Mark
The group has to go to LA for the KCON. I'm actually excited because that means I'd be with my family again. But, Jess couldn't come because she's busy - again - with her business.
The boys and I spend our first day with my family. The next day would be more hectic, meeting fans and some other promotions and interviews. The day after that is the concert.
My mom keeps on asking when they're going to see Jess again. I just tell her, 'soon'. I don't know when either. I was hoping she could come to LA with us but I understand her, truly I do.
Over dinner, they insist on Skyping her. My brother and sisters want to see her since my parents wouldn't stop talking about her.
"But, she must still be sleeping," I say, I don't really want to wake her up really early just for this. I know how tired she already is.
"Please..." my brother begs.
"Ok...I'll try."
I see she's online, so I video call her. Surprisingly, she answers in just how many seconds.
"Babe?" As expected, she's still in bed. I laugh at how she rubs her eyes and squints.
"Jess. Fix your hair...some people want to meet you," I say.
"Who?" She sits up and finger combs her hair. She looks pretty though, even when she just woke up.
Hearing her voice, my brother and sister crowd behind me, waving their hands. "Hi!"
"Oh," I see her fully awake now. She shows her sweetest smile and waves, "Hi."
"My brother and my sister," I tell her, pointing at the idiots behind me.
"Sorry for waking you up, Jess," my sis says. "We just want to see you. Mom wouldn't stop talking about how pretty you are."
"Yeah..." my brother butts in. "I see why..." he chuckles.
Jess laughs. "You blush like your brother," she says and my bro blushes an even deeper red.
Question and Answer follow, my sibs being the questioners and Jess giving them answers, giggling.
"Ok, enough!" I grab the phone from them. "Hey, babe. Sorry about that."
"It's fine. I had fun, they're so sweet."
"I'll let you rest for now."
"I actually need to head out early anyway. Bye, Mark."
"I miss you, babe. Love you!"
"I love you, babe," my brother teases when I hang up.
"Shut up!" I glare at him.
The next day, we head early to the stadium where we are going to meet some of the fans. We have an interview and a photoshoot in the afternoon. Then we do a rehearsal in the evening.
Of course, Lisa comes beside me again after our rehearsal, holding up her phone on my face.
"What's that?" I ask her.
"Have you seen this yet?" On her screen is a picture of GD and Jess at the beach in Jeju. He's hand is on her waist and she's smiling up at him. A paparazzi took it and he or she posted it online. The caption reads, 'GD's new girlfriend?'
My ears automatically heats up. Are they this sweet when I'm not around? I hear Lisa smirk beside me and I peel my eyes away from the disturbing picture.
She senses my uneasiness and puts her arm around my shoulder. "I told you she's a slut," she says.
"She's nothing like you," I turn my face to her and scowl, flinging her arm away.
"You know that's not true, Mark-oppa. It was always you."
I just shake my head and leave, joining the other guys. Jackson looks at me nervously. "You ok?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I saw her picture."
So, everybody except me has seen it.
"Mark, you know it's not like that, right?" Jackson explains.
I just nod. I know it, but I still feel bad about it. Even before I announce that she's my girlfriend, people would already recognize her being with GD.
She calls me before I go to sleep that night. It's around noon back in Korea.
"Babe?" she says.
"Hm..."
"Hey...you asleep?"
"No."
"You ok?"
"Yeah."
"Tired?"
"Yeah."
"Mark....what's wrong? You don't sound fine to me."
"Nothing."
"Oh...ok...if you're too tired to talk, then fine." She sighs. "Call me when you're ok then."
"Wait," I say before she hangs up. "Sorry."
"What's the matter?"
"I trust you, right?"
"Of course, Mark. Why?" I hear somebody calling her in the background, sounds like a man's voice. It's certainly not Vic.
"Who's with you? Are you in the restaurant?"
"Yup. Kwon's here. He's just helping me with the plans for the resort."
She spends more time with him than with me. Doesn't GD have events to attend to? Shouldn't he be in Europe at this time? I know they're partners and all, but why does it seem like I'm even busier than him when in fact he has more booked events than me.
"Oh. I thought he'd be in Europe."
"When are you flying?" I hear her ask him, "He says tomorrow. We still need to finish this, that's why."
"Jess."
"Yeah?"
"Don't get caught by the fans with him."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
So, she hasn't seen the pictures yet. "Check the online articles, will ya?" I think I sound a little angry.
"What articles?"
"The one where a picture of you and GD are at the beach?" I say sarcastically. "I mean...seriously, Jess. You told me you didn't want the fans to know that we're going out, but you show everybody how close you are with him." I just can't contain it anymore.
There's a moment of silence before she talks, "Oh...I didn't see this. Mark, I didn't know someone was taking a picture of us."
"Even if nobody's taking a picture, are you really that....sweet....with him?"
"What? NO!" She sounds annoyed now. "Mark, if you're upset because of this, then ok. Let's announce to the world that we're going out. Happy?"
Why is she the one angry now?
"Whatever, Jess. I need to sleep." I just hang up without even saying goodbye. I'm too angry to deal with this just now.
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Jess
"What's wrong?" GD asks me when he sees my troubled face. "Mark?"
"Yeah." I lean my head at the back of the chair.
"He saw the picture?" He smirks.
"What? You know this, too and you didn't tell me?" Am I the only one who doesn't know that my face is all over the internet?
"Sorry. But, I thought it wasn't a big deal."
"You have to clear this, Kwon. I don't want your fans ganging up on me."
"Why should I? We look good together." He laughs.
"KWON!" I yell. "This is no time for your jokes. Damn it!" I stand up walk out the office. But, before I can get too far, GD grabs my hand.
"Ok. Sorry. I'll handle this. Now, can we go back to our work so we could finish it before I leave?"
We were able to finish it before ten in the evening. The cook serves us dinner and we eat in silence.
I didn't know hanging out with these idols would give me such a headache. It was cool at first...advantageous even, but when fans talk about you...you know you're done for.
SHIT! I just hope GD takes care of this fast. So, I remind him again before he leaves.
"Just, promise me." I tell him.
"Ok. I promise. I'd tell them during the concert." He pinches my cheeks and smiles reassuringly. "Happy now?"
I smile at him.
But, why would Mark be upset over something as trivial as that? I know he's the jealous type, but, he knows it isn't true. Is he doubting me now?
I walk home that night. I just want to clear my mind. Walking helps me think better. However, not even a block away from the restaurant, a car pulls up beside me. The car honks, making me look towards it. I can't really see who's behind the wheel because it's very dark. The passenger window rolls down and a young man's face appears.
I ignore him and continue walking, a little bit nervous thinking that the guy could be a psycho for all I know.
"Ah-Cy Zhao," he shouts, that's when I turn around again to see his face clearly.
"Do I know you?" I ask in Korean.
He smirks. "Come on in," he answers in English. "I'll give you a ride." He gets out of the car and opens the passenger door for me.
"I'm sorry. But, I really don't know you." I quickly walk away from him, but his hand grabs my arm fast. "Let go!" I scream, making the passers-by look our way.
"It's me, Jin Ah!"
"Jin Ah? Hu Jin Ah?" This can't be. I thought he's dead. I look closer, I couldn't really see any similarity from the boy I used to play with as a child.
"I don't go by that name anymore. I had my last name changed long time ago." He shrugs, "Don't just stand there." He pulls me, "Get in."
Shock lets me follow him in the car. I am still speechless, gaping at the guy driving, even after he revs off.
"Hey!" He snaps his fingers in front of me. "Say something."
"Wait..." I shake my head and massage my aching temples. "Are you ...really...I can't believe this...But...you're...."
"Dead?"
"Y...yes..." I answer. "Your brother told me you were."
"Everybody thinks I'm dead...except my father. But, here I am. In the flesh!" He chuckles...a bit awkward.
We stop in front of a small bar and he leads me in. "Stop staring, Ah-cy."
"What are you doing here?" I have a lot of questions in my mind, but that is the first one that comes out.
"I work here." His brows furrows, like it's a known fact. "BTS?" He studies my face, but I'm just clueless. "No? You hang out with Bing Bang and GOT7 but you don't know BTS?" Like it's the biggest sin in the world.
"Sorry. I've only been here a couple of months."
"Ok. I'm part of this idol group called BTS."
"Why are you here?"
"I just told you. I work here."
"No...I mean...why did your dad say you're dead?"
He shakes his head. "Because I'm a disgrace...that's why..." he laughs like it's not big of a deal. "Don't you know? My mom is a whore."
I know that they have different mothers with his brother. But, I would never call his mom a whore. She was a sweet lady. She just made a mistake on going after a married man.
"The old man thinks I'd destroy his name, so he threw me here. I've been staying with my aunt all these years."
Information overload....
"So, you mean you haven't gone back to China?"
"I go there once in a while...for group activities and the like...but if you're asking if I've been home...NO."
"Anyway, how'd you know I am here?" How'd he even know I'm friends with GOT7 and Bing Bang?
"Internet. DUH!! Your face is all over it."
Shit! I cringe my nose.
He laughs. "You're still the same Ah-cy I know fifteen years ago."
"And you're nowhere near the Jin-ah I know fifteen years ago." I tell him. He's so different now. Of course, because the last time I saw him was when he was seven and I was six. "So, you've stayed in Korea all this time?"
"Not really. I studied in London." That explains the accent. "When I came back here, I auditioned for this group."
Yeah...even as a child, he already liked performing in front of us. He was really good at dancing back then.
"Does your brother know.... I mean...he was just here last month...did you see him?"
He looks away from me and busies his hand with the beer bottle in front of him. "Yeah...I saw him."
"Did you talk? He must be surprised to see you alive."
"Ah-cy! Nobody knows except the old man....and you. He let me promise I wouldn't show up to any of the family members. I should be a ghost. That's why he changed my family name when he threw me here. Well, I've used different names actually."
We don't notice it's already midnight. We've been too engrossed making up for the fifteen years we've been apart. He drives me to my apartment, but not before getting my number.
"Let's hang out again next time," he says, waving goodbye.
That was just a bit eerie..I mean...if you find out that a very close friend of yours who's supposed to be long dead, is still alive...you would freak out too, won't you?
___________________________________________________________________________________
Jin
I was really surprised to see Ah-cy here. I thought she just came here on a vacation. The last time I heard about her, she graduated from a University in New Zealand. I also heard about her family and their business. Talks about the cancellation of the engagement also reached me. I was just too happy to hear that. Lei really thought he could get everything. What a joke.
I see Jackson a lot. In this industry, we bump into other groups very often. But, he doesn't recognize me. I didn't wan to tell him who I am either. He's my little brother's best friend....WAS!
I keep tabs on everybody who was once close to me. One of them is Jess. She's a year younger than I am. When we were kids, she would follow me around anywhere I went. She was my right hand whenever we play a trick on Lei. Lei would always make fun of her, but I was always there to defend her.
Funny how it turned out a few years after that. I heard they dated. But, being the arrogant asshole that he was, Lei lost her just because of a damn bet. Stupid loser. Now, he's taking over the company....all of it. But, I also learned, that it can't officially be his unless he gets married.
That's why, before that happens, I have to take action. I am, if I might add, the first son. Just because I am an illegitimate child, doesn't take my rights away from the family treasure. I AM GOING TO GET THAT RIGHT BACK! It's mine in the first place.
As a son of the mistress, I went through hell in that house. My whore of a mother, didn't fight for my rights. When I was big enough to start school, I was exiled to this country. Yes, he supports me financially. But that's not what I want.
I've already made my first move. I'm just waiting for the right time to continue.
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Please keep in mind....this is a fanfiction....nothing real to it.
Anyway, Jin's character is long overdue. I was meaning to put it in the earlier chapters, but I kinda lost track.
I hope you're still liking the story. It's turning out to be epic.
Lav y'all....