ILL HEARTS

17

Jungkook ~ May 3, 2019

It might have been the first time I walked into our locker room with a smile on my face, and no one missed it.

"Are we gonna talk about that?" Yoongi asked, pointing at my smile, his face lit up at the sight. I shoved him away, but lighter than usually, and laughed. "What? Are you shy? Did I make you... flustered? Do you have butterflies? Because you are in love?"

"Stop talking about it," I whined, hiding my head in my locker. It might have also been the first time my face was on fire because of them. "Don't you have other things to discuss in this room?"

"Other? Yes. Better? No," Hoseok said. "We watched your metamorphosis in the first row. Of course it's our number one topic."

"Metamorphosis?" Yoongi snorted, crossing his arms on his chest. "The fuck are you? A biologist now?"

"Tell us something about you two," Namjoon chimed in, breaking through their bickering before Hoseok could slap Yoongi with his rolled-up shirt.

There was so much to say, but sharing deep and serious things with them wasn't really my thing yet, so I stayed on the surface level. I told them about the flowers, and a few times we hanged out doing nothing but lying side by side on my bed, watching movies or trying to play video games, my skin burning just by the feeling of her. I told them just about Eunbi, too, and how much I loved seeing her smile. And how beautiful she was, inside and outside, and how I wished I'd known it sooner.

"Oh, and this," I said, rolling up the sleeve of my t-shirt. "She designed it."

"You got a tattoo for her?!" Yoongi roared so loud everyone on the street must have heard him, and walked to me to make sure the ink was real. I grimaced when he tried to wipe it off with saliva on his thumb, eyes growing bigger when it didn't work. "Why an octopus?"

"No reason."

"Liar! Why an octopus?"

"Cause... you know Finding Nemo?"

"Who doesn't?" Hoseok frowned.

"So, Eunbi has this weird obsession with everything sea related. There is this adorable octopus in Finding Nemo, Pearl, and I've been calling Eunbi Pearls for a while. So... you know..."

"You're so fucking whipped, I'm loving it." Yoongi grinned, punching my arm twice too hard. "Just watch him become the boyfriend of the year."

I rolled my eyes, but giggled, pulling my shoulders to my ears. No matter how much I'd pretend that they were just overreacting, my body would never support my lies. I wanted everyone to watch me become the boyfriend of the year. I wanted to be a boyfriend. Not any boyfriend, her boyfriend. I wanted to be free to show her, with no limits, how much I cared.

Before I could move to another room for my solo practice an hour into the training, my coach called me to his room. My manager waiting for me inside was an overdone view. It was more surprising to not see him there. I greeted him with a handshake, and took a sit on the other side of the desk.

"What crazy offer do you have for me?" I chuckled, ruffling my sweaty hair, and pushing them back to let my skin breath. This room was the smallest and the stuffiest place in the whole club, especially in the middle of the practice. It felt like being wrapped in a plastic bag.

"Nothing that crazy. A business meeting."

"With?"

"Shin Jiwon."

I furrowed my eyebrows, pursing my lips. "Who's Shin Jiwon?"

My manager sighed, knowing I sucked when it came to names of the business side of my career. I knew who I fought against, but anything else flew by me quicker than wind. "Shin Jiwon is a very influential person in the industry. If people see you with her, and if you manage to impress her, your career can catapult forward."