Chapter 18 ~ Blooming Friendship

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Jungkook's POV ~

It's a bright Saturday morning as I cross off another day on the calendar, counting 5 more blank squares until the championships. (Championships take place on Friday). I swing my sports bag over my shoulder, slapping the back of Jin's head as Jisoo sleeps on his shoulder. He tugs my wrist as discreetly as possible, glancing at Jisoo as her head rolls closer to his neck. Slapping my forearm with two fingers, he lets me go as Jisoo wakes up, taking her sports bag beside the couch and tugging Jin behind her as they follow me.

I hop down the stairs, spotting Lisa bounding down in her crutches with Jen and Chae behind her, insisting that she slow down. Jisoo and Jin wear identical expressions as they pat my back, making their way to the track.

"Hey," I smile, helping Lisa down the last 2 stairs as Jen surpasses us with Chae, a knowing smile plastered across her small face. I roll my eyes at her as she walks behind Tae and Jimin, wishing me luck with two thumbs up in the air, mouthing the words in a grandiose as she doesn't bother to hide her glee.

"Ready ?" Lisa smiles, equally excited for me, as the stopwatch that usually hung around her neck is nowhere to be seen. "Let's go," She says, readjusting the crutches as we walk to the track, talking about whatever deems fit. As we approach the huddle of people at the track, I stuff two fingers by the collar of my shirt, stretching it out as the air doesn't flow through my body fast enough. I feel Lisa's hand on my shoulder, patting it comfortingly.

"You'll do well." She says, smiling slightly as my nervousness doesn't go away, "I promise."

"Will you watch ?" I ask, my fingers still fidgeting with the smooth fabric of my uniform. She pulls me into a warm hug as I hold her crutches in place. "You gotta stop that. What if you fall ?" I ask. She shrugs, nudging the bottom of the metal with her ankles.

"Can't be any worse than this, can it ?" She says as a sharp whistle sounds over the track.

"Runners, take your place," Coach says, as I line up by the rest of the team, my eyes narrowing down at the red finish line. I hear the whistle sound as the stopwatch clicks, my feet taking off while I barely blink, thinking as though the finish line would vanish if I did. I take long strides, letting my feet bound lightly off the ground as I surpass the line. I look around, realizing that everybody else had fallen behind me. I punch my fist into the air as I grab Tae, Jimin, and Jin into a hug. I spot Jen and Chaeyoung too, grabbing them into the huddle of limbs as I hold Lisa's hand, not wanting to hurt her in my excitement.

"Ace of the team, I suppose," Coach says, shooting a proud glance at me as Lisa claps for me, other people following in pursuit. "Girls, line up," He continues as Jisoo shrugs off her jacket and stuffs it into her bag, rolling her shoulders back.

As expected, she crosses the finish line far before anybody else, earning whoops and hollers from everybody there. "Jisoo! Here !" Coach waves to her as she jogs over. I watch as her face lights up, inaudibly excited. She rushes over to us, grabbing Jin in a hug as he tries not to blush. She notices, laughing. "Don't be such a wimp." she lets go of him, hugging Lisa individually and grabbing the rest of us in a short hug.

"What did he say ?" Lisa asks her.

"I can participate in the championships !" She says, bounding up and down, unknowingly gravitating to Jin as the smile refuses to go away.

"How? You need 4 members." I say, trying my best not to look at Lisa.

"Tzuyu jumped in." She says, completely unbothered as Jin's chin rests on her head, his forearm wrapping around her shoulders from behind.

"She's not fast at all !" Lisa says, catching me off guard.

"She's going to act as a dummy runner; a filler," Jisoo explains. "All we need is a chance for me to compete."

"Let's celebrate !" Tae says, ruffling my hair as we walk back to our dorm, the girls congratulating Jisoo.

"Not coming ?" I ask them as they momentarily stop hugging one another.

"Your place or ours ?" Chae asks.

"Our dorm, thank you very much," I scowl as I remember the one time we guys had tried to visit the girls.

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Flashback ~

"Are you sure this is it ?" I ask Jin.

"It's got to be, hasn't it ?" He says, looking at the slip of paper.

"Room 4165," Jimin mutters as he compares it to the number plate next to the door. "We're here." He says, his finger already near the doorbell. We hear the bell resound from inside the dorm as footsteps shuffle around. However, unfamiliar voices start to converse, wondering who it could be.

"Wrong room, wrong room !" Jin panics, pushing me closer to the door, shoving a baseball cap on my head, and grabbing the other two, disappearing around the corner. The door opens just as the corner of Tae's jacket whips out of sight, my lopsided figure dumbfounded as four girls stare at me, their face masks still stuck on their faces.

"Heh heh," I laugh, unsure of what to say, "Hey there."

"And you are ?" One of them asks, peeling off the mask. As I'm about to answer, my phone vibrates in my pocket as I fish it out, heavily embarrassed. It's a text.....

Say you're the delivery boy ~ Jin

I grunt, imagining the three of them huddled by the corner, listening as I make a fool out of myself. "I'm the delivery boy," I say reluctantly as I hear a muffled laugh. Thinking quickly, I cough to cover the noise, making them more suspicious.

"We didn't order anything." The girl speaks up again, rolling her eyes at me. My phone inaudibly vibrates again as I glance at it, not moving my head.

Say it's your mistake. Now back away slowly...They can sense fear ~ Jin

"What is he, a park ranger ?" I mutter as I read the message.

"What did you say ?" I hear the girl pipe up again. Can't she just stop talking?

"Oh, I-"

"What are you doing ?" I hear Lisa's voice say, resounding in the hallway as she limps over.

"Oh, thank the gods," I mutter, as she walks in front of me.

"He says he's a delivery boy." The girl from the back says, fiddling with her phone.

"And you girls are that dumb to believe him? Obviously, he's just a marketer. He just needed you to open up is all," She says, turning to me, "Aren't you, sir ?" My neck seems to stiffen up as I nod, the girls inside the dorm closing the door as we walk around the corner, my foot finding its way to Jin's ankle as he snickers at me

End of Flashback ~

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Still Jungkookie's POV ~

As the evening passes by, all of us chatting and dancing as the sunset passes us by, I look around, the one person I wanted to talk to evading my sight. I walk out to the patio as Lisa sits in a chair, holding a glass of lemonade as she stares at the moon. I lean against the sliding door, swirling my glass around.

"What are you doing here ?" I ask, clearly startling her as she shakes her head, smiling at me. I take the other chair, pushing it closer to her as I sit down.

"Nothing much." She says, smiling as she takes a sip of her drink, "I just like it out here."

"Too loud back there ?" I ask knowingly.

"No." She says, staring at the sky again. "Just didn't feel like staying inside. Why be suffocated when you can fly ?" She asks the moonlight playing games with her silky hair as it sends ripples through the strands each time she moves. She raises her glass to the air, clinking it with mine as the moon's reflection is portrayed in her glistening eyes. "May the best of luck come to you when you call upon it." She says, taking a sip as I ponder over her words.

"Congratulations, Jungkook. I'm proud of you." She says, her face tilted sideways to me, as her hair falls sweetly from behind her ear. 

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