"You're back," Yoongi commented, a nonchalant tone to his voice as he lifted his head. His eyes fixated on Taehyung, who moved to take a seat next to him at the cafeteria table. It was early in the day, much too early for Taehyung to be awake, but he knew his hyung's schedule by now. Min Yoongi in particular was up by the break of dawn and liked how quiet the school was when there were barely any students around. Naturally, he knew this was the easiest way to find the older boy.

"Yeah.." Taehyung responded quietly, plopping his bag down beside him. "Mornin'."

"Morning."

"Have you seen Jeongguk around lately?" He fiddled his fingers together while peering forward, arms against the table.

"Jeon Jeongguk...?" The older paused. "No. Why?"

"He might be mad at me."

An eyebrow raise. "What did you do?"

Taehyung didn't answer.

"Well, you were gone for like... a week, no?"

Taehyung grunted under his breath and threw himself back against the chair, deciding maybe he wouldn't update the male on what had happened just yet. "Yeah.. I know. I want to apologize somehow."

"Hm."

Fortunately for Taehyung, he took a look at the schedule that had remained long forgotten inside his bag only to see that English was his next class. A class he shared with Jeon Jeongguk. Perfect.

"But maybe you should... not bother that boy anymore," Yoongi added, his attention now on an open notebook in front of him. Taehyung narrowed his eyes at him, head tilting.

"What?" he hummed, unsure why his friend would say such a thing. "Why?"

Yoongi remained quiet, and Taehyung waited patiently until the older boy looked up at him. "He's just a sophomore. Seems really innocent and all.. I just don't think we should involve him in our shit."

"You mean the gang."

"Among other things, yes."

Taehyung forced out a laugh. "Other things?"

Yoongi reached to bite into the sandwich that rested on a small plate beside his equally miniature hands. Then he looked at the younger, a brazen expression on his face. "You know what I mean."

Taehyung leaned his head back and looked at the ceiling, teeth grinding against his bottom lip before he gave the other male curt nods. "Yeah. I do."

※ ※

Jeongguk was exhausted. Thanks to all the hard work and heavy lifting he'd done the previous day to help Hoseok and Yerin move into their new place, he had no trouble sleeping the minute his body hit the comforting cushion of his welcoming mattress. But even so, when he woke the next day his muscles felt sore and he was unusually low on energy.

He'd been trying his best to avoid thinking of what had gone down in Taehyung's apartment because, every time he did, he'd feel inexplicable anxiousness. He wasn't sure how he would act if he had to see the man again, and surely with them sharing a class together it wasn't as though he could completely stop their encounters.

Nevertheless, Jeongguk made it to class and kept to himself, making sure he was around Jimin and Hoseok at all times. Before, the trio used to sit in order of who got there first, which made it impossible to guess who would end up sitting in the middle. But lately Jeongguk had been making sure to arrive a little earlier, while Jimin would get there later. That way Jeongguk could always sit right in the middle, keeping his other two friends apart. Jimin had made it clear to him the day before that, now more than ever, did he lack the energy to sit beside Hoseok for so long pretending he wasn't heartbroken about Yerin's return.

Still, Jeongguk knew that Jimin was good at acting as though he were fine with the couple. His blond friend seemed a bit more devastated over the presence Hoseok's girlfriend than usual, and that was one more thing Jeongguk felt he had to be cautious of.

The clock hit half past noon. The professor was quick to dismiss the class that had gone on by in the blink of an eye despite the constant worries lingering inside Jeongguk's head. He hadn't taken notice of how Taehyung stood from his seat quickly, feet striding towards the back of the classroom toward his direction.

"Jeongguk." He spoke up, then felt the eyes of said boy, along with a few other peering eyes look over at him. "Can I... talk to you for a second?"

The boy froze. He surely wasn't expecting the man to approach him and boldly start up a conversation. But the churning in his stomach, the light layer of sweat that began to form on his skin, how breathless he had gotten. The man was alluring, as always. Voice deep and charming, as always.

But he wasn't sure if he wanted to talk to him. He didn't quite feel ready.

"Oh. I, uhm-"

Before he could continue his sentence the professor spoke up suddenly behind both boys.

"Kim Taehyung? A word please."

Taehyung exhaled quietly and turned to look at the professor, gaze flickering between him and Jeongguk until he stepped towards their English teacher.

"You've been absent for a while. There's a lot to catch up on.." The professor began to talk as he dug into his drawer for a pile of paper containing all sorts of assignments Taehyung had presumably missed.

So luckily for Jeongguk, he was able to leave the two males alone and quickly slip out of the classroom to join back up with Jimin who was halfway down the hall.

"You're done talking already?" The smaller boy's brow rose, and Jeongguk gulped.

"Yep. Um... Let's go get lunch, okay?"

"Ah... Mhm, sure."

Jeongguk thought he'd be safe for now, having lunch with Jimin and distracting himself from everything. After all, it wasn't often that he'd run into Taehyung and, when he did, he used to think of it as a happy coincidence. But now he figured if he doesn't long to see Taehyung then he won't show up everywhere he went. At least that's what he thought, because right after he and Jimin parted ways for their separate classes after their meal together, there he was. Kim Taehyung. Standing in front of him once again.

"Hey." That deep voice penetrated far into Jeongguk's bloodstream, made his lip quiver, feet frozen into place. "Listen, do you got a moment?"

Jeongguk's hands gripped the thick book in his hands firmly, eyes wavering to glance at anything around him he could use as an excuse to be somewhere else. Anywhere but here, really.

"U-Uhm... Sorry, I-... I'm late to class," was the excuse he had settled on, and he speedily made his way past the older and into the school building behind them. Taehyung's mouth opened to call out after the boy until he saw that the other was now promptly out of sight, leaving him standing there sighing softly.

But that wasn't the end of it.

The next day, with two coffees in hand, Taehyung waited outside the school cafeteria for the younger boy.

"Jeongguk! I got us some coffee. Can we sit down and talk for a sec?"

"Sorry.. I'm late for a meeting with my professor.."

And the day after that, Jeongguk opened up his locker designated for art projects and found a box of chocolate with a note wrapped over it. He detached the small paper which read;

I really need to talk to you. Can we meet at the library today at 5?

— k.t.h

Jeongguk had scrunched his nose, left the box there, ignored the note and never showed up.

One could say he was dealing with his nerves. His stomach felt tight ever since that day he found Taehyung and that pink haired woman at the apartment. And as much as he'd also tried for the past few weeks to forget Seojun—his ex, the relationship that defined his youth, at times his brain would take him right back to that moment when he came home to his ex lover making love to someone that wasn't him.

It kept him up at night. Robbed him of a healthy sleep cycle and inner peace.

And now it was currently Friday morning. Jeongguk had been lucky to get even three hours of sleep last night, so he carried down the familiar path leading him to school campus. Occasional yawns would leave him, and as the cool breeze brushed against his skin he began to wish he would've brought a muffler with him. Just as the thought passed his head, came and went in one steady swoop, a soft fabric fell over his shoulders abruptly.

Jeongguk stopped, hand moving to touch the emerald green material before turning his head to see none other than Kim Taehyung staring back at him.

"You've been avoiding me.." The man said observantly, and Jeongguk inhaled a sharp breath before moving to get the scarf off of him. Taehyung was quick to stop him, flicking his wrist away and pulling the fabric securely around the younger's neck. "Keep it on. It's freezing."

"It's not that cold," Jeongguk puffed, then turned slightly away from the other male. There was a pause of silence, and Taehyung's head tilted to the side to try and peek a better look at the expression on Jeongguk's face.

"Hey," he spoke softly, eyes wide and attentive on the younger boy. "Look, I just... wanted to apologize for the other day." Taehyung's foot skid over the concrete pavement, pushing a few pebbles with the tip of his shoes. "I know I made you uncomfortable. I'm sorry."

Jeongguk grazed his teeth down his bottom lip, eyes fixated on anything that wasn't the male in front of him. But he couldn't bring himself to speak out a response.

Taehyung fixed his posture and gently slipped his frigid hands into his warmer pockets. "I'm sorry.." he repeated. "Really sorry."

Jeongguk's brows furrowed, lips puffing to a natural pout as he remained silent.

"Sorry," Taehyung finished, then reached to scratch the back of his head as he tapped his foot over the tousled pebble awkwardly. Only after a few more seconds had passed was when he then realized that Jeongguk wasn't going to give him the reply he'd been waiting for. So Taehyung bowed his head slightly to dismiss himself and quietly turned to enter the school building first. Jeongguk watched him leave, feeling oddly frail.

He let out a condensed sigh, then moved to unwrap the scarf from his neck and stuff it into his bag. With one step forward, he proceeded inside the building until a familiar voice suddenly called out his name.

"Morning, Jeongguk!" Long strands of dark, straight hair came into Jeongguk's vision, and when he looked up he saw Misun jogging up to him. "It's cold today, huh?"

The boy nodded, giving her a weak smile. "Yeah. Good morning, Misun-ssi. I heard today's art club meeting was cancelled."

"Ah, right..." The girl gave a curt laugh. "I'm going home for the weekend for my sister's birthday, so..."

"Oh, cool. That's really nice." Jeongguk walked beside her as they traveled up the small stairs to the front door. He could feel her eyes on him for a moment, before Misun spoke up again.

"So... I saw you talking with Kim Taehyung," she said in a low voice. Jeongguk's grip tightened. "Are you two close?"

"Not really," he replied with a forced chuckle, followed by a shrug. Truthfully though, it's not like he was lying. Rather, he was just realizing the fact that no, they weren't close at all. "We just share a class together, that's all."

"Hm. That's good, then," Misun nodded to herself as they walked down the halls. "I wanted to tell you, um... You should really stay away from him. He's nothing but bad news..."

Jeongguk held his breath and looked over at her. "Bad news?"

"Yeah. I don't want to see you getting hurt... Besides, I'm sure you've already heard the countless rumors about him and, frankly, none of them are good, honey.." Misun stopped beside a classroom doorway and placed her hand on Jeongguk's shoulder. "Just don't get involved with him and you'll be fine... Trust me. A guy like you should be focusing on grades and parties. Y'know... the usual college experiences."

He looked her in the eyes and saw only genuineness and concern laced into her alerted pupils before Misun blinked and smiled gently at him.

"Well, see you next week."

With that, the girl disappeared into her classroom and Jeongguk continued towards his, chest feeling heavier now. Misun's advice to him sounded much like Jimin's, when he'd first learned of the kinds of things people would say about Taehyung.

Then there was his own inner impulses. The ones that hated conforming to the norm. Because, why should he have stayed away from someone only because everyone said he should? At that point, he hadn't even known Taehyung personally. Arguably, he still didn't really know him. He wanted to judge Taehyung on his own standards, at his own pace, with his own terms. Was he done with it all? Done getting to know him?

Had he given up?

There was something about the man that pierced people's hearts, that much he was sure of. Taehyung had scavenged his soul in a positive light before, but after what happened at his apartment Jeongguk was having trouble speaking in his presence.

Another sigh trickled from his mouth, and Jeongguk entered the familiar classroom mindlessly, avoiding the gaze of Taehyung and his friend Yoongi who always sat beside him. Jeongguk then seated himself beside Hoseok, who was immersed in some video he was watching, and soon after Jimin had arrived to take the seat to his right.

"Alright, students. Today is the day we start our first group project of the semester. So naturally, I will be assigning duos to start off with, and we can build up from there." The professor began the class, projecting his voice across the entire room.

"D-Duos?" Jimin's ears perked up, looking to Jeongguk with wide eyes, almost as though to beg him to partner up with him. Of course, Jeongguk understood his panic. Surely, being paired with Hoseok after Yerin and him have moved in together couldn't be an appealing situation for the blond boy. That would likely mean days of upon days of third wheeling.

"But I see a lot of you are already familiar with each other, and so... I've made it a task of mine to assign unique pairs that could benefit from getting to work together," the professor continued, "I will also reveal the topic of each group's project one by one."

Jeongguk bit his lip, eyeing his two friends beside him. Unique pairs... meant that neither of them would end up working together, it seemed. Somehow that only made him more nervous.Thus, the professor called out names, followed by a theme or topic that pairs would have to incorporate into their presentations. The general reactions from those who were called were curious confusion, as the pairs that were assigned didn't know each other quite well.

"Park Jimin and Min Yoongi." The professor called after a while. "Your theme will be Affiliation and Differences. Decide on what route you'd like to take and report back to me with a more specific topic."

Jeongguk looked at the desks ahead where Taehyung was seated beside Yoongi, the man already turning to make eye contact with Jimin.

"Well.." Jimin whispered, "At least it's not—"

"Kim Taehyung and Jeon Jeongguk," the professor continued his repeated announcement. "Your theme is Symbolism. Decide how you want to approach this and report back with a more specific topic."

Jeongguk could feel his heart plunge down to his stomach and bounce right back up, nearly jolting out from his throat. Taehyung's eyes were now firmly fixated on him, deep pupils piercing into him, and the boy could barely remember how to breathe.

Shit. This couldn't be happening.

✱