Yujin wanted to laugh. She was the only person who appreciated her own humour.

To dissipate the foul mood she created, she had grabbed onto Jungkook’s hand after asking that absurd question and had dragged him off the playhouse, across the street to the convenience store without caring if he protested or not.

He had been caught off guard to even react to her sudden move.

When Jungkook realised what had happened, they were already along the cup noodles aisle in the white themed store.

“Actually, all the times I’ve bought you cup noodles, I have no idea what was your favourite flavour or brand.” Yujin talked as if they didn’t just have a short murderous stare-down in the day-time safe haven for children.

Jungkook was mute as always. However, it didn’t mean his attention was mute too. He glanced down at his right hand. Yujin was still unconsciously holding on to him. Halfway through dragging him over, she had switched to pulling him by his wrist to pulling him by his sleeves instead. She was the end of his school sleeves with her small hands.

That was the size of the fist that had been punching me?

What the-.. it hurts so bad how does he do it?!

Jungkook was snapped out of his thoughts when Yujin let go off his sleeves. He looked up at her. She was trying to reach to something on the top shelf, more accurately something further inside the top shelf.

Before she started jumping, he closed in and took the cup noodle with ease. Yujin stopped trying and stepped back with a laugh at her height. Thinking he would give it to her, she was about to reach out her hand but instead of passing it to her, he stared at the label for a second before walking away.

“-y-yah! I wanted that!” Yujin exclaimed.

Jungkook walked down the aisle and randomly grabbed another cup from the middle shelf.

“-yah, you damned-!”

Yujin shut her lips when she almost called him by the nickname she called him as Minyu. Jungkook didn’t seem to notice it because he continued walking to the cashier to pay for the items.

“-dammit, Jeon Jungkook!” she hissed when he paid and brought the cup noodles to the side where the hot water machine was at.

When Yujin looked up at his face, she caught the small smirk hanging off his lips. “-you’re laughing?”

“I’m crying.”

Jungkook’s unexpected reply stunned Yujin for a good five seconds before she threw her head back laughing. “Ohhhhhhhh my gosh. Did you just adopt my sense of humour????”

His smirk dropped but Yujin continued punching his upper arm in a friendly manner as she laughed. Jungkook suddenly grabbed a hold of her wrist with a glare. Yujin smirked.

“-alright, I’ll stop.”

Jungkook let go and put the cup she had tried taking in front of her and took the other one for himself. Yujin gave him the stink-eye on purpose, not that he bothered about it.

Both of them brought their cooked noodles to the side of the shop and sat on the high chairs facing the window and ate in silence.

Yujin’s back protested her sitting position with an uncomfortable stretching pain. She shifted and flinched when it did nothing but worsen the pain. Jungkook noticed it and glanced her way. She massaged her back and tried to ease the pain but it wasn’t going anywhere.

“What’s wrong with you?” he asked when he knew she was aware of her staring.

“What’s wrong with you?” she mirrored his question but he could sense the depth in hers. She wasn’t asking about something present.

“..what?”

Yujin decided to bring up what happened last night.

“Why did you get drunk?”

She swore the tension between them went up a few notches. Jungkook’s stare hardened and his breathing became heavy.

Yujin pushed it.

“-you came back drunk last night. Why did you do it?”

Jungkook slammed his wooden chopsticks on the table and grabbed her shirt again.

“Don’t, you dare tell anyone else.” he glowered.

Yujin felt sorry for him but she didn’t show it on her face at all. She knew he’d close up if she did. Being felt sorry for was the thing he would want at this point.

“Jeon Jungkook.. you need to-”

Jungkook got off his chair easily and tightened his fist around her t-shirt, pulling her off her chair. She wasn’t ready for the sudden force and stumbled off her chair, almost knocking over the chair and almost falling onto Jungkook. However, the cliche didn’t happen and Yujin caught herself in her feet.

“Don’t tell me how to live my life.” he growled.

Yujin didn’t falter. “Okay, I won’t, but if your actions are affecting the people around you, you need to re-evaluate yourself. Why did you get drunk last night?” she asked again.

There was a strained silence suspended between them.

“-Jungkook.. why, did you get drunk last night?”

“How did you find out?” he asked instead and slowly let go of her shirt. She breathed out and climbed back up on the high chair.

“Your bed is right next to mine if not for the wall.” she stated. “-and the wall isn’t the most sound-proofed there is.”

Jungkook had no reply to that statement.

Yujin sighed. “-you were stumbling all over the place it was so noisy.”

“What’s wrong with your back?”

Yujin squinted her eyes at him in mock displease. “You shoved me away when I tried to stop you from shouting.”

Another silence.

..

“Sorry.”

Did I hear him wrongly?

Was Jungkook apologising? Yujin wasn’t sure, but she knew better than to irk him now.

“So why were you drunk?”

Jungkook mentally groaned because she wasn’t letting it go.

“Someone put alcohol in my juice.”

“You’re kidding.” Yujin said.

Jungkook’s glare told her he wasn’t.

“-and then you got drunk? How bad is your tolerance?” she asked but didn’t look at him before quickly moving on. “-anyway, finish up, let’s go back after this.”

She dropped the topic as did he.

Yujin walked the way back, he followed a few steps behind.

Jungkook’s tolerance to cold was as bad as his tolerance to alcohol. If Yujin hadn’t flung her scarf around his neck, he would’ve taken it by force. Fiction, but he would’ve consider the option.

The cement of the sidewalk scraped under her shoes loudly and Jungkook didn’t stop staring at her footsteps.

This boy is so noisy..

“What?” Yujin asked aloud. Jungkook looked up at her. She turned back with a small smirk. “-am I that attractive that you have to keep staring?”

Jungkook frowned at her statement. “What the heck.” he muttered under his breath.

Regardless whether or not she heard him, she laughed. “I’m kidding.”

No more words were exchanged between them and they soon reached home.

Yujin unlocked the door and took a step in, Jungkook close behind her. She flinched and stumbled back when she opened the door, causing Jungkook to bump into her, almost eating her nest of hair.

“What the-”

“Where were you?” Suga demanded, then saw Jungkook at the back. “-where were both of you??”

Jungkook didn’t know how to answer. In the presence of Suga, he always unconsciously shrunk to the little brother role. Yujin on the other hand, had no problem ignoring the fact that Suga was older than them.

“What are you? Mum?” Yujin scoffed jokingly and pushed him aside lightly to enter the house. Suga’s gaze lingered on Yujin for a while before he turned back to Jungkook.

The younger boy had in mind to enter after Yujin but Suga’s sudden attention on him made him pause.

“I- uhh..”

Suga had a question mark on his face, not expecting him to stumble over his words.

“-nothing.” Jungkook looked away as Suga made way for him to enter the house. He went all the way up to his room and shut his door.

Yujin came out of the kitchen with a cup of water in her hands.

“What’s up with him?” she asked Suga. “-what did you do to him?”

“I didn’t do anything to him!” Suga exclaimed in surprise. “-where were you?”

“Eating out. Why?”

Suga gave her a suspicious frown. “Just ‘eating out’? Since when do you and Jungkook-ah just ‘eat out’?”

Yujin flipped her imaginary long hair. “Since we decided that instead of opposing each other, combining our powers for the good of the people was a better idea, hence, the eating out.”

“What are you even talking about now?” Suga rolled his eyes and laughed.

Yujin grinned and threw herself onto the couch.

“-I talked to him.” Suga pointed both index fingers on his cheekbones. “-he said he’ll get back to me with as much information as he can.”

“And what information will that be?” Yujin copied him and rested her fingers on her own cheekbones for fun.

“Anything. Everything. I told him to knock himself out.”

“Pfft! As if you hold the permission whether or not he gets to knock himself out over this.” Yujin laughed.

Suga shrugged. “I told him that I’d take responsibility over it should anything go wrong.”

“I’m sure he was elated to hear that?” Yujin asked.

“Of course he was.” Suga nodded. “-and he’s getting paid this time. Of course he’s on board.”

“What.”

“He helped us the last time to return a favour.” Suga said with a knowing smile. “-this time it’s out of friendship but I figured I shouldn’t take advantage of our friendship like that. Besides, if I pay him, all our exchanges for this matter will solely be a professional one, from an employer to employee. Anything that happens will be on me.”

“You keep talking as if something would happen..” Yujin stuck out her lower lip.

Suga laughed and couldn’t help it but pinch one of her cheek. “-yah.” she stated but Suga didn’t stop. He started moving her head around by her pinched cheek.

Yujin slapped his hand away. “-stop it.”

“Are you really not helping out for exam this time round?” he asked.

Yujin shook her head. “Nope.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t want them leaching off me. They need to learn how to do things themselves. Besides, I don’t want anyone from JYP, student or teacher, to say that they’re all getting spoon fed by the top student. I want them to prove to those arrogant people that social class doesn’t define brains.” Yujin said, she glanced Suga’s way and scrunched up her nose. “-what’s with that face?”

Suga had a try-hard father’s proud look. “I’m so proud of you.” he dramatically said as he wiped off an invisible tear.

“What the heck, you sound exactly like Jung Hoseok.” Yujin threw a pillow at him and got up to go back to her room.

“Yah! He’s older than you, how many times have I said that??” Suga exclaimed loudly towards the stairs where she was already halfway up.

“He acts like he’s younger than me.” Yujin shrugged.

“He’s your ‘hyung’, alright? ‘Hyung’!” Suga laughed.

***

Jungkook could hear the last few sentences of their friendly banter from his room. He heard Yujin shuffling around her room, heading to the toilet to wash up before coming out 5 minutes later before closing her door, presumingly ready for bed.

“Your bed is right next to mine if not for the wall, and the wall isn’t the most sound-proofed there is.”

How not-soundproofed is it?

He was on his bed with his cellphone in hand. He started tossing his phone up and down, not bothering how it landed. Sometimes it landed on the bed with a loud poof-ing sound, sometimes its sides hit the wall before dropping on the bed. Jungkook carried on for a few more times before he noticed his cellphone lighting up.

YUJIN: btch stop

Jungkook couldn’t help but let a short laugh escape his lips.

YUJIN: Laugh??!!