STUCK IN THE MIDDLE (BTS FF)

Chapter 5: Chae Soo

Over the next couple of days you worked at three more events with BTS. Since that first day you had managed to get on with work and avoid V fairly well; after all, your job revolved around helping with all aspects of events, not just the group.

It hadn't been perfect, though. You didn't like having to keep your distance from the members, and more than once you caught V looking at you out of the corner of your eye, making you feel uneasy.

~~

During the third event, a photoshoot, you found yourself heading to a cafe with Jin after he asked a manager if he could go, and requested you as the staff member to accompany him. It wasn't too unusual, but you were surprised to be singled out as you weren't as close with Jin as some of the other members.

The photoshoot was taking place in rooms at the back of a medium sized company building, with a large cafe for employees down on the first floor. You walked there with Jin, chatting in a friendly way, though still a little shy.

Once you reached the cafe, Jin ordered two cappuccinos, despite your insistence that he didn't need to spend money on you. He gestured for you to sit with him at a small table by one of the large windows overlooking the city streets below.

He took a long sip of his coffee, then sat back in his chair. "So, it looks like V is still being stubborn, hm?"

"Huh?" You looked up at him, slightly taken aback. "You know about all that?"

"Of course!" He laughed, "I'm the eldest hyung! I look after all the members. Jungkook told me what happened, so I've been keeping an eye on Tae."

"Ah, I see... Well, I appreciate it - I just don't think there's anything I can do." You sighed.

"Well... It might not be my place to tell you this, but since he's acting that way..." Jin hesitated, a slightly serious look coming over his face. "Last year a girl betrayed Taehyung's trust. She attacked all of us, really, but Tae got hurt the most."

"Really? ..Do you mind if I ask what happened?" You asked, intrigued.

"Her name was Chae-Soo. She got to know us through her father, who was working within BigHit. She met V first out of the group, and they seemed to get on well. She was friendly and cute, and just a year younger than him.. To be honest, I think he came to care for her."

You frowned, feeling a strange knot in your chest as Jin spoke. You took a sip of your coffee to distract yourself from it, nodding for Jin to continue.

"So he sort of.. Introduced her to us, encouraged us to like her and would ask if she was around - you get the idea. The thing was, it turned out she was just using him. It was uncovered that she started leaking pictures of us online, selling information and even stealing things from us."

Your stomach dropped.
'No wonder he acted like that when he caught me in their room that night! He could have suspected anything...' You thought.

Jin continued, "she didn't actually care about him in the end, she was just obsessed with the idea of fame." He sighed. "She managed not to get arrested, but had to hand over all the pictures of us and anything she'd stolen. Now she isn't allowed to contact us or come to our shows, and her father ended up quitting out of shame..."

"That's awful, how could someone be like that?" You shook your head, staring out of the window. "So now Taehyung thinks I'm going to turn out to be like this Chae-Soo?"

"He felt guilty about it since he was the one who introduced her, even though it's not his fault. So now, since you're new, young and charming like she was, I'm sure those old feelings resurfaced. He doesn't think you're like her, he just... Doesn't want to let himself trust you yet."

You let out a deep sigh, mixed emotions swimming in your head. "I understand, truly... Broken trust leaves a permanent wound."

"Try not to worry about it, Y/N. The other members have already taken a liking to you - Kookie especially speaks well of you. Just give Tae a little time, I'm sure he'll come round." Jin said kindly, smiling gently.

"Thank you," you replied. "I'm sure it wasn't easy to tell me all of that, but it helps me understand him a lot better."

"I thought it would be best if you knew. Just, uh, maybe don't let Tae know I'm the one who told you?" He laughed, finishing off his coffee.

"Oh, of course! Don't worry. I'll prove to everyone that I'm trustworthy," you said with determination, smiling back.

~~~

After five of the busiest days of your life, you got your first break from working on location. BTS had two days of being back in their dorm and practice room before the next event, so you were back at the office during the day.

The story Jin had told you kept lingering in the back of your mind. The more you thought about it, the more you felt angry about it. You couldn't resist researching it, too, but only found a few vague articles related to the incident. Clearly it had been dealt with efficiently.

More than anything, it made you see V through different eyes. Being made a fool of, being completely used like that... No wonder he was so hostile. If only he hadn't walked in on you in their room that night, then he wouldn't need to be so suspicious.

You resolved to try and show him the best side of you. All you could do is work hard, really.

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Okay so this chapter was mainly about explaining the backstory! I'll put out he next part fairly soon - and believe me, it's much more exciting than this one! 😉