Trouble

Scared

"And then we finish the routine with a loud burst of confetti and some fire things in the front, and we also have a snowfall," Bora finishes her explanation of her showcase and tops it off with a big smile and some jazz hands. We all giggle at her enthusiasm and clap for her. She bows her head and flicks a piece of stray hair away from her face. 

"Don't you think the fire display will light the confetti on fire?" Hye Ri raises her brows and questions Bora's extremely smart decision. I snort and sip on the coffee I had bought. We were back at The Hideout. This was our last chance of meeting and enjoying our time because exams began after two days. I wasn't necessarily dreading the exams. Since they were just mock exams, to show us where we were placed, I was more energized. 

Bora and Jeong, part of the Music department, had their showcases in under a week's time. Hye Ri, Lee, and I, all part of the Business department, had our presentations and written exams due in two or three days. Whilst Young and Na Ri, who were still undecided majors, had to give respective exams for their subjects. 

"I hadn't thought about that..." Bora muses, sipping on her caramel macchiato and huffing as she realizes the loophole in her plan. 

"It would have looked so good with confetti and fire and snow." She complained, slamming the table with her fist and making us all jump. "I'll have to talk to Jungkook," She continues. 

"You're doing your showcase with him?" Young asks, she shoots me a sidelong glance which says 'I didn't know they liked each other.' 

"Yeah, I thought you hated him," I add. 

"They hate each other. But, the teacher paired them up together because they created some sort of riot last month where they complained about how much work they made us do." Jeong said, rolling her eyes and eating her yogurt. Both my friends were training to become K-Pop idols, one of the most grueling programs to be part of on the face of the earth. I laughed as Bora recounted the story of her mini revolution. 

"In the end, the teacher had to give everyone two credits and Jungkook and I got two weeks of detention. But it was worth it. Everyone loves us now," She nods proudly. We laugh at the seriousness in her voice. 

This. This was what I liked. This easy banter. But I felt a heavy stone hit the walls of my heart every time I laughed. I still couldn't stop thinking about Yoongi. It had been a week since that event, the one outside the library, but I still recounted every hour of the day. Maybe I was missing something important? 

I huffed with frustration. 

"I hope Seong gets better," Lee pipes up. She was down with extreme fever and had managed to contact Lee and tell her to inform the teachers. Even though she was a music major, she did not have classes with Bora and Jeong, because she was studying music production. It was a different department. Lee had taken up one music class for extra credits and shared a class with Seong. I had forgotten to ask for Seong's number but Lee had thankfully just reminded me. 

"Can I have her number?" I asked. Lee nodded and said she would text it to me. 

We went back to talking about the upcoming exams and our plans for after they were over. We decided on going to the amusement park near Seoul and spending an entire day sitting on different rides. Young and Hye Ri already looked nervous. 

-

The lamp illuminated half of the notes I was studying from. The yellow glow kept me awake and interested in them monotonous words laid out in front of me. I tapped the back of the pen in a consistent beat on the edge of the paper as I tried to memorize theories for my first exam tomorrow. I rolled my neck, leaning back, and stared at the black ceiling. 

Usually, I would be able to stay awake easily because I would keep the lights of the entire bottom half of the house switched on. However, now that Taehyung was living here, I had to switch off the lights because he slept on the pull-out sofa bed in the living room, my pull-out sofa bed. 

Dubu was snuggled next to him. In the past few weeks, he had grown a lot, his tail had lengthened, and he had begun to run around confidently. He still needed help climbing up furniture, but he was almost capable of doing most things. He perked his ears up as I turned to look at him. He extended his head; why was he still awake? 

He moved away from Taehyung's grasp and got up. He shook himself and began to walk toward me. He sat down near the leg of my desk, placing his head on the floor, and closing his eyes. I scruffed him on the back of his ears and got back to work. 

- 

It was 2 am. 

I looked up suddenly as something hit the window in front of me. I scrunched my eyes, willing them to see who was outside. Dubu had woken up and he had walked to the door, sensing someone's presence. I, however, did not want to open the door, because I was really scared. I gulped nervously, trying to think of what to do. 

I got up from my chair, walked to Taehyung, and woke him up. He hit my hand away, burrowing his head under his pillow. I rolled my eyes and continued to shake his shoulder. 

"What?" He exclaimed loudly, as he sat up straight, his hair disheveled. 

"Someone is throwing pebbles at the window. I am scared. Can you please help me?" I said the first half of the sentence with scorn in my voice, but in the last bit, I softened it to try and persuade him to come open the door with me. As soon as I finished my request, a loud thunk sounded through the hall. He gulped as he looked at the tree outside my window, trying to find someone as well. 

We tiptoed to the entrance. He scooped Dubu into his hands, stepped aside and asked me to open the door. 

"I'll help you from here." He said, standing behind me with Dubu in his arms. I scoffed with disgust and shook my head. Useless. 

I opened a bit of the door, to look outside. I just saw someone...wearing a black coat...the collar extending to the ears, and the hood drawn up as well. I closed the door, gathered my strength and opened it again, a bit wider. 

The stranger had turned to face the door now. 

Just...it wasn't a stranger. 

It was Yoongi...a bloody lip, busted knuckle, and a split cheek, but Yoongi.