They met on the first day of school. She can still remember the moment she first laid eyes on him as he approached her and asked her if it would be lunch time soon because he was hungry. He was smiley, and nice, and he was the first person to speak to her that day. It made her feel like a person again, but she knew from his stunning red and gold uniform that he and she don't exactly belong in the same league.
"Where are you from?" she remembered him asking, and her blood running cold.
"Morheim," she answered, plainly. There was no point in lying when more than half the school already knew who she was. The "lucky" Morheim girl who won the Jeron Vidar lottery. /Lucky?/
"Wow, that's really far from here, isn't it?" he asked, still with that smile on his face. It was at that moment that Atelier knew Jungkook is different. He isn't like the others at all. He sees her, and he sees her like a person. It felt strange, somehow, but nice.
After orientation, they were sorted into different classes, and they never spoke again. She hardly ever saw him, but the times that she did, she would see him hanging around Soo Young, so she never bothered to reach out. She didn't think she'd have the chance to speak to him again.
Yet, here they are now, just the two of them in the empty hallway. He looks the definition of perfect, with his dark, lightly tousled hair, and beautiful bright eyes. And she? Well, she'd rather not think about it.
"Are you okay?"
Atelier gulps. He sounds so wonderful! Since that first day she has just only been able to hear his voice from afar, but listening to him speak right in front of her – /to/ her – is something else, and it's making her weak at her knees.
"Um, yes. I'm fine," she stammers, eyes darting away when she realises she has been staring for too long. There isn't any indication that he even remembers their first encounter, but it isn't something Atelier can forget. And somehow... in the past six years, Jungkook has grown even better-looking.
"I heard someone crying. I mean, not that I've been standing out here for long. I'm not a creep! I was just worried, that's all. You know, this part of the building is usually empty and quiet."
She smiles a little. As far as she is concerned, there's no need for him to explain himself at all. In fact, she hopes /she/ doesn't look strange.
"Oh! Are you hurt?"
"Huh?" She looks at him quizzically. Then she notices him staring at the red-stained cloth peeking out from her bag. She doesn't blame him for looking that alarmed. It does look like blood. She stuffs the cloth deep into the backpack. "This isn't blood. It's just ink." She hopes that's true. Suddenly, she feels like crying again.
"Is everything really okay?" Jungkook asks.
"Yes. I'm – I'm just a little sick," she lies, sniffling hard to make her point.
He nods like he understands her pain. "It must be the weather. Take care of yourself. We have finals next week, remember?" He gives her a smile. It radiates so much warmth she coulld just feel her tears drying up instantly.
"Yes, I will. Thank you, Jungkook." It is the first time she says his name out loud, and only after she did, does she remember she wasn't supposed to know what his name is. They've never formally introduced themselves to each other, and she only knew he was Jungkook from overhearing his friends calling out to him, which she never would have, if she hadn't been following him closely in the first week of school like the stalker that she was.
"Um, well, I should go," she says, looking back down and turning away quickly before he could see her blushing like crazy.
He stops her. "Wait! I, uh, you know my name, but I don't know yours. It's really embarrassing. I'm sorry."
"It's okay..."
He regards her with a curious gaze. "Well... Aren't you going to tell me?"
She can feel her heart racing a hundred miles per second. She has to will herself to stay calm. "Atelier," she whispers, slightly inaudible, so she says again, "My name is Atelier."
"Atelier," he repeats, the corners of his lips turning up in an adorable smile. "That's a pretty name."
She can't tell if he's being genuine – many times have her peers called her name stupid - so she doesn't know how to respond. She just looks at him, and his kindness makes her inclined to believe that he meant what he said.
"I have to get to my next class, but I'll see you around, Atelier." With that, he goes down the opposite direction, leaving her alone in the silent hallway, gaping and staring at his back until he disappears around the corner.
"He knows my name," she says to no one in particular. A silly grin spreads across her face as she recalls how much sweeter her name sounded when he said it aloud, like it was dipped in chocolate.
"Jungkook knows my name!"
/And he thinks it's pretty./
Maybe the last week of school won't be so bad after all.