∽𝒟∽
Jieun twisted her hair into a bun before slipping in her white hoodie jacket.
The clock on her nightstand told her it was time to leave, along with the notification beep coming from her phone. It was BamBam waiting for her outside.
Though, she couldn't leave the room without checking on Seulgi first. Her friend slept soundly, unaware that she was sneaking out that night for Yoongi's job.
Jieun tried to keep it quiet from her and lied, saying she hadn't received the call yet. Seulgi was totally against it, and she couldn't argue, nor change her mind about it.
After giving a peck on her friend's forehead, Jieun left the dorm to meet BamBam.
It seemed like the campus had gotten much shorter than she remembered, or else she'd just been walking too fast. It took only a few minutes, and she found herself right in front of BamBam's black car again.
"Right on time," he joked, opening the door for her. "I always thought girls took longer to-"
"Save it."
BamBam pursed his lips to hide a smile. Somebody wasn't in a good mood.
"Where are you taking me?" Jieun muttered as he started driving.
"First, we need to stop by Yoongi's apartment so the girls can- you know, dress you properly," he said, checking her very casual pants and jacket.
"Dress me properly," she repeated, closing her belt. "You mean, dress me like a slut."
He just laughed. "I wouldn't say that... but this outfit you're wearing is not appropriate for the kind of thing you'll be doing tonight.
She shook her head, fixing her attention at the window. No words came out of her mouth after that.
Long minutes passed by in silence, and BamBam only broke to tell her that they had arrived.
Telling by where they currently stopped, Jieun knew it was a high-class neighborhood. There were expensive apartments and luxury cars around her.
These people made loads of money doing what they did... and that breakthrough only served to get her more apprehensive than before.
She was entering a dangerous game with a blindfold, unsure whether to trust them or not. Whether they would pay Lucas's debt or not in the end. Jungkook could be on it, but he was the last person giving her assurance or any type of security.
She couldn't even rely on her instinct anymore since it betrayed her once.
They went through the lobby, got in and out of an elevator, and finally came to a door. Bambam didn't even have to wait long after he rang the bell. A smiling Joy opened right away.
"Hey! You came!" she said, pulling her hand to get inside.
The whole place, just like the rest of the apartment, looked huge. There was a minibar with several expensive bottles of drinks, big screen TV, a nice-looking couch.
Yoongi was wealthy, and it seemed that he really wanted to expose this fact.
In front of a couch next to a few pieces of clothes, stood Lisa. Once their eyes met, Jieun felt the repel from her. What could she expect from an ex-girlfriend, anyway?
"You must remember Lisa," Joy pointed at the girl while guiding her to the middle of the living room.
"I do," she answered for the lack of something else to say.
"Where's Jungkook?" BamBam asked, leaning against the doorframe of the kitchen.
"He's not here."
"Yeah, but you should wait for him," said Lisa. "I heard he's going."
BamBam frowned, grabbing her arm to the corner for privacy, whispering, "What do you mean by he's going?"
Joy giggled, joining the conversation. "Do you really think Jungkook will be sitting here while his girlfriend is out there with Jin's dealers?"
Jieun stood quietly, her eyes still moving around the place as they talked.
"But Namjoon and Yunho will be there too. He can't be walking around the city like that. It's too risky."
"Try to tell him yourself," Lisa sighed. "He obviously won't listen to us."
"Well, that's just great..." he complained before going back to the kitchen to eat something.
"All right," Joy clapped her hands, making Jieun jump slightly. "We should start with your make-up first," she pulled the girl to sit on the couch. "Yoongi put Lisa and me in charge to take care of your looks tonight."
"He did, huh..."
Jieun wasn't making any effort not to show how much she did not want to be there. And that she actually hated it all.
Joy smiled brightly. "Which lipstick do you like better? This one or this one?"
.
.
"Stop moving," she complained, forcing him back to the pillow. "You're gonna ruin everything."
"That's the plan," Jungkook sighed, defeated.
"It's okay for guys to wear make-up too, you know," she told him. "Idols use it."
"I'm not an idol."
"You sure look like one."
"Are you saying I'm handsome?"
.
.
Jieun closed her eyes once that flashback entered her mind without permission.
"Either one..." she murmured.
"Okay, red it is!
As far as makeup went, a dash of tinted lip gloss and eyeliner every now and then was pretty much all Jieun ever bothered with, but she had a feeling in this particular case, she wouldn't be getting out of that apartment without looking like someone totally different.
"Wow, your skin is so clear and hydrated!" Joy marveled as Lisa continued to look for the right outfit. "I bet you'll love what I'm gonna do with your eyes."
For some odd reason, Jieun felt a little disappointed with herself for not carrying the initial apathy she had before towards this girl. Joy was actually nice, not to mention, a sweet person.
She couldn't really judge her, or any of them at this point. She had no idea what they endured to end up with this kind of life.
Expect for Jungkook, who was only after his diploma.
"Hey, girl. What shoe size do you wear?" Lisa asked.
"240," she answered, then lowered her voice to Joy. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure!"
"How far exactly... I am supposed to go?"
Joy had prompted Jieun to look upwards as she drew dark lines along her lower lashes, but after the question, she began to withdraw slowly.
Before she could answer, Lisa, who, in response, had a smirk on her face, answered herself. "As far as you need to get the information we want."
"Does that means...?"
"Touch them? Kiss them? Have sex with them? Yeah, pretty much."
Jieun's pulse fluttered in a combination of nerves and panic at her statement.
After glaring at Lisa, Joy laughed lightly and gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "You'll be fine. Yoongi won't let you go this far," she said taking out her dark shadows palette. "Especially Jungkook... He cares for you."
"Just like he cared for me, right?"
Joy rolled her eyes, lowering her brush. "Lisa-"
"Seriously, Joy, stop lying to this poor girl. She needs to know the truth about the system," Lisa turned to face Jieun as she continued. "Honey, if you think Jungkook will come out running to you for whatever reason if the job demands you to do something against your will, forget it because he won't. Other girls have been in your place before, just like me and Joy. No boyfriends, ex-boyfriends, husbands, brothers will care if it's money at stake. And over money and women, men will always choose money. That's a universal fact."
Joy huffed. "I think she got it, Lisa. Thank you."
Jieun was stunned but certainly wasn't about to argue.
In silence, the girl continued with her work, until the make-up was done. She moved next to do her hair with a straightener.
"Wow," Joy said, smoothing her strands. "Your hair looks a lot longer now... Do you have the outfit ready, Lisa?"
The dealer pointed nonchalantly at the couch while sitting on the armchair with her legs crossed, using her phone.
"Let us know if this one fits," Joy smiled. "You can use the bathroom over there."
The contempt in Lisa's gaze at her maintained even when she took the three pieces of clothes and walked to the bathroom.
Jieun didn't understand why she seemed to hate her so much.
If Jungkook was the reason, it didn't really make sense, since, by her own words, money was actually the only thing he truly wanted.
And cared for.
"Keep your mouth shut next time, will you?" Joy complained, gathering her stuff. "This girl is already going through so many problems, and you're trying to cause more by talking about Jungkook?"
"It's not my fault if that's just the way it is."
"What if he really cares about her?" she said. "We don't know that."
"If he did, he would be against it," Lisa smiled. "Which doesn't' seem to be the case."
Her friend had a point there, so Joy made no comments about it.
┊𝒟┊
Jungkook unlocked the door to get inside the apartment he was now living in. The plan was to meet with the guys at Maru club that night, so of course, finding BamBam there surprised him once he entered.
"What are you guys doing here?"
"No, what are you doing coming home at this time?" BamBam asked with his mouth full of fried chicken. "Didn't Yoongi told you to stay here and not go out?"
"I had to do something very quick..."
"Do you went to see her?" Joy asked.
Jungkook only nodded, rubbing his cheek.
"How is she?" Lisa walked closer, raising his chin.
"The same," he sighed, then frowned at the tons of make-up scattered on the couch. "What the hell is this? Are you guys dressing up in my apartment now?"
"It's not for us..." Joy said.
Jungkook raised an eyebrow, but before he could ask anything else, the bathroom door opened, emerging a Jieun from there.
Or at least, a very different version of her.
"Ma-God, you look divine!" Joy said, feeling proud of herself. "I really should consider working as a make-up artist, don't you guys think?"
His heart thumped, and he was forced to put his thoughts on hold as she started walking out, pausing only when she saw him as well.
Jungkook had seen her dressing provocatively many times before. Her cheerleader uniform will say. But that... was just too much.
Besides the tight leather pants that seemed to emphasize her curves perfectly, Jieun also wore a black silk crop-top, exhibiting her slim waist. And the heels she had on, was a little higher than she was used to.
There was no denying that the dark eyeliner and brown eye shadow enhanced her features, making her look too sexy and too sensual. And that red lipstick...
He couldn't even start explaining what her transformation was doing to him. This girl wasn't Jieun.
It was an exotic part of her.
The stares only ended when Lisa cleared her throat. Jieun snapped back, noticing that not only Jungkook couldn't stop looking, but BamBam as well.
She ran her fingers on her hair, already too uncomfortable with the situation, the stares, and especially with that outfit.
"I'm ready."
"Yes, you are..." BamBam muttered, receiving an elbow on his stomach from Lisa. "Ah!"
Jungkook found himself battling conflicting emotions as his eyes skimmed over her body. He refused to believe she was dressed like that to flirt with someone else. And he refused to believe that in within a few hours, she'd touched, perhaps even kissed by some disgusting dealer.
"Can we go?" she asked quietly, the blush rising on her cheeks. "I want to be back before my roommate wakes up."
BamBam was the first one to react. He took out his keys and opened the door, holding out for her. "Ladies first."
Joy turned to Jieun. "You don't have to be scared. Remember that everything will be over once you find out the things Yoongi wants from them."
"Thanks," she said honestly. "I appreciate your help."
Joy smiled, watching her go.
Jieun passed by Jungkook, giving him one last glance. He waited a few seconds to man up, before following both out and closing the door behind him.
"You saw his face, right?" Joy teased. "I think he liked it."
Lisa huffed to hide her jealously. "Shut the fuck up..."
┊𝒟┊
BamBam turned his body towards the back seat where Jieun was once they parked. "You see this guy? This is Lucas's dealer, Kai."
Jieun straightened, grabbing the phone in her hand to see his picture better.
"Hoseok already checked inside, and seems like he's here tonight along with Shownu, his partner," Jungkook continued.
"You want one of them to notice you in there."
"But whatever happens, don't show interest at first sight," said Namjoon beside her. "Let them approach you."
"And here's what's gonna happen when they do," BamBam added. "They won't force you to do anything, but you gotta keep them entertained while asking the questions or else they won't bother to stay... it's common for dealers like them to leave with- how I put it?" he scratched the edge of his nose before continuing. "A hooker."
Jieun's eyes widened. "There are hookers in there too?"
"Just a few," Namjoon stated. "But you gotta know where to look. Everyone who works with illegal stuff needs to learn how to be discreet... that's how we do our job."
She glanced at Jungkook, who was in the passenger seat, remembering the times he took her there. Now she understood why he always kept escaping during the night.
He was there to work.
"But as I was saying," BamBam took his phone back so she could focus. "Don't miss your chance if you have them."
"Hoseok and I will be walking around the club to keep an eye on you the whole night," Namjoon told her.
Taking a deep breath, Jieun looked out the smoked glass window, digging her nails on the seat. She was scared. And they could all see that she was.
"Yeah, alright," she pushed the door handle to leave.
"Jieun," BamBam called. "Good luck."
She forced a smile, her voice sounding shaky than she had meant. "Right."
Once Namjoon and Jieun got out of the car, BamBam refocused on the guy next to him. He smirked, patting on his shoulder. "Your girl's sassy. She's gonna be fine."
"Yeah. As long as I'm there."
"Wait, what are you doing?!" he asked in despair when his friend opened the car and left. "Shit."BamBam cursed, getting out as well, holding the door. "Jungkook, you have to stay! People will be watching over her for you!"
He wanted to warn about the possibility of him screwing the whole plan up if he's going to watch his ex-girlfriend getting touched by another man.
But it was too late.
┊𝒟┊
Jieun sighed and swirled the ice in her drink with a straw. It had been nearly fifteen minutes since she had parted ways with Namjoon after his instructions.
During this time, she'd picked a stool at the bar, that allowed her to survey the area and ordered herself a drink. A few guys had approached with seconds, thirds, even fourths intentions, but none looked anything like Kai or Shownu.
This became her personal challenge. To get enough information from them without the need to get things further or even come back there.
As if.
Jieun's eyes traveled distractedly back to the bar, blinking in surprise when she caught a familiar face next to her ordering something.
It was him. Shownu.
Her heart almost jumped right out of her chest, and she gulped, taking a sip of the drink to calm herself.
Shownu barely spared a glance toward Jieun, and his brows were rising in intrigue. He thanked the bartender, again checking her out, but she maintained with the same posture, not daring to say a word to this man until he did it first.
Which happened just like that.
"Do you mind if I join you?" Jieun heard him ask, and nearly breathed in relief. "You look kinda lonely."
The way his eyes traveled over her body suggested she wouldn't have a problem with this one at least.
She smiled. "You guessed it right."
Instantly, Shownu had put his hand on the bar, drawing himself closer to her, and Jieun fought the urge to lean back and swallowed a sigh, silently promising herself that it be over soon.
"I haven't seen you before... is it your first time?"
"Third, actually," she answered. "I prefer this club a lot better than the others."
"To be honest, it wasn't my favorite, but I'm having a change of opinion..." he smirked.
"Great," she purred, playing with her straw before sucking it. She watched the way he watched. "Perpahs we'll run into each other more often."
"That sounds like something I'd look forward..."
"So, what do you do for a living?"
He chuckled. "Already this curious?"
Holding in the death glare she most desperately wanted to skewer him with, Jieun giggled and teasingly ran her fingers on her hair. "I'm always very curious..."
"Mmm... What else are you?"
Before Jieun could answer his damn question, a hand touched the man's arm. They both looked up.
Beyond nervous, Jieun took another long and deep sip without the straw. Now things were about to get tricky.
"Ah, it's you, Kai," Shownu said, clicking his tongue. "Can you come back later?"
"Hell no. They are people waiting for you in the VIP room," Kai answered, his eyes ranking up and down her figure. "Sorry to interrupt the... nice talk," he frowned.
Shownu stood up from the stool, annoyed and hissed. "Get the hell out! I'm almost having my way here."
"Man, you know the rules," Kai laughed. "Bussiness first. Now go back to work. There are seven girls in the room you need to check."
Girls in the room you need to check, Jieun heard.
Good, seems like it was the beginning of something.
Reluctantly, Shownu turned back with an apologetic smile. "I gotta go, baby. We can continue this some other time," he winked, cursing at his friend on the way out.
Jieun waved with her fingers as Kai took the seat beside her now.
"Don't I know you from somewhere?"
Uh-Oh.
Jungkook warned her about it, saying Kai had seen her once with him the first time they went there. Though she had hoped this wouldn't be an issue.
"Not that I recall," she said, drawing a circle on her glass. "I would've remembered you."
His frown deepened as if he wasn't convinced by that. "Aren't you the girl who came with Jungkook one time?"
Biting her cheek, Jieun quickly worked on a smile again. "Oh, you know him? Yeah, it was me. I used to be his girlfriend."
He raised an eyebrow. "Used to be?"
"Jungkook got arrested for drug dealing," she said casually. "Didn't you know? "
Shocked, Kai's mouth parted. He seemed to be absorbing the news, but the next thing she knew, he was holding back a laugh. "Arrested. Wow," he downed his drink to hide the smile. "You must be quite bummed. Jungkook with drugs... who would have thought? Such a shame."
Jieun squinted at the man. She needed him to drop the act already.
"Not actually," she said, flipping her hair back. "I hate wasting my time with guys who get easily caught."
Kai froze with his glass in the air.
"I mean, if you're gonna do something, at least do it right..."
There was a slowing growing smirk in Kai's lips that didn't go unnoticed by her. "You knew he was a drug dealer?"
He began to lean closer, which made her stomach knot in unpleasant ways.
But Jieun still gave him her best smile. "He's not my first, though," she took a small sip again, then lowered the glass to whisper on his ear, "I'm an expensive girl... I don't go out with guys who can't afford diamonds to put on my fingers."
When she moved away to see Kai's reaction, his nose purposely touched her cheek as he inhaled her scent.
"What a dumb fucker Jungkook has been then," he murmured, "for getting caught and leaving you here... all alone."
"Don't worry about me," she purred. "He's easily replaceable..."
Kai smirked in response. "If that's so, you won't mind if I buy you a drink, right?"
"Not at all."
Jieun took the opportunity he was calling out for the bartender again and narrowed her eyes to the club to inspect, ensuring everything went smoothly.
Then, over Kai's shoulder, she saw no one but Jungkook. Her frown was immediate because he wasn't alone. A girl, strands of red hair, had her arms around him.
She froze, feeling her heart drop to her stomach with a loud thud.
What the hell was he doing?
Unfortunately, she didn't have time to keep bothering herself with such an insignificant question, when she had a job to do there, and also... had a hand stroking her thigh up and down now.
Kai ordered the drinks and returned his attention back to her, his face closer than she could remember.
"So, tell me, expensive girl," he chuckled softly, forcing her to do the same. "How did your boyfriend get caught?"
"Ex," she reminded him. "I'm not sure... probably during one his sales. I never bothered to ask."
"So careless," he joked.
"Incompetent."
Kai nodded along with another laugh. "I bet you like the professional ones better."
"They are my personal favorite."
His eyes darkened as it trailed over her form. The hand resting on her thigh went up to her neck, sliding her hair away.
"I guess you just found one."
"Oh, really?" Jieun smirked, glad that he finally admitted, but hating his touch to a very high degree.
"Yep."
"Must be my lucky day."
Kai moistened his lips with his tongue before huskily murmuring. "It's our lucky day."
She flinched, shutting her eyes closed when his mouth touched her neck. God, she just wanted to die right there.
When Jieun opened her eyes back again, Jungkook was still there, flirting with someone else and it was at that particular moment when their gaze finally meet, she hoped for a reaction from him, but there was none. A blank stare was all she got.
.
.
"...over money and women, men will always choose money. That's a universal fact."
.
.
Jieun had accepted this universal fact, though it pained so much to see it was really the way he saw things. The way he saw her.
She wasn't expecting him to go up there and drag her away, but hell! Why he acted like he didn't care at all?
She couldn't believe that everything she lived with him, every moment of it, was fake. Artificial. For fun and nothing else.
When Kai's mouth began to travel up to her jaw, Jieun knew she needed to something, otherwise, they will be kissing in a few seconds.
She grabbed her empty glass and purposefully pushed it, causing it to break it on the floor. Kai turned to see what happened, and once he recovered, she was already on her feet.
"I need to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back, okay?" she told him, without waiting for his response.
┊𝒟┊
Jieun turned the tap on and splashed water over her neck, before grabbing a few pieces of toilet paper to dry herself up.
This was ridiculous. Kai made her sick in every way, but she was losing focus completely because of him. Why didn't he stayed in the car? Why did he have to follow her and force her to watch him with some other girl?
Jungkook couldn't be this cruel.
She gripped the sides of the sink so hard she heard the porcelain crack while staring at herself in the mirror. She needed to leave. She needed to come up with some excuse to get out.
"Alright... focus, Jieun... focus," she whispered to herself.
Sighing, she turned ready to go back.
And froze.
"Jungkook..."
In an instant, her heart thudded, and all thoughts of Kai, jealously, leaving, went flying out of her head. All she could see was the dark-haired man.
Jieun promptly thought that maybe he was there to ask what she found out, but then the sound of the bathroom door opening interrupted whatever he had planned as two girls entered.
"Out," he roared, thrusting a finger towards the exit.
The dangerous tone was enough for them to get the message and leave the next second.
When the door slammed closed, he returned to look at her face. Still blank. Still impassive.
Jieun swallowed hard, and before she could think or ask, she was pulled inside one of the stalls in a blink of an eye, and he had her backed against the wall. One of his hands in a fist above her head, the other one beside her face, digging his fingers into the wood.
Jungkook wasn't touching her, wasn't saying anything. But he was too damn close. Jieun found herself panting just by this fact.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Finally, he let out a long breath, his gaze dropping to the floor. "I'm sorry," he sighed. "I can't do this-"
She felt his fist tighten above her head, felt the air tensing up.
Jieun snatched it, pressing her back more into the wall behind her to create some sort of distance that obviously wasn't working. Her breath caught in her throat, heart racing at indescribable speed.
Jungkook leaned in, pressing his forehead against hers, producing a whimper from her. She didn't want to touch him. She didn't want him to be this close.
But also couldn't fight him.
"I can't stand you being touched... being kissed by another guy. I can't..."
She shivered instinctively, her nerves fraying with his proximity, with the heat of his body so near to hers.
"That's not my problem," her voice was almost completely void of emotion. And it killed him. "Let me go. I need to go back."
"You're not going back," he ground out, his mouth lowering just below her ear. "You can't go back."
She wanted to cry. Or just reach out for him. Or push him.
"It didn't seem to be an issue for you before."
In response, he dropped his hand from beside her head and wrapped around her hip, drawing her closer to him, holding his mouth on her ear.
"It had always been an issue for me, Jieun. I hate that you have to do this... if there was any other way-"
Jieun's feet twisted as her hands unconsciously gripped his shirt and frowned her brows in despair. Why was she letting him do this?
Another hand drifted from the wall to her hair, pushing it aside, burying his nose on her neck.
His grip tightened as he inhaled. "Seeing him kiss you here... it makes me want to..."
Jieun yelped once she felt his lips. "Stop it!"
Jungkook licked her, bit her, and sucked her flesh with no mercy. She knew exactly what he was doing.
He was marking her.
She pushed him more violently, but he refused to move or to stop, instead used more force into the act, receiving a quiet moan from her.
"You have no idea what you're putting me through," he murmured, running his tongue in a slow line up her neck from her collarbone to her jaw.
Jieun hated herself for instinctively arching her back off the wall toward him.
"Jungkook..." she whispered breathlessly, wanting to stop him, curse at him and say all the things that were stuck in her throat but right now, she just seemed incapable of doing any of that.
His mouth stopped on the corner of her lips, her skin was throbbing with the marks he had left.
"I'm going to scream."
"Yeah, scream... tell everybody that I'm here... Get me back in jail," he panted against her lips. "But you gotta find another way to finish this job, 'cause I'm not letting that guy touch you again."
While they were both fighting for the same air, he tried to come to his senses for one helpless time before it was too late.
"Now go back before I do something stupid again..." despite the words, he didn't release her or even loosen his hold.
Her mouth was too close for him to think straight.
Though, Jieun still could.
She pushed him, a hand going up to rub her neck. He finally let himself go and leaned on the opposite wall with a long sigh.
The struggle in her eyes would have hurt him more if he weren't dealing with the same feeling himself.
Yet, he couldn't resist one last tease. "You should probably hide this with your hair, or else he'd see it... it's pretty deep."
Jieun pulled the door with force to get out of the stall he had locked her in.
Jungkook watched her eyes widening at his work on her neck. There were two purple marks, big enough to be mistaken for bee stings. She wouldn't be able to explain it to Kai when she returned.
She shook her head, flames coming out of her eyes as well as stuck tears. "I hate you," her voice cracked.
"And I love you."
Their eyes stayed locked for several seconds through the mirror before she managed to pull herself together and head out of the bathroom.
Jungkook sighed, knowing that maybe he had screwed things up a little... but he couldn't control himself.
He was marked for life by this girl.