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31. HIDING 隠蔽
JUNGKOOK WATCHED LIA while she worked ardently on her tablet. her eyes stared at her laptop screen with a seriousness that made him grin. "did you really bring those all the way here by yourself?" he asked after staring at her a minute longer. when she'd told him she was in a café, he had not expected to find her doodling off on a graphic tablet, her laptop in front of her.
"yeah, i've been trying to build up my portfolio before i get into uni. and between work and hanging out with my friends, i've been way behind my schedule." she replied, glancing momentarily at him. "i thought you already got accepted to a uni?" his brows moved up.
she held up two fingers, not looking up. "two? which ones?" he leaned closer, nearly brushing his arm over his cake. "one's here in milwaukee and the other's a bit further..." she mumbled, finally taking a break to fully look at him. "milwaukee institute of art and design, and school of visual arts in new york."
"wow," jungkook breathed. "which one are you going for?" he asked, watching her with keen interest. she shrugged nonchalantly. "dunno. haven't decided yet." she replied, running a hand through her hair. he shot her an incredulous look. "why the hell not?"
"i'm still weighing the pros and cons but i don't have much time left." she sighed. "i even got a scholarship for one but somehow it's still difficult to choose." she admitted softly. "isn't it obvious? go for the one that awarded you a scholarship." he gave her a questioning look.
"but it's the new york school." she propped her elbow on the table, resting her cheek on her palm. "oh," he sat back. "well then forget what i said." he mumbled, looking away from her.
she snorted at his instant change of heart. "why?" her head tilted to the left. "well, because," he refused to look at her. "it's kind of far, isn't it? you'll be away from your family and friends and..." he trailed off, warmth travelling up his neck.
lia wanted to point out that her older siblings went to school in different parts of the country and her friends all had different places they'd been accepted at already. but she was too distracted by the way he'd cut himself off. "and?" her eyes narrowed at him, noticing how the tips of his ears were notably red. he mumbled incoherently and she sighed. "i didn't get that, cheesecake." she told him. he took a deep breath. "i said-"
"lia!"
both their heads snapped up to see kash barrelling towards them. she slid to a stop in front of lia. jungkook let out a small sigh of relief. "why the hell are you running and yelling like you're a few fries short of a happy meal?" lia glared at her, eyes moving around the café where people were glancing at them. they all knew her name now.
instead of answering, kash's gaze shot the window next to them and instantly ducked her head. she dropped to the seat next to lia, hiding her face behind her hand. frowning, lia glanced out the window. "who are you hiding from?"
jungkook was the one who noticed the boy glancing around in a confused daze. "oh?" he pointed, eyes widening. "i know that guy. he's in jimin's year." he turned to look at kash. "is that who you're hiding from?"
peeping from behind her hand, she nodded in confirmation before quickly turning away. lia stared at him, sucking in a breath. "i don't know him though..." she mumbled. her eyes widened in realisation, head snapping in her friend's direction. "is that mcflirty?"
"mcflirty?" jungkook snorted in reaction. kash nodded, face contorted in a grimace. "but how did he find you?" her friend queried. "i bumped into him at the bookstore. i didn't know he was the new part-timer there." kash dropped her head on the table. lia barely got her tablet out of the way in time. "be careful!" she hissed in annoyance. her friend waved apologetically.
"so you saw him and just took off?" jungkook leaned down to see the groaning girl's face. "mhm," she bobbed her head. sharing a look, both friends sniggered. "it's not funny!" kash scowled. "but it is! i can imagine how shocked he must have been." lia threw her head back, laughing heartily.
"wait and he just abandoned his post to chase after you? he's about to get fired." jungkook glanced out to see the boy walking away. "i think he was getting off. heard the usual guy telling him goodbye before i realised it was him." she sighed heavily.
"he's gone, you can stop hiding." lia told her. lifting her head up, kash propped her elbows on the table, resting her chin in her palms. another sigh escaped her lips. "now i can't even go to the bookstore again in case i run into him."
"why are you avoiding him though? at the risk of sounding like cat, he's cute and seems normal. or did he say something weird?" lia leaned in, voice lowering. kash shook her head in reply, eyes casted downwards.
"cheesecake, you know him. is he weird?" lia turned her attention to the boy. "well... i don't actually know him. i've just seen him around campus. i don't really know anyone at school besides jimin and namjoon." he scratched the back of his head.
her eyes narrowed at him, sucking in a breath. "now that i think about it, you're the one who seems a bit weird."
he looked offended by her remark. "and you're not?" he scoffed repeatedly. "i'm the normal type of weird. excuse you!" she defended. "there's no such thing as normal weird! you're either weird or you're not." he countered with incredulity. "don't be ignorant, life isn't black and white. and neither is the spectrum of weird and normal. i'm a nice balance of the two. you just tip the scale all the way to mega weird." she pointed at him, gesturing dramatically.
"can you two not have a dumb argument right now? in the end, you're both weird. the fact that you're even having a fight about it is enough proof." kash groaned, giving them a look.
the two cleared their throats awkwardly. "sorry for deviating from your dilemma, your highness." lia bowed at her friend who only scowled at her. "seriously, why are you hiding from him?"
"dunno," the girl dropped her head on the table again, hiding her face behind her arm. "aw, are you awkward because you don't know what to do? does my little kash have a tiny crush?" lia cooed, leaning closer to poke her cheek. "shut up," kash muttered, turning away from her. "it doesn't matter anymore. he probably thinks i'm a weirdo now."
"don't say that. the fact that he chased after you shows that he hasn't changed his mind." lia wrapped her in a hug. "uh," jungkook spoke up and the two girls turned to him. he smiled softly.
"i think i know someone who can help."
☀️☀️☀️
two updates in less than a week?? i surprise me too. actually i'm trying (hoping, really hoping 😭) to get this fic done quickly, which means i have to pick up the damn pace. i'm trying to write this faster so i can concentrate on a taehyung short story i'm working on. it's going to be called with love, taehyung and will be a kind of cross between fluff and angst. so look forward to it please!! this story is already 62% done (yes ya girl did the math) and i think i've figured out how exactly i want the end to be so i'm already drawing up a rough draft of it. meaning, we'll probably be reaching the end of this story sooner than i initially anticipated (bc i had a shit ton of writer's block along the way). thank you guys for still reading through all the long breaks 😭 and for reading this long ass a/n too.
