After (Jikook version)

Chapter 41

I take my vans off before I even get to my room and walk barefoot the rest of the way through campus. The second I get into the room I put my fuzzy pajamas back on and call Seulgi. She answers on the second ring. 

“Hey,” I squeak. My voice sounds too high-pitched. It’s only Seulgi, why am I so nervous? 

“Hey, Jimin, how was your day today?” she asks softly. She doesn’t sound like the same distant Seulgi that I’ve gotten all week. I sigh in relief. 

“It was okay, actually, I am just hanging out in my room tonight. What are you doing?” I purposely leave out my dinner with Hoseok and everyone, including Jungkook. That will not help my “please forgive me” campaign. 

“I just got out of practice. I’m thinking I’ll study tonight because I’m helping the new neighbors plant trees down tomorrow.” 

She is always helping everyone. She is too good for me. 

“I’m just studying tonight, too.” 

“I wish we could study together,” she says, and I smile while picking at the tiny lint balls on my fuzzy socks. 

“You do?” 

“Yeah, of course, Jimin. I still love you and I miss you. But I have to know that nothing like this will ever happen again. I’m willing to try to put this past us, but you have to promise me you will stay away from him,” she says. She doesn’t have to say his name. 

“Of course I will, I swear—I love you!” Part of me knows that I am desperate to have Seulgi forgive me only because I don’t want to be completely alone and fawning over Jungkook, but I ignore it. 

After exchanging more “I love you’s” with Seulgi, she agrees to accompany me to the bonfire next weekend and we get off the phone. I look online for the closest car dealerships to campus, and lucky for me there appears to be a good number of used-car lots ready to rip off college students. After noting the addresses of a few, I dig through Hoseok’s makeup bag and finally find the wipes to remove all my makeup. It takes forever, and this obnoxious process alone makes me never want to wear it again, regardless of how good it looked

I take out my notes and textbooks and dive into my studies. I am working on next week’s assignments. I like to stay ahead one week at least so there is no chance I fall behind. But my thoughts drift to Jungkook and his moodiness, so I’m not really paying attention to the essay I’m supposed to be writing. It has been only two hours since I got off the phone with Seulgi, but it seems like four. 

I decide to find a movie and lie in bed until I fall asleep, settling on The Vow despite the fact that I have seen it numerous times. Less than ten minutes into the movie I hear someone cursing outside in the hall. I turn the volume up on my laptop and ignore the cursing; it’s Friday, which means drunk people all over the dorms tonight. A few minutes later, I hear the cursing again—a male voice, then a female voice joins in. The guy shouts louder, and then I recognize the accent. It’s Jungkook. 

I jump off my bed and swing open the door to find him sitting on the floor with his back against the wall outside my room. An angry girl with bleach-blond hair is standing over him, scowling with her hands on her hips. 

“Jungkook?” I say, and he looks up. 

A huge grins slides over his face. “Jimin ssi . . .” he says and begins to stand. 

“Can you please tell your boyfriend to get away from my door—he spilled vodka all over the floor!” the girl yells. 

I look at Jungkook. “He’s not my . . .” I start to say, but Jungkook grabs my hand and pulls me toward my door.