She thought it was a small wound, but it turned out that it wasn't. As she stared at the wound that needed seven stitches, the woman felt a chill creep up her shoulders.
Jungkook had just sat down and was still wearing his coat, but the woman left her belongings where she was and came out. He thought his friends would see the situation and do something about it, but...it was still cold.
"sorry…"
"What? How's your hand? Are you okay?"
"Yes, thank you for your help."
"No, if I hadn't come, Daesik would have helped me."
The woman gazed intently at Jungkook's profile as she held the hot can of coffee he had handed her. It was so...natural. The way he helped someone he'd just met without hesitation reminded her of Seokjin.
Jungkook noticed the woman's gaze and turned around, but the woman casually looked away and put the can of coffee in her pocket. A warmth spread across his hand.
"Are you coming to school on Monday?"
"Monday? I wasn't planning on going because it's orientation, why?"
"Um... I'd like to give you the hospital bill. It was an emergency, so I think it was more expensive than the regular fee, and I was just wondering."
"Oh, don't worry about it. It won't take that long."
"but…"
"You must be tired, so go home and get some rest. Shall I call a taxi for you?"
Jungkook interrupted and changed the topic, and the woman finally gave up.
"...It's okay. My house is close so I can walk home."
"But it's dark and it might be dangerous. Shall I walk you home?"
"That's fine too. I'll just appreciate your kind words."
"I see. Well, be careful then."
Jungkook turned away with a slight wave. The woman remained there for a while, watching Jungkook's back as he crossed the street. She thought he would see her off to the end, but he was so cool... Maybe it was because it wasn't Yoon Yeo-joo.
The woman changed direction, feeling relieved that she would be able to get home safely, but also feeling a mixture of loneliness and the thought that Yoon Yeo-joo might have given her a ride.
Cocoa!
Seokjin senior
"Yes, Yeoju, let me know if you need anything!"
「…」
"Yes, I'll see you later, senpai."
My single-minded, unrequited love continued. I couldn't tell if the warmth in my pocket was from the coffee or the wound.
Time Skip
"Yeoju! What's wrong? Did you know that senior?!"
Before I could get changed, Eugene caught me. I brushed her hand away and opened my locker, only to find something I'd left behind at the party. "Thanks for the bag," I said briefly, thanking her and taking off my jacket. After putting on a white T-shirt and my gi, I caught sight of Eugene and Dami, who were sitting in chairs waiting for me.
"What did you talk about with Senpai on the way back from the hospital? Right?"
"I just wanted to say thank you. Dami, you don't have any plans for lunch today, right? Let's go get some tonkatsu."
"Did he say thank you? So what did he say? Did you exchange contact information or something?"
"Well, I have an appointment this afternoon."
"What? With who? A guy?"
"Ko Yeo-ju! Did that senior give you a ride home?"
"Yes. Introduce me."
"what?"
"what?!"
There was a moment of silence. Both Yujin, who was clinging to Yeoju's arm, and Yeoju, who was ignoring Yujin and talking to Dami, opened their eyes wide in shock at what Dami had said. Dami, who must have anticipated this reaction, nodded and tapped her phone screen, while Yujin, the two who were the most shocked, stood there with her mouth agape and her eyelids trembling.
"Dami...Dami...made the introduction..."
"What's happened all of a sudden? You said you weren't interested in romance, right?"
"Dami...Dami...introduce me..."
"Whoa, shut up already."
Yeoju frowned and pushed Yujin away. Yujin would normally frown and say, "Hmph..." but today she said nothing and just knelt down against the locker. "Don't make a fuss." Dami's cold words didn't change anything for Yujin.
"Well, I mean... you can't live alone forever, can you?"
"What are you talking about? You always said you were living alone. Who is this? Our school?"
"Yeah. Swim club."
"Wow, if you're on the swim team, your physique can't be an issue. Have you seen the photos?"
"I haven't seen it. I said I'd meet you without looking at the photo."
"Oh... it's still important... but well, Dami's smart, so she'll do fine."
She chuckled at Dami's joke and let it go. She put her phone in the locker and was about to leave when Dami nodded and said, "Let's go. Five more minutes." Dami left first, and after Yeoju turned off the light in the locker, Yujin began walking away in a daze.
Yeo-ju, who entered the judo hall with Eugene, was surprised to see people standing in an unusual line. However, not everyone was standing like that.
The people lined up were definitely second-year students, and seeing a young-looking first-year student among them, I was convinced he was a first-year student. Circled around them, keeping watch, were third- and fourth-year students...?
...What is this? Unable to grasp the situation, I unconsciously frowned. A senior standing on the stage seemed to have spotted Yeoju and Yujin, as he called out to them, wagging his finger.
"Can't you just hurry up and get in?!"
"Hii...!"
「…」
Terrified, Yu-jin quickly ran towards them, and Yeo-ju followed. She wanted to ask what was going on, but everyone's faces were frozen, so she couldn't ask. In the end, Yeo-ju saluted and bowed her head, just like the others.
"The professor had an unexpected accident, so I, as the head of the department, have been put in charge of your training for a while. However, since it's the first day, I thought we should introduce ourselves to each other and get started in a relaxed atmosphere... but why are first and second year students showing up right at training time?!"
Bang. The wooden stick in the senior's hand struck the stage. Startled by the sound, the first-year students shrugged and straightened their backs. Yeo-ju finally grasped the situation. ...Military-like discipline. She felt bad that she was wasting her time without learning anything.
Where had the class representative gone? How could the club president be doing something like this? Negative words were on the tip of my tongue, but I mustered all my strength and did my best to hold them back.
but,
"All first and second year students, get down!!!"
「…」
Maybe I didn't need to hold back.