I stand on my tip toes, hovering behind Jungkook. "Can you see our grade yet?"

"There's too many people in the way."

I squint my eyes trying to maneuver around the crowd of people surrounding the paper that's been posted on the wall. The groups have been listed in one column, and a grade is next to the names in the other column.

People have walked away with looks of either complete and utter defeat, or with wide smiles on their faces.

I bite my lip, nervous as we get closer to the paper. "People need to just hurry up and look at their grade and leave. It's one number, it shouldn't take that long to read."

Jungkook scoffs, "Honestly."

He squints his eyes, leaning forward. Then he gasps. "No way!"

My heart drops, and I suddenly feel like Professor Choi probably gave us a failing grade, considering how 'kind' she is.

Jungkook turns to me, and besides looking upset, he has a bright smile on his face. "We're the smartest freaking pair in this entire school—we got a 100!"

Relief rushes through me, Jungkook breathing a sigh of satisfaction. We walk away from the crowd, and he lifts his hand up to give me a high-five. "You're lucky you got paired with me. I'm such a pro at photography."

I snort, "You're so cocky."

"Hmm, am I?" he chuckles, "Well, I'm in the mood for some ramen. I say we get some to celebrate in honor of our grade and because summer break is here."

"Is that even a question? Ramen is a meal that should be eaten every day."

He looks at me, an eyebrow raised, "Uhhh." I laugh, already knowing what his response is gonna be. "Ramen isn't exactly the best thing to be consuming on a daily basis."

"Oh, but banana milk is?"

"Shut up," he giggles, "Banana milk is amazing."

We continue walking whenever I feel a tap on my shoulder, startling me. I turn around and see a face that I wasn't expecting. "Taera?"

She shifts uncomfortably, her usual smirk now in the shape of a frown. "Hey, um, I've been needing to talk to you guys."

Jungkook and I glance at each other before looking back at her. "I promise I won't do anything stupid," she says, her tone completely serious without a hint of mischief.

I feel Jungkook's gaze on me again, and I can tell that he wants me to say something to her. I nod, "Sure."

"Can we go somewhere with less people around? Over there maybe?" she asks, gesturing towards an area with some benches further from the students.

"Yeah, that's fine," I say, nodding again.

Without saying anything, she starts walking ahead of us, leading us there. Jungkook and I glance at each other again, and I can tell that he's just as confused as me. We keep walking on until we approach a bench. Taera looks at us, tilting her head towards the bench, "Have a seat."

We wait for a moment before awkwardly sitting down, wondering what Taera has to tell us. By the way she's been acting so far, it doesn't seem like she's gonna try to do something stupid. But Jungkook and I are both keeping our guards up, wary of anything she might do.

She silently plays with the rings on her trembling hands before looking at us. "I'm really sorry for all of the trouble I've caused."

Neither of us say anything, curious about anything else she has to say.

She starts pacing back and forth in front of us, "I've been really, really stupid," she pauses, turning to us again, "And I know you both probably couldn't care less about the things I'm about to say. But please, listen to me."

She sighs before continuing, "The things I've done to ruin things between you two were really messed up. I was the one who made Jungkook to go out to the club that night. I told him to upload that picture on Instagram because he wanted to leave. And then every time we were together after that, it was always me who basically forced him to hang out with me. That time I ran into you and that other guy at the tattoo shop, it was me who went there to get a tattoo just to see Jungkook.

"And that kiss in the hotel was completely one sided. Jungkook had nothing to do with it. I waited until you left the room so I could go in and make him look bad. But I just wanted you to be jealous, which isn't a valid excuse at all."

Jungkook scoffs, "You did all of that just to make her jealous? Is this fourth grade, Taera?" His voice is full of venom, and I can practically feel anger radiating off of him.

I gulp, part of me still feeling annoyed. "So what was your excuse then, Taera? What compelled you to do all of this?"

A frown pulls at her lips. But it doesn't look like it's being directed to neither me nor Jungkook. It's something else.

She fidgets with her hands before looking down. "I used to have a boyfriend. I'm," she pauses, tears forming in her eyes, "I'm so stupid for dating him."

Jungkook and I glance at each other, confused.

She looks back at us, wiping her tears, "I went into the relationship thinking that he wasn't like every other guy. I thought he would treat me right, which, he did at first. But it was just a distraction for what he was gonna end up doing."

"Take your time," I find myself saying as tears start spilling out of her red, puffy eyes.

"He just wanted to sleep with me and show me off like I was some kind of toy. It just led me to do things like ruining other people's relationships and it's just so freaking messed up," she says with a trembling voice, burying her hands in her hair.

Pity crashes through my heart, "The person who you were in the past doesn't define who you are now. You can change, Taera. Everyone can."

Her cheeks are tear-stained, "I'm so sorry, guys. Jungkook really loves you Haru. And Jungkook, Haru really loves you. I'm not saying you have to talk to me ever again after now, but please. Please forgive me."

I open my mouth to say something when she unknowingly cuts me off, shaking her head. "That idiot Daehyun."

My eyes widen, and I feel Jungkook stiffen next to me. I sigh in disbelief, "Did you just say Daehyun?"

She nods, "He was—"

"I know who he is," I mumble, standing up, "Don't let someone as terrible as him make up who you are now, okay?" I say, gently gripping her shoulder.

"We forgive you, Taera," Jungkook says, standing up, "I know it'll be hard, but forget about Daehyun now. He's not worthy of anyone."

"I'm sorry you ever had to feel that way," I say softly.

A small smile takes hold of her lips, "Thank you guys. You two are really, really amazing people. I hope you understand that."

"Tan-ah, give me your paw." I hold out my hand, and after a moment, Yeontan places his tiny, fuzzy paw in my hand. "Good boy," I giggle, giving him a treat.

"Yeontan loves you know doesn't he?" Yoongi walks into the living room where I'm sitting, a small smile on his face.

I ruffle Yeontan's fur atop his back, "Yeontan and I are best friends now."

He sits on the couch and leans his head back, stretching, "Yeontan may love you but not as much as Jungkook loves you."

I feel my cheeks flush with heat, "It's like you guys are in a relationship with mine and Jungkook's relationship or something."

Yoongi chuckles, "I'm sorry, I know we're always talking about you guys. But come on, you know that Jungkook has literally never been in a relationship before."

"No, he dated that one girl in his class when he was in first grade."

Yoongi laughs in response, and I giggle along with him. He sits up, "Listen Haru, I've never seen Kook happier before than he is now. Whenever you're with him he's literally always smiling."

"He's always smiling when he's with you guys, too. You guys are basically his brothers."

He leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees, "Yeah, but here's the thing. The stuff he says about you makes even me blush, and it's hard as hell to make me blush. And he's not even talking about me."

"Yoongi, you're literally a kitten in disguise. You try to act tough but-"

He covers his ears with his hands, "Nope, end of conversation. I'm not cute."

"Oh?"

"I'm a tough guy," he says, scrunching up his nose.

This only brings out a laugh from me, and he pouts, "I'm not supposed to be cute."

"Look who it is, the world's favorite girl and my favorite guy." Hoseok walks down the stairs and throws his arms around me, collapsing onto the couch next to Yoongi right after. "Autumn needs to come already. It's so hot," he glances at us with a grin, "Or maybe it's because you guys are here, I don't know."

I chuckle, sitting down next to him. "Summer literally just started."

He gasps, "That's right! You and Kook are on summer break now! That means waffles for every meal of the day, baby."

"That sounds like a perfect plan," Yoongi says, pushing back his golden hair.

Hoseok nudges me with his elbow, "Oh, but, speaking of Jungkook. I call being the ring-bearer at your guys' wedding."

I smack my forehead, seeing Yoongi smile from the corner of my eye. Hoseok looks at me, mischief glimmering in his eyes, "It's the truth. If I were you, I would literally die from the amount of love Jungkook had for me."

I shrug, "I feel like I'm looking pretty alive right now though, don't you think?"

Yoongi shakes his head, "No, you're a zombie. A pretty one."

Hoseok sighs, "Yoongi, you need to get better at giving compliments to people."

He stands up, "Nah."

I grin, "This is Yoongi's world, we're just living on it."

Hoseok and Yoongi break into laughter, when the doorbell rings. Not once, but twice. No, not twice. Repeatedly.

"Looks like the guys are back," he mumbles, opening the door.

One by one they enter, each holding bags from the ramen shop. The aroma of food instantly floods my senses.

"Not only did I get ramen," Jungkook says, setting down the bag on the table, "I also got boba for everyone."

Hoseok and I make our way towards the dining table. "Jungkook-ah is the best," Hoseok says, giving Jungkook a hug.

I help Jungkook take the ramen into the living room as we all sit down on the carpet in the middle of the floor.

"Haru you should dye your hair to make it match mine," Jimin says.

I look at him and gasp, "You changed your hair!" His once-peachy hair is now a fiery red, brushed back and out of his eyes. "It's really nice, but I don't think I would be able to make that big of a change."

"Oh come on, you would look great," Namjoon says, picking up Yeontan. Yeontan immediately scrambles back out of his arms and runs behind the couch. "Yeontan hates me," he says, fake-crying.

"Yeah but what is he doing behind the couch?" Seokjin asks, stretching so he could try to see what Yeontan's doing. "He's playing with a toy."

"Good thing he's keeping himself occupied while we eat. That boy always tries to take my food," Taehyung says, opening up his container of ramen.

"Did you use my half of the money to pay for all of this?" I ask Jungkook, but he only grins.

"He didn't," Seokjin says, and I immediately smack Jungkook's arm. "I'm paying next time."

He winks, "Your money's on the counter and I love you."

Jimin grins, pushing his glasses back on the bridge of his nose, "I want to be the best man at your wedding."

Jungkook scoffs, "You guys are too-"

"I'm gonna be the flower girl," Namjoon says, making everyone break into laughter.

"You would make a pretty nice flower girl, if I do say so myself," I say, giggling.

Namjoon looks up at me and winks, smiling. He looks down at his ramen but does a double take, glancing at my neck. "Um..."

I notice the other guys follow his line of sight, and they all begin grinning, looking at Jungkook and I mischievously. "What?" I ask, confused.

Jungkook holds a bite of ramen in his chopsticks, "Why are you guys staring at us?"

"Looks like you guys had some fun together," Taehyung says while the guys begin snickering.

"What—" I look down at my neck and notice the reddish mosquito bite. I look back up, "Why are you guys—"

I glance at Jungkook, and we unanimously realize what they think. "You guys, it's a mosquito bite. Not a hickey."

"Looks like the mosquito's sitting right next to you," Yoongi says, sticking his straw into his boba.

I sigh, "You guys can literally look at it up close if you want to. A hickey looks much different than this."

Seokjin hums, "How would you know?"

"I—guys I swear! It's not a hickey! And I know what hickeys look like, you guys obviously do too. Everyone does!"

"And how does that prove to us that that's not a hickey?" Hoseok asks.

"Have I ever even given a hickey to anyone before hyung?" Jungkook asks monotonously, making the guys, including me, break into laughter.

"Fine, we'll stop bothering you," Taehyung says, leaning back against the couch. "But we're still convinced it's a hickey."

hi lovely people!! i'm back after not writing

for soooooo long, although you guys prob

didn't notice because i was still updating

chapters that i had ready from beforehand!!

i wanted to take a break from writing during

ramadan, but now i'm back and i realize how

much i rlly missed writing :(