Trouble

Autumn

"I was expecting...oh..." I closed my mouth, forming a straight line. I should be relieved that I had done nothing and that she had just been stuck in a misunderstanding, but something oily was wrapping its claws around my heart. She had turned completely red and was trying very hard not to look at me.

"Do you want..." I started but she interrupted me, "I need to get to class,"

I could only stand by and see as she turned to the right and almost ran to the class. I stood in the hallway, which was slowly flooding with students as lunch came to an end. I shook my head. I went to the locker to remove my books and check my phone for any new messages.I unlocked my phone and saw that Yoongi had sent me no new messages.

I sighed, leaning my forehead against the cold steel of the metal locker. I jumped back in surprise when someone tapped me on the shoulder.

"I heard that we're dating, now." Jae's pompous smirk graced my vision as I shut my locker, hugging my books.

"You heard wrong," I said, trying to move around him to get to class. He narrowed his eyes and intercepted my path every time. After a few tries, I grew frustrated and looked at him, "What do you want?" He scoffed, walking closer. I had nowhere to go except to back into the lockers.

"What do I want? Your friends told me that you told them that we're going on a date," He said, leaning in too close for comfort. He placed his right hand above my head as he leaned in, trying to smell the lie on me. There were people who had begun to stare at us now. I gulped nervously.

"It's a lie," I looked away from him, towards the class I could see at the end of the hallway. He laughed, opening his mouth to ask another question but someone's hand pulls him away.

I mentally thank the person as I quickly began to walk away.

"Park Eun In..." I hear Eun Kook say with a sneer in her voice. I sigh and turn around slowly.

"What?" I ask, with new found confidence coating my tone.

"I thought we discussed that you shouldn't talk to Jae..." She said, narrowing her eyes and glaring at me. I bit my lip from laughing at her pathetic nature. If she wanted to be jealous I was the last person she should be worried about.

"I wouldn't have if he didn't approach me first," I say, arching my eyebrows and walking away before she could say anything else. I heard a scuffle behind me but I didn't bother to turn around.

-

"Hye Ri," I shouted as I spotted her walking across the school grounds. She stopped as she heard her name being called out, and turned towards me, smiling.

I jog to meet her. I needed to get home quickly today, but I still had to talk to her about something.

"Did you tell Jae...that I told you?" I ask nervously as I finally reach her. She is taken aback by my question but still shakes her head, 'no'.

I press my lips together and nod solemnly.

"I don't think the three of us did. We were in the canteen even after the bell rang because Lee hadn't finished her food," She said, looking away to remember what had happened that day in lunch.

"Oh," I said lamely. I bid her goodbye and then slowly begin to walk home.

Who could it have been? No one except the three of them knew about this...

No.

Someone else did.

Seong.

I realized after I had looked through my contacts that I had actually never asked for her number. I hit the phone against my forehead, hoping to magically conjure the number.

"Eun In," I hear a male voice shout from behind me. I hoped it wasn't Jae, and turned around.

I stopped when I saw it was Yoongi. I rolled my eyes as he smiled brightly. Some days he would have a cloud hanging over his head, and others, he would be as bright as the sun. There was no in between.

"Your friends are making you come to Itaewon a lot," I said sarcastically as he joined me.

"I am a very caring and warm person, and therefore, I have a deep affection for my friends," He said, so seriously I laughed out loud.

"Really?" I ask, raising my eyebrow and looking at him from the corner of my eyes. He laughed, pocketing his hands again. He smelled strongly of peppermint.

"How was school?" He asked, shivering slightly as a breeze blew by.

"The usual: boring," I said, walking with an extra bounce to my step, suddenly.

"How was your school?" I questioned, turning to face him as we turned a corner.

"The usual: boring," He said, taunting me. I smiled.

"Do you want to see something?" I asked suddenly. He stops and looks at me in a scared manner.

"What do you mean?" He asks, smiling nervously.

"I promise; it's nothing weird," I said, reassuring me as I hold his wrist and begin to drag him in the opposite direction. His wrist is warm, unnervingly warm. His skin was so pale that I always assumed his body temperature would be in line with it.

"Honestly, are you taking me someplace to kill me?" He asked, looking around for help.

"Yes, I'm not a pervert, I'm a killer," I said, rolling my eyes and continued to drag him.

We finally reached the top of the hill, where my favorite park was located. Since it was nearing the end of summer, the entirety of it was covered in hues of orange and red. It was if the entire area was burning in flames. It was the most peaceful location in my locality, and it was one of the places I visited a lot with my mother.

"Do you like it?" I asked as we entered the park. It was relatively empty, considering the fact that it was 6 pm.

He was looking at me, as I turned to face him. He nodded.

"I came here a lot with my mom," I said. I had to get home but I wasn't ready for the emptiness I usually felt. It was nice to be with Yoongi because he made me feel like I had people other than my father to fall back on. And today, most of all, I needed to be around people. Today was the first death anniversary of my mom.

"I'm sorry," He said. I questioned his apology with my eyes, to which he said, "You used past tense, I just assumed..." We walked to the end of the park, which was overhanging the end of the hill. You could see a lot of Seoul from up here.I leaned on the railing that bordered the end of the park and waited for Yoongi to come up beside me.

"It's beautiful," He said as he came to stand next to me. I nodded.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked, turning to face me.

"No," I shook my head. I hated talking about it. I hated retelling the same story. I hated reliving it in my head.

I hated it.

"Okay," He nodded understandingly.

"Don't you have any more concerts to host?" I asked after a brief silence. He sighed and went back to facing the city.

"I told, I would ditch the concerts for my friends. That's how much I care about them," He said, not looking away from the city. I do the same.

"What about you? Don't you have any more parties to attend...?" He raised an eyebrow while looking at the breathtaking view.

"I told, I would ditch the parties for my homework. That's how much I care about it." I say, laughing at him. He scowls.

-

(A/N: Sorry for the filler chapter. I just needed to establish a few things so the following chapters would be easy to write. Also, check out the author's book of poems, they're really, really good.)