I lay on my bed impatiently as Hyerin contemplated her attire for tonight's party. She hadn't officially been invited, but Jungkook had called me a few minutes ago and nearly deafened me by telling me to bring her along as well. I rolled from side to side, flailing my arms and legs as she asked me "Does this dress make me look fat?" for the umpteenth time.

"Nothing can make you look fat if you already are fat." I groaned, and promptly got a shoe thrown at me. "Why do you even care that much? Look at me, I'm wearing a tank top and shorts. These could very well be my PJ's."

"This is my last chance to impress Junghyun before he goes off to the army for two years! I want to be his 'Girl back home', to whom he writes everyday and carries a picture of in his pocket~" She twirled around on her heels and sighed.

"You have been watching too many romantic movies." I shook my head and fell back into the bed. "Go with the effortless look, guys seem to dig that."

"And you know that because you are such a player." She rolled her eyes and started digging around in my closet again.

I stuck my tongue out at her and started scrolling through my phone, too exhausted to listen to her bickering again. The reason that I let her borrow my clothes for tonight was that she literally only owned jeans and sweatshirts, outfits that didn't suit the sweltering heat of July. They were effective in the winter though, but she never let me wear them because she was worried that I would end up losing and/or ruining them. Ah, she trusted me so much.

"Ok, I'm wearing this." She decided finally, so I got up to evaluate her look. She was wearing my Doraemon t-shirt along with torn boyfriend jeans, which made for a very innocent look. 

"Hallelujah, you look fabulous. Let's go now." I said, shoving her out of the room.

The party had already started by the time we got there. Huge banners hung throughout the house, with "Happy Birthday, our little Junghyun!" written in bold letters. It seemed like only close friends and family were invited, which made me feel awkward since I had barely known Jungkook for two months. Hyerin caught sight of Junghyun and bolted off to him before I could protest. I couldn't see Jungkook, Taehyung or Jimin anywhere, so I walked over to the wall and stood there quietly, playing with my fingers. , this was so awkward. Could I go home without anyone noticing right now?

"Jihye! You made it!" I heard Taehyung yell as he ran over to me and hugged me. 

I smiled warmly and ruffled his hair. He grinned and took my hand, leading me to where the others were.

"Jihye's here, guys!" He announced, making everyone stop their activities and look at me. I felt my face grow hot under the attention and looked down at my shoes, trying to avoid eye-contact. 

"Where's Jungkook?" I whispered to him.

"He should be around here somewhere..." He said, not really paying attention to me. 

"Taehyung!" I hissed, thoroughly annoyed.

He looked at me and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry." He mumbled. "But they have a bouncy house in the garden which looks really promising. Do you want to go?"

I looked around and sighed. There wasn't anything much to do inside, besides eating food. Hell, even the birthday boy wasn't here. "Sure, why not." 

He squealed excitedly and pulled me out to the garden, where I spotted some familiar faces. Jimin was getting abused by the little kids and their mothers alike in one corner, Hyerin was desperately trying to flirt with Junghyun who looked like a scared kitten, and Jungkook was sitting around a bonfire along with his group of friends. Taehyung took off towards the bouncy house, leaving me to fend for myself. I peeked up at where Jungkook was, and gulped. He was wearing a plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His hair was dripping wet, but he kept slicking it back as he kept taking his snapback off and on again.

'DAMN BOY LOOKS HELLA FINEEEEEE CHECK OUT THAT-"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up." I muttered to myself, hiding my face with my hair.

I stood there for a good fifteen minutes, before I heard a familiar voice beside me.

"Your friend is relentless." Junghyun said, leaning against the wall.

"She's very stubborn." I laughed. "But you get used to it after a while."

"Hmm." He smiled. "Tell me more about her."

I looked at him and wiggled my eyebrows. "Why~? Are you interested in her~?"

"Perhaps." He chuckled. "She's different from the other girls that approach me. She's really shy and doesn't know what to say, which makes for some hilarious moments."

"You're right about that." I agreed. "She also tends to be very motherly towards everyone. For example, she'll remind you to wear a coat if it's cold outside, she always has what you need in her bag, things like that. But she's horrible at taking care of herself, so if you guys decided to date, you are essentially accepting the responsibility of a pet."

"I don't think I would mind, honestly." He said thoughtfully. "But enough about that. What about Jungkook?"

"What about him?" I asked, surprised by the question.

"You guys seem pretty close." 

"I suppose." I mumbled, playing with the hem of my shirt.

"Do you like him?"

My face grew even hotter than it was before as I furiously shook my head. "N-no I don't. Yes, as a friend but not as a boyfriend because he's a good friend." I stammered.

He simply laughed and patted my head. "Your face is a dead giveaway, little one. But don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

I groaned and hid my face in my hands, as he bounced away to where Hyerin was standing with an enormous plate of food.

"You look like a real loner right now." Jungkook said, coming up beside me. What was this, a competition between brothers to see who could get me more flustered? 

"Hyerin and Taehyung abandoned me." I sighed. "Jimin is too busy protecting himself from the kids, and you were with your friends, so I didn't want to disturb you."

"Nah, they aren't my friends. Just a bunch of cousins." He ran a hand through his hair again, due to which thousands of little water droplets rained down on my face.

"W- Hey!" I threw my hands up, guarding myself. "Have you not heard of hairdryers?"

He laughed and continued to do that, stopping when I flicked him on his forehead. "That's ing disgusting, Jungkook." I scolded him as he winced in pain. "How'd your hair get like that anyway?"

"Me and my cousins were at the beach, we literally just got back." He explained. "I went swimming, so naturally my hair got wet."

"O-Oh." I stuttered, trying my best not to picture him without a shirt. Dammit Jihye, you're better than this. What has this brat done to you?

"That reminds me." He said, playing with his hair. "Me and some friends were planning on going there after midterms. You and Hyerin should come along too, it'll be fun."

"Maybe...I don't know..." I muttered, turning away from him.

Right then, a lady whom I assumed was their mother announced that the cake cutting was going to take place. Jimin came over and slung an arm over my shoulder, pretending to be busy so the kids wouldn't bother him anymore. 

The cake was a simple vanilla cake, with chocolate shavings on top. "Happy Birthday to the Army Man!" was written on the top using white icing. Junghyun came up to the front and thanked everyone for coming, before blowing out the candles and cutting the cake. He took out a big chunk and fed his mom, dad, Jungkook, and surprisingly Hyerin, who blushed and giggled before swiping some icing on his nose.

At least she got what she came here for. I looked over at Jungkook, who seemed to have a poker face, in contrast to his parents who were tearing up as Junghyun hugged them.

"My little boy is off to the army~" His mom sighed sorrowfully, wiping away stray tears with the back of her hand. Everyone took turns cooing and fussing over him, while me, Jungkook, Jimin and Taehyung lazily lounged on the floor.

"Midterms are coming up." I pointed out, hoping to change the depressing mood.

"I'm not too worried." Taehyung said, batting at something in the air. "I've been constantly studying during breaks, so I should be good."

"I can't say the same for myself." Jimin sighed. "I've training non-stop, so I haven't touched my textbooks at all."

"What about you, golden boy?" I turned to Jungkook who seemed to be completely lost in thought.

"...Huh? Oh, um, yeah midterms will be pretty chill." He mumbled before zoning out again.

The rest of us engaged in idle chitchat until Mrs. Jeon announced that Junghyun would be leaving soon. One by one, everyone bid their goodbyes to him, including Hyerin, who gave him a sneaky kiss on the cheek. Jungkook hung around at the back until everyone finished, then handed him a little piece of paper and went up to his room, not waiting to see Junghyun off.

"Bye, Junghyun." I hugged him.

"Bye, Jihye." He bent down to my ear. "Please take care of Jungkook for me. He's an arrogant idiot, but he means well."

I blushed and nodded, as he picked up his bags and headed to the train station.

"Jungkook?" I called out softly as I entered his room. His behavior had worried me, so I wanted to see if everything was ok. I found him lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling intently.

I sat beside him on the bed. "What are you looking at?"

"When we were kids, he had drawn me a night sky on the ceiling." He closed his eyes. "It was back in our old house. I had written him a little thank you card, but forgotten to give it. I found it in my old drawing book yesterday, so I decided to give it to him today."

"That's really sweet." I smiled, looking at him.

"I never thought I would be so sad when he left." He sighed. "Dammit, I really hate this."

I didn't say anything, so he kept talking.

"I never wanted to move here in the first place. I miss our old house and school. I miss my friends." He pulled the blanket up to his face and curled up. "I miss Junghyun."

He went on and on about his old life, and I let him talk about it without interrupting. He grew sleepier and sleepier with each story he told me, and eventually he was just muttering random words here and there.

"You should sleep, Jungkook." I said, brushing the hair away from his face.

He nodded and snuggled up to his pillow, so I started to get up, but he pulled me back.

"Can you stay here until I fall asleep?" He asked me, half-asleep.

"All right." 

I sat there for another hour or so, occasionally humming little songs to help him fall asleep faster. He held on to my hand as he slept, just like a baby.

"Hey." I heard Hyerin say as she opened the door quietly. "We have to go."

I tried to pull my hand away and get up from the bed, but he frowned and tightened his grip around my fingers.

She chuckled softly and took out her phone, snapping a picture of us.

"You guys look adorable." She cooed.

I rolled my eyes and tried to pull away once more, this time successfully escaping from his clutches. He started to whine, but I quickly shoved a random pillow in his arms, quieting him down. 

"Sweet dreams, you little brat." I whispered, tiptoeing out of the room and shutting the door.

"Best party everrrrrr~" Hyerin sang, as we headed home on the bus.

"You and Junghyun hit it off, huh?" I wiggled my eyebrows and nudged her.

"Yeah." She giggled. "He told me that he's going to write to me. Ahh, he's so cute."

I laughed and leaned my head against the window. "Jungkook was pretty sad." I said quietly.

"Well duh, his only brother's going to the army." She examined a little paper with a mailing address on it. "But I feel like you really came through for him. Not many people are willing to listen to someone else's problems voluntarily."

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "It's really hard being someone's friend when you have a crush on them, though."

She hummed in reply, pulling out her phone. For a brief second, the image of Jungkook sleeping flashed across the screen, making my heart melt. I turned away and looked out at the dimly lit roads, closing my eyes as I tried to remember what holding his hands felt like.

I wish I could do it all the time.