ᖇOOᗰᗰᗩTᗴՏ ᗯITᕼ ᕼIᗰ 《C.TZ × J.JK》

Chapter 8: Work at the Bakery

Rounding down the last staircase, she stopped short at a loud roar of her name, startled.

"Tzuyu-ah!"

Tzuyu bent forward and saw the tall lanky figure of one of her closest friends sprinting towards her through the building's gates as fast as his long legs could manage. A fast smile approached her face. "Yugyeom!" Suddenly, all of the morning's events left her mind completely and her body felt alive with exhilarated adrenaline at the sight of him. She practically skipped down the last few steps of the stairs and jumped into his warm embrace. 

"I missed you," he muttered, nose buried in the silky, scented tresses of her hair.

"I did too," she beamed, happy to see him after a long time. "You're lucky that you just so happen to be the first good thing that I've seen the whole morning because I do have half the mind to sock you in the face."

Yugyeom pulled back, laughing apologetically as he did so. "Hey, now. Let's not get too aggressive right off the bat, shall we?"

"Mm," Tzuyu hummed. She stepped back and straightened out the cresses in her shirt. "Depends on how well you explain yourself. After all this time, I truly find it hard to believe that we haven't met even once during vacation. And yes, before you ask, I am blaming you."

"Well, in my defense, you already know how crazy my family is." Yugyeom held out his arm, gesturing their way out of the dormitory building. "Dragged me with them to grandma's house for three weeks and didn't let me come back early--and I'll mention, they promised me they will--so I don't hurt her feelings.

"That's . . . cute . . . "

He scoffed. "If your definition of cute revolves around the fact that she forced all this fat on me--" he patted his stomach scornfully, "then, yes, it's very cute. Now I'll have to rejoin the gym before the coach tells me I'm too out of shape to play on the basketball team."

"Basketball?"

"I've finally accepted that soccer isn't my thing."

"About time."

"You're supposed to be my friend, you know." The scowl on his face deepened, the frowning lines becoming more prominent below the side of his lips. 

Tzuyu squinted her eyes as the morning sun glared down on them through the thicket of trees that surrounded the courtyard between the school and the dormitories. There weren't many people out yet and it almost felt surreal to see the place this empty. And that's when the excitement of reuniting with her friend wore off. She'd be seeing this sight more often now. "I'm supporting your decision. What more could you possibly want?"

Now Tzuyu may not exactly be an open book, but Yugyeom had none her long enough to notice something was off from the slight change of her tone. "Forget that. Now tell me," he said. "You're here, why?"

Her step faltered, but only for a moment before she resumed walking. "I'm staying here in the dormitories."

Something wasn't right, and now he was sure. "What happened to the house? Where's Mina?"

"College dormitories."

"Tzuyu." He stood in front of her, blocking her path. When she refused to meet his eyes, he lowered himself down to her level and held up her chin. "Tell me. What's wrong?"

His voice was soothingly gentle. She hadn't realized how much she had been seeking comfort in his presence after the morning's chaos and the note of reassurance in his words was all it took to have everything tumbling out. 

Her words fell through her mouth like rocks falling down a steep landslide, hard and fast. Unable to stop. She didn't want to worry him but it was hard to keep her frustration at bay once she went off. She told him everything from the beginning down to slamming the door in Jungkook's face.