Q/A: If you could have three wishes, what would they be?
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With a hot guy and a beautiful girl before them, the members of the editing department led by A Yeon started to imagine all sorts of scenarios. Some even pulled out their phones to take pictures, confirm the time, and record all the details they could.
One person even thought up of a post title for this incident, and muttered: "[The President's Wife's Private Meeting at Night with a Lover: Is Mr. Kim's charisma too strong, or is Beauty Park Yoona too fickle?]"
A Yeon's eye twitched, and then swatted the newbie who spoke on the shoulder: "Not a bad imagination. I think you'd be pretty suited for something else......"
That new member: "???"
As if realizing their mistake, they quickly added: "[Department Head A Will Uncover the Truth: You're all too naive!]"
A Yeon: "......"
Honestly speaking, Taehyung and Yoona appearing here didn't prove anything.
Was there a rule that only lovers could eat at this restaurant? Was there a rule that a hot guy couldn't have an appointment with a girl who already had a boyfriend?
Besides, everyone knew that Taehyung joined the internet department, so was there a rule saying that Yoona couldn't invite her subordinate out to eat?
...Of course not!
However, no one cared what the truth was. Who told these two to get caught by a group of people that were experts at pulling stories out of their ass?
"Eh, A Yeon?" Yoona spotted them and waved with a smile.
Following that, Taehyung noticed Jimin. A startled expression flashed across his face, though it quickly disappeared.
Their natural and open countenance as they walked over showed that they had nothing to hide, but Jimin still felt a bit uncomfortable in his heart.
He knew how Taehyung tended to attract the opposite sex, and when the other received all those love letters before, he barely paid it any mind.
But for some reason, seeing Taehyung and Yoona standing together tonight, that soured his mood.
Perhaps it's because they looked too well-matched, or perhaps it's because Tae's attitude towards Yoona felt special.
Especially the way they had merrily laughed and chatted as they walked out of the restaurant. Yoona had whispered something in Taehyung's ear which caused him to smile, and he even pressed his fist against his lips, looking shy and embarrassed.
That scene was so suggestive that even if you didn't want to make improper assumptions, you couldn't.
Originally, Jimin convinced himself that he only liked Taehyung's face, and that no matter who the other dated, it wouldn't matter to him.
And after getting to know Taehyung, he could tell that Taehyung's "womanizing" ways was actually just him willing to frequently help others out, and thus Jimin didn't take that to heart either.
But now, seeing Taehyung treat a girl who also seemed to like him back in such a gentle and tender way, he finally realized just how wrong he had been about his own feelings.
He couldn't truly "not care".
Forget about not caring, he was even extremely jealous.
Reason and self-control were useless here; his instincts screamed at him to fight for Taehyung, to monopolize Taehyung, to quench his thirst for Taehyung......
Things finally clicked for Jimin, and he knew that being 'just friends' with Taehyung could never satisfy him.
Liking someone was a slippery slope. Give him an inch, and he'll want a mile.
But on the bright side, even if he was miserable, it's not like Taehyung could tell.
The other had no reason to take responsibility for this unrequited love of his, to indulge his selfishness.
Thus, Jimin calmly greeted, "Hey, you're here too?"
"Yeah, what a coincidence. Club dinner?" Taehyung asked back.
"Yes, it just ended." Jimin wore his glasses today and looked quite austere. After taking a beat to mollify his emotions, he declared, "I'll be heading back first."
Taehyung blinked, then shot out a hand to grab the other's elbow, "Why?"
Jimin turned around, his body rigid from the moment Taehyung touched him. Not daring to move more than necessary, he squeezed out in an emotionless tone, "What do you mean 'why'?"
"......Let's go together." Taehyung was a bit lost. They've already met up, and live in the same dorm, so why should they go back separately? Jimin's attitude once again reminded him of the day they met, of that coldness when the other planned to ditch him to go eat alone.
Jimin stared at him for two whole seconds with a penetrating gaze, as if searching for something, and Taehyung grew extremely nervous.
"Don't you need to send that girl home?" Jimin finally sighed.
Taehyung froze, then let go. That's right, it's so late already, and since he and Yoona came out alone, he naturally needed to send her back to her dorm.
But even so, the male and female dorms were in the same direction, so why couldn't they walk together for most of the way?
Unless...... Jimin misunderstood and thought he was out on a date? And didn't want to intrude?
Taehyung hurried to explain: "She's Yoona, the head of the internet department."
Jimin quietly started at him: "I know."
Taehyung then added: "She has a boyfriend."
After he said that, even Taehyung wanted to slap himself. Was he an idiot, why was he explaining himself like this to a straight guy?
As expected, Jimin's expression subtly changed, and after a slight pause, asked, "Then, are you sending her back, or are you planning to call her boyfriend to ask him to come here and send her back?"
Perhaps Taehyung's reactions had charmed Jimin, and the air around them no longer held that edge of hostility from earlier. Despite Taehyung not knowing what caused that strained atmosphere, he could feel that Jimin's attitude had somewhat softened.
Moreover, when asking that last question, Jimin had a flickering smile on his face, as if teasing him for secretly meeting a "married woman" late at night.
For some reason, even though he didn't do anything wrong, Taehyung started to feel a bit guilty.
Right at this moment, Yoona, who had finished greeting A Yeon, waved to Taehyung and said, "Taehyung, I'm going to go back with A Yeon!"
Taehyung let out a sigh of relief, looking like someone who had finally been given a great pardon.
But Taehyung rejoiced too soon, because immediately after that, Yoona saw the person beside him and cried out in surprise, "Is that Jimin?"
Taehyung: "Yes......"
Jimin nodded towards her as a greeting.
Yoona didn't say anything to Jimin, but instead, threw a flirtatious wink towards Taehyung, then purred in an intimate tone, "Gotcha. Let's continue our convo on Whatsapp later, Taehyung~"
Hearing this, almost everyone present seem to simultaneously think: Something fishy's going on.
Taehyung: "......"
Ha, haha, there's no way he could prove his 'innocence' now......
As for Taehyung's earlier attempt at explaining himself, Jimin assumed it was because he didn't want people thinking he made a move on someone else's girlfriend.
But now, that just got thrown out the window. Because of Yoona's attitude, Taehyung could no longer wash himself clean of the suspicion that he was the 3rd party intruding on another's relationship.
However, what was quite strange was that, despite everyone witnessing such a spectacle, rumors of this never made its way to the forum.
Afterwards, when everyone discussed this during an editing department meeting, A Yeon reminded them: "Are you all dumb or what. Yoona is the head of the internet department, the main admin for the entire school forum. You think she'd allow this kind of gossip to rear its head?"
That new member who came up with article titles that night suddenly understood: "No wonder the thread I made disappeared!"
A Yeon: "You actually made one?"
That new member rubbed his chin with a wily smile: "It's an interesting topic, you know?"
Everyone else: "......"
He then sighed, "Ahh, if only I had such amazing power and control over the media!"
Everyone else only had one thought: This guy's got guts.
A few days later, Sung Hoon and Taehyung met in a restroom. With a mysterious smile, Sung Hoon grabbed Taehyung's elbow: "Yo, young boy, you sure got the skills."
Taehyung: "???"
Sung Hoon winked at him: "I saw that the gossip threads about you on the forum had all been deleted. Cough it up, who's your backer?"
Taehyung's eyes slightly widened. Sure enough, Sung Hoon was a pro, and even something this low-key couldn't escape his notice!
"Not really a backer, just someone I met. Invited them out to dinner, then asked for a small favor......"
Yet these results weren't without their price. Just thinking about how he could barely catch a glimpse of Jimin these days, Taehyung even suspected that the other was avoiding him on purpose.
Furthermore, what was scary about Jimin was this: You basically had no idea whether he's mad or not, or what you did to offend him. He had a way of drifting away calmly and almost imperceptibly, leaving you in the dark with a vague sense of abandonment, unable to find a single hint of why.
"I knew you did something! With your current fame at F University, there's no way the gossip about you would disappear willy nilly......" Sung Hoon rubbed his chin pensively, then gave Taehyung an "I'm catching onto you" look, now even more certain that this Campus Idol and Jimin had something going on between them.
All the rumors concerning him and the female population had disappeared, but that post of him and Jimin at Lovebirds Lake remained— This guy, could he possibly be more transparent?
Taehyung didn't have to suffer long because soon, Lady Luck blessed him with a chance to closely interact with Jimin.
This day, the Student Council's literature/art department's department head came to find them, hoping that they could perform for the Freshman Welcoming Ceremony at the end of October.
Jimin blankly stared back: "Why do you want us to perform together?"
"Don't both of you know how to play piano? I heard from your professor, and it's also written in your file that you're both level-10 pianists," the department smiled. "Originally, I couldn't think of what to have you do, but what a happy coincidence. Since you both know piano, playing a song together shouldn't be a problem, right?"
Jimin: "......"
From that 2nd half, he could infer that the Student Council wasn't really after them for a piano duet. Anything would have done as long as they both got on stage at the same time...but why?
Opposite him, Taehyung seemed incredibly happy and immediately agreed, "Sure, I'm in." Then, he turned to look at Jimin, staring with eyes so intense one could get lost in them forever, and added, "It's perfect. We can do that four-hand duet we planned."
Jimin: "???" What planned? He only agreed to play one for fun, not go on stage and perform!
The literature/art department head couldn't hear Jimin's inner retorts, but they did hear Taehyung's agreement, thus eagerly exclaimed, "That's great! Then it's happily decided! There's still half a month of prep time, and I'll contact the school to reserve a piano room for you guys so you can practice together any time you want."
—
[A small interlude]
Taehyung: "Minnie, there's really nothing going on between Yoona and I!"
Jimin: "Move, you damn straight guy. There's nothing more to say. I need to go calm down, take some time to cool off my feelings towards you."
Taehyung: "Ah! Minnie, don't!"
[[Anyways, Sure ML confessed his gay love for MC to get his gossip taken down. Sneaky sneaky~]]