缘分 y͏u͏a͏n͏f͏e͏n͏ -; j͏u͏n͏g͏r͏i͏

h e r e y e s 她的眼睛

"yeye," he calls out gently to her, as she looks up with a blank look and tears in her eyes, and he notices the ribbon in her hand ― the ribbon that is worn by all sm idols which has the printing 'r.i.p jonghyun', and in the color of shinee's fandom, aqua blue.

"j-jeon," she greets him softly, before sniffing as she looks back at he hands. jeongguk then bends down slightly, placing his hand on hers while giving her a gentle squeeze, "shall we go?"

yerim nods her head weakly, as he reaches for her bag and her hand, and soon, the couple is out of red velvet's dressing room.

a few minutes later, the duo is sitting at the back of the van, with one of bts's managers at the wheel. "we will be heading off," he informs the couple, as he steps on the pedal, exiting the building while jeongguk glances at yerim, who is clutching on tightly to the side of his arm, while she leans her head against his shoulder, eyes shut yet some stray tears are flowing down the sides of her face.

he then reaches out and wipes them gently, before pecking the top of her head, "get some rest." and with that, the ride back to bts's old dorm becomes a silent one, with occasional sniffs from the girl.

"she's resting now, noona," jeongguk speaks softly into his cellphone, as he reassures joohyun that yerim is in safe hands, and that he will send her back to their dorm the next morning. hanging up shortly, the male glances at his girlfriend, who is wearing his hoodie and black sweatpants, staring blankly at her phone in her hands.

"jeon, i-i really miss him," she mumbles softly, as she looks up with a pained expression; the male then walks around his bed, sitting by the side of his bed as he wraps both his palms around hers, squeezing them gently, encouraging her to talk more, instead of bottling up her feelings. "i cannot believe that he's gone," she whispers, lowering her head as her tears fall again, with him wiping them away.

the male then pulls her into another hug, as she wraps her arms around him tightly while letting out a cry, burying her face in his shoulders with her entire body shaking, grieving for the loss of a close friend, a brother, a colleague and a friend. jeongguk tightens his embrace, as she cries out in his arms, as the male himself, tries to hold back his own tears as he cries for his girlfriend's sadness and grief.

he knows telling her 'it's okay, you will be okay' won't help for to get over the loss of somebody close to one, may take weeks, months or even years to move on and be strong again. different people cope with the loss of their loved ones differently, and all jeongguk knows he needs to do is to simply be there for her, be her support for as long as he can, protect her from things that may hurt her.

"i-it is really tough," she whimpers, as the male licks his lips, knowing that she's referring to all the negative comments against her online, and he knows that it has affected her terribly ― causing her to lose more confidence in herself, and being unable to stand before the public as openly as she used to. "i-i really don't know what to do anymore," she sobs softly, with her hands curl tightly around the back of his shirt. yerim couldn't understand why people will hate, why they will even tell her such things or what has she done to even deserve such cruel comments.

she started out with the dream of being a singer, to stand on the stage and she never expected to be facing so much negativity in the eighteen years of her life; even to the point where she was chastised at her close friend's funeral, and a while ago for her poker face, and lack of smiles.

and jeongguk can empathize for he has went through a similar thing during the first few years of bts's debut, where there are fans calling him out for taking too many lines in bts's songs, for always standing in the center of the group, for getting more camera attention on stages till the point that the youngest was afraid to even do anything. he became more doubtful about his own singing ability, and constantly needs his hyungs' reassurances and encouragement. it reached the point where he no longer dared to upload any selca on bts's twitter account, for he's afraid that the fans may call him out for seeking attention. but ever since he met yerim, he has become stronger, for himself and her overall, so that he can protect her and be there for her.

ever since then, jeongguk deleted any social media's applications on his phone, restricting his usage to only stuff he uses, like gaming applications and he barely read the comments about bts, knowing that there will always be both positive and negative comments.

"i know it is hard, but you're strong, yeye. you been through a lot since your debut, and i know that you're even stronger than that. you are talented, you're amazing ― you're writing songs, doing what you love, and you are doing a great job. and i know that you're missing jonghyun hyung, and i know what i say may not really comfort you but i just want you to know that he is always looking out for you, and wishes for your smile to return. but of course, take as long as you want to cry, to sob, to do anything because that's the way you can then recover and come back strongly. don't worry, i'm always here for you," he comforts her gently, patting the top of her head, as the younger one lets out another painful cry that break his heart.

half an hour later, jeongguk carefully lays yerim down, who has fallen asleep in his arms, and pulls the covers up, tucking her in. as he wraps the blanket around her, he watches the sleeping girl, who is holding on tightly to the hem of his shirt, causing him to chuckle softly.

leaning closer, he pecks her forehead gently, before whispering, "i love you, kim yerim, so much and i promise to protect your smile." he then tucks her hair behind her ear, while brushing his fingers gently against her cheeks. "i do anything to protect your smile," he mumbles lowly, before pulling the covers and patting her side gently. with that, the male then turns the lights off, crawling under the covers with her wrapped tightly in his arms, shielded and protected by his warmth.

and little did he know that yerim breaks into a small genuine smile of the entire day ― thankful for jeongguk's support, and encouragement during this period.

//. happy new year, everyone ♡ i hope everyone is having a great day, by starting 2018 right!
this chapter was written about a few days ago, and it is a little sad, but i hope jungri cheers you guys up! and i saw this little moment between them during 2017 mbc, and i can't wait to probably write something up! but not now, since i'm currently overseas.
well, happy 2018!