A/N: This chapter is for the ones who signed the petition!
Unfortunately, the ones who did not also still get to read it, but WP doesn't have the feature to select who reads. I need them to implement that.
****
As soon as he heard the door shut, Seokjin exhaled a long and slow breath. That had not gone according to how he had envisioned it going at all. On the other hand, he felt relieved that he had done away with it. At least he wouldn't need to be concerned with Jungkook any longer.
He was only worried about the possibility that Jimin might lose his job due to what he had said to Jungkook. He, however, hoped that would not be the case for Jimin. He didn't know Jimin well, but from the few interactions, he seemed like a nice guy. Also, he knew Taehyung had a sincere interest when it came to Jimin, so he didn't want anything to go wrong there.
He sighed as he concluded that it was no longer his problem to worry about, that he had done his best, and that he deserved a lot of respect for getting as far as he had gotten despite the things he had endured.
With a stretch of his arms, he spun and smiled, "you did good, Seokjin."
His grin vanished immediately as he became conscious of something he had not considered before. "Oh my god, how am I going to get home?"
"I could give Taehyung a call, or check to see if there is a bus, or- "It was around this time that the door to the hotel suite opened, and he was taken aback when he saw Jungkook standing there. He must have blinked many times before processing that he saw correctly.
"I am not here to provide you another opportunity. I left the room without gathering my belongings."
Jin pursed his lips and nodded his head in understanding. "Understood." He had not been expecting Jungkook back.
Jungkook avoided making eye contact with him and went directly to the room where he had been staying.
Not wanting any more awkward encounters, Jin turned to go to his room, but Jungkook's voice stopped him.
"When you are ready to leave the hotel, call the front desk; they will have a car take you home. The suite is fully paid for. Stay until tomorrow if that satisfies you."
Jin looked at Jungkook; he was pleasantly surprised that he had arranged for a ride home for him. That was something he certainly did not need to do.
"Oh, thank you. You didn't have to do that."
"I brought you here. It's important to me that you get back home safely. After that, what you do with your life does not matter to me."
"Make sense. Umm, well, thank you. I appreciate it."
"At least you are capable of appreciating something."
Jin was once again stunned; he couldn't understand Jungkook, even if he wanted to attempt to understand him.
"Goodbye, Seokjin."
"My best wishes to you, Jungkook, and I am sorry this did not turn out as you might have hoped."
After a brief pause, Jungkook looked directly at Jin and said, "There's no need to apologize for something you did on purpose. You gave in to your friend's pressure and agreed to go on a date with me so that your friend could date my assistant. You intended for this to happen. Don't feel like you need to apologize since I'm sure things turned out well for you.
It should be the other way around; I should be the one feeling bad for having entertained the notion that I could provide you an opportunity that is quite evident that you did not value. It is not your fault; I am to blame for it."
"Okay, maybe you are right. However, I should not have come here with you. Regardless if it benefits my friend or gives a benefit to me-"
"Seokjin, I am trying not to like you, and you are not helping by speaking the way you are. I don't want to be confused into believing you are regretful for what you have done to me."
Jin sighed, he wasn't sure what to say, and it had become common around Jungkook. He changed the conversation, "umm, just one thing, Jimin won't get in any sort of trouble for any of this, right?"
"There's no reason for Jimin to be in trouble, is there? Even though he wanted to take the day off work, he accommodated my request and made a significant effort to ensure we could go on this date. I informed you before, Seokjin, I am a person who is often misunderstood by others. Although I am frustrated, I am not frustrated with Jimin.
You have made me angry. If you had known that you did not want to go on a date with me, you should not have consented to come here first. That's my only issue with this, but you have proven why I remain single."
Jin rolled his eyes, "Jungkook, please let's cut the bullshit. I have told you no before, and you have never acknowledged it. Your head is so far up your ass that you think when I said no, I was saying yes or some make-believe shit you have in your head.
Please do not misunderstand me; you are very handsome. If I had never spoken to you before and then saw you for the first time, then yes, I would be drooling, but that is not the case since we have had conversations. You provide a lot of information to process. Way too much. The way you talk, the things you say, I don't know if you hear yourself."
Jungkook turned his back on Jin and said, "I should leave, and there is no need for you to be concerned about me asking you out on another date. If I could not understand your responses, I do so now. Have a pleasant trip back home, Seokjin, and all the best with the rest of your life."
*****
One week later
"I don't understand how he could go somewhere without telling me. I am his assistant. Is this what I get for what happened? I think he does this on purpose." Jimin groaned as he put his head on the desk and pushed away the coffee in front of him.
As he watched Jimin, Hoseok leaned against the wall and laughed. "Don't worry; he'll be back. Jungkook does whatever he wants. I think it was a very important meeting, and he didn't have time to tell us about it."
"It's simple for you to say. Since Seokjin told Taehyung what happened, and Taehyung told me, I've been freaking out about my job. I feel bad. Jungkook hasn't spoken to me. I haven't seen him. His office is right there! Does that make any sense? Do you think he wants me to leave?"
"You would have been fired. It would be best if you stopped worrying about it. I am sure that this has nothing to do with you right now. He will return."
"Where is Bam? He didn't ask me to feed or help Bam in any way. Even more strange. I am sleeping in Hoseok. I don't have to stay at work late. This has been happening all week, which isn't normal. He wants me gone, so I don't think I'm crazy."
"Bam is with Yoongi and me, so please, Jimin, stop complaining and enjoy this time. You know once his cra- you know that when he comes back, you'll wish you had more free time like you do now."
"Maybe you're right," said Jimin, looking up. "I will still text him. I don't want him to have anything bad to say about me. I do like working here. He usually reminds me that I am not as great as I think I am. It humbles me. I need that."
"You're crazy!" Hoseok laughed. "By the way, can you share Seokjin's new contact info with me?"
"Sure, but why?"
"It's kind of personal, I don't want to lie to you either, but I would appreciate it if you could share it."
****
"Jungkook, I think we should be able to handle this easily. I believe that's something that's common knowledge amongst us."
"I don't want to be here, so I'm not sure exactly what you need from me."
"Your brother tells me that you just had a failed encounter with someone you were hoping to date," the psychiatrist said as he gazed at Jungkook while leaning back in his chair and leaning forward slightly.
"There was no such thing as a failed encounter. I presented him with an opportunity, but he chose to ignore it. Simple. I have moved on."
"I think we should talk about that."
"I don't want to."
"I understand, but you and I cannot leave here until I can confirm with your mother that you are free to go, and I cannot accomplish that when you give me nothing."
Jungkook relaxed his shoulders and closed his eyes as he reclined back in the reclining chair. He brought his hands together and placed them on his stomach. "Well, it seems like we'll have to remain here."
The psychiatrist rose and groaned as he addressed Jungkook, "I've told you that if you meet someone and are interested in them, you should speak to me first. I am sure that you have the best intentions, but the way that you approach things and the way that you communicate may be quite confusing to someone who is not familiar with you."
He recognized that Jungkook was not going to respond to him, so he continued to talk, knowing very well how to get a response from him, "with what your brother told me, it seems you liked this guy. What kind of person is he? I am sure he probably lost out on the chance to know how amazing you are, didn't he?"
"He is younger. In the beginning, I was unaware of it. I had a pretty good idea that he was a younger man due to the way he appeared, but I didn't realize exactly how young he was until much later. He likes dogs. Did I tell you I got a dog?
I have no idea what I did wrong or where it happened. After we had met, I requested that he bring two cups of coffee with him. I had hoped we might have them together, but he only brought one and his buddy. The friend that he helped, after which he informed me that he does not want an opportunity with me."
Jungkook's psychiatrist, Kim Namjoon, nodded understanding as he listened to him.
"Seems like a lot occurred. Since a lot happened, would you mind if we began from the beginning and discussed it? What exactly did you like about him when you first met him? What piqued your interest? I know that you are not very frequently interested in other people."
Jungkook straightened his back, sat up, and rubbed his fingers through his hair; he spread his legs apart, leaned forward, and rested his elbows on his thighs while his fingers clung to his hair.
"I was on my way to a meeting when we met. I had just finished getting a cup of coffee and was about to return to the vehicle when I saw him. I should also mention that the large dog he was with was no match for his size. Nevertheless, I'm going to disregard it for the time being.
We established eye contact, and I took it as a cue to approach him. I did so, intending to introduce myself, but the dog, who had neither manners nor training, pounced on me and knocked me to the ground. This made me feel humiliated.
My assistant was there, as was my brother-in-law, you know who I'm talking about. It was an unpleasant experience for me at that time. The unfortunate occurrence led to us exchanging some unpleasant words. He protected the dog, and I think that was it."
Namjoon moved closer to Jungkook while maintaining his gaze on him the whole time. "Jungkook, you are holding back; what actually happened?" he asked.
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Did you get agitated because you experienced a sense of humiliation? Once that had happened, how did you communicate with him?"
"I told him to bring me two cups of coffee. I wanted a way to talk to him outside of the humiliation. He showed up with one and his friend. Then I got a dog. I offered him a job, but he blocked my number. I think he didn't like me, but it took me a while to understand. I still don't understand. Why doesn't he like me? I am a good guy.
I don't think I'm cut out for committed partnerships. I know my mother is eager for me to get married, but I think my only role in life is managing the company successfully."
"I don't agree, Jungkook. There is no doubt in my mind that you are capable of having a fulfilling romantic relationship. You will, however, need to put in a significant amount of effort to do it. You can decide whether or not to let it happen. Based on what took place, I have a fair understanding of why the individual could not see that you are a nice person. This is not a new topic for us; we have discussed it previously."
****
As Taehyung entered the living room, Jin raised an eyebrow. "Jimin sending you flowers? That's so sweet of him. I guess things are going well between the two of you." He commented as he eyed the flowers in Taehyung's hands.
Taehyung gave him a confusing stare, "these are not mine."
"Whose are they?"
"Kim Seokjin's."
"For me? From who? It better not be that creepy professor, I swear-"
"I don't think it's from that creep."
"Oh, who is from?"
"A Mr. Jeon Jungkook."
Jin's eyes widened, "what? You are joking?"
"Oh, there's a card too. I thought you said he wasn't interested in seeing you again."
Jin jumped off the sofa, took the flowers from Taehyung, and then went directly for the card. During the reading, he closed his eyes. "Of course."
"What does it say?"
"In his words, I quote, here's another chance to have an opportunity with me. Let's start by you walking Bam again. There is a schedule included."
"He is giving you your job back; that's nice."
"Taehyung, shut the fuck up!"
Taehyung laughed, "come on, Seokjin, he is better than the creepy professor."
"Do I have a sign on me that says crazies are welcome?" Jin asked in disbelief.