-Walk with me-

Jealousy

            Suji has been to plenty of summer festivals in Busan but there was something special about this one. Maybe it was because it was her first time witnessing the beautiful scenery of Seoul’s famous park or more likely because she was here with Taehyung. They walked past the stalls together; her hand was still in his big one and his taller frame practically shielded her from the people around.

            After an hour of looking around, they eventually stopped by the riverside and they each bought a drink. Taehyung got a can of soda and her a bottle of water from the vending machine. They were somewhat worn out from weaving through the large crowd of people and they’ve gone through most of the festival. Suji’s curiosity was sated and she had enjoyed every moment with Taehyung. Sure they were only co-workers but she was really beginning to enjoy his company as a friend.

            “Thank you for showing me around.”

            “It’s no problem,” he looked her in the eye. “You seemed very eager about everything. Did you have fun?”

            “I did,” she nodded avidly. “I haven’t had the opportunity to really look around Seoul yet since I got here. I’ve been busy with work and I wouldn’t even know where to go so this was kind of the first time.”

            “I see…” he contemplated this for a moment and was about to tell her something before someone called out to him.

            “Taehyung?”

            “… Oh, hey.”

            Suji watched as Taehyung turned around to face the voice, and his expression brightened ever so slightly. Though his smile looked strangely crooked, his eyes showed his delight and surprise. She slowly followed his example and turned around to see a couple their age. Once again Suji was blown away by how perfect everyone looked around these parts. The boy was not much taller than she was but he had an attractive youthful face and an endearing smile. The girl looked liked a model that she would see in a magazine, she had a beautiful face and wore an innocent smile.

            “Did I interrupt your date?” the boy asked with a modest smile when he noticed Suji. “Sorry, I just kind of ran when I spotted you.”

            “No,” Taehyung replied maybe a little too quickly as he faced Suji. “This is Suji, we’re working together at the moment.”

            “Oh!” The boy’s look changed as he looked at Suji again. “I see, sorry about that. I’m Park Jimin.”

            “Ah, nice to meet you. My name is Jou Suji,” Suji bowed her head. Jimin eyed her closely and Suji flinched as she wondered if it wasn’t a normal to formality to bow when meeting new people. She’s always been told to do so, and done so around the other kids her age – even to as a greeting to the kids she didn’t know as well.

            “… Yeah, you too,” he eventually said with a pleasant grin. “Taehyung, Suji, this is Hayoung. She’s going to be a high school third year after summer.”

            The girl that was revealed to be a year younger than they were made her greeting, and it made sense that she bowed towards Taehyung and Suji, but that only made Suji feel even stranger about the way Jimin had looked at her earlier. A silence overcame them afterwards and Suji looked between the three people before her; it looked like Jimin had something he wanted to say but perhaps he only wanted to speak to his friend without a stranger’s presence.  

            “Suji, can I ask you something?” Jimin spoke all of a sudden and all eyes were on him immediately. Suji tried to hide her shock and quickly nodded in response. “Your dialect… are you from Busan?”

            “I am,” Suji’s expression perked up and all thoughts of discomfort and awkwardness went away. “And you?”

            “My family moved to Seoul years ago but I grew up there,” Jimin informed enthusiastically. “I actually only lost my dialect during high school; it’s nostalgic to hear it. Which area are you from?”

            Taehyung struggled to keep up with their conversation and by the look on Hayoung’s face, it looked like the poor girl was also at a lost over what to do. She didn’t look annoyed just disappointed that she had been forgotten by her date. It’s not like Jimin did it on purpose, he has always been friendly with everyone and he most likely just got excited over meeting someone from his hometown… Though as Taehyung noticed the bold smile on Jimin’s face, he questioned just how happy he really was.

            “… I’ll be right back,” Taehyung murmured as Jimin made a comment about Suji's cute shoe match-up.

            “Oh? Alright,” Suji gave him a small smile and Jimin nodded back in response. Well at least they didn’t ignore him completely. With one last look at the growingly gloomy dongsaeng, Taehyung proceeded to the bathroom.

            When he returned, they were still chatting and once he realised that his presence was completely unnoticed by Suji and Jimin, Taehyung opted to watch them silently close by. They were speaking animatedly and Taehyung swore he’s never seen Suji looking so thrilled before. She was beaming from side to side as she nodded along to whatever Jimin had to say.

            Taehyung swallowed uneasily and bit his bottom lip. This wasn’t a situation he thought he would find himself in. He’d never imagine that he would have to third-wheel, especially with his classmate and new co-worker. Speaking of third wheels, there should be another one somewhere close by. Taehyung glanced around slowly and spotted Jimin’s date sitting by a bench close by. She looked miserable and looked like she was ready to leave any moment. Taehyung wondered why she hadn’t already left, the only reason he could think of was that she really did like Jimin but didn’t want to come off as rude.

            “No way! We went to the same primary school?”

            Taehyung’s attention was brought back to the conversation unfolding before him. Enough was enough.

            “Maybe we were in the same class-.”

            Jimin paused mid sentence as Taehyung began shuffling over to them; he took his time, going one small step at a time before he stopped exactly between Suji and Jimin. The pair stared at him the whole time, Suji was simply amused by the act and Jimin was at a lost of words over his friend’s action (it hasn’t been that long since they graduated bu