𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 • 𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒

𝘪 '𝘮 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 | 𝘭.𝘫𝘩

"seriously Jihoon . . . again?" you muttered as you sat on the couch of yours and your boyfriend of 2 year's apartment, looking at the digital clock positioned on the table.

Woozi had been doing this for weeks recently: promising to be back to share dinner with you or at least be back before you went to bed but instead returning at 5-6 am or just not returning at all.

You both had been dating behind the backs of the fans, mainly due to the fact that you were a non-celebrity and and Jihoon was a kpop idol in a rising boy group. You were worried to ruin his reputation, and seventeen's as a whole, as dating in the idol industry was usually frowned upon by netizens so it was a mutual agreement to keep your relationship on the down-low.

It was currently 4 am and there was not a text, call, or anything at all that would let you know he'd be home soon. You weren't astronomically surprised though, as he had been doing this for a while already, but you were still somewhat hurt. Hurt about the fact that due to your relationship being a secret, you and Jihoon already had limited time together, yet you saw him even less these days. Sometimes as little as for about half an hour in the morning and maybe some 10 minutes at night. 

You didn't want to be that type of girlfriend, and at this point, you were really starting to become more worried than mad - worried for his health.

As you were looking out the window, looking over the lit-up night view of Seoul from your apartment, you randomly got the thought to prepare a bento for Jihoon and make sure he at least ate. But the one problem was . . .

Where in the large Pledis building was he?

But knowing the workaholic better than most, you assumed he was in his comfort place: the studio. So, after carefully preparing a nice meal, you snapped a pic of the meal because for once in your life, your cooking wasn't half-bad. Then, you proceeded to get dressed into some comfortable-outing clothes, which included sweatpants, your sweatshirt ( which you stole from Jihoon ) and some light make-up as you would probably run into some staff and whatnot. Yes it was 4 am but you can never be too cautious.

You grabbed your keys and exited the tiny apartment, excited about surprising Jihoon and hopefully being able to at least keep him company.

Once you arrived, you carefully secured the bento in your canvas bag like the artsy person you are ( a/n : sorry if you're not an artsy person ) and headed into the building. A few security guards greeted you, as people in the company knew who you were at this point.

Though you might be wondering: If the staff know, how has your relationship not been revealed yet? Well, Pledis, who knew about your relationship, decided to actually protect their artist for once and they threatened to actually sue anyone who said anything from Jihoon being in a relationship, to any specific information about you. Surprising win for Pledis.

You made your way around the building, trying to avoid any social interactions, and successfully made it it to Jihoon's studio. 

As you looked at the door, you decided to just call his name to let him know of your presence while entering the room because you knew that surprising Jihoon was a BIG no no, especially when there was a possibility he was working.

"Hey babe" you said with an eye smile, but no response was heard.

You awkwardly walked to his seat and gave him a back hug, only to be immediately pushed off in a dismissing way.

"could you just leave me alone? Why are you here" he asked, still not looking you in the eyes and continuing his work.

"i- well thought you could at least use a nice meal, i mean you've been coming home later recently and i barely ever see you and yeah" you said while fumbling with your fingers and looking at the ground, practically rambling

"well i don't need your company, i'm working just leave me alone" he spoke quite sternly, still not caring to step away from his work.

"will you not even look at me Jihoon?" you said, slightly raising your voice and looking him in the eyes, also catching his attention by calling him by his first name. You never liked using his birth name and instead opted for his stage name of different nicknames so this came as a startle for him.

"I- okay okay i'm looking at you now. Satisfied?" He said with a clearly blank expression as he swiveled his chair to face you.

You just looked at him with a face of disgust as you really couldn't believe his attitude. You then silently grabbed the bento from your bag and carelessly placed it down on his desk.

"eat well."

"i'll just go back to OUR apartment and sleep in OUR bed alone AGAIN just like i have been for the past months."

Jihoon was now actually taking in your words, caught off guard by your forward body language and frustrated voice. You were relatively calm and loving, so this was something he wasn't completely familiar with.

He was left speechless, unable to form words, contemplating what response he should give.

You continued your way to the door, but just as you were about to exit, you opened your mouth to speak, looking him in the eyes once again.

"I love you Jihoon. Can you at least, appreciate me and my efforts? I know you're stressed right now, but i'm really trying to make this work....can you at least try?" And with a slam of the door, you exited the building.

Woozi was left there to sit with his thoughts, simply staring into the bento box. And no, he did not go after you, the reason : unknown. No one, not even himself knew why he did not chase after you, he just sat there, not knowing how to feel.

As you were walking out of the building, you were not surprised to notice Jihoon not following you. Tears started staining your cheeks and your mind was blank as you continued to drive back to the apartment.

Jihoon continued to sit there the whole night and into the morning, slowly realizing the reality and beating himself up about it. It had gotten to the point he had mentally drained himself into a deep slumber on his desk.

It was almost as if nothing had changed. You sleeping alone in bed and Jihoon sleeping on his desk in the studio. Except this time, there was more than just exhaust on your minds. There was regret, sadness, hopefulness, anger, and frustration.

𝘈 / 𝘕 !

I finally edited this chapter! And by the way, i wrote and published a part 2 later on in the book for those who wanted a happy ending!