<OST: Orbit - Hwasa>
"Thank you, ajumma!"
Jieun bowed a little at the cleaner lady as she returned home later that day from a quick grocery-shopping session at the nearby supermarket. Once the lady had left, Jieun quickly put down the groceries on the table and hurried over to the corner of the room where the box she had found the document earlier was.
But it was clear to Jieun that all the boxes had moved since the cleaner lady had cleaned the house. The box was no longer there, and many of the boxes were now closed once more. Jieun looked around the surrounding boxes for any trace of the documents, but to no avail.
Jieun looked down at her watch. 6pm. Jungkook had left her a note earlier that morning that he was going to be back at about 7pm - which means she has about an hour to prepare dinner for him. Jieun wanted to prepare dinner for him for a multitude of reasons. Number one, she wanted to express her understanding towards his situation - to get into his good books. Number two, his food was plain inedible - that's that. Jieun wanted to cook something that was healthy, didn't stink up the house, and was tasty all at the same time.
Jieun got down to work immediately and finished exactly an hour later. She finished cleaning up and setting the table just moments before Jungkook returned home.
Bang!
The door swung open loudly with a loud bang, causing Jieun to jump up in surprise.
"Omona-ya!" Jieun's hand flew to her heart as she glanced up and spotted Jungkook walking in. "Oh-? You're back! Just on time for dinner!"
Jungkook looked up at Jieun, his eyes filled with fatigue. "What did I say about cooking?"
"Oh-" Jieun smiled sheepishly as she took off her apron. "Sorry, Jungkook-ssi. I wanted to cook something tasty without compromising on its healthiness for yo-"
"Are my rules a joke to you?" Jungkook raised his voice as he trudged into the living room. "I said no cooking, that means no cooking!"
"You said it was because of the smell-" Jieun blinked rapidly, surprised by Jungkook's horrible attitude. "I cooked everything without oil, just added a lot of herbs, so it should smell good instead-"
"I don't care what smell it is, I just hate my house smelling like that-" Jungkook yelled. "Are you dumb? Are you really so freaking dense? Did you not understand what I meant when I said I don't want any kind of smell in my house?!"
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, alright? No need to yell!" Jieun folded her arms, clearly taken aback by Jungkook's huge response. "You were alright this morning - what happened outside that could possibly have made you this angsty? Gosh."
Jungkook glared at Jieun as he stormed into his room and slammed his door behind him.
Bang!
Jieun jumped up again in surprise as she took a seat at the dining table. "Goodness... Who was the one who said to keep the volume down at home..."
Bang!
Jieun jumped as Jungkook's door flung open once more. He stormed out of his room, fuming mad this time. "Lee Jieun, what happened to my room?!"
"Oh-" Jieun got to her feet at once, her jaw hanging open because of how surprised she was. "Um! Just now-"
"Why is everything moved?!" Jungkook yelled. "Did you touch my stuff?! What did I say about not entering my room!"
Jieun had reached her limit of tolerance.
"Ya!" Jieun yelled back, slamming her cup down onto the dining table. "Just because I have been patient with you doesn't mean you can keep taking out your anger on me, you know?! Your room? I didn't touch it - I didn't even go in, I was out the whole day, after the cleaner lady came in in the morning. It's the cleaner lady! Okay? The cleaner lady! Not me! Stop freaking taking your anger out on me!"
Jungkook breathed heavily. "Oh-"
"Why are you in such a terrible mood in the first place?" Jieun carried on, agitated that Jungkook was taking his anger out on her. "Even if something happened to make you upset, you can't just take it out on anyone like that, you know? Especially me - I just made you a meal today, thinking that you must be tired and hungry when you came back from your hike - why can't you be nice?!"
Jungkook bit his lower lip, instantly realising how wrong he was. "I'm sor-"
Grung!
"Forget it!" Jieun shouted as she pushed her seat back and stormed away. "Eat it if you want, throw it away if you don't. I can't be bothered anymore, okay? I give up!"
"Lee Jieun-ssi-"
Jieun glared at Jungkook one last time before she closed the door. "And don't expect me to help you tonight!"
Bang!
Jungkook groaned as his knees gave way and he sunk to the ground, staring blankly at the food on the table.
-•-•-
"Hey, calm down-" Byulyi coaxed Jieun later that night. "I'm sure he didn't mean to be so rude either - even you yourself are saying that he must have been triggered by something outside. Go talk to him about it or something-"
"I don't want to!"
"Okay, okay, then don't-" Byulyi sighed. "What exactly happened?"
"I went out for a while and the cleaner lady came back and rearranged everything-" Jieun let out a frustrated groan. "He came back and accused me of touching his things, and also scolded me for cooking... That ungrateful brat... I'm never cooking for him ever again."
"Yeah, don't-" Byulyi laughed. "Why did you even bother cooking for him in the first place? I thought it was banned or something?"
"I-" Jieun hesitated. "His food is inedible, really - I have no idea how he does it. I wanted to cook something for both of us... but he took it so negatively... I really can't stand him any longer!"
"Is that so?" Byulyi hesitated for a while, before she whipped out a notebook and a pen. "Jieun-ah... I know now may not be the right time... but can you do me a favour?"
Jieun clucked her tongue agitatedly. "What?"
"Give me some details about you and JK..." Byulyi tried her luck. "I've really been running out of inspiration lately... please help me!"
"Ya, unnie! This is not the time for that!"
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding..." Byulyi chuckled, but continued to push for it. "But if the both of you have any progress... do make sure to keep me updated- I could really do with more information..."
Beep.
"Hello? Hello? Are you still there?" Byulyi frowned as she put down the phone. "That rude girl... I hope she's doing okay..."
Bang!
Byulyi jumped from the sudden sound of her door bursting open. She looked up, a frown spreading across her face as she spotted Seokjin standing at the door.
"Ya!" Byulyi folded her arms. "I told you knock before coming in, didn't I?"
"You didn't lock the door-" Seokjin said with a smirk. "Besides... what was that I just heard...?"
Byulyi froze as she tried to recall what she had said to Jieun on the phone. "What? What did you hear?"
"You were speaking to Lee Jieun, weren't you?" Seokjin leaned against the doorframe, wriggling his eyebrows at Byulyi. "Saying that you need more information about JK... isn't that what you said?"
Byulyi's heart almost stopped. "W- What...? I have no idea what you're talking about-"
"You're writing a novel based on our JK, aren't you?" Seokjin eyed Byulyi suspiciously. "I finally figured it out. So that is why Jieun-ie eventually agreed on moving in despite all her worries..."
"W- W-" Byulyi swallowed hard. "Why?"
"Because she's your spy," Seokjin summarised. "You want her to spy on JK so you can write your story. Byulyi-ssi, you ain't slick at all."
Byulyi was sweating bullets at this point. "So what? Now you gonna tell him about my plan? Is that how it works?"
"No, what's the point-" Seokjin laughed as he took a seat at Byulyi's desk. "That's no fun. Besides, JK needs her so it's not gonna affect their relationship much. It's just that... I'm afraid you might get into trouble if I expose you online, Byulyi-ssi. I saw your profile a few days ago - Author Moon, 20+k followers, am I right? How would they feel if they found out that you encouraged stalking...?"
Byulyi had been worried about Jieun all this while, hoping that Seokjin wouldn't find out about her ulterior motive of moving in with Jungkook... But now, the person she needed to worry most about was herself. Her entire career was in danger, in the process of trying to protect Jieun.
"Don't try anything funny-" Byulyi warned Seokjin. "What do you want? Money? I'll give it to you-"
"Let me write with you."
Byulyi's jaw dropped. "What?"
"Let me cowrite this novel together with you-" Seokjin smiled. "I can provide you details on JK not even Jieun-ssi knows about. Isn't that what you want? You have a character based on JK's personality, don't you?"
"Yeah, but..." Byulyi shook her head in disbelief. "Why would you wanna do that...?"
"You don't know this, but I like writing-" Seokjin got up from his seat and took a step towards Byulyi. "It's fun, isn't it? Cowriting a book for the first time, while being a manager. It's interesting."
Byulyi shook her head as she remembered what her entire story was about. She had already written the first few chapters, and they were entirely based on Jieun and Jungkook's story- "No, I'm afraid I can't. I can't do that."
"Alright then-" Seokjin grinned as he headed towards the door. "Be prepared to be all over the press tomorrow, Byulyi-ssi."
"Wait! This is blackmail-"
"Yeah, it is-" Seokjin folded his arms and shrugged. "So... yes or no, Byulyi-ssi? This is your last chance."
Byulyi bit her lower lip. She could change the beginning, or tell him she hadn't even started at all - no matter what, she couldn't let him see what it was about. He'd definitely become curious, and soon suspect Jieun's identity. This would be the first time she'd have someone cowriting a book with her, but there was no harm, was there? As long as she kept Jieun's identity hidden, maybe it'd somehow be fun.
Byulyi took a deep breath. "Fine."
"Deal-" Seokjin grinned as he reached out a hand towards Byulyi. "I'm looking forward to working with you, Moon author-nim."
-•-•-
Jennie hummed softly as she entered her password into her lock. She couldn't wipe the smile off her face as she thought about how she managed to stand up against her bullies for the first time. Yes, they were bullies - and today was the very first time she acknowledged that she did not deserve such treatment and that if she didn't stand up for herself, no one else would.
'You don't have to care about what others think. Just trust in yourself.'
Yoongi's words from that night rang in Jennie's ears. That was what Jimin had been telling her for ears, why did it feel different coming from Yoongi? Was it because he seemed to have gone through a lot in life...? Whatever, she had him to thank.
"You look happy today, hm."
Jennie looked up, her face lighting up when she spotted Yoongi standing by his door, watching her silently. She had been so immersed in her thoughts that she hadn't even heard his door open.
"Oh, Yoongi-ssi-" Jennie pursed her lips, smiling a little as she nodded. "Mm, I'm happy today."
Yoongi stared blankly at her.
Jennie blinked. "Aren't you gonna ask me why?"
"Aren't you gonna tell me without me asking anyway?"
"True-" Jennie chuckled. "Well... today I stood up for myself against some seniors for the first time. They have been... bullying me for a while now. Yeah."
Yoongi blinked. "That's all?"
"Mmhmm."
Yoongi nodded slowly.
"I mean..." Jennie shrugged. "It may not be much for a regular person, but for someone like me - it took so much courage."
"Good job."
Jennie raised her eyebrows in surprise. "What did you say...?"
Yoongi stared blankly at her, before turning around. "Goodnight."
"No, no, no, wait-" Jennie pulled him back by his sleeve. "I haven't finished yet. I still need to thank you."
"Thank me...?"
"Mmhmm-" Jennie nodded as she looked Yoongi in his eyes. "You were the one who gave me that courage, Min Yoongi. Thank you."
Yoongi shook his head. "You should thank yourself."
"Nah, I'm pretty sure it's you who gave me that courage and that's why-" Jennie grinned. "I wanna thank you with a homecooked meal for dinner... tomorrow night."
"Well-" Yoongi pursed his lips. "I politely refuse...?"
"There's no such thing as a polite refusal in my books, Yoongi-ssi-" Jennie folded her arms and frowned. "Refusing is impolite. I told you I'm the type to repay favours - I don't care, I'm cooking dinner for you tomorrow."
Yoongi sighed. "Do I even have a choice at this point...?"
Jennie smiled cutely. "Nope. Besides, we haven't used the groceries we got from shopping that night."
Yoongi sighed. "Fine."
"I'll come over at 7pm after my schedule-" Jennie grinned. "Prepare your stomach for a feast, Yoongi-ssi."
-•-•-
"Tsk-" Jungkook shoved Jieun as he headed out of the door early the next morning. "You're just my makeup artist, stop pushing me!"
"Tsk-" Jieun shoved him back, pushing him out of her way as she scurried in front of him. "I'm older than you, show me some respect-"
"Ya!" Jungkook grabbed her by her arm and pulled her out of his path. "I like the right seat more - you're just my staff, you should be thankful I'm giving you a lift."
"Oh, what do we do?" Jieun grinned as she rushed ahead of Jungkook. "I suddenly want the right seat now."
"You-"
Jieun and Jungkook pushed and shoved each other as they arrived at Seokjin's car, which was already parked outside Jungkook's apartment, waiting for him to come out. Jieun grabbed hold of the seat first and tried to pull herself in, but Jungkook grabbed her wrist and flung her backwards. But as he was climbing up the car, Jieun grabbed hold of his shirt and pulled him out, before successfully launching herself into the car with a victorious smile.
"You-" Jungkook hopped in right after her, his face flushed with anger. "How dare you- to me-"
"Ya- Ya- Ya-" Seokjin turned around and glanced at the two. "What's happening?"
"Hyung!" Jungkook pointed at Jieun as he complained to Seokjin about her. "Lee Jieun- She has been so rude to me all morning, can you tell her to stop?"
Seokjin turned to Jieun. "Is it true?"
"Seokjin-oppa!" Jieun snarled at Jungkook, before turning to Seokjin once more. "Tell him, 'Look who's talking about being rude... oh- it's the rudest guy in the universe who takes out his anger on others."
Seokjin turned to face Jungkook. "She says look who's talking about being rude... the-"
Jieun clucked her tongue loudly. "The rudest guy in the universe who takes out his anger on others."
Seokjin repeated after her despite some hesitation. "The rudest guy in the universe who takes out his anger on others."
"Hyung-" Jungkook pursed his lips, looking absolutely pissed. "My house, my rules. Tell her that."
Seokjin turned to look at Jieun. "He said... his house, his rules."
"Seokjin-oppa!" Jieun breathed heavily. "Tell him to shut up, I want to sleep. It's literally only 6am, and I was so angry because of him that I couldn't sleep well last night."
"Well, Seokjin-hyung-" Jungkook folded his arms. "Tell her I didn't even sleep a wink last night, because of her. Because she was petty enough not to help me after that small incident."
"Small incident? Petty?" Jieun glared at Jungkook, before turning towards Seokjin once more. "Seokjin-oppa, can you turn on the radio? I suddenly feel like listening to 'Inner Child' by V-ssi."
Seokjin glanced at Jungkook, waiting for him to explode at the mere mention of Taehyung.
"Hyung-" Jungkook's breath hitched. "Play 'Still With You' by JK instead."
"No-" Jieun folded her arms. "'Inner Child'."
"No, 'Still With You'."
"'Inner Child'-"
"'Still With You'-"
"'Inner Child'-"
"No, 'Still With You'."
"'Inner Child'."
"'Still With You'-"
Seokjin yelled as he covered his ears. "Enough!"