ᴄʜᴀsɪɴɢ ʀᴀɪɴʙᴏᴡ

42. Differences between friends

Gift Of A Friend - Demi Lovato

Jimin

When I returned to the university after my short trip, I heard a 'rumor' that Jungkook had slept with Taehyung, that he had spent the night together before they went to a picnic, whose pictures I saw when Taehyung shared in a new group chat.

I thought that everything would be okay for me then.

Taehyung was tight-lipped about Jungkook. I saw them together quite often, sometimes, they even went swimming together, which hadn't occurred before. There were moments when I couldn't stop fearing that their dating was all a ruse.

I was only with Jungkook without Taehyung during dance practice, and he also didn't talk to me about anything related to my friend. When Jungkook was still the same, my friend was changing, and seeing my friend getting away from me didn't feel fine.

He didn't make it obvious, but there were little signs that indicated that there was conflict. Every time he talked when we were in a group, he wouldn't make eye contact with me, and he wouldn't text me unless he needed something.

He wouldn't make plans to hang out anymore, or when he passed a snack to someone when we were together, he wouldn't ask me if I'd like to eat, too. Someone else wouldn't have noticed those little things, but I did. I have always been observant of how people behave around me. There were subtle changes, and I couldn't even talk about them. What would I even say? When it came to big things like standing with me when I fought with another group or giving me his notes if I missed some things, he was always there. 

I couldn't say anything to Jungkook, either. He still looked at me with the same adoration, and if I intervened in his dating life by asking questions, he could read it differently, so I always made sure to never bring Taehyung's topic up with him.

On the flip side, Rose and I were doing better.

She mostly spent her nights with me, and after so long, we weren't fighting.

Weeks passed and our dance practice came to an end.

Year-end exams were approaching in a few weeks, and all extracurricular activities were stopped like every semester. 

I was becoming more restless each day. There was this weight on my chest I didn't know how to release. We would soon leave for vacation after the exams, and I wanted to talk to Taehyung before that. 

Hoseok stopped me in the corridor of our classrooms on my way to the lab. I looked at him expectantly so he spoke. "Are you going to the  party?"

"What party?" I asked, my mind taking time to catch up to the new conversation.

"At Christoph's cantonment house. The usual." He huffed like he had been running.

"Why is he having a party?" I asked in confusion. It had become a ritual that we always had one bask at the beginning of the first semester of the year, but it was rather too early for that.

"Ask yourself," he pointed, holding out his hand to the other side.

"What's happening?" I laughed slightly at the sight of Christoph coming our way.

"I heard from my father that they are planning a vacation here and will be staying at the house around the time we usually have the party, and things have been too much lately," he made a face and shivered exaggeratedly. "Don't you think?"