<OST: eight - IU PROD. & ft. SUGA>
"Chungha-ssi."
Chungha looked up and got to her feet at once. "Oh, bujang-nim."
Namjoon smiled as he gestured towards his watch. "It's 5pm."
Hoseok eyed the two suspiciously.
"Ah-" Chungha smiled. "Right... but I have some work to finish up on. Bujang, see you tomorrow!"
"Actually..." Namjoon chuckled as he ruffled his hair shyly. "I wanted to ask you something..."
"Go ahead, bujang!"
"Well..." Namjoon hesitated for a while and as he did so, his eyes landed on the cup of milk tea on Hoseok's table. His smile vanished at once.
Chungha followed his eyes and hurriedly grabbed the cup from Hoseok's table. "Oh, bujang-"
But Hoseok held on to the cup, refusing to let go.
Chungha smacked his hand, until he was forced to let go. Then she turned back to Namjoon with a nervous smile. "Bujang-nim, thanks for the milk tea-"
"You gave it to him?" Namjoon looked extremely disappointed. "I thought... you liked milk tea, that's why I got it for you..."
"Ah-" Chungha was in trouble. "You see, bujang-nim, I-"
"Yeah, she gave it to me because I wanted it, bujang-" Hoseok said with a grin as he rose to his feet. "Sorry, bujang."
"No, that's not the case-" Chungha shook her head desperately, begging for Namjoon to listen to her. "Bujang-nim, you see, Hoseok-oppa and I-"
"Forget it."
Chungha raised her eyebrows. "Huh?"
"Forget it-" Namjoon shook his head as he looked away, not wanting to even look Chungha in the eyes. "I gave it to you, you can choose whatever you want to do with it. See you tomorrow, Chungha-ssi... Hoseok-ssi, as well."
"Bujang-nim..."
As Namjoon turned to leave, Chungha smacked Hoseok in the back of his head as he reached out for the cup of milk tea once more.
"Ya!" Hoseok yelled. "What was that for?"
"Why did you say that?" Chungha chided. "Now you gave bujang-nim the wrong idea! What person did you make me look like earlier? How can I give someone else's drink away?"
"What?" Hoseok pouted. "It's not like you could drink it anyway."
"But still-" Chungha groaned. "Not drinking it and giving it away is different..."
"Why are you so upset?" Hoseok pursed his lips as he watched Chungha quietly. "Do you like him...?"
"You-" Chungha inhaled sharply. "Jung Hoseok-"
"Why aren't you answering me?" Hoseok frowned. "What? Do you really like him?"
"I-"
"Chungha-ssi."
Chungha and Hoseok turned around, only to see Namjoon standing right in front of them once more.
"Bujang-" Hoseok pointed towards the door. "I thought... I thought you-"
"I was going to leave, but I don't think this will do-" Namjoon said firmly, as he turned to Chungha. "Chungha-ssi, I gave you the milk tea, I wanna know why you gave it to someone else to drink instead."
Chungha didn't know whether to heave a sigh of relief that she finally had a chance to explain herself, or whether to break down because she wasn't sure of how Namjoon would react to her explanation. But she went ahead anyway.
"Bujang-" Chungha said as she bit her lower lip nervously. "It's definitely not what it looks like. I made a bet with Hoseok-oppa a week or two ago, and we betted on whether Jieun-ssi or Hyejin-ssi would make it on TV first. As you probably would have noticed, I chose Jieun-ssi while Hoseok-oppa chose Hyejin-ssi."
Namjoon pursed his lips. "Carry on."
"As we all know, Hyejin-ssi made it on TV first and I lost the bet-" Chungha nodded slowly, glancing in Namjoon's direction to make sure he didn't look upset or anything. "His wish was that I wouldn't drink your milk tea for a month, so that's precisely what I did. I had to keep to my promise, you know."
"And so... you gave it to him?"
Hoseok frowned.
"Mm-" Chungha nodded as she glanced at Hoseok. "He wanted it, and I thought that giving it to someone else is better than letting it go down the drain. That's why I let him have it."
A small smile played at Namjoon's lips as he nodded slowly. "Is the bet just that you can't drink the milk tea I buy for you?"
"Mm."
"I see-" Namjoon thought for a while. "In that case, Chungha-ssi, what is your favourite food?"
Chungha frowned. "Why?"
"Just tell me."
"Well..." Chungha hesitated. "Tteokbokki."
"In that case... I'll buy you tteokbokki from now-" Namjoon said with a smile. "A bet is a bet, and I understand that you have to keep it. So I guess you won't be receiving milk tea from me for a month. Instead, you can have tteokbokki."
Hoseok's jaw dropped.
Chungha's jaw dropped as well. "Bujang-"
"That I will only get for you if the tteokbokki lady messes up my order-" Namjoon excused himself. "Also, if anything like this happens in the future, I'd like it if you told me from the beginning."
"I understand, bujang-" Chungha pouted. "I was just afraid that I'd offend you..."
"Telling me is way better than simply accepting it and giving it to someone else." Namjoon shrugged. "I hope you can communicate such things to me openly in the future."
Chungha thought for a while, before nodding slowly. "You're right, bujang. I'm sorry about that."
"No need to apologise, it's nothing big-" Namjoon dismissed the issue with a kind smile. "See you guys then."
"Please go home safely, bujang!"
Hoseok gave Chungha a stink-eye as Namjoon walked off, while Chungha stared daggers back at him.
"Oh, one more thing-" Namjoon turned back once more, and Hoseok and Chungha smiled brightly at him once more. "Chungha-ssi, is your schedule next Friday night free?"
Chungha nodded as she took out her scheduling notebook. "Yes, bujang. Is there anything you need me to do?"
"It's not for work."
Hoseok blinked rapidly.
"It's not for work...?" Chungha slowly put down the notebook on her table once more. "What is it about then?"
"I wanna have dinner with you, is that okay?"
Hoseok dropped the empty cup in his hands, as he glanced at Chungha, hoping that she'd say no. Instead, a small smile spread across her face.
"Why not?"
-•-•-
"Oh, you're back."
"Mm-" Jieun nodded as she entered the house and spotted Jungkook seated on the couch. "I'm back."
Jungkook watched Jieun quietly as she slowly took off her shoes and headed towards his room without stopping by the living room. "You look unusually down today."
"No, I'm not-" Jieun shrugged. "Just tired."
Jungkook pursed his lips as he gestured towards the couch next to him. "Take a seat."
"I'm not in a mood today."
"You said you weren't feeling down?" Jungkook frowned. "Take a seat, just for a short while."
Jieun stared blankly at Jungkook, before she took her seat next to him on the couch.
"What's up?"
Jieun raised her eyebrows. "Do I have to tell you?"
"You help me fall asleep every night, I can do you a favour to listen, am I right?" Jungkook frowned. "What's up?"
"Nothing."
"Mm, I don't wanna hear that-" Jungkook shook his head. "What's wrong?"
"I said, it's nothing."
"Come on..." Jungkook frowned. "After I told you all about my bad experience with friendships last night?"
Jieun pursed her lips, trying to think of a way to coat her problem such that it was as vague as possible. "Well... have you ever felt like you've been trying your best, yet other people are exceeding you?"
"Woah, funny you'd ask because-" Jungkook nodded. "Yeah, like... always."
"So you know how disappointing that is, huh."
"Yeah, of course-" Jungkook admitted with a small nod. "Disappointed is an understatement... more like hopelessness and despair."
"Right! Exactly."
"Why?" Jungkook frowned. "You experiencing that now? I never knew that the makeup industry had such tough competition..."
"Um..." Jieun let out a nervous laugh. "Competition is everywhere, you know? To see others rising above you, especially people who joined the industry around the same time as you, but to already have achieved the same milestone you've been working so hard towards this whole time..."
"Ah... that's true, competition really is everywhere-" Jungkook shrugged. "Even around me, with the person whom I treat as my biggest competition... I'm still forced to film with him again and again, against my will..."
"Kim Taehyung-ssi?" Jieun raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Why? You have another upcoming schedule with him?"
"Ah, that's not the point right now-" Jungkook trued to brush it off. "I was supposed to listen to you."
Jieun stared at him. "I wanna listen."
Jungkook shook his head. "It's nothing much."
"I just told you my problems, but now you can't share yours with me?"
"Well-" Jungkook sighed. "To be completely honest with you, I was a bad mood today as well, that's why I wanted to talk to you."
"What happened?"
"I'm going on a dating show with Jennie-" Jungkook began. "And that's fine, just that that guy's gonna be there. And now I don't wanna be there at all."
"Oh... you're going on a dating show with Jennie-ssi?" Jieun had no idea why she felt so surprised, hearing that come from Jungkook's mouth. She obviously knew that he was dating her, but why did she feel so awkward when he mentioned it? "That's interesting."
"Not interesting if Kim Taehyung is gonna be there."
"So... what?" Jieun narrowed her eyes. "You gonna choose not to appear?"
"Choose?" Jungkook chuckled. "Do I seem like I have a choice, Lee Jieun-ssi? I may make a huge fuss or accept it silently... either way, I'll still have to agree anyway."
Jieun pouted. "Strict company policies?"
"Strict company policies-" Jungkook agreed with a nod. "You don't know how awful my company is at managing their artists. But then again, my previous company was even worse."
"Oh..." Jieun paused for a while. "I don't know if I should say this but..."
"What?"
Jieun hesitated as she reached into her bag. "Actually... I wanted to pass you this."
Jungkook looked down at the gold medal in Jieun's hand, before looking away at once. "I don't want it."
"He told me to pass it to you," Jieun said hesitantly as she held it out. "Take it."
"I don't want it."
"Neither do I."
"Throw it away, or something."
"I don't know-" Jieun shoved it into Jungkook's hands. "I'm just doing my job to hand it over to you."
Jungkook looked at the medal in his hand with so much disgust Jieun was surprised. "I... I don't deserve this medal."
"You ultimately won the competition, so you deserve it... a 100%-" Jieun assured him. "I think you did great yesterday... you did your best, didn't you?"
"I did my best but he didn't-" Jungkook clutched on tight to the medal, so hard like he was about to break it. "But he slowed down at the last part, because he felt bad... I rather lose to him than to win him unfairly."
"You're lucky, you're on bad terms with your competitor-" Jieun laughed as she pried Jungkook's fingers away from the medal. She picked up the medal and headed over to the display cabinet next to the television. "Meanwhile, I can't even hate my competitor because we're on good terms. That makes me feel even worse... because I can't let out my frustration on her."
"I rather it be that way," Jungkook muttered under his breath.
"You do realise that things could have been way worse, don't you?" Jieun asked quietly as she climbed up onto a chair and opened the top cabinet. "He did something to betray you... but at least he apologised about it. If he really didn't care about you at all, he wouldn't have bothered apologising to you or even trying to make it up to you over all these years. Perhaps, you could consider... that Kim Taehyung-ssi isn't as bad as you think he is. Maybe you could forgive him-"
"Don't put the medal into my cabinet, Lee Jieun-" Jungkook warned, suddenly distracted by what Jieun was trying to do. "I already said I didn't want it."
Jieun smirked as she turned back towards the cabinet, immediately getting to work. "The more you don't want me to do it, all the more I feel like doing it. What are you gonna do about it?"
"Come down from there before I get nasty-" Jungkook jumped to his feet and took a few steps towards Jieun. "1... 2..."
Jieun grinned as she stuck out her tongue at Jungkook. "I'm not coming down~"
"3!"
At the count of 3, Jungkook lunged towards Jieun and grabbed her by the waist, yanking her from the chair she was standing on.
"Ya!"
"Woah!"
With a slight twist of his ankle, Jungkook found himself hovering above Jieun, his hand crushed under her head to protect it from hitting the ground as they fell. Jungkook stared at Jieun for a while, not moving an inch. Meanwhile, Jieun blinked rapidly as she stared back into Jungkook's eyes.
"Ya!" Jieun shoved Jungkook away with one strong push and sat up quickly, hugging herself protectively. "What are you even doing?"
"I... I warned you-" Jungkook stammered nervously. "I told you to come down, but you refused. I had no choice but to resort to that."
"Still-" Jieun glanced at Jungkook and raised her eyebrows. "Wait- why's your face red...?"
Jungkook looked away immediately, hiding his face from Jieun. "No, it's not, you saw wrongly-"
Jieun grinned as she craned her head to get a better look. "It is! Jeon Jungkook, why are you blushing...?"
"It's painful, okay!" Jungkook glared at Jieun. "You try getting your knuckles smooshed into the ground by someone's head... it's not painless, for your information. I was doing it for your sake-"
"Then your knuckles should be red, not your cheeks-" Jieun laughed. "You blush easily, Jeon Jungkook. Every time I do your eye shadow you blush too... you must be the shy type. I wonder how often you blush in front of Jennie-ssi."
Jungkook realised at once how he had never blushed in front of Jennie before. Like... never.
"All the time, you just don't see it-" Jungkook began. "So stop thinking like you're the only one-"
"Wait, look-" Jieun interrupted as she pointed up at the top cabinet, where the medal was now displayed. Jieun smiled triumphantly as she punched Jungkook in the shoulder. "I did it, Jeon Jungkook. It took me so much effort to so it, so don't take it down anymore, alright?"
"Why are you so bent on me keeping the medal?" Jungkook frowned. "I have plenty."
"I don't know... maybe-" Jieun shrugged. "Maybe it was because I was there? I saw the look on your face as you ran towards the finishing line. You weren't even leading at the beginning, but you dashed past so many of them and won in the end. It was pretty cool... Even though I was upset with you at that time, I couldn't help but cheer you on backstage."
"Oh, really...?" Jungkook tried hard not to smile. "You cheered me on?"
"Yeah, then when you got injured, I still took care of you, only to be snapped at when you came to-" Jieun pouted. "You really don't know how to reciprocate, do you?"
"I apologised for that already, I thought you were still upset, so I acted upset too-" Jungkook shrugged. "But back then, to be honest, my anger had already dissipated too."
Jieun scoffed. "That's better."
"You know..." Jungkook said after a while of hesitation. "Today, I finally went to see a psychiatrist about my situation."
"Oh, really?" Jieun's eyes widened in surprise. "What did they say?"
"He's not sure too-" Jungkook said quietly. "He thinks it could be related to anxiety, like what you told me, but I wasn't given a solid diagnosis. He'll have to observe me for a while more before he can give me a more certain answer."
Jieun nodded slowly.
"In the meantime..." Jungkook pursed his lips. "You'll stay, won't you?"
"Mm, I'll stay-" Jieun smiled as she got to her feet and held out a hand. "It's getting late, let's go."
Jungkook smiled as he held onto Jieun's hand and allowed her to pull him to his feet.
"Thanks," he whispered.
And Jieun smiled right back.