anything else that was occurring around me in real-time.

My analysis of Chaeyoung was far from what I hypothesized. Perhaps, it was a positive thing, but at the same time, I'm unsure how our meeting would resonate in the near future. It is possible that a friendship would bloom, but her outspoken confessions of my physical appearance alarmed me. Don't get me wrong: I was flattered as any teenage boy would be, but I worried if that was a negative sign for Jimin's strive to victory.

See, if Chaeyoung was into Jimin, or anyone for that matter, would she have mentioned that I was cute? Hadn't that insinuated her interests were open and she was making that known?

It's an intriguing inference that I've developed, but it may also mean nothing at all. It was plausible that her personality was naturally that way—all honest, excruciatingly kind, and straightforward. It could be an interpersonal or communication skill; she's not afraid to speak to others that she doesn't know and has no issues vocalizing what's on her mind. Maybe, she's shooting for a complimenting approach to make my day, offer a source of comfort, or to heighten my confidence in daily school-life because of all the obvious gossiping.

Or, worse-case scenario: she was hitting on me. Blindly, may I add. Geez, just because I'm Jimin's cousin does not mean that we relate in any shape or form. I don't mean that as a bad thing, either. There's no inch of generosity and liveliness in my character traits, which—news flash—is the opposite of whatever Jimin is. If flirting was Chaeyoung's goal, then she needs to open her eyes a little bit more, before diving into an unknown abyss that's called a person.

Withdrawing myself from the spacious state I had gone under, I propped a hand under my chin and looked around. Distractions tended to cause unawareness, so it was now that I took notice of how the lab was set up. The seating arrangement wasn't like a usual classroom, though I hadn't expected it to be similar. After all, it sported a different representation, as it was a room meant for specific uses. In replacement of classroom desks was decently-sized black tables with wooden legs. Every station was parallel to one another and had two stools applied at each. In the center of my own table were all sorts of lab supplies: a microscope, two pairs of goggles, beakers, a scale, a thermometer, and other glassware.

Mrs. Asuna was located front-and-center, hands interlocked, and scowl mustered. She cleared in accentuation. "Quiet down. The bell has now rung."

A single syllable from Mrs. Asuna caused all the students to shut their mouths and straighten their postures. How obedient. I must admit, her strict and authoritative approach as an instructor earned everyone's respect. Meanwhile, she'd embed a little fear in them. No one wanted to be under her radar, and neither did I. The last thing anyone wanted was to be shouted at, but it was expected that she'd find her next victim soon enough.

Oh, and who would've known it would be the perfect class representative?

Due to her superb title, Joohyun was a goody-two-shoes type of student. And, with that, she was expected to excel in every class that she was enrolled in, obtaining an untouched behavior record, and finally: she would never be late to class.

Well, it is a day like today that it seems her attendance record has been tainted.

In a hurry, Joohyun barged through the door and rushed inside, handing Mrs. Asuna a slip of paper which was presumably a tardy pass. I smirked in slight amusement, watching as she nervously ran a hand through her hair and readjusted the bag over her shoulder.

"I apologize for arriving late, Mrs. Asuna."

"Joohyun, how unexpected of you." Come on, give her an earful. We're all here for it. "I suppose it's alright—I'm sure the cause of your delayed arrival was of importance. Now, go on and take an open seat of your choice."

My hopeful countenance deflated. What is with these teachers and their selective favoritism? If I was in Joohyun's position, my own grave would've been dug by now, and Mrs. Asuna would've thrown me into it.

For how intensely I was staring off into nothingness, too busy swimming within my thought process, I hadn't realized a sudden presence slide onto the stool next to mine. What had brought it to my attention was when I began to receive multiple glares from seventy-five percent of the male population in the room. It was suffocating.

Oh, great, Joohyun sat at my station.

I can't say I'm surprised, nor had I expected such a thing, but why wouldn't she sit next to me, right? It was a flawless opportunity to rebuild our acquaintanceship with any remaining hope she has. Apart of me thought she wouldn't speak to me ever again, but she's not that type of girl. Or, so it seems.

"Taehyung?" whispered Joohyun. Proudly, I ignored her calling by beginning to scribble a bunch of circles in one of my notebooks. It was in hopes of aggravating her further, of course. "Do you think we can talk about what happened the other day?"

"What's there to speak about?" There's nothing to talk about, really. What's said was said and what's done is done. Nothing much else to it than that.

"Are you implying it's not important?"

No, I just don't think it's that big of a deal to consult about in the middle of class. I could tell avoiding her isn't an option.

"I'm not implying anything. Don't make assumptions," I trained my view upon Mrs. Asuna, careful not to make this untimely conversation too obvious. I wouldn't want myself or the precious class president to get into trouble, now.

"I wasn't," she protested. "All I want is to reassure your concerns about the argument we had. I don't think you fully understood my reasoning."

"I understood, and I'm now over that."

"No, you're not. I could tell that it really bothered you. It still does, doesn't it?"

Jesus, her persistency is inescapable. The topic is delving too far into the subject that it's time to pause and backtrack before the probability of her saying something stupid increases.

"Look, it's not exactly the right time or environment to have a little chat about that." Despite the circumstances, I wouldn't want to talk about it, anyways. "Aren't you the class president? Act like one."

Harsh, but I didn't care. Though, it did hold plenty of truth, seeing as she is considered as the impeccable role model for the students in our grade. To find her trying to hold a conversation during class about a useless argument we had prior was troubling for a representative of her stature.

A sideways glance was all that was needed to conclude that she was now pissed off, let alone the scoff that she verbally emitted only moments prior. She also persisted on not saying another word, which I'd be eternally grateful for if it wasn't for the aura of frustration that was practically fuming from her presence.

All the watchful eyes and bothersome glares that I received ever since she made the decision to sit at my station was invigorating enough to begin with.

"Now, listen up. Today, we are doing a lab experiment and as you can see around you, you are all seated at different stations," Mrs. Asuna projected, all undivided attention thrown back on her. She surveyed the entire room with her pointer finger, and judging by her gestures, she was presumably conducting a head-count. "Good to see that you all are paired evenly. Without further ado, as you conduct the experiment, you and your permanent partner for the year will be discussing and answering the questions on the packets that are placed off to the left-side of the room. With that being said, please grab a packet for the both of you, gather the necessary supplies, keep the volume at a minimum, and last but not least, finish your work by the end of the period. If you have any questions, come to my desk."

I didn't grasp anything, but the sheer mention that I'd have to be Joohyun's lab partner for the remainder of this year. What did I do to deserve so much turmoil? Ignoring her existence was the plan, but it appears fate is churning the pot, and the outcome is the opposite of my wishes. As per usual.

I looked over at Joohyun and huffed in disrespect, "did you foresee this or something?"

I mean, it'd only make sense that she calculated this. She decides to sit at my station and now we're miraculously partners until kingdom come. The present circumstances are too damn convenient.

"What are you talking about?" Her countenance screamed confusion, but her tone held a familiar sassiness.

I scoffed, rubbing the bridge of my nose in disbelief of how unlucky I've become.

Just breathe, Taehyung, how bad can she be?

Okay, but seriously, what are the chances? "This is ridiculous."

That wasn't meant to be said aloud. It was merely a complaint that only my subconscious would utter. But, of course, although I muttered it under my breath, she managed to hear it, anyways.

"I couldn't agree more."

I'll play along in this charade. "Oh, you're telling me you didn't plan this partnership?"

"Don't think so highly of yourself," she retorted, her notorious eye-roll followed. It's not like I didn't see it coming. Whenever she pulls out the sassy-attitude act, the signature eye-roll is her best friend. "I saw a seat, so I took it."

I'd cackle at the absurdity of her response if I wasn't so annoyed to begin with.

"It was a bad choice, indeed."

"Perhaps, it was."

Seeing as this class will be the longest hour of my life, I got down to business. I was hoping that time would move faster if we were conducting the actual experiment instead of drowning in our own aggravations. Rising out of my seat, I veered around a few aisles, grabbed two packets, and returned. I lazily tossed one to her, in which she mumbled a minor 'thanks' to under her breath.

There was a solid ten or fifteen minutes of silence where we skimmed through the pages, fumbled with some of the materials, and worked alone. It grew kind of awkward between us, since we weren't exactly in the best mood, nor did we want to be forced to work together in the same space.

At least, I didn't.

It wasn't because of her, albeit she was a pain in the . I just preferred working solo, if it wasn't obvious enough.

Unable to refrain myself from doing so, I sneaked a glance over at Joohyun to see what she was up to. I'd be lying if I said my stare had removed itself when it should have. It lingered for way too long, and it was because of the worst reason; her goddess-like beauty. If I focused on the many adjectives that shot through my mind while looking at her, I would've thrown up by now.

Literally.

Thing is, she's the type to leave you speechless, abandoning you with a combustion of just that: thoughts. I've figured that I'm the opposite of the dudes at this school, since I acknowledge her beauty without my knees starting to wobble. Even then, the effect she has on me remains. It hasn't worsened or lessened, which is both a good and bad thing, but the thought of her being a tiny weakness never fails to irritate me.

God, how many times am I going to go on an inward tangent about this girl's ability to be pretty?

Enough, Taehyung.

It'd be very disheartening for anyone to seep into my mind for a day. I'm fed up of listening to my own thoughts.

But seriously, real-talk: why did she have to be attractive?

It's hard to ignore her when she looks effortlessly good.

Though, despite that, observing her was interesting, indeed. One minute she was flipping through the pages of her textbook in a craze, and the next minute she was fast-walking across the room to fill up a beaker. It appears she had already begun the experiment by herself, but it seemed like she was having a little bit of trouble figuring out minor segments of the instructions. Judging by the information given, and the experiment itself, it wasn't difficult to conduct whatsoever.

Although I preferred to work alone, this was a partnership after all, and I shouldn't allow her to continue the experiment by herself. There was no time for ignoring. Besides, it didn't feel right to not participate in doing the work, either. So, to act as some sort of aid in this activity, I grabbed ahold of the bottle of crystals and read over the instructions on the page for confirmation.

"If you don't want to do anything, you can leave it to me," Joohyun uttered, noticing the minute I moved a single muscle. Looking over, I found that she was buried in a textbook once again. She was most likely searching for more details about the topic of the experiment. It was unnecessary. If I had started it, it would've been finished by now, but I can tell that she was an overachiever. She was the type of student that'd give a paragraph-worth of an answer when all that was needed was two sentences.

I folded my arms over the table and proceeded to observe her as she studied the textbook. Her eyebrows slightly creased forward in concentration, and of course, as lame of a mentality that I have transpired whenever she's in my sights, I had to subconsciously admit that it was rather adorable. She was so in tune with figuring something out that wasn't difficult at all.

I cleared my throat. "You think I won't help?"

"No, but you can take it as an apology or something," I snorted, ultimately over how humorous the lengths that she's gone. What, does she think I'm lazy or incapable of doing my own share of work? "Doing the work by myself is nothing new, anyways."

I've concluded that she will never stop trying to be my friend, or at least attempt to regain that connection we once had. Which is understandable, as it must've meant a lot to her–our friendship.

In truth, I've been giving her a hard time. It's not that I'm frustrated at her though. The idea and the subject of how the argument was initiated angers me the most. I'd like my life to not be the focal-point of any conversation. I think she gets the bigger picture now, and with that, there's only one thing left to do.

Although I wouldn't concede to this, like I wouldn't have conceded to helping Jimin in achieving the girl of his dreams, I do believe it's time to give Joohyun a chance. A minor one. Hell, if anything, I'll ignore her presence, once and for all, if she decides to say something dumb, again.

"Look, as long as you don't bring up or ask me any questions about my life, a truce will form between you and I."

"A truce?"

"Yes; an agreement."

"I know what a truce is."

I give forgiveness and a chance for a friendship to blossom, but in return, I receive sassiness. As expected from a girl like her.

"I'm not making any promises, but do you want to be my friend or not? Your persistency is surely making that known."

"Of course, I do. We were once close, you know. Even though, you've forgotten." A faint frown tugged downwardly at the corner of her lips, which made my heart drop a bit. It was the sight of her, seeming down at the mention of my memories perishing. The feeling was difficult to explain, but I feel like I've seen that look before. Maybe, it's true; the way moments can occur and display themselves, piecing together things you may have long forgotten. It's like the déjà vu phenomenon. That's exactly how it felt.

"Just because I don't remember, doesn't mean everything's gone. Things can clear up overtime," I don't know why I had the need to reassure her. It was as if it forcibly came out of my mouth without my permission. Even she was taken back by my words. "So, what do you say: truce?"

"Truce," then, she smiled; very fondly, may I add.

Mindlessly, I managed to do the same. Though, as soon as I realized that I was reciprocating it with the same energy as she was, I wiped it off my face and broke the eye-contact we were having in an instant.

Had I just smiled for the first time in forever? Albeit, genuinely? And, it wasn't forced whatsoever?

What's happening to me?

, change the subject, before she–

"Did I just make you smile for the first time, Kim Taehyung?" –mentions it. Her contagious smile blossomed into a grin, causing the corner of her eyes to crinkle. The adorability she induces is appalling.

It was now that I realized, as I felt my insides turn to mush at the sight of her sweet smile, that she made things way too hard for me.

Bae Joohyun was dangerous.

I bit down on my lower lip to suppress any sliver of a smile, or any other hint of reciprocation that'd try to slip out. That, and I was ultimately embarrassed. She wasn't supposed to notice that.

My gaze parted from hers the moment our eye-contact started to send chills down my spine. Apart of me was speechless, unknowing of what to reply with, but I figured it was because she had me in quite a bind with that sentence. She knew it, too.

By now, I would've said something smart in return, but like I said, she threw me off. The fact that Joohyun had the ability to make my permanent frown turn upside-down was extremely surprising, yet confusing to me.

It was genuine; my smile.

And, it exerted the same energy that she had transpired. 

You might be thinking: so, what? A smile is a smile, it's not a big deal.

But it made me wonder, is all.

I don't think I've smiled like that in awhile.

Not even earlier towards Chaeyoung, but I'm starting to remember her words, again.

Smile more.

For a moment, I wondered: how? How can I smile more?

By being happy?

But what if nothing made me happy?

Do you now understand my logic?

Lost within my thoughts, I sighed to myself.

Joohyun asked, "are you okay?"

It's scary how she reads me so well. I've acknowledged that we once had a friendship, but she's great at knowing when something's wrong. Perhaps that's one of the perks of being class president; you just know things.

When I looked over, her expression had softened into slight concern. It was most likely due to my silence that caused her to speak up. The atmosphere diverted into an all-serious nature in a blink of an eye, and I didn't like it. 

"More than okay." To stray away from being questioned further, I started to joke around. "It was just a figment of your imagination, by the way."

Her mood lifted, once more. As it should.

"Shut up, you know you smiled."

"And, what about it?"

"And, it's about time you did. You're so straight-faced all the time."

"Because, I'm always pissed off."

"Why?"

I snorted.

Is that even a question?

"If you can't tell, I'm easily bothered."

"Well, don't be so down all the time, and you'll find something to smile about."

Although that may be true, I can't help it.

Everyone makes it sound like it's so easy to be happy.

I clenched my jaw at my negative thoughts, only hoping they'd go away one day.

"Thanks for the advice, but I'm pretty sure we have an experiment to conduct and a packet to fill out. So, let's get started, shall we?" It's been over thirty minutes, and we've been too busy chatting up a storm about semi-important things. It's time to get the show on the road. "By the looks of it, we're the only ones that are behind."

"Yeah, you're right," she giggled, commenting, "good idea."

A few minutes passed, and again, I'm starting to second-guess her ability to read instructions. I wasn't sure if she was having an off-day or she had a ton of stuff going on, but she had an awful habit of overthinking things.

"Uh, Joohyun? You're about to pour the crystals into the beaker filled with water." I mindlessly reached over and grabbed onto her wrist, halting her movements. I took the bottle of crystals and set them aside. "You'd be making a simple mistake."

"What are you talking about?" She stuck her nose in the textbook, rereading for no reason. If anything, she's more perplexed than before. "It says in the description that we're supposed to pour the–um–wait, what?"

I almost laughed.

"Stop looking at the textbook and read the packet, Joohyun."

In frustration, she reached up and drove her fingers through her hair. What a simple gesture, and she made it look like the prettiest thing anyone could do. Shut it, Taehyung. She flipped and read over the packet in silence, as I continued to watch her every move. Although the next step of the experiment was lit up like a billboard sign in my mind, I wanted her to find the answer herself.

And, she did, after thumping the palm of her hand against her forehead.

"God, sorry, you're right," she grumbled, tossing some crystals into the palm of her hand and dropping a couple into an empty beaker. See, all she needed was to relax and breathe for a moment. "I have a bad habit of looking in the textbook for—"

"No need to explain. Just don't overthink so much, and you'll be alright."

Did she just sneak a little laugh under her breath, and thought it went unnoticed? What was so funny, exactly? I'm ninety-percent sure that I didn't say anything funny. I'm not much of a jokester, either. I got to ask what she was laughing about—

"That's it? The water turns purple? You're kidding, right?" Joohyun ranted aloud in disbelief. It was rather comedic; her reaction to how simplistic the experiment was. I wanted to laugh, really, but I refused to. "Taehyung, are you sure we did this right?"

"Yup, that's all there is to it," then, I teased, "maybe, if you weren't such an overachiever, you would've realized that it really is that easy."

"So, you knew that the water turns purple this entire time, and didn't bother to tell me in the first place?" Someone's a little frustrated. It was cute, though. "Way to make me look like a complete idiot."

"It was funny seeing you suffer. I could visibly see the confusion on your face."

"Ha-Ha," she sarcastically laughed, nudging me in the arm. "Hope you had a good inward laugh, since you're so expressionless."

"I did, thank you very much."

I couldn't help it: I flashed her a smile that I was unable to suppress. It was out of my control, if I'm being honest. There was something about holding a conversation with Joohyun that made things so simple and comfortable. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. The way I explained our first meeting, despite our heated argument, is exactly how it feels when I talk to her. Maybe, the simplicity of it all was due to our past. That must be it.

After a while, we focused onto our packets, but there was an interruption. Placed on the table was her phone, and it began to buzz violently. Thankfully, she didn't hesitate to grab it and survey whatever it was that she had received. It occurred to me that she was a weird class president, indeed. I can list the countless stereotypes that she managed to break in this class alone. She was late to class, she insisted on speaking about a subject other than the work we had to do, and now she was answering a text message. Very interesting.

Then, Joohyun cursed:

"," there goes another one. At least she said it under her breath, and no one heard. I did arch a brow at her foul language, seeing as it was unlikely to be heard from her. Baffling me even further, she began to pack her belongings. "I got to go."

"Go, where?"

She smirked, "who's the intrusive one now, huh?"

Good one. Kind of. "My questioning is valid considering you're leaving me with work to do."

"I was kidding," Joohyun threw her bag over her shoulder. "I have to make an announcement to the school, and then I have somewhere to be."

"What announcement?"

"It's just a beach clean-up event that the EcoClub and student government set up for next weekend. There's going to be a fundraising event going on for the music club, too. It's going to be a lot of fun. If our plan goes well, it'll be kind of like a cute, back to school festival."

Is that what Jimin was talking about earlier? An announcement about an event that's going to occur, and I'd later find out about? Things were now coming full-circle. More like half-circle, since I didn't know every detail. Just the gist.

"On that note, I got to go. Can you hand me my packet, so I can tell Mrs. Asuna?"

"I'll finish it for you, don't worry about it."

Judging by the look on Joohyun's face, she thought it was the most absurd thing that I've ever said. If I'm being honest, I'm surprised, too.

"No, are you crazy?"

The words were difficult to muster, but I mumbled, "think of it as an apology for how I left things the other day. You know, during our argument, before I left."

I was referring to the part where I stated that our past conversations during our childhood were nothing but bull. I knew it hurt her when I said it. And, although I can be an , she didn't deserve to hear that.

She knew what I was talking about.

"You don't need to do that, Taehyung."

Ignoring her stubbornness, and how annoying it could be, I figured I could be stubborn, too:

"You have somewhere you need to be, now go."

Before she left, she let out a grateful "thanks", and smiled. My gaze didn't leave her departing figure, though. It'd be false to say that I was happy to see her leave, knowing that I didn't have to conversate with her any longer. I take back the things I said about her in my head. It was cool to have her around. I had always known it, but I refused to accept it.

And, it was now that I realized how hectic today was.

I've been conceding to things that I wouldn't agree to. I've been engaging with others; those I hadn't expected to. I've been wondering what's happening to me lately. I came into this school year with the sourest face and the poorest personality that I could ever muster. It was impossible not to be, but was I just torturing myself by doing so?

By having a negative outlook, was I only avoiding others and a possible happiness?