The weekend swiftly passed and when Monday came, the team continued with their busy schedule. Jieun was thankful that she had so much stuff to work on, so she doesn't really have the time to think about everything that happened last Saturday. It was even a surprise that Beomgyu and Yijeong never thought of asking her about the date. All that was left for her to worry was their project with Jungkook and Suran...which happened to be the reason why Yoongi called the team for an emergency meeting.
"Guys, we just got a bad news."
Everyone's attention was at their boss who kept walking back and forth at the meeting room.
"As we all know, Jungkook and Suran are supposed to record their song this week. However, Jungkook backed out."
The team was surprised with the sudden announcement. It was indeed a bad news. Jieun knew this was gonna happen, but she didn't really expect that Jungkook would quit so easily.
"So what should we do now? Was Suran-ssi already informed about this?" Yijeong felt frustrated. They prioritized the release of the song and getting everything cancelled was the last thing they would ever want.
"Suran noona has no idea yet, but I'll visit her later and tell her about the situation. Maybe I can ask her to sing the song by herself. She's a great singer anyway."
"Wait. I'll try to talk to Jungkook. Excuse me for a minute." Jieun got up from her seat and took out her phone. She proceeded to the lobby and called Jungkook.
—
"Jieun-ssi?"
"Jungkook, how are you?"
"I'm doing good. I'm at the airport right now, waiting for my flight."
"What? Airport?"
"Yeah. I've decided to take a break for a month. Finally, the agency approved my request.
"But what about the song? You were supposed to record it this week."
"Suga hyung didn't tell you? I called him and asked if it's okay to cancel."
"Yeah, but you did not give him any explanation. And you should've told me too. I'm also part of the team."
"I'm sorry, Jieun-ssi. I think you know the reason why, and I can't just tell hyung about that. I'm not yet ready to work with you again, Jieun-ssi. I want to give myself some time to move on."
There was a short while of silence before Jungkook could speak again. "Anyway the song will sound good for Suran-ssi. She can do it alone. I hope you understand."
Jieun somehow felt guilty. She hurt Jungkook, but she also thought that their personal issues should not affect their work. In the end, she gave up and tried to accept the situation. It must have been difficult for Jungkook.
"It's okay, Jungkook. I understand. I hope you'll enjoy your break. You take care, okay?"
"Yes. You take care too. Bye, Jieun-ssi."
Jieun took a deep breath before heading back to the meeting room. She still had no idea how to explain everything to the team.
—
"I'm sorry guys, I did all that I could. Jungkook said he needed to take a break. He's on vacation starting today."
"What do we do now?" Hoseok whined in frustration.
"We have to tell Suran-ssi. She was expecting so much for this song." Yijoung was starting to feel pressured.
Yoongi was still looking chill. "Relax, guys. I'll talk to her. Let's just hope that she'll agree with me. Or else, our efforts will be put to waste.
—
Yoongi visited Suran at her house to talk about Jungkook's decision of backing out from the song.
"Noona, we have no other choice but to make it your solo song. Are you okay with that?"
"Well, I'm not that confident. It's been so long since I did a solo, but I'll give it a try."
"You can do it, Suran noona. I know you can."
"But you know what, I have a better idea."
Yoongi waited for Suran to share what's on he mind. He's willing to do everything for the sake of releasing the song that has always been very special for Jieun.
"How about you let Jieun sing it?"
Yoongi was surprised with such suggestion. "Jieun?...Sing?" He was almost speechless.
"Jieun-ssi's voice is perfect for the song. I don't think I could sing it the way she does. I mean she owns it. The song belongs to her." Suran tried to persuade Yoongi.
"I don't know, noona. I think I told you about this before, but Jieun already stopped performing for a very long time. The best thing she could do for Genius Lab was to write and record demos and samples. I can never convince her to appear on stage again."
"Why won't she give it another try? I'm sure this will be a big break for Jieun; like a comeback that she deserves to have."
Yoongi wanted to agree with Suran's idea right away, but he knew how Jieun would never return to singing again. He wished he could just convince her easily. Maybe if he tries so hard, Jieun would agree.
"We'll talk about it first, noona." Yoongi answered.
"Great!" Suran clapped her hands.
"But what about you? You've been waiting for this comeback."
"Don't worry about me, Yoongi. Actually, I was starting to write a new song. I'm trying to experiment on music and I'm loving it so far. I will be very busy and maybe Jungkook's decision was somehow a blessing in disguise since I can't do promotions while working on my own song."
"That's good to know, noona. I'm proud of you." Yoongi felt happy for his friend. "Anyway, I'll consider your suggestion. But if Jieun won't accept, I hope I can still count on you."
"Don't worry Yoongi, she'll do it. You just have to ask and talk to her. It's not like you gonna confess your feelings for her already."
"Aish noona stop joking." Yoongi started blushing. "I have to go. I'll talk to Jieun so that I could inform you as soon as possible. I will still send you the demo just in case you have to sing it."
Yoongi drove back to his office to talk to Jieun. While on his way, he tried to memorize the words he should be saying for Jieun not to be surprised with Suran's suggestion.
—
"What? No way! I'm not gonna sing again!"
"Listen, Jieunie, I think Suran noona is right. Nobody could sing that song like you do. It belongs to you."
"Yoongi, anybody could sing it. If Suran-ssi can't, then we can just look for another artist. There are lots to choose from."
"But I want it to be you. Don't you remember when you first showed the lyrics to me? The way you tried singing the first lines that you wrote...I've always wanted to relive those moments." Yoongi frowned, hoping that somehow his friend could feel sympathy for him.
"Yoongi, that was years ago. Things have changed. Music was my first love, but music keeps on hurting me. Honestly, I just do my job because I need money. I'm no longer working on music out of passion. I don't think I can go back to doing it again."
Yoongi felt frustrated, but something in him doesn't want to give up. He believed that Jieun will accept his plea someday soon.
"What about we play a game?"
"Huh?" Jieun got confused.
"Let's play a game. Whoever wins will decide on what to do with the song."
"Yoongi, I already made my decision. I will never do what you want me to do."
"It's not yet final, Jieun. We both own that song. I also wrote parts of it so I think it would be unfair that you decide on your own. You choose: we play a game or we ask the team to vote?"
Jieun sighed. She would never choose voting since she knew what her fate would be in the hands of her workmates.
"Alright. Let's just play a game."
***
a/n: What game could it be? 👀😁
Originally, I only had 2-3 chapters left for the ending, but after going through everything, I decided to extend it a bit more. I hope this is a good news for you readers💙