"Sorry, I can't accompany you for a while..." Minji whispered to Jin as they sat beside each other for their weekly company meeting.
Jin tried to hide the disappointment in his face and nodded. "Is it because your boyfriend got mad that you didn't go home?"
"Boyfriend?" Minji wanted to deny it but she instantly remembered her lie, "oh yes! He was quite mad. But don't worry though, he understood the reason I stayed overnight..." she mumbled through every word, trying to maintain this lie as realistic as possible.
Jin kept staring at Minji. That night when her boyfriend called her, he felt a tiny bit jealous... He wondered whether being friends was truly enough. Sure, she intrigued him but was that reason enough for him to like her? Plus, it's only been a few weeks since they've gotten to know each other so he tried to convince himself that he just wasn't used to someone like her. Trying to deny his growing feelings, he set aside these thoughts for now. Jin ruffled Minji's hair to distract himself, which caught her by surprise.
"What was that for?!" Minji blurted out as she fixed her hair again.
"SHHH!" One of the staff shushed Minji and she went completely red.
Jin laughed at her that caused Minji to playfully hit his arm. "That's payback."
———
After work, Jin wanted to ask Minji about letting him walk her home. This was the least he could do to spend time with her and to keep her safe. He saw Minji exiting the building but he stopped in his tracks when she clung to some guy's arm.
"Oppa!~ did you wait long?" Minji cheerfully greeted the guy. Jin couldn't avert his eyes from the scene. It was a Minji that he hasn't seen before...
"She really does have a boyfriend!" Taehyung swung his arm across Jin's shoulder. "Minji-noona seems like a different person around him... Aww, I'm jealous!"
"Knock it off, I don't care what her life outside work is..." Jin shrugged off Taehyung's arm and proceeded to walk out, secretly trailing the couple.
"Hyung, so what's your next plan?" Jimin sneaks in between Taehyung and Jin.
"I suggest we show Minji what a better man you are!" Yoongi chimmed in as he squished between Jin and Jimin.
Jin was surprised when all of the members were now walking with him, tailing Minji and her boyfriend. The pair in front, completely oblivious to what was happening. They all paid attention to how Minji seemed so comfortable around the guy compared to her air around them.
"C'mon let's go home, there's no use in following them..." Jin suggested.
"But hyung—"
"What?!" Jin annoyingly answered back.
Jungkook tapped his shoulder, "hyung, our home is the same as Minji's..."
——
The next day, Jin seemed to be so out of it. He kept making mistakes as they recorded new songs, he misses a step during dance practice, and he always looked pissed about something. It affected the group and the other staff came to talk to Minji about it.
"Don't you think you're taking this job too lightly, miss Seo?" One of the staff confronted her.
Minji, completely unaware about Jin's issues, light-heartedly replied, "but I think I don't... They must be in a slump or something."
Her remark made the staff annoyed and Minji really had no clue that Jin's mood was affecting the whole team and her job.
Everyone kept giving Minji mini jobs that kept her way busier than what she normally does. The boys would always see her running down the halls, with paperworks on one hand and making phone calls on the other. They all cheered her up, except for Jin who ignores her every time they bump into each other...
This went on for a week and Hoseok couldn't help but voice out his thoughts about it to the others, "hey, don't you think Minji seems busier than usual?"
"Like I'd care..." Jin unusually looked aloof and not interested in what was going on.
"I just heard that the staff has been giving her more work because someone kept messing up..." Yoongi couldn't help but feel sorry for Minji's state. "I wonder how long she would last before her body gives in?"
The air around them became heavy and they were surprised when Minji opened the door. "Hey guys, I'm sorry I was too busy—"
All the stress caught up to her and her body truly gave in. She could only hear muffled sounds as she slowly lost consciousness.
...
Her Love: I seem to be getting more comfortable around him...
His Love: Is Minmin getting cuter?
Her Lie: Being ignored by him doesn't bother me.
His Lie: I'm happy her relationship is going well...
——//——
I'm so sorry for not updating for soooo long >.< I've been pretty busy trying to find a job after graduating.... I also got to see BTS back in May at Rose bowl and I am definitely beyond broke but happy! (The merch and the expenses were so bad in terms of conversion from Canadian dollars to USD -.- ) I cried during Make it Right and Mikrokosmos... and Serendipity was truly breathtaking!
I said I'll be more active now that I'm done with my degree but until I can pass my board exams and get a job, I might have slow updates🥺
PS: I can't believe they released a game about being their manager! This is such a weird coincidence >_<