UNPLANNED | namjoon ✔️

1 - undergraduate

❁ CHAPTER 1 ❁

UNDERGRADUATE

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"Say cheese!"

"No," Namjoon rolled his eyes at his mother, who was holding a camera with a huge proud grin, pointing it at the pair of you.

You elbowed him in the side. "Don't be so rude to your eomma, butthead," you hissed through your gritted smile.

"Butthead? Really?" came the gritted response from Namjoon, also forcing his own grin. "You're the butthead here."

Before you could stand on his foot with your stiletto in response, Mrs. Kim was lowering the camera.

"Okay, got it," she said, eyeing the pair of you wistfully, a tear sparkling in her eye. "Yah, my baby boy, you look so handsome!"

Namjoon disentangled himself from where he was posing with you, rolling his eyes once more as he took a few steps back from his approaching mother. "Eomma, please, no more kisses-"

You giggled, watching him retreat from Mrs. Kim, who was teary-eyed and already reaching for his face, careful not to knock the mortarboard that had been so carefully placed on his head.

It was your graduation day.

When you'd met Namjoon four years ago on your first day of university, you'd taken a liking to him right away. His room was next to yours in the student apartments, and the minute you spotted the books he was unpacking onto his shelves and found out he was a literature major too, you had internally smiled.

This is a good guy, you had thought to yourself, drinking in his koala-like grin and fluffy brown hair.

And you were right. Namjoon was the closest friend you had ever had. Being the top two students in your classes might have driven a wedge between you, but it didn't; instead, the pair of you thrived on the competition, loving the debates you got into both inside the classroom and out of it.

Four years later, you were still best friends. Joined at the hip. Inseparable.

Of course, you had worried lately what would happen now that you weren't going to be living next door to each other any more. But you were only 22, after all, and graduating top of your class (tied with Namjoon) from SNU. You had that blissfully ignorant self-confidence of a young woman with her whole life ahead of her. Whatever you and Namjoon ended up doing, you knew you'd remain friends for life.

Mrs Kim approached you, snapping you out of your thoughts to give you a huge hug, her eyes still wet from proud tears as she bid you farewell. The ceremony was over, and most parents were leaving, with the graduates remaining for the dinner being held at your university.

"Right," Namjoon was walking back towards you now, frustratedly trying to rub his mother's lipstick off of his cheek. "I've had enough of this. Shots?"

You raised an eyebrow at him in amusement. "Already? It's two in the afternoon, Joonie."

He shot you a dimpled grin, filled with mischief. "We're going to Thailand in 29 hours," he stated. "It's time we got in the mood for it, don't you think?"

Now, you narrowed your eyes at him. "I think you're trying to sabotage my interview tomorrow morning."

Namjoon's eyes went wide in mock innocence. "I would never."

"Mm," you replied suspiciously, poking his chest lightly.

It was a running joke between the pair of you that you were secretly trying to ruin the others' chances at Page7, the biggest publishing house in South Korea. Both of you had landed early-round interviews for their graduate scheme - though you had heard from others that this was simply the first step in a long-line of arduous interview steps - and your interview happened to be tomorrow.

Just a few hours before you flew to Thailand, for your class's graduation trip.

Namjoon was luckier, having already interviewed earlier in the week and been told he'd passed to the second round of applications. He could relax and enjoy his holiday. You, however, were going to have to wait a bit longer to find out.

Namjoon must have sensed your worry in the way you drew your bottom lip between your teeth.

"Hey," he said, eyeing you for a moment. He seemed to take in your cap and gown for the first time. "I'm proud of you, you know. You're gonna do great tomorrow."

You rolled your eyes this time, though your heart swelled in your chest. You and Namjoon rarely shared words like this. "You're going soft, Joonie."

He smiled back, eyes glinting. He knew the hidden meaning behind your words.

I'm proud of you too.

"Come on," he said suddenly, pulling you by your hand to the university bar. "I was serious about those shots."

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