"Have you been missing me, Jinhee?"
Still spellbound in my spot, I saw Taehyung slowly let out a teasing smile at me and brushed my cheeks ever so gently. His touch was soft as feathers, yet it was enough to spark the tingling sensation in my stomach.
Blood rushed up to my cheeks, and I saw his perfectly-sculptured lips stretched even wider, as though he could see through the magical effect that he had cast upon me.
Oh God, what's in the Heaven name is happening here?
I wanted to ask why the boys were here, but then it seemed like it would only come out stupid. Because at this moment, I only realized I was the one who entered into their premise—the Big Hit Entertainment.
How did this happen? For the love of God, I didn't have a slight clue either.
Before I could pose a question, I was surprised when Gayoung unnie tore Taehyung's hand from me and slightly knocked his head with a rolled magazine that appeared out of nowhere.
"The only thing that you'll be missing is your head, Taehyung. Hands off her," Gayoung unnie warned as she put up a protective hand in front of me.
"Woah. Easy, noona. Easyy." Taehyung drawled out playfully and held out a defensive hand to calm Gayoung unnie down. While Namjoon and Jin smiled sheepishly and took two steps backward from the fiery noona that they seemed to get along with.
"And I said her name is Kwon Mia. Why did you guys call her with a different name? Don't be rude now..." Gayoung unnie crossed her arms and gave the boys a disapproved look.
At that moment, the boys slowly exchanged a look at each other before every each of them fidgeted out an awkward movement, not knowing how to explain the complication of the situation.
"Noona, what do you mean that she's our new stylist?" The chirpy Hoseok asked, trying to chase away the awkward silence.
"She just had an interview with Bang PD-nim. And he passed her, like in within seconds. Isn't she amazing?" Gayoung unnie let out a proud smile at me, one of her arms found its way circling over my shoulder.
Upon hearing that revelation, the boys looked momentarily surprised as they landed their gazes on me. And soon after, the bright side of the group along with Taehyung flashed me a warm smile that looked like it had a hidden meaning behind it. While on the dark side, they remained silent. Their expression wrapped with nothing but a pained, gloomy aura.
"Yeah, she's always been amazing with her charms..." Taehyung uttered out in his deep voice, his dark brown eyes cemented on me longer than it was necessary that I began to feel nervous under his strong gaze.
"Wait. Why did you guys sound like you already know Mia?" Gayoung unnie asked as she looked at the boys in perplexion, and then she shifted her eyes towards me.
Still wrapped in her embrace, I couldn't help but gulp inaudibly at the ongoing conversation. The boys planted a long, meaningful stare at me before I saw Namjoon scratched the back of his neck, indicating the start of his speech. They wouldn't tell anything to Gayoung unnie, would they?
"Actually, Gayoung noona... We all know both Mia and Jinhee..."
With every word he revealed out, the uncomfortable sensation in my stomach insisted on, making it harder to breathe even an ounce of air.
"But as for Jinhee..." Jin slowly continued as he flickered a careful gaze on me.
"She's our–"
"I met them in New York unnie," I quickly cut Taehyung off as I knew it was my cue to abort this meeting. "They went for Billboard, and we kinda bumped into each other. What a surprise to meet you guys here!" I beamed excitedly with a step forward, and being the nearest person to me, I clapped Taehyung's arm as a sign of my fake enthusiasm towards this unexpected meeting.
In that second, I noticed how the boys slowly dropped their expression into a bitter one, obviously disappointed with my adamancy on denying my unknown past.
Well, except for one.
Because instead of complying with my plot, Taehyung slightly raised his head and towered over me with his piercing gaze. His amused expression disappeared, and now he confronted me with a serious look that it practically made me want to shrink into a puff of nothing.
I stretched the wide smile on my face and tightened the hold on Taehyung's arm, asking him to act along, but he only entertained me with a cold glare. Knowing that he actually hated witnessing my pretense, I tried to plead him with my puppy eyes and mouthed a silent 'Please, don't tell her anything' to him.
But even I had voiced out my inner desperation, Taehyung still didn't budge from his stoic demeanor. Because he just ignored the silent pleas on my face and slowly shrugged off my hold from his arm.
"Noona, how do you know her?" Taehyung arched a challenging brow at me before he looked at Gayoung unnie with a sudden determination.
"She's my boyfriend's–"
"Unnie, can we talk?" I interrupted again as I turned around and blocked Gayoung unnie's view from the boys. It may seem rude, but at that particular second, I didn't have a choice. I was desperate.
Gayoung unnie looked at me with confusion, but she probably noticed the fear on my face, so she nodded and followed quietly when I ushered her into an empty office room. In the meantime, I could literally feel a pair of eyes were passionately burning holes onto my back.
"Mia, can you please tell me what's going on between you and the boys?" Gayoung unnie didn't beat around the bush anymore when we were finally alone in the office room.
I bit my lip in hesitation and looked away, at the same time, catching a glimpse of the boys peeping at us through the rows of the blinds. Huffing out a tired sigh, I approached the window and shut off the blinds so that I could talk it out with Gayoung unnie without any interference.
"Unnie, I think we had a misunderstanding..." I began slowly and looked at her with an uncertain expression.
Gayoung unnie blinked at me a few times, looking as puzzled as I was. "What kind of misunderstanding?"
"How do I explain this, unnie... When you said that you got a job vacancy, I thought you meant in Vogue Korea...?"
At hearing my words, I watched how Gayoung unnie's clear eyes slowly rounded in realization. Her hands instinctively cupped her mouth.
"Oh my God, Mia. I'm so sorry for not telling you the full details!" She quickly approached me and wrapped my hands apologetically, her face covered with much remorse.
"My friend, which is the head coordinator of Big Hit, told me that he needs a stylist ASAP, so I recommended you the job, here, in Big Hit Entertainment!" She explained in one breath, a hint of panic molded in her breathless tone, and suddenly I felt bad for mentioning about this matter when I had actually solved the puzzles a couple of minutes ago.
"And the boys know you because..."
"Because I was their stylist two years ago. But I decided to quit on personal reason, and got an offer into Vogue Korea after that," Gayoung unnie elaborated despite being consumed by guilt. "Mia, are you disappointed that it's not Vogue Korea?" She bit her lips, looking like she was about to shed a tear.
So I quickly shook my head and assured her with a soft smile. "No, unnie. It's not about Vogue Korea or Big Hit Entertainment..."
"Because of the boys?" She simply guessed, making me look up at her with a bitter expression.
"What happened?"
"We kinda parted ways in a bad term when we met in New York..." I pursed my lips in as I reminisced on the bittersweet memories of the boys in NYC.
But do I really have the right to depress over the memories? Funny how I was the one who made the choice but ended up feeling pessimistic about it. When will you ever make the right choice, Kwon Mia?
"Unnie, please don't make that face. Now I feel bad for bringing up this matter..." I smiled at her and patted her back when she made this cute pouty face.
No wonder my brother looked like he could never live without her. Gayoung unnie personally had her own aegyo. Even when she scolded the boys a moment ago, it didn't affect any of the targets nor the audience.
"I was just too surprised that I didn't know how to react to this situation..." I told her truthfully with a weak smile. "And maybe I was given this chance to fix things with the boys, who knows. So, don't worry. I'm going to be fine here," I convinced her with an okay sign and let out a confident smile.
With a guilt-ridden face, Gayoung unnie pulled me into a hug and whined out a long sorry that made me laugh. I continued patting her back, and we officially ended the dramatic scene with an exchange of bright smiles.
I silently let out a sigh and thought about the interview that I just had with Bang PD-nim. Even though I had the notion of running away, but thinking that I have already signed a contract and the non-disclosure agreement with Big Hit Entertainment, I guess it's too late to back out now.
Whether I liked it or not, I have to face the boys head-on, just like how Esra wanted it to happen. And maybe I should really stop defying the fate. Because at this point, it was obvious that...
Taehyung had won over the bet on fate.
_________
Half an hour later, Gayoung unnie finally left the premise for work after she had introduced me to the head coordinator; also the good-looking Visual Director, Kim Seonghyun.
"I have heard about you, Mia. I can't believe I'm talking to the personal stylist of Ivy Quinn, the Pop star that everyone adores!" Seonghyun sunbae welcomed me wholeheartedly as he led me to the second floor, where most of the staff was.
Um, not everyone, sunbae. I couldn't help but forced out a smile when he showed his interest towards Ivy Quinn with much passion. I chose to keep quiet and left him with his permanent lovely imagination of Ivy Quinn. Along the way, we also shared our interest in fashion designs, and where I learned that he already had his own clothing line called JIHA.
Once we had reached the floor, Seonghyun sunbae then introduced me to their management and staff. In other words — the whole Big Hit Family.
"Nice meeting you! You're so pretty Mia," One of the creative team said brightly.
"Welcome to Big Hit Family, Mia!" The management team welcomed me warmly as they were busily preparing packed lunch on the table.
I just bowed and smiled back. "Thank you," I said simply.
"Mia, I have heard about you from Gayoung! I'm Haejong, Gayoung's roommate, and also BTS's stylist since their debut days." A woman looking in her late-20s greeted me with a friendly smile on her face.
"It's really a pleasure to meet you, unnie. Please take care of me." I let out a smile and shook hands with her, while on the inside, I rejoiced a little to finally meet the roommate of Gayoung unnie in person. Because I have heard good tales of her from Gayoung unnie too.
Gayoung unnie had rented an apartment a few blocks down, where it was located in an equal distance of Big Hit and Vogue Korea. It was really a strategic place, and it didn't require Gayoung unnie to move out even when she had changed her working place.
From what Gayoung unnie had told me, all the stylists had been living together for the past few years, and now that I was one of them, I'd probably need to move into their apartment too. Considered that my house was 170 miles away, it'd really give benefits to my personal circumstances. At the thought of living with my co-workers and having them as my housemates made me smile.
I greeted the rest of the staff as Seonghyun sunbae introduced every each of them to me. There were many hair stylists, makeup stylists, and many more unfamiliar faces and confusing names that I hope I could remember in one go, but then, in my pathetic mental condition, I knew that was quite impossible.
And then, here it comes...
The BTS members.
"Oh, guys! Meet our new stylist, Kwon Mia." Seonghyun sunbae called the boys as soon as they stepped into the room.
The boys nodded, acknowledging my entrance and gave me a smile. But as always, the bright and dark sides still separated the ambiance of the group when they saw me.
"We know, hyung. We have met her upstairs," Jin said, smiling and sending a flying kiss to me that I didn't know how to react when almost everyone in the room laughed at seeing his utter casualness.
"Great! So I guess we can skip the introduction." Seonghyun sunbae clapped his hands in excitement, but for a brief moment, he looked at me. "Mia, I bet you already know the boys well enough, right?"
I gave him a nod, consciously knowing that the boys were appraising at every inch of my movement. After all the seven dates with them, I guess so.
"Excellent! So for today, you can start off by helping me to style..." Seonghyun sunbae trailed off, his eyes scanning the boys with a considering gaze.
"Not me, obviously. She will just embarrass me with her fashion taste."
A stony silence crept into the room when Yoongi voiced out his opinion almost too coldly, that I could see everyone silently shivered in fear. No one said a word, until Yoongi moved and sat on one of the chairs to let the hair stylist fixed his hair. The moment he popped in his earphones, a wave of whispers could be heard around the room.
"Okay, Yoongi is out..." Seonghyun sunbae whispered under his breath, but his eyes looked at me with a tinge of guilt. "Um, Mia. Please don't take his words to the heart, yeah? Yoongi's quite... different."
I assured him with a small smile and shook my head, saying that it's fine. Out from the corner of my eyes, I took the courage to look at Yoongi in the mirror, and when he saw me, he quickly shut his eyes, pretending that he was sleeping.
He's only different because I had broken his heart...
"Count us out too hyung," Jimin said and slung his shoulder over Jungkook's, pulling him towards the makeup stylists to do their makeup.
"J-Jimin, Jungkook?" This time, Seonghyun sunbae looked rather bewildered with the hostile treatment that I was getting. He looked at the boys, but they only kept quiet and played with their phones, making the head coordinator huffed out a tired sigh.
I clasped my hands and pursed my lips in as I felt my chest tightened at their impassive attitudes. It was crystal clear that this wouldn't just be a flowery route of destiny, but a thorny guilt-trip as well. How can I forget? Karma's always been a bitch.
"U-um, Mia. They are usually not like this. Maybe they got tired from yesterday's practice. Don't get upset, okay?" Seonghyun sunbae tried to cheer me up, and once again, I just smiled at him.
It was quite amusing to see Seonghyun sunbae trying to cover up the offensive actions of the members, when I clearly knew that they only paraded out their raw emotions because of what happened in NYC.
I know I shouldn't let an unpleasant situation like this keep lingering around a company, because at some point, it would only jeopardize the teamwork. But the bottom line was, if I ever apologized, it would also mean that I am affirming the identity of Kim Jinhee — the very identity that violated every strand of my DNA.
"Okay, so only four left. Mia, how about I will let you handle Namjoon, Jin and..." Seonghyun sunbae shifted his finger between Hoseok and Taehyung in a quite long minute that I began to feel nervous.
Because I badly hoped it would be Hoseok oppa.
Please, dear God.
After how Taehyung looked like he was determined enough to fight against me a moment ago, and how my mind kept unconsciously rewound to the memory when I called out Taehyung's name in the moment of helplessness, I know I wasn't strong enough to handle Taehyung right now.
"...Taehyung."
My heart sank to my stomach at hearing that name, while Taehyung arched his dark brow and smirked at me with full of meaning.
"If you need any help, just call Haejong, alright Mia? She will gladly help you." Seonghyun sunbae patted my shoulder while giving a sign at Haejong unnie, which she nodded with an angelic smile.
"Hyung, what about me?" Hoseok asked with a slight frown on his face.
"Well, I'm here for you, Hoseok. Everyone knows how weird your fashion taste is. It might be a little bit difficult for a beginner." Seonghyun sunbae walked over to him with a wide grin and nudged his chest playfully.
While Hoseok made a judging face and put a hand on his chest. "Hyung! My acorn pouch is offended."
With that, the room filled with hearty laughter at seeing the hilarious, yet adorable reaction of the sunshine of the group.
_________
Half an hour later, we arrived in Yongsan for the commercial shoot of PUMA. All the staff scattered around this old building behind the Yongsan station. Some staff was busy furnishing the background of the photoshoot, another team was setting up all the lighting props and cameras, while in the shadowed space behind those cameras, the stylists used their gifted talents in donning the seven breathtaking models.
"Stop looking at me like that, Taehyung." I let out a silent sigh when I could literally feel the intensity of his eyes on my face as I fixed the branded clothes on him.
When I flickered my gaze on him, I saw how his brown eyes looking back into mine with a glint of amusement, his smile never wavered down ever since I told him to dress up.
And now I was alone in the dressing room with him after he had called me out in an urgent tone, as if he was in trouble, but now that I had studied him, he looked just... fine.
"What? Am I distracting you?" He moved closer and smiled even wider, as if he enjoyed every second of suffocating me with his seductive fragrance.
Silence.
"No," I replied and took a few steps back when I saw he almost reached out to me. "You're making me nervous, Taehyung. It's my first day as your stylist."
For a second, Taehyung looked surprised by my words. But when he had processed it, he just let out a chuckle and continued staring at me with a gaze that seemed dangerous — as if he had some kind of hidden desire.
"It's not my fault when you are too beautiful, Jinhee." He whispered those words, too soft that I was momentarily frozen in the small space of the room.
Ignoring the blush that crept into my cheeks, I splayed my arms and looked straight at him. "Fine, stare all the way you want."
"Really?" He asked, his look filled with astonishment.
"Yeah, but call me Mia here. I don't want other people to confuse with my name."
That did the little trick, because I saw how his smile dropped in an instant, his warm brown eyes turned dead serious that I had all the urges to run away.
"No way in hell," He flat-out said, his voice dripped with annoyance as he glared at me.
"It's either you call me Mia, or stop staring at me."
I found myself stepping closer to him, trying to prove that I wasn't afraid of him, even though my insides were shaking, my stomach was flipping, and I couldn't think of anything. At that moment, I knew I was being captivated once again.
"I don't see any options there."
"Then I won't talk to you."
Taehyung took a daring step towards me, making my back touch the wall.
"That necklace looks nice on you." His husky voice wrapped in mischief as his fingers slowly traced the burning skin near my neck, and to the red tiger charm.
With such action, my mind went crazy. My heart thumped so fast in my chest, that I was certain it would explode right out of my chest.
"Who gave it to you?" He continued asking, his eyes gleamed teasingly.
At that moment, I wish I could just snap off the necklace and run away. As if it wasn't embarrassing enough with the flashback.
Oh God, is this how you are going to torture me?
"I-I picked it up on the street," I pathetically lied and looked away from him.
I heard Taehyung let out a chuckle as he placed both of his hands against the wall, trapping me in between. "Aw, come on, Jinhee. Who the hell in their sanest mind would drop a Gucci necklace on the street?"
"Taehyung, I'd really appreciate it if you let me focus on my job," I stressed out my words and tried to push his shoulders, but he didn't budge at all.
"Who's the kind gentleman that gave you the necklace?"
I rolled my eyes when he kept insisting on the same question.
"None of your business."
"That's quite a long name."
I gave him a stare, and he let out an amused chuckle at seeing my reaction.
"Perhaps, it's someone who called you 'princess'?"
Silence.
"Someone that made your heart skip a beat whenever you see him around?"
I chuckled in disbelief at hearing the confidence in his voice. "Please, don't flatter yourself, Kim Taehyung."
"Oh, so it's really me." His lips slowly tugged into a winning smirk.
"Like you said, let's stop with the pretense now, shall we?" I beamed him a fake smile and pushed him away, wanting nothing but an escapism from the suffocating room.
But before I could make a step out, Taehyung grabbed onto my hand, not in a forceful way, but rather in a gentle grip. Without even looking at him, I just knew he was silently begging me not to walk away from him.
"Hey Jinhee..."
I held my breath, and my heart was once again a mess. Because it seemed like I was able to recognize that tone—that one tone when he wanted something from me. And it wasn't something particularly big, but it was something that he had longed.
Something precious.
"Will I be able to see you tomorrow?" He asked quietly, his brown eyes swirled with an emotion that I couldn't read.
"It depends," I shrugged and let out a thin smile, trying to negotiate with him. "If you finally decided to call me Mia here."
In those nanoseconds, I saw how Taehyung's face slowly darkened before he let my hand go. His plump lips pouted a little that I tried to swallow a smile at seeing his unexpected adorable side.
"I have signed a contract with this company, in case you forgot." I rolled my eyes, yet I finally managed out a smile at him.
"Great." He smiled so wide as he took out his phone in utter excitement. "So, can I get your phone number?"
"No."
Taehyung dropped his smile as fast as lightning struck down the dark sky. The visible disappointment on his face was almost too amusing that I started to enjoy his little reactions.
"Can we take a selfie together?"
"No."
Taehyung bit his lips, trying to think of ways to convince me. "Alright then. Since it's your first day, can I give you a welcome gift?"
I blinked at him with a tilt of head. "A welcome gift? Right now?"
"Yeah," He simply answered over a stretch of meaningful smile.
"Okay... Sure..." I slowly agreed, yet I couldn't help but look at him uncertainly.
I guess a gift wouldn't cause any harm, right?
"Do you want to close your eyes or keep them open?" He asked as he busily rummaged through his back pocket for my gift.
"If it's with you, I will absolutely keep my eyes open as wide as possible," I confirmed with a nod, making Taehyung laugh at the sarcastic reply of mine.
"Okay, if you say so." He shrugged off casually, still smiling at me.
I extended out my palms and waited for him to surprise me with the prepared gift.
But instead of giving me any thing, Taehyung suddenly pulled me closer by the waist, and the very next thing I know...
I felt his warm lips embraced mine.
So gentle... So passionately...
As if he had owned it before.
The world was still, but somehow Taehyung managed to move in my frozen world. Because I saw how his lips quirked up into a smile after he had slowly pulled away from the kiss.
"This..." he breathed out, his dark brown eyes burned deeply into mine, "feels just right."
Then he slowly leaned in to connect our foreheads together, and whispered...
"Thank you for coming back into my life, Jinhee."
»»———— ♡ ————««
T E A S E R
"Jinhee meant something to us. Do not mention her name if you are just going to snoop around and hurt us again."