"Tae, why don't you introduce me to your friends? Of course I already knew who they were, but I might not have the chance to meet them all in person."
"Oh, I see..."
Taehyung smiled awkwardly at Wooshik who immediately asked him as soon as the filming was over. In fact, Taehyung only found out upon arriving at the filming location that the model with whom he would be taking a photo shoot was Wooshik, and his overly friendly attitude made him a little uncomfortable. Taehyung still remembered Jungkook disapproving of Wooshik.
"Tae, is it over now? Are you free then?"
"Jin-hyung~"
Taehyung was very happy to hear Jin's sudden voice as if he had found a shield.
"Is it finally over? Wow, it was longer than I expectation. Hmm... It's a bit of an odd time. It's late for lunch and a little early for dinner..."
"Who cares~ I found a good place! Let's go there! It will take at least 40 to 50 minutes to get there. Well, wouldn't it be around dinner time by the time we get there?"
"Okay, let's go! Oh, what about the car? Do we have a car? Should we ask the staff?"
Taehyung was surprised to see his friends acting so naturally. As Sejin had informed him in advance, cameras were placed on all of them from the time they arrived at Gimpo Airport. The film crew was filming their every move during their flight and even at this very moment. And yet, how can they be so natural? This was incomprehensible to Taehyung, who was accustomed to cutting himself off from everyone as soon as filming was over.
"Taetae, you'll get used to it soon. It's common for our company to produce our own content. Most of the artists in our company have already had experience creating similar content several times. We did the same."
"Oh~"
While listening to Jimin's explanation, Taehyung smiled awkwardly at the camera that was pointed only at him from the airport.
"Hello, you're Park Jimin, right? Tae's best friend!"
Taehyung looked surprised as Wooshik suddenly came between them. Jimin looked at Wooshik with eyes full of curiosity. Even though the show they filmed had not yet aired, not only he but they all already knew that Wooshik had transferred the plane ticket to Taehyung four years ago.
"You know right~! By the way, nice to meet you, I'm Park Jimin. It's been 4 years, but I really wanted to thank you for your consideration back then."
Jimin extended his hand to Wooshik and expressed his sincerity. Wooshik, who had asked Taehyung to introduce him to his friends, looked embarrassed when Jimin actually treated him with friendliness. Jimin somehow felt favorably towards Wooshik like that. He liked that Taehyung seemed quite comfortable while filming with him. Jimin, who sometimes missed his best friend's bubbly personality, hoped that Taehyung would be able to live comfortably with other people as well as with them.
"Oh, would you like to come with us? We're going to dinner now~"
Jimin put his arm around Taehyung's shoulder and asked Wooshik in a friendly tone.
"Ah, but do you mind? We film our own content, so if you're with us, you might be filmed too."
As Namjoon reminded them, Jimin and Taehyung looked at Wooshik as if they were curious about his reaction. Woosik seemed to think about it for a moment, then asked for their understanding as he stepped aside slightly, he made a phone call someone.
"How is it working with him? Does he make you uncomfortable?"
Jin quietly approached Taehyung and asked. He knew Jungkook well. He frowned slightly as he watched Taehyung shrug his shoulders and remain silent.
"Tae, if he makes you uncomfortable, I can come up with a hundred excuses to get rid of him."
"Oh, he's not like that. In fact...he was someone who, unusually, made me feel quite comfortable. Maybe it's because he helped me when I was so desperate. He's a good person. I am truly grateful to him."
Taehyung said, slightly removing Jimin's arm from his shoulder. And it was true. Jimin crossed his arms and looked at Taehyung, nodding as if he agreed with what he said.
Jin nodded as if he understood, but was lost in thought for a moment. While Taehyung was in New York, he occasionally heard from Sejin about how Taehyung was doing. Of course, he was always worried about Jungkook. Jungkook's appearance, which had changed since he went to New York to meet Taehyung, somehow made him uneasy. But, Taehyung, who always kept a certain distance from people, also made him worry. And as he said, Wooshik was the one who helped him when he was in need, so Jin felt glad when he thought that Taehyung might treat him with less resistance than other people.
Jin smiled at Woo-sik, who soon returned from the phone call.
"Most films will be edited. Anyway, Hi~ I am Seokjin. I heard that you provided great help to our Tae. I'd like to thank you, let's go eat together. Even if your appearance is captured in the video, it will be edited so that it is not broadcast. So don't worry and come with us."
Jin spoke to Wooshik in a friendly tone. He noticed that Namjoon, Hoseok, and Yoongi were a little hesitant, but he didn't care. He just wanted to give Taehyung a chance to hang out with people other than them and hope that he could enjoy those times like he used to. As much as Jimin did, he missed Taehyung, who was always so adorable that it made his heart swell, who cuddled up with him at any time and chattered endlessly.
"Uh... . But will it be okay? Actually, my friends also here. Neither I nor my friends are very social. But I want them to come along too. Is that okay?"
"Aha~"
At Wooshik's unexpected answer, Jin hesitated and looked back at his group. He couldn't bear to look at Taehyung directly because it seemed obvious that Taehyung might be looks troubled. And when he glanced at Taehyung's frozen face, he had to regret that he had said something useless.
"Well, we're not sociable people either. We won't make each other uncomfortable. Isn't it?"
Yoongi's sudden intervention broke the momentary awkwardness that had been hanging between them.
"That's right, if more people gather, there will be more opportunities to have fun, right? Tell your friends to come. I think it would be fun to hang out together if your company allows it~"
"You don't have to worry about our company. They allow Seojun to do whatever he wants."
"Seojun? Park Seojun? Ohh~"
As Jin responded favorably to the name Seojun, others looked at him curiously. In particular, Namjoon quickly looked dissatisfied and was waiting to see what Jin would say. Jin simply smiled at Taehyung and spoke again.
"I've never worked with him, but I've heard compliments about him. People who have worked with him consistently say that his personality is very good. I also heard that he is very sincere and responsible. And I heard about his friends... that they are few and that they don't mix well with others and only hang out among themselves. Are you one of them? Wow~"
"Jin, baby, why do you know so much about him? What the hell?"
Namjoon whined as if he was very dissatisfied, but Jin glanced at him, smiled at Taehyung, and spoke again.
"Tae, it's okay if it's them. They felt quite similar to our group. Also, maybe I'll work with Seojun. I heard we were offered to star in the same movie."
"Baby, you never told me about that~"
"Oh my God! Joonie, can you please stop? You're so embarrassed!"
When Jin shook his head and moved to one side, Namjoon just followed him like a puppy. Hoseok and Yoongi just watched them, while clicking their tongues.
As Jin said, their appearance seemed similar to his own group, so Wooshik was watching them with a smile on his face. Then his eyes turned to Taehyung. When he saw Taehyung's face still showing hesitation, he suddenly felt a little sad.
"Now I see that you are the pickiest in your group, right?"
Woosik's complaints disguised as a joke made Taehyung's heart tighten. Taehyung tried to deny what he said, but he couldn't. Wooshik just huffed at the sight of Taehyung looking troubled.
"I'm kidding. I also tend to be very shy around strangers. I'm serious about this, if you're uncomfortable, let's part ways here and see you on set tomorrow."
Woosik smiled kindly and told Taehyung as if it was no big deal so that he wouldn't feel sorry. Honestly, he wanted to get a little closer to Taehyung. The last time they filmed a variety show, he thought they were a pretty good team. Taehyung was witty and cute. Of course he was incredibly beautiful.
For Wooshik, Taehyung was the first man who was better described as beautiful rather than handsome. Ever since he found out that Taehyung was the one who received the plane ticket from him, he was already curious about Taehyung. He looked into Taehyung's reputation, but when he met him in person, he felt something different from the polite coldness that people used to describe him, and his curiosity about him was piqued even more. The filming they were doing now was also done by mobilizing his connections so that he could be Taehyung's counterpart.
When he found out that Taehyung had accompanied his friends, he spontaneously called his friends to Jeju Island. Jeju is a beautiful island, and he expected that even strangers would be able to treat each other with a quite relaxed and generous heart if they met in such a place. He hoped that his and Taehyung's friends could become close to each other.
Wooshik sighed, shaking off his regrets and smiled broadly again. Human relationships cannot be forced. However, he thought that the opportunity for them to meet was quite fateful, and he wanted to believe that another opportunity would arise.
"Okay then, I'll just go~"
"Uh, Um... just come with us. Um... Hobi-hyung, give them the address, where we're going."
Taehyung held on to Wooshik who was about to leave. He was as surprised at himself as his friends who looked at him as if his actions were unexpected. He just felt like he was being too rude to Wooshik, so he couldn't bear to let him go. He had his friends by his side, and that alone seemed to enable him to become quite bold.
"Oh, Tae, you don't have to force it. We come to Jeju Island quite often, so there are places we use to go. We'll have a good time anyway."
"I'm a bit sensitive around strangers. I didn't mean to offend you. I'm sorry if I seemed rude."
Taehyung truly felt sorry for him. He made that excuse, but he knew deep down that he was worried about Jungkook. There was no way Jungkook would be happy about him spending time with others in a private place without him. Jungkook has always been obsessed and possessive towards him, and Taehyung knew that better than anyone else. But he's not alone, he's with friends, that could be an exception- Taehyung just hoped so.
"Huh? This is where me and my friends go often-"
Taehyung, who was lost in thought for a moment, suddenly came to his senses when he heard Wooshik's excited voice. He soon saw Wooshik making a fuss with Hoseok. Taehyung was soon able to see others joining them, both dumbfounded and happy about the unexpected situation.
"Wow, this is God's will for us all to go there together! What do you think?"
"Well, maybe~ Anyway, it's really interesting. Even if we had gone separately, I think we would have met there in the end... What do you think, Taetae?"
"Yeah...I think so..."
Taehyung mumbled without thinking and forced a smile at Jimin. God's will? Is it appropriate to use that word for something like this? Taehyung sighed quietly. However, Taehyung snorted involuntarily when he thought that it was not a coincidence that he and Wooshik were here together like this. Taehyung felt at ease when he thought that he might have been given a chance to repay his debt.
And, as the discomfort subsided, Taehyung's actions and facial expressions became noticeably more natural. All his friends could feel it.
Taehyung's manager Subin took them to their destination in a minibus. When they got together, they became like high school students again. They played games and made noise the entire time they were traveling. The 40 minutes passed by in the blink of an eye, and before they knew it, they had arrived at their destination.
What was surprising was that Wooshik blended in so naturally among them. They were like old friends, teasing and pranking each other and laughing happily. And when Wooshik's friends soon arrived, they could not help but be surprised once again by how easily they became friendly with each other, contrary to their concerns. Actor Park Seojoon, singer and actor Park Hyeongsik, rapper Peakboy and Wooshik, they introduced themselves as the 'Wooga Family.' Their impressions were similar to Wooshik's. They seemed genuine and not exaggerated.
Perhaps because the Wooga family was a regular at the restaurant, the owner arranged their seats inside so that they could all spend time comfortably and prevented other customers from going in that direction.
Jin, Taehyung, Hyeongsik, and Wooshik communicated well, perhaps because they worked in the same field. Namjoon, Hoseok, Yoongi, and Peakboy did the same. Jimin was the only one who wasn't finding much interest in the conversation, but he was just so excited when Taehyung seemed to be quite enjoying his time with others. That alone made this trip very meaningful and satisfying to Jimin.
"Wow~ You guys are really cool! Let's move to the pension we are staying in and get drunk! Let's go~"
"Oooh, that's a good idea! Let's go!"
They got along incredibly well. Yoongi usually didn't drink with people he didn't know well. Hoseok was not good at drinking, but he was the type of person who enjoyed socializing at drinking parties. Jimin, Namjoon, and Jin were also quite confident when it came to drinking.
But Taehyung wasn't like that. He was still a person who preferred hot chocolate to coffee and cola to alcohol. As the atmosphere took an unexpected turn, he could not bear to refute it and just chewed his lips. And surprisingly, it was Wooshik who noticed his hesitation.
"Tae and I still have a photo shoot tomorrow, and he's a weak drinker, so don't force him to drink, okay?"
"How did you know he was weak to alcohol?"
Jimin frowned slightly and asked suspiciously. Although it was their first time meeting, Jimin had a pretty good impression of Woosik and his friends. But, Wooshik seemed to be overly interested in Taehyung, and that was making Jimin a little wary.
"Well, I always do a little research on the people I work with. There's nothing wrong with getting to know someone in advance, and most of the time it's an advantage."
"Haven't you described yourself as unsociable? It seems a little different from what you're doing now."
"Jiminie..."
Taehyung pulled Jimin's sleeve and subtly stopped him. He seemed to know what Jimin was asking. Taehyung's heart became heavy when he felt that Jimin, like him, had not completely escaped the past even though many years had passed. Taehyung felt that if he didn't change, they would never be able to escape from it, and without realizing it, Taehyung became bold.
"Jimin, I think what Wooshik Hyung said is right. Well, I guess I'll try to do that from now on too. I don't drink anyway, but you like it. Let's go~ It looks like everyone still has a lot to talk about."
"Taetae, are you serious?"
Jimin looked at Taehyung with wide eyes, as if he couldn't believe it. He was actually worried. Based on past experience, Bogum also did not give off the impression from the beginning that he was someone who would harm his best friend. Although he hoped that Taehyung would regain his bubbly personality like before, he was scared when it actually came to this situation. Jimin felt uneasy as he felt like he was also suffering from the disease of distrust.
"I'm fine. But I think I should tell our director in advance. Subin hyung too."
Taehyung asked for understanding from Jimin and Wooshik and headed towards the table where the filming team was having dinner. Jimin's anxiety rose even more as he saw Wooshik smiling while unable to take his eyes off Taehyung, who was talking to the staff. He honestly doubted whether Wooshik had any feelings for Taehyung. He hesitated for a moment, but thought he should make it clear to Wooshik.
"He would have had a very difficult time if you hadn't given him the plane ticket back then. You probably didn't know it, but you helped him get through the last four years."
"He even said he probably died that day. Maybe he had something serious to deal with, huh?"
Wooshik spoke really indifferently and Jimin tensed for a moment as he swallowed his saliva. Of course, he couldn't reveal Taehyung and Jungkook's relationship to him, but he still wanted to know what he had in mind for Taehyung.
"At that time, he desperately wanted to meet someone."
Jimin unconsciously bit his lip as he saw Wooshik's eyes immediately turn to him. Wooshik moved his lips as if he wanted to ask something, but he just nodded as if he understood and then turned his gaze back to Taehyung. Jimin frowned unconsciously. He suddenly felt displeased with Woo-shik, who was giving off a suspicious vibe.
"He has someone!"
"...........?"
Jimin regretted his carelessness when his eyes met Wooshik, who immediately looked back at him. But he had no intention of backing down.
"It will be official soon, anyway he's not single."
Jimin spoke confidently and watched Wooshik's reaction. He thought that if there was even the slightest potential for disruption, it should be cut out from the beginning. He frowned again when Wooshik nodded with a friendly smile. Jimin felt as if he was being teased by Wooshik, and he wasn't the type to hide such a feeling or just endure it. However, Wooshik's next words soon eased his tension.
"Well~ I'm just interested in him. He is a great model and a very inspiring actor. I am very happy to work with him, and if I get the chance, I hope to work with him again, this time in a movie or drama. And if it's not official yet that he's dating someone, I'll pretend not to know so you don't get in trouble. Anyway, he needed that plane ticket more than I did and it makes me proud that I gave it to him."
Wooshik smiled brightly, intentionally acting to look exaggeratedly proud. As his expression seemed sincere, Jimin's guard was loosening. Although he could not completely let go of his guard, he still faced him with a fairly peaceful mind.
Taehyung informed manager Soobin and the filming team that their drinking session would be extended and promised not to let anything untoward happen. Subin hesitated a little, but agreed to his words, and he thanked them all for working hard for them all day.
Then, Taehyung glanced at Jimin and Wooshik having a conversation. Without missing that moment, he took out his cell phone and urgently checked to see if there was a message from Jungkook. Disappointingly, there was no contact from Jungkook, but he found out that Jungkook's official Twitter account had been uploaded and checked it without any hesitation.
"He's having a good time too..."
Taehyung muttered while looking at the photo uploaded to Jungkook's Twitter. He was worried that they were all here, leaving Jungkook alone, but he was glad that he wasn't alone because at least there were people by his side working hard for him.
"Tae, let's go. We're moving now."
Taehyung heard his friends' voices urging him on, so he quickly put the phone in his pocket and headed towards them. He had a feeling that tonight was going to be a long night.
Taehyung flashed a small smile as he recalled the photos of Jungkook he had seen a while ago. He knew very well how much effort Jungkook must have put in to get to where he is now. And he could keenly feel how much he loved and seriously took what he was doing. Although he admired Jungkook's passion, he was worried that it would harm his health.
Taehyung just simply hoped that Jungkook would be able to rest comfortably without overexerting himself tonight.