THE TRANSFER STUDENT

An Unexpected Encounter

"HOLY CRAP, IS ANYONE FOLLOWING US?"

"I DON'T KNOW, JIMIN. I DON'T DARE TO LOOK."

"FORGET IT, MY LUNGS ARE GOING TO BURST."

Jimin and Yoojung finally came to a stop, after running a kilometre from the café. They were panting and panting, after running for so long.

"I'm so unfit!" Yoojung exclaimed.

"Me too, I thought I was gonna die running just now." Jimin laughed.

The two of them looked up and their eyes met. They traced their hands down, only to realise that they were still holding each other's hands. They let go and turned away immediately.

"What was Jennie doing inside there earlier?" Yoojung exclaimed. "I was so shocked to see her!"

"I know right," Jimin took a seat on a wooden bench, still panting hard. "But she saved our lives! We could have gotten into a stampede there, earlier."

"But, still." Yoojung sighed, taking a seat next to Jimin on the bench. "She ruined my plan."

"What was your plan?" Jimin glanced over at Yoojung.

"To wreck havoc in there!" Yoojung exclaimed.

"How exactly?"

Yoojung thought hard. "To be honest, I don't know."

Both of them burst into laughter. Their eyes met again and they stopped laughing at once.

"It was fun," Jimin exclaimed. "The thrill of possibly getting noticed and also, running away, with you."

Yoojung laughed. "I agree, especially the running away part."

There was silence for a while.

"Should we just run away together?" Jimin asked with a straight face.

Yoojung turned and their eyes met for the third time. This time, she didn't turn away. No matter how absurd it seemed, she seemed to be considering Jimin's suggestion for real. They sat there for a while, under the blazing hot sun, staring at each other.

But the Yoojung laughed, and changed the subject. Jimin laughed as well, pretending that it was all a joke, but in that moment, he seemed dead serious.

"You know what? I gotta admit, it hurts my prode." Yoojung sighed. "The fact that Jennie had a plan, and I didn't. Jieun's my best friend, not hers."

"That's the thing sometimes," Jimin got serious all of sudden. "That nasty little thing called pride. Our pride can make us not able to do certain things at times. Like apologise, like say thank you, like... putting the past aside. It can even make us say real hurtful things."

Yoojung knew very well that Jimin was talking about people in general, but for some reason, she felt like he was talking about himself. She decided to change the topic again.

"What were you doing there, anyway?" Yoojung asked. "I thought Taehyung was gonna invite you to his party."

"Well, he did." Jimin said. "But I thought that you know, I haven't been really close to Jieun at all. She's close to all of you, but me? Not really. I thought I should make the effort. She's someone you picked and really like, after all."

Why did that make her heart flutter?

"Really," Yoojung pursed her lips. "So... you wanted to get closer to her, huh."

Jimin nodded. "And you too, Yoojung," he added softly.

Yoojung couldn't stop herself from smiling. This few weeks of torture they had put themselves through... just because of confessions, rejections, one-sided feelings, confusion, sadness... All these emotions... were what made them human. This was all part of their youth. Why couldn't they just put it aside at the moment and enjoy each other's company? Let everything go and see where the future took them? Why did they have to be so careful and awkward around each other?