<OST: Sleepless Night - Crush ft. Punch>
"Hey, you wanna know something?"
Jieun looked up, clearly surprised that Jungkook was still awake. "You weren't sleeping yet?"
"No, I wasn't-" Jungkook pursed his lips as he wriggled his way up. "I have too much going on in my head. Care to listen?"
Jieun sat up straight and nodded. "Go ahead."
"Me and Jennie..." Jungkook began. "We met each other for the first time the day before the news of us was released."
"Oh, really-" Jieun bit her lower lip nervously, wondering why he was telling her all this. She felt guilty, she felt guilty that she was gaining his trust little by little - she didn't deserve it at all. But even in that guilt... there was a little happiness. "Wow."
"For the longest period of time, I was really mean to her," Jungkook carried on. "I hated the fact that her name had to be constantly brought up every time something good happened to me. I hated it so, so much... and I took it out on her."
Jieun nodded slowly.
"But I guess overtime I saw that she was in the same plight as I was..." Jungkook said after a short pause. "My name was brought up every time she accomplished anything too. I kept putting the blame on her, but she was struggling just as I was. We were both just pieces in our sajang-nim's masterplan."
"What was he trying to do, anyway?"
"He camouflaged it as doing it for our own good-" Jungkook scoffed. "He assured us that a dating scandal would damage the reputation of top-tier celebrities, but for us... people barely knew us. He told us that he would never do something that would damage our reputation... I mean, why would he, am I right? We're just money-making machines to him, after all. It was like... his last shot at making us hit big, before he probably intended to fire me."
Jieun pursed her lips. "And it really succeeded."
"It did-" Jungkook admitted with a little nod. "I wasn't expecting it, to be quite honest. And even though I deny it with my entire existence, I do owe most of of my popularity to my dating scandal with Jennie... even when it's fake."
"But you're really talented," Jieun said with a frown. "If your music wasn't good, even if your dating scandal made you gain attention, you wouldn't gain favour in the public's eyes."
Jungkook raised his eyebrows. "You listen to my music?"
"Duh-" Jieun laughed. "I need inspiration for your makeup looks, okay."
Jungkook chuckled softly. "Oh, right."
"But there's one thing I don't understand-" Jieun frowned. "If you didn't like it at all, why did you agree to becoming a fake couple with Jennie-ssi?"
"Do you think I have a choice?" Jungkook scoffed. "My company is horrible - whether I like it or not, I have no choice but to agree with whatever they want me to do."
"Why?" Jieun frowned. "Will they do something to you if you don't...?"
"Ha..." Jungkook sniffed. "What do you think?"
"Well, I won't know."
"They find any way to get rid of us," Jungkook said simply with a small shrug. "They'll give fans excuses like disagreements with the company, injuries, health issues and other stupid reasons that don't even make sense if you think about it - the usual nonsense you see on the news. But quite simply... they'll just terminate our contracts on their terms."
Jieun's jaw dropped. "They're allowed to do that?"
"Are they not?" Jungkook shook his head with a cynical smile. "It doesn't matter, either way. They're rich. They can do anything they want. We can refuse to terminate the contract and they'll say... sure. But we'll end up with no comeback or activities for the next few years before we know it. I've seen plenty of seniors that end up like this... It's pretty messed up, if you ask me."
"That's awfully messed up," Jieun exclaimed. "How can they do such horrible things? People like you just want to chase after your dreams after all."
"And they just want to make profit from us chasing after our dreams-" Jungkook shrugged. "There's nothing much we can do about it. Of course, before we sign on, we're promised many good things - we're promised a debut, a chance to chase our dreams, a chance to become popular. Being young teenagers with nothing but hope for the future, we are easily fooled into thinking that perhaps this company is different from the rest. Perhaps, I can really debut and achieve my dreams. But reality is so different from what we were initially promised. All entertainment agencies just want is to exploit the dreams of young people, quite frankly."
"What about you?" Jieun asked curiously. "Do you ever regret your decision of signing on with your company?"
Jungkook sighed as he paused to think for a while. "Well... Years back, I chose to sign on with BG Entertainment because at that time, I was desperate to debut. As someone who already loved self-composing my own music back then, I wasn't asking for much. I just wanted a platform to showcase my music for the world to listen to. In the process, I feel like I got tricked into this world to become a useless little puppet with with no freedom."
Jieun nodded, listening to him intently.
"But somehow..." Jungkook furrowed his eyebrows. "I feel like even if I knew, I would still have made the same decision I made five years ago."
"Oh?"
"It's my dream after all-" Jungkook smiled a little. "You know what I mean?"
Dreams... Jieun knew full well.
"I'm sure you didn't have a easy time training to become a makeup artist as well," Jungkook commented. "But no matter how hard your life is, you persevere. Because if it's for our dreams, it's always worth it."
Jieun nodded slowly, a small smile playing at her lips. She could totally understand that feeling.
"Whenever you do my makeup, I can see how much you enjoy it," Jungkook noted. "The glow on your face... it's unavoidable."
"Really?" Jieun raised her eyebrows in surprise. "I really glow when I'm doing your makeup."
"Mm."
Jieun didn't know how she looked like as a reporter.
Did she glow too...?
-•-•-
Chungha sat at her table, watching the CCTV footage at twice its usual speed, keeping her eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary. The office was now all dark, the lights were off and she was the only one left, browsing through the footage.
"I lost, Kim Chungha... I lost, you won."
Hoseok's voice rung in her head as she pushed away from her laptop, rubbing her eyes a little and trying to focus. She wanted to solve this case as soon as she could, but the same, her mind kept on wandering - she kept thinking about the incident earlier on that night.
She really wasn't expecting Hoseok to give her a surprise hug out of the blue. After he said those words to her, the two of them just stood in each other's arms, in the middle of the office in complete silence. Chungha didn't know what to say, or what exactly Hoseok had meant when he said that he had lost and that she had won.
It did feel nice though, to finally be back in his arms - his familiar embrace, his familiar scent, his sturdy arms wrapped around her frail body. The same embrace that got her through cold rainy nights back in university and that same comforting scent that filled her nostrils every time she was sad. He was there for her so often, but she chose not to focus on the good, but on the bad. Overwhelmed with memories of the past, Chungha soon closed her eyes and tried to hug him back, but as soon as she got into it... he eventually pulled away.
"I really wanted to this for a long time now," Hoseok said, holding Chungha by her shoulders firmly and staring fondly into her eyes. "For four whole years, I missed your embrace, I missed your smile, I missed your laugh, I missed your gentle kisses on the top of my head, but most importantly, I missed... you."
Chungha swallowed hard as she looked into his eyes. Jung Hoseok, I missed you too. For four whole years, I missed you too.
"For the two years we weren't together, I buried myself in work, I tried so hard to forget you..." Hoseok's voice cracked. "But no matter how hard I tried to distract myself, I always found myself going to the places we've been to together before. I went to your house, I went to cafés and sat at the same tables we sat at, I even went to the place we first met. For this entire four years, not a single moment did I forget you."
Chungha pursed her lips, not knowing where to look.
"I understand your fears," Hoseok said calmly. "It took me quite a while to get it and in the process, I know I've been quite a burden to you with the way I kept chasing after you without stopping. But anyway, I finally understand now... and I want to assure you know that your fears are extremely valid, and that I completely respect your feelings... regardless of what they are."
Chungha had no idea where he was going with this.
"So what I'm saying is..." Hoseok carried on, as if hearing the words of Chungha's heart. "I know you are confused and conflicted. There is another much more competent, rich, debatably more good-looking nice guy who is also after you. You could very well avoid the risk, forget about me and start fresh with him. It's that simple for you... but I know you're hesitating because of old time's sake."
For some reason, Hoseok managed to nail every single conflict in Chungha's mind - something she hadn't been able to do for the longest time ever.
"I don't know how you feel and what decision you'll make..." Hoseok bit his lower lip, glancing briefly at the floor before looking up at Chungha once more. "But regardless of what it is, I respect it. However, because I cannot help myself as well... I just want to tell you that I'll be right here waiting for you. Quietly, patiently. Even if you turn away, I'll still be at the same spot, waiting for you to come back to me."
Her heart was beating so fast earlier Chungha thought it was going to explode. Closing her eyes, Chungha buried her face in her hands that rested on the table in front of her, the CCTV footage still running at twice its usual speed. It was a tough call for her, really. She knew how her heart felt, but her mind was telling something completely different. Her heart said yes, but her mind said no. And Chungha had no idea which of the two to listen to.
Letting out a loud sigh of resignation, Chungha glanced up at the screen in front of her.
Her eyes widened.
Jackpot.
-•-•-
Jennie got woken up by an extremely loud banging at her door the next morning.
"Who is it?"
Already getting used to a lifestyle of unemployment, Jennie was still neatly tucked into her bed at 2pm in the afternoon. Annoyed, she threw the sheets off and slowly slipped out of her bed and threw on a jacket, cap and mask - a good tip from Yoongi, before heading towards the door with a disgruntled look on her face.
"Who is it? So early in the morning..." Jennie inhaled sharply, put on her best smile and opened the door. "Hi-"
"Jennie Kim!" Jimin barged into her house, going berserk. "How could you not pick up my calls all day?!"
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Jennie took off her cap and mask, and ruffled her hair sleepily after finding out that it was just Jimin. "I was asleep so my phone was on airplane mode... of course I wouldn't be able to pick up your calls. Besides, what are you doing calling me so early in the morning-"
"Excuse me, young lady-" Jimin held up his watch, all red in the face. "It's already 2:24pm right now?!"
"Okay, okay-" Jennie laughed as she calmly took a seat on the couch, stretching her arms nonchalantly. "Calm down, oppa. It's not like I have any schedule to rush to, anyway. Chill, take a seat."
"Chill? Take a seat?!" Jimin shook his head as he typed at his notepad and slid it down onto Jennie's lap. "Here - have a look for yourself."
Jennie frowned as she picked up the notepad. "What is this?"
"Read it first, then we'll talk."
With her eyebrows furrowed, Jennie looked down into the notepad and began to read.
- - -
BREAKING: CCTV Footage of
'Cinderella: The Movie' Alleged
'Bullying' Scandal Released
It was previously reported a week ago that BG Entertainment actress Jennie Kim had been involved in a bullying scandal with co-actresses Actress J and Actress Y, who were eventually revealed to be Joy and Yeri from the girl group 'Red Velvet'. In the previously released photos, Jennie was seen holding on tightly to one of their arms, staring at them menacingly. The voice recording released also indicated that it was likely that Jennie Kim had been verbally abusing her fellow actresses, who also happen to he her seniors in the acting industry.
However, newly released CCTV footage of the scene has been acquired. In the short five-minute video below, two girls, who are allegedly Joy and Yeri, can be seen cornering a smaller size girl, allegedly Jennie Kim, into a corner. The three have a small exchange of words, with Joy and Yeri holding the upperhand as they beckoned her even more into her tiny corner.
Seconds later, footage shows Jennie trying to squeeze out of her corner, but being held back by Joy, who had grabbed onto her by her hair. Jennie turned around, not retailing, but crossing her arms as she faced the two once more. The three have yet another short exchange, before Joy raises her hand threateningly. Jennie grabs her hand and says a few words while shaking her head. She eventually let go and walked away - not touching the two younger actresses, not even once.
In the corner of the video, we can also see a hooded man filming the entire scene with his camera. Minutes after Jennie leaves, Joy and Yeri can be seen speaking to the man. The trio leave the screen and the footage is cut off here.
In view of the new information released, it is reasonable to speculate that the previously released pictures and recordings seemed to have been taken out of context. ESM Entertainment has yet to comment on this issue yet. We will keep you up to date on any latest information obtained.
What are your thoughts about this article? Let us know down in the comments section below.
- - -
Jennie looked up at Jimin with her jaws hanging open. "What... on... earth..."
"They found the footage, Jennie-ya!" Jimin beamed. "You're free of all accusations now!"
A small smile slowly spread across Jennie's half-awake face. "I'm... free? So people know I'm innocent now?"
"Mm! Yeah!" Jimin chirped, as he picked up the notepad once more. "I read the comments section earlier as well, and people are all mostly supportive of you! They're beginning to apologise for what they have said in the past as well... ya! Where are you going?"
Jennie, who had gotten up from her seat and ran to the door, turned around. "Huh?"
"I'm halfway talking to you," Jimin said with a frown. "Where are you going?"
"I need to go somewhere real quick, oppa-" Jennie grinned happily. "I'll talk to you later."
"Ya-"
"I won't take long!"
And just like that, Jennie bolted out of the door.