THE TRANSFER STUDENT

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It was a mess.

This was the most messed up party the Kim family had ever organised. Organised wasn't even the right word here, because of how disorganised it was. This was mostly because of how much Mr Kim and Mrs Kim were freaking out after finding out about Seokjin and Byulyi's end of friendship.

Of course, Taehyung, being the smart guy he was, withheld certain parts of the story, such as how he knew Byulyi had feelings for Seokjin and... Seokjin probably felt the same too, but just didn't know it. He also didn't tell them about the fact that Jisoo had driven this gap between Seokjin and Byulyu.

If he told them those parts of the story, they would go wild, he thought.

"Wait - so they aren't friends anymore?" Mrs Kim's mouth fell open.

"Yeah," Taehyung nodded sadly.

"No way - they don't even talk?" Mr Kim asked hopefully.

"Not a single word." Taehyung sighed. "I think that's probably why he got so mad. Well, on top of the fact that you guys were being mean to Jisoo."

"But- But- But-" Mrs Kim turned to Mr Kim. "That means we won't ever be able to have Byulyi as our daughter-in-law? How now, hubby?"

Mr Kim looked at Taehyung seriously. "What about you, Taehyung? Your relationship with Byulyi-"

"No, no, no, no, no," Taehyung dismissed the idea before his father could even voice it. He knew exactly what he was planning. "We're just friends, dad. I'm sorry. I'm not gonna fall for a girl just to let her be your daughter-in-law. Sorry, guys."

Mr Kim sighed. "It's okay, we were just trying our luck, son."

"Yeah," Mrs Kim sighed as well. "It's just that she's too good a catch to miss."

"I know, right." Taehyung sighed. "I would love it if she became my sister-in-law too, but too bad things didn't work out."

The three of them sat at the sofa for a while, taking turns to sigh. Mr Kim suddenly glanced at his watch.

"The guests are coming soon," he said. "We'd better get the table ready."

"Oh- one more thing." Taehyung lowered his voice and leaned closer to his parents, who leaned in as well. "Since you heard the story, no more mentioning Byulyi, you hear me?"

Mr and Mrs Kim nodded.

"And... be nice to Jisoo," he added.

"She's a great girl," Mrs Kim said apologetically. "I should have been more sensitive towards her feelings."

"Me too," Mr Kim sighed. "We'll be more careful. Thanks, son." He turned to his wife. "We owe Seokjin a huge apology later on."

Mrs Kim glanced up, and saw Seokjin and Jisoo walking down the stairs, hand in hand. Her eyes widened. "They're here," she whispered and the group dispersed at once. She stood up at once and rushed to Jisoo's side.

"Sorry, dear," Mrs Kim patted her hand gently. "I think my husband and I said some pretty insensitive words to you just now. We're really sorry."

Mr Kim nodded silently.

But Jisoo looked so happy after coming down. Taehyung eyed her carefully. Sure, her eyes were slightly swollen, supposedly from crying, he assumed. And her dress was slightly crumpled, from sitting on the floor crying, he assumed. But overall, nothing else about her had physically changed - her hair was still neat and her make-up had even been touched up.

But the whole atmosphere around her had totally changed.

Taehyung's eyes landed on Jisoo and Seokjin's hands. They were holding hands. Not just holding hands, but their fingers were intertwined. Since when did they even hold hands? It was always Jisoo clinging on to Seokjin's arm.