<OST: It's You - Chungha>
"Sue him...?" Even in her miserable state, Jieun still managed to burst into laughter thanks to Byulyi. "Do you know how much money that needs? Even if I sold this signed jacket like what you suggested, it still wouldn't be enough. Besides, I don't think this matter is huge enough to be brought to court."
"Hm..." Byulyi took her seat next to Jieun once more, putting down the first-aid kit she had retrieved from the cupboard. "Then... maybe post it online...?"
"That's what I was seriously considering earlier..." Jieun admitted, wincing in pain as Byulyi applied the ointment to her knee. "But that was when I was really mad. You know I don't like blowing things out of proportion... I doubt anyone will believe me anyway, to be honest."
"That's true-" Byulyi sighed as she blew softly at Jieun's wound. She looked up at Jieun with her eyebrows furrowed. "In that case, you mean you just let them leave without even holding responsible for what they did? Lee Jieun, I know you're kind, but still... this is a little too much-"
Jieun shook her head as she reached into her pocket and pulled out the name card she had received earlier. "Of course not, unnie. Don't you know who I am? I'm a news reporter, I know better than to let them off so easily."
Byulyi let out a gasp as she snatched the name card from Jieun. Before Jieun knew it, Byulyi had already punched the numbers into her phone and was waiting for Seokjin to pick up.
Jieun pursed her lips nervously as she watched Byulyi. If there was one thing Byulyi was good at, it was writing. But if there was one thing Byulyi was passionate about, it was sticking up for Jieun. And Jieun was nervous about allowing her best friend to speak to Jungkook's manager, but for once, she decided to sit back and let her handle it.
Finally, the call got through. "Hello?"
"Hello?" Byulyi yelled, her voice three times louder than usual. "Hello? Jeon Jungkook? You scoundrel, I heard you bullied my best friend, do you wanna eat my fist or what?"
Jieun froze. Jeon Jungkook...? Who on earth did Byulyi think she was speaking to? It said clearly on the name card that she was calling 'Kim Seokjin', did she not see that or-
"Unnie-" Jieun shook her head desperately, trying to point out the fact that she was yelling at the wrong person. "This isn't-"
"Shh, I'm talking on the phone, Jieun-ah-" Byulyi put the phone down momentarily, clucking her tongue loudly as she fended off Jieun's flailing arms. "It's for your sake, so don't disturb me. Unnie will settle this for you, don't worry-"
Jieun shook her head wildly. "No, unnie-"
"Hello? Jeon Jungkook?" Byulyi put the phone back to her ear, yelling two times as loud this time. She glanced down at her notebook for a few seconds before continuing. "Yes, I'm talking to you - Jeon Jungkook, you stupid little maggot, pathetic worthless bag of filth, arrogant punchable jackass, Jeon Jungkook. You are in trouble, I'm telling you. You messed with the wrong person this time."
"Unnie, no-" Jieun reached for Byulyi's phone desperately, but Byulyi pushed her away, signalling for her to be quiet.
"You thought you could get away with bullying my best friend, didn't you!" Byulyi seethed with anger as she crushed the name card in her fist. "Well, guess what? Even if Lee Jieun agrees to let this go, there's no way I'm going to allow that! You broke her phone, that's 1.5 million won; ruined her jacket... that's 100 thousand won, her medical fee probably sums up to 200 thousand won - so that's 1.8 million in total. Credit card or cheque? We don't accept cash, by the way."
Jieun was getting more and more embarrassed as Byulyi spoke because being the writer she was, Byulyi always seemed to blow things out of proportion - opposite from the way Jieun liked things.
"Unnie, please-"
"Oh, but hold on!" Byulyi carried on with her one man show, no matter how hard Jieun was trying to stop her. "But you refused to apologise to her so you ruined her heart, which is... priceless! How are you gonna repay her, huh? Maybe with your life? Are you gonna marry her or something, Jeon Jungkook? Hm? What are you gonna do about it?"
Jieun facepalmed.
"Why aren't you speaking?" Byulyi frowned, folding her arms across her chest. "You were so bold back then when bullying my Jieun-ie, where has your voice gone right now? Speak!"
"Mm..." Jieun could hear Seokjin's hesitant voice on the opposite end of the line. "Sorry, ma'am, I think you might have mistaken... but I'm not Jeon Jungkook."
"Don't lie!" Byulyi scoffed as she glanced at Jieun. "Jieun herself told me-"
Jieun shook her head in defeat, pointing at the crushed name card in Byulyi's hand.
"Oh, uh- wait-" Byulyi looked frantic as she hurriedly uncrumpled the name card, holding it up to her eyes and squinting as she read it aloud. "Kim Seokjin, Manag-"
Jieun could practically see Byulyi's confidence plummet as an awkward smile formed at her lips.
"Why didn't you tell me!" Byulyi glanced at Jieun, whispering angrily. "This is so embarrassing I-"
"I kept trying to tell you, but you kept pushing me away!" Jieun clucked her tongue loudly. "Hurry up and pass me the phone if you're embarrassed, unnie-"
"Oh, um!" Byulyi cleared her throat loudly as she held the phone up to her ear once more. She took a long sip of water, her face blushing as red as a tomato. "Does it make a difference? You're his manager, so it's practically the same thing, am I right? Tell him to watch out, I'm keeping an eye on him. Goodbye."
Byulyi shoved her phone to Jieun, ran down the corridor to her room, slammed the door shut. A few seconds later, Jieun could hear muffled screams and what sounded like Byulyi thrashing around wildly under her blanket in complete embarrassment.
Jieun tried to stifle a laugh as she held the phone up to her ear. "Hello?"
"Hello? Jieun-ssi?"
"Well-" Jieun chuckled softly. "I'm sorry about that."
It was silent for a few seconds, then Seokjin burst into laughter as well. "That's okay, Jieun-ssi."
"That was my close unnie-" Jieun pursed her lips. "She's rather... protective of me."
"Can tell, can tell-" Seokjin laughed out loud. "If I didn't know, I'd think she had some pent up resentment towards our JK or something."
"No, definitely not-" Jieun let out a nervous laugh. "She just heard the story and spun it into a whole drama inside her head. It's normal, for a drama queen like her."
"Ah."
"Anyway-" Jieun cleared her throat loudly. "I'm so sorry about that, you must be startled. Please just do me a favour and... keep that to yourself. She's extremely embarrassed right now."
Seokjin chuckled softly. "Don't worry, Lee Jieun-ssi, I won't tell JK about it."
"Thank you," Jieun said with a smile. "I'm glad that rude guy has someone as understandable as you by his side. I actually called to discuss the terms of compromise."
"Oh, yes, I was actually expecting your call, Jieun-ssi." Seokjin hesitated for a while. "But before we go into the fine details, I would first like to clarify something about the incident that happened today... our Jungkook actually isn't usually like that, he's just a little more- well, agitated, as of late due to some personal issues. I really hope you understand, Jieun-ssi."
Jieun recalled the scene of Jungkook talking to Jennie on the phone outside the toilet and nodded slowly. They must be on bad terms as of late... that's why he was agitated.
"But that still doesn't justify his actions, Seokjin-ssi."
"Definitely not, I'm not trying to justify what he did, trust me-" Seokjin assured Jieun. "I just hope that this will help you feel slightly better and release a bit of the anger you must feel towards him. Given you situation, I can imagine how upset you must feel right now and I assure you that we will try our best to fulfil your requests as much as possible."
Seokjin was right. There were days that Jieun felt under the weather as well... and it wasn't just her - everyone was struggling to stay afloat, regardless of whatever job they had. Jieun wasn't unreasonable, she was the type that gave people second chances.
"Thank you, Seokjin-ssi," Jieun said with a small smile. "I do feel better, hearing this from you."
"I'm so glad to hear that, Jieun-ssi. Give me a minute-" There was some ruffling sounds coming from Seokjin's end of the line, and Seokjin whispered to someone for a bit, before he came back to the phone. "I'm really sorry, Jieun-ssi. I need to go right now, since my boss is calling me. I tell you what, anyway... such things are difficult to discuss over the phone. Shall we meet up tomorrow to discuss your terms? What time is convenient for you, Jieun-ssi?"
"Well..." Jieun thought for a while. "It depends on where we're meeting."
"At our company café, is that okay?" Seokjin offered. "It's in Gangnam, if that's convenient for you. Or if anywhere else is more convenient, I can go meet you, Jieun-ssi-"
"Gangnam? That's convenient for me," Jieun said with a smile, since her company was also in Gangnam. "12.15pm sounds good, is that okay for you?"
"Sounds perfect to me. In that case, I'll see you tomorrow, Jieun-ssi."
-•-•-
"Jieun-ah! Lee Jieun, wake up!"
Jieun stirred in her sleep as she felt someone's grip on her shoulders, shaking her entire body back and forth. Jieun whined as she stretched her arms a little. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw Byulyi hovering above her, a look of frenzy on her face.
"Unnie!" Jieun groaned as she squinted at the alarm clock next to her bed. "It's only 7am... I haven't had enough sleep yet-"
"Sleep? You still have the mood to sleep?" Byulyi shrieked as she yanked Jieun's blanket away from her before she could use it to cover her face. She shoved her phone into Jieun's hands instead. "A shitstorm was brewing while you were sleeping, Jieun-ah! The girl in this article here... isn't it you?"
"Article?" Jieun rubbed her eyes sleepily as she took the phone from Byulyi's hands and squinted so she could see more clearly. "What article?"
"See for yourself!"
- - -
'BREAKING: Solo Artist JK Caught
Dragging Young Lady By Hand
Into Female Toilet'
- - -
Jieun's jaw dropped. "What the h-"
"Read on, Jieun-ah..." Byulyi's expression made Jieun even more nervous to carry on. "It gets worse, trust me."
- - -
'Solo artist JK was caught dragging a young lady into a female toilet in the KBS Building at around 7:08pm yesterday. Even though this was an attempt to avoid his fans, many netizens have speculated that this woman could be someone close enough to him in order for him to protect her. CCTV footage, though not very clear, has shown that the young lady had fallen to the ground and JK had gone back to help her up.
According to eyewitnesses who were there on scene, the lady was not actress Jennie Kim, JK's rumoured girlfriend. Other eyewitnesses have also come forward to reveal that the two spent a while in the toilet together, parting ways only ten minutes after the fans had been cleared off by JK's manager.
What is the identity of this mystery woman and what is her relationship with JK? Does this have anything to do with JK's avoidance to answer the dating question at his press conference yesterday? Let us know what you think in the comments section down below.'
- - -
"I'm dead, unnie-" Jieun looked up at Byulyi, her face filled with worry. "How am I supposed to go out from now on..."
"Okay, wait, calm down-" Byulyi said as she grabbed her phone from Jieun and took a seat on her bed. "Based on what I've read in the comments section, they haven't traced you down yet."
Jieun hung her head low. "Keyword: yet."
"No, trust me - actually, it ain't that bad."
Byulyi pursed her lips for a while, watching Jieun wallow in self pity. Then she held up her phone and read out some of the top comments:
'I'm gonna kill-'
Byulyi let out an awkward laugh. "Um, let's skip that one. Oh, I see one pretty nice comment here-
'Guys, if you think about it. It ain't that bad. This girl over here isn't a celebrity, meanwhile that Jennie Kim is. If she was the one dating JK, isn't it better? It'd be easier for us to get rid of h-"
"Oh, um-" Byulyi stopped just in time before she made things worse. "Okay, I guess, maybe not this one either-"
"Unnie!" Jieun croaked as she sat up in bed, now completely awake. She buried her face in a pillow and groaned loudly. "Ah- I'm screwed-"
"No, you aren't? You see-" Byulyi patted Jieun on the back gently. "The main point is that no one knows about your identity yet. The CCTV footage is way too blurry, and there's no way any of those people who were there can remember how you look like and track you down based on that, am I right? So just thread carefully from now on, and you'll be fine."
Surprisingly, Byulyi's words did make Jieun feel way better. She was right, there was no way they could track her down if they didn't have a clear image of her. Jieun nodded slowly as she crawled out of bed. "Thanks, unnie. I better get to work now."
"No worries, Jieun-ah," Byulyi said with a cheeky grin as she patted Jieun on her head. "Remember to wear a cap and mask out today, my little celebrity."
"Ya!"
Byulyi hurriedly ran out of Jieun's room before she could catch her.
-•-•-
"Jeon Jungkook!" Jennie banged loudly on Jungkook's door, spam ringing the doorbell at the same time. "Jeon Jungkook, I know you're inside - you better come out right now!"
There was no response.
"I'm gonna stand here and wait until you come out!" Jennie yelled as she took a step back. "We need to talk!"
Still no response.
Jennie pursed her lips, waiting in silence for about ten seconds. Then she got impatient again and began knocking loudly on his door once more, and shouting loudly.
"Jeon Jung-"
The door swung open, cutting Jennie off at once. Jungkook stood at the door with just a towel wrapped around his waist. Before Jennie could scream in utter shock, Jungkook made eye contact with her, grabbed her by the arm and yanked her into his house, slamming the door loudly behind her.
Jennie did not know where to look as she leaned her back against the door, directly facing Jungkook. His body was well-built, with abs and biceps that popped out even more since his arms were folded, and Jennie found her eyes constantly landing on him. But she looked away just as immediately, completely flustered. Eventually, she settled with closing her eyes shut.
"What are you doing?" Jennie covered her eyes with her two hands, her face red and hot. "Why aren't you wearing any clothes?"
"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that, Jennie Kim-ssi?" Jungkook eyed Jennie with a serious look on his face. In fact, he looked kind of pissed. "Who was the one banging on my door loudly, insisting that I open the door for her? I was in the shower, but because you were yelling at the top of your lungs, I had to rush out of the shower to answer the door before the neighbours started to complain. Jennie-ssi, let's be reasonable here. What on earth do you want?"
"Did you not see the article?" Jennie's eyes fluttered open, but she closed them immediately upon spotting Jungkook's bare body. "What on earth was that?"
"It was a misunderstanding," Jungkook said nonchalantly as he walked over to the sofa, where his outfit awaited him. "A complete misunderstanding. I barely even know the girl. She's probably a random passerby or something, or one of my fans, I don't even know. Either way, I'll settle it so you don't have to worry."
"Worry?" Jennie opened her eyes one by one, making sure Jungkook was clothed before she opened them fully. She kicked off her shoes and headed to the sofa, where she took a seat. "How can I not worry when this is affecting me so badly? Did you not read what some of the comments are saying about me?"
"Why do you care?" Jungkook folded his arms once more, looking just as hostile as before. "Just don't read the comments, for goodness' sake! It ain't that hard!"
"Excuse me?" Jennie got to her feet, unable to sit still. "Jeon Jungkook, I was actually intending to come here and apologise, since I felt a little bad for yelling at you yesterday. But you don't seem too apologetic about this whole incident, do you? If you don't feel any sense of remorse towards me, why should I?"
"If I didn't do anything wrong, why should I apologise?"
"You- You're-" Jennie stuttered, completely overwhelmed with rage. "I know we both don't never wanted to be in this contract together but I, for one, can say that I always tried my utmost best not to be a burden to you. What about you? I don't interfere at all in whatever else you do, but have you ever thought of the implications of your actions on me before doing anything?"
"Did I want that to happen?" Jungkook said adamantly, refusing to back down. "Did I go tell that woman to fall so I could help her up? I was doing a good deed, why are you being so anal about it? I already said I'll clarify it later, so can you just leave right now? You're getting on my nerves-"
"Your actions have been an utter disrespect to me-"
"Get out now-" Jungkook grabbed Jennie by the wrist and pulled her towards the door. He pulled open the door and shoved her out. "And don't come here without any warning ever again."