Love, Me

3: Discovery

Silence filled the air in the class, with the exception of pen tips scratching against papers, word after word. Taeyeon was concentrating hard, while Jinki stole short glances at her once in a while, his tongue sticking out slightly.

Wow... what are you even writing? Concentrate! You have to ace this- She looks so adorable... Wait what? No, Jinki, not the right time for this. Jinki furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to keep his eyes on the paper. It had never happened to him before. He never had problem focusing, so what was wrong?

"You have one minute left! Finish your last few sentences now!" the teacher announced.

No. No no no no no this is bad, this is very bad. I'm not even half done with this essay question! Jinki let out an inward groan as he frantically scribbled his answers. His handwriting became almost illegible from panicking.

"Time's up! Please put down your pens."

He nearly slammed his hand onto the desk. How could this happen? He was so close to finishing that question, before he went on to the very last one! It wouldn't look nice in his report, not at all. Sighing as he left his seat, he placed his paper on the teacher's desk and trudged his way out.

"Hey! How was it? On second thoughts, you don't need to answer that," Taeyeon chirped as she caught up with Jinki.

"Not good, Taeng. I didn't finish the last question."

"But- I'm sure you'll have no problem with it... History was never one for you."

"This is the finals, Taeng! What if I can't get in?"

"You will, you always get through one way or another."

***

Fast Forward

"Look!" Taeyeon squealed as she waved a piece of paper in front of her friends, a wide grin plastered onto her face.

"Tae, you gotta calm down."

"How can I? I got accepted into Harvard! I'll be there for... a few years to get my Bachelor of Arts degree, and studying English will finally pay off! I'll probably go back again after I'm done." the excited tone in her voice dropped as she realised how long she would be staying away from her friends, family and... Jinki.

"What?"

"Are you kidding me?"

"This isn't a joke, right?"

"Let me see!"

"I told you!"

The letter was passed around and everybody was staring at it, unable to believe what was going on. The girls gave their friend a tight hug. Tiffany especially, was close to tears as she cuddled with her while Taeyeon only smiled softly, staring blankly into space.

"I'm so proud of you."

Meanwhile, Jinki stood slightly further away. Although he was smiling, there was a hint of ruefulness in it. He was happy, but he felt hurt at the same time. Taeyeon was going to go away for a long time, without him. Sure, he had a close group of friends behind him, but he was closer to her than anyone else. He was going to miss her dearly.

"When will you be going off?" he asked, hoping no one noticed the small tremble in his voice as he spoke.

"This December. I'll tell you guys the date when it gets closer."

"Wanna go out and celebrate? Since a large part of us are graduating..." Taemin chimed.

"Sure! That'd be fun, but my father wants to have dinner with me tonight."

"Why not ask if we can all go out together? We've all met him before anyway."

"Taemin, don't forget we're paying for our own food! We can't burden Mr. Kim with the bill."

The only reply received was a low, soft grunt while Taeyeon whipped her phone out to call her father. She held up a hand, gesturing to her friends to wait before she turned away and strolled to a quiet corner. The dialling tone rang in her ears while she leaned against the wall.

Hello?
"Dad?"
Yes, Taeyeon?
"Do you mind if my friends went out for dinner together with us tonight? To celebrate my admission into Harvard?"
Not really... We're all going to celebrate anyway! Besides, your friends are good company for you. Especially that boy next door.
"Ah, okay! The usual place then?"
It's your choice Taeyeon. I'll see you alright? Love you.
"Love you too~"

She rushed back towards the group, almost tripping over her own feet. Her phone on the other hand, dropped to the floor. Sheesh.

"Dinner tonight is on!"

"Awesome!"

"I'll see you all at 6.30 at the restaurant near Tiffany's place!"

The friends waved each other off, while Taeyeon and Jinki walked back together. The usually calming and blissful silence had a note of awkwardness in it, and both of them felt it, walking ever so slightly further from each other.

That night, the two sat together throughout the meal, peeking at each other quietly and looking away hastily when they made eye contact. They only spoke to answer questions and to order food. Even their laughter was soft and polite when hilarious jokes were cracked. Curiously, no one noticed the change in their behaviour. Well, except for Taeyeon's father. He had a bright smile, chuckling to himself as he watched them both.

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A/N: I think we all know what's happening here ohohoho