Abscond| KTH

•Chapter 4•

"You guys almost kissed?!" I flinched as Haewon let out a shocked shriek. We had just made breakfast - two bowls of cereal-and were catching each other up on last night's events.

"We didn't almost kiss. I said we had a moment," I let out an exasperated sigh, trying to hide my excited smile.

"So basically, you guys went to the rooftop, had an interesting conversation," she air-quoted the last two words with one hand, the other clutching her spoon, "and then almost kissed—"

"—We—"

"—All of this after you just met the guy," Haewon smirked at me, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"But we knew each other from the bus," I tried to defend myself but knew it was in vain, "and - ah, I give up."

A triumphant laugh escaped Haewon's lips, her eyes turning into crescents. She continued interrogating me about Taehyung and what had happened the previous night.

Before she could ask her hundredth question, I took my opportunity when her mouth was full of food.

"You and Jungkook seemed pretty friendly yesterday," it was my turn to smirk.

Haewon almost choked on her cereal. She squirmed in her seat, her smug expression falling, replaced by flushed cheeks and pursed lips. "Well, to put it simply,"

"As you always do."

"We kissed."

"What?!" It was my turn to shriek. "You what?! Oh my god. AAAH!" My inner fangirl seemed to have made an appearance, and I urged her to spill the details.

"It's too early, and you're being too loud," she continued munching her cereal.

"Stop changing the topic."

"Well, one minute we were dancing and talking, and the next minute we were kissing. I-I don't know," she paused, tucking a stray strand of her jet-black hair behind her ears, "We were both kinda tipsy, so I don't know if it meant anything to him."

"Wonnie," She looked at me, her hazel eyes hopeful yet unsure. "He likes you, okay? Jungkook likes you, I'm sure of it."

A small smile played on her lips; it grew wider as she began to recount the rest of last night's events. After another half an hour of teasing, talking, and eating, the two of us decided to spend the rest of the Sunday catching up on assignments and projects that we had put off the entire week.

*

Monday morning, the two words were usually painful, but today I had something to look forward to-or rather, someone.

As usual, Haewon had left the apartment early, and I took the bus. Having hardly slept last night, I could barely keep my eyes open as the bus lurched to a stop. A group of passengers got on, a few young students making their way to the back of the bus and two older women taking their seats in the front. The bus set off on its route again. My eyelids were drooping, and I struggled to stay awake.

Finally, the person I had been waiting to lay my eyes on made an appearance. I was suddenly wide awake, and I unconsciously chewed at my lip. A smile graced Taehyung's features as he noticed me and began walking my way, I returned his smile, and we greeted each other. Neither of us brought up Jungkook's party, but a slight tension hung in the air.

We caught each other up on our plans for the day, and I tried my best to ease Taehyung's nerves, considering it was his first day at a new university. Soon enough, my anxiousness from earlier was all but gone, the sleepiness returning.