<OST: I Wanna Say To You - Suzy>
"Orange-" Jungkook said as he opened his mouth, and Jieun quickly delivered it. "Watermelon-"
Jieun smiled as she fed Jungkook and wiped his mouth with a piece of tissue.
"My shoulders kinda hurt-" Jungkook glanced at Jieun as he strummed at his guitar. "Give me a massage."
Jieun did it with a smile. "What else do you need?"
"Water-"
Jieun leapt to her feet. "I'll go fetch some."
"I'm kidding-" Jungkook laughed as he pulled Jieun back down onto the couch next to him and put his guitar one side. "Wow, you're really doing everything for me today."
"Of course-" Jieun smiled softly. "You're busy writing music... I can't be of that much help in that area but the least I could do for you is to make you as comfortable as possible so you can stay inspired."
"You-" Jungkook pouted. "You're the best."
Jieun smiled as she massaged Jungkook's shoulders a little more. "Anything else you need?"
Jungkook shook his head. "Just sit here by my side - your company is more than enough."
Jieun shrugged as she looked down into her phone.
Jungkook strummed for a while more at his guitar, before putting it down once more and reaching over to hold Jieun's hand in his.
"Why...?" Jieun frowned. "No inspiration?"
"You do know it's my title track, do you?" Jungkook sighed. "I've come up with so many melodies... but none of them seem to be... title-track worthy."
"Why?" Jieun furrowed her eyebrows. "It sounded good to me."
"It's not great..." Jungkook groaned as he glanced at the notebook on the table. "You heard all of my other five songs earlier, didn't you? They're all dark... but so far, I've only been able to think of bright cheerful songs."
"What's wrong with that...?"
"Usually, an album follows a certain theme..." Jungkook explained. "Let's say you're listening to a whole album filled with hard metal and then suddenly you hear a ballad. Isn't that kinda... weird?"
"Not for me..." Jieun shrugged. "Is it supposed to be...?"
Jungkook raised his eyebrows. "You really don't think it's weird at all?"
Jieun shook her head. "In fact, listening to many sad songs before you listen to a cheerful song... in contrary, makes the cheerful song stand out even more. And that's precisely what you want, isn't it? To make your title track stand out...?"
Jungkook raised his eyebrows as he let that sink in.
"Wait..." Jungkook glanced at Jieun, a small smile playing at his lips. "Why did I never think of that?"
"Really? Does it make sense?" Jieun laughed as she scratched the back of her head. "I totally said that without much thought at all..."
"I guess you must secretly have some musical talent in you-" Jungkook giggled, and his nose wrinkled. "But wow, it's funny how for the past few months all I could think about was sad melodies, but today, all I can think about is happy ones. Lee Jieun, do you really have that much control over my mood...?"
Jieun chuckled as she rested her head against Jungkook's shoulder. "Well, I guess so."
"I'm so happy these days..." Jungkook said as he fed Jieun a piece of fruit in return. "It's almost as if... I forgot how my life used to be like before I met you."
Jieun looked up at Jungkook and let out a snigger. "Well, it certainly must have been really different. Do you still remember the first time we met? You were so, so mean."
"Was I...?" Jungkook feigned ignorance. "I can't remember well..."
"Don't lie-" Jieun glared at Jungkook, pointing an accusatory index finger at him. "I can still remember it well, why can't you?"
"Try being sleep deprived, maybe...?"
Jieun pouted. "You're saying you've changed nowadays not because of me but because of sleep, then?"
"Does it matter?" Jungkook smiled as he tugged Jieun's hand a little and she fell right back down next to him. "Whether I changed because of you, or because of the sleeping patterns that you helped me fix, it's still all because of you. Though these days, I'm happy though I'm not sleeping well. At the end of the day... I only have you to thank."
Jieun let out a scornful scoff, but the corners of her lips twitched a little.
"But I do remember, of course-" Jungkook smiled as he stared at the ceiling. "My first impression of you... wasn't that fantastic."
Jieun snorted. "Ya- who was the one who-"
"I know-" Jungkook cut Jieun off. "I knocked you over, signed on your jacket, pulled you into a toilet cubicle and refused to apologise for the longest time. I even dropped you in iced coffee the next time we met. I truly was a jerk... but I remember you being awfully hot-tempered too? You were always yelling at me whenever we met."
"Was I?" Jieun let out a sheepish chuckle. "Well... I don't exactly remember that well either..."
"Don't lie-" Jungkook winked. "Bet you had a big fat crush on me since back then."
"Excuse me?" Jieun scoffed. "Where are you getting all that confidence from? I literally just told you that my first impression of you was awful."
"Girls all like bad boys though, don't they?"
"What now?" Jieun furrowed her eyebrows. "Oh, so you're saying you were acting like a bad boy just so that I'd like you...? Who's the one who had a crush on the other person right now?"
"You pissed me off-" Jungkook stuck out his tongue. "But it's okay, I accept your past. We're on good terms now, and that's all that matters. Right now, you're everything to me."
Jieun beamed.
-•-•-
Yoongi's eyes fluttered open and he spotted Jennie seated on the ground right next to the couch, on her phone.
"Okay, I got it. Thank you very much. Goodbye."
Yoongi squinted, trying to adjust his eyes to the light as he sat up on the couch. He glanced at the wall clock.
11pm. And Jennie was still here...?
"Who's that...?" Yoongi croaked, his throat parched from all the crying.
Jennie put down the phone and turned around, her eyes widening as she saw Yoongi. "Oh- you're awake. Do you feel better now?"
Yoongi smiled and nodded, his hair in a mess. "I was right... talking it out was actually the best thing I could do... I've never felt this relieved in years."
"I'm so proud of you," Jennie said with a fond smile as she combed her fingers through Yoongi's hair, trying to arrange it neatly once more. "You were so, so brave earlier."
Yoongi smiled. "I could never have done all this without you."
Jennie lowered her head and smiled shyly.
"So... what was that phone call about?"
"Hm?" Jennie looked up at Yoongi, recalled what had just happened and a little smile crept onto her lips. "Oh... that phone call."
"Tell me-" Yoongi's eyes widened. "Is it about the drama?"
Jennie hesitated, then nodded with a knowing grin.
"What?" Yoongi sat up straight, fully awake right now. "What did they say? Did your sajang-nim change his mind...?"
Jennie paused for a while, looking up at Yoongi's excited face... and nodded.
"Daebak!" Yoongi jumped to his feet and did a little dance around the room. "You're serious, aren't you!"
Jennie smiled and nodded as she fondly admired Yoongi's outward display of elation. "Mm. Couldn't be more serious."
Yoongi sat down again abruptly. "But... why?"
"I don't know, Secretary Kim who called just told me that Yang sajang-nim changed his mind all of a sudden and told her to inform me about his change of decision ASAP."
Yoongi was over the moon. "I can't believe this..."
"But..." Jennie hesitated, her eyebrows furrowed as she picked up her phone. "I think I might have a clue about someone who might have played a part."
Yoongi raised his eyebrows. "Who?"
-•-•-
"Hello?"
"It's Jennie."
"I know it's Jennie. What's up?"
"You... What did you say to sajang-nim?"
Jungkook glanced at Jieun uneasily, as he spoke to Jennie on the phone. "Um... nothing much. Why?"
"The company just called."
This was either awful news, or good news. Either way, Jungkook was nervous.
"And...?" Jungkook squeezed Jieun's hand tight with his free hand. "What did they say?"
A short pause.
"That... he gives his permission for me to go ahead with Yoongi-oppa's drama."
Jungkook let out a small squeal as he glanced to Jieun and gave her a small nod. Jieun let out a silent scream as well.
"Well, that's great-" Jungkook composed himself and cleared his throat loudly. "That's great news indeed. You must be happy... and your Yoongi-oppa as well... he must be happy."
"Yeah, of course we are! But tell me, what exactly did you say to him to change his mind? He was being his typical awful self while we were talking to him... you must have said something really persuasive to change his mind, didn't you!"
"Well, I wouldn't call it persuasive..." Jungkook let out an awkward chuckle. "I'd say... assertive? Confrontative...? With a little tiny hint of intimidation?"
"Intimidation...?" Jennie let out a small gasp on the opposite end of the line. "Jeon Jungkook, what on earth did you do-"
"Nothing much!" Jungkook glanced nervously at Jieun who nodded slowly, trying to keep him composed. "I just... well... I called him weird names and gave him a lot of criticism that perhaps weren't the most constructive..."
"Oh my goodness- And? What else did you do?"
"I... I lowkey..." Jungkook let out a nervous laugh. "I lowkey told him we'd leave the company together and expose all his lies if he kept on treating us like dirt. I even took a voice recording of his for evidence, heh. I'm cool, ain't I...?"
Silence.
"You're insane, that's what you are."
"Look, I had no choice-" Jungkook explained. "You know how I've been keeping this in for the longest time ever - I'm sure you have, too - and I just let it all out earlier. I know that like you said, on hindsight, it was actually a pretty insane and rash decision on my part but well- at least it worked, didn't it?"
"No, by 'insane' I meant... Jeon Jungkook, I think you're a genius." Jennie let out a chuckle. "How did you even think of something like this? If I knew, I would have said the same to him."
A small grin crept onto Jungkook's face. "In that case... well, thank you."
"Why did you help me?" Jennie asked. "You're not someone who would just do something like that just because you're mad. You've been putting up with sajang-nim for so long... there must be a reason."
Jungkook glanced at Jieun and grinned a little. "There isn't."
"Is there anything you want though?" Jennie offered. "Because Yoongi-oppa and I are really grateful to you... we'd like to repay you. Maybe we could take you out to dinner one day or-"
"Dinner won't be necessary-" Jungkook said at once. "Instead... I do have something else in mind."
"What?"
"I'm sure Min PD-nim will need makeup artists for his drama, no...?" Jungkook let out an awkward laugh. "Since that's the case, I would like to offer-"
"You want us to give Jieun-ssi a job, don't you?"
"Wow, you're fast-" Jungkook smiled as he winked at Jieun. "How did you even guess...?"
"All you think about is her, these days-" Jennie sighed loudly. "It's pretty obvious."
"So... what do you say? Is it a deal or-"
"Yoongi-oppa says yes-" Jennie scoffed. "He already noticed Jieun-ssi's makeup skills during Love House. And besides - he's grateful you helped us too."
Jungkook beamed and exchanged high-fives with Jieun, who sat right next to him. "Yes!"
"But wow, Jeon Jungkook... I thought you did all that for me, but turns out you were just trying to get your girlfriend a nice job through me. You're really one of a kind, aren't you?"
"I know-" Jungkook chuckled. "Anyway, my regards to Min PD-nim. And let me know when Lee Jieun can show up for work."
"Got it. Goodnight, JK."
"Goodnight, Jennie Kim."
Jungkook smiled as he put down the phone.
-•-•-
Seokjin returned home late that night.
"I'm home!" Seokjin announced, freezing by the door as he took in the scene unfolding before his eyes in the living room.
"Ya, stop playing!" Jieun hit Jungkook on the shoulder, giggling as she tried to fend him off. "Can you focus? You said your comeback is in November - you don't have that much time left."
Jungkook chuckled as he tried to poke Jieun in her sides. "It's okay, I still have plenty of time-"
"Hello! I said I'm home!" Seokjin yelled, knocking loudly on the cupboard next to him just to get the couple's attention. "Can anyone hear me?"
"Oh-" Jungkook finally stopped what he was doing and looked up. "Hyung, you're home."
"Oh, oppa-" Jieun sat up straight and tidied her outfit and hair a little, giving Seokjin a little wave. "Hi."
Seokjin let out a deep sigh as he kept his shoes and slumped down on the couch. "You two... Y'all really want to kick me out of this house, don't you? 11pm and you're still here?"
"Sorry, oppa-" Jieun smiled apologetically as she picked up her bag. "I didn't mean to stay that long. It's just that time just flew by... I better get going now."
"Why do you need to go?" Jungkook frowned as he turned from Jieun to Seokjin. "Ya, hyung- Who's house is this?"
Seokjin's frown instantaneously turned into a smile as he rose to his feet. "Yours. I'm sorry, my bad. Jieun-ah, stay as long as you want. I'll go, okay? I'll stay in my room, do you can stay as long as you want. Please pardon my rude behaviour earlier, I was being completely ignorant."
Seokjin quickly ducked.
"Ya, why did you do that?" Jieun frowned. "You're making me feel bad..."
"Why?" Jungkook raised his eyebrows. "It is indeed my house, so where exactly is the lie?"
"It's not a lie, like you said-" Jieun sighed. "But Seokjin-oppa stayed here with you first... and he has been kicked into Byulyi-unnie once because of me, then kicked out of it once more because of me, I wouldn't want him to be inconvenienced again-"
"That's where you're wrong, you see-" Jungkook nodded slowly. "I did ask Seokjin-hyung to take your place in Byulyi-ssi's house... but after we had that quarrel, he moved out before I even had the chance to say anything. That means that he moved out on his own accord."
Jieun's eyes widened. "Wait... he did?"
"Mmhmm-" Jungkook furrowed his eyebrows. "Don't you think... the atmosphere between them is kinda weird? Even that day, after I visited your house. The two of them were acting so awkward around each other when I came out of your apartment. I've been so caught up with our problem that I never really asked Seokjin-hyung what exactly happened between him and Byulyi-ssi."
"Oh-" Jieun inhaled sharply. "Byulyi-unnie was supposed to tell me that day... but then you called and I came out to meet you and I totally forgot to ask her when I went hone."
Jungkook nodded slowly. "Well, I guess you should ask her. Because Seokjin-hyung... he really likes-"
"Wait, wait, wait, Jungkook-ah, hold on-" Jieun's eyes widened abruptly. "Hear me out- I- I think they... like each other."
Jungkook stared blankly at Jieun for a few seconds.
"Wait, did you just realise or...?"
"What?" Jieun frowned. "You knew? And you didn't tell me?"
"On Seokjin-hyung's side, I can be 100% sure-" Jungkook scoffed. "That guy... he's mad obsessed. On Byulyi-ssi's side though, it's just based off my intuition..."
Jieun let out a small gasp. "On hindsight, I think she likes him too! All this while, I thought that she was mad at Seokjin-oppa because he was the one who made her break up with Sandeul-ssi... but on second thought, there's really no reason why she'd possibly stay mad for that long. I think... she really does like him."
"Well, we need to help them."
"You're absolutely right."