SEOUL, SK
KOOK & CHAE
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Kim Jennie had always played her cards right.
She imagined this was the main reason as to why she had become so successful over the years. If it did not benefit her or if it somehow ruined her image, she would not indulge in it.
But sometimes, even her best decisions did not play out according to plan. For example, her special stage with BTS' Yoongi was thought to have been a power move, especially in learning more and propelling herself in the rap scene, but she was only met with backlash and criticism by his fans.
But maybe she also just had the worst luck.
She hoped that her most recent life-changing decision would not turn out like that. Because she did not know what she would do if it did. This one involved her personal life.
"What will you be having?" he asked, setting down his menu and placing his elbows on the table.
The man in front of her stared at her with eyes full of wonder and awe, like she was the most precious jewel. Jennie felt shy under his gaze.
This was one of the reasons she fell for him in the first place. In a sea full of people, he made her feel like the only one who mattered.
"My usual," she replied, returning his smile. "What about you?"
"I'll have what you're having. There's just so much to choose," he replied.
But even though it had been months already, she still did not know much about him.
She liked how she felt around him and she was sure he felt the same, but their relationship had not progressed or gotten any deeper since the beginning, which made her slightly worried.
"You know, Chaeyoung-ah was just here a few weeks ago," halmeoni commented as she came back to their table. "Did you all just want me to meet your new boyfriends? When should I expect Jisoo and Lisa to come then?"
Jennie chuckled nervously, "Oh, I didn't know that."
"Halmeoni, could you not tell the girls I was here? If you see them again... I haven't necessarily told them yet," she said with a sheepish grin.
After her brief talk with Lisa, where she found out that she knew all along of this relationship she was trying to keep a secret, she had been genuinely preparing herself to tell the rest of them.
There was so much on everyone's plate already, especially with their comeback. It was their first in almost two years. She could not bear the repercussions on each of them if news of her dating another idol ever breaks out. At least the media reacted well to Chaeyoung's announcement, but her, she may not have as much luck.
But at the end of the day, she knew being honest to the people she treated like sisters was the most important thing.
"Ah, don't worry," the older woman reassured before turning towards the man sitting in front of her. "And what was your name again?"
"Kim Jongin, halmeoni," he replied with a smirk. "But you can call me Kai."
☾･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
The moment Park Chaeyoung stumbled upon Jungkook talking to Yeri in the YG building replayed in her mind like a broken record, even though it had been days since.
Jungkook had turned to look at her as if he had seen a ghost before walking out without another word.
The three of them used to be inseparable. It was only Yeri and her at first before Jungkook had unexpectedly approached them. They would get late night Korean barbecue, hangout at karaoke bars, and text in their groupchat constantly, like normal friend groups.
Unfortunately, no matter how strong she thought her friendship was with Yeri, she too gradually distanced herself away after Jungkook cut her off. She said he had done the same to her.
Chaeyoung did not feel any bad blood towards her though. At least with her, it was not abrupt and seemed like a natural growing apart. They tried to keep in touch for a while, especially Chaeyoung, but life just got busier and harder.
But still—
Wait.
Chaeyoung thought deeply to herself as her whole time with them flashed through her eyes but from another perspective.
The way he looked and smiled at her. The way he would run when she called. The way his laughs always seemed brighter around her. The way the two of them walked closely side by side while she trudged along a few more inches apart.
It was Yeri. He loved Yeri.
She wanted to cry upon the realization. Now it all made sense. How stupid had she been all these years?
That's what Sooyoung meant when she said she reminded him of that time in his life. Because she was quite literally so involved in that specific time.
She was so blinded by her own love for him to notice who his heart truly belonged to.
"Earth to Chaeyoung?" a deep voice brought her back into reality.
Chaeyoung rapidly blinked as she regained her senses, "Oh, what? I'm sorry."
"Are you okay?" Taehyung asked, lightly grazing the skin of her arm with his hands.
The two were back in the studio to record their duet, but this time they were in the Bighit building instead. Since it was still Taehyung's song and production at the end of the day, they figured he would have been more comfortable to do that work in his own space.
In fact, they had worked so productively that they were almost finished.
"Yes— sorry, I just have stuff on my mind," Chaeyoung replied.
The man's expression seemed to soften, "Well, whatever it is... you can always talk to me."
Chaeyoung nodded in response before biting her lip, unsure if she should confide in him or not. But one question couldn't hurt.
"I know this is a bit random, but did Jungkook ever talk about me?" she asked. "Like when we were friends."
Taehyung's brows furrowed, probably not expecting these words to come out of her mouth.
But Chaeyoung could not help but feel curious. She knows now he probably talked about Yeri more than her, but she wanted to know if she held even just a small significant part of his life.
"Umm, a little? He is a fairly private person, but when he did, he only ever said kind words about you... that is until your falling out," he replied, appearing like he was carefully choosing his response. "Why do you ask?"
Frankly, she did not know why it mattered so much. Maybe a part of her was looking for answers, looking for some sort of reassurance that she still somewhat meant something to him during that time and not just a means to his goal.
"I guess I'm just in a weird place right now," she sighed. "Anyways, so our song—"
"Did something happen with him?"
A lot of things.
"No, don't worry about it," she denied before gesturing him to continue editing their song.
Chaeyoung was grateful for his concern.
It didn't take her a long time to see that Kim Taehyung was a kind and considerate man.
He would reply swiftly to her messages, and would always accommodate to her busy schedule. And, over the past few weeks of them working together, they hot gotten to know each other better and she could now consider him as a close friend.
She learned he was ambidextrous, did not like the taste of coffee, and he fell asleep to the sound of classical music. He was hardworking and detailed, but cheerful and talkative at the same time. She felt comfortable talking to him about almost everything, but she felt like talking about his own band mate would be an awkward topic.
His expression did not look like he was convinced, but he did not ask any further questions and averted his attention back to the screen in front of them.
The two of them played around with the composition for another hour before they decided to call it a day. It probably only needed one more meeting of production before it was ready to officially be placed in his album.
Chaeyoung hoped they would not lose touch even after it as all over.
"The guys are actually at our practice room right now," Taehyung said as they made their way out the door. "Did you want to come and see them? I know that they've been wanting to talk to you again."
"Are you sure? I don't want to intrude," she said, gripping the strap of her bag nervously.
For some odd reason, her past interactions with BTS members were all either awkward or somewhat uncomfortable. From their troubling run-in at Jinhwan's party to learning secrets at a bubble tea shop, she was not sure why those boys would even want to see her.
And plus, she didn't now how to confront Jungkook.
But her doubts were proven wrong about the others when the moment she stepped inside their big practice room, she was bombarded by cheers and pats on the head.
"We missed you," Jimin cooed.
Namjoon smiled, "How have you been?"
She was grateful for their warm welcome. Except for one fake boyfriend of course, who stood off to the side, trying to act aloof and sipping some of his water.
Suddenly, the doors to the practice room opened again to reveal a Min Yoongi, dressed like he had either just went on a date or a sophisticated business meeting.
"Oh, Chaeng-ah, you're here?" he asked upon seeing her, not even acknowledging his own boys, who were commenting on his unusual attire.
Jungkook cringed at the sound. Why was he calling her that?
"Neh, Yoongi-oppa," Chaeyoung smiled. "How are you?"
The man watched the two interact more closely than the other BTS members and he couldn't help but wonder how that came to be.
☾･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
Lalisa Manoban was bored out of her mind. So bored that she actually considered reading a book.
It was one that was trending on Tiktok and it piqued her interest. She remembered Chaeyoung mentioning that she had it. She was not currently home, but Lisa was sure she wouldn't mind if she stole it.
She walked into her member's room, which was always kept tidy, and went over to her bookshelf. She scanned through all the titles before finding the one she was looking for.
As she pulled out the book, something had fallen out of it.
Lisa knew better than to pry, but she couldn't help but feel curious. She grabbed what seemed to have been a photo booth film strip and flipped it over.
Her eyes widened as she looked at the pictures.
They were of her very own Chaeyoung and Jeon Jungkook sitting closely beside one another, progressively becoming more intimate with each following snapshot.
If she didn't know any better, the two looked like real boyfriend and girlfriend. But this didn't make any sense. The girl swore to them that nothing but a measly drunken kiss had happened between them.
Now, she always had a small doubt about Chaeyoung's story, but this clearly shows that there was something more that transpired.
And Lisa hated that her best friend was not being honest. Her worries had become heightened ever since her sudden breakdown in their dance room a few days ago. She even felt a bit anxious letting her go to the Bighit building alone this morning.
"Oh Chaeyoung, what did you get yourself into?" she whispered to herself.
The sudden sound of a phone ringing caused her to startle and quickly put back the picture, as well as the book, back into its rightful spot. She got scared that she got caught until she realized that it was her own phone.
"What do you want?" she questioned immediately after she answered.
"Not even a Hello Bambam or How are you Bambam?" the man on the other side of the line whined.
"Sorry, I'm in the middle of something," she huffed. Though she technically was not doing anything, she needed more time to fully comprehend the sudden revelation.
"Is it important?" Bambam asked, which surprised the girl.
"Why?"
"I kinda need you," he said in a straightforward tone.
Bambam and her were childhood best friends. After her group mates, he would be next up on her list. But even though they had known each other for so long, they were never the type to show affection or appreciation.
And so, especially with the lack of hesitancy in his voice, Lisa assumed this must have been really serious, "Why? What's wrong?"
There was a short pause where she could hear him shuffling around and another deep voice talking in the background.
"I don't know— this might seem weird," he began. "But it's my Jinyoung-hyung."
Lisa furrowed her brows. She wondered why that would concern her.
"I think something happened with him and Jisoo-noona."
☾･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
Kim Taehyung could not stop staring at her the whole time they practiced.
He would maintain eye contact or give sneaky winks to keep her attention on him.
Jeon Jungkook hated it.
He watched as she would laugh as he made small mistakes or make a silly face.
The two would also not stop talking in between breaks. Even the other members were complaining that he had spent enough time with her already and that it was their turn.
"Chaeyoung-ah, you should come over more so you can taste my cooking," Jin offered during one of their breaks. "These rats are always ungrateful."
Chaeyoung lightly giggled, "Of course oppa, I can't wait."
Jungkook knew it was his fault as to why the girl had not even acknowledged his presence yet. And his own disappointment in himself held him back from approaching her first.
So there he was, stuck wallowing in the corner, watching as other men try to impress his own pretend girlfriend. He knew they had nothing but brotherly love for her, but he also could not speak for everyone.
"Did you see me?" Taehyung asked eagerly, jumping up and down and holding her hands like a little child desperate for approval.
Jungkook rolled his eyes. He couldn't stand this anymore.
Finally, their last run through came and Jungkook decided to let out all his frustrations through dance, which everyone in the room noticed.
"Wah, Kook has been trying so hard now that his girlfriend is here!" Hoseok teased.
Oh, so now you all remembered she was my girlfriend? he thought to himself.
For the first time that night, his eyes met with Chaeyoung's. Her expression was unreadable, but he was glad to know that she was watching him.
After they wrapped up, the group said their goodbyes to the girl, but not before making plans for their next meet up.
"I'll give you a ride home," Taehyung offered.
"No!" Jungkook intervened. "I will."
All of the boys turned towards him in surprise, probably because this was the first time he spoke since Chaeyoung showed up.
Taehyung did not try to argue with him, but his face did show a beaten down expression before they all went their separate ways.
The two walked towards Jungkook's car in the Bighit parking lot, before he suddenly gained the courage to talk to her.
"Hey, about what happened a few days ago," he began before taking a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry."
They stopped in their tracks.
"I shouldn't have walked out like that," he said. "I actually came there because—"
"Gwenchana," she interrupted.
Jungkook raised a brow, confused as to why she did not want to hear his explanation.
"So Yeri, huh?" she teased. "I should have known."
Though she said it in a joking way, he knew their was a different feeling behind her eyes.
Jungkook knew this topic would be brought up sooner or later.
But even though he had years to prepare, he still did not feel ready to talk about her, especially with Chaeyoung.
"Nah, I wasn't being too obvious about it," he responded. "Back then, I was still a wimp when it came to women."
Jungkook had never been in love with anyone before. So when he felt the foreign emotion, he was not even sure if it was love. And because of that, he was not the greatest at expressing it.
And with Yeri, it was even more complicated because they belonged to the biggest some of the biggest names in Kpop. Back then, it was not the easiest act to show your love for someone who had billions of others pining for them, and not ruin their career in the process.
But him merely falling for her felt natural.
It started like all stories of innocent attraction. He was young and naïve. And he was captivated by both her beauty and her talent.
Jungkook never felt such extreme emotions before, not until she had broke his heart.
"But I'm sorry for always stringing along," she apologized, looking down at her shoes. "Now it's so embarrassing when I look back on it. How could you let me third wheel like that?"
Jungkook let out a few chuckles.
"Because you helped me," he explained. "Even though sometimes I wanted to be alone with her, I was grateful for your company."
"I was able to act more freely when you were there because I had no hidden intentions with you," Jungkook continued. "You were just a genuine friend."
He watched as the girl's brows furrowed. She was probably not used to hearing such words come out of his mouth. It probably raised more questions in her head than answer any.
"You know... I actually considered ending this fake relationship with you," she whispered.
He was not surprised, "I understand."
Franky, he thought she should have considered it sooner. He does not know why he did not.
It just did not seem like the best course of action. The social ramifications alone were severely detrimental to both of them. But for two sworn enemies, who promised each other to keep hating one another after their trip, breaking the contract was never out of the question.
So why did she stay? Why did he?
"But your sister convinced me to talk to you first before I made any final decisions," she continued.
Jungkook did not know whether to be thankful or awry of his step-sister, especially since he did not know what kinds of things she had to say in order to convince her.
"I respect whatever you'll choose to do," he replied. "But at least make me the bad guy if you do. I know I have been such a dick to you all these years."
This must have been the closest time he ever admitted to his wrongdoings in the past.
"You don't care if it ruins your reputation?" she questioned.
Jungkook snorted, "After everything I've done? I deserve the absolute worst."
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author's note: hey everyone! can't believe it's already june. but with their current state, let's wish good health and a speedy recovery for our blackpink girlies. hope you guys enjoy this one <3 and thank you so much for over 6.7k reads. much love always!