Chapter 2 
"Friendship is like money. It's a lot easier made than kept."
-Samuel Butler
 

He looked down at the sheet of paper resting on top of his desk. He set his elbow onto the surface of the desk and leaned his chin onto the palm of his hand. Mentally heaving a sigh, he twirled his pen in the other hand in nervousness. The sound of the clock hanging above the chalkboard in the front of the classroom could practically be heard with the stillness and silence lingering around the confined space.

He sat at the very back.

He looked back down at his test, and furrowed his eyebrows in concentration. He had been stumped on this one question for the past 15 minutes, and unfortunately, this one question was worth a whole eight marks itself. He pushed the top of the black pen with his thumb, resonating that clicking sound around the room, and decided to just scribble down whatever he could remember.

He studied last night. He definitely did. However, now that he was in the classroom with the test sitting in front of him and only a few minutes left of class, why couldn't he remember the things he memorized with so much effort?

The bell rang.

His eyes glanced up to the teacher who had gotten out of his seat and was walking down the aisles to collect the papers. He hurriedly jotted down a few more notes, and when the teacher stopped in front of his desk, he hesitatingly handed it to him. The teacher took his test, put it onto the top of the pile, and simply walked towards the next row.

He watched as the other students got up and went towards their friends after handing in their tests. Some were boasting about how they were certain that they had gotten every question correct, while some- well, they were feeling the exact same thing he was.

He set his lips into a fine line, clearly upset with himself, and quickly put his books away. He slung his backpack over his shoulder, and pushed his chair in. He was one of the last few people to leave the classroom. He was in no particular hurry anyway.

When he walked towards the front of the classroom, he gave the teacher a polite bow before turning on his heels to head out.

Before he could even make it out the door, the teacher had already called him back inside. His eyes rounded in surprise and he turned around,

“Yes, sir?”

The teacher used a ruler and jabbed it against the chalkboard. His eyes flitted to where the teacher was aiming at and his mouth dropped open in realization.

“I have chalkboard duty today?” He questioned out-loud. The teacher nodded and picked up his bag. “Yes, you do. Along with Lee Haneul. I expect the chalkboard to be spotless when class starts after break. Understand?”

The boy nodded and stepped out of the doorway to let the teacher get by.

“Yes, sir.”

He turned around and scanned the classroom to find his partner for the job. His eyes landed on her, who was still packing up her bags. The last two students had just walked out of the classroom, leaving the two of them alone. He set his own bag down onto the top of a desk near the front of the classroom, and took a chalk eraser from the ledge and began wiping.

He heard the sound of footsteps from behind him, and he stepped aside to let her have access to the other unoccupied chalk eraser. He heard her place her bag down, the zippers on her backpack jingling as they collided with the wooden surface of the desk.

“What did you think of the test?”

His eyes rounded a bit and he stopped his hand movements. He turned his head, realized that she was looking at him as well. She raised an eyebrow in expectation.

He coughed in embarrassment. “Sorry. Uh, I guess it was alright? I'm pretty sure I got the last question wrong though.” She laughed, and his eyebrows slightly creased together in confusion.

“It's okay. I can bet you almost everyone got that one wrong. I bet the teacher put that question there to purposely stump us.” She gave him a grin, and turned back towards the chalkboard to wipe off the other half.

After another few moments of silence, she spoke up again,“I don't think I've ever talked to you before, have I?” The boy turned to her. “I don't think so.” The girl hummed in response. “Even though we went to the same elementary school together, huh?” He shrugged. “I guess so.”

“You don't talk much do you?” She questioned again. The boy kept quiet. He heard the sound of the chalk eraser clinking against the ledge, and he noticed that she was already done cleaning her side of the chalkboard. He thought she was going to leave after that, but boy was he wrong.

Instead, she extended her hand towards him. He set the chalk eraser down and blinked at her, dumbfounded. She must have realized this, since she rolled her eyes and waved her hand around once more,

“I'm Lee Haneul. I hope we can become good friends from now on, yeah?”

He didn't know whether to be surprised or amused by her boldness, but he held out his own hand anyway.

“I'm Jeon Jungkook and yeah, sure. I hope so too.”

Her eyes brightened and she grinned, giving his hand a shake. “Great. I made another new friend in my first year of Middle School.” He gave her a small smile in return.

“Yeah. Same here.”

Jungkook pulled his hood over his head and adjusted his cap so that it hid his face. He was thankful that there weren't many people out at a time like this. He gripped onto the handles of his duffel bag and walked along the night streets of the city. He let out a tired breath and shook his head to keep himself awake.

When he arrived at the road intersection, he stopped and took out his music player to change the song. The light turned green, and he crossed the road. He passed by a group of boys who had just come out of an internet cafe. He looked up towards the glowing sign and a wave of nostalgia hit him.

He remembered those days when he could walk in and out of internet cafes and the arcades with his other members. Those days when he was still treated as a normal person.

Now?

He couldn't even step one foot out of the dorm without wearing a mask to hide his face.

He neared the apartment building after another few minutes, and he pushed open the two glass doors. He took off his hat once he got inside so that the security guard could recognize him. Jungkook gave him a curt nod and headed towards the elevator. He waited for the doors to pull open, and when they did, he stepped inside.

Yawning, he pressed the button for his floor and waited. When he heard the sound signalling that he had arrive at his destination, he opened up his exhausted eyes. By now, he was practically dragging his feet towards the door. He pressed in the 4-digit code, and he heard the sound of the door cracking open.

Setting a foot inside, he let out a sigh of relief and quickly kicked off his shoes. The dorm was dark, and he took note that the other members were probably already asleep.

Too bad he was the only one who had late night dance practice today.

He walked into the room, and as quietly as he could, he set his bag down on the ground beside his bed. Disregarding the fact that he was sweating and should have probably took a quick shower first, he climbed into bed and closed his eyes. He reached for his phone, which he had left in the dorm to charge, and turned the screen on.

The sudden light from the electronic device temporarily blinded him and he quickly retracted it from his face. He waited a few seconds for his eyes to adjust, before handling it again. His eyes softened slightly when he noticed his phone background.

It was a picture of him and his friends at their Middle School graduation ceremony.

He scanned his eyes over the familiar faces and memories that he shared with them flooded his mind. His eyes landed on the girl standing beside him and his lips curled up at the memories of her.

Her.

He tapped his finger against his contact list and scrolled down to her name. He was about to slide his finger over her contact name, opening up a new message, but he stopped short. He turned off his phone, tucked it back under his pillow and turned his body towards the wall. He shut his eyes and he let out a small sigh.

We haven't talked in so long. She probably forgot about me.

Haneul came out of the store with her bags full of her new school supplies. She looked around at the quiet morning streets and a small smile made its way onto her lips. With a peaceful mind-set, she made her way down the sidewalk.

The small breeze of the autumn air brushed past her, creating almost a wave-like ripple effect in her hair. Cars drove by, people walked passed, and even kids came running along. Haneul looked around at the different families she saw, and her eyes dimmed a little at the thought of her own. Shrugging it off, she turned the corner when she reached an intersection.

She passed by a music store, and her eyes rounded in recognition when she realized what song was playing. She slowed down her steps to hear it more clearly. She turned her head to see the album being advertised for the day, and she didn't know what to feel when she saw the name of the band.

How ironic.

She gave her head a little shook, as if refreshing her thoughts, and she took steps forward to continue her walk home. The thing was, she already had the exact same album resting on her bookshelf at home. She also had the songs downloaded onto her music player as well.

She promised herself that even though she couldn't support him physically or emotionally anymore- this was probably the least she could do.

She was so out of it, that she didn't even notice when she bumped into somebody, almost dropping her own bags. Her eyes widened and she quickly ducked her head in apology. The stranger chuckled and waved the matter off, giving her a small smile before resuming his conversation with his friend. Haneul let a small sigh escape from her lips.

She was happy that school would be starting in less than a week. Maybe then she would be able to get her mind off things and focus on her studies instead.

Her phone vibrated

We won't be coming home tonight, so you're going to have to cook. Take care of yourself.
Mom, 10:47AM - Aug 29

Not bothering to reply, she simply shoved the phone back into her coat pocket. She made a turn into the supermarket, and racked her brain for a dish to cook. Once she got inside, she headed towards the meat section first. Grabbing a shopping cart, she placed her bags in and pushed it down the aisle. Her eyes scanned over the prices, the different types of meat, and she began comparing in her head.

She finally settled on a simple pack of beef short ribs, which was currently the sale promotion price. She grabbed a pack from the cold conditioned shelves and placed it into the cart. She made sure to pass by the vegetable to buy some fresh ingredients. She passed by the fruits and sweets section, deeming that they weren't necessarily important. Due to the fact that she still had fruits at home, and she could live without sweets.

She paid for her groceries and thanked the cashier before walking out of the sliding doors. Walking past another block, she finally arrived at her apartment building. After greeting the security guard at the front desk, she made her way to the stairs and walked up the flights. When she arrived at her floor, she opened the door and walked down the hallway to her apartment.

Haneul punched in the 4-digit code, and the door clicked open. She slipped off her shoes and put them onto the shoes rack before closing the door behind her. She lugged her bags into the living room. She placed down the school necessities, and brought the groceries into the kitchen.

Her eyes landed on a note stuck onto the marble counter, and she picked it up to get a better look.

Your mother and I won't be coming home tonight since we're occupied with new clients. - Dad

She crumpled up the note with slightly darkened eyes.

She didn't need to be reminded twice in the same day that she'd be all alone.
 

✍  a u t h o r 's   n o t e

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