rich youth | kim taehyung

chapter 16: crosswalk

As Joy opened her locker, she was greeted by a stuffed animal and box of candy sitting on the top shelf. Joy held it in her hands and saw from the tag that it was a gift from Taehyung.

"Why did you bring a toy to school?" Sowon asked, leaning against the lockers.

"I didn't. It's from Taehyung." Joy replied, throwing the toy back into her locker and taking out the box of candy. "Here, do you want this?"

"Oh yeah sure, I love these." Sowon happily took the sweets and thanked Joy for giving it to her. "I'll meet you in class, I have to drop something off in the office." Sowon waved and the girls both headed their separate ways.

"Did you enjoy my little surprise?"

"Oh my goodness." Joy grabbed her chest and gasped as Taehyung came up right beside her. "Can you come out normally for once?"

Taehyung's eye twitched when Joy, once again, did not react the way he expected her to. "So you didn't like your gifts?"

"What were they for? It's not my birthday."

"I just wanted to do something nice for my girlfriend." He hooked his arm around Joy's waist and pulled her close to him.

"Oh I see. But I gave the candy to Sowon because I don't really like sour gummy worms." The bell rang, signaling the start of classes and Joy moved out of Taehyung's hold. "I have to go."

Students walked by them and hurried to their classrooms and Joy was trying to do the same, but Taehyung held her back. "Taehyung, I don't want to be the last one to enter the classroom."

"Joy, what's wrong? Why are you acting like this?" He held her by the shoulders and tried to look into her eyes, but she was refusing to stare at him.

"I'm acting the same way as you. Why is that so bad?"

Taehyung sighed and rubbed his nap in annoyance, "I'm really sorry Joy, you know, I just have my off days and sometimes I admit, I act like a dick."

"You really do act like one."

"B-but I promise that I won't act like that ever again. I can't stand not being able to hug and kiss you. I really miss it." Taehyung held Joy close to him and pouted.

"You two. Stop messing around and head to class." A teacher walking by reprimanded.

Joy pushed Taehyung away and nodded, walking in the direction of her classroom.

"Wait Joy, after school, can we do something together?" Taehyung called out.

Joy looked over her shoulder and shrugged, "If I'm not doing something with Sowon, then I guess."

After school, Taehyung waited for Joy by his motorcycle and watched as the students left the doors of the building. A few minutes after the bell rang, Joy texted Taehyung saying that she had something else to do and that she can hang out with him some other time.

Taehyung kicked a rock by his shoe and got onto his motorcycle. "It's fucking over." He said, hanging his head low.

On his way home, Taehyung stopped around Hongdae and thought about how he was going to tell Joon that he failed. He was pretty angry at the moment but he wasn't sure who he was mad at. It was probably Joy, or Jimin, or himself, or maybe his dad because it was his fault for getting in to debt in the first place, who knows. He was just angry and irritated.

Suddenly his phone buzzed and it was a text from Joy.

J: I'm free now, we can hang out I guess.