Abscond| KTH

•Chapter 12•

Yerin

I packed my things up and stood to leave the library. Swinging my black bag over my shoulders, I picked my phone up to check if anyone had texted me. Well, not anyone. I checked if Taehyung had texted me, and the answer was the same as it had been all week—he hadn't.

After our date the other day—seeing how the rest of the week went, I started to doubt whether Taehyung even considered it a date—I had not heard from him at all. He had sent me a message saying he wouldn't be joining the rest of us for lunch that day, and apparently, the 'today' in his text meant 'this week'—and that was the last I had heard from him. I didn't run into him on campus either, which was strange but understandable since we had different classes.

I tried not to let it affect me, but the fact that Taehyung had avoided me all week was starting to get to me. The rational part of my brain told me that maybe he was just busy, but then again, sending me a message would have hardly taken him a minute. I didn't know what to think, so I decided not to. I'd just deal with it—him—when I had to.

As soon as I stepped out of the library, I noticed someone walking my way. Someone I really did not want to talk to right now—or ever, actually. Jiho walked towards me from the building next to the library; it was where most business classes took place and where you could usually find Jungkook and Namjoon.

She had an annoying bounce to her step, making her high ponytail swing from side to side. I tried looking at the ground and escaping, pretending not to have seen her, but she was quicker. She reached me and stopped right beside me, forcing me to talk to her. She flashed me one of her blinding smiles, which didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Hey, Yerin!" Bright and cheery, as always. How could a person have this much energy?

"Jiho, hi." I tried matching her energy, but even to me, my voice sounded flat.

"I'm so glad I ran into you." She linked her arm with mine, and I tried not to flinch. She then basically dragged me with her.

"Wish I could say the same," I mumbled.

"Huh?"

"Nothing."

Jiho had already launched into a monologue about someone or something—I wasn't paying attention. I shook my head, noticing we were walking towards the field, which was in the opposite direction of the main gates. So, I interrupted her rant about some girl in her advertising class.

"Jiho, do you have something to tell me? Because I need to get home, I really don't have time for this." I removed my arm from her grasp and spun around to face her.

As I turned towards the gates, I saw him.

Taehyung was walking towards me in jeans and a long-sleeve t-shirt. His brown hair laid on his forehead messily, the wind dishevelling it even more as he tried to smooth it down with his hands. The tip of his nose matched his cheeks, both red from the cold. My eyes fell on his lips, and I was suddenly very aware of mine. And how they had felt moving in sync with his when we had kissed. I thought about how his lips had been soft and wet and like they just fit—like they were meant to kiss me. And how he had pressed them on my forehead afterwards. My face was heating up despite the cool breeze, and my stomach did a flip.

He looked up then, and his eyes met mine. I held his gaze because I had nothing to look away for; he was the one avoiding me. Taehyung's steps quickened, just short of jogging, and he had almost reached me.

"Oh look, it's that boyfriend of yours, Taehyung, right?" Jiho, I had forgotten about her.

I wanted to tell her he wasn't my boyfriend, but it was Jiho, so I ignored her. I walked forward, and Taehyung stopped right in front of me.