Effect

⑯It Shouldn't Be

 
"Nothing happened," Jeongguk said in a whisper. "With Jimin, I mean. He implied that you were jealous when you saw me talk with Dongmin, and I said that there was no way that was true, but he wasn't convinced. And that's why we were late to the class because we were talking about that. And then he let you think that something happened because he just wanted to prove his point, but I swear I didn't know he would do that. I didn't ask him to do it, and I didn't know what he was doing until he explained it to me. And I scolded him for that and told him to not do it again, so don't hate me, Taehyung. Please." He didn't care about sounding so desperate; just the idea of seeing Taehyung so infuriated again horrified him.

Round eyes with a gleam of fondness glanced his way, lips stretching into a tender smile. "You scolded him for me?"

"Well, y-yeah, it's not nice playing with someone's feelings."

"It really isn't," Taehyung said with a light sigh. "Thank you for scolding him for that."

"I was angry at him too. I mean, after what I did, I didn't want to see you so mad again for the same reason."

"Don't feel bad about it. You didn't do anything wrong."

Jeongguk broke into a smile, a flutter of relief coursing through him at his words. "How is the moving thing going?"

"Well, I packed my things. The only problem now is where to put them because I have no place to go."

As if on cue, Jeongguk's phone rang, and he grinned when he noticed it was his mother. "I have to take this." He received a nod from Taehyung and picked up the phone. "Tell me you have good news."

"You know I can work miracles when I want to," said Mirae. "I found two apartments for the moment. Given that he's a teacher at your school, the second one is the best option. It's twenty minutes away from the school by car. The landlord put it up for rent only yesterday, and he has a good chance to get it. He really needs the money so he wants to rent it as quickly as possible. Can he go right now to see it?"

"Yes, he can. Text me the details."

"Sure, Kookie."

"You're the best, have I said that today?"

"Never gets old." Mirae chuckled.

After thanking her once more, he ended the call and turned to look at Taehyung with a beam. "Do you have something to do?"

"Like after dropping you off? No."

"Well, now you have." Jeongguk's phone beeped, and he checked the message right away. His eyes bulged when he read the location of the apartment; it was only two miles away from his.

"What's going on?"

"We'll go look at an apartment for you."

Taehyung's jaw went slack in confusion as he blinked repeatedly. "What are you talking about?"

"My mother works at a real estate agency and has many connections in that part. For anyone who needs a place to live, she's always able to find something within four days tops. I called her after you left and asked her to see if she can do something. And apparently, she worked freaking miracles."

"Jeongguk, are you serious?"

"Of course!"

"I can't believe you. Thank you so much for helping me," Taehyung said, amazed by his caring action.

"Don't thank me yet. We don't know if you'll like it. I haven't seen it either so if you don't like it don't be harsh on me."

"Are you crazy? Even if it's just a shithole, I would still thank you again and again for helping me. And your mother of course."