“We apologize for these two’s shenanigans,” Yoongi hyung, the owner of the basement where we held our daily practice, forced mine and Jungkook’s head into a ninety-degree bow. The younger lad beside me coughed a little too forcibly and straightened himself out. He’s still keen on making a good impression towards Seolhwa when he practically embarrassed himself while mistaking her as a fan (I don’t even think I’d have them in the first place).

  To smooth out the mess I’ve inflicted upon myself, I spent the last hour explaining trivial matters over and over again. Why did this happen in the first place? Right, because I was being an idiot. 

  “Sorry for mistaking you as a crazed fan. He said you were chasing him so I assumed…” Jungkook rubbed the nape of his neck and I rolled my eyes, “...because hyung’s pretty popular among the freshmen. I’m sorry.”

  I stared at Jungkook—who was attempting to act cute in front of Seolhwa—with hostility. She seemed to accept his apology, so they just fell into an eye contact which made the maknae’s blood race to his cheeks.

  “Tae, tell your girlfriend to go home so Jungkook can stop ogling at her and we can finally start the routine practice,” Jimin, who’d been watching from the couch on the other end of the room, decided to open his big mouth and tattle on.

  “Let’s go,” having no energy left to chop Jimin’s head off, I tugged the flushed Seolhwa on the sleeve of her uniform.

  “Wait, you’re going with her? We need to begin,” I frowned at Jungkook before heading up the stairs. Seolhwa quietly followed and I sighed.

  “That…” I trailed off, hesitating for a moment. I wanted to explain and apologize for the maknae’s behavior but I couldn’t pull the courage to do so.

  “That’s what you get for chasing me. You even got Jungkook falling snapback over Nikes in love with you.”

  “Snapback over Nikes?” she laughed as her eyes twinkled in amusement, her accent surfacing in between intonations.

  “The phrase head over heels doesn’t suit Jungkook,” I chewed my bottom lip and grinned at my newly invented words.

  “You look better when you’re smiling. Makes you look less—oh I don’t know—intimidating?” Seolhwa casually flipped the subject. “Might stop these rumors I’ve been hearing about, too.”

  I scratched the back of my head, conflicted for a moment. My mind went into a whirlpool of different scenarios before it landed on one thing. Oh, I thought to myself, I wonder what the guys and I will eat for dinner. I grimaced at the thought of Jin hyung’s cooking, my lips unknowingly curling into a pout. I heard Seolhwa sigh beside me.

  “I know those rumors are harsh but they’re not true.”

  “I can’t be bothered by that,” I gave her a full bodied shrug as my attention went back to the food and debated whether to buy take outs or not. Maybe that’ll get Jungkook off my back about this whole ordeal. That kid likes two things and two things only: dancing and food. Maybe Seolhwa, too, but it could be a one-time thing.

  “Hey, you look lost in thought. We’re in school right now. You should head back to your friends, they’re probably waiting,” Seolhwa continued to wave her hands at me and I stared at her impassively. Her face contorted as she gave me an odd look and it took a great amount of energy to hold in my laughter. When I finally let loose and snickered, her perplexed expression morphed into confusion.

  “Later, weird newbie, and get home safely,” I saluted and spun on my heels.

  “You’re the weird one, you know,” came her reply, but I was too far away to hear it.

* * *

  We ended rehearsals around midnight and everyone was pretty beat. Namjoon hyung carried over an ice bag and placed it on my ankle, telling me not to move around too much. Jungkook scooted with the meat I had bought earlier and the others came around as well, looking more distressed and famished than I was.

  “I heard from Jimin that you brought your cute girlfriend over. I didn’t get to see her,” Hoseok hyung elbowed my side as soon as his landed beside me. I rolled my eyes and glared at the perpetrator who was laughing like the idiot he was, trying not to choke down the rice. Jungkook replied even before I got the chance to.

  “That’s what you get for being late as well, hyung.”

  “You’re so uptight, kid,” the older could do nothing but roll his eyes before diverting his attention back to me. “Care to explain that?”

  “There’s nothing to explain, she was merely my scapegoat so that I won’t be scolded by mother Jeon,” I jeered smugly at Jungkook. Jin hyung had to hold him back before he could attack this precious body of mine.

  “Kids, settle down before you wake Yoongi up,” true enough, he was already sprawled on the couch and fast asleep.

  “I’m not the one who’s all flustered around her, it’s that kid,” I muttered loudly and Hoseok hyung cackled, knowing the younger one’s ability to get sidetracked by a girl easily.

  “I still can’t believe you used her like that,” Jimin shook his head disapprovingly and I frowned in disgust. He was in no position to go around condemning my actions, seeing as how he constantly played around with several girls’ feelings and frequently lead them on.

  I took off one of my shoes and chucked it in his direction to which he, sadly, avoided with ease.

  “I’m not lying. The girl was practically dying in front of me. What was I supposed to do, leave her in that situation?”

  “Tae got himself a girlfriend,” Namjoon hyung sang annoyingly, joining the infamous bandwagon created by Jimin—who was supposed to be on my side. Jungkook was shaking his head while muttering something along the lines of, “there’s no way she’d fall for someone as 4D as Taehyung hyung.” Ouch?

  “Shut the hell up! Or you’ll all be murdered in your sleep tonight,” all of us grew quiet when Yoongi hyung snapped, staring at us with blood-shot eyes. He went back to his sleep and we resumed our meal, making as little noise as possible.

* * *

  “I’m sorry for crashing your place again,” I sighed as we waited for the train to arrive. Jimin, who sat beside me on the bench, smiled knowingly and patted my shoulder. No matter how big of an annoyance he can get, he’s still someone I can turn to when things often end up being sour.

  “Nah, man, what are friends for?” his arms wrapped around my neck and before I could even blink, I was already gasping for air as Jimin placed me on a playful headlock. He yelped and I managed to remove myself after pinching him near the armpit area.

  “That’s going to leave a bruise, you know,” Jimin hissed and threatened to beat me up until my face becomes bloated and unrecognizable.

  “I’d let you do that, but it already happens to me,” I laughed sardonically and I felt his body tense up. The grumbling of the ground foreshadowed the train’s arrival and neither of us touched upon the topic further.