CHAPTER TWO
Dao went home the next day and the first thing she did when she got back to Thailand was text the idol who gave his number to her. Jin never replied to any of her texts and left her on seen every time she texted him, but still, she made sure to text him every day.
Her first text went like this.
WWH Jin
- Hi World Wide Handsome!
This is your fan, the one you gave your number to
I just realized I never told you my name
It's Dao, which means Star
Seen
Then the texts after that were all the same, too.
WWH Jin
- I passed my exams today!
Seen
WWH Jin
- My brother's forcing me out of the house today
I've been studying nonstop, he says I need sunshine
Help me!
Seen
WWH Jin
- It's my best friend's birthday
she wants to go to an amusement park
Roller coasters... I'm scared of heights!
Wish me luck!!!
Seen
WWH Jin
- I don't think I've mentioned this before
But I hate tea and I love coffee!
My brother just bought us a new coffee maker, yay!!!
Seen
WWH Jin
- I saw your new music video.
It was great!
You were super handsome!!!
Seen
And it carried on like that for about the first two months. Dao would text him about anything going on in her daily life and Jin would leave her on seen.
She didn't mind though because at least that meant he was reading it, right? So she kept on texting him and texting him. She told him about her friends, about her school life, about her brother, and about her part-time job as an actress. Even after four months, each time she texted him he would still leave it on seen. And she still didn't give it much thought.
It was sometime during Thailand's cool season that Dao sent a random text to Jin like she always did. She was bored and hungry as she waited for her brother to finish up his one-episode scene. So Dao ended up texting Jin a list of her favorite foods. She wondered what his would be, but knew even if she asked him, he wouldn't reply.
As expected it was yet another day of being left on seen.
Dao shrugged it off because she was used to this already. It was her new normal. But the next day while Dao was hanging out with her two best friends, Boss and Tu, something major happened.
They were relaxing in the nearby park. Dao was watching Boss play around on his skateboard while Tu recorded him on her phone. Exactly a minute later, a notification chimed on Dao's phone and she picked it up. BTS was doing a VLive. She decided to watch it for a bit while Boss and Tu continued to play around.
BTS were all sitting around a round table having lunch, probably a mukbang. Jin suddenly stood up to show the camera something. He had a lunchbox in his hands and with his chopsticks, he showed ARMY what he was eating. It caught Dao's attention. Her eyes widened a bit and her mouth dropped open a little in shock.
"This is really tasty, ARMY look!" Jin said.
"I thought you didn't like that," Jungkook casually commented.
"What are you saying-" Jin immediately attacked him. "This is... this is the best thing I've ever tasted in my life! Everyone's tastes change after a while. You will never find another dish this tasty!" Jin promised ARMY. "It's the truth!"
"Okay, okay... " Jungkook muttered as he carried on eating, but Jin wasn't done as he continued to exaggerate just how good the dish he was eating tasted.
And by the end of that one-sided argument, BTS's maknae really regretted opening his mouth. Though Jin looked satisfied and really proud of himself.
"What a dork," Dao mumbled after getting over her initial shock.
Jin was actually reading what she texted him every day. He was even trying something she recommended to him. And honestly, she couldn't believe it. Immediately, Dao went to text Jin out of excitement.
By this time, Boss and Tu were done messing around and were collapsing on either side of Dao as she started to text Jin. The two shared a look just like they always did but Dao didn't notice.
"You're texting him again?" Boss asked.
"I thought you'd already texted him today?" Tu asked.
"I did this morning," Dao answered, not even looking up from her phone.
"Then why are you texting him again?" Boss asked. "Aren't we entertaining enough for you?" he teased her.
Dao looked to the side at Boss and rolled her eyes. "You were being an idiot, nothing new there. But you two have no idea what just happened."
"What happened?" Tu asked curiously.
"Remember yesterday, I was waiting for P'Boun to finish up shooting his scene," Dao started to explain. "I was bored so I texted Jin a list of all my favorite dishes to eat."
"And?" Boss asked not getting the point.
"I'm getting there!" Dao said and lightly smacked Boss's arm. He whined slightly but otherwise kept quiet. "BTS just finished doing a VLive. It was a mukbang and guess what Jin was eating?" Dao asked with a smile on her face.
"What?" Tu asked grinning while all Boss did was shrug.
"One of my favorite dishes!" Dao exclaimed. "My second favorite dish to be exact."
"Really?" Tu and Boss asked together in surprise. They shared another look as Dao's attention went back to her phone.
"Maybe it's just a coincidence," Boss said, not wanting Dao to get her hopes up.
"That's got to be one hell of a coincidence," Tu said, trying to defend Dao's strange one-sided relationship with the world-famous idol.
Boss and Tu were good at never judging Dao. After all, the three of them were best friends. But then again, it would be all too easy to judge Dao if they really wanted to. Dao was a very straightforward and honest person, she rarely ever sugar-coated things and almost always told the truth about what was on her mind. She also managed to have this strange ability to have absolutely no shame with what she says, no matter how cringe or embarrassing it might be.
They wondered what BTS's Jin actually thought about Dao, especially when he first met her, and if he was actually reading her texts. Maybe this was indeed proof that he was but why out of all the hundreds and thousands of fans in the whole world did he end up giving Dao his number?
Dao sat there oblivious to what her two best friends were thinking about. She was trying to text Jin but she wasn't quite sure on what to say.
So, this is what she ended up texting him.
WWH Jin
hey! I saw your live!
you said that dish was the best thing you ever tasted in your life!!!
It means a lot to me :)
whenever I text you I'm always left on seen
so I was starting to think you weren't actually reading my messages
It makes me really happy to know that you do read my texts
thank you, WWH...and you looked handsome today as always
***
Jin retired to his room for the night and only ended up seeing Dao's text late. He sat in the middle of his bed and crossed his legs together as he read over her messages. He chuckled at how excited she seemed to be even if she was probably trying hard to hide it.
"This kid always spams me," he muttered.
Jin started texting back. He always did, he typed out a message but always ended up deleting it instead of sending it.
Dao (Kid)
- kid, I ate it but not because of you... but thank you for thinking--
"What am I doing? I'm not going to reply to her, it'll only cause trouble," Jin told himself. "And why do I always call her kid? She'd legally be an adult this year... but still a kid," he shook his head.
Dao (Kid)
- I only ate it because I accidentally saw your text
It tasted good...
"Accidentally saw your text? That sounds too obvious!" Jin erased the message yet again. "Why do I always overthink when it comes to her?" It's fine, everything's under control! I'm Jin! Jin tried to remind himself.
Dao (Kid)
- stop texting me...
"No, that won't work! Ugh, what am I doing?"
Dao (Kid)
- goodbye, good luck on your exams
I'm rooting for you!!
"Now I'm being too sweet," Jin complained as he erased only half of the message.
Dao (Kid)
- goodbye, good luck on your exams
I'm here for you--
"Here for you?" Jin asked himself and furrowed his brows. "I've been ignoring her for five months already. Why hasn't she just given up? Such a stubborn kid."
Dao (Kid)
- pd-nim will block your number if they see you spamming me...
"No, that won't work. What if she stops talking to me then?" Jin muttered. "But isn't that what I want? I should block her."
Dao (Kid)
- I know I'm handsome, I'm World Wide Handsome, you know?
why are you thanking me? I only mentioned your dish!
It's not a big deal
He erased it again.
Dao (Kid)
- you're welcome, kid
And again.
Dao (Kid)
- you're welcome, Dao
And for the last time before he switched off his phone and flopped back on his bed. Jin sighed out loud and in aggravation, even groaning, "This is uncontrollable! What's wrong with me? I need to ignore her."