I slammed the front door as I stormed out of my house. Cold December snow fell on my hair and nose as I wrapped my arms around myself, shivering furiously.

My parents had written to my uncle, who was the dean of some nursing college in Seoul, asking him if they could reserve my spot on their admissions list. And he agreed. 

That meant that I was going to go off to nursing school the moment I graduated. I hated medicine. I hated doctors and I hated hospitals.

Tears ran down my cheeks freely as I aimlessly wandered the streets, cursing myself for not wearing something warmer. Jungkook's jacket hung loosely over my shoulders as I pulled the sleeves over my hands, in hopes of warming my fingers up. I had called and texted him a billion times, all of which either went to voicemail or remained unanswered.

I didn't want to talk to my parents ever again, and it wasn't because they had enrolled me in a college I had no desire to go to. It was because when I asked them exactly what possessed them to do such a thing, they replied with, "Medicine is the only way to get that silly notion of art school out of your head."

I eventually ended up walking to the noodle shop that Jungkook and I had gone to, on the day he had shown me the white cottage. I felt like talking to the nice grandma that ran the store. She always knew how to calm me down, even when I was younger. I felt-

Jungkook was there.

I froze in my place. What the was he doing here? At 11 p.m. in the night?

He was sitting with grandma, laughing and drinking what I could assume to be her most famous soup. The soup that she would especially make for me. My favorite soup.

I was so preoccupied in glaring daggers at him, that I didn't notice her calling my name. 

"Jihye! My god child, has someone stitched your ears shut?"

My head snapped towards her and I bowed my head sheepishly, dusting off the access snow from my pants. I took off my shoes and sat down next to her, trying to ignore Jungkook as much as I could. We hadn't talked since I had basically ran out of his room on Jimin's birthday couple of weeks ago, so things were still a little awkward.

"So." She set down her pen and took off her glasses. "What brings you here?"

I shrugged and looked away, playing with the fabric of my shirt. "Just felt like talking."

"This young man here surprised me too." She chuckled, and I finally looked at Jungkook. "Just walked in and sat down. I was half-expecting that girl- God help me, what's her name- Oh yes, A Lace, to walk in with him."

Jungkook stifled a laugh. I would've smiled, but I was too busy being shocked by what she had just said. 

"Gramma, it's Alice, not A Lace." He explained, cheeks turning red from confined laughter.

"Bah, it all sounds the same." She flapped her hand, and turned to me. "Now, what's the matter with you? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"It's nothing..." I looked down at my hands. "...I didn't expect you guys to talk to each other, that's all."

She started laughing, somehow making Jungkook laugh too. "Jungkook? He practically lives here these days. Him and that cute girlfriend of his, Erase."

"Alice." He corrected, blushing slightly. I felt like strangling him.

"Oh." I stared at him blankly. "How nice."

She changed the subject then, talking about her past relationships. I bit my lip and pulled my hood up. The last person that I could confide in was now smitten with Alice as well. 

my life.

"My, it's been two hours already." Grandma yawned. "Aren't your parents worried about you guys?"

Jungkook simply shook his head. "My mom knows where I am. She won't worry as long as I stay here."

I kept quiet. I wasn't about to tell her why I had been ignoring my parent's calls for the last two hours with him here.

"I'm going off to sleep soon." She got up. "Jungkook, walk Jihye home. I don't want her walking alone at night."

"I can go by myself." I stated firmly.

"And I can run a marathon and finish first." She scoffed. "Don't argue with me, kid. Goodnight."

Both of us mumbled goodnight and stepped out of store. It had stopped snowing by now, and the freezing wind had been replaced by a cool breeze. We walked in silence, only the sound of our shoes crunching against the fresh snow interrupting the peace of the night.

"So." Jungkook's surprisingly hoarse voice broke the quiet.

I didn't reply.

"Are you going to talk at all?"

"Nothing to talk about." I mumbled.

"Nonsense." He chuckled. "Why did you come to the store?"

"It's none of your business." I rolled my eyes.

He walked in front of me and blocked my way. I simply stared at him.

"Jihye, what's going on?" He put his hands in his pockets. "You've been acting so weird these few weeks."

"It's nothing." I tried to walk to the right, but he blocked me again.

"No, something's definitely wrong." He put his hands on my shoulders. "Why are you so distant?"

I pushed his hands off. "I said it's nothing. Move on."

"I'm not letting you go until you tell me what's wrong." He folded his arms.

"I'm not going to tell my personal to a stranger." I folded my arms too.

"Stranger?" He scoffed. "What the hell?"

"That's what you are, isn't it?" I asked, my anger rising. "Tell me, when was the last time we hung out, just the two of us?"

He stared at, half-amused. "Is that what's bothering you? Just because we haven't talked in a few days-"

"That's not all." I interrupted him.

"Then what is it?" He pressed on. "Tell me."

My parents just made one of my important life decisions for me. Without talking to me about it. Now, I'm off to nursing school the minute I graduate. Obviously, that made me very upset. But that's fine, I know I'll be over it pretty soon. But you know what's worse Jungkook? It's the dozens of messages I have left on your phone without an answer. It's the dozens of calls that have gone to your voicemail. You were my friend, you . Are you going to forget your friends just because you have a girlfriend? I'm so ing sick of feeling disappointed every time I see you. Don't you realize that this is how it's going to be when you move? Hell, I doubt that you'll even remember who I am, what with Alice going to Seoul with you. You're going to forget me, you idiot, and it's already starting to happen.

I wish I had said all of that out loud. Instead, all I said was, "Never mind."

He sighed heavily, stuffing his hands in his pockets. I peeked up at his face, my breath hitching in my throat. His bangs were pushed back into his beanie, showcasing his forehead. His eyes stared down at the pavement as his brows furrowed. His chapped lips slightly curved downward, pursing together to form a thin, flat line. He was sad. And it was my fault.

"By the way." I cleared my throat. He looked up at me, a dejected expression on his face. "Um, I was meaning to give your jacket back."

He inhaled sharply, eyes widening as I took his jacket off, and practically shoved it in his hands. 

"I-I thought you were going t-to keep this...?" His voice was low and soft. I felt my heart shattering as I blinked away tears.

"Yeah." I chuckled sadly, my voice cracking. "I thought so too."

I turned around and walked away, leaving him behind. All I heard was a soft thud, and his footsteps walking away from me. I didn't dare look back. It was my fault.

All my fault.

--

Sorry for the late update! I've been really busy with school >_<