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     chapter thirty-four      the search for saeyoung.

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“What’d I miss?” Taehyung questioned as he handed Jungkook a bag of peas. He glanced up at Arang when he didn’t receive a response and she motioned him to abandon the vicinity with her. Saeyoung and her long lost companion were seated at the dining table. They were stationed directly across from each other, their gazes locked. The young girl had a fierce expression while the boy tried to match her.

In the next room, the other members were stacked up on top of each other, attempting to eavesdrop on the conversation. Unfortunately for them nobody had uttered a word yet. When Arang and Taehyung turned the corner and were greeted with the sight of a poorly constructed human tower, they shook their heads and ushered the boys away.

Taehyung then dragged Arang to his room. He closed the door and spun around. “Now can you tell me what’s going on?”

“It’s a long story.” Arang sighed. “You should probably ask Jungkook to explain the situation after we leave.”

“He personally knows Sae, doesn’t he?” Taehyung guessed. “That kid. I knew he was acting a little strange. Oh . Did they use to date or something? My mom’s going to go crazy if another scandal occurs. She’s already got enough on her plate. I don’t think she’ll be able to handle another incident like ours. What are the odds? It just had to be your sister.”

Arang restrained herself from slapping the boy on the side of the head. “No idiot. They didn’t date. Sae is far too young and smart for that kind of stuff. She’s got more important matters to cater to, like her education.”

“You might never know; anything could happen. Just look at us. Who would have thought that we’d be in the same room, talking like normal human beings instead of wringing each other’s neck? Not me. Besides, Jungkook is also a handsome and talented guy. A lot of our fans are infatuated with him. Some of them even call him the noona-killer. That’s how good he is.” Taehyung declared proudly.

“Keep talking and in a minute I’ll be strangling you. Long story short, they were friends before Jungkook debuted. However, at the time Saeyoung knew him as Cookie and she thought that he was a little girl.”

It was silent for thirty seconds before he broke out into a maniacal laugh. “Damn, no wonder she’s pissed. Jungkook is screwed, isn’t he?” Arang punched his arm. “Ow! What was that for?”

“It’s not funny. Be quiet.” She commanded.

“Oh come on. Give me a break. It’s been an exhausting day for me.” He huffed.

Rolling her eyes, she pushed by him and grabbed onto the handle. “I’m leaving.” She announced. Just as she was about to open the door, Taehyung latched onto her wrist and yanked her back. “What are you doing?” Arang gasped as she collided into his chest. She tried to detach herself from him but failed. His arms were now wrapped securely around her body, making an escape impossible for her.  

His chin sat in the crook of her neck as he closed his eyes and basked in her warmth. “No seriously. I’ve had a really hard day. Can’t we stay like this for a while? I’m… I’m begging you, So Arang.” Usually the girl would attack him but the solemn tone laced in his voice caused her heart to waver. She’d think of it as charity work. So without another word, she stood there in Taehyung’s embrace. Who would have thought that there’d be a day where she wasn’t ready to slaughter him for touching her? She definitely didn’t.

“That punch was unnecessary.” Jungkook deadpanned as he held the package of frozen veggies to his jaw.

“I disagree. I should have beaten the living daylights out of you.” Saeyoung hissed. “You were a boy. Didn’t you think it would have been nice to tell me that?”

Jungkook tossed the bag down and leaned forward. “Hey, you were the one who jumped to conclusions on your own, not me. Everyone knew I was a freaking boy back then. It was pretty damn obvious. It’s not my fault you assumed I was a girl. No wonder you would always hold my hand and bring me everywhere.” He scoffed. “I thought you had a crush on me or something.”

Saeyoung’s face reddened while her body temperature shot through the roof. “Shut up.” She ordered angrily. “You looked like a girl with your lame bowl cut and baggy clothes. Plus your voice was extremely high and your nickname sounded rather feminine. Just ask anyone. They’d tell you the same thing.”

“It’s because I didn’t hit puberty yet, duh. And nobody else thought it sounded feminine. Hello, my name is Jungkook. The Kook part is where they got Kookie from. Geez, I see you’re still slow now as you were when we were younger.” Jungkook snickered, relaxing against his chair with a smug smirk on his face. “I’m surprised you’re not in a cast. You were accident prone, always running into things and falling flat on your face.”

Saeyoung was almost at her limit. She wanted to jump across the table and choke him. When did he get so irritating? The Cookie she remembered was actually cool. “I was not always running into things and I only fell on my face twice. Stop exaggerating.” She snapped.