Aera's P.O.V

The first day of college zoomed towards us in the blink of an eye. When I woke up the morning of, I almost forgot I was even in Seoul. The sound of loud music seeped under my door, into my room, making me sit up and frown. Once I got my bearings, I realized that it was the first day of school. Again.

"Don't you think you should turn that down just a bit?" I asked Laurel with a yawn as I walked to the kitchen.

"Did you say something?" She called from the bathroom, even though the door was wide open.

"You should--"

"Aera?!"

"Turn down the music!" I shouted.

I could barely hear her small "oh" as I began to make breakfast. When she came into the kitchen, Laurel was bouncing around with excitement and the music. I sat and ate with a small frown.

"I can't believe this!" Laurel exclaimed.

"Me neither, school has come way to quickly," I grumbled.

"I'm actually going to college in Korea!"

I sighed and gave her a look.

"You won't be all excited about college for long," I warned her.

I wasn't trying to ruin her mood, but it bothered me that she could be so chirpy on the first day of college.

"Aw Aera. Why so grumpy?" She asked with a smile.

"Sorry, I just haven't been getting any sleep lately," I replied with a sigh.

"Don't worry about it! Come on, get excited! We're in college!"

I had no idea someone could be so excited for school.

••••••

Evidently, I had my first class with Jackson, despite the difference in our grades. We had all met at the entrance of the main building, mostly because of Laurel's wish to see Namjoon again. To his annoyance, the whole time we stood and chatted, I threw Namjoon meaningful glances from Laurel back to him, to which he always responded with a slight eye roll. After a few minutes of this, I suggested we left, so Jackson and I set off for our classroom together, even though we still had another half an hour.

"What was with all that eye contact with Namjoon," Jackson asked, jokingly.

"Long story short: he doesn't think Laurel is crushing on him," I replied matter-of-factly.

"Are you kidding?"

"No, he really doesn't."

"Wow, I knew Namjoon could be oblivious, but not that much," Jackson said in disbelief.

"You should convince him to go out with her," I told him.

"That'll be kind of hard, seeing as how he likes you, Aera."

I almost froze in shock, but I quickly came to my senses, determined to clear up any misunderstandings.

"When did he tell you that?" I asked carefully.

"I don't really remember, actually. A while back."

"What did he say, exactly?" I continued, suddenly more curious.

"From what I can recall, he said there was this new girl in town who made him annoyed as heck, and he had never been crushing so hard in his life."

I laughed a little at that, before replying.

"Well, yeah, he used to like me, but not anymore. We're just really good friends now," I finally cleared up.

"You're sure he doesn't anymore?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

We continued walking to class. And as we got closer, I realized maybe I wasn't so sure.

"So what got you interested in creative writing?" Jackson commented after a few minutes, we were only a few doors away from our destination.

"Nothing really, I mean, I'm not. I'm more into art...mostly drawing. Well, was...I sort of stopped..." My stomach immediately dropped. Was...

"What are you drawing?"

"What? Oh. The park."

"It looks nice," he said.

"Thank you--"

"Except the proportions are a bit off. See the lake should be a bit bigger, and that tree is more lopsided."

"Huh?"

"And there are more ducks on that side..." He continued, studying the picture.

I was sort of baffled by Jimin's blunt honesty, and a bit annoyed from his comments.

"Do you draw?" I asked.

He looked up at me, almost confused, almost...sad?

"No. No, I don't," he turned away, facing the scene in front of us, suddenly quiet.

When I was finally able to shove the memory away, I realized I had stopped walking, just standing there in the hall. Jackson was watching me with a his head tilted to the side.

"Did I bring up a sore subject or something? I'm sorry...Namjoon did say you--" He stopped suddenly, looking away, as if he'd almost shared something secret.

But I was fully back to my senses.

"What? What did Namjoon say?" I asked him with a frown.

"Oh? Nothing, I was just rambling..." He shrugged and began to walk again.

"Jackson. What did he say?" I asked again, standing there still.

"We should go, or we'll be late."

"The classroom is right there, Jackson. What did he say about me?" I asked again.

Jackson gave me a look mixed with defeat and pity.

"It's none of my business...but he told me how you were depressed for a while. Few months," Jackson finally admitted.

"Oh," was all I could say.

"You're not upset, are you? I don't think he wanted me to say anything...but when you zoned out, I was thinking maybe...I don't know," Jackson quickly replied.

"So Namjoon was telling you all about my personal life? My private problems and health issues?"

"Aera...it's not..."

I was breathing heavily, and I could feel a shout bubbling in the back of my throat. But instead of raising my voice, I spoke quietly.

"What? Not what I think? 'Cause I'm thinking Namjoon, my closest friend, just thought it would be okay to go and blurt my life story to some guy I'd never met, or even heard of. Including how he felt about me, how I'd stopped doing the things I loved, the depression I went through. I'm guessing he told you why. Why all that happened to me. He must have, because why not? Why wouldn't he have told you about Ji--...min. Jimin."

It was the first time I'd spoken his name aloud in months. Jackson was watching me with a surprised and a bit hurt expression.

"No," he practically whispered. "He didn't."

As I realized I was shaking, I swallowed back a sob, and unconsciously, I began to take a few shaky steps backward.

"I--I'm sorry," I said just as quietly.

I turned around then, only to almost run into a tall boy that stood right behind me. I absolutely froze then, it seemed too much was happening for my mind to handle. We stood, just staring at each other for a second.

"What are you doing here?" Jackson broke the silence from behind me.

"I'm smart. I take college classes," Jungkook replied simply.

I could hardly follow the conversation. I hadn't been this close to Jungkook since he'd tried to kill me. With all the strength I could muster, I took a few steps away, back towards Jackson. As I moved, Jungkook looked down at me again.

"I'm sorry, Aera, right?" He gave me a small smile, a smile I saw right through. "Are you feeling okay?"

I didn't respond to him. And I didn't think I would have been able to anyway.

"You look a little pale," he commented slowly, with fake concern.

Instead of replying, I just stared back at him, and it must have been a dark stare, because as we stood for another silent moment, something dangerous flickered across his eyes, before returning to their unfamiliar gaze. I gulped.

"We should get to class," Jackson said slowly, probably sensing the tension.

"Yeah..." I breathed, turning away.

"Seeya later, Jungkook," Jackson said with a casual nod.

I hurried ahead of him into the class. I walked in and took a look around, though I could barely focus on what was around me. I grabbed the near seat, only to have Jackson join me a second later. The class didn't start for a couple of minutes, so we sat quietly until he broke the awkward silence.

"Look, Aera. I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," he apologized.

"It's fine, Jackson," I replied quickly. "I shouldn't have gotten so worked up. It's just upsetting to think about."

"No, you had every right to."

We fell silent again, and I could tell Jackson wanted to say more, perhaps ask more. Like why I had been so cold to Jungkook. Like who Jimin was. But he didn't get the chance. Because the teacher walked in at that moment, along with a young man behind her.

"Okay, class, let's get started," The teacher said to us, then turning to Jungkook, she said, "You can go find a seat now."

I watched the scene unfold with wide eyes. Breathing harder every second.

Because Jungkook was in my first college class.