SEOUL, SK
KOOK & CHAE
—
Chaeyoung ate what was left of her breakfast. It was quite early in the morning, and she woke up with a craving for pancakes. She couldn't wait until the rest of her members woke up, but she prepared a batch for when they did.
She had been having trouble sleeping this whole week, especially the days after her panic attack and Jungkook showing up at their apartment. There were too many thoughts and troubles swarming in her mind for her to fall asleep peacefully.
Her talk with the girls that she told Lisa they would have had gotten delayed as something came up for Jennie that made her missing in action. And now, she had the stress of a looming discussion with the girls that could happen at any moment.
As she was about to put away her dirty dishes, the lock to their apartment clicked and their door opened. Chaeyoung was confused on who would be entering as she thought all the girls were still in bed.
She slowly crept out of the kitchen, afraid of who might have just walked into their building. She grabbed a frying pan as a weapon to be safe.
Once she turned the corner into their foyer, she was ready to attack the unknown individual, when she realized who it was.
"Jisoo-unnie?!"
"What are you doing?!" the older girl gasped, seeing that she almost got hit by kitchen equipment.
"Omo, I thought you were a burglar or something!" Chaeyoung quavered, clutching her chest as her anxieties had increased.
"Mianhe," Jisoo apologized nervously, scratching the back of her neck.
Once Chaeyoung managed to calm herself down, she asked, "Where were you? I didn't know you went out, I thought you were still asleep."
Jisoo seemed to hesitate before responding, "I-I went for a morning jog." Her eyes were everywhere except meeting Chaeyoung's.
She looked her unnie up and down. Jisoo was wearing a black hoodie, jeans, boots, sunglasses, and a mask. This didn't look like attire one would wear on a run.
"You went jogging in that?" Chaeyoung questioned.
Jisoo froze. She knew that she couldn't think of a good enough excuse to convince her, but she was reluctant to tell the truth. Never telling another soul of this before, it took her a few seconds before she could form words.
"Okay, I— I snuck out last night," she paused, waiting for Chaeyoung's angry reaction but she didn't receive one. Instead, her younger member was just listening intently with comforting eyes. "And I've just come home."
Chaeyoung reached out for her unnie's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Although she couldn't see her expression clearly as her face was covered, she knew she struggled to let that out in front her being the oldest. But Chaeyoung wasn't mad at all. It was more than she herself could have ever done, so she honoured her honesty.
"It's okay unnie," she assured with a small smile. "We're adults."
Jisoo felt her chest soften up, she was glad to hear that. She took off her sunglasses, mask, and shoes before Chaeyoung eagerly led her to sit on the couch together.
"Tell me everything," Chaeyoung squealed like a teenage girl at a slumber party, just after calling themselves adults. "If you're comfortable of course."
The older girl let out a soft chuckle at her cute behaviour. Jisoo avoided telling the girls, or anyone, about what she had been doing lately, not because it was anything truly bad, but talking about it made it feel more real. And that scared her.
"I was with Park Jinyoung," she finally confessed, which felt like a renewing breath of fresh air after keeping it in for so long.
"Omo, unnie isn't he a bit too old for you?!" Chaeyoung teased.
"Yah, not JYP you idiot!"
She let out a burst of laughter at her unnie's disgusted reaction. Of course she knew who she was talking about, but she wanted to make Jisoo feel better and lighten the mood. Although, she didn't seem to find the joke as amusing as Chaeyoung.
"The one from GOT7," Jisoo continued when her laughs died down.
"Mhmm, and then?" Chaeyoung asked eagerly.
"You don't seem surprised."
"We know he's the reason why you wanted to go to Jinhwan-oppa's party so bad," she explained. She wished she hadn't been so weak that time so she could have witnessed Jisoo and Jinyoung together.
"Ah, we should have been more secretive," Jisoo laughed.
She thought she was being slick. Everyone was mingling with the opposite sex that night, so she assumed people wouldn't think much of it if she spent time with Jinyoung.
"Yeah, do people think they become invisible at clubs?" Chaeyoung retorted. This was definitely not a reference to how Jungkook carelessly had another girl in his arms the whole time. "But anyways, congratulations on your relationship unnie!"
Jisoo was quick to deny, shaking her head and waving her hands. "Ani, it's completely casual."
Chaeyoung went from pure joy to complete shock in a matter of seconds. She stared at her in disbelief. In all the years she had known her, Jisoo always seemed like a committed relationship type of girl. Not that there was anything wrong with not being that, it was just surprising, especially out of all their members. But then again, who was she to talk?
"So... like friends with benefits?" she asked.
"Sure, I guess you can phrase it like that," Jisoo replied, her cheeks growing red from embarrassment.
The only other person who knew of their disposition was Jackson. He had caught her sneaking out of their dorm one time, and they had to wrestle him down to stop his screams that would wake up all their members. And now, Chaeyoung had caught her sneaking in, which tells her that she may need to work on her sneaking skills.
"When did it start?" Chaeyoung asked. She had a million questions that kept coming up the more Jisoo answered them.
"A few weeks ago?" even Jisoo was quite unsure. "Maybe while you were on your trip."
It was quite a whirlwind of a romance in actuality. The two had gone to a bar for a few drinks after a long day of hosting a music show together. Jinyoung had been the one to ask the invite, but surprisingly, Jisoo was the one to initiate the first move. The mix of the strong alcohol and desire for a man's touch had driven her to land a kiss on him, and the rest was history.
She assumed their relationship would end there, but Jinyoung had messaged her in the days following if she would be up for more. She knew there were consequences and risks to doing it, but heck, if there was a time in her life to do these sort of things, it would be now. She wasn't getting any younger, nor frankly, any action in years.
Chaeyoung thought she couldn't be more surprised, but she was proven wrong. "Wah, and you kept it a secret for this long?"
"I'm sorry," Jisoo apologized again. "I wanted to tell the truth, believe me. But I didn't know how to say it. I know you guys would never judge me, but being the eldest, I felt the need to be more responsible. I didn't want to change your perceptions of me."
Jisoo was almost 30 years old. She knew there was nothing wrong with participating in adult activities, but it felt weird talking about them with her members, a group of girls who had never once discussed any sexual or even just romantic partners (especially when those activities included someone she wasn't actually in a relationship with).
"Awe, unnie," Chaeyoung pouted. "There's no way in hell I would ever see you differently! We're human, we have our desires."
"Thanks for understanding Rosie," she said in a soft voice, trying to hold back tears.
Jisoo was grateful. Out of everyone, she avoided her the most as Jinyoung was the reason she wasn't there for her that night like the others. And, if she didn't pressure her members to go, Chaeyoung would've never witnessed that sight of Jungkook and gotten hurt. She knew that Chaeyoung would never blame her, but she felt that it was her fault anyways.
"My only concern is— are you being careful?" she asked.
"Aside from you, there's only one other person who for sure knows," Jisoo explained. "And we've kept our meetings to the late hours so no paparazzi would be out."
"Well, okay, yes, but I meant with your heart," Chaeyoung chuckled as her unnie missed her point. "Even though it's just casual, it doesn't stop any feelings from forming. I trust that you know what you're doing but—"
Jisoo had pondered about it for awhile, the real status between her and Jinyoung. But he seemed to only be in it for the fun and exhilaration too, so she didn't dare ask if he felt anything more. Their arrangement had been quite simple and easygoing for some time now. It was a nice release from her overwhelming reality. She didn't want to risk losing it by asking the dreaded question 'what are we?'
"Don't worry, we've both strictly set our boundaries," she responded. "I don't see myself liking him like that."
Chaeyoung raised a suspicious brow. There had been many signs to point otherwise. "Then why did you want to see him so bad at the party?"
Jisoo hesitated in answering that question as the truth was quite embarrassing. "I-I thought I could get some that night," she mumbled.
The younger girl's eyes widened at her unnie's unexpected boldness. "Oh no, was I being a cock block?" she gasped, remembering they all had to leave early because of her.
"And I have officially reached my limit for this conversation," Jisoo almost choked on her own spit. "Why are you even up so early?"
Jisoo assumed that it would be fine for her to walk into their apartment like normal. Their first schedule wasn't until much later, so it was unusual that Chaeyoung was even awake at this time.
"My sleeping pattern is so weird now," she admitted. "I think it's just because of stress."
"You need rest," Jisoo comforted. "Compared to us, you have a whole public relationship to worry about plus our comeback. I can't even imagine how I would act if that happened to Jinyoung and I instead."
She always felt bad for Chaeyoung. This industry is truly scary. Just one mistake had led all of this to happen to her, while Jisoo had made multiple (and still counting) and still had not gotten caught.
"I'm getting through it," Chaeyoung sighed. She doesn't know how she is, but she is.
"How did your conversation go with Jungkook by the way? When Jennie let him in?" Jisoo emphasized on the other girl's name to make sure she knew it wasn't her idea.
"I'm thankful he went all this way to apologize and comfort me," she said slowly. "But what does it all mean? And he did it with no hesitation, as if he didn't just spend the night with someone else."
Chaeyoung did not know what happened after the left the party. Knowing Jungkook, he had probably gone home and bed the girl. It never occurred to her until that night that he most likely did not stop his playboy activities during their fake relationship. She shuddered at the thought of him touching other women at night and then proceeding to hold her hand for the press.
But for someone who claimed to despise her so much, why would he go through all this trouble for her? Not even guilt or remorse would be enough reasons for a man with so much hatred. Even Jisoo didn't know how to react. With Jinyoung, he made his intentions clear from the very start and he hadn't acted like anything else since then.
"I think... it's safer to just not think anything of it," Jisoo advised. "You'll only get hurt."
She was probably right. Chaeyoung has heard Jungkook say, numerous times, that their relationship was just another bullet point in his job description. And although he was doing more than what was required of him and it was quite difficult to not be curious, she shouldn't overthink it. The last time she got her hopes up, she very publicly bursted into tears at a foreign airport. Thank God there were no pictures released of that.
"You're right," she agreed before standing up from her seat. "Go get a bit of sleep now too."
"I know Jinyoung-sunbae must've kept you up all night," Chaeyoung added with a wink before she ran to her room to avoid her unnie's wrath.
Jisoo threw a couch pillow at her, but she was too quick and it landed on her closed door.
☾･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
Chaeyoung sat down in front of the CEO of YG, pale and anxious as she was getting flashbacks from the time before.
"You must be wondering why I called you to my office," Hyunsuk said. Wondering was an understatement. She was scared out of her mind. Thoughts of what could have gone wrong again or that they had been exposed plagued her endlessly on her way there.
It had been hours since her conversation with Jisoo. The group was once again at their practice room at YG headquarters. Their comeback was only weeks away, and they were dancing and singing nonstop, all in preparations for a perfect performance. But their first run through had been cut short when their manager reappeared, saying that Chaeyoung's presence was requested at Hyunsuk's office.
Her girls annoyingly teased her as she reluctantly exited, recounting the last time she had been pulled away to speak with their boss. It felt like she was a kid getting sent to the principal's office, again.
"Don't worry it's nothing bad," he reassured her with a soft smile. He must have noticed how nervous she was. "It's actually about a opportunity that had been brought upon us months ago, but because of your comeback preparations and this whole relationship ordeal, I never had the chance to tell you."
Upon hearing this, Chaeyoung was even more curious. This not what she was expecting on the elevator ride up here. If this was all it was, why did it require a private meeting with the CEO?
"What is it?" she asked.
"It's to be featured on an idol's first solo album," he replied. "On any normal occasion, I would have just made the decision being the head. But since you're in such an irregular position, I must ask you first."
"Wae? Whose album is it?"
"A certain BTS member," he said slowly.
Chaeyoung rolled her eyes internally. No way was she going to be involved with Jeon Jungkook more than she already was. She wondered what crime she committed in her past life to have received such bad karma. Was it not enough for her to pretend to date him, but sing with him as well?
"Not the one you most expect," he continued. "It's Kim Taehyung."
Chaeyoung was in disbelief, her mouth hung agape.
"We wondered if this was a good idea because your 'dating' one of his members. Sihyuk even tried asking recently if it can be anyone else, but Taehyung insisted that it must be you, and threatened to keep delaying his album if not," he explained further. "But ultimately, you are allowed to say no to the whole project."
Chaeyoung sat there listening to what he said, but not knowing how to respond. If she wasn't involved in a dating scandal right now, she would have taken the opportunity right away. She always wanted to work with him, any BTS member (except Jungkook) in fact. But because she entangled with Jungkook, it made the decision more complicated to make.
What would society think? Would they judge her for being involved with two members of the biggest boy group in the world? It was just one song, but the public had a tendency pull at strings and overreact.
"What do you think about it?" she asked her boss politely. If anyone knew best about the workings of this industry, it would be him.
"Well, people will definitely have something to say about it, but that's with anything in this line of business," he responded. "Fans might even perceive it as good because it shows that BTS is close with you and accepts you as their maknae's girlfriend."
Chaeyoung listened intently. Her CEO had a point, but she was still on the fence.
"Would I be able to have some time to think about it more?" she asked.
Hyunsuk nodded, "Yes, you have until the same time tomorrow. I will email more details about it to your manager and she will let you know."
"Thank you," she said before bowing to him to show her respects and exiting his office.
Chaeyoung heaved a great sigh once she was in the elevator. She didn't know what to do. She had a million questions running in her mind. But one that she did not think she would be curious about at all. What would Jungkook feel?
Even though they have spent a lot of time together recently, they weren't actually together and they have established that repeatedly, especially after the club incident. Certainly, he wouldn't feel anything. He hated her guts and wouldn't care about what she did with her career. Yet why did she feel some concern?
She buried her face in her hands and ruffled her fingers through her hair. She must have been losing her mind.
When she came back to the practice room, her members were eagerly awaiting her return at the door.
"That was quick," Jisoo noted. "What did he say?"
Chaeyoung plopped down on the floor. She was exhausted. It was as if everything was piling up on top of her and she was suffocating underneath it all. Though this was a good thing, the decision was troubling her. And within her life lately, it was one struggle after another.
"They want me to record a duet with Kim Taehyung-sunbae," she replied with no emotion.
All of the girls' eyes widened in shock.
"Another BTS member? You're a player Rosie!" Jennie teased.
"Wah, jinjja? I'm so jealous!" Jisoo cried.
"Otteoke?!" Chaeyoung groaned before going on to tell them what their CEO explained to her and what she felt about it afterwards.
There was a silence as her members thought of how to respond. All of them agreed that they would have said yes immediately, but since another person was involved, it made it more thought provoking.
"I think you should take the opportunity. I know you're concerned about how this will affect you and Jungkook. But you have to think about your own career and how this will advance it. BTS songs chart at #1 on Billboard!" Jennie exclaimed, clinging on to her arm.
"But unnie, remember how much hate you got when you collaborated with Yoongi-oppa?" Chaeyoung brought up.
Jennie's excited expression fell into a more sad one. Last year, she had gotten the chance to share a special stage at an awards show with Min Yoongi. Their interactions were very brief, and their few practices were amidst a very busy time for her solo career, so she wasn't able to get to know him or fully enjoy the opportunity. Though their performance went well, many BTS fans still had a lot of negative comments to say about her.
They called her an attention seeker or gold digger, like she was using him to become more famous.
Those reactions really took a toll on her mental health, and while she would've liked to develop a friendship with the famous rapper, it didn't seem like it was feasible. He'll forever stay as an untouched contact on her phone.
"Things are different now," she brightened up, still thinking it was a good idea. "We're a lot more well-known."
"Yeah, besides, it's just one recording, two max," Jisoo added, noticing that Jennie didn't want to continue with that topic. "People will say what they want to say."
"But... isn't it a bit suspicious that Taehyung-sunbae insists it to be you?" Lisa questioned, having a heightened sense of protectiveness over Chaeyoung, especially after recent events. "Do you think maybe he likes you?"
Chaeyoung's eyes widened. She profusely shook her head no. "Omo, there's no way."
"Yeah, she's dating Jungkook," Jennie chimed in, which earned her an eye roll from Chaeyoung. "Like bro code, you know?"
Jisoo laughed at her younger members' nonsense. "Anyways, he probably just thinks your voice is best fit for the song. But your health is the most important thing, if this will just add on more to your plate, you don't have to take it."
Chaeyoung smiled as she felt comforted by the eldest's words who was referencing things from their deep talk this morning. Truth be told, she really did want to say yes underneath it all. But what Jisoo said was a good comment. She already had many things going on in her life. It would have been good for her, but would she survive?
"Maybe I'll discuss things with Taehyung-sunbae, to see how much work I have to do," she agreed standing up from her seat.
Losing that newfound confidence she got a second ago, she stuttered, "And... I should ask Jungkook first. It's his fake relationship too."
After saying this, she noticed that the girls in front of her gave one another a suspicious glance.
"What was that about?" Chaeyoung asked.
"Oh, nothing," Lisa waved it away as the other two nodded.
"I'm just thinking because he promised to be more careful after that incident in the club," she explained. "I should as well."
"But it's one of his members," Jennie countered. "He must have given Taehyung-sunbae the green light before he even considered asking you."
Chaeyoung nodded her head slowly. What the older girl said made a lot of sense. The two were best friends and lived in the same home, there was no way Taehyung did not let Jungkook know of his plans to feature Chaeyoung on his album.
"Let's just keep practicing," she sighed, wanting the attention away from her.
"Yah, out of everyone, I never expected you to betray us like this," Jennie cried, walking to her position.
Chaeyoung giggled and went over to start the music.
☾･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
Jungkook read over the script in his hand for the fifth time. BTS was currently at a shoot for an advertisement for this new product they were endorsing. The production was running a bit behind so he had been sitting for quite awhile.
"Kook, your phone is ringing!" he heard Jin yell.
He looked up from his paper and saw his hyung looming over his cell, taking a peek at who was calling him.
As Jungkook got up from his seat and walk over to where his phone was charging, Jin gasped loudly as he realized who it was.
"Omo, it's Chaeyoung-ah!" he exclaimed, immediately unplugging Jungkook's phone and about to answer the call before it was snatched away. "Let me talk to her!"
"Aish, go away hyung," Jungkook shooed him.
"Yah, show me some respect!" Jin shouted at him before stomping away, saying some things under his breath that Jungkook couldn't quite hear.
"Hello?" his greeting sounded more surprised than he intended it to.
"Hi," she replied softly from the other end of the call.
Days had already passed since the last time he spoke to her, which was at her apartment. And that conversation did not end well, especially since it was cut short because he was forced into hiding to avoid death.
He didn't try contacting her again after that, assuming that she needed her space and if he attempted to talk to her again, it would just make things even worse. His lecture from Yoongi also took a factor in this as reaching out to her again would only constitute more confusion and misunderstandings.
Jungkook cleared his throat and spoke in a deeper voice. "Why are you calling? It's not in the schedule."
"Haha, funny," Chaeyoung said sarcastically, trying to mask the fact that she was a bit taken back by his demeaning tone. "Anyways, I just thought it would be better than try to explain on text."
"What is it?" he asked coldly.
Chaeyoung resisted the urge to hang up on him as she was not liking his attitude. "Do you think I should accept Taehyung-ssi's offer?" she asked, going straight to the point.
What? Offer? Jungkook furrowed his eyebrows. He did not know what she was talking about, but he did not want to seem clueless in front of her.
"Why should I care?" he lied.
He did care.
Why was his hyung asking things from Chaeyoung without him knowing? Although they all knew their relationship was for pretend, there should still be some common courtesy, right? But then again, Taehyung hadn't even been speaking to him about, well, anything.
"I thought you would say that," Chaeyoung grumbled. She wondered why he was acting like this, like old Jungkook she asked to never come back.
"Okay, I'm busy," Jungkook said. "Bye."
Right after the conversation ended, Jungkook searched around the room for the one person he knew he could trust. Yoongi left an impact on him since their discussion in the hallway, and now he was the hyung he felt most comfortable in talking about matters involving Chaeyoung.
He spotted him munching on some fruit that was left on the snack table. It was a good thing that he was alone and had no other members with him.
"Do you know something about Taehyung-hyung asking Chaeyoung for something?" Jungkook immediately asked once he was in front of him, not even saying a hello.
Yoongi was startled by his sudden appearance. "Ani," he managed to say. He seemed confused on why that connection would even happen. Taehyung always acted like the least interested in Chaeyoung and their whole fake relationship business out of the whole group. "Why don't you ask him yourself?"
It would have been his first option, if it weren't for Taehyung acting weirdly around him for almost three weeks. At first, he thought that Taehyung might have just been going through a difficult time, but then he sees him laughing and messing around with the others like usual that left him thinking that maybe he only had a problem with him.
The tension bothered him, and he has tried asking him if anything was wrong. But like that time in their apartment when they both returned home around the same time, Taehyung would deny it before proceeding to go to a space where Jungkook wasn't. After a few times of this happening, he just stopped trying.
"It's hard to approach him," he admitted. "He's been avoiding me lately."
"It doesn't hurt to ask one question," Yoongi replied, feeling no sympathy for him. "I'm not gonna ask him for you, you man-child."
His hyung walked away, leaving him alone with his problems. He sighed deeply knowing he had no other option but to confront Taehyung. He looked around the building once again, this time in search for a different hyung.
Jungkook caught him speaking with Jimin near the director's camera. Maybe it was better that there was another person there, just in case something happened.
As soon as he got closer towards them, he noticed Taehyung's expression change into a more serious one, which made him more nervous to speak.
"Hyung?" he squeeked.
Taehyung turned towards him. This was probably the first time he acknowledged his presence in while. "Oh?" he asked.
"I-I was just wondering if you offered something to Chaeyoung lately," he stuttered.
The tension between them was so suffocating to the point where even Jimin had felt it. He should have probably left so the two could converse privately, but being the nosy person he was, he couldn't help but feel curious on what business Taehyung would have with the girl.
"Oh that?" he replied plainly, like it was something normal. "I invited her to record a song with me for my album."
Both Jungkook and Jimin were surprised. This was all news to them. One would think that since Chaeyoung had such a connection to BTS already that Taehyung would have mentioned something about this before.
"Jinjja?" Jungkook asked, wanting to confirm if he heard right.
"Ne, why is something wrong?" Taehyung questioned, folding his arms over his chest. "I figured it would be okay since you're not truly together."
The man had a certain condescending tone to his voice that the two were not used to. It was as if he was speaking with no room for compromise or empathy.
And though he was correct in terms of their fake relationship, Jungkook would have just appreciated the heads up. He looked like a deer in headlights. Would he even have known if Chaeyoung didn't ask for his opinion?
"No, you're right," Jungkook shook his head. "Just wasn't expecting it, that's all."
"Good," Taehyung responded with no emotion before proceeding to walk away.
Jimin, having witnessed the weird conversation between them, looked towards Jungkook for answers.
"What the hell just happened?" he asked, only to receive a small shrug from the maknae.
Jungkook didn't know how to respond as he too didn't understand. None of it sat right with him. It was the way in which Taehyung spoke to him and disregarded his existence that invoked emotions he couldn't quite explain. His problem with him seemed deeper than what Jungkook had thought.
He thought back to what he said to Chaeyoung earlier, realizing that she will most likely say yes to his offer. And he didn't know if it was a good or bad thing.
—
author's note: thank you so much for over 2k reads everyone! i never thought this would happen hahaha. so thank you a million times. and please keep interacting as i love reading comments! and yay, finally adding more characters arcs to this story. hope you guys are enjoying it so far <3