친구 • Friend
The Outcast Club
Candy Jelly Love - Lovelyz
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“Next stop – Sunflower Road, Sunflower Road. All passengers, please exit carefully.”
Yura stirred awake at the automated voice and panicked when she saw the next stop. How long had she been dozing off for?
She yanked her headphones off and jabbed the stop button when she felt a curious stare. Yura turned to see Jungkook blinking at her.
“This your stop?”
Yura was on her feet now, “…Move.” She nodded at his legs. They were propped up against the seat in front of him and were preventing Yura from passing through.
Jungkook didn’t budge.
“I said move,” Yura furrowed her eyebrows with narrowed eyes.
“Alright, alright, I’m moving,” Jungkook begrudgingly put his legs down.
Annoying jerk, Yura made a face at him and hurried off the bus in rushed strides.
When she got off, Yura made her way towards Sunflower Kindergarten, checking the time while she was at it. Shinbi must be waiting, she thought worriedly. Yura hated making Shinbi wait, especially when she had to go pick her up.
“Where was it again?” She muttered to herself.
“What a coincidence.”
Yura halted in mid-step and turned around in dread to see Jungkook standing there, one hand in his pocket, and another holding his blazer, which slung over his shoulder. He scoured his pockets for a lollipop and pulled one out, sticking it in his mouth before passing by Yura.
Behind the both of them, the bus vroomed off.
Oh, no. She crossed her arms, “Is this your idea of a sick joke?”
Jungkook glanced over his shoulder and pulled out the lollipop with a loud ‘POP!’, “What are you talking about? You’re the one following me.”
“What? No I’m—“ Yura’s sentence was cut off as Jungkook lazily strode in front of her, showing off his long legs. In no time, he was standing in front of her, taking the lead.
“Now you are,” he grinned widely.
Inside, Yura’s irritation meter went haywire. Out of all the irritating people she met so far, this dude was definitely making his way up the list. Why that little…
By speed-walking, Yura managed to catch up to him, and eventually passed by him. Jungkook paused and pulled out his lollipop again, lips curving into a smirk. Interesting.
“Say,” Yura almost jumped at the sudden voice, “Are you really not coming back to HFC?”
Frustration built up inside, but she didn’t let it get the best of her. Yura didn’t even spare a glance at Jungkook, who easily matched her pace.
“I told you this before, but I won’t be somewhere where I’m obviously not wanted. I know where my boundaries lie,” Yura made a point to stare at the close proximity between her and Jungkook, “Clearly, you don’t.”
Jungkook quickly gave her some breathing space, “Oh, sorry.”
Yura faltered. This guy seems different from the “Jungkook” I met at HFC.
A blanket of silence covered over them as they slowed their pace. Soon, they were forced to stop and wait to cross the street.
Yura listened to her music quietly as Jungkook ate his lollipop in peace, a few feet away from her. In front of them, cars whooshed by – the sounds of the tires rolling against the wet road filling the air.
“…Listen, I have something to tell you,” he finished his lollipop, shoving the garbage in his pockets.
Yura didn’t say a word. Jungkook seized the chance to continue:
“About that whole thing… You know? Well, yeah, of course, you know,” he fidgeted, “Uhh… I wanted to say that… um…”
Yura stared up at him in curiosity.
“…I was wrong about you. Sorry.”
Yura noted his awkward tones of voice. Just by one glance, she could tell that he didn’t apologize often. Perhaps it was even one of his first times.
Yura let out an inaudible hum.
“You’re the first one to say that straight up to my face.”
Her statement made Jungkook’s head snap up, but Yura was already heading down the road without him.
“H-Hey!” He shouted, “Wait up!”
*
“Okay, coincidence or not, this is just getting ridiculous. Until when are you going to follow me around?!” Yura’s exasperation reached the limit. She was already near the kindergarten, and he had been simply tailing her all this time.
“Uh… I think I should be asking you the same question,” Jungkook ruffled his wine-red hair in slight bewilderment.
“Where the hell are you even going?” She demanded.
“I’ll tell you if you tell me where you’re going.”
“Whatever. I’m leaving.”
“Okay, see you.”
Glad to finally get some peace far, far away from the frustrating guy, Yura began to walk again. At that moment, she saw the kindergarten building and grew relieved. Just wait a bit, Shinbi, unnie’s coming.
She was relieved… that is, until Jungkook passed her and made a beeline straight to the kindergarten.
Yura gaped. What the—?!
“Hey! HEY!” She sprinted and grabbed his shoulder. Jungkook spun around with puzzled eyes.
“Oh hey, what’s up?”
Infuriated with the nerve of this guy, Yura glowered at him, “’What’s up’?! I just saw you, dammit!”
Jungkook backed away with his hands in a ‘whoa, whoa’ gesture, “Hey, no disrespect, but I’d refrain from cussing. There are kids here, you know?”
“What?!” Yura growled.
“Unnie!” A relieved tone of voice filled the air as Yura’s eyes widened instantaneously. Her head whipped around.
Little Shinbi strode up to her in her kindergarten uniform, her ribbon around her collar slanting off to one side. Yura quickly forgot about Jungkook’s presence and kneeled down, “Shinbi! Look at you!”
“Sorry unnie, it got messed up when I was playing,” Shinbi replied, and Yura immediately felt apologetic, “…On second thought, it’s not a big deal.” Her fingers neatly redid the ribbon, “There. All done.”
But when Yura pulled back to look at her expression, she noticed that Shinbi’s eyes were glued onto someone behind her. Yura followed her gaze to Jungkook. Normally shy around strangers, Shinbi hid behind Yura, but poked her face out in curiosity.
Whoa, Shinbi thought, eyes wide in hope, He’s so cool! Jungkook’s wine-red hair colour, ear piercings, and good-looking face was foreign to the small Shinbi. She had rarely been close to any older ‘oppas’ around Yura’s age, so seeing someone like Jungkook was a brand new experience for her. In her eyes, he had a level-headed, cool aura.
Jungkook met the little one’s inquiring eyes, and cautiously, he waved.
After a few seconds, Shinbi warily waved back, which made the corners of his lips curve up. How adorable.
Swiftly, Jungkook crouched down to Shinbi’s level. Yura stepped back, but Shinbi was willing to hear what he had to say.
“Hello, little lady. What’s your name?”
Shinbi spoke up in a quiet voice, “I’m Shinbi. Han Shinbi.”
“Shinbi, how fitting,” he sweetly smiled, “It suits a pretty girl like you.”
Inside, Yura wanted to barf. He must be two-faced or something, he’s acting completely different than before.
But shockingly, instead of soaking up the compliments, Shinbi scrutinized him, “Are you a friend of Yura unnie’s? Or an enemy?”
Jungkook gaped at her words as Yura smirked smugly. Don’t get too ahead of yourself, Jeon Jungkook. I taught my little Bibi well.
On the contrary, Jungkook broke into a laugh.
“Don’t worry, little lady. I’m a friend. Definitely.”
With the uttering of those simple words, Shinbi broke out into an ecstatic, bright grin. Her eyes twinkled, He’s unnie’s friend!
“What?! With whose permission?!” Yura gawked at him.
Jungkook scrunched up his nose cutely at Shinbi, “Your sister’s a little shy, you see. I’m working on it, though.”
“Working on what?!”
Shinbi let out a small giggle, and Jungkook felt an urge to ruffle her hair. Suppressing it, he spoke up, “I didn’t tell you my name, did I? I’m Jeon Jungkook, but you can call me—“
“STUPID OPPA!” A voice shrieked.
If Jungkook was fazed, he didn’t even show it. A little girl with a yellow snapback cap and long, wavy black hair stomped down the kindergarten steps. From the door, a few teachers were watching in shock.
“You’re late! Again! I had to stay here all by myself!” Junhee complained, punching his arm with her tiny fists. “Stupid, idiot brother!”
As if it was normal, Jungkook waved her away, “Okay, okay, sorry! Sheesh!”
He smiled at Shinbi, “I was going to say that you could call me Jungkook oppa, but on second thought, call me anything except ‘stupid oppa’, alright, Shinbi?”
Shinbi blinked and shared a shocked look with Yura, who was slightly miffed.
At that moment, the little girl stopped using her older brother as a punching bag and turned to face the other girls, “Huh? Shinbi?”
“Hello,” she pleasantly waved.
“You know this brat?” Jungkook pointed at Junhee, who stomped on his foot. Jungkook hissed in pain.
“For your information, I’m Shinbi’s friend,” Junhee crossed her arms, “We’re just in different classes, so we don’t get a chance to play together much. If you’d listen in on our conversations at dinner, maybe you would have known that.”
“Wow, your sister’s smart. Smarter than you,” Yura applauded. Jungkook made a face at her and whimpered at his sore foot. Yura eyed Shinbi. At least she has a friend now, she thought in relief.
“Shinbi, is this your unnie?” Junhee crept over to the little one and whispered. Shinbi paused before nodding. Junhee watched her in awe, I wish I had an older sister like that…
Yura questioningly glanced at the two of them.
“You’re Shinbi’s unnie, right? She talks about you all the time.” Junhee helpfully informed.
“How would you know?” Jungkook sneered, “You guys are in different classes, aren’t you?”
Junhee pinched his arm and he yelped, making Shinbi giggle and Yura raise an eyebrow in amusement.
“I’m Jeon Junhee, seven years old, in the Butterfly Class. My birthday’s one of the earliest, in January,” Junhee bowed, her long black hair falling over her shoulders, “Nice to meet you.”
Yura was surprised by her big words and good manners – well, the ones she showed to her, at least. “I’m Han Yura.”
“Yura unnie, then!” Junhee flashed a sweet smile identical to her brother’s. Yura nodded with a kind look in her eyes before looking at Jungkook. The resemblance was uncanny.
Just then, Jungkook caught her eye and winked at her. Yura instantly looked away, stunned at his audacity.
Seeing her reaction, Jungkook silently chuckled before checking the time. His face fell, “Oh crap, we gotta go. Mom’s gonna freak if we take too long to get home.”
“Oppa!” Junhee hissed and quickly apologized, “Sorry, my brother swears a lot. He always gets in trouble for i—MMPF!” Jungkook clapped a hand over and scooped her up in his arms, “That’s enough outta you, you little runt!”
Junhee glared at him, but Jungkook paid no heed, “Nice meeting you, little lady. I know she can be a pain, but try to become closer friends with Junhee from now on, yeah? She’s not so bad, I promise.” He grinned.
Despite herself, Shinbi nodded. Jungkook smiled at her reaction, released Junhee, and winked again at Yura, “See you tomorrow. And you’d better not pretend like you don’t know me at school!”
Yura inwardly rolled her eyes, “If anything, you’ll be acting that way, not me…”
Junhee waved at Shinbi, “Let’s play together soon!”
Shinbi brightened, “Okay!”
Just as Jungkook walked away with Junhee, he remembered something and glanced back, “Han Yura!”
Shinbi and Yura both looked up.
Jungkook pulled out a piece of paper and Yura’s eyes almost fell out of their sockets. He had her club change request form in his hands!
“You—“
With a mischievous glint in his eyes, he ripped the form cleanly and smirked, making Yura’s jaw slack open.
“For the record, we’re way better than the Arts Club, so don’t go betraying HFC!”
*
“Was that oppa really your friend?”
Shinbi clung onto her sister tightly like a koala bear and climbed up her side as Yura tried to do homework at her study table. It wasn't going too great due to Shinbi's constant interruptions. The little girl had continuously been asking her the same question for the past five minutes.
"I won't stop asking about him until you answer me. Unnie. Unnie!" Shinbi repeated like a broken record.
Yura rarely lost her patience when it came to her sister, but Shinbi was really pushing the limit today. "For Pete's sake, Han Shinbi, Jeon Jungkook is just an annoying kid from the Help-a-Friend Club! Happy now?" She continued to scribble down the quadratic formula on a sheet of paper.
Unfortunately, Shinbi wasn't satisfied with her older sister's answer, but she closed anyway.
"You might say he's annoying, but I thought he was kind and cool. Also, as handsome as Tuxedo Mask." Hearts spilled out of Shinbi's eyes.
"PFFT--" Yura automatically spit out the water she was drinking and it splattered on her homework. She paid no heed as she wiped with the back of her sleeve, "Han Shinbi, are you crazy?! Comparing Jeon Jungkook to him is an insult to Tuxedo Mask. Although... I could envision someone as cheesy as him throwing a bunch of roses everywhere and flying off into the night..."
Yura's imagination trailed off as she burst into a flurry of snickers at the thought of it.
Shinbi watched her make fun of Jungkook and smiled secretively.
"Hey unnie, are there any more cool guys in your club like Jungkook oppa?"
"Hm," Yura pondered. "They're all kind of strange, but that's not a bad thing. There's definitely kind guys, like the Club President, Snapback Boy, and Pretty Boy," an imaginary Namjoon, Jimin and Jin, sweetly smiled at her, "An energetic guy like Mr. Smiley," J-Hope waved in her imagination, "And ones that don't talk much, but I guess you can call them nice, too." She could envision the sarcastic Suga and silent V blinking at her. She remembered Suga and V's name because they weren't names you could easily forget.
"You already gave them nicknames," Shinbi giggled. Yura didn't bother to say that it was because she forgot half of their names.
"There's also another member. A girl, who's completely different from me," she claimed. "Social, shy, and girly, kinda like the princess of the group." Haera joined the fray of imaginary figures and leaned her petite face against the palms of her delicate hands, giggling cutely at the apprehensive Yura.
"And Jungkook oppa, too," Shinbi reminded.
"How could I forget?" Yura rolled her eyes as the imaginary Jungkook leaned against the wall with his usual smug smirk. "He never leaves me alone." Spirit-Jungkook nodded his head towards her and flipped his red bangs away from his mesmerizing, dark eyes.
When Yura shook her head, all the imaginary figures of HFC poofed away into thin air, and Yura blinked rapidly. What the hell? I must be sleep deprived to be imagining those guys in my head, too.
Shinbi giggled, "It sounds fun, unnie. You made a lot of new friends. I'm proud of you."
Yura turned around in her chair and gave Shinbi a helpless smile before the younger one hopped in her arms for a warm hug. Yura sighed pleasantly as Shinbi curled her arms around her neck. "Should I cut up some apples before bed?"
At once, Shinbi cheered, "A snack, a snack!"
Yura softly smiled as she hoisted her to the kitchen. They're not my friends, but I don't think I'd mind too much if they wanted to be.
[The Outcast Club] Well damn guys, I just updated. I kept you all waiting, didn't I? Hope you guys enjoy, and I'll be working on some more updates soon!
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