passing notes | j.jk

chapter 47

The remnants of the late-night conversation lingered in my mind throughout the morning. I woke up only to feel the immediate weight of the words exchanged between our phones, and the normal routine I had in the early hours were sluggish as if I was coming down with a fever. I trudged my way to school, ignoring the faces of my peers in the streets and as I entered through the school doors.

In the morning rush, I made way to my locker to change my shoes, putting things away without another thought.

It wasn't until I was ready to go when I spotted a flash of deep red hair, which was unmistakenly,

Jia's.

My stomach lurched in surprise, and I instantly looked away as if she was staring right at me. When I did, there were only a few centimeters of space in between me and my locker, but I couldn't care less. I just wanted to make sure that she didn't see me, otherwise, I would be faced with another awkward situation that I didn't have the capacity for.

Someone's hand slammed into the locker next to mine, and I jumped at the sudden force, my head knocking into my own locker.

"Jungkook, why are you so jumpy?" someone said next to me, and after a curse or two flew out of my mouth, I realized that it was only Jaehyun. His dimpled smile was shining on my slightly red forehead, and I exhaled in relief.

"I-I thought you were someone else," I said, punching his arm, "Why'd you do that for?"

"Because you looked like you wanted to kiss your locker," Jaehyun replied, his dimples becoming deeper, "So I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Shut the fuck up," I said, rolling my eyes and turning around to lean against the locker, "I'm fine."

"That's good to hear," Jaehyun said, his smile unwavering. I cocked an eyebrow at him, staring at his curved lips and crescent-shaped eyes.

"What's up with you?" I asked, "You look like you just won the lottery."

"Well," Jaehyun said, his smile getting even brighter, "Jia texted me yesterday, and we scheduled the tutor meetings. Now I'm not going to get kicked off the team."

"Oh," I said, looking down at the tips of my shoes, "That's good."

"What's the matter?" Jaehyun asked, his eyes becoming sharper, "You look like I just kicked you."

I winced inwardly and scratched the back of my head. I didn't know how to explain my situation without further embarrassing myself, so I just shrugged my shoulders.

"Huh," Jaehyun scoffed, crossing his arms, "Okay. I bet it has something to do with your girlfriend, though."

Girlfriend.

"As if," I murmured, "She doesn't even like anyone."

"What was that?" Jaehyun said, his head moving closer to mine. His eyebrows raised in curiosity, eyes sparkling with questions and mischief.

"She doesn't like anyone," I repeated, not meeting his eyes and looking off down the hallway instead. In the crowd of students, I was once again met the familiar shade of red hair, walking in the opposite direction of our class.

I squinted, trying to see where she would be going when a hand suddenly blocked my vision.

"Earth to Jungkook, what are you doing?" Jaehyun questioned, but his voice didn't register in my mind, and I moved his hand away from my eyes.

Once I found her again, there was a hand on top of her shoulder. I connected the hand to the person that was beside her, and it felt like someone dropped a block of ice in my stomach.