E S C A P E | | Bangchan

"Truth or Not-So-Subtle Teasing" - C H A P T E R 23

Tokyo was electric.

Even after the concert was over, Eclipse stayed behind—shoots, interviews, a magazine feature that meant way too much styling and way too little sleep. The company had booked them a penthouse suite with a skyline view and a minibar too well-stocked for a bunch of overworked idols.

The schedule had finally let up, and Jaeyun found herself in the living room of the suite, barefoot in sweatpants, sipping iced coffee while the others rotated through showers and skincare.

That's when it started.

"So..." Sora said, dragging out the word like it held gossip. "We're just gonna pretend you didn't sneak off to the club terrace last night with your phone for twenty minutes?"

Jaeyun froze mid-sip. "I didn't sneak—"

Yuna snorted. "You absolutely did. And you came back red in the face and wouldn't meet anyone's eyes."

"I was just—airing out," Jaeyun tried, too quickly.

"Sure," Minseo chimed in, leaning over the couch arm. "And were you... airing out your feelings for Bang Chan?"

Jaeyun nearly choked. "What?!"

"Oh come on," Sora laughed. "We're not blind. You've been weird ever since that party. Like—lost in your head, spacing out, smiling to yourself. Suspicious behavior."

"Seriously," Minseo added. "Are you two... something?"

"No!" Jaeyun said, too fast. Then, quieter, "Not really."

The room went dead silent. Three sets of eyes locked onto her like hawks.

"Not really?" Yuna echoed. "What does that even mean?!"

Jaeyun groaned and pulled a pillow over her face. "It means it's complicated."

Sora ripped the pillow away like a dramatic big sister. "So un-complicate it."

"It was just—" She hesitated, fingers twisting the hem of her hoodie. "A moment. At the party."

Yuna raised an eyebrow. "A moment."

"A... very close moment," Jaeyun admitted, cheeks heating. "And I may have called him drunk last night."

The screams that followed nearly blew out the hotel windows.

"You what?!"
"Jaeyun!"
"Dear God."

Jaeyun buried her face in her hands. "I didn't mean to. It just kind of happened. I told him he was hot and sexy and that everything he does drives me crazy."

Silence.

Then Minseo: "Okay but... you're not wrong."

More laughter. Jaeyun couldn't help but smile—even if her stomach twisted a little.

"It's not just about attraction," she said after a beat, softer now. "It's like... I see him. And I think he sees me too. But it's scary, you know?"

Yuna leaned in gently. "Scary because it's real?"

Jaeyun nodded.

"You don't have to figure it all out right now," Sora said, surprisingly serious. "But maybe stop pretending like it doesn't matter."

"It matters," Jaeyun admitted, quiet. "More than I want it to."

They didn't tease her after that.

Instead, Minseo threw a blanket over her, Yuna brought over more snacks, and Sora queued up some trashy reality show.

And for the first time in days, Jaeyun let herself just be—messy, confused, and maybe a little in love with the boy she wasn't supposed to be thinking about.