school desk | vkook

- THIRTY-ONE -

Jeongguk is currently fighting a very confusing war against himself, the two voices in his mind giving him a headache.

This is, like, super duper wrong. You just need to stop by for ten minutes, it'll make you feel better! I have absolutely no right to go there. Oh come on, just go and lie down for a little while. You'll feel closer to him. You need some connection to him. That's just torture. I can't do that to myself. Then why are your feet moving? You know you want to go. You'll feel calm there. I need to get home for dinner. You really think Mom's gonna notice that you're gone another hour? Good point. See, I'm right! I still won't go. What if he's there? Then just say you forgot your jacket there last month or something. It'll solve itself. Yeah... well then I'll at least get to see him, right? Yeaaah! Wait, no. Definitely not. This is so wrong. Well, you already arrived, didn't you? Fine, you win. This time.

Jeongguk doesn't have enough energy to listen to the actually sane voice, his body is just moving by itself as he searches the stone wall for a rope. He finds it quickly, not buried in moss and ivy as it usually is, meaning someone must have been here recently. Jeongguk's hands wrap around the rope as he skillfully climbs all the way to the edge before jumping down. He lands on his feet and looks up towards the Kim siblings' mini house, it looks so cozy all lit up like th- lit up!? Shit. That means Taehyung must be here.

Just as Jeongguk is preparing to make a run for the exit, a voice is heard from inside the house and it sure isn't Taehyung's.

"You can come in, it's just me!" Taesol peeks her out the window, motioning for Jeongguk to come talk. He hesitates a little, but how much harm can this 13-year-old possibly cause?

"It's alright," she reassures, holding the door for him. He awkwardly sits down on the mattress on the floor. "I'm here for the same reason you are."

"You...what?" Jeongguk isn't sure how much Taesol knows.

"Taehyung's mad at me," she explains in a sad tone.

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"He started yelling at me...really loudly. I've never seen him so upset. He was supposed to babysit me and Taekwon tonight and tomorrow, make us dinner and everything, but his yelling made Taekwon cry so he had to comfort him and that's when I ran out." Taesol slumps down next to Jeongguk on the mattress, curling her legs up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. She rests her chin on her knees while speaking. "I know it's childish. He's just never been so angry with me, it was kinda scary."

Jeongguk looks down at the unhappy child, opening his backpack. "Here," he says, handing Taesol a red apple he was supposed to have as a snack after lunch but forgot. "Since you haven't eaten."

"Thanks, Jeongguk." She smiles a little and accepts the fruit. "I know everything that's going on between you and my brother, by the way. He told me what you did."

"Oh. Taesol, I–"

"That's actually why we started arguing," she interrupts. "I asked him if he was okay because he seemed sadder than usual, which I suppose annoyed him a little in the first place. But then he told me anyways that today you gave him a note or something like that, saying you could explain. I said maybe he should hear you out, you know? Perhaps it's all a big misunderstanding. But his mood has been very unpredictable this week and I guess something else that he didn't tell me about happened in school because he was extra sensitive and started screaming out of nowhere that I'm 'too young to get it' and that he can't believe I'm 'on your side' and other typical stuff. And then he started crying while yelling even more and then I started crying and then Taekwon started crying. So my evening hasn't been the best."