Out Of Love [BTS ff]

《 17 》

“Wait, what?!?!?!!” I shouted and ran after Taehyung. You know that saying that goes “you never know what you'll do in a situation until it happens?” Well that was me at that time.

I've always thought that I would be nonchalant or at least very calm in these situations. If it was Jungkook, I thought I'd just be like “serves him right”. But nope. Sometimes, life is unpredictable. And sometimes, you're unpredictable to yourself.

I bolted into the living room, where Taehyung ran off too. Like any normal person, I expected to walk in and see a Jungkook passed out on the floor, the older boys calling the ambulance, and the rest of the members kneeling beside Jungkook.

But, again, life is unpredictable, and I sprinted in to find Jungkook, Jimin, and Taehyung rolling on the floor with laughter. Suga and Rap Monster were sitting on the couch with their phones, trying to stifle their laughs. Jin had just come downstairs, staring at the situation and shrugging. He walked past me but not before patting my shoulder and saying in a low voice, “good luck”.

Frozen in place due to confusion and shock, all I could do was facepalm. J-Hope came up behind me and asked what was going on. I just shook my head.

“I honestly do not know,” I replied, staring at the scene of still-dying-with-laughter boys rolling on the floor like flopping fish.

“Well, all I can say is sorry for not telling you sooner,” I turned to look at him with a confused expression. “The younger boys do this often… play a prank and laugh at the reaction.”

“Ok… I can actually see that happening but how did you know it wasn’t real?”

“Taehyung wouldn’t have run out so quickly like that if it were true,” J-Hope chuckled a bit moved closer to me. “You were shocked weren’t you?” His hand reached up and started to stroke my head.

I froze and stared at the ground. The sound of laughter faded as I just stood there. I urged myself back into reality and awkwardly moved away from him. I gave an equally awkward smile, and prayed for a rescue.

And I got it. Although, it was unexpected that Jimin of all people was the one to answer my prayers. He placed his hand on my shoulder and smiled sweetly. Then he looked up at his hyung.

“Should we eat now?” he asked. The air between us froze. Confusion struck me and I just stared at off into space. What. Is. Happening. And why is his hand on my shoulder. Am I even living?

A force jerked my head forward, and pain surged through my neck. I clutched the back of my neck in pain. Annoyed, I turned around, ready to be shoot another death glare at Jungkook. Except when I turned around, I saw Taehyung instead. Immediately, my tensed facial muscles softened into a laugh. I was hoping that it would just swallow me up and let me hide in a hole.

Taehyung chuckled, probably because of the awkward faces that I make in embarrassing situations. His smile made me smile, until someone appeared beside him.

“Did you miss me too much? Or maybe you like me enough to freak out like that?” Jungkook pushed his eyebrows up and down while leaning on Taehyung.

“D-did you?” Taehyung turned to me with a soft yet somewhat serious looking expression that puzzled me.

“N-no! Why would I ever miss Jungkook of all people?” I replied, and Taehyung brightened up for some reason.

Then I heard a cute, high pitched “KYAAAAAAA” come from behind me. Before I could even turn around, Jimin slammed his arm around me.

“Time to eat~” he informed cheerfully. I nodded as he led me to the table. He ruffled my hair, treating me like a younger sibling.

~~~~~

“Ah, I should walk you back to your house… it's raining quite a bit outside,” Jungkook offered as I pulled on my shoes.

“Are you stupid?” I finished struggling with my second shoe and stood up straight. I stared at him, as if he called himself by a different name.

“Why would I be stupid?” some of the members laughed in disbelief while others had the same expression as me.

“Dude, you won't last 5 seconds without someone recognizing you,” Rap Monster pointed out.

“Oh, right. Man, I was hoping we could eat out sometime too. I feel bad just bringing you over all the time instead of some nice restaurant or something,” Jungkook ruffled the hair on the back of his head.

“It's okay. Actually, I feel bad for crashing here so often. I'll treat you guys sometime before your vacation is over,” I stuck my pinky finger out in the air. “Promise.”

Taehyung flew in front of me and nearly knocked me over. He hooked his pinky with mine, and our thumbs met. “You promised, okay?” I smiled in response and nodded.

“Great now we can go to your house, right?” Suga brought up. The others nodded in agreement.

“Woah woah woah… I'm not letting 7 men into my home. I'll figure out a way for you guys to eat out like a normal person again.”

“I don't know… that'll be difficult for you,” Jimin scratched his ear with an unsure face.

“You don't have to do that. Just coming over for a movie or something is fine,” Rap Monster said.

“Nah. I promised, remember?” I grinned sweetly. “I should get going.”

“Yeah, I'll see you out,” Jungkook replied. The other boys waved goodbye with bright smiles, showing their perfectly white teeth. Jungkook had to usher me out the door, since I spent too long to waving back to them.

Outside, a small part of the roof protected us from the rain. I unfastened my umbrella and pressed the button, allowing it to spread out like a pair of wings.

“I wish I could walk you to the bus stop but…” Jungkook drew circles on the ground with his feet and bit his lip. I couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at his behavior. What a kid, I thought to myself.

“You're an idol now, it's fine. Besides, I'll be completely fine alone.”

“I know, I know… it's just I wanted to spend more alone time with you.” Upon realizing what he had just said, I blushed a bit as an awkward silence kept us frozen.

Finally, Jungkook broke the spell. “A-ah, by the way, how's Chang Min? I'd still like to meet him, h-heh.”

I looked up from the ground and stared out at the rainy landscape. The sun had just set, so the sky was nearly a calming, dark blue. I heaved a sigh and bit my lip, recalling the memories. “He, he’s gone.”

“Gone? Did he move or something?”

“He… he died.” I turned to face Jungkook, who was wide-eyed. His parted and a look of guilt washed over his face.

“I-I, uh-”

“It's fine, Jungkook, you didn't know. He actually passed quite a while ago, a little bit before you left to be a trainee.”

“Still, I-”

“Don't apologize. I would've asked the same thing,” I tried to smile reassuringly to show that I understood him. “I should go…”

“Uh, yeah… text me when you get on the bus safely.”

“Thanks, Jungkook, for talking to me again.”

“Yeah, I'll see you later.”

I left, walking backwards and waving in the rain. From the distance, he  waved back.

Upon reaching the bus stop, I looked up at the sky. Light raindrops tickled my face. Changmin oppa... how is it up there?