<OST: Orbit - Hwasa>
"Jungkook-ssi! Put your arm around Jennie-ssi please! Nice shot! Jennie-ssi, please look into Jungkook-ssi's eyes! Yes, that's right! Alright, we'll wrap the shoot up for today! Thank you for your hard work!"
"Thank you, everyone!" Jungkook bowed a little at the photographer and staff. "Thank you for your time and hard work!"
Jeon Jungkook. Rising k-pop star by the stage name JK. Made his debut five years ago but only started gaining popularity in recent months after dating scandal with labelmate Jennie Kim. A hardworking guy who pushes himself to his limits for self-improvement. Has an extremely cold demeanour.
"Thank you, everyone!" In contrast, Jennie smiled widely next to Jungkook as she bowed profusely. "Please edit our photos well!"
Jennie Kim. Model and actress. Reported to be dating labelmate Jeon Jungkook since the start of 2020 and her popularity skyrocketed since then. But for Jennie, with popularity also came plenty of hate. Often misunderstood for her "resting bitch face" and often accused of putting up a false front whenever she smiled.
Jungkook turned to Jennie. "Shall we go?"
Jennie smiled as she put an arm around Jungkook's and nodded. "Mm, Jungkook-ah, let's go."
"Y'all look good together!" The photographer called out after them as they headed towards a black van. "Working with a couple is really different indeed! You guys have amazing chemistry - I'm so happy for you!"
"You hear that?" Jennie giggled as she jokingly punched Jungkook in the arm. "He said we look good together."
But Jungkook remained cold towards her, quickening his footsteps and heading towards his car. "Bye, I'm going."
"Hey, wait-" Jennie grabbed Jungkook's arm and pulled him close, shaking his head as she motioned towards the bushes. "Cameras, in the 2 o'clock direction."
Jungkook didn't even glance in that direction, but he stopped trying to leave. Finally, the two of them reached Jennie's car. Jungkook pursed his lips as he pulled open the door and gestured inside. "Get in."
"No need to be so impatient-" Jennie smiled as she jokingly patted Jungkook on the shoulder. "I'll get on when I want to, Jungkook-ah."
Jungkook swallowed hard, his facial expressions stone cold. "Cut the crap and get in."
"I said there's no need to hurry me-" Jennie clucked her tongue while still maintaining her smile. "Also, you should be regulating your facial expressions better, if you don't want to be given yet another warning from sajang-nim."
Jennie stood there for a few whole minutes, teasing Jungkook, but eventually hopped on when she got bored of it. Jungkook quickly hopped in right behind her and slammed the door behind them. And instantly, the mood changed. Jungkook sighed loudly and closed his eyes, rubbing them gently with the balls of his hands. The forced smile on Jennie's face faded as well, as she pulled out her lipstick and began to fix her make up in the mirror, massaging her tired facial muscles before she did so.
"You think I'm not tired?" Jennie asked softly, not even glancing at Jungkook. "I'm just as tired as you are, so can you stop taking out your frustration on me? Earlier, I saw that a camera was still on us so I had to act the way I did... It's been almost half a year - you should have learnt how to cooperate by now."
"Don't talk to me right now," Jungkook said coldly. "I need to rest for a while before I go out there and have to pretend to be head-over-heels with you all over again."
"Excuse you, I'm also a victim here-" Jennie slammed her pocket-sized mirror shut and frowned at Jungkook. "You make it sound like I'm head-over-heels over you or something. What on earth do you not understand? You always act like I'm the one leeching off you when in actual fact, both of us are just trying to make ends meet. It's honestly rather rude of you, I'm older than you after all-"
"Can you be quiet?" Jungkook's eyes fluttered open as he glanced at Jennie nonchalantly. "Stop pulling the age card whenever you have got nothing else to say. If you wanna complain, go complain to Yang sajang or something. I'm tired, can you let me have some peace and quiet for once?"
"Ya-" Jennie folded her arms. "Jeon Jungkook, do you know what people are saying about us because of how you're acting? I saw one forum saying we're a fake couple-"
"Well, yeah, that's because we are."
It was silent for a few seconds, as Jennie was stumped by Jungkook's words.
"Yeah, I know-" she continued after she tried to regain her composure. "But for the sake of both of us, you still shouldn't be..."
Jungkook reached into his bag and pulled put his headphones, put them over his head and closed his eyes as he allowed Jennie's silent cursing fade into the background.
"You disrespectful little-"
Jungkook had been labelmates with Jennie for over five years, but had only gotten to know her better around five to six months ago, when the CEO of their company very so randomly decided, "Hey! Let's start a dating rumour between these two and see if they will skyrocket in their popularity!" Well, Jungkook for one, was against this idea - and Jennie, though less obvious, made it clear she wasn't for it either.
They barely even knew each other, how were they supposed to act like they were in love when they clearly weren't? Jennie was an actress though, so perhaps, she may have no problem at immersing herself into her role - but it was a whole different ballgame for Jungkook. He wasn't an actor, and he loved keeping things real - he never saw the need to put up a false front for anyone, or for any reason. Besides, he hated lying to his fans, to the very few of them he had, anyway.
The most bizarre thing of all was the fact that this was their company's attempt at helping them gain popularity. This point simply blew Jungkook's mind because last he checked, dating scandals had ruined plenty of celebrities careers, when they were at their peak. However, their CEO reasoned that they really had nothing to lose at their level of popularity back then, and a dating scandal would only make them more well-known to the public. Jungkook found that ridiculous, but he was left with pretty much no choice but to agree.
But the craziest, craziest thing had yet to come, because the outcome their CEO had hoped for... actually came true. It was mind-blowing, really, seeing his follower count on Instagram shoot up day by day after the article was released. From a meagre 20k followers, he blew up to 100k, then 500k and finally... 1 million. People began recognising him wherever he went - though at first people knew him as the 2020 New Year's Couple, they slowly began recognising him for his talent and music...
It was the taste of success so sweet that it left Jungkook addicted, though he knew that it would come and bite him back one day. Jungkook, deep down inside him, knew that one day, everyone would find out about their fake relationship and leave him because he wasn't the wonderful person they thought him out to be. That stressed Jungkook out like crazy, and had given him a countless number of sleepless nights over the past few months. Three hours was his average, and that made him more grumpy than he already usually was - and maybe that's why he seemed to be snapping at Jennie more often.
Jungkook didn't hate Jennie - they were together in this dating agreement together after all so technically, they were business partners. But to him, it always seemed so easy for Jennie. She never seemed bothered by the fact that she was lying to her fans, or by the fact that her popularity might plummet one day. Was it because she was an actress, that acting to be in love with someone she wasn't in love with was so easy for her? More than anything, Jungkook was probably jealous of her. Yeah, that's what it was.
But Jungkook wasn't fantastic at expressing himself, he always seemed to find himself tangled up in arguments without even trying to get himself involved.
"JK!"
Jungkook felt someone shake him by his arm abruptly and opened his eyes. Next to him, standing at the car door, stood a familiar man.
The corner of Jungkook's lips twitched a little. "Oh, hyung, you're here."
Kim Seokjin. JK's manager of five years. Pretty much Jungkook's only trusted friend and confidant. The type that freaks out easily and is extremely chaotic when not on his job, but otherwise responsible, loyal and competent. Popular amongst JK's fans for his outstanding visuals and how well he takes care of JK.
"I looked for you everywhere!" Seokjin folded his arms as he handed Jungkook a bottle of fruit juice. "Why didn't you wait for me in your own car?"
"Someone wanted to take the act one step further-" Jungkook rolled his eyes as he glanced in Jennie's general direction. "Completely unnecessary, in my opinion."
"What? Excuse me?" Jennie gasped loudly as she turned to her own manager next to her. "Oppa! Did you hear that?"
Park Jimin. Jennie's manager of five years. Loggerheads with Seokjin ever since they both joined the company around the same time five years ago. Also Jennie's #1 fan and protector.
"Jungkook-ssi, please watch your words," Jimin said with his eyes narrowed. "Our Jennie isn't the type to do unnecessary things, especially not with someone like you. So please don't think too highly of yourself now."
"Wah... Park Jimin-ssi-" Seokjin clapped his hands slowly and cynically. "As expected, always the first to come to Jennie-ssi's defence. People who don't know, would think you're her boyfriend or something. Do you have a crush on her, Jimin-ssi?"
Jimin looked startled for a moment, but he adapted quickly, folding his arms and smirking at Seokjin. "I've noticed that you're always the first to come to Jungkook-ssi's defence as well. Do you have a crush on him, Seokjin-ssi?"
Jennie sniggered softly as Seokjin's eyes flared with rage. "You-"
"Can the two of you cut it out already?" Jungkook asked with an unimpressed look on his face as he reclined his seat. "I wanna sleep-"
"It's not like you can sleep anyway-" Seokjin said rather insensitively as he stared daggers at Jimin while rolling up his sleeves aggressively. "Today, I have to settle things with this guy once and for all."
"Bring it on-" Jimin rolled his eyes together with his sleeves. "In what way are you better than me-"
"Hei-"
"Other than height," Jimin scoffed, bored of Seokjin's same old narrative. "I'm clearly the better-looking manager."
"Oh, really?" Seokjin let out a mocking laugh. "Funny, because just a week ago, I won the poll of the most handsome manager in our company... and you didn't even come close to coming in second."
"Well, that's just one poll-" Jimin chuckled unbotheredly. "Bet you created hundred over fake accounts just to vote for yourself, anyway... since you're that jobless."
"What?" Seokjin was flabbergasted, clutching his neck in fury. "Excuse me? Wow, this is getting so ridiculous- Park Jimin-ssi, please mind your words-"
Jennie shook her head as she put on her headphones as well, leaving the two of them to settle their own squabbles. She, too, had no idea why they were always on such bad terms. It seemed like this was just the way things were ever since they had met each other for the first time. Sometimes, some people just simply don't get along, and maybe that was the case for the both of them. Or perhaps... it was because Jungkook and her weren't on the best terms either...
"I'm the more capable manager, you'll just have to deal with it-" Jimin held his chin high in the air. "Anyway, this is our car, so could you guys leave now? We need to rush off to our next schedule."
"We were just about to leave, okay?" Seokjin tapped Jungkook on the shoulder urgently to 'wake' him up from his non-existent slumber. "Also, I'm the more competent manager. End of discussion."
"No, I am-" Jimin argued as he climbed into the driver's seat. "Get off now, please."
"We're just as busy as you are, alright?" Seokjin rolled his eyes as he hurried Jungkook off their car. "Come on, let's go, JK."
"Come on, Jennie-ya," Jimin said loudly as Seokjin ushered Jungkook away. "Let's head your CF shoot for Lotte Duty Free, South Korea's 5th largest multinational conglomerate."
"Come on, JK!" Seokjin called out loudly, so much so that he was practically yelling in Jungkook's ears. "Let's get you to your CF shoot with Samsung, South Korea's largest multinational conglomerate - without the 5th, because they're the 1st."
Jimin snarled aggressively as Seokjin sniggered under his breath, hurrying Jungkook away quickly before Jimin could say some more.
"You must be having a lot of fun, huh," Jungkook said uninterestedly as he boarded his own car. "What's your beef with that guy, anyway?"
"He's just an eyesore to me, quite frankly." Seokjin scowled as he recalled the things that had transpired between them before. "A rude brat who doesn't treat me with respect. Besides, you debuted a few months before Jennie-ssi did, he shouldn't be this pompous."
"If you ask me, you're just as pompous, hyung."
"I deserve to be!" Seokjin sniffed as he started tge engine, glancing at Jungkook through his rear-view mirror. "Look at how successful you are, I had a part to play for taking exceptional care of you, alright? Haven't you seen how your fans praise me? Be grateful, you punk."
Jungkook scoffed as he looked down at the magazine on his lap. "Okay, okay. Let's head to our Samsung shoot now, though I don't remember ever signing on with them before...?"
"Ah..." Seokjin laughed awkwardly and pursed his lips. "Well, you see... I might or might not have gone a little bit overboard back there - you're not going for a Samsung CF shoot, Jungkook-ah."
"Huh?"
"Samsung only signs with the most top-tier celebrities and I think we still have a little way to go-" Seokjin chuckled nervously. "But it's okay, we'll reach that point some day. However, we do need to rush off for another schedule - that part was true."
"You're seriously unbelievable-" Jungkook shook his head in disbelief. "What is it?"
"Press conference," Seokjin said quietly. "The one about your upcoming album I informed you about last week, remember?"
"Oh right, you gave me a list of possible questions to prepare for."
"Have you done that?"
"Mmhmm."
"You saw the questions regarding your dating life I added in bold, right?" Seokjin said apologetically. "I know you don't like that topic at all, but the fact is that it's still a hot topic amongst the media so it might be unavoidable that such a question pops up. If you're asked anything about Jennie-ssi, just try to make it look like y'all are an actual thing, alright? Hyung knows it's hard too, but just try your best, like how you always have in everything else you do. Also, remember that reporters are mostly sharper than average people, so be careful you don't slip up."
Jungkook sighed as he stared out of the window, sick and tired of constantly putting up an act. He closed his eyes and leaned against the window, feeling like a headache was brewing - something not uncommon for someone who was surviving on so little sleep.
Seokjin glanced at Jungkook through the mirror once more. "I get into trouble whenever you mess up, Jungkook-ah. So please, please try. For me, for yourself, for Jennie-ssi... whatever. Please, just try."
"Alright, hyung-" Jungkook nodded slowly, thinking of how badly Seokjin got scolded by their boss every time he got involved in some sort of scandal or rumour. "I got it, hyung. I'll try my best."