ISTTIMI

CHAPTER 45: PLAY IT COOL

Taehyung doesn't have any bruises on his face or arms the next morning we saw each other, much to Jennie's relief. Although this time, Taehyung didn't follow me around like the day before - not that I'm complaining.

I haven't seen Minhyuk at school during my morning schedule. With that, I ate lunch faster just so I could message him to meet me at the garden since he's not that busy.

"You're not busy?" Minhyuk asked when he sat down beside me.

Before, we had this huge space between us. Now, we're comfortable to sit side by side with only a foot away from each other.

"I have practice in about 15 minutes." I told him. "I just want to tell you something."

Minhyuk sat straight, his eyes blinking fast. "W-what is it?"

"I feel like you didn't have a fun birthday celebration because you were taking care of me that night." Minhyuk remained still on his seat, and just waited for me to finish my sentence with hopeful eyes. "Want to go to an arcade with me on Saturday afternoon? My treat. Dinner's on me too."

"I thought by now you already know that I don't help others while expecting something in return." Minhyuk answered instantly. For a second, my confidence dropped. However, he beamed at me. "But I'd love to go to an arcade with you and eat dinner."

"Alright!" I stood up, "I'll just text you what time my last class is on Saturday. I have to go. Bye!"

I ran away from him so as not to be late for practice. Ji Eun unnie can be really strict sometimes, especially now that we only have a month to rehearse.

The night before Saturday, I gathered my brothers, Hoseok, Jimin, and Jennie inside my room. Yoongi was busy with something he didn't tell us about, while Taehyung, well, I didn't invite him.

"What's with the sudden meeting?" Jimin asked, plopping down my bed.

"I'm going to go somewhere tomorrow with Minhyuk so if I come home past dinner, don't overreact." I said, looking specifically at my older brothers. If they're the first one to overreact, the same goes with the rest of my friends.

"Minhyuk is Taehyung's brother, right?" Jimin asked. Jennie told him yes. "Good job, Soo. Go for the brother instead. That surely won't hurt Taehyung."

Jennie pinched Jimin's leg, annoyed. "I know you're Taehyung's boy best friend but you need to pick the right side sometimes, dumbass. My cousin obviously is at fault here. Don't forget this issue started because of you too."

Jimin groaned. "You always find a way to insert what I did in every conversation we're having." He turned to me. "Look, all I'm saying is that you and Taehyung are hurting. He's got a lot on his plate right now, and he can't share it with all of us until he's sure he can get out of it. The guy's trying his best to get back with Jisoo but believe me when I say that what he's going through right now is really confidential and it will take time before he finally gets free."

"Nice speech." I said, "But all I want is for Taehyung to tell me the truth. If it's confidential, why do you know about it and not me? I'm the official best friend before you came." No one made a sound, even my brothers were left speechless. "Anyway, don't ruin this for me again, Park Jimin. I just included you in this conversation just so won't whine that you're left out even when we just forget to share where we're going."

Jimin frowned. "Alright, I'm sorry. You're right. It's our fault. I won't speak again."

"As Jisoo's brother, I completely agree with her." Jin added, "Don't guilt trip Jisoo just because she wants to be happy. Both of them are hurting but it's up to them too if they want to stay hurt or not."