BEHIND THE SCENES

chapter 136: mature thoughts

"See? Seokjin-oppa knows it too." Jieun nodded slowly. "I know you already made the decision to go ahead and quit the industry... but I'm sure you yourself can see that other stuff... they don't suit you the way music does. Just like how you encouraged me to pursue my makeup career when I was clearly not cut out for reporting... I just wanna encourage you right now to reconsider your decision to leave the music industry. We can find other options, Jungkook-ah - you can leave the k-pop industry... but don't ever give up on your passion of pursuing music. Everyone can see that you're made for music, and I'm sure you can too."

Jungkook nodded slowly. "You're right. And quite frankly, today has really provided me with a great opportunity to reflect on my decision. Thank you for telling me about what Jennie Kim and Min PD-nim are doing for me, Jieun-ah. I'll see how that and Seokjin-hyung's gig goes... and make a decision from there."

"Mm-" Jieun beamed. "That's a good idea."

"Finally, you're smiling," Jungkook said with a bright smile as he prodded Jieun's nose gently. "But unfortunately, I might need to ruin your mood a little by turning your attention to your best friend and housemate."

"Hm-?" Jieun raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Byulyi-unnie...? What about her?"

Jungkook cleared his throat. "Well, you see..."

•-•-

"Jennie-ya."

"Hm?"

"Thank you."

Jennie stopped in front of the apartment building and looked up at Yoongi. The scarf was still wrapped around both of them, so they stood close together in the cold.

"Why are you thanking me all of a sudden?"

"I don't know-" Yoongi shrugged. "I just wanted to say it."

Jennie raised her eyebrows. "Hm."

"Maybe it's because we're almost halfway through filming now," Yoongi explained. "So I'm finally starting to feel it - that like, all this is real... and all this is actually happening."

Jennie chuckled softly. "But you only have yourself to thank for all this, not me. All I've been supposed to do is act... but I still keep getting into trouble again and again."

"That's not your fault either," Yoongi retorted. "People just want to see you in trouble so bad, that's why they're constantly looking for ways to bring you down. How many of those rumours about you are actually true? Practically none of them."

"Ah..." Jennie smiled shyly as she glanced at the ground. "Well... if you put it that way, that's true, I guess..."

"Earlier I was thinking..." Yoongi pursed his lips. "We can probably completely filming in the next two to three weeks or so... After that, editing will take place for maybe a month and the drama will be uploaded by late December to early January. The moment this drama is released, I wonder how different our lives would be."

"It'll be really different, of course." Jennie laughed as she walked towards a nearby bench, dragging Yoongi along with her. "I mean... at least, I hope so."

Yoongi nodded in agreement as he took a seat next to her. "Well, me too."

"I know it's not good to set our expectations too high," Jennie said slowly before turning to Yoongi. "But... just out of curiosity - what are your goals for your debut drama? I'm sure you must have thought of it before."

"I would be lying if I said I didn't." Yoongi let out a small chuckle. "But... my goals aren't that high, to be honest."

"Why?" Jennie frowned. "Isn't it good to set your goals higher? That way, maybe you'll achieve higher results as well."