<OST: eight - IU PROD. & ft. SUGA>
Mental blocks were extremely common for writers, and Byulyi was no exception.
In fact, she was going through a mini slump that very morning, having zero motivation to write anything at all. She lay in bed, still in her pyjamas since morning, as she scrolled through her usual newsfeed.
"Oh? What's this?" Byulyi sat up abruptly, narrowing her eyes as she spotted an article on her home page. "'Popular Idol-Actress Couple JKJK To Join KBS Reality Dating Show, Love House'... What on earth is this?"
Byulyi blinked a few times as she briefly scanned through the article.
"2 day 1 night Chuseok Special to be filmed at Nami Island?" Byulyi raised her eyebrows. "Wait - does that mean Jieun-ie will have to be there as well?"
Byulyi pouted as she considered the fact that Jieun would probably be out of contact for those two days. But then again, it wouldn't make much difference, anyway. When Jieun had first moved over to Jungkook's house, she had always come back every alternate day to visit her. But after the first week, Byulyi didn't know if it was the workload or the trouble of coming over, Jieun stopped coming. Her phone calls and messages were becoming more and more scarce these days too. She barely even told Byulyi anything about her life on her own accord these days - look, she hadn't even mentioned a single not even about this whole Love House thing.
She really missed her best friend.
Ring! Ring!
Byulyi jumped as she heard her phone ringing. To her disappointment, it wasn't Jieun. But it was her mom, and that made Byulyi happy too.
"Hello?" Byulyi chirped as she lifted her phone to her ear. "Mom!"
"Byul-ah!" Her mom chirped back. "How's my daughter doing? Good?"
"Good-" Byulyi smiled brightly. "I'm doing great these days, Mom."
"That's nice to hear. Is your new book still going well?"
Byulyi pursed her lips, knowing that her next sentence was clearly going to be a lie. A white lie, so her mom wouldn't worry. "Yeah! Not bad."
"You eating well?"
"Of course, of course-" Byulyi glanced at the crumbs lying on her bed of all the chips and crackers she had been munching on all morning. "Healthy food, balanced diet with fruits and veggies, all the way."
"Good girl. Getting along well with Jieun-ie?"
"Ah..." Byulyi bit her lower lip nervously. She hadn't told her mom a single thing about Jieun moving out and Seokjin moving in. Her mom would actually flip if she ever found out. "Well, about that-"
"Right, why did I even bother asking?" Her mom let out a silent chuckle. "You and Jieun-ie have been like two peas in a pod since young - I'm sure you're both doing fine."
"Um... right." Byulyi let out an awkward chuckle. "You're right, Mom."
"So... anyway!" Her mom carried on after a brief silence. "I called you today to ask you when you're coming home to Bucheon."
"Huh? Suddenly?" Byulyi frowned. "But I always go home in December every year, you know that. Now's only in the middle of the year, so probably not too soon."
"Right..." Byulyi's mom let out a loud chuckle. "Right, right, right. But it's been a while, and I miss you. Can't you make a trip back and visit your parents? We're not young anymore, you know."
"Right, of course-" Byulyi frowned, sensing that something was indeed amiss. "But now is kind of too late of a notice... I'm trying to focus on my new book, so I don't really want to disrupt my inertia right now..."
"We already booked a train ticket for you to come home next week."
"So I..." Byulyi stopped abruptly. "Wait... you what?"
"Your father did it, don't blame me-" Byulyi's mom defended herself almost instantly. "He was the one who booked the ticket."
"Okay, now that just makes things even more suspicious than they already were-" Byulyi folded her arms. "Mom, tell me - what's up? Why are you both in such a hurry for me to come home? Is Grandma sick? Hold on a second- don't tell me... Dad-"
"Choy! Choy! Choy!" Byulyi's mom interrupted her, refusing to let her say something so... inauspicious. "Your dad is perfectly fine, so is your grandma. And your grandma and I, for that matter. We're all good. Does one of us really have to be sick for you to come home? Can't you just come back because we miss you?"
"Mom... you know I'm not buying that-" Byulyi sighed. "You need to tell me the truth, if not I won't be going home."
"Ya..." Byulyi's mom sighed. "Well... I'll tell you... but don't get angry, alright? Well, even if you're angry, don't be mad at me - I'm telling you, this one really was your father's idea."
Byulyi raised her eyebrows, getting more and more curious as her mom kept her in suspense. "What is it? Mom, you're scaring me."
"Well... you see..." She took a deep breath, bracing herself for Byulyi's reaction. "Your dad kind of... set you up on a date."
-•-•-
"Everyone... back on set!" The director announced. "This is the last time I'll be filming this scene, so I want everyone to give their best! 3... 2... 1... action!"
And the cameras started rolling. As the music began to play, Jungkook closed his eyes and took a deep breath, before taking a step forward onto the set once more-
Bang!
A loud sound filled the studio. Thoroughly surprised, Jungkook turned around towards the direction of the sound. There lay Jieun on the ground, knocked over, wincing in pain. Jungkook felt his stomach lurch as he spotted the blood flowing from the open wound on her knee. Next to her, one of the staff stood over her with a large wooden box in his arms.
"Oh, crap-" He gasped as he put down the box at once, bending over to check on Jieun. "I'm so sorry, are you okay?"
Jieun, with her eyes still squeezed shut, managed a nod as she waved her arms, motioning for him to leave. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Please go."
"Cut!" The director grunted frustratedly as he ran over. "You again?! What is it this time?"
The staff quickly hurried off before he got scolded instead.
"I-I'm sorry-" Jieun muttered, wincing as she tried to get to her feet with Miyeon and Shuhua's help. "I wasn't looking, I didn't do it on purpose...
"First, you wasted my time on not coming in on time with the curtains..." The director ranted, his face all red and angry. "Next, you wasted more of my time doing it wrongly."
Tears were now streaming down Jieun's face non-stop. She was in pain - the pain didn't just come from her knee, but also her heart - it hurt like crazy.
"I'm sorry..." That was all Jieun could say. "Gamdong-nim, I'm really sorry..."
Seokjin hurried over, looking extremely worried. He grabbed the director by his arm, pulling him away from Jieun a little to make sure he didn't hit her or anything. "Gamdong-nim, please calm down..."
"Good grief!" The director shoved Seokjin aside and pulled at his hair frustratedly, yelling at Jieun once more. "I can't believe you couldn't even open that stupid mouth of yours to tell me that you weren't part of the props team. Is wasting time your specialty or something?!"
"Sorry..." Jieun was shaking as she sobbed. Miyeon and Shuhua held her arms and supported her, looking at her apologetically, yet helplessly. "I'm sorry, gamdong-nim. I'm sorry, everyone-"
"Getting into this accident too!" The director pointed at Jieun's knee, not showing a single sign of sympathy. "Don't you know how important my time is?! Why are you so good at causing trouble and messing up things?! Why don't you just disappear, or something!"
Disappear...
Tears flowed down Jieun's cheeks as she recalled Jungkook saying the exact same words to her just minutes ago. She was a nuisance to him, to the director that stood in front of her, to everyone...
"Pick that up now!" The director pointed at the wooden box. "Pick this box up and leave the set right now! You hear me?! I don't want to see your face! Get out!"
Shuhua left Jieun in Miyeon's arms as she hurried forward to pick up the wooden box from the ground-
"Not you!" The director screamed as he pointed at Jieun. "You! You pick up the box and leave!"
"Gamdong-nim..." Seokjin furrowed his eyebrows as he pleaded with the director. "Look, she's injured-"
Miyeon glanced at Jieun, her expression pained. "Unnie..."
"I'll do it."
Wiping away her tears with the back of her hand, Jieun pried Shuhua and Miyeon's hands off her, before taking a shaky step forward. With her injured leg wobbling a little, Jieun reached forward-
"What are you doing?"
Jungkook grabbed her hand and pulled her upright, looking her in the eye. He was fuming. He had enough of what he had seen. He had tried to ignore it all this while - the way Jieun was being bullied by the director. He thought that if he ignored it for long enough, Jieun would speak up for herself. After all, wasn't that what she did best? But the bullying didn't stop, and neither did she stand up for herself... What on earth was she thinking?
"What?" Jieun looked up at Jungkook with her tear-stained cheeks. "What do you want now?"
"What the hell are you doing?" Jungkook raised his volume a little, his grip around her wrist tightening as she tried to wriggle it out of his grip. "Lee Jieun, why are you like that?! Why are you so- so... why do you get on my nerves so much?!"
"What?!" Jieun yelled back, tears pouring down her cheeks as she tried her best to ignore the stares that everyone was sending their way. "What did I do?! Why are you yelling at me so much?!"
"You're so good at talking back at me right now, like always-" Jungkook finally let go off Jieun's wrist and gestured rudely at the director. "Why didn't you speak up for yourself?! Why didn't you say you weren't the one who volunteered to do the props, why didn't you speak up that you were part of the makeup team and not the props team, why do you apologise when you're the one who was on the floor with your knee injured?!"
Jungkook was shouting so loud at this point that everyone in the room didn't dare to say a single word - not even the director, whose time was ticking away... second by second.
"Why else?!" Jieun yelled back, after getting the initial shock of being yelled at by Jungkook. "It's all because- because..."
"Because of what?!"
Jieun swallowed hard as she looked up at Jungkook through her teary eyes. Isn't it all because of you?
It was all because of him that she couldn't focus all day. It was all because of him that she was so stressed out at work, not wanting to do a single thing that would be of hinderance to him. It was all because of him saying those hurtful things to her that she was in such a complicated state of mind she didn't even see where she was going and got injured.
It was all because of him... yet he had no idea...
Jungkook sighed, his expression softening as he watched Jieun standing in front of him, just crying and crying non-stop. He glanced down at her knee. "Look at that... you're already injured, why are you apologising? Lee Jieun, why do you make me feel so... so... Forget it."
So... what?
Jieun glanced up at Jungkook, with tears still streaming down her face like a waterfall. Jungkook stared back at her, his face all worked up. Jieun had never seen him like this before - not for the past few weeks they had known each other. He was genuinely upset. But why was he so upset? Jieun still didn't understand. Was it because she messed up his shoot? Or as he said, that she didn't know how to speak up for herself? But how would that make him this... upset...
"Let's go."
But she didn't have time to think because at that moment, Jungkook grabbed her by the wrist once more and pulled her away - away from everyone else, towards the back of the studio, where the dressing rooms were.
"Where are we going?" Jieun squirmed, trying to pry Jungkook's fingers off her wrist once more. "Let me go-"
At that very moment, Jungkook glanced back at her, and for the second time since last night, Jieun could see actual tears in his eyes. She stopped thrashing around at once, and allowed Jungkook to lead her. Wherever he was bringing her, whatever was going to happen from now, Jieun didn't know. She only knew that she had fallen deep for this man's charms and from this moment, getting out would be even tougher than it was before. But Jieun no longer cared.
She only cared about him.
-•-•-
"Stupid Jung Hoseok, double-faced Jung Hoseok, annoying Jung Hoseok!!! Urgh!!!"
Chungha groaned loudly in the car later on, when Hyejin was driving her to the place where the video of Jennie and the two other actresses were allegedly filmed. Chungha had been ranting about Hoseok throughout the car ride to an extremely amused Hyejin who sat right next to her in the driver's seat.
"Sunbae-nim! What did he do this time...?"
"Tsk-" Chungha sighed as she ruffled up her hair exasperatedly. "I guess... the question should be what I did to make him upset..."
"What did you do then?"
"I have a hunch about it..." Chungha scratched her head and folded her arms. "But I'm not 100% sure either... and if I'm right about it, I think he's being a little too... how should I put it... sensitive?"
Hyejin chuckled a little as she glanced at Chungha. "What exactly is it?"
Chungha let out a loud sigh as she turned to look at Hyejin. "Hyejin-ssi, let me ask you something. If someone asks you to go out for dinner with them and you know that person has feelings you, would you still go out with them?"
"I mean..." Hyejin frowned a little as she thought for a while. "I guess... it really depends on whether I like him or not."
"Really?" Chungha furrowed her eyebrows. "Is it really that deep though?"
Hyejin eyed Chungha suspiciously. "What? Don't tell me... bujang-nim asked you out for dinner and you agreed? Right in front of Hoseok sunbae-nim...?"
Chungha pursed her lips guiltily. "Mmhmm... why?"
"Of course he'd be jealous..." Hyejin laughed. "Why didn't you think about that?"
"I mean... isn't that a bit oversensitive though?"
"Well... it depends..." Hyejin shrugged. "Sunbae-nim, how do you view bujang-nim?"
"Bujang-nim?" Chungha frowned. "He's nice, kind, super charming, good at talking-"
"No, not that-" Hyejin corrected herself quickly. "Like... how do you see him, as a guy."
Chungha raised her eyebrows in surprise. How did she see him as a guy?
"Well..."
"In comparison, maybe you could think about how you see Hoseok sunbae-nim too... as a guy."
Chungha furrowed her eyebrows as she thought for a while. How could she possibly compare the two? Hoseok was her first love, a guy she dated for four years and broke up with. And now, they were just friends - nothing more. Namjoon was her boss, an extremely outstanding man, whom she respected a lot. He had done so many things that had touched her heart before and in so many ways, she felt grateful to have someone like him in her life.
"Quite frankly, I have no idea."
"What's the first thing that comes to your mind then?" Hyejin probed. "When you think of Hoseok sunbae-nim, what's the first word or phrase that comes to your mind?"
Chungha laughed as she thought of Hoseok's stupid little face and all the memories they had together. "Fun and happiness... but also, a lot of anger and pain too."
"And... what about bujang-nim...?"
Chungha frowned as she thought of all the times that she had no idea what to do when Namjoon did so much for her. "Well... sorry and thankful."
Hyejin raised her eyebrows as she nodded her head slowly. "I see. Now that you've figured that out, you have to think about who you actually like - someone who brings you fun, happiness, anger and pain, or someone who makes you feel sorry and thankful... or perhaps, neither of them. It's all up to you."
"I really don't know."
Hyejin glanced at Chungha briefly. "If you don't mind me saying something..."
"Sure, go ahead, Hyejin-ssi."
"Well..." Hyejin bit her lower lip nervously, trying to organise her thoughts before she expressed them. "If you ask me, I could see how jealous you were earlier when Jisoo sunbae-nim and Hoseok sunbae-nim were talking. You were glaring at them like you were about to kill someone."
"What?" Chungha scoffed. "No, I was not."
"Your eyes were completely shooting laser."
Chungha rolled her eyes and let out a mocking chuckle. "Please."
Hyejin shrugged. "It's up to you, whether you wanna take my words into account or not, sunbae-nim. But since you've helped me a lot before, I wanna help you too - and that's the only piece of advice I can ever give you."
"Well... thanks for that, Hyejin-ssi," Chungha said with a small smile. "I may seem a little cynical, but I really do appreciate you doing this for me."
"It's no problem, sunbae-nim," Hyejin said with a small smile playing at her lips. "But in return, can I please request something?"
"Sure, go ahead."
"Whatever you do, once you've finally figured out about who you have feelings for..." Hyejin said carefully. "I hope that you don't lead the other person on for too long. It probably will hurt more to be led on by the person you like, than to be told directly by that same person that they don't have any feelings for you as early as possible."
Chungha nodded slowly. "I got it, Hyejin-ssi."
"Same for the other person-" Hyejin carried on. "It wouldn't feel nice to see the girl you like leading another guy on too. After all, you've gotten a taste of that first hand earlier - haven't you, sunbae-nim?"
Chungha was left speechless.