"Junie"

They look at me, astonished, as if I was a ghost. They didn't expect me to be so blunt.

"Well," Jimin splutters and looks at Taehyung with wide eyes probably for help. But Taehyung avoids his gaze.

"So?" I raise an eyebrow and impatiently tap my foot. The latter remains silent making me wonder what was the cause.

"I won't lie to you Byeol," This time it's Jungkook who speaks. My eyes flicker over to his in curiosity.

"She has something of our possession," He speaks further earning warning gazes from his brothers.

"And what might that be?"

"That. . . is for us to know and you to find it," He passes a wink before casually whistling and heading upstairs. The others look almost proud and begin to head up as well. But before they can do that, I block their path.

"You can't leave me in the dark like that. I deserve to know the truth. She's my friend and you all are soon going to be my stepbrothers,"

Jin lets out a sigh, he looks back at his brothers who stare back at him in confusion as if they were waiting for him to speak up. Jin looks back at me and is probably looking for the right words.

"Let's leave that story for another time, yeah?" He passes me a small smile before squeezing my shoulder. Seems like no one here wants to tell the truth. But I'm not the one who would back out, I'll dig deep in this.

I reach for my phone just to see a message from Soobin. He wanted to pick me up before school to which I happily agreed. I hope I can get some time to talk to Hayoon about this.

Around an hour later, I found myself rushing to get hold of my books that were scattered all across the room. I stuffed them in my backpack before zipping it and sprinting downstairs.

"Slow down! You're going to end up killing someone because of your speed," Jungkook mocks but I don't reply. Unlocking the door, my eyes meet with Soobin's who sends me a wide smile.

"Hey Byeol! Let's go now. We don't want to be late on your second day right?" He nudges my shoulder with a cheeky smile making me scoff nevertheless the smile never fades from my face.

The entire day passes in the absence of Hayoon. I wonder where is she. What if she is avoiding me? I hope not.

Soobin calls out my name loudly upon sensing me daydreaming. I look at him startled with a questioning gaze.

"Are you alright? You've been spacing out a lot today," He speaks while playing with his food just like me.

"Yeah. . . it's just I was wondering where Hayoon is. I haven't seen her today," I speak up my concern while chewing the remaining food. My gaze wanders over where the principal's sons sat. Their table was the most crowded from what I can tell. Girls were swooning all over them but they remain unfazed. Suddenly, I make eye contact with Jungkook who passes me a glare making me look away almost immediately.

"She went on a trip with her family. Didn't she tell you about it?" Upon hearing his question I shake my head in denial. She never told me anything.

"Oh. . . Well I'm sure she must've forgotten. Don't worry about that. She'll return in 4 days," He says and begins eating again. I let out a nod and follow his actions.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Later that day, I keep glancing at my watch anticipating the arrival of Choi Yeonjun. My feet tap against the ground impatiently as I look over at the road for any sign of cars. But to no avail it remained empty.

A horn suddenly announces it's arrival making me flinch.

My breath hitches upon seeing him. He gets out of the car and begins walking towards me, but no, he drags me to his car making me sit in there.

I sit there still baffled meanwhile he starts the engine. Neither of us speak up and there's a silence for a while.

I clear my throat, "So. . . How have you been?"

He looks over at me before looking back at the road.

"Shut up. That's not a good way to start a conversation with someone you left," Upon hearing his cold tone I sigh and look out of the window. The sun's scorching heat welcomed us pretty warmly. My eyes widen upon seeing the familiar place and I sit up straight.

I glance over at Yeonjun, but he avoids my gaze quietly whistling under his breath.

"Why are we here?" I question but did not receive an answer. We get out of the car and walk in silence, again.

"Sit down," He murmurs, sitting on the bench leaving me no choice but to obey his words. I lick my lower lip anxiously and glance over him, trying to read his face.

"When did you return?" I stare at him upon hearing his question.

"Few days ago," I softly utter trying to ease the situation.

"Oh yeah? Then why do I hear about your arrival from the rest of the people and not you itself? Did we drift that far for you to not even inform me or at least stay in touch all these years?" This time he looks at me in the eye and I see the pain he kept all these years.

We were close, close friends. Our families didn't get along that well but it didn't stop us from meeting each other. From understanding each other at our worsts to joking at every instinct, we did it all. . . until a misunderstanding arrived.

"Junie-" He looks away making me sigh to myself. Now how am I supposed to make it up to him?

I held his hand firmly leaving him no choice but to face me. His face remains blank without any ounce of expression.

"What I did was quite immature, and I know that. But now I want to fix it. Fix our friendship," I say pointing to the two of us making him scoff. But before he could utter anything a voice interrupts us.

"Look, the great Byeol is on a date with her boyfriend."