Chapter Sixteen

"I hate it here," Min muttered as her and Jang Mi walked through the corridors. The walls were an eerie white colour but they were decorated with stickers and paintings of things that Min assumed were meant to appeal to children. Grimacing at the splatter of butterflies, she couldn't help but think that even as a child, she would not have liked this.

"I doubt anyone really enjoys being here," Jang Mi rolled her eyes, stopping as they got to the door they'd been in search of. It was also white but had some colourful balloons painted on it. They matched the balloons that were currently drifting above her hands. She held three, one pink, one purple and one blue; while they differed in colour, they each had the same message, 'Get Well Soon!" written in a cartoonish font. The rubber smell of the balloons reached her nostrils, competing with the sterile smell in the air.

Sharing a look with Jang Mi, Min sighed, "Don't worry, I won't let my disdain of hospitals show."

Jang Mi narrowed her eyes for a second before nodding and pushing the door open. The sight that greeted Min made her heart falter; it was something that seemed wrong in many ways.

Kim Taeyeon sat in a hospital bed – much too large for her small frame – the liveliest grin decorating her face. She was in a hospital gown that almost seemed to swallow her up, threatening to engulf her whole. Her wide eyes were bright with excitement as she noticed the two girls; her expression almost fooling Min into thinking everything okay.

The paleness of her skin, the bags under her eyes and tubes attached to her made it especially difficult for Min to think that. Even so, she slapped a smile onto her face, glancing to her side to see Jang Mi doing the same, handing the flowers in her hand to Taehyung's father.

Taehyung's mother smiled at them from her seat beside Taeyeon's bed. She – and Taehyung's father – looked exhausted. Doing her best not to show her concern, Min placed the balloons at one side of the room as Taeyeon exclaimed, "You guys came to see me!"

Jang Mi chuckled, leaning on the edge of the bed, "Of course we did."

"I'm insulted that you thought we wouldn't," Min teased, standing next to Jang Mi and pouting.

Taeyeon simply giggled, then noticing something in Jang Mi's hand, asked, "What's that?"

"We know how much the hospital so we bought you some treats to keep you going," Jang Mi explained, handing her the bag of food they'd bought. It contained things like chocolate and sweets and cakes. All the stuff in there was high calorie but that was exactly what Taeyeon needed for her condition to be maintained. The hospital had all these special high calorie foods and snacks but they'd tried them once and knew that they tasted terrible. With her parents' approval, they'd decided to gather some nicer things.

 Looking through the bag, Taeyeon cheered happily, "Ah yes, these are favourites!" She pulled out a pack of skittles, grinning at them. She was about to open them when she caught her parents' eyes, blushing slightly from their look. "Thank you guys," she replied timidly.

They both shrugged, Min adding, "Ain't nothing but a chicken wing, Tae."

She laughed, scrunching her nose up in distaste, "You've been hanging out with my brother for way too long."

Everyone laughed, Jang Mi opening to reply when Taehyung walked in, halting her actions. He was carrying two cups of what seemed to be coffee, pausing as he eyes landed on his two friends. Shaking his head, he handed his parents the coffees before coming to stand next to Jang Mi. Neither of them had talked to each other since their argument the day before, so Min was worried it would be awkward. Trying to make sure no one else noticed the tension, she started a random conversation with Taeyeon, making sure to eavesdrop on what they were saying.

"I'm sorry," she heard Taehyung mumble to Jang Mi, "While I meant everything I said – I shouldn't have said it so harshly."

Doing her best to keep the conversation about Taeyeon's nurse rolling, Min listened out for Jang Mi's reply. It took her a while but she eventually did, sighing, "No it's okay. I needed to hear that… you know, I think I ended up auditioning in the end." Jang Mi sounded very unsure with her reply.

"You think?" Taehyung smirked.

"It's a long story, I'll tell you afterwards."

Chuckling slightly, Taehyung replied, "Okay. Hey, do you think we're gonna be going to Yoongi's party tonight?"

Snorting, Jang Mi responded, "Min's boyfriend is throwing the party so of course."

Unable to stop herself, Min elbowed Jang Mi, halting her conversation with everyone else unexpectedly. No one seemed to mind though, Taeyeon and her parents watching her in amusement as she complained, "He's not my boyfriend!"

"She's not my girlfriend!" Yoongi exclaimed in frustration as his friends laughed at him. They all shared a knowing look with one another as they moved around drinks. Yoongi and Hoseok were throwing a party that night and they'd enlisted the help of Jimin and Jungkook to help set up their apartment. Of course, that had somehow led to them mercilessly making fun of Yoongi for him and Min's odd producing relationship.

"She's not!" he added when he noticed the look. Hoseok chuckled as he lifted a box, not struggling at all. He'd ended up not going to the doctor as the pain in his knee had pretty much vanished. There were occasions when it'd show up but they were so rare that he figured it was no big deal.

"Why are we talking about this? Shouldn't we all be upset at Jimin for never telling us he has a sister?" Yoongi deflected the attention.

Surprised, Hoseok turned to Jimin, mouth gaping open, "You have a sister?"

Jimin sat on a stool, glaring lightly at Yoongi and sighed, "Yes, I do."

"Since when?"

Huffing, Jimin muttered, "Why is that what everyone asks?"

Jungkook, amused at the situation, smirked, "Since nineteen years ago."

"Gosh, way to make a guy feel like a terrible friend," Hoseok frowned, placing the box on the side.

Jimin scoffed, "Oh gee, sorry that I made all you guys feel terrible about my family situation. You know, it's not like I already don't feel bad enough about it."

They all paused, looking at him in surprise. It was totally out of character for Jimin to be so hostile; they could all tell there was something wrong and Hoseok instantly felt guilty for what he said. Clearing his throat, he sat next to Jimin, nudging him slightly, "Sorry, that was a dumb comment of mine. Is everything okay?"

Jimin's jaw clenched as he nodded, "Yeah, everything's fine. Can we talk about something else please?"

"Like what?" Jungkook asked, stacking some drinks into the fridge.

Jimin grinned, "How about that mystery girl you've been talking to?"

The young boy's face went red with embarrassment as he looked away from them. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Don't think we haven't noticed," Hoseok added, laughing at his discomfort, "We've seen you texting and stuff. You must really like her – you're not usually like this with girls."

Jungkook grimaced; how could explain to them that he was just friends with Jang Mi? He wasn't interested in her in that way – at least he thought he wasn't. Of course explaining that to them would just get him laughed at or embarrassed further and he wasn't quite up for that, so he rolled his eyes, "It's not like that."

"Is she coming to the party?" Yoongi asked.

Hoseok watched in amusement as Jungkook replied with a glare, continuing his job of unpacking the drinks. He figured that they'd had to find out later on that night whether or not she was coming. He hoped that she was – he wanted to meet the mysterious girl and he knew the other guys did too.

Juggling the tray of drinks, Yunji pushed open the door, sighing. There was supposed to be a party happening that night but she was stuck at this meeting, watching auditions that she'd spent all of the previous day judging. They'd rifled through them and picked people that they wanted to be a part of the showcase crew for definite but now they had to assign roles – which was hard because they didn't have a script or anything to really work with.

All the professors and staff were pleased to see her return, grabbing drinks from the tray and allowing her to sit back in her seat. They were currently listening to a song that had been handed in by the producers, deciding if they wanted that producer or not. She knew that they may not even finish that day as Director GD had warned her that she may need to cancel any plans for her Sunday as well as they had a lot to plan and go through.

"I say no," GD said, looking at the portfolio on the projector, "So they can play the piano, big deal. This song is good but the rest of the tracks aren't anywhere near this quality."

No one replied for a moment, thinking of what to respond before Junhyung decided to have his say, "I see what you're saying but we could work with this person, help them make more songs of this quality."

He's has a point, Yunji thought, agreeing that it would be nice to help the student.

"Yeah but that's what his education here is for. We can't spend our preparation time getting him up to speed," GD argued.

It sounds harsh but it's true, Yunji frowned, deciding that she would have to go with GD on that aspect. Realising that Director GD was making a rational argument that he had no response to, Junhyung gave up, putting the portfolio in the pile of rejects – which was slowly getting larger and larger. Yunji couldn't help but feel bad for the people being left behind but she knew that some things had to be done.

"Okay, so who's next?" Taeyang asked.

And so the meeting commenced like that, looking through each and every student and debating who was worth giving a shot and who wasn't. Yunji couldn't help but sigh as she knew that the party was probably happening at that moment but with more than half of the students left to judge, she resigned herself to spending the weekend in that office. Gosh I hope this experience is worth it.

"I need a drink," Taehyung announced the moment they got to the kitchen area. The party was pretty much in full swing but lucky for them, the kitchen was quieter than the rest of the house, even though it was attached to the living room. Both Min and Jang Mi shook their heads no to him, replacing his beer with a bottle of coke. Min was a terrible drunk but Taehyung – Taehyung was absolutely unbearable. He grimaced at them, giving them both a glare and complaining, "Seriously?"

Jang Mi shrugged apologetically, "Nobody wants to deal with a drunken Tae tonight, sorry." She patted his shoulder, then grabbed herself a drink – also non-alcoholic. She could tell by the wistful look on Min's face that she wanted an alcoholic drink but obviously didn't want to be the only drunk one. Reluctantly, she picked up a can of lemonade, pouting slightly.

"So, do you think any of our romantic interests are here?" Taehyung grinned.

Both girls grimaced, Min shaking her head, "I don't have a romantic interest."

"Neither do I," Jang Mi frowned, adding quickly, "And thinking about it, neither do you Tae."

"Well, actually…" Taehyung drifted off.

"Yeah?" Min prompted.

"Yura asked me to lunch," he wiggled his eyebrows.

"When did this happen?" Min asked, eyebrows raised.

"Two days ago."

"I can't believe you never told us. How did the lunch go?" Min continued prodding as Jang Mi watched on in interest.

"It didn't go," he frowned.

"Why?"

"I may have… I may have said no," he grimaced as he remembered the memory.

Jang Mi couldn't help but to snort in amusement, earning a glare from both Taehyung and Min. She just couldn't help but be amused. After all the effort Taehyung had put in, things had finally started working out and he'd been the one to halt that. Biting her lip to hide her amusement and seem less like a , she held her hand up to high five him, "Dude, you're so in there."

He just chose to reply with a glare.

"Oh come on," she waved her hand around, "Don't leave me hanging. Think about it this way, she might think you're playing hard to get." Taehyung's expression lightened at that so she continued, "Girls don't like a guy who's too eager, so you saved yourself." Still waving her hand, she added, "You know you want to, come on!"

Sighing in defeat, Taehyung high fived her, earning a look of disappointment from Min. "What?" he frowned.

"You just high fived the devil," Min shook her head at him, giving Jang Mi a parental look that made her feel bad for laughing in the first place. Thinking about it, Jang Mi realised that it was around that time that Taeyeon was hospitalised and that was likely the reason Taehyung had turned Yura down. Feeling even worse about her initial reaction, she drank some more of her drink, allowing the other two to continue their conversation.

"She made me feel better," Taehyung defended, "Maybe she's right, maybe Yura likes her guys hot and cold."

Min's eyes drifted as he spoke, both of them following them to see that she'd found Yoongi across the room and was now watching him as he danced and laughed with Hoseok. "Who likes their guys hot and cold?" she muttered, her eyes still on him. It was so obvious that there was something more than them just working together there.

Sharing a knowing look with one another, Jang Mi and Taehyung both nudged her, "You do."

Her eyes jolted from where she'd been looking to her friends, looking back and forth at them. Sipping a lot of her drink, she replied, "I don't know what you mean." When she realised they were still eyeing her, she nodded her head at Jang Mi, "Well you should talk to her about hot and cold, what with her current fling with Mr Campus Player."

Rolling her eyes, Jang Mi scoffed, "Okay, first off, it is not a fling – it's a friendship. And secondly, even if it was a fling, at most Jungkook and I are lukewarm and at least, we're chilly. We've never reached hot or cold because we're just friends."

Min and Taehyung narrowed their eyes at her suspiciously as if they didn't truly believe what she'd just told them. Crossing her arms, Min smirked, "So, if I told you that he was making out with some blonde behind you, you wouldn’t care?"

Jang Mi didn't think she'd mind – after all, they were just friends and why would friends get upset over something like that? Being truthful, she too crossed her arms, replying, "I wouldn't."

"You're not even gonna turn around to check?" Min continued.

It was tempting because she was curious as to whether or not Min was lying but she also didn't want them to use that as justification for her liking him so she didn't budge, moving her eyes to Taehyung. "Is it true?" she asked him.

He shrugged innocently, "Nah, she's lying… it's a red head."

Narrowing her eyes at them both, Jang Mi rolled her eyes, "She could be a pineapple for all I care."

Min, who seemed to be watching something over her shoulder, readjusted her position, saying, "Okay, so what if instead of making out with someone, I said he was coming over to us? Like right this second?"

"What?" Jang Mi furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Her confusion was short lived as she felt someone tapping her shoulder. Turning around, her eyes met with Jungkook's as he smiled down at her. She wasn't sure what her friends were thinking of this but she was pretty sure that his approach was not working in her favour in terms of convincing them. "Hi," she smiled back, glancing back at her friends anxiously.

"Hey," Jungkook replied, "Enjoying the party so far?"

"Well, we only just got here," Jang Mi explained, gesturing to her friends behind her. "Do you know Min and Taehyung?"

"I've seen them around but I've never formally met them," he responded.

Seeing her opportunity, she introduced him to them, making sure to emphasise the word 'friend'. That went mostly unnoticed by Jungkook but Min and Taehyung recognised it, rolling their eyes at her. After the introductions, they talked for a little bit before Min got a mischievous look in her eye. Linking her arm with Taehyung, she announced, "Tae and I are gonna dance. See you guys!"

Jang Mi opened to protest but wasn't able to in time as they were already gone. Turning back to Jungkook, she smiled sheepishly, "So, those were my friends."

"They seem cool," he replied.

She snorted, "They did?"

He raised his eyebrows as if questioning his confusion.

"Sorry, I guess it's just high school conditioning – I struggle to associate the word cool to me and my friends. Once a nerd, always a nerd," she shrugged.

"You were a nerd in high school?" he sounded surprised.

Laughing, she nodded, "The biggest."

"I'm just finding that hard to picture. You just seem too sarcastic to love school and hang out with teachers," he told her.

She rolled her eyes, "You were so a cool, jock type guy because that definition of a nerd is all wrong."

"You say that as if being a jock is a bad thing?"

"Well, you guys are notorious heartbreakers and players," Jang Mi challenged.

Jungkook opened his mouth to argue but probably realised she was right as he swiftly shut his mouth and chose to just purse his lips at the comment. Not sure if he knew that she was kidding or not, she gently punched his shoulder, smiling reassuringly, "I'm just kidding, relax." Even with her reassurance, he didn't reply or crack a smile, watching her with an indecipherable look in his eyes. She shifted her weight, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

"I have a bad reputation, huh?" he finally spoke.

Jang Mi shrugged, "Well… I wouldn't say bad. Plus you're nothing like what I expected you to be so you-"

"-what did you expect me to be?" he cut her off, causing her to pause and look up at him. Jungkook clearly had personal space issues because they were much closer than she thought they were, feeling jarred by the close proximity but not wanting to show it.

"I dunno, an I guess," she answered, eyes flickering from his to all around them. She was struggling to maintain eye contact which confused her because she was usually good at that kind of thing. What is going on right now?

"And how I am really?" he raised his eyebrows, sounding rather curious.

Her eyebrows did the opposite of his, furrowing slightly. It was a new feeling for her – not knowing how to respond. It happened occasionally but never like this. She opened to reply, not sure what she was planning or saying. Before she could say anything though, she heard a voice call, "Jungkook!"

It was oddly familiar and turning around, she figured out why straight away. Her brother, Jimin, was currently pushing through people to get to them. He probably didn't see her as when he finally got to them, he said, "Jungkook, is this..." his voice drifting off as his eyes made contact with hers."Jang Mi?" he frowned.

"Jimin," she responded.

"You two know each other?" Jungkook asked, looking really confused.

Jimin nodded, crossing his arms and appraising the situation before him. Jang Mi realised that he was probably judging how close they were so she started casually inching away as Jimin stated, "Yeah, she's my little sister."

The look on Jungkook's face was priceless.

Author's Note: Okay, so I think I'm back... key word being think. You guys probably don't even remember the story with how long it's been. I'm sorry for being gone so long. Ngl I'm still having issues with my writing and I don't really like anything I've been writing as of late but I'm gonna try and get back on track. No update schedules anymore because I wanna write for fun and if I set a schedule then it might start feeling like a chore. Hopefully soon though ^.^ subscribe and comment please (I'll reply to all of them) and I'll see you guys around!