Boys.
 

Chemistry was nothing but a bore, especially on Thursdays because Thursday meant experiment day. But the fact that Jimin was her lab partner helped a little because he was fun to be with.

Class was rowdy as usual with her classmates playing in the lab. There weren’t much who did the experiment diligently and Jiwoo and Jimin were perfect examples.

They were both giggling, not really focusing on the task. In actual fact, both of them were just making fun of Jungkook like they always did.

“That kid’s working out, did he notice that he’s getting buffer?”

“What, do I look like I admire his body?”

“Girl, you better prepare your eyes. Little Kookie is growing up.”

“Little Kookie,” she repeated unconsciously after Jimin and they burst into laughter. Their laughter was drowned by their louder classmates. “Well, I did see part of his body before… when he wasn’t wearing a damn shirt.”

She knew she spouted the wrong thing when Jimin shot her a teasing look. His eyebrows were lifted and a smirk was displayed.

“What the hell? You dirty little—”

“No ew,” Jiwoo cringed, her imagination had taken her someone far and Jimin laughed at her hyperbolic expression. “Jungkook is the dirty one.”

“Well, he is a boy. You should look at the pictures he has on his phone. If his princess sees it, he is doomed.”

“Yah, Jiwoo!”

Both of them jerked their heads to the source of the yelp, only to see Jungkook crouching on the floor by the back door.

“What are you doing?” Jiwoo asked, amused.

 Classes weren't over yet. 

“Hiding because I can’t get caught anymore?”

“Okay,” Jimin snorted at Jungkook’s pure dumbness.”What are you doing here?” He was being too obvious. Fortunately, the class was in such chaos to not notice. Even the teacher didn’t really bother.

“To skip class with Jiwoo,” Jungkook asserted matter-of-factly as if he had informed Jiwoo beforehand. Speaking of her, she only gawked at him, confused.  

Knowing that Jimin would definitely comment on it, Jungkook sent daggers of threat to the latter, “Shut it, hyung.”

“Skip class? You piece of , did you skip Math again? You’ll get in trou—”

“Let’s just go, okay?” Jungkook dismissed her casually, shooting a look at Jimin. “Hyung?”

“Fine, you owe me one. And so do you, Jiwoo. Make me ing kimchi fried rice.”

“What, do I look like your dumb girlfriend?” She rolled her eyes at him as she started to pack her bag. She didn’t even know why she had complied with Jungkook’s randomness. 

“Um, yes—”

“Yah, let’s go!”

The intangible smile on Jimin’s face grew bigger when he sensed Jungkook’s jealousy. Teasing that kiddo sure was fun.

Jungkook stood up and grabbed Jiwoo out of the door by her wrist even before she finished zipping her bag.

“But you make them for Jungkook all the time!” Jimin hollered from the back. This time, both of them rolled their eyes and chuckled sheepishly at the truth.

“Kookie, why are we doing this?”

She laughed effortlessly as he continued to drag her out of the Science block. He led her up at least five flights of stairs to the rooftop of the next block facing directly to the streets just because Jungkook liked that spot.

That spot was usually occupied by the smoking students who hid up there discreetly. She could even smell the lingering smoke.

“I don’t know, I just felt like being alone,” he replied rather insouciantly and added a soft, “With you,” not knowing if Jiwoo had caught it.

“You could have texted me to meet you here or something. No need for the cliché knight in shining armour.”

“But you like it, don’t you?”

“Who do you think I am?” Jiwoo snickered and shook her head at the latter.

“An angel.”

The genuine beam on Jungkook’s face was resplendent and he wasn’t kidding.

“Sorry, you look like a monkey to me though. But I kind of liked it.”

They both weren’t sure if she was talking about the first or the latter. Maybe both.

“So what do you intend to do?”

“I don’t know—sleep? I’m tired.”

“What the—you are the weirdest boy ever I swear.”
 

Jungkook just shrugged nonchalantly and heaved a loud sigh. The latter did not even realize that she held her breath when he took off his blazer and set it on the ground as a pillow. Her eyes remained fixated at him but a smile played on her lips when he squirmed to make space for her.

“I don’t think I can sleep.”  

“Lie with me?” He inclined his head up and stared deeply into her eyes, taking her aback by his sudden move.

“Only if you buy me ice cream.”

Jungkook chuckled to himself and brought an arm to shield himself from the sun rays. His other fingers tugged at Jiwoo’s sleeve, “Don’t I always?”

Rolling her eyes at the sassy Jungkook, she wriggled into the space beside him, shoulder to shoulder.

“I feel like a nowadays,” Jungkook mumbled softly, turning over to look at Jiwoo who had her eyes closed.
A snicker came from Jiwoo. 

“I hate school. I ing hate school. I can’t wait to get out of this hellhole. All I want do is dance and play video games all day. Be happy. Umma doesn’t understand.”

This time, Jiwoo opened her eyes and diverted them to Jungkook who held a solemn look. “Hey,” she whispered, tapping on his shoulders gingerly, “You know what? school. society. Adults emphasize so much on being the top, being smart. Only the smart ones can survive in this world? It's not like they are even happy with their lifestyles.” 

“ school. society,” he repeated her aggression with an amused smile. “Well, at least I’ve got you—someone who supports my dreams.”

“Of course,” and with that, she fell asleep to the breaths of Jungkook. The roles had been reversed. Jungkook lied still and admired her sleeping state.

“At least, you are my dream,” he whispered with a faint smile, patting her head just the way she liked it.

★
 

“What the hell just happened?”

Jungkook's mood swings were too much for her. She swore―she wanted to punch him so badly. She wanted to hang out at the Han River because she wanted to take some pictures of the night landscape. But when she texted him, he replied her a few minutes before she was about to leave home.