making amends
making amends
iu/chen, iu/d.o., pg-13, au/slice of life
Jieun treads out of the decorated hall, away from the pounding music, the tacky disco ball and the sickeningly sugar-coated couples that occupy the prom atmosphere. She’s sweaty from head to toe and her mind is drained. She hasn’t even been dancing. It’s just the amount of bodies in the room overwhelms her. She contemplates on taking off her heels to cross the parking lot, but someone pulls on her arm.
Jiyeon’s glowing even after hours on the dance floor. Her eyes shine brightly with excitement and adrenaline. Her system is wired. Anyone within a feet of her can tell. Her breath is short as she pops a stick of gum into her mouth.
“Eli’s taking me to the bowling alley with the others,” she says with a foxy grin. “You coming?”
Jieun knows she’s only being nice for her sake, that Jiyeon hates leaving her out of her life even if she feels out of place. Jieun’s just glad that the friend who’s quickly distancing herself away still acknowledges her from time to time.
The music continues to blare, still within earshot in the parking lot. It reminds Jieun of her mental state, so she gives Jiyeon’s clammy hand a reassuring squeeze and says, “I’m going to find Sunyoung and maybe get some ice cream. Don’t wait up.”
Eli’s car pulls up to the front. He waves briefly at Jieun whom she saw maybe once during the stretched out evening.
“You sure?”
Jieun smiles meekly and nods.
“Okay. Love you.” Jiyeon pecks her cheek and giggles. The buzz remains from whatever content she had stashed in her flask. She lifts the bottom of her red dress and gets into the passenger seat. They wait a bit for Hwayoung to take the backseat before driving off.
Sunyoung is still in the hall, soaking up the last hour the school has booked for the graduating class. Jieun remembers last seeing her at one of the tables, chatting closely with juniors who had been invited to the event by their older dates. Sunyoung was a mentor in Jieun’s eyes, and she has no intention in taking that away from her dear friend.
Jieun notices a familiar figure standing by an older car near one of the light posts in the lot. She squints, still unable to make out who it is.
“Taemin?” She says to herself and looks both ways before crossing. Her feet still kill.
It isn’t the dancer who she thinks is waiting by the vehicle, but one of his older friends who had graduated the year before. Kim Jongdae - a closeted lyricist and a future businessman.
He and Jieun were not incredibly close in the past, but they saw each other frequently in her junior year and when he left, they managed to keep in touch through email. They only cross paths at parties or sometimes at the supermarket.
She’s taken back by his neat attire. Black dress pants and shoes and a blue button down shirt. His collar and hair somewhat messy, but remains charming.
Jieun realizes that they match. She fights the urge to look down. Her dress is in periwinkle. She almost blushes. Almost.
“Were you here the entire time?” She asks unsurely, taking a few steps closer to him.
Jongdae shakes his head with a nonchalant expression. “Someone told me you were having a lousy time.”
She narrows her eyes. “Kyungsoo.” “You did save him a dance. Didn’t you?” He claims, almost accusingly.
The bug eyed boy is a pal to Jongdae. Everyone seems to know everyone at their irrelevant school. He had asked Jieun to prom a month before. She said no, taking into considering that she planned to go with Sunyoung. Plus, their table was fully booked. He didn’t take the rejection too hard, or so Jieun thought.
“I did!” She insists with an ironic laugh. She covers her face. “Oh, gosh. He must really hate me now.”
“Nah. He’s embarrassed,” Jongdae says. “He told me he stepped on your feet.”
Jieun shrugs. “I haven’t felt my feet since five, so I’m perfectly fine.”
He laughs warmly and his melodic laughter fades into the tune slowing down to a ballad.
Jieun suddenly wishes she could make it up to Kyungsoo, but he had dashed away from her so quickly she assumes that he already left - feeling flustered and out of pace. She feels the guilt enveloping into her stomach and swallows.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Jongdae tells her, holding his hand out.
After a few slow beat, she takes it shyly and lets him pull her close to his chest. He smells of soap and moisturizer, as if he had made an effort for her.
Other cars pull out of the parking lot. Students pile near the entrance, saying their goodbyes or waiting for their ride to an after party.
Jieun can feel the eyes on her back. Jongdae tells her to get on his feet. She groans, kicking off her heels and hopping on top of his cool, leather shoes. He just snickers.
She snorts. “Are you trying to embarrass me?”
“Is it working?”
It’s her turn to laugh. Her face goes warm and she’s thankful for the night that casts away her subtle affection for the older boy. She silently apologizes to Kyungsoo, gripping Jongdae more firmly she won’t topple back.
Jongdae gently sways them to the audible melody from the hall and keeps watch over her head. She doesn’t need to tell him. He just knows that she needs a little confirmation that she isn’t as alone as she believes.
After their first and last dance of the evening, Kyungsoo and Jieun abruptly separate and flee in different directions of the hall. He doesn’t bother looking back or going after her. He’s so hot in the face and his feet are moving so fast that he doesn’t intend on stopping.
Kyungsoo pulls at his necktie, relieving pressure from his suffocating throat. He loosens the cuffed sleeves of his dress shirt and dodges fellow students while heading straight towards a restricted room.
He really doesn’t give a damn anymore.
He uses his shoulder to force the door open and lets out a heavy break, thinking that he’s finally alone.
How wrong is he to find two juniors in the enclosed area, doing things Kyungsoo wishes not to see on such a miserable night. Krystal’s back is pressed up against the wall, her arms around Jongin’s neck as he’s hard up against her.
It takes a moment for the two teenagers to register that someone has caught them. Kyungsoo blinks, mouth slightly open. Krystal gasps, not taking her eyes off the mortified teenager as she smacks Jongin away from her legs. His pants are undone, but somehow they have managed to fornicate still fully clothed. Kyungsoo shudders.
“Shit,” he murmurs and shuts his eyes before Jongin can slip in a low “fuck” under his breath. He does up his pants.
“No, no, no,” Kyungsoo stammers, turning his head away. “Y-You two keep doing-”
He slams the door before saying anything stupid or repulsive. He exhales and removes his tie completely.
Stupid kids, he thinks before dropping to the floor down the hallway.
Kyungsoo feels like he’s meant to ruin moments. He stepped on Jieun’s toes earlier on during her venture to the ladies’ room and he had just stopped those two from reaching climax. He smacks his forehead at the thought.
At the corner of his eye, he sees Krystal leaving the room in her strapless white dress. She tries not to stumble out in her feels as she fixes her recently tousled hair and smudged lipstick.
Jongin appears by Kyungsoo’s side a few moments later with his jacket thrown over his shoulder. He apologizes, but Kyungsoo says nothing.
“Where’s your date?” Jongin asks uncomfortably. The two boys have met once in the past.
“I don’t have one,” he mumbles and catches Jieun wandering out to the front, obviously wanting to leave as much as he does.
Jongin scratches his neck, biting down on his swollen lip. He recognizes the look in Kyungsoo’s eyes, but he has seldomly come across the feeling. He counts himself lucky before asking, ”Um, do you want a ride?”
Kyungsoo frowns and finally tilts his head up to look at him. “What about her?”
He shrugs. “I’ll come back.” Kyungsoo glances at his watch. It’s not even eleven. The prom ends at midnight.
He gets up in a huff and clears his voice. “A ride would be great. Thanks.”
“Where to?”
Kyungsoo has no plan on seeing Jongin ever again. He really doesn’t care whether he’s judging him or not. He just wants out.
Jieuns eventually calls up Kyungsoo in the morning. Jongdae dropped her off early the night before and she ended up tuning her guitar while the rest of her classmates were off in search of booze and a good time.
She does a little digging for his number after a quiet breakfast alone. Her parents left earlier for work. Normally, she hates the stillness in her house, but it does good for her today.
“Hello?” She hears a groggy voice on the other end.
Jieun looks to the clock from her seat on the couch. Quarter to noon. She remembers Kyungsoo waiting on the line.
“Kyungsoo, it’s Jieun.”
He doesn’t mean to be rude, but he yawns anyway.
“Is this a bad time?”
“No, it’s fine,” he murmurs. Phlegm blocks his throat. “What’s up?”
She winds the phone cord around her hand, still a bit hesitant. “I... just want to say sorry about last night.”
There’s a brief silence before he lets out a sigh of what Jieun interprets as relief. “It’s fine.”
“Yeah?”
“You’re not the only one who ran away.”
Her eyes meet the ceiling. “But I just...left you there.”
“Really. It’s okay,” he says and she hears the smile in his voice. “You didn’t ruin my night.”
She nods and curls her feet into her lap. “So what did you end up doing?”
“Uh,” he laughs quietly. “A few trivial things came up, but I ended up at the coffee shop down the street from school.”
“When did you get back home?” she ponders.
He pauses to think. “A little past two.”
Her eyes widen slightly. “Really. Who were you with?” “Um, your friend, Sunyoung,” he answers nervously.
So that’s where she went, Jieun muses. She had dashed back into the hall after her impromptu rendezvous with Jongdae to say goodbye to her date, but she was no longer there.
Thoughts swirl around in Jieun’s mind. She purses her lips, feeling almost envious. She isn’t sure of who, though. Sunyoung, for actually giving spirit to the frail boy or Kyungsoo, for actually having a good time after their little disaster. Maybe both.
“Wow,” she says breathlessly. “You two must - “
“No, no, no,” he stops her. “I think we’ve had one class together. Last night was a coincidence.”
Jieun scratches her head. “Do you like her?”
Kyungsoo lets out a low chuckle and wavers on his words. “I-I don’t know. I don’t want to get involved. Not now, anyways.”
But she can hear the hope in his timid voice. And it’s that hope that settles her stomach before saying, “See you at graduation.” It’s better that she gets the chance to leave it at that.
iu/chen, iu/d.o., pg-13, au/slice of life
Jieun treads out of the decorated hall, away from the pounding music, the tacky disco ball and the sickeningly sugar-coated couples that occupy the prom atmosphere. She’s sweaty from head to toe and her mind is drained. She hasn’t even been dancing. It’s just the amount of bodies in the room overwhelms her. She contemplates on taking off her heels to cross the parking lot, but someone pulls on her arm.
Jiyeon’s glowing even after hours on the dance floor. Her eyes shine brightly with excitement and adrenaline. Her system is wired. Anyone within a feet of her can tell. Her breath is short as she pops a stick of gum into her mouth.
“Eli’s taking me to the bowling alley with the others,” she says with a foxy grin. “You coming?”
Jieun knows she’s only being nice for her sake, that Jiyeon hates leaving her out of her life even if she feels out of place. Jieun’s just glad that the friend who’s quickly distancing herself away still acknowledges her from time to time.
The music continues to blare, still within earshot in the parking lot. It reminds Jieun of her mental state, so she gives Jiyeon’s clammy hand a reassuring squeeze and says, “I’m going to find Sunyoung and maybe get some ice cream. Don’t wait up.”
Eli’s car pulls up to the front. He waves briefly at Jieun whom she saw maybe once during the stretched out evening.
“You sure?”
Jieun smiles meekly and nods.
“Okay. Love you.” Jiyeon pecks her cheek and giggles. The buzz remains from whatever content she had stashed in her flask. She lifts the bottom of her red dress and gets into the passenger seat. They wait a bit for Hwayoung to take the backseat before driving off.
Sunyoung is still in the hall, soaking up the last hour the school has booked for the graduating class. Jieun remembers last seeing her at one of the tables, chatting closely with juniors who had been invited to the event by their older dates. Sunyoung was a mentor in Jieun’s eyes, and she has no intention in taking that away from her dear friend.
Jieun notices a familiar figure standing by an older car near one of the light posts in the lot. She squints, still unable to make out who it is.
“Taemin?” She says to herself and looks both ways before crossing. Her feet still kill.
It isn’t the dancer who she thinks is waiting by the vehicle, but one of his older friends who had graduated the year before. Kim Jongdae - a closeted lyricist and a future businessman.
He and Jieun were not incredibly close in the past, but they saw each other frequently in her junior year and when he left, they managed to keep in touch through email. They only cross paths at parties or sometimes at the supermarket.
She’s taken back by his neat attire. Black dress pants and shoes and a blue button down shirt. His collar and hair somewhat messy, but remains charming.
Jieun realizes that they match. She fights the urge to look down. Her dress is in periwinkle. She almost blushes. Almost.
“Were you here the entire time?” She asks unsurely, taking a few steps closer to him.
Jongdae shakes his head with a nonchalant expression. “Someone told me you were having a lousy time.”
She narrows her eyes. “Kyungsoo.” “You did save him a dance. Didn’t you?” He claims, almost accusingly.
The bug eyed boy is a pal to Jongdae. Everyone seems to know everyone at their irrelevant school. He had asked Jieun to prom a month before. She said no, taking into considering that she planned to go with Sunyoung. Plus, their table was fully booked. He didn’t take the rejection too hard, or so Jieun thought.
“I did!” She insists with an ironic laugh. She covers her face. “Oh, gosh. He must really hate me now.”
“Nah. He’s embarrassed,” Jongdae says. “He told me he stepped on your feet.”
Jieun shrugs. “I haven’t felt my feet since five, so I’m perfectly fine.”
He laughs warmly and his melodic laughter fades into the tune slowing down to a ballad.
Jieun suddenly wishes she could make it up to Kyungsoo, but he had dashed away from her so quickly she assumes that he already left - feeling flustered and out of pace. She feels the guilt enveloping into her stomach and swallows.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Jongdae tells her, holding his hand out.
After a few slow beat, she takes it shyly and lets him pull her close to his chest. He smells of soap and moisturizer, as if he had made an effort for her.
Other cars pull out of the parking lot. Students pile near the entrance, saying their goodbyes or waiting for their ride to an after party.
Jieun can feel the eyes on her back. Jongdae tells her to get on his feet. She groans, kicking off her heels and hopping on top of his cool, leather shoes. He just snickers.
She snorts. “Are you trying to embarrass me?”
“Is it working?”
It’s her turn to laugh. Her face goes warm and she’s thankful for the night that casts away her subtle affection for the older boy. She silently apologizes to Kyungsoo, gripping Jongdae more firmly she won’t topple back.
Jongdae gently sways them to the audible melody from the hall and keeps watch over her head. She doesn’t need to tell him. He just knows that she needs a little confirmation that she isn’t as alone as she believes.
After their first and last dance of the evening, Kyungsoo and Jieun abruptly separate and flee in different directions of the hall. He doesn’t bother looking back or going after her. He’s so hot in the face and his feet are moving so fast that he doesn’t intend on stopping.
Kyungsoo pulls at his necktie, relieving pressure from his suffocating throat. He loosens the cuffed sleeves of his dress shirt and dodges fellow students while heading straight towards a restricted room.
He really doesn’t give a damn anymore.
He uses his shoulder to force the door open and lets out a heavy break, thinking that he’s finally alone.
How wrong is he to find two juniors in the enclosed area, doing things Kyungsoo wishes not to see on such a miserable night. Krystal’s back is pressed up against the wall, her arms around Jongin’s neck as he’s hard up against her.
It takes a moment for the two teenagers to register that someone has caught them. Kyungsoo blinks, mouth slightly open. Krystal gasps, not taking her eyes off the mortified teenager as she smacks Jongin away from her legs. His pants are undone, but somehow they have managed to fornicate still fully clothed. Kyungsoo shudders.
“Shit,” he murmurs and shuts his eyes before Jongin can slip in a low “fuck” under his breath. He does up his pants.
“No, no, no,” Kyungsoo stammers, turning his head away. “Y-You two keep doing-”
He slams the door before saying anything stupid or repulsive. He exhales and removes his tie completely.
Stupid kids, he thinks before dropping to the floor down the hallway.
Kyungsoo feels like he’s meant to ruin moments. He stepped on Jieun’s toes earlier on during her venture to the ladies’ room and he had just stopped those two from reaching climax. He smacks his forehead at the thought.
At the corner of his eye, he sees Krystal leaving the room in her strapless white dress. She tries not to stumble out in her feels as she fixes her recently tousled hair and smudged lipstick.
Jongin appears by Kyungsoo’s side a few moments later with his jacket thrown over his shoulder. He apologizes, but Kyungsoo says nothing.
“Where’s your date?” Jongin asks uncomfortably. The two boys have met once in the past.
“I don’t have one,” he mumbles and catches Jieun wandering out to the front, obviously wanting to leave as much as he does.
Jongin scratches his neck, biting down on his swollen lip. He recognizes the look in Kyungsoo’s eyes, but he has seldomly come across the feeling. He counts himself lucky before asking, ”Um, do you want a ride?”
Kyungsoo frowns and finally tilts his head up to look at him. “What about her?”
He shrugs. “I’ll come back.” Kyungsoo glances at his watch. It’s not even eleven. The prom ends at midnight.
He gets up in a huff and clears his voice. “A ride would be great. Thanks.”
“Where to?”
Kyungsoo has no plan on seeing Jongin ever again. He really doesn’t care whether he’s judging him or not. He just wants out.
Jieuns eventually calls up Kyungsoo in the morning. Jongdae dropped her off early the night before and she ended up tuning her guitar while the rest of her classmates were off in search of booze and a good time.
She does a little digging for his number after a quiet breakfast alone. Her parents left earlier for work. Normally, she hates the stillness in her house, but it does good for her today.
“Hello?” She hears a groggy voice on the other end.
Jieun looks to the clock from her seat on the couch. Quarter to noon. She remembers Kyungsoo waiting on the line.
“Kyungsoo, it’s Jieun.”
He doesn’t mean to be rude, but he yawns anyway.
“Is this a bad time?”
“No, it’s fine,” he murmurs. Phlegm blocks his throat. “What’s up?”
She winds the phone cord around her hand, still a bit hesitant. “I... just want to say sorry about last night.”
There’s a brief silence before he lets out a sigh of what Jieun interprets as relief. “It’s fine.”
“Yeah?”
“You’re not the only one who ran away.”
Her eyes meet the ceiling. “But I just...left you there.”
“Really. It’s okay,” he says and she hears the smile in his voice. “You didn’t ruin my night.”
She nods and curls her feet into her lap. “So what did you end up doing?”
“Uh,” he laughs quietly. “A few trivial things came up, but I ended up at the coffee shop down the street from school.”
“When did you get back home?” she ponders.
He pauses to think. “A little past two.”
Her eyes widen slightly. “Really. Who were you with?” “Um, your friend, Sunyoung,” he answers nervously.
So that’s where she went, Jieun muses. She had dashed back into the hall after her impromptu rendezvous with Jongdae to say goodbye to her date, but she was no longer there.
Thoughts swirl around in Jieun’s mind. She purses her lips, feeling almost envious. She isn’t sure of who, though. Sunyoung, for actually giving spirit to the frail boy or Kyungsoo, for actually having a good time after their little disaster. Maybe both.
“Wow,” she says breathlessly. “You two must - “
“No, no, no,” he stops her. “I think we’ve had one class together. Last night was a coincidence.”
Jieun scratches her head. “Do you like her?”
Kyungsoo lets out a low chuckle and wavers on his words. “I-I don’t know. I don’t want to get involved. Not now, anyways.”
But she can hear the hope in his timid voice. And it’s that hope that settles her stomach before saying, “See you at graduation.” It’s better that she gets the chance to leave it at that.