fate | SEVENTEEN

Chapter Eighteen

Jia's POV

Josh hands Jimin his car keys. "Both of you wait in the car I forgot something in my room." He runs back up the stairs.

Jimin and I do as we were told and made our way out of the house and onto the footpath. Josh's car was parked just outside our gate. Jimin unlocks the car automatically and just as we were about to get in a voice shouts out my name.

I turn to see a puffed looking Vernon.

"Oh. It's that foreign boy," Jimin says.

"Vernon what are you doing? Why aren't you going to school?" I asked confused.

"Hey can I borrow Jia for a second?" Vernon ignores me and talks to Jimin instead.

"Uh okay... I guess." Jimin shrugs then gets in the front seat looking unbothered.

Vernon waited a couple seconds more before grabbing my arm and pulled me with him. He started running making me run as well.

I tried to pull my arm away but his grip was too strong. "Vernon you're going to break my arm off!"

"Shut up we'll miss the last bus going towards your school if we don't hurry!" He continued to pull me until we got to the bus shelter. As soon as we got there he continues to pull me into the bus that was ready to leave but we made it just in time.

I go to the nearest empty seat and sat trying to catch my breath.

Vernon plops beside me.

"Can you explain to me why you pulled me away and ran 3 blocks when my brother has a perfectly good car?" I said annoyed.

"Can you explain to me why you and Jungyeon bailed on our group without even a single goodbye?" Vernon snaps back.

I felt a pang of guilt. "I texted Minghao," I said bluntly.

Vernon rolls his eyes. "You're unbelievable."

I didn't know what else to say so I looked out the window instead.

"Don't ignore me." He nudges my shoulder softly. "Our school performance is getting broadcasted on TV tomorrow and Saturday. Our group is coming to my house to watch it so you and Jungyeon better come."

"We will," I said still looking out the window.

"And get up a little earlier from now on."

I look back at him now. "Why?"

"I'll take you to school from now on," he smiles.

"But-"

He puts his palm on my face. "No buts."

-

Jimin's POV

When I got to school Jia was not but the one and only Momo was sitting on my chair, again. She was sitting backwards on the seat talking to Wonwoo.

"Are you not going in?"

I turn around to see Mingyu towering over me. "I'm gonna go for a walk." I walked out and headed for the rooftop.

Mingyu follows.

"You don't really like Momo do you?"

I sighed as I sat on the ground, my legs dangling off the side of the school building. "Why do you say that?"

"I may like your sister but that doesn't mean I don't pay attention to you too." He states. "When I started school I realised that whenever Momo comes into class or does anything at all you looked all annoyed and frustrated. Is it because she talks to Wonwoo all the time?"

I didn't say anything.

"It's okay. I don't like her either."

"We used to be friends." I admitted. "Her, me, Yunhee and Mina. We used to be all so close. Until she started talking bad about Yunhee behind her back. And then Mina. She eventually managed to break up our little group. Yunhee was with Mina and I was with her. I didn't think much of it because I wanted to believe Momo was a good person. She's smart and pretty and talented. Who doesn't want to be friends with her, you know?"

Mingyu nodded. He's a good listener.

"Until one day I caught her talking bad about me to a group of seniors and how she only wanted to hang around me so she can talk to Wonwoo when he was still my boyfriend." Talking about my past with Momo started to make me angry.

Mingyu must have realised and said, "you can scratch out the pretty part because damn, an attitude like that is unattractive as hell." He then offers me a hand and pulls me up. "We should go back to class. The bell will ring any second now."

-

Jia's POV

I got to class and Jimin was not there. Momo was sitting in her seat talking to Wonwoo.

I made my way over to my seat.

"Hi, hi," Momo turns to me. "It's only the start of the day you look so tired already."

I laughed awkwardly. "I had a big morning."

"I see," Momo smiles.

Just on cue my tummy starts to grumble. I clutched it in embarrassment causing Momo to laugh, Wonwoo to smirk and the Barbie like haired guy beside Wonwoo to sit up on his seat and stare at me.

I smiled apologetically to the boy who just returns a sleepy smile back and puts his face back on the table again.

"Jia-yah!" Jungyeon had just entered the class with Junhui behind her. They go over to sit at their table so I stand up from mine and sit at Yunhee's seat which was in front of Jungyeon's.

"Vernon wanted me to tell you to come to his house on Friday and Saturday. We're gonna watch our performance on TV." I wasnt excited before but telling Jungyeon made me feel enthusiastic about it.

"A sleep over!" She cheers.

"I'm coming." Junhui butts in. "You're not sleeping under another man's roof without me."

"Me too." Wonwoo comes closer to us bringing his chair with him, ditching the annoyed looking Momo. "It's Mingyu's house too so."

"Mingyu? He lives with Ver- I mean, Hansol?" I asked confused.

The three look at me weirdly.

"Yeah you know that, they're brothers. You're the one that told me remember?" Jungyeon tilts her head.

"What are you talking about I-"

Wonwoo stands up from his chair abruptly. "Jia you should go back to your seat. I can hear Mr Ryu's voice telling kids off in the hallway."

"Oh, okay." I stood up slowly and walked back to my seat still trying to process what had just happened but my thoughts were distracted. Placed on my table was a box of pocky sticks with a yellow sticky note shaped like a sunflower on it.

i assume you didn't didn't have breakfast                                                           don't skip meals, take care of your health                                                     ~sleepy boy, Yoon Jeonghan

"Yoon Jeonghan," I whispered to myself realising that he was the boy I met at the karaoke place along with Junhui, Wonwoo and another kid in this class. And he's Jungyeon's cousin. I mentally face palmed myself for being so forgetful.

I took out my pink glittery pen from my pencil case and wrote at the bottom of the sticky note.

you're drooling

I turned and placed the sticky note on Jeonghan's forehead gently, being careful not to wake him.