Aera's P.O.V

By the end of the school day, I'd had enough. So I decided to wait on the front school steps for Namjoon. I needed to talk to him. Of course, it took him a while to exit, doing who knows what. And by the time I saw his bleached hair, half an hour had already passed.

"Yah! Kim Namjoon!" I called, jumping up.

He paused and turned his head, his eyes landing on me. He didn't show any emotion, which sort of creeped me out. At least he's not walking away. He stayed still, watching me jog up to him. Kids were still walking by in bunches, so it was loud as I stopped in front of Namjoon. I was quiet for a minute as he watched me expectantly.

"We need to--" I was cut off by a sudden shout.

"What?" He asked, at least I was pretty sure that's what he said, I could barely hear him.

"I have to ta--" another noisy crowd walked by us.

With a frustrated sigh, I grabbed his wrist and pulled him past the parking lot and onto the quieter sidewalk. He stumbled behind me, taking his time. Almost trying to be slow and annoying. As soon as we reached the sidewalk, I dropped his hand and turned to him.

"What is it?" He asked flatly.

I watched him for a second, surprised by his nonchalant attitude. And a bit annoyed.

"Look. I just want to know why you're acting like this. I want to know why everyone's been avoiding me," I told him.

He sighed and looked away.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he replied slowly.

My mouth almost dropped open.

"Quit giving me the silent treatment. You're acting immature, Namjoon," I snapped.

"Yeah, right," he snorted bitterly, finally showing a bit of emotion.

"I don't understand," I said, frustrated. "What did I do?"

"You really don't know?" He asked, suddenly disbelieving. "You can't recall choosing him?"

"W--what?"

"You chose that kid over your actual friends. You chose him over me." Namjoon scowled.

"What are you talking about? Wait, is this because I left with him?" I asked, shocked.

"Yes! And that's not the only time! We welcomed you here and we invited you places. We were the ones who became your friends. And you would rather go off with that freak?! Don't you think that's a bit unfair?!"

"Freak?" I said quietly. "Don't ever call Jimin a freak."

"And now you're defending him."

"Of course, I am! Jimin's my friend too!" I told him. "Why can't I be friends with all of you?! Why is it so hard to just accept that he's also my friend?!"

Namjoon glared at the ground in silence.

"Namjoon! Don't you think you're overreacting?! Why is it so bad for me to hang out with Jimin?!"

He turned up to me again abruptly, making me jump a little.

"Because--because I like you, Aera! I like you a lot! I have ever since you started going to school here! But you're always with him! You always take his side! What about me? Why can't you understand how I feel?" He finished quietly, turning away again.

I was frozen in shock. Disbelief. And yet, I felt like I had known all along. Maybe I just didn't want to accept it. Namjoon likes me.

"I--Namjoon..."

"It doesn't matter what you say. I like you. And nothing is going to change that. I know right now, you don't like me back, but I'll...I'll fight for you, Aera. I'm sorry, but I have to."

He took in a shaky breath and turned to walk away, hesitating.

"I'll tell the boys to stop avoiding you..." He said quietly.

I stood still, watching him walk off with slumped shoulders. I felt breathless from our fight. And his confession. It seemed like from that moment forward, things would be getting a lot more complicated.

•••••••

A small part of me believed that Jimin would be at the park. The practical side of me told me he wouldn't. And sadly the latter was correct. But I stayed anyway, it calmed me and helped me clear my thoughts to sit there and relax. "I'll fight for you, Aera," still echoed through my head. Truthfully, I didn't know how I felt about Namjoon. But I knew for sure I didn't like him like that.  And it made me sad. I only wanted him to be my friend. Now that he had confessed, however, it would probably be impossible. Why'd you have to do that? I asked with a sigh.

At least things could probably go back to normal with Taehyung and Hoseok. I hoped they would. But it seemed unlikely with Namjoon around. I let out a groan of frustration. Then I sighed again, suddenly feeling sad. I wish Jimin were here. I wished he was sitting next to me. Both of us just sitting quietly together. Just being together. But his hug the night before, and cold attitude afterward, made it seem like I wouldn't be sitting at this bench with him for a while. Maybe never again. I sighed and closed my eyes, suddenly exhausted.

But instead of falling asleep, I jerked forward, recalling the conversation Jimin and Jungkook had, if I could even call it a conversation. Thinking back to it, I realized there was something irking me in the back of my head, telling me something was off. Of course the whole encounter was strange and scary, but there was something more obviously wrong. I tensed as the answer came to mind. The name Jungkook had been using to talk to Jimin, wasn't his name. Or at least, not the name he'd told me. Jungkook had called him Sasin.

But...Sasin means Reaper.

My Korean word for Reaper is probably a bit off, so please just bear with me 😁. Thank u for reading and voting!