Love 101 || NewJeans' Minji

v.

After they got home, Jun-seo headed straight to his room and took his shirt off, feeling a sharp pain on his chest. A heavy sigh escaped his lips as he trailed his fingers against the bruising that he saw-it was the shape of a foot.

He huffed and grabbed his towel before heading into the bathroom to take a shower. Meanwhile, Jake and Jungwon were in the living room, sitting and talking to each other. Mainly about video games and some trivial game facts that Jake learnt while going through TikTok.

Fifteen minutes later, Jun-seo walked out of his room with a face towel around his neck. Jungwon, who noticed him, raised an eyebrow and tilted his head slightly. "Woah, why are you flaunting around your body, dude?" he teased with a huge grin.

Jun-seo rolled his eyes sarcastically and looked at them for a few seconds, "ha ha, very funny," he retorted before turning his whole body to give them a better view of the bruise right in the middle of his chest.

Seeing the bruise, Jake whistled and chuckled, "dude, you are like Iron Man, but instead of an arc reactor for a heart, you have a footprint instead," he joked. "Did you get that from earlier?" he asked, his eyes tracing him as Jun-seo made his way into the kitchen.

"Yep," sighed Jun-seo, walking toward the kitchen. "He sure left a mark on me," said Jun-seo. There was a rustling noise after that, but Jungwon and Jake couldn't see what their friend was doing because of the wall divider.

Not long after that, though, Jun-seo reemerged from the kitchen, an ice pack in hand. He walked toward the kitchen and plopped down on the couch with a huff. "I'm going to look for that guy tomorrow," exclaimed Jun-seo, pressing the ice pack against the bruise. He let out a grunt at the contact.

Jungwon hummed and turned the game system on. "And what are you going to do after that?" he asked, raising an eyebrow as he leaned against the couch. He rested his feet on the coffee table and was immediately punished for it by Jake.

"Dude, no feet on the coffee table. I thought we agreed on that," he scolded and looked at Jungwon.

"There is no need to be rattled, geez," retorted Jungwon, side-eyeing Jake before shaking his head. "Sometimes you remind me greatly of my mother, you know that?"

Jake huffed and grabbed the controller as well before leaning against the couch, "well, I'm sure she is a wonderful lady for me to be a resemblance of your mother," he replied with a wink.

Jun-seo watched his friends' light banter in silence, a small smile on his face at the sight. Sometimes he wondered how they were still friends after so many close calls in their arguments. It felt like it was the end of their friendship most of the time.

"Ah, back to the question earlier, Jun-seo; what are you going to do once you find that guy?" asked Jungwon, raising an eyebrow without looking at Jun-seo.

"I don't know... I guess it would be my turn to beat his ass," answered Jun-seo, shrugging.

"What made those people come after you anyway?" asked Jake.

Jun-seo cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head, "well, while I was working my shift at the store, a customer got her purse stolen, so I ran after the thief," began Jun-seo, fixing his position on the couch. "And then, when I got the purse back, I let the thief go..." he quickly looked at Jake and Jungwon, who were looking at him at this point.

"I know, I know," said Jun-seo, raising a hand in defense, "I shouldn't have done that," he added. "Anyway, uh... I guess you guys can guess what happened next."

Jake nodded, "you suddenly get this glow on you, like... you were a hero or something, and the customer looked at you differently," he snickered.

He fist-bumped with Jungwon, probably feeling quite proud of his answer. Jun-seo, on the other hand, shook his head. "What, no. I... maybe, I don't know, actually, she did tell me that she..." he slowed down on his words, and his eyes widened as if he remembered something.

"Right... I almost forgot," he muttered and pushed himself from the couch, walking out of the living room. His friends didn't even get to ask where he was going before Jun-seo entered his room.

Once inside, Jun-seo went to his bed and grabbed his phone from the bedside table where it was charging. Surely, there was a message from an unknown number. His face lit up slightly as he unlocked his phone and checked the message.

It was a photo of a table filled with foods and drinks, with the caption:

'Got home safe and sound. 👍 Thanks for helping me! Oh, and make sure to save my number!'

Jun-seo didn't have to think long and hard to know who it was. He quickly saved Minji's number and replied:

'That's good to know. I've saved your number, by the way. 😄'

He quickly scrunched his nose, finding his reply a bit cheesy, but he quickly turned his phone off and placed it back on the charging pad.

-

Fifteen minutes later, Jun-seo walked out of his room. This time, he had a t-shirt on. He joined his friends in the living room again and sat on the armchair, his eyes fixed on the game that Jake and Jungwon were playing.

Jungwon, who noticed the gleeful expression on Jun-seo's face, raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "Dude, what did you do in your room to get you smiling like that?" he asked.

The question earned the attention of Jake, who also looked at Jun-seo. He was quiet for a few seconds before a thought popped up in his mind, and he chuckled. "Dude, don't tell me you..."

Before he could finish his words, Jun-seo could predict what he was going to ask, and he quickly looked at his friend. "Dude, what-no!" he exclaimed while violently shaking his head. "Gosh, get your mind out of the gutter," he chuckled.

"Then why are you all smiley and stuff?"

Jun-seo shook his head, "nothing, really," he answered while looking at them. He could tell that they were unconvinced by his answer, so he quickly sighed and shrugged, "okay, maybe, just maybe, I was texting with a girl."

"Really? Are you sure it was not just Wonyoung that you were texting?" doubted Jungwon.

Jake nodded in agreement, "I know, right? It's hard to imagine Jun-seo putting his good look into good use like moving on from his ex and dating someone else," he supported, much to Jun-seo's disbelief.

"Oh, you guys are unbelievable," whined Jun-seo. "Hey, I'm not a loser, okay? I talk to other girls too."

"Yi-zhuo doesn't count," Jungwon shook his head.

"Neither does your sister," added Jake. "Although, I wished I could talk to Yujin," he sighed and looked at Jun-seo with puppy eyes. "Won't you introduce me to her?"

Jun-seo looked at him, "what, no!" He refused and got up from his seat. "My best friend, dating my sister, gosh... over my dead body," he muttered while walking toward the kitchen.

Jungwon looked at Jake with an unamused look, "dude, seriously?"

"What?"

"We've been over this. We can't just bring over a character from another story to ours," whispered Jungwon, nudging Jake's side.

His words confuses Jake, whose brows furrowed as he tilted his head. "What are you talking about?"

Realizing what he just said, Jungwon shook his head and shrugged. "Beats me. What was I yapping about?" He scratched his temple.

Just then, Jake's phone, whose ringtone was F(x)'s 4 walls, rang and he disconnected from the game before getting up. "I need to pick up this call," he told Jungwon and left the living room, heading to his room.

Jungwon stared at him without saying a word, still a bit confused from his conversation with Jake earlier. What was he talking about?

Meanwhile, Jun-seo peeked his head out from the kitchen, "hey, Jungwon-do you guys want a home cooked meal, or should we just order from that fried chicken place tonight?"

"I'm fine with anything, but if you are too tired to cook, we can just order a delivery food," said Jungwon, slowly shifting his attention to Jun-seo.

Jun-seo thought about it for a moment, but it wasn't long after that before he decided. "Dude, tell Jake we are eating fried chicken tonight."

Jungwon nodded and gave him a thumbs up, "you got it," he said and a few minutes later, he could hear Jun-seo talking on the telephone, ordering the usual set that they got from the fried chicken restaurant.