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Chapter 19 - The Gossip

#Jk's POV...

When I left the house for school, Hyung was already waiting outside for me. I didn't know what to say, so I just thanked him for the lovely sycamore tree and tried to dodge him. 

❝Hey Jungkook, how've you been?❞ Hyung asked. 

❝I'm fine. And you?❞ Dang it, why'd I have to engage in conversation?! 

We rode and talked and I got progressively more emotional until I reached breaking point. I don't even remember what I said, but he sincerely apologised. With that, I was burnt out and just stopped talking altogether.

I walked into the hall to be immediately greeted by Olivia Rodrigo. 

❝Hay! Tell me exactly why you were riding bikes with Tae,❞ she said angrily. 

Rolling my eyes I replied, ❝We're neighbours, miss Einstein. What do you think?❞

She scoffed and tossed her stupidly long hair. ❝Back off.❞

❝Whatever,❞ I muttered as I continued to my locker.

I met up with my closest friend, Momo, who seemed awfully charismatic. ❝I told you that Taehyung has a big crush on you!❞

❝Yeah, yeah, sure you did, but this doesn't make us a couple,❞ I said quietly as Momo gave me a ❛seriously?❜ look. ❝Does it?❞

❝Come on! Did Taehyung wait to ride here with you?❞

❝...Yes?❞

❝See! First, he chooses to ride his bike and not the bus, then he rides with you. He obviously wanted to spend time with you, kookie!¡❞ She looked so certain, and I couldn't help but feel a couple of lone butterflies flitting around my stomach. 

❝Well... Maybe...❞

❝More like; well, definitely!❞ Momo shot back. ❝You've got yourself a keeper, that's for sure.❞

❝How do you even know?❞

She rolled her eyes dramatically. ❝Okay, look, even after you rejected him, he still cares about you, and he wants so badly for you to forgive him.❞

❝Oh.❞

🌳🐓🌳

When we were paired up on science, i was glad to be with Momo but disappointed that Olivia was with Hyung. It seemed that she always got what she wanted, and if he was as naive as I prayed he wasn't, Hyung would fall into her traps again.

❝Kookie!❞ Momo snapped me out. ❝Wake up!❞

❝What?❞ I shot up, not realising that I had zoned out. 

❝You were just staring at...❞ She leaned close to my ear, ❝Taehyung,❞ she leaned out. ❝And you weren't responding.❞

❝No, no I wasn't... Was I?❞

❝Yes Kookie, you were. Maybe you still have feelings for him,❞ Momo said sympathetically.

❝I guess I should talk to him then,❞ I decided. 

Momo nods. ❝Yeah, you should. You two will be so cute together!❞ She giggled again.

I groaned. ❝Thanks,❞ I replied dryly.

🌳🐓🌳

The bell rang loudly and I made my way to the cafeteria, looking around for Hyung. Finally, i spotted him, sitting at a corner table all by himself. Poor thing. 

As I walked over to where he sat, he seemed to tense up as I neared him. 

❝Can I sit here?❞

He wiped the crumbs off of his lip. ❝Hm? Oh! Yeah, yeah, you can sit here.❞

I took out my lunch slowly, watching Hyung out of the corner of my eye. ❝Sorry for being so cold this morning. I was just...angry for no reason.❞

❝It's okay,❞ he peeped quietly.

❝Is something wrong? I'm sorry if it's because of me.❞

❝No,❞ he said, louder this time. ❝It's just that...that...oh, never mind.❞

❝Hey, you can talk to me,❞ I said in my best sympathetic voice.

He sighed. ❝It doesn't matter anyway. I was just...thinking.❞

❝Oh, okay,❞ I replied, not fully believing him. ❝Well, anyway, I just wanted to tell you that...if you want, we can be friends.❞

Hyung gave me a small smile. ❝I'd like that.❞

I felt a sudden burst of confidence. ❝Okay, great! Are you gonna keep riding your bike to school, or take the bus?❞

❝I think I'll be riding my bike. Less drama and i get to avoid Wooshik Hyung,❞ he explained.

❝You know, you really should apologise to him. I'd hate to be the reason your friendship ends.❞

Shaking his head, Hyung seemed firm in his decision. ❝Wooshik wasn't a very good friend anyways. You heard what he said about you! I should've punched him! Right in the nose!❞

I giggled. ❝Nah, then you would've gotten in more trouble. Though he does deserve it. So do you,❞ I teased.

As Hyung smiled at me, I couldn't help but feel those dang flutters again. But this time I wasn't as mad because I knew he meant well. And I was just a little bit proud that he was happy because of me.

❝Will you ride your bike with me to school tomorrow?❞

Although I should've seen it coming, I was still a bit shocked to hear Tae-hyung say those words. ❝If you want me to, then sure!❞

❝That's would be great, Kookie.❞

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