From that moment on, Bryan decided to solve the case of the Jeju Island Wildfire incident. The door opened as Valerie marched into the kitchen to get a glass of water.
"Hey, Val. I figured we could talk to Kai and ask him certain questions about his motives," he informed and was scrolling down the page of the computer. Then, he realized she didn't respond right away and turned his head on her in puzzlement. "Umm... The silent treatment is not what I'm expecting."
Valerie placed the glass carefully and stared at him dully.
"Is everything alright?" Bryan wondered.
"Jin's incarcerated..." she murmured sadly as she looked away.
"How?!" Bryan became bewildered.
"The police found him beating up someone's boyfriend in an alleyway, but I highly doubt he would randomly go crazy," Valerie explained in exasperation.
"Maybe he still feels bummed about you rejecting him," Bryan thought.
Valerie squinted her eyes at him irritatingly, saying. "That is not the point here. Look, he may have witnessed the girl who he thinks is being somewhat harassed. Either way, Jin took this initiative to go and save her from the guy."
"How do you suppose you come to this conclusion? Remember, you can't just jump right in and assume. Without any evidence, nobody is going to believe you," Bryan reminded.
"You think I don't know that? Besides, I know Jin and he is very caring when it comes to people around him and there must be a good reason as to why he punched the guy," Valerie pointed out.
Suddenly, the television's background music was blaring a little loud, which made them hover their attention on the screen.
"This is breaking news. One of the famous and sensational pop stars, Jeon Jungkook is arrested for plagiarism. He is taken into custody after finding a replica of EXO's music in his own studio. Soon he will be going into the court whether the judge approves him of being innocent or not. If he is found guilty, Jungkook will be sued for more than $25,000. Further details will be reported..."
Bryan became distraught and questioned. "What the actual fuck?! Him too?!"
Valerie mentally slapped herself in the face, groaning. She shook her head in disconsolation and heard a few knocks on the door.
Bryan's eyes widened in shock and quickly minimized the window tabs and put the computer to sleep. He got up from his chair and pulled the handle over.
Sally and Ava came in with squeals and giggles. They were carrying the bags, much to his and Valerie's astonishment.
"My boss called me and requested a new pair of shoes. He wants to wear a different brand outside of the states. Plus, I'm totally digging these matching glittery bracelets," Ava grinned as she held her wrists in front of them.
"Babe, aren't you supposed to only have one?" Bryan queried in confusion.
"Right. I was just giving myself a wear test," Ava said, giggling.
"Sounds like a new word invention there," Valerie snorted with a laugh.
Ava agreed and walked up to Bryan to slide the accessory onto his right wrist. "Yup!"
Sally smiled and mentioned. "Oh, we both have some news."
"Please be a good one," Bryan said hopefully.
"Go on," Valerie urged her.
"Ava and I have to fly back to New York immediately since there have been some slight changes in our schedule," Sally stated.
Valerie furrowed her eyebrows and asked. "What kind?"
"Well, I have to finish the blog editing by Thursday this week, so my manager can hand in the official statements," Sally explained as her hands clasped together.
"I have to help and finish creating the new product line with my coworkers as well," Ava said with a frown.
Valerie looked back and forth between the girls and nodded slowly. "I see..."
"I know it's too soon, but hopefully you guys understand what we're coming from," Sally begged.
Bryan sighed and threw his head back lazily. "Aye. We do."
Valerie took in a long deep breath and forged a smile. "Absolutely."
"Ah. Okay, good. We're going to start packing now and sorry about the news with Jungkook. Have you talked to him?" Sally asked curiously.
"I haven't yet, but I will. Not right now, let's help you two prepare the stuff," Valerie instructed.
Then, Sally and Ava were walking towards the bedroom and unzipped their bags.
On the other hand, Bryan was giving a thumbs up signal to Valerie, who did as well since they both will make use of the time they have. Nevertheless, they didn't want their friends to be affected by their problems. Even though they expect them to stay a bit longer, just so they could spend some time together.
Later on in the afternoon, Valerie received a text message from Hoseok, saying if she wants to watch him practice tennis for his finals. She agreed when she met up with him in the field where she sat in one of the bleachers. Every ball he was hitting with his racket landed in the front of the wall while some of them ended up in the corner edges. He was measuring the speed of how he served and spiked them. Panting heavily to himself, he wipes the sweat off of his forehead and glances up at where Valerie is.
"I was wondering if I should teach you how to play?" Hoseok grinned.
"Me? Tennis?" Valerie repeated, pointing to herself.
"Yup, yup, but before we start, I will help you how to meditate," Hoseok said, gesturing to her to come forward.
Valerie sighed and pushed herself up, then jumped down on the ground. She sprinted and stood beside him.
"Okie. Let's lift our arms up as we inhale and lower them down as we exhale. Are you following me?" Hoseok said in relaxation, closing his eyes.
Valerie did what he had told her to for a few minutes.
Hoseok started to demonstrate the swinging of the ball over the net. Valerie observed him, so she smacked it strongly, much to his astonishment.
"Woah! Damn, that was incredible, but not too much," Hoseok said, chuckling nervously.
Valerie giggled and said. "Sorry, I just got carried away."
"I'll say, you are quite strong," Hoseok nodded impressively with a laugh, making her eyes roll. He continued on to move closer to her and held her arm. "This is how you swing the ball for serving. You have to be at ease, but at the same time you have to control."
Valerie looked down onto his hand on her wrist. She looked at him blankly and hovered her gaze back at the front to focus her aim.
He swings her hand to hit the ball that was bouncing straight and passing the white line.
Valerie gaped her mouth in surprise and said. "Wow!"
"See. Once you get used to the trick, you would know where you are targeting?!" Hoseok gestured his hand out.
Valerie nodded in understanding and smiled happily. "Thank you."
"You are welcome," Hoseok said and looked down at his shoes.
Valerie noticed how awkward and shy he must be feeling. She was twiddling the handle of the racket and stared at him skeptically.
"Anyway, I just want to let you-" Hoseok was about to tell her, but got interrupted quickly when he saw her hand holding in the front between them.
"I know what you're going to say and I've already told this to one of our friends," Valerie guessed correctly.
"You do?" Hoseok's eyes widened in shock.
"Of course, because that was the way Jin was looking at me. He confessed to me yesterday evening and I told him how I felt... Please don't take this by heart as well," Valerie murmured, shuffling her shoe.
Hoseok understood and reassured her. "You don't have to feel guilty about it. What matters is you are honest with your feelings towards him. I, for one, do appreciate your honesty, so don't worry about me. I'm all good. I just want to ask you out for one date, at least."
Valerie gasped and nodded willingly. "Sure! I would love that, Hobi."
"Yay!" Hoseok jumped enthusiastically with hands swooning in the air and started running around the tennis field.
Valerie burst out laughing amusingly as she curled her hands between her mouth, exclaiming. "Okay, Mr. Sunshine! You are the man."
Hoseok was running back to their spot and exhaled out his breath, grinning smugly.
"Anyway, I got to go, but thanks for inviting me and teaching me. It was nice hanging out with you," Valerie bowed her head a little and waved at him before she walked out and exited. "See you again!"
"Sure thing, pretty! I'll text you the details about our date," Hoseok called out loudly, which she nodded firmly.
When he watched her leave, he sighed calmly and went back to his tennis practice. As soon as he was about to serve one of the balls from the machine, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He quickly opened it and saw a notification about the sports news trending. He stared at the embarrassing photos of himself as an ugly donkey posted on Twitter, leading him to find out the person who seems to be his friend.
That's when his expression suddenly began to alter into the opposite of his happiness.
"Namjoon..." He growled, fuming as he clenched his fists.
An hour later...
Hoseok barged into his classroom, startling the rest of the students, who were sitting in their chairs quietly reading the books to themselves. The door was slammed against the wall, much to the English professor's puzzlement.
"You!" He bellowed and stomped his footsteps as he approached the desk.
"Hobi?" Namjoon muttered blankly. He was sitting in his chair, asking concernedly. "Is everything alright?"
"You did this!" Hoseok shoved his phone, showing the horrendous post.
"I didn't have anything to do with that," Namjoon retorted back, furrowing his eyes in confusion.
"Oh, don't play dumb with me. You and I both know that you're always jealous of me and you called me an ugly donkey," Hoseok shook his head in disbelief, pointing his finger at him boldly.
"Now why the hell would I be? I've always supported you. I never said you are one and I never post humiliating stuff about you. Let's not forget I'm the one who helped and defended you from getting your ass kicked by the tennis haters," Namjoon pointed out sincerely, bolting up from his chair.
Hoseok huffed and smiled mockingly at him. "Really? Yet, you didn't do that when we were in a group with our friends."
Namjoon closed his eyes when he was walking away from him and said. "Wait... Can we figure this issue out later?"
Hoseok glanced over his shoulder and narrowed his eyes dully at him. "We already did, didn't we? Goodbye, Mr. Kim and students... Don't take his advice. He's not only one hell of a crappy leader, but also a teacher as well."
Slamming the door behind him, everyone flinched and slowly turned their heads worriedly towards Namjoon, who looked at his students with a frown look. 403Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsII7Blnqen
