The Boy She Came For

💌 Chapter 2: The Boy She Came For

Jennie barely remembered how she got through the rest of the afternoon.

Everything felt… off.

The whispers.

The stares.

Jae-Min’s words echoing in her mind like a warning she couldn’t shake.

You shouldn’t have come.

Her grip tightened around her phone as she stood outside the main building, her heart racing—but not because of him.

Not Jae-Min.

Ethan.

She was finally going to see him.

After months of late-night calls, soft promises, and words that felt so real through a screen… this was it.

The moment everything would finally make sense again.

Right?

Jennie took a deep breath, smoothing down her skirt as she tried to steady herself.

“This is what you came for,” she whispered.

“Talking to yourself already? That was fast.”

She turned.

Of course.

Kim Taehyung leaned casually against the wall, hands tucked into his pockets like he had nowhere else to be. His eyes found hers instantly, amused… but observant.

Jennie frowned slightly. “Do you just appear everywhere?”

He smirked. “Only where I’m needed.”

“I didn’t say I needed you.”

“Didn’t say you didn’t either.”

She rolled her eyes—but couldn’t stop the small smile that slipped through.

“Shouldn’t you be in class?”

“Probably,” he shrugged. “But this seems more interesting.”

His gaze dropped briefly to her phone before returning to her face.

“You’re waiting for someone.”

It wasn’t a question.

Jennie hesitated, then nodded.

“Yeah.”

Taehyung tilted his head slightly. “The boyfriend?”

Her cheeks warmed just a little. “Yeah… the boyfriend.”

Something shifted in his expression.

Quick. Subtle.

Gone before she could fully catch it.

“Oh,” he said quietly.

And then—

“Jennie?”

Her heart stopped.

That voice.

She turned so fast it made her dizzy.

And there he was.

Ethan.

Standing just a few feet away, looking exactly like she imagined—maybe even better.

Same soft eyes. Same familiar smile.

Real.

Finally real.

“Ethan…” she breathed.

For a moment, everything else disappeared.

No whispers. No tension. No Jae-Min.

Just him.

Jennie took a step forward, her heart pounding in her chest.

He smiled—hesitant, but still warm.

And just like that, she thought—

This is it.

But then—

A hand slipped into his.

Jennie froze.

Time didn’t slow down.

It shattered.

Because the girl standing beside him was flawless.

Perfect posture. Perfect hair. Perfect smile.

Soo-Jin.

Jennie’s chest tightened as her eyes dropped to their hands.

Still intertwined.

Still close.

Still real.

“Oh,” she whispered, her voice barely there.

Ethan’s smile faltered. “Jennie, I—”

“You’re… together?” she asked.

A simple question.

But the answer felt like it weighed everything down.

Soo-Jin stepped forward first, her smile calm and composed—too perfect to be real.

“Yes,” she said smoothly. “We are.”

Jennie blinked.

Once.

Twice.

As if the scene in front of her might change.

It didn’t.

Ethan stepped closer, guilt written all over his face.

“I was going to tell you—”

“When?” Jennie cut in, her voice shaking now. “After I moved countries for you?”

Silence.

Heavy. Suffocating.

“I didn’t think you’d actually come,” he admitted quietly.

That hurt more than anything else.

Jennie let out a small, broken laugh.

“You didn’t think I’d come?” she repeated. “After everything you said to me?”

“I didn’t mean for it to happen like this—”

“But it did.”

Her voice came out sharper than she expected.

Soo-Jin’s expression cooled slightly.

“Maybe don’t cause a scene on your first day,” she said.

Jennie turned to her slowly.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she replied, her tone edged now. “Am I interrupting something?”

Soo-Jin didn’t flinch.

“If you’re done, then yes.”

Something inside Jennie snapped.

Not loudly.

Not dramatically.

Just enough.

“Wow,” she said softly. “You’re really something.”

Soo-Jin smiled. “I get that a lot.”

Jennie let out a quiet laugh, but there was no humor in it.

“Yeah. I can tell.”

She turned back to Ethan one last time.

Her chest ached.

But her voice?

Steady.

“Don’t text me again.”

And just like that—

She walked away.

---

She didn’t know where she was going.

She just needed to leave.

Fast.

Before she cried.

Before she broke.

Before anyone saw how much this hurt.

Her vision blurred as she pushed through the crowd, her breathing uneven.

He didn’t think I’d come.

That was the part that hurt the most.

Not the girl.

Not the relationship.

That.

“Hey.”

She stopped.

Of course.

Taehyung.

She hadn’t even realized he followed her.

“I’m fine,” she said quickly, not turning around.

“Yeah,” he replied softly. “You don’t look fine.”

Jennie turned, frustration flashing in her eyes.

“Why do you care?” she snapped. “You don’t even know me.”

Taehyung didn’t react.

He just looked at her.

Really looked at her.

“Maybe I want to,” he said quietly.

Jennie’s breath caught.

The anger faded, just a little.

“You saw that,” she muttered.

“Hard not to.”

She let out a bitter laugh. “Embarrassing.”

“No,” he said immediately.

Jennie blinked.

“That wasn’t embarrassing,” he continued. “That was him being an idiot.”

She stared at him.

For a moment, she didn’t know what to say.

Then—

A small, real laugh escaped her.

“Wow,” she said. “You’re kind of intense.”

He smirked slightly.

“You have no idea.”

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