POV: New OC, Han Ji Ae. Classmate of J-Hope's and is bullied often.

You were tired of it all. Han Ji Ae was tired of it all. Everything from the moment you had stepped into school, nothing had gone right – you didn’t even mean just that particular day. You meant that nothing had gone right ever since you had started going to school.

So what if you wore different clothes that was not that stylish? So what if you were not as feminine as the other girls? So what if you cared about your grades? So what? So what? So what?

Every day seemed like mortal Hell. Girls would tease you in class, bully you after school, play harmful pranks at you all the time, and cast you out of the social groups. In other words, you were their abused play thing and alone all the time. It was frustrating to say the least. Was it so wrong to be different? It wasn’t even any of their business!

You had been standing on the school roof, alone. Would you have expected anything else? No one even thought of being your friend – the idea of it was just sickening to them. You didn’t even understand why this was happening to you. Nothing ever went right.

Tightening your fist, you grabbed onto the railing on the roof breathing heavily. With each deep breath, you tried to control the painful emotions in your heart. With each second, the emotions seemed to be overwhelming you more and more until the point where you felt like you were going to explode, so you screamed. Again and again, you let out all of those bottled up feelings. Before you knew it, tears had begun to brim on your eyes. Why was everything difficult for you? You just wanted to feel needed. It was only one small wish.

Falling to your feet, you hugged your knees, leaning against the wall. The wind blew against your skin, allowing your hair to cover up your tear-stained cheeks. Silently, everything seemed still.

“Is everything really that tough?” a deep voice suddenly broke the silence, “You always seem so strong in class, Han Ji Ae.”

Surprised at the sudden noise, the tears stopped flowing and you looked up at the source of the voice, “…J-Hope?”

Your voice was quiet and barely audible since even you couldn’t understand why he, of all people, would be standing here before you. He was popular, well-liked by all the girls and guys unlike you. You wouldn’t be surprised if he was here to make fun of you just like all the other so-called classmates of yours.

Well, at least that was the first thought you had. However, when you thought back for a second, you found it quite unbelievable that he knew your name. It also surprised you that he noticed you at all since he implied that he had watched you stay strong in class. That was quite unexpected.

The boy came over to you, handing you a handkerchief, “You really shouldn’t cry. Nothing is as easy as it seems, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to be endured.”

“You don’t understand,” you mumbled quietly, wiping your tears with your sleeves, “Don’t bother. I’ll dirty it.”

You had been referring to the small gesture he had made towards you, being nice and all. It was an unfamiliar feeling since you had never been treated well by another student. You didn’t hate what he did, but due to the unfamiliarity, you didn’t know how to act in response.

J-Hope glanced at you for a second before bending down to your level and wiped your tears for you, “Don’t be stupid. You should have just accepted my act of kindness. I can’t leave a girl crying like this, you know?”

The moment you saw him show that he actually somewhat cared, you found your eyes watering once more, speechless. He had really caught you at a bad time. You were way too emotional after all the bullying and now, here was one of the most popular kids drying your tears. It was just too much.

You pulled back from him, rubbing your eyes once more with your sleeves, “Oh. Then, I’m sorry for bothering you. You must think I’m really annoying. You can just go. I’ll be fine. I always get through this. I always – “

“What’s wrong with getting a bit of help?” he suddenly interrupted, “What’s wrong with that? You don’t need to be strong all by yourself Ji Ae. That’s why you can’t control all of these emotions.”

You stared at him with a surprised look, “…How would you know something like that?”

“Everyone has their own problems, right?” he slowly stated after a long pause, “Sometimes, even the people who seem like they have the perfect life have their own troublesome issues to solve.”

The two of you both ceased to say another word. Just like that, the two of you gazed into each other’s eyes. You couldn’t tell if he had troubles of his own as big as the troubles you had, but judging by the sudden look in his eyes, you could tell that there must have been something going on. Whether it was large or small, you couldn’t determine.

After a few minutes, you broke eye contact from him as you stood up and dusted off your clothes. You glanced at the time on your watch before you realized how late it was – you were going to be late for class.

“I have to go,” you suddenly blurted out, “I can’t get on the teacher’s bad side as well.”

With that, you left J-Hope standing on the rooftop without a ‘goodbye’. The boy stood there on the roof, staring at the spot where you once sat at. Sighing, he shook his head, mumbling to himself.

“I can’t even hold a conversation with her. How am I supposed to let her know that?”

***

“W-What?” your eyes grew large when you found the same boy standing at your locker, seeming like he was waiting for you, “No way. I have to be over-thinking this. Maybe he is waiting for someone else – ”

You were trying to make up reasons why J-Hope would not be here to find you since you were at the bottom of the social ladder, but when he saw you, he waved, “Hey.”

Everyone’s eyes seemed to be on you, causing you to be a bit nervous. Would this hurt your status even more? Would this hurt J-Hope? You were scared. At the same time, you were also a bit confused why he would be here at your locker. It was all very strange to you.

Pointing to yourself, you attempted to confirm that this was all real, “You’re talking to… me?”

“Who else?” he chuckled, coming over, “Let me walk you home today.”

You furrowed your eyebrows a bit, giving him an unsure look, “Walk me home? Are you okay? Did you hit your head after we talked on the roof? Are you sick? Maybe… a fever?”

Reaching over, you touched his forehead with the palm of your hand and then proceeded to touch your own. Confused that there seemed to be no fever, you found yourself unable to find the right words to say to him.

Seeing how puzzled you looked, J-Hope just gave you a smile while reassuring you, “I’m not sick. I just wanted to make sure you were really fine. You did seem quite broken earlier. Besides, having someone to talk to will make you feel better for sure.”

A part of you still doubted his intentions. You did have people who got close to you so they could hurt your feelings and your heart, but you didn’t know if J-Hope would be that type of person. It was possible that he was playing around with you too. You couldn’t deny that possibility.

“I’m fine – “ you began to say, but once again, he interrupted you.

“Then let me walk you home,” he repeated, “I just want to feel sure.”

Your eyes met with his, searching for some sign of sincerity, but if you did find it, you didn’t know it. How did people determine how trustworthy someone was? Was it up to fate to determine that? You bit down on you bottom lip for a second, considering if it would be okay for him to do something like this.

“You know it doesn’t matter what you say, I’ll still follow you home right? I’m just telling you what I’m going to do,” he grinned, “and I’m quite stubborn, so I doubt you’ll be able to change my mind.”

Hearing those words come out of his mouth and the accompanying expression, you couldn’t help but laugh to yourself a bit, “Fine. Do as you wish. If I can’t stop you, then I met as well just go along with your desires.”

***

“J-HOPE!” you frowned when you saw the boy laying down on your couch, “You promised you’d help me clean up the place!”

As soon as you said that, he just gave you an innocent face, “What? Did I say that? I don’t remember. I just remember you saying that I can stay and keep you company.”

After walking home with J-Hope, the two of you had gotten a little bit closer. You had definitely grown to feel much more comfortable talking to him and when you were together, he had a way of making you forget all the horrible things that happened to you at school. He was like the sun that lit up your dreary days. When you had gotten home, you found out your parents had left to go on a business trip for the week and you would be alone.

Once you read the message, J-Hope had insisted on staying and keeping you company since people who are depressed should never be alone. Then, he went on and talking about how depression could lead to suicide and whatnot. However, all you could think of was that that it was clearly impossible since that would only hurt your parents – something you would never dare to do.

After J-Hope basically invited himself to your house, he had come over every day after school. The two of you spent most of your free time together which began to lift your spirits. You couldn’t deny that J-Hope really was the best thing that could have happened to you. Though you could feel the jealousy stirring among the rest of the students after seeing that their kingkas were being taken by different girls – Jungkook by Yujin, Jin by Yuki, Jimin by Minjoo, Namjoo by Harin, Suga by Eunmi, and now himself by their abused plaything, yourself – you realized that you no longer seemed to mind the bullying as much. Sure, the actions were still hurtful, but now you had someone to talk to about it. You had J-Hope. He was right. Friends were really something that was a lot more valuable than you thought.

This particular Friday, J-Hope had spoke of helping you with your chores, but it seemed like he had disregarded those responsibilities, causing you to feel a bit annoyed. Grabbing a sofa cushion, you hit him on the head.

“Come on!” you urged, “You promised! Don’t tell me that your promises don’t really mean anything?”

Your eyes widened into big round circles which only caused J-Hope to chuckle to himself lightly, “They do. They mean a lot. Now if you don’t hit me with another cushion, I might actually help you.”

Raising an eyebrow, you asked, “…Might?”

“Might,” he grinned, replying confidently.

Knowing him, you realized that his ‘might’ really meant that he wasn’t going to do anything. Scrunching your nose a bit, you reached over and hit him with the cushion again which only caused J-Hope to laugh. Before you knew it, he had grabbed onto a cushion and a pillow-fight had begun. It was probably the first time in your life that you really felt happiness.

Falling over onto the sofa, you smiled trying to catch your breath with J-Hope leaning against the sofa on the ground, “Thank you for everything.”

The boy leaned back a bit more, “What are you talking about?”

“For showing me the brighter side of life,” you explained, “For showing me what happiness really is. I can’t thank you enough.”

“You’re making the situation bigger than it really is,” he began to say, “I really haven’t done that much.”

A light shrug came from you, and then you turned to face him, “Hey. There has been a question that’s been bugging me a lot lately.”

“And that question would be…?” J-Hope asked, turning to face you as well.

“Why were you on the roof that day? What made you talk to me?” you tilted your head to the side, “I mean, I’m not exactly the ideal person that anyone would want to talk to. I’m… Han Ji Ae.”

J-Hope shook his head, “You’ve got it wrong. It’s because you are Han Ji Ae that I talked to you. You’re the girl who could withstand all those hateful comments and horrible actions that were done upon you. You’re the one that could see people for they truly are. You’re the kind of person who will do anything to accomplish a goal. You’re the Han Ji Ae that I’ve always watched, whether you knew it or not. That day, on the roof, I wanted to talk to you. You’ve always been in the center of my vision.”

Your eyes widened bigger than saucers when you saw J-Hope’s unflinching self, “…You mean that this is all true?”

You had never dared to believe that someone like J-Hope would actually give you all that attention. You didn’t even deserve to be thought of so much. With your jaw practically dropping, you had no idea how to react to those words.

“It is,” J-Hope stated, “Every word.”

You waved your hands almost immediately, “What are you even saying? You’re being strange. I mean, I’m probably going to change myself to be even better. If I dress like the other girls and act like them, then all of this hatred is going to stop right? That’s a thousand times better than pretending to be strong and being hated – ”
“Don’t lie,” his voice suddenly got a lot more serious, “Pretending to be someone you’re not is probably the worst thing you could do.”

He was right. If you had suddenly become the same as everyone else, then you would most likely feel suffocated, but what were you supposed to do? All of this hate, you didn’t want to receive it anymore. It was tiring and enough was enough. It all needed to come to an end.

“…I’ve got no choice,” you mumbled.

“Let me help you then,” he began to say, “You trust me, right?”

You looked at him, “How would you even do something like that? It’s a lot harder to stop bullying. A simple ‘don’t do this’ won’t be sufficient and for all I know, this could hurt you in social status. I could never do something like that to you since I actually care about you – ”

J-Hope’s eyes lit up almost instantaneously, “…You care about me?”

Hearing J-Hope repeat something you like that made you feel a bit embarrassed to say the least. It seemed like that the way he was repeating those words, there was a second meaning to it. It was as if J-Hope wanted to believe in it even though you, yourself, were unsure if the second meaning was the right meaning.

But even so, you didn’t have the time to think when J-Hope asked, “Do you trust me?”

The sudden question caught you off-guard, but you were still able to reply cautiously and honestly, “I trust you.”

Before you could ask him what he meant by trusting him, you found him getting up and closing the space between the two of you. One of his arm slipped around your waist while the other onto the back of your neck. The next thing you knew, your lips had collided with his and a warm feeling burst in your heart. As each second passed by, you found his kisses becoming more passionate but also more gentle.

This had to be a dream.

“…What – “ you stared at him in surprise, covering your mouth the moment he pulled away.

“Go out with me,” he stated bluntly, “Han Ji Ae, be with me. I’ll protect you from the other girls, and I’ll treasure you. Ever since you became the center of my attention, I realized something important. I love you.”

You immediately shook you head, “No, I can’t. It’s not right. I mean… I’m not suitable for someone like you and I could never – “

“You trust me, don’t you?” he asked once more.

“I do, but – “

“Do you hate me?”

“No of course not – “

“One final test,” he began, “Just stop me if you really can’t take it anymore.”

Once more, he had confused you. Before you even had the time to ask you what was going on, he placed his lips onto yours and that was when you knew that maybe this wasn’t so impossible after all. You did trust him and your feelings were becoming apparent. You had fallen for him.

As he slowly pulled away from you to meet your eyes, you saw a small hint of relief in his eyes as if he was glad that you didn't choose to push him away, "I knew it."

You rolled your eyes, laughing to yourself, "It should've been obvious."

Fate was really a strange thing after all, but maybe strange wasn’t necessary as bad as you thought.

After all, it was the 'strange' part of you that brought you and J-Hope together.