NUDES

30

She huffed, "Whatever."

"You look even cuter when you're mad." She was crossing her arms now, her mouth formed into a pout. "Tell you what, how about you put your mask on again and stay here while I get us some water?"

Her eyes turned to him and she nodded, "Alright, but put your mask on, too. We don't want a pack of rabid fans chasing us all the way to the Han River."

"Yes, ma'am." He stood up and gave her another look, "I have to tell you something when I return, wait here." He knew it was time for him to say it, and he couldn't wait until later.

As Jeongguk walked back to the food stalls, he couldn't help but wonder how he was going to start confessing to her. Does he start with the words hey, Lali, I have been meaning to tell you something or I know you'll be mad at me but I actually like you? He didn't know where to begin, to be honest.

He went to a food stall selling egg bread and said to the woman, "Two bottles of water and two gyeran-bbang, please." The woman took the money out of his hands when suddenly, someone touched his arm.

Turning around, he came face to face with three teenage girls, all looking up at him with amazement in their eyes. Holy fucking shit.

"Jeongguk oppa!" The girl in front of him shrieked, "It really is you!"

"Can we take a picture?"

"I love you!"

"Uh, no, I'm not Jeongguk." He tried to speak but the other girls started to grab his hand, his shirt, his arms, everywhere they could. I am in deep shit.

Other girls were also starting to hear their conversation because of the loud volume and they started to crowd around him, murmuring incoherent words.

He took it as a signal to grab the plastic bag the woman was holding for him and ran back to the bench where he left Lisa.

He found her at the same spot, mask on, and scrolling through her phone.

"Fans, hurry!" He told her, grabbing her hand as they sprinted through Myeongdeong's shopping district. She followed him easily, running by his side as he lead them to God knows where.

An alley... an alley... where is a nearby alley? He thought, panicked as they tried to fit through the crowd. Everyone was giving him looks of disgust as he tried to push through them. His head turned back, trying to find the fangirls as he locked eyes with the girl he talked to earlier.

"There he is!" There were 10 to 15 girls with her now, what the fuck.

"Guk, turn right!" Lisa pulled his hand to the right, turning into another intersection where there was a larger crowd. They pushed through them as usual, his eyes searching around for an alley or a place where they could hide.

"There's an alley over there!" He said through his gritted teeth and the girl understood. They slowed their footsteps and ducked their heads as they carefully trudged through the crowd, heading to the alley as discreetly as possible.

Lisa immediately spotted a dumpster, "Guk," She said in a low voice, rushed, "Get inside the dumpster. Now."

"Darling, you're not-"

"I'll follow right after, now go." She opened the dumpster for him and watched as he went inside. She checked the alley's entrance for the intruders and followed suit when she deemed it safe.

As Lisa closed the dumpster, the heat and the smell hit her nose. Luckily, there was only one garbage bag inside, making it fit for two people. "It's so hot in here." She scrunched her nose.

"It was your idea." Jeongguk replied, coming closer to her.

"If we didn't jump in your fans would've attacked us right there and we'd be exposed." She argued back in a murmur. He couldn't really see her face because of the darkness, but he knew she was frowning.

"Yeah, whatever. Thanks, darling." He tried to touch her face but was met with a pinch on his nose instead, "Ow!"

"Do you want them to open this dumpster and see us-"

"Where did he go?" A voice said from nearby, making them freeze. "He was just here!"

"He was with that girl!"

"Was that his girlfriend?"

"Probably just a friend-"

"They were holding hands, you idiot!"

"Ugh, that bitch. Let's go look further. There's no way they could've left this place without anyone spotting them."

The voices grew distant and they both released the breaths they were holding.

"I guess we're dead meat." Lisa sighed, "What are we gonna do now once the rumours start?"

"Deny it, obviously." He replied, ruffling his hair. "I don't think they saw your face though, they only saw me at the food stall and not at the bench."

She face palmed, "But still, it's possible that they've seen us! Ugh, how could we be so stupid?"

"Great minds think alike."

She slapped his arm, "How could you be so calm in this? I'm literally shaking... I don't know what my CEO would to when he finds out."

"We could have your unnies cover up for you." He suggested, finding her hand in the darkness. It was sweaty and indeed, shaking. He tried to calm her down by rubbing circles in her palm.

"Oh, God. I feel like I'm about to shit." She released a breath, "Guk, I think we should lay low for a while."

He hid his disappointment in his tone as he said, "I know. You'll be going to Paris anyway and I'll be busy with the muster. A week will do, I think."

It was quiet for while before she replied, "Yeah, I think so, too."

Aware of how much she's shaking, he pulled her in, encircling his arms around her. "We'll be fine, darling, you'll be fine. They didn't see you." He murmured, caressing her hair in reassurance.

"I'm scared, Guk." She sniffed. Only then he realised that she was crying and he pulled away to grab his phone and turn the flashlight on.

Indeed, her cheeks were streaked with tears as she looked at him with fear in her eyes. The sight of her broke his heart.

Gently, he lowered down his mask and closed the distance between them, kissing her tears away, and finally, her nose.

"Nothing's going to happen, Lali." He pulled her again in his arms, kissing her temple. "I'm sorry for dragging you into this mess." It was his fault for bringing her here, and now he was starting to regret it.

His confession can wait. The girl in his arms was so much more important than what he was going to say.

▪️

SOOMPI: BTS Jungkook caught on a date with anonymous girl

Kpop Starz: BTS Jungkook, dating?

ALLKPOP: BTS Jungkook and mysterious girlfriend caught holding hands in Myeongdeong

Jeongguk stared as articles after articles flooded his Twitter feed.

He was so, so, so, so, so relieved he wanted to yell on the top of his lungs. They didn't know the girl he was with was Lisa.

Thank the heavens.

He had dropped Lisa off to her apartment complex after spending thirty minutes in the dumpster and went straight to his dorm afterwards. He informed Namjoon about what happened and sad to say, their leader was frustrated. He fabricated a believable story for Jeongguk and Lalisa in case things didn't go as expected.

But it doesn't seem to be needed after all.

"Guk," Hoseok said from the kitchen door, surprising him, "The CEO wants to meet you in the office right now."

Here goes.