"Jung Kook, again. Start from beginning. It doesn't sound right," said the PD through the intercom. Jung Kook put the headphone over his head and listened to the beats. He waited for the cue before started to sing his part again. Today was the first recording for their title song and their comeback song. "How do you want me to sing it?" he asked when the PD rejected his attempt for multiple times.
"I want it to sound like a boy who's in love and you don't sound like that at all. What's wrong with you today? You seem distracted, Jung Kook-ah" the PD replied. Jung Kook sighed. Well, he did feel like he was distracted today. He looked at his phone for hundreds times but still not even a reply from her. "Take a rest. We'll continue this tomorrow," PD said before left the studio. Nam Joon looked at him through the transparent glass wall that separated the recording room and the studio. Jung Kook removed the headphone and smiled at the leader.
"Are you okay?" Nam Joon asked when he came through the door. Jung Kook nodded before slumping himself onto the couch at the back of the studio. "Hyungnim was right. You looked distracted today. You used to nail every song at the very first try but today..." Nam Joon said, referring to their producer. Yoongi nodded his head, agreeing with Nam Joon's words. Luckily the other members already left the recording studio after finishing with their part.
"I'm just tired that's all," he replied, avoiding the real issue. Nam Joon nodded his head. He understood if Jung Kook was not ready to talk, then he will not push him to.
"Let's get going then," he said while tapping Jung Kook shoulder.
"I'm staying," Yoongi turned his body and focus on the multiple buttons in front of him. His slender fingers moved and his expression turned serious. "Can I stay with you hyung?" Jung Kook asked Yoongi.
"Don't make any noise then," Yoongi replied without turning his head.
"Can't promise that," Jung Kook's replied brought a smile on Yoongi's face. Nam Joon chuckled before excusing himself. Jung Kook stretched his lower limbs and lay across the couch. He grabbed his iPhone and checked for nth time for her reply. It has been two weeks since they came back from Jeju trip and their last interaction was when Jung Kook asked her did she arrived home safely. He did send her several text messages but she never replied which was weird because no matter how busy she was in the past, she never ignored his text. He hesitated a bit before typing a text message. He breathed in and exhaled it softly. 'Noona, are we okay?' he sent the message and waited patiently for the reply.
He sighed loudly after waiting for almost 15 minutes, closing his eyes so that he can sleep everything off. "Okay, what's fucking wrong with you?" Yoongi asked him with an annoyed face. "I'm here working, not to hear you sighing. I give 10 minutes and spill. Or else, just go home Jung Kook-ah," Yoongi continued.
He rose from his position and covered his face with both of his hands. "Hyung, this is not a story of mine but I asked on behalf of my friend," he started. Yoongi nodded, signaling him to continue. "What if a guy kissed a girl and the girl ignored him afterward. Did she mad at him?" he continued.
"Is she your girlfriend?" Yoongi asked.
"She's not. We're just friend," Jung Kook said. Then he realized that he referred her as his friend. "I mean I don't know. My friend did not tell me that," he corrected himself.
"She might be confused. You're not in relationship with her and if a friend kisses me without an explanation afterwards, I'll be mad too. So, there's a lot of reason to be confused," Yoongi told him, ignoring Jung Kook's correction. "So, you kiss her? And she ignored you? That's why you're so distracted today?" Yoongi looked at him.
"Ani hyung. That's not me, it's my friend's problem," Jung Kook said.
"It's not your problem then, why do you have to be bothered for a problem that's not yours?" Yoongi asked him. Jung Kook couldn't reply to Yoongi's words. Yoongi stood from his seat and approached the maknae. He tapped Jung Kook's shoulder "Call her, tell her what you want to say to her. If she mad at you, then be it. At least respect her. Say sorry, she deserves that. This is the most important time Jung Kook-ah and I don't want you to lose focus because of love matter," Yoongi said.
"Let's go," Yoongi grabbed his black coat.
"Where're we going? You said you want to stay over tonight," Jung Kook asked in confusion.
"Let's go eat lamb skewer," Yoongi said before exiting the studio. Jung Kook quickly got on his feet and followed the older hyung. Yoongi might look like he did not bother with most of the things around him but his members were everything to him apart from music. For Jung Kook to open up to him really mean something so the maknae deserved a lamb skewer outing tonight.
******************************
IU closed her eyes as the car moved smoothly on the road. She opened her eyes and her finger swiped opened her iPhone. She clicked on the chat icon and saw the text message that Jung Kook sent last night. 'Noona, are we okay?' she sighed as she read the text from Jung Kook. "Are you okay?" Hanteo asked while looking at her through the mirror. "Do you want me to play some music?" he added. IU nodded her head before looking outside the window.
DJ's voice filled up the silence inside the car. "Let's listen to IU's Through the Night. Such a perfect weather for a perfect song," said the DJ. Hanteo volume up so that he can hear the song clearer.
I bam geunare banditbureul
(Tonight, I'll send the glow of a firefly)
Dangshine chang gakkai bonaelgeyo
(to somewhere near your window)
Eum saranghandaneun marieyo
(it's that I love you)
Na uriye cheot ipmachumeul tteoolyeo....
(I remember our first kiss)
"Oppa!" IU called her manager. "Can you change the song? I'm not in the mood to listen to my own song right now," she continued. Even her own song betrayed her right now. Why the heck even her own song reminded her of him? Her manager looked at her before shrugging his shoulder.
"But I like your songs the best. So I'll listen to it no matter what's your opinion," he ignored her while pushing the volume button. "What's wrong with you these days? You seemed snappier that your usual self. Are you stressed? Am I putting you under too much schedule these days? Should we withdraw from Hotel De Luna drama?" Hanteo asked. His attention remained on the road but once in a while he stole a glance through the mirror. They were just done with script reading for IU's new drama Hotel De Luna with the other casts and on the way back to IU's apartment.
"Aniya oppa. I'm not stress but I have something to think about. No worries, I like that drama and you did a great job securing the spot for me," IU replied with a soft smile.
"Is it the comeback album? Are you sure you want to delay your comeback?" her manager made a turn and they entered a small alley indicating that they already approaching IU's apartment.
"I felt bad towards Uaena since I have to push back my comeback but I need to focus on the filming. I can't just do everything but do halfheartedly. I would rather push back my comeback than do it half way. Right oppa?" Hanteo nodded his head, agreeing with IU's opinion. Truthfully, they have discussed regarding the matter before but he guessed IU still felt guilty towards her loyal fans.
"I'm sure they understand your intention. Just finish your drama then we can focus on the promotion later," Hanteo persuaded her. IU nodded her head.
"We're here. Go upstairs and have a good rest. Don't think about the album again. We'll sort it out later, okay?" Hanteo said. IU smiled before bidding her goodbyes. She walked towards the entrance and waved her manager good bye.
***********************************
IU exited the washroom and made her way towards her bed. She sat on the bed before reaching for her iPhone. She covered her head with towel that she brought from the bathroom and silently wiped her wet hair while reading the text message from Jung Kook. She bit her lower lip, contemplating whether she should reply the text or not.
Her mind drifted towards the day when he kissed her softly. It was romantic and she liked everything about that kiss. Her heart was beating fast and loud it felt so right but so wrong at the same time. She knew that he liked her but she never thought that he will like her to that extent. "Why did you kiss me Jung Kook-ah? I don't know what to do now," she said while looking at her iPhone as if she was talking to him now.
She took a deep breath before decided to make a call. She waited for a while for that person to pick up the phone. "Yoboseyo," she said once the person picked up the phone.
"Unnie, are you busy now? Can we talk?" she asked.
"Oh sure, go ahead. I'm just about to go to the bed but sure, I can talk," her unnie replied.
"Hyori-unnie, what should I do?" IU asked with a hesitation. She decided to call Hyori to ask her opinion regarding the matter. She should not ignore Jung Kook forever, should she? But she needed someone opinion before she confronted him.
Hyori: What's happened Ji Eun-ah?
IU: Unnie, I don't know what to do now. Actually.....
Hyori: Actually what Ji Eun-ah? You make me worry now? Did you get yourself into trouble?
IU: Aniiiii. Unnie... Unnie, what should you do if someone suddenly ki..ss you and you're not in some kind of relationship with him? I don't know who should I ask but I need to get this out of my head.
Hyori: Don't tell me that Jung Kook...
IU: Yes, it's him.
Hyori: Okay. That's expected of him actually. But, I don't think he'll make that move so fast.
IU: What do you mean unnie?
Hyori: Actually, before you guys went back last time, I confronted him. And.... He said that he thinks that he likes you more than he supposes to. I mean as sunbae-hobae, noona-dongsaeng. Of course I needed to persuade him so that he confessed but I think he really like you Ji Eun-ah. I can see it whenever he looked at you. The way his eyes shone whenever you're around told me everything.
Hyori: Do you like him?
IU: I don't know. I'm confused. Well, I do, as a friend but I never think of him more than that. and he's younger than me.
Hyori: Okay, first, age is just a number and what's wrong falling in love with a younger guy? Hmm, but the way you acted around him told me different story. You used to be so timid around someone you're not close with. You joked around and the way your face lighted up when you saw him made me think that he's indeed a very special friend of yours.
IU: So, what should I do unnie?
Hyori: Ask yourself what you think about him. Sometimes, we might not realize that he's the one when we have too much things in our mind. Give yourself some time. Do you miss him when he's not around? Do you think of him often? Does your heart skip a beat whenever he comes across your head? When you have a problem, is he the one who comes to your mind and you wanted to call him and tell him every sorrow or happy things that you encounter?
Hyori: If he's not the one, tell him truthfully. He deserves that. Well, he might be sad for a while but he'll get over it. But, if he is, then give him a chance.
IU: Thanks unnie. Now I think I know what should I do.
Hyori: Glad that I could help. So, when did the kiss happen?
IU: Unnieeee~~~~
Hyori laughed when she heard IU's replied. "Is he good?" she continued.
"I'm hanging up now. Send my regards to Sang Soon oppa. Good night unnie, thanks for the advice," IU said before hanging up. She smiled as she looked at the phone screen. Now she knew what she should do.
"Is he someone important in my life?" she asked herself. Well, she did not realize since when did Jung Kook became someone in her life. In a span of a few months, she has upgraded him from a loyal fan of hers to someone very close to her heart. Whenever she had problem, she will call or text him. They called each other whenever they have some spare times which were not often considering their busy schedules. And she found herself worried about him whenever she read about his injury through social network. Jung Kook was not someone who whined about his injury so she always found out about his condition through fan updates and she will nag at him whenever she had a chance.
"Did he make my heart skip a beat?" He did. His voice, his kind attitude, his concern. And his kiss. IU placed her right hand over her chest and she can feel that even thinking about him made her heart worked over time and her stomach filled with mutant butterflies.
"Can we talk?" she sent it to Jung Kook and waited for his reply.
"I'll come to your house," he replied after a few seconds passed. IU blinked her eyes at his reply. Well, she did not expect for him to come to her house but if he wanted to, and then be it. "I'll text you the location," she sent the reply.
*******************************
"Hi, Jung Kook-ah," she greeted with an awkward smile as she entered his car. "Let's just talk inside the car," IU continued. She looked ahead of her, trying to avoid his eyes.
"Noona," he said after a few minutes of silent.
IU raised her head and took a good look at him. He looked tired and troubled. He looked like he did not sleep for a few days. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I'm sorry if what I did during our last trip to Jeju bothered you," he added while looking into her eyes.
"But I'm not sorry that I did that," Jung Kook continued to look at her.
"What?" she was confused.
"I'm sorry that I made you feel awkward and bothered but I'm not sorry that I kissed you," he explained himself. "I think I like you more than I should have. So, I'm not sorry that I kissed you since I wanted to do that for a while," he confessed. "You can hate me, you can get mad at me, but I'm not sorry," he continued.
"I don't expect you to reciprocate my feeling but if my feeling made you feel awkward, then you can forget about this. We can continue being friends like before. I just can't bear being distant like this. I miss you noona," Jung Kook said. He looked outside the car and sighed.
"I miss you too," she finally said to him. Not contacting him for more than 2 weeks made her heart ache so much. As much as she wanted to deny, he has become someone important in her life. She regretted that she decided to ignore this for so long.
Jung Kook looked at her and a smile finally pasted on his handsome face. "Give me some time," she said while looking into his eyes. "This is too sudden for me. I'm not ready to be committed again. Let's just give ourselves some time and we'll go from there," she said softly with her eyes never left his. Jung Kook nodded his head and he felt a great relief.
"So, how are you? Are you not sleeping these days cause these panda eyes and sunken cheeks told me that you're not doing well on your own," IU joked while pointing at his eyes. Jung Kook laughed. It has been a while since he had a good laugh and he felt great. Even his hyungs noticed his sudden change of mood and they chose to ignore him when Jung Kook did not bother to explain himself.
"Thanks to someone, I barely sleep at night," IU laughed at his words.
"I'm sorry," she apologized.
"Are we good now?" he asked. IU nodded her head.
"But don't repeat what you did in Jejudo if you don't want me to ignore you again," IU said.
"I can't promise you that," he joked.
"Yah!" she yelled at him.
Jung Kook laughed before holding his pinky finger. "Promise," he said to her.
Author's note:
Hi guys. So I manage to update this week's chapter within my target time and I'm in a good mood since I just finish my research report and now I can focus on writing unnecessary things like this babe. Hahhah. So yeah, cheers.