Author's POV || 2009. 10. 1

"Goodmorning, students. Welcome back, I hope you all had been enjoying your vacation. Now, since the University has opened, we hope for great feedback from every student in the Art Department." The professor spoke and smiled. You just stared at her before looking down, nodding slightly. 
A few girls in the back were just doing their own stuff instead of paying attention. The teacher started teaching and you started taking notes. 

"Hey Y/N, how was your vacation?" Your classmate, Mina asked as you looked at her saying, "It was... nice. You?"
"Yeah, it was good!" She said, smiling. She sat beside you and said, "You weren't in any of our class hangouts... I kinda missed you." 
"Missed me?" You asked, a little confused. She smiled and said, "I know the other kids don't like you much because you don't socialize with them. But you are kinda lovely. And your drawing skills are really good." She said, eyeing your artwork as you looked down, thanking her. You closed the book, feeling a little awkward. 
"Hey, did I perhaps.. make you uncomfy?" She asked, a little confused. You shook your head, trying to smile. You weren't uncomfy, you just weren't ready to show people what you've got, it felt like a hard task to do. You were afraid, of being judged by them.

Soon, the teacher left and it was lunchtime now.

"Wanna join me for lunch today?" She asked, hoping for an answer. You opened your mouth to speak but your body jolted up hearing a familiar voice.
"Hey!!" Taehyung spoke, entering your class. You gasped a little, looking at him. He looked cool and charismatic. You could see a few girls from your class staring at him like he was some showpiece. It felt a little uncomfortable to get that attention but seemed like Taehyung didn't bother about them. He walked towards you and said, "Let's go? I found your class in a minute." 
"Oh... seems like you have plans?" Mina asked, smiling. You awkwardly scratched your nape. 
Taehyung didn't even glance at her properly, he just acknowledged that she was there, he was only looking at you who got up.

"Sorry... Mina." You mumbled. She shook her head saying, "Hey! It's completely fine! I'm glad you are getting company, no worries~ See ya, okay?" 
She went out as you looked down, feeling a few stares at you. He was, indeed, popular. 
"Let's go? My friends are waiting to meet the one who stole me from them..?" He spoke jokingly as you looked down with a soft smile, nodding. 

"Let's go." You said as he forwarded his hand with a smile. Go while holding hands? Shouldn't it be normal since you both were friends..? 
You hesitated a little but held his hand making a smile appear on his face immediately. 

---In the cafeteria 

"Hey!!" Jimin waved from the table along with some other guys. Taehyung waved at them, still holding your hand. You sat beside him on the table as he spoke, "This is Y/N guys, be respectful."
"Oh so she's your love-" Another guy was speaking but got cut off by Taehyung's kick under the table. He winced as you looked at them confused.
"Okay so.. he's Jimin." He said pointing to a guy with blonde hair, and an angelic smile. You smiled awkwardly at him and looked at the other guy Taehyung was pointing at. 
"This is... Jungkook. You can see that he talks a lot." He said. You looked at the guy with black hair and his face looking kind of similar.

You were staring at him wondering why his face looked so familiar.
"IF you're wondering why his face looks so familiar, then it's because he resembles a bunny." Right, Jimin was right. You let out a soft chuckle. 
"Her laugh is cute.." Jungkook whispered to Taehyung who said, "She's not your friend. She's my friend." Jungkook scoffed hearing him emphasizing the word 'my'. 
"Possessive enough," Jimin muttered under his breath as you stared at your lap, fiddling with your fingers. 
"Umm, it's okay if you don't know what to talk about. They're bigmouths, they talk a lot." Taehyung spoke, reassuring you as you smiled, nodding. 
"So, we already got your foods too... as you can see!" Jimin said, pointing at the plates in front of you and Taehyung. 

"She doesn't like chicken," Taehyung spoke, eyeing your plate as you gulped, looking down. Jimin and Jungkook side-eyed each other before looking at you both.
"Well that's your couple's business... we only brought it since we had to," Jimin said. Jungkook nodded, agreeing very well.

"So, anyway. Which department are you in?" Jungkook asked as Jimin mumbled, "Didn't we hear about all her hobbies and favourites and habits this morning? Taehyung couldn't even shut up about it." 
Jungkook whispered to him saying, "We need something to talk about."
"I'm from the Art Department." 
"We all are from the Music department," Jungkook said and smiled. You nodded and said, "That's cool..." 
"We should do a concert for you and you should draw for us!" Jimin spoke, giggling. You smiled and nodded slowly. Taehyung looked at you, trying to figure out whether you were comfortable or not. 

You smiled a little realizing how they were kinda similar to Taehyung. Their words were, indeed. No wonder they were friends.
"Y/N, how old are you?" Jimin suddenly asked as you replied, "I'm 19." 
"Oh! One year younger?" Jungkook spoke, suddenly feeling proud. 
"Finally I found someone who's younger than me." He spoke as Jimin smacked his head. You tried hard not to chuckle seeing them but ended up failing.
"Are you comfortable?" Taehyung asked you, in a low soothing voice. You smiled at him and nodded. 
"They're nice.." You spoke, in a low voice. Soon, you all started eating and Taehyung took the chicken from you, giving you some pork from his plate while Jimin and Jungkook judged you both the entire time.

--After University 

"Y/N!!" Taehyung spoke, running behind you. You looked at him and said, "Yes?" 
"Y/N.." 
"Yes..?" 
"Let me walk you home." He spoke, smiling. 
"It's no need though.." You said, hesitating a little but he put his arm around your shoulder saying, "Let's go!" 
You gulped, feeling flustered. Butterflies were doing a pole dance in your stomach right now and you couldn't do a thing about it.

"So... who was that girl in class today? Your friend?" He asked as you said, "Kind of.."
"She seems to be nice, is she good to you?" He asked in a protective tone, you felt it. You gulped and said, "Y-Yeah..."
"Good then. The students in your class look pretty annoying. Ask me and I'll settle them for you." He said as you asked, "And how would you?" 
"Well... by my looks?" He asked, smirking. You just chuckled saying, "That's kind of evil." 
"Why? I'd use my looks on you too if that would work." 

He blurted out but shut his mouth as you looked down, not quite understanding what he meant but you also knew what he meant. 

Soon, you both arrived in front of your home as he smiled saying, "When will I get to see your drawing?" 
"Umm... someday." You spoke, with a smile. 
"I feel like I'll miss you." He spoke, looking at you, more like taking in your face. You looked down and wanted to say the same but your mouth didn't work. You smiled and waved at him as he waved back. Entering your house, you peeked from the window to see him leaving.

"I'll miss you too... and I'm sure about it." 

---Time skip

Dinner was over and right now, you were sitting on the bed, reading a book. 
'How to communicate well with others' 

You really wanted these ways to work. You really wanted to be able to express yourself. You were bad at socializing, it always made you anxious. You knew how to talk, you could interact but you felt anxious, you felt judged by people. But you wanted to improve... for him. Because he was the only one who always said the things which you wanted to tell others but could never. But he always said those, never expecting anything in return. You wanted to give him what he deserved, words that were sincere. 

'The first way to overcome this issue is by understanding why this problem occurs and in which situations.' 

You thought about it for a while. Why did this start in the first place? You didn't know. You continued reading the books as a few realizations hit you, 

'Often times, the reason for being anxious while communicating is the fear of being judged. Maybe due to unsupportive situations or negativity around us, we become used to judgement and negativity. That's why we start feeling anxious in situations where we have to communicate.' 

It was true. There was so much negativity around you. Your parents were the main reason for it, then your classmates who never tried to understand you, though Mina was an exception and you did feel comfortable with her, but you couldn't express it. 

'There also come many problems along with this. People with less communication or expressing skills often get misunderstood. Some think they're being rude, some think they're strange. But that's not the truth, being misunderstood surely brings a huge amount of burden and guilt to those who fail to express themselves.' 

You looked down, feeling sad. The lines in the book were true, for you. You often got misunderstood. 

'Relying on people, in this case, can sometimes help. Assurance from a loved one or a supportive friend can really help in this time.' 

"Assurance.." You mumbled and looked down. The only person who has ever assured you was him. And at the back of your head, you could remember Mina. But with Mina, you only talked to her a few times in your life. 
Why was he the only person coming to your mind in every situation? You had no idea, or maybe you sort of did but it sounded really... unbelievable.

'But what people think of us doesn't matter. As long as the close ones understand our sincerity, oftentimes, that's enough. But the feeling of not doing enough makes us guilty. As a result, we want to express ourselves better and try harder. In that case, this book shall be a guide to all those friends of mine who have been struggling.' 

Maybe, if you tried, you could become better. Tries never fail, no matter how hard the process would be.